Chapter 1616 - The Memorandum

"Too many women is nothing but a headache." Lu Xuan let out a long breath. "I went home this weekend intending to relax, but the two of them started squabbling over some trifle. Liu Hui is a lifestyle secretary trained by the General Affairs Office, after all—she stood right up to my wife. I lost my temper and slapped her a couple of times. And you know what she said?"

Seeing that Yu Eshui showed no interest in the direction of this conversation, Lu Xuan pressed on regardless. "She said the other Chiefs' lifestyle secretaries all look down on her. That she's following a good-for-nothing Chief who just loafs around the Grand Library all day—a jack-of-all-trades, master of none. Good-for-nothing? Jack-of-all-trades? Who's been putting such ideas into their heads?"

Yu Eshui's expression sharpened. "I absolutely oppose this kind of talk that belittles our Grand Library and those of us in the humanities! They make it sound as if we're just marking time. Without the Grand Library's document retrieval and archival work, would their low-level industrial replication be so straightforward? Such critical work dismissed as 'being a jack-of-all-trades'? Nonsense! Old Lu, don't take it to heart. I know your work better than anyone. The tasks may be scattered and seemingly small, but it's foundational work that only a Senator can handle. Foundation work is invisible—but every tall building rises from its foundation."

Yu Eshui was growing heated. He always became agitated whenever anyone suggested the Grand Library was useless.

"A few lifestyle secretaries daring to wag their tongues like that—these people really need to be kept in line. One of these days I'll speak to Xiao Zishan and have a warning notice sent to their Senators. Let them punish these girls severely..."

Lu Xuan had originally intended to vent, but he hadn't expected Director Yu to get worked up first. He grumbled inwardly: And how exactly are they supposed to "punish severely"? Try a few more positions in bed? These useless Senators have no concept of household discipline—they spoil their lifestyle secretaries like girlfriends!

"Still, let's be fair—I've told you before about the Lu Family Manor. Many Senators are toiling away, working overtime, sleeping in their offices and workshops. Yet there you are, having taken a man's daughter, moved into his manor—no matter how low-key you try to be, it doesn't help your image. Why not move back into a Grand Library dormitory?"

"Honestly, I feel shortchanged. Ever since I inherited that manor, the common folk look at me like some live-in son-in-law. I'm still a Senator, for heaven's sake." Lu Xuan argued stubbornly. "Old Xun can marry a native and collect a fat dowry. Wu Nanhai can run his 'exotic farm.' Why can't I inherit a manor? I came by it through proper marriage!"

Seeing him go off on tangents and drop names, Yu Eshui quickly cut in. "All right, all right, let's not stray too far afield. You have grievances—I understand completely. But still..."

Before he could finish, Lu Xuan had seized Yu Eshui by the wrist and poured out his heart. "Others may not know me, but Director, don't you? In all these years, whatever the organization assigned me, have I ever pushed back? Hard work, dirty work, the leftovers no one else wanted—I never turned any of it down. You entrust me to be office manager and handle the department's finances. Every bit of public money that passes through my hands is accounted for, clear as day. Director, can you bear to watch them treat me this way..."

Yu Eshui's hand was being squeezed painfully. He said hurriedly, "I know, I know—you've always been a hard worker, and your conduct is beyond reproach... Please let go of my hand... Let's sit down and talk this through."

Lu Xuan saw Yu Eshui's face twisting and finally released him, sinking back into his chair. He gazed at Yu Eshui, eyes reddening, and murmured, "I know they all look down on me. And I can't blame them—who told me to be so useless? I only know twenty-six letters of the alphabet; I never took higher math; physics laws and chemistry formulas—I can't recite a single one, let alone smelt steel or build ships or make medicine. But I don't slack off! I accept my lot! Any job, I'll do it. In the whole Senate, who has as many concurrent positions as I do? I did everything I could. I'm 182 centimeters tall—I don't want to be dead weight, don't want to be a burden..."

Yu Eshui nodded, waving his hand repeatedly. "Fine, fine. To be fair, has anyone actually mistreated you? Apart from a few clueless lifestyle secretaries, has any Senator ever said such things? You have opinions—I understand—but watch your words. Mind the importance of unity."

Lu Xuan's speech had actually moved Yu Eshui somewhat. After all, Lu Xuan was his number one lieutenant. He said soothingly, "I know the Grand Library office manager position doesn't do justice to your talents. Hasn't the Personnel Office approached you several times about an assignment as a county chief? Were the conditions too harsh for you? I heard recently that Liu Xiang of the Qiongshan County Office may be transferred. The Qiongshan position will open up. How about I recommend you to the Executive Committee?"

Lu Xuan shook his head. "It's not that county positions are too hard. Do you really think I can't handle hardship?"

Yu Eshui considered—that was true enough. Though Lu Xuan had stayed in Lingao all these years, he had done plenty of odd jobs. There wasn't much to envy about that. Being a county chief meant at least being a local lord. Never mind how much those county chiefs grumbled and cursed during their debriefings, making it sound like they had suffered terribly; ask them to transfer back, and suddenly they were all passionately committed to "serving the Senate and the people."

Wondering what this whole performance was really about, Yu Eshui watched as Lu Xuan continued. "It's that I don't think I could do the job justice. County chiefs nowadays aren't like the old time and space, where you had a whole team of professionals at your disposal and just had to lead and manage. This is the startup phase—specialists are in short supply, and every county is basically a blank slate in agriculture, industry, and commerce. A chief with no expertise means amateurs leading amateurs trying to build something. No matter how much support headquarters provides, nothing meaningful will get done. Better to stay home and mind my own business than make a mess of things out there. That's why I declined."

Seeing Lu Xuan's earnest demeanor and coherent reasoning, Yu Eshui sensed that this was perhaps the man's true nature. His interest piqued, he stopped interrupting, wanting to hear what Lu Xuan would say next.

"Staying in Lingao—I actually had another idea. The Senate's plate is considerably larger now. The old rough-and-ready, hyper-flat management style cannot possibly keep pace with development that moves by leaps and bounds. Accelerating the professionalization of the administrative apparatus is imperative. This terror attack has already had people complaining: that our current agencies have mismatched authority and responsibility, muddled functions—what should be done isn't being done, while departments meddle in matters that shouldn't concern them. When something actually happens, no one takes responsibility, and in the end the Executive Committee gets blamed. It's practically—what made a child pick up a gun."

Yu Eshui was amused by Lu Xuan's jab, but Lu Xuan went on earnestly. "This is actually a classic symptom of unclear departmental functions and misaligned authority and responsibility. Before the transmigration, I spent over a dozen years in the system. I do know something about how administrative departments are organized and how they operate. So I want to do some work in this area. On the grand scale, I'd be filling gaps and laying bricks for the Executive Committee and the Senate. On the smaller scale, as the administrative apparatus professionalizes—which really means bureaucratizes—once departmental relationships are straightened out, new positions will naturally emerge. Perhaps there will be something suitable for a generalist like me. Then I won't have lifestyle secretaries looking at me like I'm just a jack-of-all-trades."

Lu Xuan spoke with reason and feeling. Yu Eshui wasn't particularly surprised. He asked, "What exactly do you have in mind?"

"I want to conduct a study on how functions are currently allocated across departments, then draft a proposal for rationalizing those functions and promoting unified authority and responsibility."

Yu Eshui wasn't especially familiar with administrative work. He couldn't immediately grasp what exactly Lu Xuan was getting at, but he didn't want to appear ignorant. He replied vaguely, "Proposals are any Senator's right. Besides, our Grand Library is the Senate's main policy-research agency. As a member of the library, providing policy advice is part of your job. You can write up a memorandum—after all, our Grand Library's job is to provide decision-support and evidence to the Executive Committee."

"Departmental administrative functions are really a matter for administrative law. Director, you know my half-baked legal knowledge probably isn't up to the task. So I'd like to ask the Senators from the Law Society to collaborate..."

Yu Eshui's expression immediately grew guarded. He didn't much care for the Law Society.

Still, this kind of policy proposal gave researchers considerable latitude. In principle, he couldn't object.

"That shouldn't be a problem," he said at last, though his expression remained rather sour.

"Once the proposal is finished, I don't intend to post it online."

"You mean you won't go through the individual Senator civil-military proposal channel?" Yu Eshui nodded. "That's wise. Put it on the BBS and the discussion will spiral out of control. Just issue it as a memorandum."

Lu Xuan's professional smile reappeared. "What I mean is, once the proposal is ready, I'd like you to review it first. If you think it's acceptable, we can issue it under the Grand Library's name as a policy reference for the Executive Committee. If not, just treat it as me fooling around."

So after all that beating around the bush, his goal is to use the Grand Library's name to send it straight to the Executive Committee and score points there. Yu Eshui finally understood. Whether it was an individual Senator civil-military proposal or a library staffer's memorandum, neither carried as much weight as a reference compilation edited by the Grand Library. The latter would almost certainly be formally discussed at an Executive Committee meeting; important or hot-button items might even be circulated among all Senators.

(End of Chapter)