Chapter 47: Making a Name for Oneself 2

The morning sunlight, as usual, lazily crept in through the large glass windows of the General Affairs Department of the National Development and Reform Commission, casting long, slanted shadows across the desks.

"Morning, Director Wang," Li Yifei's voice rang out.

Wang Heng grunted from the depths of his nose, acknowledging the greeting, while the tip of his pen jabbed furiously against the paper.

"The stack of materials you gave me yesterday, I've finished looking through them. Do you reckon there's anything else you need me to handle?"

"Clack!"

Wang Heng's pen slammed onto the desk as if it had burned his fingers. The sound wasn't loud, but it felt like someone had hit a mute button. The rhythmic clacking of keyboards and the rustling of documents around the room instantly ground to a halt.

Wang Heng raised his head. Behind his glasses, his gaze shot straight at Li Yifei's face, his brows knitting so deeply they formed a stark, engraved character for "river" on his forehead.

"Xiao Li," his voice wasn't high, but every word sounded like an icicle, hammering sharply against the desk, "listen here! This is the National Development and Reform Commission! It's not some local teahouse where people while away the hours reading newspapers!"

He deliberately bit down hard on the words "National Development and Reform Commission." "Every single number we hold in our hands, every report we write, represents the livelihoods of countless people, the development of numerous regions, and the grand blueprint of the nation! Do you understand? You cannot afford even the slightest trace of carelessness! There is certainly no room for empty boasting and blowing hot air!"

He paused to catch his breath, his expression a mix of disappointment and an unmistakable *are-you-kidding-me?* look. "You're done reading it? In just one night? That entire stack! Decades of old policy precedents, data from countless provinces, the intricate details of numerous projects? What do you think you were doing, flipping through a comic book? And you claim you read it *thoroughly*?" He curled his lip, his expression practically screaming, *Ah, a well-connected protégé relying on nepotism, aren't you?*

The entire office fell so silent one could hear old Wang next door heartbeat. Xiao Zhao's fingers hovered over his keyboard as if he'd been paralyzed by an acupuncture needle; Sister Liu held her teacup, completely forgetting to drink; Xiao Sun craned his neck out from behind the partition, his eyes rounded in astonishment. All eyes, like searchlights, focused entirely on Li Yifei—curious, skeptical, and tinged with a malicious schadenfreude that seemed to say, *Well, let's see how this kid talks his way out of this one.*

"Hey, what are you all standing around for? Is there a flower growing on Xiao Li's face?" A resonant, cheerful voice broke the silence. Division Director Zhang Aiguo appeared seemingly out of nowhere, leaning against the door frame with a folder in hand, looking as though he had just returned from a morning meeting.

"Good morning, Director!" Everyone quickly snapped back to reality.

"Nothing much, Director," Wang Heng bounced up like a coiled spring, his face instantly shifting into a mask of solemn professionalism. "We were just... exchanging notes on work attitude with Comrade Xiao Li here."

"Oh?" Director Zhang raised an eyebrow, his gaze sweeping over the tense expressions of Li Yifei and Wang Heng. "Xiao Li, you're new, so you need to keep your feet on the ground. Old Wang has assigned you fundamental tasks; you need to learn them solidly and not reach too high too fast."

The words sounded like encouragement, but the cautionary sting at the tail end was loud and clear to Li Yifei.

Li Yifei met Director Zhang's gaze, his expression maintaining just the right amount of rookie restraint. "Leader, I understand. That's why, having just finished the materials Director Wang gave me, I was hoping to get my teeth into something a bit more substantial. Director Wang was just coaching me on how I need to be meticulous and thorough."

"You've finished them?" Director Zhang's eyebrows arched even higher. His gaze danced between Wang Heng and Li Yifei before finally landing back on the latter, a faint, ambiguous smile playing at the corners of his mouth. "Old Wang, Xiao Li here is a triple-degree PhD graduate, top talent! Don't always treat him like a fresh graduate who doesn't know any better. It's time to pile on some weight and test his mettle."

The remark sounded like encouragement, but it felt much more like a probe.

"Director! It's not that I'm unwilling to give him more!" Wang Heng grew anxious, snatching up the duplicate stack of materials from the corner of his desk and weighing it in his hand. It felt heavily substantial. "Just look at this! Look at the sheer volume! Three provinces! Five years of industrial relocation backgrounds, supporting policies, and evaluation reports! He only got his hands on them yesterday afternoon! And he claims he's read through the whole lot by this morning? Unless he's the mythical deity Erlang Shen with a third heavenly eye open, it's impossible! I'm just afraid he's swallowing everything whole—neither chewing it properly nor digesting it, and ending up choking on it! Young people need to get mud on the soles of their shoes!" He bit down hard on the phrase "mud on the soles of their shoes."

Upon hearing this, Director Zhang's faint smile vanished entirely, and his brows twisted into a tight knot.

He looked at Li Yifei, his tone dropping heavily. "Xiao Li, Wang Heng has a point. In our line of work, attitude is our golden rice bowl! Diligence, meticulousness, and responsibility—these are fundamental! Speed is a good thing, but you can't burn the rice just to cook it fast, and you certainly can't cut corners with shoddy work. Understand?"

The pressure descended like dark clouds. The unspoken skepticism in the office grew so thick it could be sliced with a knife. Li Yifei knew that mere words wouldn't get him past this hurdle today.

"Director, Director Wang, the two of you," Li Yifei's voice remained steady and unruffled, completely devoid of panic, yet exuding an undeniable aura of *just watch*, "you've misunderstood. I did indeed finish reading the materials, but I didn't grind through them page by page in the traditional way."

He paused, meeting their skeptical *let's-see-what-else-you-can-make-up* gazes, and continued unhurriedly: "Yesterday, seeing that the scanner was just sitting there idle, I scanned all the documents into digital versions. Back in school, I dabbled a bit in coding and realized that a lot of the work here—finding key points, extracting data, formatting—is purely manual labor and prone to errors. So I casually whipped up a little tool specifically designed to handle these scanned files."

As he spoke, he strolled back to his seat and picked up a noticeably thinner stack of A4 paper. "This little contraption automatically filters out the fluff and pulls out the core takeaways—policy highlights, key data, and decision-making recommendations. It can even extract those scattered data points from all over the place and automatically generate charts. Trends and comparisons become clear at a glance."

He thrust the printed materials into the hands of Director Zhang and Wang Heng. "Here, the finished product. All the essential information from the original documents is right here, presented much more clearly. This is what I relied on to 'devour' the material yesterday."

Director Zhang and Wang Heng accepted the stack of papers with lingering skepticism. Goodness, it felt feather-light compared to the "brick" they had handed him earlier!

Both men immediately lowered their heads to flip through it. Wow! The layout was refreshingly crisp:

Policy highlights? Bolded and listed with crystal clarity, complete with their "origins" (original document page numbers) marked right beside them.

Key data? Neatly arranged into tables where highs and lows were instantly transparent.

Bar charts and line charts! How did industrial investments in Province XX fluctuate over five years? How many enterprises benefited from different local policies? How did supporting funds flow? Concepts that would normally require building mental Lego blocks for half a day to comprehend were now thrust right into their faces!

At the very end, there was even a page of "highlighted points," mapping out the main threads and potential landmines for them!

Director Zhang and Wang Heng flipped through the pages faster and faster, their eyes growing wider and wider. This wasn't just "finishing" the reading; this was giving that pile of "bricks" a luxury spa treatment complete with a high-definition map!

Simultaneously, the two men grabbed the original duplicated copy, frantically flipping to key sections to cross-reference with Li Yifei's "essence edition."

"Page 17, Province XX's high-tech investment in 2010... original says 12.58 billion... Xiao Li's table shows 12.58 billion, and the chart matches up..."

"Right here, those three winding paragraphs about tax incentives... Xiao Li boiled it down to one core fact: 'Three years exemption, three years half-rate for eligible catalogs'..."

"Hey! These three sets of regional data were scattered all over the place originally... he stitched them together and added charts! Good grief, the disparities stand out as clear as a bald man's lice..."

Inside the office, only the rustling of turning pages remained, punctuated by the occasional sharp gasp of "Hiss—" from the two leaders. Everyone held their breath, watching eagerly.

Ten minutes later, Director Zhang and Wang Heng finally raised their heads. Their eyes met, and each could read the exact same thought in the other's pupils: *What the hell?!*

Wang Heng opened his mouth, but no sound came out. His hands, clutching the printed pages, visibly began to tremble.

Director Zhang drew in a massive breath to push his nearly-lept heart back down into his chest. *Good grief! I thought we caught a bronze-tier rookie, but he turned out to be a grandmaster playing on a smurf account!*

"Xiao Li..." Director Zhang's throat felt a bit dry, his voice suppressing a surge of excitement. "Is this... this little treasure... difficult to operate?"

"Leader, using it isn't hard," Li Yifei answered honestly. "You just need to know how to operate a scanner, click a mouse twice, and review the results. The hard part was building and maintaining the thing. The documents we have right now are a piece of cake. But if our entire division, or even the whole commission, starts using it, the sheer volume of data..." He made a gesture with his hand, "the computers might need an upgrade, and the servers will have to keep pace..." He laid out the technical bottlenecks without hiding anything.

"Servers?! Memory?!" Director Zhang completely ignored the word "difficult," waved his hand grandly, and declared with supreme confidence, "Is that even a problem?! Does our NDRC lack a few pieces of hardware?!"

His voice suddenly pitched up, sounding as though he had been injected with adrenaline. "Xiao Li! You! Right now! Start a training class right here in our division! Teach Old Wang, Old Liu, and Xiao Zhao first! Make sure everyone learns it! This efficiency! This refreshing clarity..." He grew somewhat incoherent with excitement and slapped Wang Heng hard on the shoulder. "Old Wang! You're in charge of organizing! I'm going right now to report the good news to the Minister!"

Before his voice had even faded, Director Zhang had already sprinted out the door as if walking on wind-and-fire wheels, clutching the printed report so tightly in his fist as if he were holding a bar of pure gold.

Inside the office, the taut, strained string snapped with a crisp *snap*! Immediately afterward, a silent wave of heat erupted with a resounding *boom*!

Every single gaze directed at Li Yifei instantly shifted from *skeptical, judgmental, and watching a show* to *shocked, admiring, treasure-trove-discovered, and ecstatic*!

Yesterday's "rookie" who quietly sorted documents and fiddled with the scanner had, overnight, tossed a deep-sea bomb using just a few feather-light sheets of A4 paper!

Wang Heng came back to life too, rubbing his hands together in excitement, his face flushed red. "Xiao Li! Come, come, come! Sit here! Sit in my seat and teach us! Are there enough scanners? Old Liu! Quick! Bring that dusty computer over here too! Xiao Zhao! Xiao Sun! Xiao Chen! Xiao Zhou! Drop whatever tasks aren't utterly urgent! Come over here and listen to Teacher Li's lecture! Keep your ears wide open!"

Where had his previous solemnity and skepticism gone? They had long been flushed down the drain by this sudden, overwhelming surprise!

Li Yifei was half-pushed and half-guided by Wang Heng into the central "C-position." He turned on the computer, clicked on the unassuming program icon, and plugged in the scanner.

Under the gaze of a dozen-odd pairs of *knowledge-starved* eyes that practically threatened to burn through his monitor, he began his down-to-earth demonstration:

"Watch closely. Step one: neatly stack this pile of paper and feed it into the scanner's maw, remembering to check the boxes for 'duplex' and 'OCR (optical character recognition)'..."

"Once scanned, it will automatically nestle itself into this 'shared folder'..."

"Then, double-click this icon that looks like a gear and select that batch of files we just scanned..."

"It will start working away busily. As for the time it takes, well, it depends on the number of documents. See this little earthworm [the progress bar] crawling along?"

"When it's done, three files pop out: a plain-text 'dehydrated version,' a data 'table hero,' and a chart 'family bucket.' Click whichever one you want to view, and you can print them too..."

The operation was as smooth as silk, and the explanation was delivered in plain language without a single technical jargon term.

The colleagues swarmed forward in a rush, stretching their necks out. Sister Liu furiously took notes; Xiao Zhao immediately commandeered another computer to practice hands-on; even Wang Heng crowded in close like an inquisitive toddler, continually asking, "Teacher Li, what should we do if it gets stuck at this step?"

While the General Affairs Department was immersed in this heavenly-sent lesson of "technology meets brute force," Division Director Zhang Aiguo was already striding with wind beneath his feet toward the door of Minister Zhao Yuanchao's office. He took a deep breath, straightened his tie, and knocked.

"Come in," a steady voice sounded from within.

Zhang Aiguo pushed the door open. Zhao Yuanchao was looking down, reviewing documents. Glancing up to see it was him, he looked slightly surprised: "Old Zhang? What's with all the rush? Did you strike gold?"

"Leader! I really did strike gold!" Zhang Aiguo rushed to the desk in two strides and presented Li Yifei's report like a priceless artifact. "Have a look!"

Zhao Yuanchao took it and casually flipped through it. His gaze gradually sharpened, his brows occasionally relaxing and then slightly furrowing.

"Hm? A new template your General Affairs Department came up with? It certainly looks... neat." He put the report down.

"Leader! This isn't just a template!" Zhang Aiguo's voice trembled with excitement. "This was produced by our new treasure, Li Yifei! The PhD graduate selected through public recruitment! He used just one night—no, wait, half a day—to create this 'divine artifact'!"

"Oh?" Zhao Yuanchao leaned forward, his interest piqued.

Zhang Aiguo poured out the details like beans tumbling from a bamboo tube, recounting everything: how Li Yifei used a scanner combined with a self-written program to turn "bricks" into "gold bricks," how he was publicly "interrogated" by Wang Heng, how he staged a live "face-slap," and the terrifying potential of this tool.

"He performed a live demonstration, finishing a new document of equal volume in half an hour. The core contents matched the exact findings that Old Wang and I spent days painfully digging out! And it came with charts and tables, crystal clear!" Zhang Aiguo was practically spraying spit in his enthusiasm. "Leader, just imagine, if this tool is rolled out across the entire commission... how many times faster can we process documents and seize core points? How many human work hours and brain cells will be saved? How much faster and more accurate can our decision-making be?!"

Zhao Yuanchao remained silent, his fingers tapping lightly on the polished desktop. He picked up the report once more, carefully studying the clear charts and refined summaries.

Sitting in his position, he understood all too well what "fast, accurate, and ruthless information processing" meant. A sharp glint flashed in his eyes, though his expression remained perfectly composed. "Hmm... It certainly has potential. Old Zhang, what are your thoughts on this?"

"My suggestion is to first trial it across our General Affairs Department! Iron out the workflow and fix any minor bugs that might pop up. At the same time, let the technical experts from the Information Center get involved to thoroughly test the mettle of this 'divine artifact'—is it stable? Is it secure? Can it handle high-stakes scenarios?"

Zhang Aiguo's eyes shone brightly. "If it's truly as miraculous as we think... then we roll it out across the entire commission! This will undoubtedly be a... Great! Leap! Forward! for our commission's work efficiency!"

"Alright!" Zhao Yuanchao made his decision cleanly and decisively. "We'll do as you say! Run the pilot in your division first! Focus on summarizing experiences, evaluating results, and reporting back at any time! As for the Information Center, I'll have a word with them to ensure their full cooperation. Remember, take steady steps and put safety first!"

"Understood, Leader! Mission guaranteed!" Acting like a victorious general, Zhang Aiguo spun around and dashed out.

When he swept back into the General Affairs Department like a whirlwind, the scene that greeted him nearly made him laugh out loud.

The scanner was humming away—*buzz—click, buzz—click*—sounding like a symphony orchestra.

Crowds of heads were jammed in front of both computers. Li Yifei stood in the middle, surrounded like a patient tour guide answering all sorts of "newbie questions."

Wang Heng paced back and forth across the office with his hands behind his back, glowing with health and repeating constantly, "Faster! Be quick and nimble! Once you learn this, it's a solid skill of your own! This is the opening salvo fired by our division! If we pull this off, a collective third-class merit citation is guaranteed!"

"The Director is back!" someone with sharp eyes shouted.

*Swish!* All gazes converged on the doorway. Looking at the bustling, fiery scene, Zhang Aiguo broke into a broad smile. He cleared his throat, his voice ringing out loudly enough to rattle the ceiling:

"Comrades! Good news! I just gave a special report to Minister Zhao! The Minister highly commended Comrade Li Yifei's innovative achievement and praised our General Affairs Department's swift, decisive, and pioneering work ethic!"

He paused to let everyone relish the instantly brightening looks in their eyes. "The Minister's instruction: immediately launch a pilot application within our division! Test boldly! Record carefully! The Information Center will provide full technical support! Once the pilot proves successful and delivers stellar results—we roll it out across the entire commission!

"This is the collective honor of our General Affairs Department! Furthermore, it's an opportunity to establish new merits in enhancing the combat effectiveness of the entire commission! Everyone—do you have confidence?!"

"YES!!!"

The roar made the window glass hum, and morale shot straight through the roof! Every face was painted with excitement and anticipation.

What did increased efficiency mean? Jobs done faster and better! Fewer overtime shifts! Everyone's name written at the very front of the honor roll! At this moment, who would even think of harboring jealousy toward Li Yifei? His brilliance had illuminated the entire department!

Li Yifei stood amidst the crowd, feeling the surging wave of enthusiasm wash over him while maintaining his calm and gentle smile.

Yet deep within his eyes, a flash of light flickered, akin to a pebble dropped into a deep pool, quietly sending ripples outward.