"How about this, Minister Chang? After I discuss it with the other leaders, I'll get back to you. What do you think?"
Director Du didn't give a definitive answer, opting instead for a delaying tactic.
According to the schedule, Minister Chang would not be meeting with the foreign guests the following morning.
This gave him ample time to understand the situation.
Minister Chang also knew that his request was somewhat unreasonable to begin with.
He hadn't expected Director Du to agree immediately. As long as Director Du understood the circumstances, he was confident that a change would be made.
Therefore, he readily agreed to Director Du's current request.
After hanging up the phone, Director Du had a splitting headache and instinctively pressed his temples.
The visit from the Y country delegation was highly valued by the higher-ups. Furthermore, if the discussed projects could be finalized, it would greatly benefit the current economic development.
Why had the Ministry of Commerce suddenly requested a temporary change in translators?
Minister Chang was not one to nitpick; something must have happened today.
With this thought, Director Du quickly roused himself and started making calls.
He needed to understand the situation on the ground today and then decide whether to replace Minister Chang's translator.
After making a few calls, Director Du had a good grasp of what had happened today.
Although everyone spoke vaguely, the convergence of so much information made it clear that Song Hongbing's performance today had indeed been poor.
To falter at such a crucial moment, was he trying to damage the reputation of the entire Translation Department?
Thinking of this, Director Du felt utterly miserable.
It was no wonder Minister Chang had directly requested a replacement, and it was for a young intern who had just arrived.
Song Hongbing was simply not presentable!
The translation work tonight didn't involve much specialized knowledge, yet even so, Song Hongbing had failed to meet expectations.
On the other hand, the young girl named Su Xiaotian had truly given him a pleasant surprise; her performance was even better than he had imagined.
It seemed Minister Chang knew more about this young girl Su Xiaotian than he did!
After confirming Su Xiaotian's excellence, he had already decided to swap the work assignments of Su Xiaotian and Song Hongbing.
The next morning, due to the visiting delegation, the main task for the Translation Department was translating documents.
The translators were all engrossed in the intense document translation.
These documents, once translated, would be used in the afternoon talks, and time was extremely tight.
Su Xiaotian usually deliberately slowed down her pace when translating documents.
But today, the workload was substantial, so Su Xiaotian decided to go all out and work diligently.
Su Xiaotian's speed was almost twice that of others, or even faster.
She quickly finished her document translation and carefully proofread it once, ensuring there were no errors before feeling at ease.
Just as Su Xiaotian put down her translated documents, Song Hongbing suddenly appeared in front of her desk. Su Dan Novel Network
"Xiao Su, have you finished your translation? I'm a bit overwhelmed. I've translated more than half of this document; could you help me with the rest?"
Although he was asking Su Xiaotian to take on his work, Song Hongbing showed no signs of guilt. In fact, he gave the impression that he was doing her a favor by asking.
Su Xiaotian found his tone very unpleasant, but to ensure the work was completed smoothly, she accepted the translation draft.
Watching Su Xiaotian bury her head in translation, Song Hongbing picked up his teacup and brewed himself a cup of tea, drinking it leisurely.
Fu Guoyang, standing at the doorway, saw this scene.
He cast a meaningful glance at Song Hongbing without saying anything and returned to his office.
However, in his heart, he began to have some reservations about Song Hongbing.
Last night, Fu Guoyang had also received a call from Director Du, and of course, he knew that Song Hongbing had already displeased the leaders.
If he were to be careful and cautious from now on, he might still be able to salvage the situation.
But looking at Song Hongbing's current demeanor, it was clear that this person would absolutely not correct his mistakes.
Moreover, he would only go further down the wrong path.
Never mind, some people you can help, but you can't hold their hands forever.
Just as Fu Guoyang reached the door of his office, he saw Fan Shufang.
"Director Fan, aren't you busy this morning?" Fu Guoyang said with a smile. "If you're not busy, would you like to come to my office for a cup of tea?"
"Then I'll have a cup of tea. I've been busy all morning and haven't had a drop of water yet." Fan Shufang had come specifically to find Fu Guoyang, so she readily agreed.
They went to the office, and Fu Guoyang poured Fan Shufang a cup of tea. They then began discussing some issues concerning the translation work they were undertaking.
After a while, Fan Shufang suddenly said, "Old Fu, Director Du asked me this morning if we needed to swap the translation work assigned to Su Xiaotian and Song Hongbing."
Last night, although Director Du had called several people, he had not called Fan Shufang.
When Fan Shufang heard the news this morning, she was truly surprised!
Song Hongbing's professional level should have been acceptable; why was there a need to change translators overnight?
If she hadn't been with Dong Yuanzhong all night yesterday, she might have suspected that Dong Yuanzhong had done something behind the scenes.
Fu Guoyang sighed, "It's good that they're changing. Xiao Song's state has been a bit off these past couple of days."
Fan Shufang was somewhat surprised that Fu Guoyang expressed his approval.
Song Hongbing was not Fu Lao's disciple, but after several years at the Translation Department, he had been trained by Fu Lao. Their relationship was naturally deeper.
Didn't Fu Lao know what changing generals at the last minute meant?
"I'm old, but I'm not blind. I know what decision is most beneficial. Xiao Song should hit a wall to wake up."
Yesterday, he had already secretly helped him several times, yet Song Hongbing remained stubborn.
This morning, he had also handed over work that should have been his to Su Xiaotian.
Since that was the case, it was better to completely hand it over to Su Xiaotian. Perhaps the young girl would perform better.
Fan Shufang still had an astonished expression.
"Don't you believe in this young girl's abilities anymore?"
Fu Guoyang's question caused Fan Shufang to quickly wave her hand and smile, "How could I not believe in this child? It's just..."
"Let's just follow the leadership's arrangements! I believe the leadership's arrangements will be the most appropriate."
With that said, things were clear, and Fan Shufang's heart settled.
"If that's the case, then so be it!" Fan Shufang said, no longer drinking her tea. She took her leave from Fu Guoyang's office.
Looking at the tea that had only been sipped a little, Fu Guoyang gave a wry smile, "What a pity for my good tea. If I had known..."