"Director Zhao?"
Consul Park was puzzled, "Which Director Zhao?"
The woman replied, "Deputy Director Zhao from the Regional Departnt."
Consul Park was taken aback again. Isn't he in South Korea?
How did he appear here?
When did he arrive?
Consul Park imdiately took out his phone, he hadn't checked it since getting up this morning.
He just now realized that the phone was already dead.
He guessed that Director Zhao must have called him last night.
He didn't know why Director Zhao ca over suddenly.
He was just curious, didn't think much else.
"Which office is Director Zhao in?"
"In the office next to Consul Cui's office."
Consul Park responded with an "oh" and headed straight there.
He pushed the door open and saw Director Zhao, impeccably dressed in a suit, sitting at the desk with a laptop in front of him, and a cup of tea beside it.
"Old Zhao, when did you arrive?"
Consul Park laughed heartily and warmly patted his shoulder.
Director Zhao put down the teacup and raised his head to glance at him.
That look made Consul Park's heart skip a beat, vaguely feeling that sothing was off.
But he couldn't pinpoint exactly what was wrong.
"Sit." Director Zhao had no intention of exchanging pleasantries. After he sat down, he took a recorder out of his briefcase, clicked it on, and placed it on the table.
Seeing his actions, Consul Park beca increasingly uneasy and couldn't help but ask, "Old Zhao, what's this for?"
Director Zhao's expression did not change, and he said calmly, "Effective imdiately, I will be taking full charge of the consulate. This is Minister Zhang's instruction."
Saying this, he took out a newly printed notice and placed it in front of him.
Consul Park's face froze, and it took a long ti for him to snap out of it. Looking at the transfer order in front of him, he couldn't calm down for a long ti.
His lips trembled as he said, "Director Zhao, what, what is going on?"
Director Zhao shook his head, "I'm just acting on Minister Zhang's orders, I'm not aware of the specific reasons."
"Starting now, your position is revoked, please keep your phone on 24/7. Minister Zhang will contact at any ti, and I will need to reach you then."
"Okay, okay."
Consul Park was anxious and uneasy inside.
His mind was racing, wondering what happened and why his position was terminated.
He returned to his office in a daze and plugged in his phone to charge.
The phone powered on, showing multiple missed calls.
There were calls from Director Zhao and so unfamiliar numbers.
The unfamiliar numbers were from South Korea, presumably calls from so superior.
He didn't return them.
At this point, it was aningless to call back anyway.
He found Consul Cui's number and called it.
Consul Cui must know what happened.
But the phone remained off.
He put down the phone, went out, and stood outside Consul Cui's office.
After a short while, others started arriving as well.
Then he saw that his other colleagues were also entering the office where Director Zhao was.
His heart pounded, and an anxious thought popped into his head.
Director Zhao just said, the consulate is now under his full control!
Could it be... that he wasn't the only one dismissed?
The guess was quickly confird.
When others ca out, they were equally as disillusioned.
He went forward to ask, and sure enough, just as he suspected, they had all been dismissed as well.
This... what exactly happened?
Is Minister Zhang planning to dismiss the entire consulate staff?
He couldn't understand why such a change occurred.
"I have to find Consul Cui!"
He rushed back to his office, grabbed his slightly charged phone, imdiately left the consulate, and headed to Cui Shibin's ho.
Cui Shibin only cos to the office for a short while each day, and it's not at a fixed ti.
After staying up late last night, he certainly wouldn't be awake now.
At ten o'clock, he arrived at Cui Shibin's ho, knocked for a few minutes, and the door opened.
"Consul Park, what's going on?"
Cui Shibin was wearing only underwear, his hair was ssy, his eyes bloodshot, showing signs of a hangover.
"Consul Cui, Director Zhao has arrived."
"Director Zhao?"
"Deputy Director Zhao from the Regional Departnt!"
"What's he here for?"
Cui Shibin was surprised, but rely surprised.
"Minister Zhang sent him, and we've all been dismissed!"
"Dismissed?"
Cui Shibin finally perked up, "Tell what happened, in detail."
The matter wasn't complicated; it was all clear in a few words.
Cui Shibin's expression soured, while Consul Park was anxious inside but didn't rush him.
He thought for a few seconds before going back to get his phone, which was also dead.
Still, he didn't charge it, put on his clothes, quickly washed up, and headed out.
The two ca to the consulate, Cui Shibin hurried to the office.
"Consul Cui." Director Zhao nodded in acknowledgnt.
After all, Cui Shibin was the Consul General, and despite the odd occurrence, he maintained his calm composure.
"Director Zhao, what happened?"
Director Zhao handed over the printed transfer order while repeating the oft-said words, "From now on, I will temporarily assu the role of Consul General. All consuls, including you, are temporarily relieved of all duties until further notice from Minister Zhang."
Consul Park, standing to the side, felt his mind go blank.
Even, even Consul Cui was dismissed!
Cui Shibin was equally shocked, unable to maintain the prior calm, and stuttered, "I... Director Zhao, what, what happened?"
Director Zhao shook his head, "I don't know."
He turned off the recorder, showing so other emotions on his face.
He sighed lightly and was about to speak when he glanced at Consul Park.
Cui Shibin imdiately said, "You step outside first."
Consul Park suppressed his curiosity and left the office.
Only then did Director Zhao say, "Last night, I received a call from Secretary Huang, notifying to co over to Jiangzhou."
"I asked Secretary Huang, but even he wasn't aware of what happened, just that it was Minister Zhang's requirent."
"But from Secretary Huang's tone, it seems the matter is quite serious."
"Consul Cui, what exactly did you do recently?"
Director Zhao originally thought perhaps soone from Consul Cui's circle made a mistake, implicating them all.
But he made so calls in the morning and didn't find any such issues.
So, the most likely scenario was that Cui Shibin and others did sothing themselves.
And it was very serious.
Cui Shibin was completely at a loss, "You are aware of the consulate's work."
What could he possibly have done wrong?
Even if he wanted to do sothing, he wouldn't have the opportunity.
Director Zhao, seeing that he didn't seem to be lying, was even more puzzled, "This is really strange."
To know that directly dismantling an entire consulate is unprecedented even over decades in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
"Let's wait for Secretary Huang's notice." Director Zhao patted his shoulder.
Cui Shibin was quite frustrated inside, and the uncertainty left him restless.
When he ca out of the office looking miserable, Consul Park quickly approached him for questions.
Hearing Director Zhao's speculation from Cui Shibin, Consul Park was equally confused and at a loss.
As a consulate staff mber, the daily work was tedious and monotonous. There was no chance of causing trouble—wait...
Speaking of causing trouble, recently, they indeed got involved in sothing.
And he suddenly rembered sothing Song Guanchao had once told them.
At the ti, Song Guanchao said if things got out of hand, they'd lose their positions.
Back then, they only thought Song Guanchao was making big, empty threats.
But with today's sudden developnts, Consul Park could not help but suspect, was it really Song Guanchao behind this!
User Comments
0 comments from readers