No introduction is needed at all. Bernard immediately recognized Minister Michaela, which shows that he has done his homework in advance, is indeed serious, and has a promising future!

But Sir Humphrey on the other side seemed much more mature. Apart from a polite handshake, a nod and a smile, he didn't say much.

Afterwards, Mikaela was led into her minister's office by the two of them. It was a six-by-six-square-meter room with desks, office chairs, filing cabinets, and corresponding paper and pens and other office supplies. She was waiting.

With the arrival of the minister.

Being an official for the first time, Michaela was still a little cautious and stood there at a loss. It was not until Bernard stretched out his hand to signal that he realized and sat on the throne belonging to the Minister of Administrative Affairs. Then Bernard

He poured a glass of juice for Michaela very sensibly and stood respectfully on the right side.

Haha, is this what it feels like after becoming a high-ranking official and being surrounded by people?

It's so cool. No wonder so many people like to be high officials.

However, compared with Bernard, the attentive private secretary, Sir Humphrey did not move at all. He just stood politely in front of Michaela's left side.

What is he doing?

The inexperienced Michaela could only be in a daze for a while. Fortunately, Torina, the system elf in the spiritual world, seemed to have some clues and issued a reminder:

"Michaela, is Sir Humphrey waiting for your question?"

Question?

Yes!

Michaela was awakened and then realized that the first thing a new minister should do when he takes office is to understand the personnel composition of his department.

What?

Bernard and Sir Humphrey in front of me?

Please, you don’t think that the administrative affairs department only has two clerks. They are only responsible for interviewing ministers, and there are other members!

So, Michaela looked at Sir Humphrey and asked in a tentative tone: "Excuse me, who else is in this department?"

As soon as these words came out, the current Sir Humphrey pulled the corners of his mouth directly to his ears, showing an "elegant" smile, and then opened his mouth wide and said eloquently:

"I am the permanent clerk, that is, the permanent secretary."

"Bernard is your principal private secretary."

"And I also have a chief private secretary."

"And he is the private secretary to the permanent secretary."

Michaela, who was already confused, and Torina in the spiritual world said in unison: "Huh?"

Sir Humphrey had no intention of stopping and continued talking:

"Directly under my jurisdiction are 10 deputy secretaries, 87 deputy secretaries and 219 assistant secretaries. Directly under the jurisdiction of the chief private secretary is the parliamentary private secretary."

"The Prince Regent will appoint two parliamentary private secretaries for you. Then you also have the right to appoint your own parliamentary private secretary."

At this point, Sir Humphrey deliberately made a tactical pause, as if waiting for something.

After Michaela was stunned for a while, she finally spoke and asked an incomprehensible question: "Are you taking notes?"

Sir Humphrey smiled slightly and said: "None of us can take notes, minister. Special clerks will take notes."

At the end, Sir Humphrey did not forget to add: "And he is also a secretary."

Why are there so many secretaries?

Michaela, who was already dizzy, looked at her private secretary Bernard on the side with helpless eyes, but the latter still answered respectfully:

"Minister, this is the structure of our department, for the secretary."

Ha ha?

Obviously, Bernard was unreliable, so Michaela had no choice but to turn to Torina in the spiritual world, only to find that the latter had transformed into a calculator at some point and was calculating something.

"What are you doing?"

Facing Michaela's question, Torina explained while calculating:

"I'm calculating the quantity, it's about the secretary."

"Bernard plus Sir Humphrey are 2 secretaries."

"The Permanent Secretary's private secretary is Secretary 1."

"The permanent secretary has jurisdiction over 10 deputy secretaries, 87 deputy secretaries and 219 assistant secretaries, for a total of 316 secretaries."

"Not counting the parliamentary private secretaries appointed by the regent and the parliamentary private secretaries appointed by yourself, there are a total of 319 secretaries just based on the above..."

"enough!"

Nowadays, Mikaela gets a headache when she hears the word "secretary" and stops Torina on the spot to continue "counting secretaries".

"Hey, Michaela, I'm helping you!"

Torina put down the calculator and said to Michaela sincerely: "Sir Humphrey always uses a set of parallel sentences when he opens his mouth, and crams a lot of information into your head. That's why I take the initiative to help you organize your secretary."

"Don't mention 'secretary', I don't want to hear those two words now."

Michaela had to take a deep breath to force herself to calm down, and then asked: "Torina, did you find anything?"

"Yes, I have!"

Torina said happily:

"As I said just now, according to Humphrey, there are 319 secretaries in our department..."

Halfway through her words, Torina noticed Michaela's expression and changed her words: "319 clerks, and this does not include grassroots staff. Although I don't know much about the administrative department, but just these numbers, don't you think

Is it a lot?”

Yes!

Michaela suddenly realized that Silvermoon City had just been recovered and was in a state of exhaustion. As an administrative department, it should emphasize efficiency and hard work to solve real problems. There was no need for so many clerks!

For a moment, the idea of ​​streamlining the department came into Micaela's mind. Of course, if you want to streamline the department, it is not enough to know the number of secretaries. You must know the total number of employees in the department in order to formulate a streamlining plan.

"Ah, Sir Humphrey."

Michaela, who thought she had a handle on her opponent, slowly said: "How many people are there in our department?"

"Um?"

Sir Humphrey walked up to the stage with a surprised expression on his face, as if he really didn't expect that the rookie minister in front of him would ask such a question.

Bernard on the side intervened at the right time: "Excuse me, Minister, do you want to know the number of people in our department?"

"Yes."

Michaela continued to look at Humphrey and asked: "As a minister, only by understanding your own staff can you better allocate work."

"Well, this..."

Halfway through his words, Sir Humphrey paused his tactics again. Michaela couldn't help but guessed: "500 people?"

Humphrey said nothing.

Michaela continued to guess: "1,000 people?"

Humphrey remained silent.

Michaela was shocked and guessed again: "Could it be 2,000 people?"

Now Humphrey finally spoke: "The establishment is 20,000 people, minister."

"Ah, 20,000 people!"

Michaela was so shocked that she stood up from her office chair on the spot.

What is the concept of 20,000 people?

Equivalent to the strength of 2 divisions.

For the blood elves, due to the impact of the massacre, the population has dropped sharply, and now the total number of people who have returned to Silvermoon City is less than 100,000!

As a result, the Administrative Affairs Department alone had a staff of 20,000 people. It was really, really...

"I can't find the words to describe it, it's so outrageous!"

Michaela held her head in her hands on the spot, showing a hopeless expression.

"Oh, Minister, do you have any misunderstanding about establishment?"

Sir Humphrey, who had had enough fun, finally explained: "The establishment is the planned number of people in our department, not the actual number. Coupled with the actual situation of our family, we can't even make up 20,000 people."

Huh, luckily, it turned out to be not the actual number of people. I was really scared to death.

Michaela breathed a sigh of relief and asked: "So what are the actual number of people in our department?"

Sir Humphrey finally told the truth: "Including Bernard and myself, there are 412 people in total."

Although 412 people is still a bit too much, compared with the nonsensical "employment of 20,000 people", it is indeed a lot more normal, and Michaela can finally sit back in her office chair with confidence.

Eh?

Perhaps because she was sitting down too hard, the pivot mechanism of the office chair was touched, causing Mikayla to spin around in a circle.
To be continued...