Chapter 114: The Secretary Appointment

“It’s just for safety.”

Under Nanaya’s grave explanation, Jijige finally reluctantly accepted their so-called justification.

“I can understand this special situation, but I don’t support it. Now that the church’s support personnel have arrived, don’t let me see this again.”

As a high-ranking member of the church, Jijige naturally had some understanding of the beasts in Yanan. Though still displeased, the two barely passed muster.

“Of course, of course.”

Having narrowly escaped trouble, Menglinna couldn’t help but put on a business smile for Jijige.

But Nanaya didn’t think so. She crossed her arms and questioned, “What situation is that?”

Jijige frowned. This saint candidate seemed more prickly than she had imagined. Still, she chose to explain: “Situations like two women alone in a room at night, or other improper interactions between men and women, must now be completely prohibited.”

Finally, Jijige added a deliberate emphasis: “It’s the rule.”

Nanaya tilted her head in confusion. “As far as I know, the church doesn’t have such a rule?”

The management regulations clearly emphasized cracking down on improper conduct.

“But isn’t that rule specifically for bishops and above? We’re just ordinary nuns—it doesn’t apply to us, does it?” Nanaya said coldly. “Aren’t you overreaching?”

“Huh? I’m overreaching?”

Jijige was stunned. She hadn’t expected Nanaya to confront her so directly.

Ordinary clergy, out of respect for Jijige’s position, might not say much and wouldn’t scrutinize the specifics of the regulations. But Nanaya’s status as a saint candidate made it impossible for Jijige to bully her either—the most she could do was pull some strings during the saint selection process.

“Um, let’s stop here!”

Sensing the situation spiraling out of control, Menglinna quickly grabbed Nanaya’s hand.

Menglinna understood what they were talking about. She knew perfectly well that no church document supported Jijige’s demands. After all, if interactions between women were banned, who would bear children?

If the clergy stopped having children, that would be a headache for the church—it meant a decline in future believers. Hence, the church officially encouraged love and childbirth. It only prohibited debauchery and infidelity; the rest wasn’t strictly enforced.

But Jijige obviously wouldn’t let it go so easily. She pressed Nanaya: “Saint candidate, what exactly are you arguing about? Are you trying to engage in improper relationships between women?”

Seeing Jijige get agitated, Nanaya instead calmed down. “Bishop, I have no intention of offending you. I’m merely afraid that your actions might be exploited by others.”

“Me? Exploited?”

Jijige was furious. She had just announced to everyone that they should put aside personal affairs, and now Nanaya was opposing her—wasn’t this shooting herself in the foot?

“Yes,” Nanaya nodded, beginning to explain. “We’re not novices in a convent. It’s hard for you to define what constitutes improper interaction, so it’s inevitable that someone might use this as a weapon against others.”

“For example, meetings like ours could be labeled as improper interaction. If exploited, even normal church work might become impossible.”

“That’s impossible! I won’t allow it!”

“It’s entirely possible!”

…

In the end, their argument ended in discord. Since neither could convince the other, they reluctantly backed off. But clearly, as the church’s de facto manager, Jijige could implement her ideas.

Nanaya had no choice but to lock herself in her room and sulk.

Meanwhile, Jijige called Menglinna over. Now she sat upright at Jijige’s desk.

“Xiao Meng, what’s going on with the saint candidate? Why is she so resistant to this?”

Jijige personally poured her a cup of tea. Both publicly and privately, she wanted to resolve Nanaya’s issue quickly.

Menglinna, already worried about Nanaya clashing with Jijige, had no choice but to play mediator with a thick skin. “Bishop Ji, I think Nanaya means no harm. As she said, both from a regulatory and practical standpoint, this matter is indeed hard to handle.”

Not getting the answer she wanted, Jijige replied coldly, “We can’t avoid doing something just because it’s difficult. If we think that way, we shouldn’t have come to Yanan at all.”

“That’s not what I meant,” Menglinna, sensing Jijige’s hostility, changed her tone. “Lady Jijige, may I ask why you’re so determined to enforce this?”

Jijige nodded, seemingly satisfied with the question. “I plan to manage the church like a convent. Our church has limited influence in Yanan, so strict discipline is necessary. I just told everyone to set aside personal feelings and focus on building the church—I can’t go back on my word.”

Menglinna couldn’t help but rub her forehead. Jijige was a complete novice in church management.

“You can’t simply copy a convent’s management model. A convent cultivates good clergy, while a church serves the secular faithful. They’re entirely different concepts.”

Jijige became interested. “So, you know a lot about this?”

With no way out, Menglinna admitted reluctantly, “My father taught me some management.”

Jijige thought for a moment. That made sense—Mengming had surely planned to place his daughter in the church, so learning some relevant knowledge ahead of time was fine.

“Good. From now on, you’ll help me with these matters. I appoint you as my… What’s it called? Teaching assistant?”

Menglinna couldn’t help but say, “You mean secretary?”

Jijige decided on the spot: “Then from today, you’re my secretary!”

…

After a whole afternoon of tutoring Jijige in management knowledge, a mentally and physically exhausted Menglinna finally left the office.

No wonder she’s a bishop—serving her was such a hassle.

Now that the supporting staff had been brought to Yanan, Menglinna no longer needed to cook for herself. She simply got a dinner tray from the church cafeteria.

But just as she sat down, Nanaya suddenly came over with her own dinner and sat beside her.

“You spent the whole afternoon in the office with Jijige?”

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