Chapter 1068: Sent a Golden Mouse!

While Tang Ye was visiting the widow of Zhou Songtao,

Executive Deputy County Magistrate of Yechuan County, Mao Yu, was drinking inside a villa in Xiyang City.

Sitting across from him was Vice Mayor of Xiyang City, Yang Guoxiong.

"Mayor Yang, I noticed a detail yesterday: Tang Ye applied for a housing unit in the County Party Committee Family Quarters, and the occupants are Zhou Songtao's wife and daughter."

A trace of regret appeared in Yang Guoxiong's eyes. "At Zhou Songtao's memorial service, I saw Wu Li; she seemed to have aged suddenly. Wu Li was my junior in school, a few years younger than me, and was the school beauty back then."

Mao Yu had not expected that Yang Guoxiong and Wu Li had such a past, and his expression showed surprise. "Then you and Zhou Songtao were also alumni?"

Yang Guoxiong sighed. "To be precise, Zhou Songtao and I were college roommates. Later, we agreed to take the civil service exams together, and our relationship was always quite good. However, ever since I transferred to work in Xiyang City, our contact became less frequent. I had contacted Zhou Songtao before regarding the Xingshun Food Factory, but Zhou Songtao was unwilling to help, and after that, our relationship became very distant."

Mao Yu was somewhat shocked inside!

He had not expected that Zhou Songtao and Yang Guoxiong had this layer of connection.

He had never heard Zhou Songtao mention this matter.

Mao Yu had worked with Zhou Songtao for many years, and he had many grievances against Zhou Songtao.

Judging from Yang Guoxiong's tone, although they were roommates, they did not get along well.

He poured a glass of wine for Yang Guoxiong and cautiously probed, "Zhou Songtao's reputation in the outside world is that of an upright, tough-style official, but in reality, he is too rigid to bend—he has the temperament of a reckless man. If things were done his way, many enterprises in Yechuan County would have to close down; not a single one would survive."

Seeing Mao Yu attacking Zhou Songtao, Yang Guoxiong felt that some things were not suitable to be said so bluntly. "Regardless of what Zhou Songtao did in the past, once a person dies, everything is over. You shouldn't talk about these negative things. He was the County Magistrate of Yechuan County; judging from the signals from the Municipal Party Committee, his death has not been fully characterized yet."

Mao Yu asked in surprise, "What does that mean? Zhou Songtao fell to his death by suicide; wasn't that determined by the police? An autopsy was also performed at the time."

Yang Guoxiong remained calm. "Wu Li has gone to the provincial level to petition many times, which has drawn high attention from provincial leaders. When Provincial Governor Fu was stationed in Xiyang City back then, he had a lot of contact with Zhou Songtao and trusted him deeply, so Provincial Governor Fu will certainly push for an investigation into him in secret. Tang Ye's trip to Yechuan County this time is not as simple as just stabilizing the situation; if nothing goes wrong, he is also carrying a hidden mission."

Mao Yu rubbed his chin. "Some things have already been settled; trying to forcibly rip open the scars will only bring trouble upon oneself."

"By the way, I invited you here this time because I still hope you can help look after my younger brother." Yang Guoxiong sighed. "Although he made mistakes, he still made contributions to Xingshun Food Factory. If it weren't for him barely holding it up, the food factory would have gone bankrupt ten years ago."

Mao Yu understood Yang Guoxiong's meaning. "Mayor Yang, I have some connections in Yechuan County. I will communicate with the Procuratorate, but I cannot guarantee anything; I can only do my utmost to see if there is any room for accommodation."

Yang Guoxiong raised his wine glass. "Then thank you."

Mao Yu hurriedly said, "Mayor Yang, that is being too formal."

Regarding the criminal facts of Yang Guofeng, they were already basically clarified; Yang Guoxiong could only pull strings now, trying to find a way to get his brother a lighter sentence.

Mao Yu deliberately mentioned Tang Ye; although Yang Guoxiong intentionally avoided the subject, one could feel deep disgust and hatred in his tone.

Mao Yu regarded Tang Ye as an enemy.

The enemy of an enemy is a friend.

Therefore, he was happy to do this favor for Yang Guoxiong.

"You have been working with Tang Ye for a while now. What is your assessment of him?" Yang Guoxiong suddenly changed the topic and asked.

"I originally thought his age was his weakness, but after getting along with him, I discovered that he considers problems very meticulously, with one step linked to the next. At the beginning of his tenure, he arranged for people to sneak into Xingshun Food Factory to collect evidence; this alone shows how deep his schemes are.

Furthermore, he immediately secured a 50-million investment project, which also garnered a lot of attention. Secretary Han is a very strong-willed top leader, but even he was caught off guard by this series of combination punches from Tang Ye."

Yang Guoxiong nodded slightly. "To be an official, one must be like him: taking one step while calculating a hundred."

Because it was a private dinner, Mao Yu took his leave once he had eaten his fill.

Before parting, Mao Yu had his driver move the items out of the trunk.

Seeing this scene, Yang Guoxiong's face darkened, and he said in a serious tone, "I invited you to have a meal; what are you doing?"

Mao Yu hurriedly said with a smile, "These are just some local specialties from Yechuan County, a small token of my appreciation, nothing valuable. Mayor Yang, you must accept them."

Yang Guoxiong sighed inwardly and whispered a few words to his wife.

Immediately, his wife walked into the warehouse in the backyard and found two exquisitely packaged gifts at random, which Yang Guoxiong took and handed to Mao Yu personally.

Mao Yu was somewhat surprised and declined, "I can't accept this!"

Yang Guoxiong patted Mao Yu on the shoulder. "If you are being formal with me, then you are treating me like a stranger. Just take it!"

Mao Yu appeared flattered. "Mayor Yang, you are really too kind. Then I will accept it. That box of tea was something I specifically ordered from a tea farmer; it is new tea, you must try it."

"Alright! I will try it." A smile appeared on Yang Guoxiong's face.

After Mao Yu left, his wife couldn't wait to start unwrapping the "local specialties."

Yang Guoxiong knew his wife was money-minded and reminded her with a bitter smile, "Don't worry about the things in those big bags. Send them to your mother tomorrow."

His wife realized, opened the tea gift bag, and took out one of the tea canisters.

She was startled inside; it was quite heavy!

When she saw clearly what was inside, a look of surprise appeared in her eyes!

"Little Mao is a good person; he understands the ways of the world."

Yang Guoxiong leaned over to look, and a look of surprise appeared in his eyes; it was actually a lifelike Golden Mouse.

His wife said with annoyance, "It's actually solid. Gold prices have risen quite a bit recently; I didn't expect him to be so generous. If I had known, I would have put more effort into the return gift."

Yang Guoxiong placed the Golden Mouse in his palm to weigh it and played with it for a while.

"Mao Yu did put in the effort. He knows my zodiac sign is the Rat, so he gave me a Golden Mouse. It is rare for him to have this heart."

His wife happily snatched the Golden Mouse into her hands, admiring it fondly and looking at it up and down; the more she looked, the more she liked it. "Is he asking you to do something for him? Since you accepted someone else's things, you must handle the matter beautifully."

Yang Guoxiong sighed slightly. "Although he didn't mention it, I know he has a grudge in his heart. If it weren't for an Acting County Magistrate being parachuted in, the position of Yechuan County Magistrate would have been his. When there is an opportunity, I can give him a push to resolve his Division Level position."