Chapter 726: One Must Look at the Master Before Beating the Dog!

Ma Ran woke up early, and after showering, he looked at himself in the mirror and was given a huge fright by his own appearance.

He had taken a punch to the face last night, and now half of his face was swollen, looking like a husky stung by a bee.

When he went out, Ma Ran put on sunglasses and a face mask.

After returning to the office, he took off the sunglasses and mask and looked in the mirror for a while; his face had been quite easy on the eyes, but now it was considered disfigured, and he didn't know how to face Tang Ye.

Tang Ye arrived at the office shortly after.

He stopped in his tracks as he passed by, "Xiao Ma, what happened to you?"

Ma Ran hurriedly explained, "I was riding my motorcycle last night and accidentally took a spill."

Tang Ye knew Ma Ran was lying; abrasions didn't look like that. The blunt force trauma on Ma Ran's face was obvious; it should have been caused by a fist.

"Is it serious? Do you need a few days off?"

"No need! It's a minor injury, it doesn't matter."

Tang Ye knew there must be a reason why Ma Ran wasn't telling the truth, so he instructed, "Alright, if there is anything you need my help with, just say it, whether it's about work or life."

Ma Ran felt a warmth in his heart, "Thank you for your concern, County Magistrate Tang."

After Tang Ye walked into his office, he made a phone call to Chen Dongan.

"Director Chen, how is the plan for the Education Model Pace-setter that I mentioned to you coming along?"

"I stayed up all night last night and have already finished it. In addition, I have a list of candidates. When will you have time? Shall I bring it over for you to take a look?" Chen Dongan secretly thought that Tang Ye was pushing quite hard; he should drag out the timeline for this matter.

The longer the time, the more people would be interested, and only then could he squeeze some benefits out of it.

"I'm free around ten o'clock this morning, bring the materials over!" Tang Ye frowned; he had already guessed what Chen Dongan was thinking.

This activity was originally just a lure.

Now, Chen Dongan had already started to take the bait.

What is an Open Conspiracy!

It is to achieve one's goal using the most upright and honest methods, without relying on crooked paths.

An hour and a half later, Chen Dongan arrived at the County Party Committee Compound in high spirits.

Before seeing Tang Ye, he had to pass the hurdle of his Liaison Officer.

The moment Chen Dongan saw Ma Ran, he froze for a long time, and his heart skipped a beat.

Chen Dongan had always felt Ma Ran looked familiar; now he remembered, this kid was the Liaison Officer for the Executive Deputy County Magistrate.

Ma Ran looked at Chen Dongan with a smile that wasn't quite a smile, "Director Chen, you're here! I'll go report to County Magistrate Tang right away!"

Chen Dongan felt as if his throat were blocked, and he said with difficulty, "Sorry to trouble you!"

Although Ma Ran hated Chen Dongan, he tried his best not to let his emotions affect his work.

"Director Chen, please wait a moment."

A moment later, Ma Ran walked out from the next room, "Director Chen, you can go in now."

Chen Dongan walked into the office, feeling somewhat flustered.

He hadn't expected that the person who caused trouble last night was actually Tang Ye's subordinate.

As the saying goes, to beat a dog, one must look at its master.

If he had offended Ma Ran, didn't that mean he had indirectly offended Tang Ye?

Seeing that Chen Dongan's forehead was constantly breaking out in a cold sweat, Tang Ye frowned, "Director Chen, are you very hot?"

Chen Dongan hurriedly put on a fawning smile, "It is a bit hot!"

Tang Ye asked, "Where are the materials!"

Chen Dongan hurriedly presented them, "Right here, please take a look!"

Tang Ye quickly scanned the materials; they were basically just revisions based on previous commendation activity plans.

His attention landed on the list at the end.

The teachers at the top of the list were all Special Grade Teachers, followed by Senior Teachers, and finally, a few Middle-aged and Young Teachers had been added.

Most of them were teachers from the County No. 1 Middle School, and their resumes included what national awards their papers had won, what provincial awards they had helped students win, or how they had produced graduates for Shuimu University and Yanjing University for many consecutive years, etc.

What disappointed Tang Ye was that he didn't see Jin Chunping on the list, let alone Wu Chunming.

Chen Dongan explained patiently, "County Magistrate Tang, please rest assured, all the teachers on this list are the best teachers in our Dayu County. They have given their all for the education of Dayu County and have cultivated many excellent students."

Tang Ye remained calm, "These teachers are very excellent. However, according to Secretary Ou's intention, this commendation is mainly aimed at rural teachers and teachers who have made significant contributions to basic education."

Chen Dongan knew that Tang Ye intended to recommend Jin Chunping, so he played dumb and said, "County Magistrate Tang, I can swear that they are all people who have worked down-to-earth to contribute to Dayu County's education. I know what you mean; you might have seen some reports about Principal Jin Chunping recently. Actually, I feel that these grassroots teachers have put in no less effort than Jin Chunping. We cannot just look at fame and ignore actual achievements."

Tang Ye remained calm, "In your view, Jin Chunping is not worth recommending?"

Chen Dongan hurriedly tried to make up for it, "First, Jin Chunping is a Provincial People's Congress Representative and a recognized celebrity in Dayu County; she doesn't need these county-level commendations to prove her value.

Second, the Dayu County education system does not lack representative figures like Jin Chunping. We need to unearth more typical figures."

"Alright, leave the materials here, I will take them to Secretary Ou later!" Tang Ye said softly.

Chen Dongan felt that Tang Ye hadn't given a definitive answer, so he could only smile and say, "Then I will have to trouble you, County Magistrate Tang."

Chen Dongan walked out of Tang Ye's office, passed by Ma Ran's desk, and took the initiative to greet him, "Xiao Ma, I'm leaving now!"

Ma Ran did not look up, nor did he respond to the greeting.

Chen Dongan realized that Ma Ran was angry and couldn't help but frown.

Ma Ran was just a Liaison Officer for an Executive Deputy County Magistrate.

What right did he have to give him a sour face!

Chen Dongan cursed inwardly, "You dog relying on the power of others, with such low emotional intelligence, it's no wonder Huo Xiaowen broke up with you!"

After returning to his office, Chen Dongan's mood stabilized quite a bit, and he thought to himself that it was never a good thing to sour his relationship with Ma Ran.

As the saying goes, it is better to resolve grievances than to harbor them.

Chen Dongan dialed Jiang Zhongwen's phone number.

"Director Zhao, what instructions do you have?"

Chen Dongan's tone was serious, "How did you fail to clarify something? Teacher Huo's ex-boyfriend is actually the Liaison Officer for the newly arrived County Magistrate."

Jiang Zhongwen's hand holding the desk phone froze!

"Ah? This matter is indeed something I didn't clarify. However, he is just a Liaison Officer. He shouldn't be able to stir up any big waves. Besides, we didn't do anything last night!"

Chen Dongan sighed, "It is easy to deal with the King of Hell, but hard to deal with his impish underlings. Although Ma Ran is a Liaison Officer, his opinions will influence Tang Ye. You have Teacher Huo explain things clearly to Ma Ran."

Jiang Zhongwen felt Chen Dongan was being overly cautious, but he still agreed verbally, "Fine, I will communicate with Teacher Huo in a moment. By the way, does Teacher Huo still need to apologize to you in person?"

Chen Dongan rubbed his temples hard and sighed slowly, "Let's sort out the immediate matters first!"

He hung up the phone.

Chen Dongan sneezed, feeling that something was not quite right!

……