Chapter 1025: They Only Know Su Yang, Not You or Me

The next morning, Su Yang slept until after nine before waking; if the old man hadn't still wanted to see him and chat a bit, he would have guessed he'd sleep until noon.

It was unavoidable; last night was truly exhausting, describable as completely drained. In contrast, Zhou Ruohan woke up early and even taunted Su Yang: "Didn't you say you were at the peak of your age? This still doesn't work."

If this were an ordinary time, Su Yang would certainly fight for a man's dignity, even shedding the last drop of sweat, never admitting defeat. But in a war of attrition, even the peak age doesn't help, and that must be acknowledged deep in his heart.

After meeting the old man, he again, as always, asked about his work and also analyzed the current situation in Jingcheng for Su Yang, ending with a single sentence: "Hurry to handle the tasks at hand, at least produce noticeable results; all work should be pushed forward quickly, aiming to complete a significant project before June or July."

Su Yang hasn't yet returned to Lieshan Xian, but the Ministry of Transport has already transferred the applicable ten hundred million yuan of funds into the account, marked as earmarked and not to be withheld by any level of finance.

This made the whole county's cadres suddenly respect Su Yang. Earlier they only talked about going to the Ministry of Transport to push the project, with people half‑believing it; some even whispered privately that Su Yang was just putting on a show, that no county cadre would go to the Ministry to ask for money—who even knows which door to knock on. Yet not only did he go, but within just two days the money was in place.

Those who don't understand the intricacies treat it as ordinary; but those who do know exactly how powerful this is. Even setting aside whether the Ministry of Transport gives you money, if it does, it could never be in place this quickly—at least two or three months—and even if a billion is granted, layers of finance would withhold it, and getting five hundred million into the account would already be a miracle.

But the full ten hundred million arrived in the account without a cent missing, and the Ministry of Transport even set up a dedicated expert team to help Lieshan Xian build this highway.

The Provincial Transportation Department naturally gave its full cooperation, partly because it had already looked after it before, and also because this was a request from the Ministry of Transport.

Zhang Jiangbo's complexion turned rather sour; this was originally a hurdle set for Su Yang, but he never expected Su Yang to actually settle the matter, and for the funds to arrive so quickly. His first reaction was disbelief. Only after verifying the funding with the Finance Bureau did he finally accept this undeniable fact.

A moment later, he called Jia Guolong.

Jia Guolong this time was a bit more cautious, and opened with: "What's the matter?"

Zhang Jiangbo asked: "Jia Shao, didn't you say our little uncle had already greeted everyone in the department? How could he still obtain funding support, and directly a ten hundred million amount? This is a huge blow to my prestige in the county. Could there be some loophole? Or is he using someone's banner to stir things up?"

Jia Guolong, hearing this, knew it was a private call and immediately scolded: "You motherf***ing idiot, you're literally a stupid pig! Last time you dared to call me during a meeting, and now you still have the nerve to ask me here? Do you motherf***ing know they went straight to Minister Xia? Because of this, my little uncle almost couldn't get off the stage."

"If it weren't for a deputy director acting clever and jumping out as a pawn, this mess would be my little uncle's! I've told you motherf***ing how many times, my little uncle is only the Executive Vice Minister, legitimately presiding over work in the department, but he can't monopolize everything—after all, the top leader is still there! How can you be such an idiot? Do you think the people behind Su Yang are just decorations?"

"Do you think the Zhou Family having a phone call with Minister Xia is difficult? I've long said don't underestimate Su Yang; once he says he'll do something, he's got confidence. Originally you were supposed to go to Lieshan Xian to make an appearance and maybe take a shot at Su Yang, but you ended up exposing your own backside!"

"Think about how many things you've handled since taking office; which one succeeded? And your pig teammates, each more useless than the last, somehow managed to pull a stunt that made people faint at the Standing Committee. I'm telling you, the plan to set another roadblock on the highway project has already been scrapped; you can't let this trivial matter hinder my little uncle's progress."

"From now on, you'd better behave, and if Su Yang can get these projects underway, you'll still get some credit. You're the County Party Secretary, the top leader; you have people handling things below you and even doing good work, you don't even have time to enjoy it secretly. That's it—don't contact me again unless there's something important."

He hung up after speaking. Zhang Jiangbo was left stunned; the reason he could become Deputy Secretary of the Municipal Party Committee and County Party Secretary of Lieshan Xian this time was mainly the Jia family's backing. Now it sounds like those words are meant to cut ties completely, no further contact. If that's the case, won't he truly be finished?

He had no idea that Jia Guolong had been roughed up into a bedraggled mess by his little uncle last night; if it weren't for his father's face, his little uncle Pang De might have given him a few slaps. It might be tolerable in ordinary times, but being hammered by Minister Xia at this critical moment is certainly no good.

But Zhang Jiangbo's position is set here; being hit repeatedly, his pride can't stay down. So let Zhao Nanxing, Qi Guohui and the others find ways to target Su Yang, while he can focus his attention on the city. Jia Guolong's saying is correct: as long as this achievement is displayed on the table, his share will be inevitable.

With that in mind, he immediately called Zhao Nanxing and Qi Guohui, who had just left the Hospital, over.

"You both have already heard: Comrade Su Yang has gone to the Ministry of Transport and secured the matching funds for the highway; I think the project will be launched within these few days, and the Ministry of Transport has already coordinated with the Provincial Transportation Department, establishing a dedicated leadership team."

"We county officials actually can't get involved much, at most attend the groundbreaking ceremony. Honestly, I didn't expect the county's limelight to be completely snatched by a Vice County Magistrate; from now on all the county cadres will only know Su Yang, not you or me."

Qi Guohui leapt up at the words: "Secretary Zhang, he just can't define his own position! The Ministry of Transport gave this resource support because our county is poor; he can't treat our county's situation as his own capability and let it develop unchecked! Isn't there the Yingbin Dadao project? We could just block him on that project."

"If he fails to deliver the Yingbin Dadao promised to the investors, his prestige will take a hit. We'll also scrutinize the enterprises in the Industrial Park more; those bosses will surely have other ideas, and if rumors spread, they might even pull out their investment. Finally, you and County Magistrate Zhao can step in to turn the tide—that's the whole plan, right?"

Zhao Nanxing said: "You're oversimplifying this; the investors were all brought in by him, and most of them are still swayed by our province's richest man Xie Yuanpeng's face, so that won't work. But that doesn't mean we let him run rampant. Therefore the Yingbin Dadao project should not only not be blocked, but we should even encourage him to keep investing, aiming to turn this several‑tens‑of‑millions project into over a hundred million, even two or three hundred million."