Chapter 1087: The Unexplained Reprimand

Opposite Su Yang was Sun Tai, the deputy director of the Cadre Division; he flicked back the few sparse hairs on his head, adjusted his glasses, and said, "You are Su Yang? Why are you only arriving now?"

"Our leader was waiting for you all afternoon yesterday, but by the end of the workday we still hadn't seen any sign of you."

"This morning the leader went on an investigation, and we don't know when he'll be back. How can you have no sense of time at all?"

Su Yang frowned slightly; we had agreed to report today, so why has it become yesterday? Isn't this deliberate harassment?

But on second thought, these bureau officials rely on this very tactic to control the grassroots staff, and you can't even find a flaw in it.

He said the deputy head of the Organization Department wasn't present, which most likely means he's absent, so you can't see him. So whatever they say is what it is.

This is the typical nature of bureaucratic units; the King of Hell is easy to encounter, but the little devils are hard to handle.

Su Yang didn't force the issue, and said, "If that's the case, I'll come back tomorrow; the leader will be here tomorrow, right?"

The deputy director Sun Tai replied outright, "You want to come back tomorrow? Do you think the leader waits for you every day? Go wait outside!"

Having no choice, Su Yang could only sit outside and wait. Someone of his rank placed in a county is indeed a pivotal figure, yet in the Provincial Party Committee's Organization Department he is completely off the table.

This deputy director is of the same rank as him, but his airs are far greater and his authority stronger; he scolds Su Yang like a grandson, so Su Yang can only obediently go to the doorway.

He just stepped out, squatted in the corridor waiting, when Deputy Director Sun Tai dialed a phone: "The person you mentioned has arrived, but from my view it's not that great; I gave him a little horse‑dismounting intimidation, and he just scurried off to wait at the door, right?"

The voice from the other side sounded hoarse: "Ah, Deputy Director Sun Tai, that's perfect! Give him a little horse‑dismounting intimidation first, so he knows that coming to our Xishan Province is different from elsewhere; he must keep his tail tucked and behave!"

At noon, Su Yang hadn't even eaten, still waiting for the leader to return. He didn't know when the leader would be back, but he knew that if he left, Deputy Director Sun Tai would find another fault. Since the bowl of braised noodles from the morning was still churning in his stomach, he simply stayed there.

He waited until near the end of the workday, when his pocket phone suddenly rang. He took it out, saw the prefix of a landline from Xishan Province, and immediately pressed the answer button: "Hello, this is Su Yang."

The voice on the other end was rather rude: "So you're Su Yang? Didn't we agree you'd come today for the report? The leader has been waiting for you all day, and you didn't show up?"

Su Yang was stunned: "I've been standing in the hallway all day; I didn't come? Then where am I?"

He explained, "Oh, I am here! I heard the leader went out for an investigation today, so I've been waiting all along."

He was again scolded: "When did the leader go on the investigation? Where are you right now?"

Su Yang said he was in the hallway on this floor of the Cadre Division.

A moment later, a young man wearing black‑rimmed glasses hurried over. Su Yang recognized him; the young man had been coming and going in the hallway all day, and Su Yang had seen him several times.

Before he could even stand up, the young man said, "You are Su Yang? Since you're here, why don't you ask more questions? A comrade like you, how can you be fit to shoulder the responsibilities the Party and the Organization have given you?"

"We sent you to report, yet you haven't even met the leader's face, just stood here foolishly all day; who told you to wait here?"

At this point Su Yang was ready to curse them, thinking to himself that these people really aren't to be taken lightly.

A unit with only this many people can, within three minutes of a stranger's arrival, know what the person is there for and even pull up his information file. Yet he waited here the whole day, and the leader's secretary berated him for lacking flexibility.

But he couldn't say he was being deliberately made difficult by the deputy director of the Cadre Division, could he? That would offend someone. He even knew clearly that the director of that division was acting this way because someone behind the scenes was targeting him.

Su Yang could only smile and say, "Indeed, I might be a bit slow, didn't react in time, sorry about that."

The black‑rimmed glasses youth said, "Come with me, Department Head Kuang is in the office."

A moment later, Su Yang met Department Head Kuang, who was at the very bottom of the Organization Department hierarchy.

Department Head Kuang said, "Oh, you are Comrade Su Yang, right? You came from Ganzhou Sheng? When did you arrive, and why didn't you report in immediately?"

"You young cadres have no sense of organizational discipline at all! As Party officials, punctuality is paramount. Especially for you exchange cadres, the Organization invests heavily in cultivating you; someone like you, who is careless and untimely, cannot shoulder important duties."

"That's why the direct exchange was arranged; the relevant posts have already been drafted. Otherwise, in our Xishan Province, a comrade like you would be assigned as a gate guard or a messenger‑room big shot, and no one would really need you!"

Su Yang was completely stunned.

It shouldn't be like this; leaders at that level, even when criticizing, are usually more restrained, not confronting directly. Who did I offend today? Since landing in Xishan Province this morning, I only ate a bowl of braised noodles and exchanged a few words with the noodle shop owner, and now I'm being sprayed with all sorts of criticism.

His anger remained anger, but under the eaves he had to bow his head; he could only endure: "Sorry, leader, it's my fault; I will certainly correct it in the future and not cause trouble for the Organization."

Department Head Kuang, seeing Su Yang's meek and compliant demeanor, seemed a bit satisfied: "It's not adding trouble to the Organization, it's adding trouble to yourself, understand? Now, back to business. This time you are appointed to Yongning City Liu Cheng Xian as Deputy County Party Secretary and Political and Legal Affairs Commission Secretary."

"This is a pragmatic post: you must cooperate with the County Party Committee Secretary to manage organizational personnel, and also handle the personnel assessment gate submitted by the Organization Department. Moreover, you hold the additional title of Political and Legal Affairs Commission Secretary; I don't know how high that ranks elsewhere, but here the Political and Legal Affairs Commission Secretary is as valuable as a standing Vice County Magistrate. The responsibilities are great, the burden heavy, and the public prosecution and judiciary must obey your commands."

"I've heard about your past: wherever you go you act on a whim, push your own ideas, and ruin the local ecology. I hope you can cut ties with that past and not bring that approach to our Xishan."

"All local leadership teams in Xishan Province place great emphasis on unity; this has been the case for many years. No one is ever allowed to place themselves above the Organization, and no one may engage in actions that undermine unity."

"Before you take office, I must say this important point three times: unite comrades, unite comrades, unite comrades! Do you understand my words?"