Chapter 384: The Township Mayor Interrogates the Vice Governor

When Zhou Weiguo heard this, he was slightly stunned. He thought to himself, *Are there really people like this? * To get to the bottom of such private work matters—actually, asking someone this question was already beyond the bounds of politeness.

If the other party didn't answer or changed the subject, one should have stopped there, but Township Mayor Ma's posture suggested he wouldn't let it go.

However, he didn't pay much attention to it; after all, he was here for a happy occasion today, and his mood was quite good.

He said, "I'm at the Provincial Earthquake Bureau, and my wife works at the Meteorological Bureau, though both are subordinate units."

These so-called subordinate units of his were those secondary units; some were entirely like nursing homes where people just drifted through life, with no future and no hope, just killing time.

Every day at the office was just about cracking melon seeds, chatting, and waiting for the clock to strike five.

Or waiting for holidays to receive laundry detergent, canned goods, and the like.

He answered this way out of a desire to keep a low profile.

After all, if he had truly said he worked at the Provincial Government, Township Mayor Ma would probably have bounced right off the *kang* at this moment.

For a township mayor, the Provincial Government was an existence akin to the Heavenly Court, something one could only look up to for a lifetime.

"Not bad, not bad. Doing weather forecasts and detecting earthquakes is quite good, quite good. Especially a leisurely unit like the Earthquake Bureau—it's a dream for many people."

"You guys have over 300 days a year where you aren't really busy, right? Just staying at home or sitting in the office drinking tea every day. Such a job is truly enviable. Unlike us at the grassroots level, busy to death every day and still unable to produce results. Little Su here has a deep understanding of that."

"By the way, you must at least be at the Deputy Division level by now, right? Otherwise, at least a Section Chief level. Even if there's no real power, the benefits aren't bad, and the people are leisurely. By the time you retire, you'll at least have Section Chief level benefits; your age is right there."

"That way, your retirement benefits will be much better than those of us working in the township. I really envy you guys."

Hearing this condescending and arrogant speech made Su Yang frown.

He had originally asked Liu Chaoming to suppress the matter and block the news because he didn't want to cause too much of a stir.

Even when telling his father, he had only said he was a clerk.

Zhou Weiguo didn't show much, but Qiao Yindi was a bit unhappy. *What is this, one thing after another? *

At this moment, Zhou Weiguo followed the flow of the conversation and said, "At best, we'll just mix into a Section Chief level retirement benefit; that's already quite good."

"We don't have any particular ambitions."

Township Mayor Ma took a sip of tea and said, "Oh my, I say Su Yang, what does your partner do? So young, and you two have such conditions—at the very least, you could work in municipal-level organs, right?"

Su Yang was almost speechless. *Are you seriously so desperate to show off that you ran to our house to flaunt your sense of superiority? *

Just as he was about to speak, Zhou Weiguo smiled and said, "Our Ruohan works in the county."

"How come she went to work in the county? Oh, is it because it's closer for Little Su to go to the county, making it more convenient for them?"

"Su Yang, you have to work hard from now on. In your position, if you put in the effort, there's still hope to follow Secretary Liu's path and become a Deputy Town Mayor. Of course, if you want to go one step higher, that would require quite the connections."

Just as he was saying this, Liu Li's family arrived uninvited.

Ever since Liu Li was fired for offending Su Yang last time, although she harbored resentment, she had been keeping a close eye on the movements of Su Yang's family, knowing about even the slightest disturbance.

After all, their two families weren't that far apart. She knew that because she was fired because of Su Yang, if Su Yang could say a word, she could still go back to work.

Hearing that Su Yang was back this time, she happened to be at home, so she rushed over with her mom and dad, along with her younger brother, Liu Jixiang.

The reason they hadn't made such a big fuss about coming to the house before was because Su Yang wasn't there, so coming would have been useless. Secondly, it was because the incident had just happened; even if Su Yang could nod and forgive her,

it would have been impossible for her to return to her post so quickly. So, her grasp of timing was quite on point.

"Xiaocui, you have so many people at home today, so lively! Why didn't you tell us so we could come over and help out? My Lili is just staying at home right now, let her come over and help in the kitchen..." Liu Li's mother said very enthusiastically.

Liu Li followed up, "That's right, Little Aunt. I came this time just to see if I could help out at your place. I didn't expect you to have guests from the town."

Wasn't she asking something she already knew? If there were no guests, why would she have run over?

While speaking, she saw Zhou Ruohan washing fruit in the kitchen.

"Is this Su Yang's friend? How come I haven't seen her before? She's so beautiful. Just like a movie star."

Zhou Ruohan said with a touch of shyness, "Yes, I am Su Yang's fiancée. We came this time to finalize our affairs."

Although Zhou Ruohan was slightly shy, she thought that since these were Su Yang's relatives, she should show the proper politeness. At the same time, she made it clear to Liu Li that she was Su Yang's fiancée, not just at the girlfriend stage.

"Oh, I'm Su Yang's cousin. We have a very good relationship; when we were in school, I often brought him food."

Liu Li's perceptiveness was much stronger than that of Township Mayor Ma. Of course, this had a lot to do with her frequent socializing in the county within those top-tier circles.

She could see an extraordinary aura about Zhou Ruohan, and combined with Su Yang's current status and the circles he moved in, she immediately reached a conclusion: Zhou Ruohan's background was definitely not simple.

*Take advantage of the fact that Su Yang hasn't figured out the situation yet to quickly build a relationship. *

Hearing that Liu Li had gone to school with Su Yang and brought him food, Zhou Ruohan became a bit more enthusiastic. "Thank you, Cousin. He has mentioned you to me. Oh, let's not stand here talking. You go sit with them; the dishes will be served in a moment, let's eat together."

Zhou Ruohan then said some polite words; in reality, Su Yang had never mentioned Liu Li at all.

Liu Li climbed up the pole, "No need, no need. I'll just stay here and help you guys work. Why would I go over there? That bunch of old men are just talking business. By the way, have you set the date? So I can send you a gift or something."

"Will the wedding be held in the city or the county? Is the venue booked?"

Zhou Ruohan said with a shy face, "I don't know. Let Su Yang handle these things when the time comes. I don't mind, anywhere is fine. Anyway, we don't have many guests; if needed, we can just hold a few tables of banquet after we go back."

*Not many guests? * This remark allowed Liu Li to accurately capture an important piece of information. The more people like them—the more grassroots they were—the more relatives, friends, and onlookers they had. The more people of status there were, the simpler they kept things.

Of course, this was based on a certain level. Those ordinary clerks and section chiefs would love to have eighty or a hundred tables to make a big profit during weddings and funerals.

Once they reached a certain level, they would think about keeping things simpler, because there would be too many people coming to curry favor and flatter them.

And in their circle, they didn't need these people at all. Because the higher the circle, the fewer the people, and the higher the steps; ordinary people simply couldn't integrate.

She then continued, "Su Yang is truly blessed to be able to marry you. He's only a Town Mayor now, and he already has such great fortune—what will he be like in the future? By the way, which unit do you work in?" ===== CHAPTER 385 =====