Chapter 482: with translation of chapter title

Gao Haisheng also chimed in sarcastically: "With this, you still want to take the moral high ground to blackmail us, acting like some moral exemplar? You, who work on poverty relief, actually treat yourself as an organization, shouting orders here."

When did any unit clearly stipulate that you should take over as our Township Party Committee Secretary? Before, it was just that Township Chief Cui and others were easy to talk to, sometimes turning a blind eye, and now you've gotten used to causing trouble, right?

If I don't show you a bit of color today, you probably can't tell the big joker from the small joker.

Su Yang got up from bed, glanced at the time—half past five in the morning. These two guys had obviously been drinking and playing mahjong all night, and as soon as they dispersed they came running to him to cause trouble.

Especially Gao Haisheng, who was not only speaking rudely but also rolling up his sleeves as if ready to strike—very much in line with their previous image.

But to Su Yang, this seemed highly abnormal. Even if these two knew his appointment was blocked, they should have realized from the Cui Mingjiu incident how solid his background is, and wouldn't dare to provoke him first thing in the morning. Could something else have emerged behind the scenes?

He gave them a cold glance, sat up from the bed, and said: "If you're not blind, first check the time! Do you start work at 5:30 a. m.? Hey, yesterday's meeting ended early, I hadn't even come to find you yet, and you came barging in headfirst!"

After just a couple sips of horse urine, you don't know who you are? Get out of here immediately, or I won't be polite! You two old-timers, I'll let you know in a split second why the flower is so red!

Su Yang was only in his twenties, and with his sturdy build, his angry shout made Bai Yutang and Gao Haisheng shudder involuntarily.

Needless to say, if they really came to blows, Su Yang could beat them black and blue. Moreover, although the township government is a people's government and its staff are cadres, rolling up sleeves to fight is not uncommon.

As for the previous incidents, Cui Mingjiu hitting cadres wasn't just a one‑time thing. If they really got beaten, they'd have nowhere to seek justice and would lose all face.

Gao Haisheng felt somewhat caught between a rock and a hard place… he was embarrassed on the spot.

"Y‑you‑you, what do you want to do?" Bai Yutang asked while backing away.

Su Yang sprang up from the bed with a "swish": "What do you think? They say poor mountains and evil waters produce crafty peasants, but I see poor mountains and evil waters producing crafty officials! I'll sober you two up right now!"

As he spoke he lunged toward the door, but Bai Yutang shoved Gao Haisheng forward and then slipped away himself.

Gao Haisheng cursed Bai Yutang's ancestors eighteen generations over in his mind; earlier on the road he hadn't spoken like that, saying they would put Su Yang in his place, give him a warning, and make him behave. But Su Yang just let out a shout, and this guy ran off!

We were supposed to stand shoulder‑to‑shoulder, right?

Seeing Su Yang already winding up his arm, Gao Haisheng shouted: "Director Su, don't be impulsive! Don't be impulsive! I was just running my mouth earlier… we didn't come to deliberately cause you trouble; we just drank too much and lost control… uh… actually we mainly came to ask for money!"

Upon hearing this, Su Yang instantly understood: these two bastards, besides picking a fight, also wanted to take back the money they had given him a couple days ago. This really is having a dog's face!

Even if he ultimately fails to become Township Party Committee Secretary and can't help Gao Haisheng and Bai Yutang, the money matter shouldn't be rushed like this; he should wait until this cultivation stage passes and then voluntarily return it. If he doesn't return it, it's normal for them to come asking, but within the system, few are so eager to show up demanding money—it's too embarrassing.

"What money? I don't know anything about it. When did you give me money? Who can prove it?" Su Yang immediately countered.

Usually, giving money is something known to you, me, heaven, and earth, but Su Yang's blatant denial is truly unprecedented.

This left Gao Haisheng at a loss, and he bluntly said: "You can't even become Township Party Committee Secretary, can't recommend me, and still refuse to give the money—this is outright unreasonable!"

"Su Yang, don't go overboard, or I won't let this rest!" After all, it's tens of thousands of yuan; in a place like Xiushui Xiang, scraping together this bit of profit is hard, the bulk having been taken by Cui Mingjiu, leaving them only scraps—this is almost all they've saved over the years.

Su Yang said: "If we handed this money straight to the Discipline Inspection Commission, do you think they'd believe you or me?" That sentence shut Gao Haisheng down again.

Furthermore, don't say it's your money—whether it's Bai Yutang or others who gave money hoping I'd recommend them for township head, I won't return a cent. If anyone brings this up again, I'll go straight to the county Discipline Inspection Commission. And I'll tell everyone that this matter was caused by you, Gao Haisheng—guess how they'll treat you!

Su Yang's bandit‑like logic left Gao Haisheng afraid to act rashly. Now the initiative is in Su Yang's hands; if he reports upward, their fate is easy to imagine.

Just as they stood there embarrassed and unsure what to do, Su Yang bellowed again: "Get out!"

Gao Haisheng had no choice but to slink away, his intestines filled with regret—if he'd known, he wouldn't have come.

Su Yang lay down and went back to sleep. All this hasn't yet gotten on track, and the work atmosphere in Xiushui Xiang hasn't been fully corrected; otherwise Bai Yutang and Gao Haisheng would certainly have gone to find Cui Mingjiu for company.

But after being disturbed by these two, the news will spread quickly, and his prestige might suffer. Even if he later truly becomes Township Party Committee Secretary, petty troublemakers are inevitable, so he must let this crowd know that the Horse King has several eyes.

But he had barely pulled the covers back over himself for a few minutes when Li Dongdong knocked on the door: "Director Su, Director Su, are you all right?"

Su Yang got up and opened the door: "I'm fine, what could happen? It's you who's startled at dawn. Come in quickly—this disturbance kept me from sleeping, let's have tea and breakfast."

Su Yang dressed, poured Li Dongdong a cup of tea, took out a Huazi cigarette from the drawer and tossed it to him: "I'm not a heavy smoker—take this cigarette and smoke it."

Don't look down on it just being one Huazi cigarette—it's valuable nowadays; many people can't afford two with a month's salary.

Someone like Li Dongdong, a grassroots cadre, if he doesn't skim off extra income and just works an honest job, he probably couldn't afford to smoke in his whole life.

Whether Su Yang smokes or not, and how big his habit is, Li Dongdong noticed; throwing him a cigarette like that clearly shows approval and treating him as one of his own.

This means far more than the cigarette's intrinsic value.

His hand trembled slightly: "Director Su, this… this is too expensive, isn't it?"

Su Yang replied: "What's there to be expensive about? Anyway, it's a gift—if you don't smoke it, it's wasted; if you do smoke it, it's still wasted."

As the two were talking, Xie Siyang burst in, full of vigor.