Chapter 483

"Bang!"

The door was slammed hard against the wall, almost hitting Li Xiangdong.

Li Xiangdong instinctively stepped in front of Su Yang, turned his head, and saw it was Xie Siyang rushing over in pajamas.

"Director Su, are you alright?"

"What were they trying to do, barging in here shouting and making a fuss just now?"

Seeing her anxious, righteous indignation filling her chest, ready to strike at any moment, that somewhat simple yet brisk and slightly cute look left Su Yang dazed.

After a while he spoke: "Originally nothing was wrong, but your coming almost caused trouble! I'm such a sturdy man—what could those two old fogeys do to me? You came rushing in like a whirlwind, almost having the door hit Township Head Li!"

Xie Siyang then scratched her head sheepishly: "Sorry, Township Head Li, I didn't expect you to be here too. I was half-asleep, heard the loud noise and door-kicking in the courtyard, didn't react, and just rushed over."

Li Xiangdong saw Xie Siyang in a pink cartoon pajama, lunging so fiercely, his old face blushed slightly; he figured he was still traditionally conservative, never having seen such a "revealing" little fairy.

He quickly waved his hand: "No problem, no problem, even if we got hit it's fine—we're thick-skinned. What do you say? Sit here and have tea and breakfast with us, or go back to sleep?"

Xie Siyang said embarrassedly: "Then I'll go back, I'm not fully awake yet, early in the morning..."

Su Yang smiled: "Go on back to sleep, though I guess you won't be able to sleep after all that commotion outside—lots of people are up now." Speaking thus, his heart warmed; Xie Siyang sometimes is completely scheming-free, brainless, but he still likes that straightforwardness.

After Xie Siyang left, he said to Li Xiangdong: "Comrade Xie Siyang, don't let her hasty actions fool you—she's warm-hearted and decisive in work. However, she might offend people; in future rural work, you'll need to be tolerant in all aspects."

Li Xiangdong was a bit dazed—"What do I need to tolerate? I'm just a deputy township head with no say, basically a gofer; the deputy township head is just a title, no real power."

But Su Yang didn't continue the topic, instead saying: "These people have forgotten who they are, as the saying goes: To destroy them, first drive them mad. That is, the situation in the countryside is too complex; the township government can't afford to be short of cadres on a large scale, otherwise..." He stopped there, having already revealed too much to Li Xiangdong.

Normally, such words cannot be spoken unless to an absolute confidant.

If mishandled, it will spread as rumors.

Li Xiangdong asked: "Director Su, what's the focus of the next work?"

Su Yang said: "First we need to get the township's sanitation going, then you should think more about the lily planting, turning it into a written proposal. If the opportunity arises, I'll go to the county to request support funds."

"Basically, I expect the county leaders will approve it; it's just a matter of how much funding they give."

Li Xiangdong's heart leapt—if they could really secure funding, they could plant on a large scale.

On one hand it's for economic development, boosting his own income; on the other hand it's also a respectable political achievement for him.

Before he could digest that exciting, hard-to-contain news, Su Yang continued: "In the next couple days you might hear rumors, so be mentally prepared. But I believe it won't take long; if you keep doing your present work well, those clowns will keep making noise."

Around 8 to 9 o'clock, Su Yang, in Li Xiangdong's presence, dialed Gao Fengming's phone.

"Hello, Minister Gao, I have some situations to report to you."

Gao Fengming laughed and said: "Just say what's up, you kid, still giving me this routine."

Su Yang briefly recounted this morning's events, then said: "Minister Gao, I originally wanted to wait for the superiors' appointment to come down, then adjust some township cadres, moving those with serious work-style problems who hold office but don't fulfill their duties to where they belong. But since this happened this morning, I feel there's no need to wait; we should act now."

Gao Fengming immediately understood: Su Yang wanted to shake up personnel. He said: "Sure, sure, what's your idea? Anyway, I'll agree to whatever you propose."

"Moreover, I'll issue a document in the name of the Organization Department, designating you, the deputy director of the Poverty Alleviation Office, to temporarily oversee all township work, making everything legitimate."

Gao Fengming said this because he clearly sees the county's power structure; regarding Su Yang's matters, the three top leaders of the County Party Committee will support him, so he gave such a confident reply.

Su Yang said: "Regarding our township's Discipline Committee member Gao Haisheng, his personal work ethic is terribly corrupt, his work ability is abysmal, though he's good at creating bad practices. Such a person is unfit to be a Discipline Committee member; he should be transferred to become a forest ranger."

"Forest ranger?" Li Xiangdong's heart jumped at those three words—a township leader who follows Cui Mingjiu's ups and downs, with a bunch of lackeys like Gao Haisheng, just one sentence and he's supposed to become a forest ranger?

This is practically cutting off his future completely! Although forest rangers have an official position, they're worlds apart from township cadres.

Let's not talk about benefits; the key is that Xiushui Mountain is thirty to forty li from the township, so going there means living in the mountains.

After half a year, you'll be like a savage; you won't even know when your wife runs off with someone.

This move is truly vicious.

Gao Fengming stared for a moment: "Forest ranger? What forest ranger?"

Su Yang explained: "We do have Xiushui Mountain here, which has been managed by a few elderly mountain keepers and a policeman transferred from Huatian Town Police Station."

"Nowadays more people go up the mountain to camp and cool off, and poaching, hunting for game, and destructive activities have increased too, so we need a dedicated person in charge. I think Comrade Gao Haisheng would be suitable."

"He has long worked in the township, interacted with outside personnel, not shy. When facing those city folks, he can more appropriately dissuade them."

Gao Fengming immediately realized: "Good thing I didn't let you become Organization Department head, otherwise many cadres would be 'assigned' to suitable posts to shine."

He laughed and said: "Fine, fine, don't start this from your township directly; I'll issue the order straight from the Organization Department."

In just a few words, they dispatched Gao Haisheng, one of Cui Mingjiu's fiercest lackeys.

The fundamental reason is that this lackey failed to see the situation, shouting arrogantly at Su Yang's place again and again. The key is that this transfer order was directly issued by the Organization Department, bypassing the township government, so no one can blame Su Yang; this is really impressive.