Chapter 571: Analyzing the Master

At this moment, Fang Jingwen and her secretary were having a meal.

Normally, a secretary and a leader don't often get to eat dinner together, because a secretary is always a secretary and ultimately has a sense of boundaries.

But Fang Jingwen is also working alone here now; sometimes she gets bored at night by herself, so she invites the secretary to eat together.

Firstly, she can also hear some internal county affairs from the secretary; moreover, having someone accompany her is better than being idle alone. That's why, over time, catching Su Yang once results in her monopolizing him for a long time.

"You look worried; just say what you want to say. Here, is there any need for you to hide anything?" Fang Jingwen said, passing a small spare rib to the secretary.

The secretary said: "Today, Li Xiangdong from their township deliberately blocked the road up the mountain, unwilling to let anyone else go up. I was also waiting at the mountain pass, afraid of being bumped into by others."

"Although I know you two are definitely above board, rumors are already spreading wildly these days. If someone… moreover, you were wearing Secretary Su's clothes when you came down, and many people saw that. I reminded you at the time, but you didn't want to take them off."

Fang Jingwen gave a hehe laugh and said: "Some things you don't understand, some things you truly don't understand. You must have talked about love in college, right? I won't elaborate on this question."

"Let me tell you now the fundamental reason why I wore Su Yang's clothes down the mountain. You think I'm really bored, running up the mountain to freeze? Only an idiot would think of doing that."

"Zhou Ruohan has been transferred away, and the Deputy Secretary Gao above us has started acting up again. He not only targets our county's work, but also Su Yang personally. If this continues, both our county's various undertakings and Su Yang's personal development will become a major problem. So I'm giving him a chance to strike at us thoroughly."

The secretary then realized: "You mean this is just for show to others?"

Fang Jingwen said: "Otherwise, do you really think like those people, genuinely believing I have something with Su Yang? That's just blind as a bat; how could I have anything with him? Do you think I'm the type who wants a third party to butt in? Really, you actually believe what others say about wind and rain."

The secretary didn't really believe this speech, but dared not show it: "Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, what you say is true. But this matter after all is bad for your reputation."

Fang Jingwen said: "Bad influence? How bad could it get? I'm doing this so our county won't be targeted anymore, so various tasks can proceed smoothly, instead of daily dealing with the various inspections assigned by Deputy Secretary Gao."

"Furthermore, as a county leader, it's necessary to protect our county's excellent cadres. Of course, there are other things I won't go into detail now; when you reach my position someday, you'll naturally understand. Let's eat; after we finish, we'll find a place to have a few drinks. We're normal people too—besides work, we have life."

Having said that, but at this very moment, she suddenly wondered what Su Yang was doing then—would he be sniffling, drinking hot water, and using an IV drip?

She guessed right. At that moment, Su Yang was wrapped in a blanket, sipping tea and sneezing nonstop. The cold wind on the mountaintop can be imagined; wearing a sweater for that long without collapsing from the cold already counts as having a strong constitution.

But just then, Zhou Ruohan called him, which made him a little panicked. However, this couldn't be hidden from Zhou Ruohan, so before she could speak, he directly told her what was happening.

And as expected, he heard Zhou Ruohan say: "I've only been gone a few days, and she's already run off to find you? Really, I'm speechless! Last time you didn't say anything—did the two of you clear things up? This is just pointless!"

Su Yang explained: "How would I know she'd pull this stunt? But I think she shouldn't be doing this just to mess with us, wasting half a day for nothing—unless she's got a screw loose."

"If it were you, would you volunteer to go up there and freeze for that long? No way. Moreover, based on my understanding of her, all kinds of work in the county are now being made difficult by the Deputy Secretary Gao above using various means; I hear that the various superior inspections have left those units exhausted just coping, leaving no energy for normal work."

"Given her personality, how could she possibly be idle doing nothing? Moreover, the rumors about me and her, about you, and about my ties with Vice Provincial Governor Huang are surely all fabricated by Deputy Secretary Gao; I can figure that out, she surely knows it in her heart, and I don't believe she'll just let it slide."

"Before, it was because you were the county magistrate, you were out front taking the heat, so she could be indifferent. But now it's definitely different. However, there's one thing I just can't figure out: does Deputy Secretary Gao really not know about our relationship with Uncle Huang?"

Zhou Ruohan's train of thought was suddenly pulled back onto the right track: "Your brain—do you think all relationship circles are transparent? How would he know? Where would he find out?"

"Are you suggesting he's already teamed up with Tian Xiaofei? Let me tell you, Tian Xiaofei is keeping a low profile—how could he possibly tell Gao Da Liang about our connections?"

"Even if this is just a rumor, it's thoroughly disgusting to Uncle Huang—it's like helping his uncle set a trap for Uncle Huang. Moreover, he clearly knows this will eventually come to light, so Comrade Gao Da Liang might easily end up as cannon fodder for him."

"Based on what happened today, I estimate Fang Jingwen will use this to dig a trap for them. Just wait and see—in the next couple days someone will use this as an excuse, and may even get the Discipline Inspection Commission involved to investigate these matters."

"Of course you might also wonder, are they eating dog gall? Knowing full well that their rumor claims Fang Jingwen and Uncle Huang have that kind of relation, they still dare to do this? It's nothing more than Tian Xiaofei's way of thoroughly messing with you—best to let Gao Da Liang be oblivious to his own limits, really drag you to the Discipline Inspection Commission for questioning, then later fabricate a series of 'evidence' to completely ruin your reputation."

"Gao Da Liang knows nothing; last time he suffered a loss at your place, plus Tian Xiaofei's various provocations, he'll surely think of figuring out how to kill you with Fang Jingwen's help and gain merit at Tian Xiaofei's. I reckon Tian Xiaofei probably even drew him a big pie, otherwise he wouldn't be so eager."

"As for Tian Xiaofei, at worst he'll just sacrifice Gao Da Liang—anyway, the disgust is aimed at Uncle Huang, and the ones seriously affected are you and Fang Jingwen. But this time, the harder he strikes, the worse he'll suffer himself."

"By the way, Fang Jingwen does this not only because of this matter itself, but also to firmly establish her foothold in the county, and even in the Lancheng City circle."

"After all, the deputy secretary's position and the county magistrate's are two different things. If she keeps being restrained and suppressed by superior departments, other municipal departments will follow suit, making many tasks hard to carry out, even compressing your county's resources—what achievements could she possibly make as county magistrate? Just wait and see, the show is about to begin."

"Hey, right, where did I just leave off? I was just asking what you two were actually doing up on the mountain—come on, give me an honest answer!"