Chapter 586: with translation of title

Huang Dacheng's expression was very solemn; although he was soliciting Su Yang's opinion, Su Yang thought to himself, "You're just being polite, aren't you? Having said all this, where do I have any room to refuse?"

He also knew, of course, that this was his opportunity, and he should seize it.

Often, high risk comes with high reward; the more difficult and harsh the environment, the greater the achievement one can gain.

He said: "Vice Provincial Governor Huang, I said before, I am a brick of the Organization, to be moved wherever needed; how could I have such and such feelings?"

Moreover, everyone picks easy work, or rather simple work to do; then who will do the difficult work? As Party members and cadres, we should not shirk the heavy for the light.

Huang Dacheng studied Su Yang seriously for a while, then said: "Good, since your attitude is so firm, I will take your words as sincere."

Then let me talk to you now about your upcoming work.

Of course, originally this matter didn't need such urgent preparation; it was to be discussed after the New Year, anyway the Xiushui Xiang affairs would be about done by then, and it's time for you to make a move.

The reason it's being brought forward now is that we have no choice; we must bring it forward.

When I last went to your place for research, I was eating when I got a call—do you remember? Afterwards I merely mentioned it briefly to you, that it was the situation in Lieshan Xian, but I didn't tell you what exactly had happened.

Regarding Lieshan Xian, I think you've heard of it; it's an economically strong county that ranks among the best in our Jinzhou and even the whole province.

But such a county with relatively good economic conditions has seen one incident after another these past two years. The cadres of the County Party Committee and County Government have been directly sidelined by local enterprises; even whoever serves as County Party Secretary and County Magistrate is dictated by the local enterprises, while the Municipal Party Committee's Organization Department, in their eyes, has become merely a decoration.

Doesn't this sound utterly bizarre? If I hadn't said it, you might not believe it, but that's the fact. That's why this matter has been escalated to the provincial level, for me to personally take charge of resolving it.

Lieshan Xian has a Shuanggou Distillery; this distillery was already on the verge of collapse in the 1990s, until a man named Geng Miao took it over. Through his own efforts, in just two or three years he turned the previously loss‑making distillery into a profit.

Not only that, Shuanggou Daqu became the brand of a best‑selling liquor, which made the workers who had been on the brink of layoff, with no livelihood to support their families, regard him as a savior.

The personal worship and gratitude toward him exploded all at once. Thus, throughout the county, no matter what happened or what obstacle arose, as soon as Factory Director Geng spoke a word, the matter was immediately settled.

Later it became even more overbearing, developing to the point that in the whole county, on average one out of every three people is connected to the distillery or its related work. Consequently, the entire county came under Geng Miao's domination, and he controlled the county's economic lifeline.

From then on he began to sideline the County Party Committee and County Government, and our cadres, whose resolve was not firm, colluded with him. As a result, all the vacant land in the county became Geng Miao's, and all commercial venues closely tied to the common people were under his control.

To call him the underground emperor of Lieshan Xian is no exaggeration. In short, the whole of Lieshan Xian runs as he says; he says east, no one dares say west, otherwise one cannot get by in Lieshan Xian. Even the County Party Secretary and County Magistrate we sent down are the same.

He not only controlled the entirety of Lieshan Xian, but also won over many cadres from Jinzhou, making him even more unscrupulous and able to do as he pleased.

If only at the beginning it had been fine—at least he created jobs for the vast majority of Lieshan Xian's people and gave them hope. But later he grew ever more inflated, inserting his relatives and trusted aides into every key department, even controlling the Public Security Bureau.

What is even more shocking is that he has under him a security force of over a hundred people; calling them the distillery's security guard is a misnomer—they are actually the county's largest triad. For any illegal or disorderly act, there is nothing they won't dare to do, and once they do it, no one dares to intervene.

The situation had developed to the second half of this year, when he became so arrogant as to forcibly allocate pesticide seeds to the local populace. If you didn't want his, he would smash things. These items are forced buys and sells, priced far higher than elsewhere, and even if you have no need, he insists you buy them.

If you had no money, he would have you take out high‑interest loans—indeed the loans are also issued by them. When the debt piled up and wasn't repaid, they would demolish houses, seize furniture, and ultimately go so far as to abduct people's wives and daughters to settle the debt.

These scenes used to happen only in movies or TV dramas, but now they are occurring in real life in our Lieshan Xian. Over these years Geng Miao has transformed from the people's savior into a demon in their hearts.

There was once a Party Secretary and County Magistrate who tried to remove this tumor, but in the end Geng Miao schemed to force them out ignominiously; indeed that County Magistrate is now sewing in prison.

Geng Miao even declared that in Lieshan Xian you either listen to him and stand with him, letting him be in a good mood so he can toss out some scraps, or if you oppose him you either get lost or go to jail.

Now the Party Secretary and County Magistrate of Lieshan Xian dare not move against his people; they can only pay lip service.

We once considered replacing those two weak and incompetent local officials, but after looking up and down the entire provincial cadre corps, we found no one with the mettle and courage to wrestle with Geng Miao and rescue the people from dire straits.

Even some cadres who perform well elsewhere and are key trainees of ours, when we talk about sending them to Lieshan Xian, they all cry and beg, some even pulling strings, simply unwilling to step into this minefield.

So I had no choice but to pick you to go into this minefield; that's why I thought it over repeatedly and also communicated for a long time with Old Zhou, and although I finally made this decision in my heart, I still respect your choice.

After all, the risk is too great; you lack neither courage nor boldness nor means, but you are too young and seriously lacking in experience; if you confront them head‑on, you will surely suffer.

Now I have said all I needed to say; you can still make another choice. Even if you decide not to go, I will have no objection, and given my relationship with Old Zhou, even if you don't go into this minefield, you will be reassigned to a better post after the New Year.