Chapter 636

He glanced at it, saw it was an unknown number, and simply hung up. After all, he was now a vice county magistrate and a leading cadre of the County Party Standing Committee; he couldn't just answer any call.

However, the phone rang again, several times in a row, and Su Yang had no choice but to answer.

"Hello, Magistrate Su, this is Ming Yuexin."

Su Yang couldn't recall having such an acquaintance at all, and immediately said, "Sorry, I really don't remember you."

He was about to hang up when Ming Yuexin hurriedly said, "Magistrate Su, you really are a person of high status who forgets things—we met on the return flight. Magistrate Su, you really are a person of high status who forgets things; you said you'd do your duty as a host when you got back to Lieshan County and treat me to a meal, and I also wanted to do some public‑welfare work and investment within my means."

Su Yang then remembered that he had forgotten this because he had been busy with these matters over the past two days. He said, "Fine, I'm now working in Lieshan County too; as long as anyone is willing to invest in Lieshan County, I welcome it wholeheartedly."

Ming Yuexin went along with the conversation: "Why pick another day when today will do? How about tonight—I'll reserve a spot at the Lieshan Grand Hotel and hope you'll honor me with your presence, Magistrate Su."

Su Yang said, "All right, then tonight."

As for this woman's identity, he was perfectly clear about it, needing no deliberate investigation—just as he had once introduced Zhang Chaoxia to Sun Chengjun.

He had actually forgotten this person completely, but he didn't mind that the woman had brought it up again.

Because he also wanted to see how Geng Miao would respond. This time, the arrest of Geng Biao and the others would certainly not be let go so easily.

"Good, then I'll be waiting for Magistrate Su at the Lieshan Grand Hotel at 7 p. m. tonight."

After hanging up, Su Yang continued to wait for the leaders of the departments he oversaw to come and report their work.

But he waited until four in the afternoon and still no one came; even the people working in the county government compound avoided him, taking detours.

They were now terrified, afraid that Su Yang would greet them and afraid that others would think they were in league with him. At this critical juncture, if anything unclear arose, they'd never have a good days in Lieshan County thereafter.

Just as he was about to nap a bit, waiting for quitting time before going to the evening banquet, Jiao Qiang knocked and entered: "Magistrate Su, the County Party Committee Office has notified that a County Party Standing Committee meeting will be held in one hour; please attend promptly."

Su Yang chuckled; it seemed Ye Xianggao couldn't sit still either, which was perfect—he could also see what kind of mettle these people in the County Party Committee leadership had.

At this very moment, the Jincheng City People's Hospital was in utter chaos. Sun Chengjun had originally thought a simple surgery would suffice; ideally he could extract some useful information from Geng Biao's mouth, needing only a pretext to temporarily detain and interrogate him.

Of course, everyone knows what the essence of the matter is, but the most disgusting part is that even if you know the truth, you still have to break through layer after wall to find the so‑called evidence.

Before the surgery was even finished, Lin Zhinan rushed to the hospital in a panic, and his first words were: "Sun Chengjun, what are you doing? I told you to bring the person back, not to go shooting people."

"Do you realize what kind of behavior this is? This is an abuse of power—don't you know how the Police Regulations stipulate? When the other party hasn't fired and poses no threat to your personal safety, you cannot return fire; yet you went ahead and privately discharged your weapon—are you a policeman or a bandit?"

"Secretary Ye takes this matter very seriously; he has already convened a small meeting with the county's leaders to decide how to handle your case. Before any disposition is announced, our Bureau Party Committee held a meeting and decided to suspend your duties pending the outcome, leaving everything here in my charge."

Sun Chengjun never expected the backlash to be this huge. He knew that, including Lin Zhinan, everyone in front of Geng Miao was merely a pawn, but he hadn't anticipated they'd be so zealous, not even asking about the circumstances at the time, and simply slapping him with a suspension.

Moreover, he didn't believe for a second that this came from a Bureau Party Committee meeting; Lin Zhinan had just said it offhand, and others might not even know he'd been suspended.

But Sun Chengjun had already communicated with Su Yang beforehand; no matter what actions or measures they took, there was no point in arguing—he would simply comply temporarily.

So he said, "All right, since Bureau Chief Lin has ordered me to suspend and reflect, I'll suspend and reflect."

Lin Zhinan was nearly fuming: "Watch your wording—I didn't order you to suspend and reflect; it was the Bureau Party Committee's decision, and it also reflects the County Party leadership's intent."

Had it been an ordinary deputy bureau chief, Lin Zhinan could have slapped him at this point, but thinking that Sun Chengjun had Su Yang behind him—and who stood behind Su Yang—needed no further explanation.

Therefore he didn't want to outright offend him; otherwise he could easily kick Sun Chengjun into some remote backwater—for instance, assign him to guide work at the most distant township police outpost or have him stand watch.

If that didn't work, he could send Sun Chengjun to study in a municipal or provincial public‑security training class; he had plenty of such means.

"Bureau Chief Lin, you see I didn't mean it that way, nor did I say you were targeting me—I know this is just normal work. Let me state my position: I firmly support your decision and that of the Bureau Party Committee."

"At the same time, I have a request: I hope Bureau Chief Lin will keep a close eye on Geng Biao, this key figure. Although I'm now suspended, I still have the right to report to the superiors; I'll write a report on what happened at the scene and submit it to the Municipal Public Security Bureau."

Having said that, he left the hospital. If he were made to stay and watch Geng Biao, and then the county leaders or the municipal bureau pressured him to release Geng Biao, he'd also be in a tough spot—after all, within the system nobody wants to offend anyone.

Releasing him is definitely out of the question, because detaining Geng Biao directly means another step in eradicating the tumor that is Geng Miao. Now the entire pressure has been shifted onto Lin Zhinan, which actually makes him feel much lighter.

He also wasn't afraid that Lin Zhinan might release Geng Biao, because he had already seen media vehicles arriving from outside one after another, and he couldn't help giving Su Yang a thumbs‑up, feeling that everything was under Su Yang's control—once the media exposed this, it wouldn't be something a public‑security bureau chief could dictate.

At this very moment, Lin Zhinan had already waited for the post‑surgery Geng Biao.

Although Geng Biao was weak, seeing Lin Zhinan made his face flush with abnormal rage, and he shouted: "Lin Zhinan, you're really a bureau chief who's gone to the dogs! I've been beaten up by that mad dog Sun Chengjun, nearly having my vitals knocked out, and you still haven't immediately removed him from office and locked him up—what are you waiting for? Does this have to wait for my older brother to speak? Do you not want to be bureau chief anymore?"

"This godforsaken place—I don't want to stay another minute. Get the hospital ambulance to send me back to Lieshan County right now, or else you'd better not meddle!"