Chapter 638

"Oh, County Magistrate Su has arrived!"

"County Magistrate Su, you weren't supposed to go research today? I thought you wouldn't make it."

"Look at what you're saying, County Magistrate Su oversees so many units; just the heads of each unit reporting work would take several days."

"Everyone was chatting back and forth, and it was truly some people openly showing hostility toward Su Yang."

"Su Yang didn't pay much attention; he is now almost the focus of the whole county, especially in this greed‑filled Standing Committee that has already become Geng Miao's clique."

"County Magistrate Su, your seat is over here."

"Jiao Qiang also felt the atmosphere a bit awkward; he pointed out a seat near the edge for Su Yang, then turned and left."

"To be honest, at this point he doesn't want any more contact with Su Yang, lest people point fingers behind his back."

"Even if his occasional contact with Su Yang is purely work‑related, now he fears getting burned."

"Su Yang thanked him, sat down, and on his own opened the tea cup in his hand and began to slurp it."

"In his view, if it weren't necessary in future work to unite some unite‑able comrades, he wouldn't bother with these people."

"Based on the information he has received and the situation he controls, as soon as Geng Miao falls from power, at least half of these people will end up drinking tea."

"After another two minutes, County Magistrate Wen Qiren walked in with a steady pace, saw that Su Yang had already arrived, and lightly said: 'Comrade Su Yang, this is your first time attending our Standing Committee; you seem to take it seriously.'"

"I heard something happened at the Public Security Bureau today, County Magistrate Su, you're in charge of public security—have you figured out exactly what the cause is?"

"This isn't very friendly for our county's image; if it gets spread by someone with ill intent, where would we put the faces of us county leaders?"

"What's the difference between a Public Security Bureau deputy director openly shooting people and a gangster?"

"What kind of place is Lieshan County? It's an industrial strong county that can hold its own even at the provincial level."

"With this kind of trouble, not only us, even the municipal leaders will be implicated."

"Although these words were spoken gently, their hidden meaning hits like a series of blade strikes."

"Su Yang wasn't timid either; he calmly said: 'Although I'm in charge of public security work, I'm not especially familiar with the bureau's situation, since I only just went there to investigate today, and during the investigation I heard about this shocking shooting incident.'"

"However, as far as I know, when municipal Public Security Bureau personnel previously brought the involved persons back to the county bureau for interrogation, the so‑called security team of Shuanggou actually tried to cause trouble."

"And the ringleader was precisely Geng Biao, who seized a gun and assaulted the police."

"So while it sounds excessive for police to shoot people, when faced with an assault on officers and an attempt to seize their guns, not only is hitting them justified, even killing them on the spot would be reasonable and lawful."

"Furthermore, regarding the impact, I want everyone to know that Lieshan County is not only an industrial strong county but also a law‑abiding place."

"At the very least, the Public Security Bureau can take action, so that illegal activities don't become even more rampant."

"At this point, Executive Vice County Magistrate Gao Hai said: 'County Magistrate Su, do you know these people are all from Twin Ditch Large Koji Winery? Moreover, these cases were already closed; it's just that someone wants to stir up trouble and has dug this case up again.'"

"In the face of such a case, normally it would just be a routine invitation for questioning; the Public Security Bureau's big show of force in making arrests is itself a mistaken action."

"By saying that you're just covering for them, never mind the shocking act of shooting."

"Besides, regarding Twin Ditch Large Koji's economic position in our Lieshan County, you should know this; to put it bluntly, if it weren't for Twin Ditch Large Koji's support, our county's economy couldn't be as good as it is now."

"Now that this has happened, if Twin Ditch Large Koji has any dissatisfaction with our County Party Committee and County Government, it could trigger a series of uncontrollable events."

"When that happens, who will bear the responsibility? Will it be you, me, or the entire County Party Committee and County Government leadership team?"

"Su Yang originally just wanted to match wits with them verbally—after all, they were the ones who first criticized him—so speaking up a couple of sentences was understandable, but after hearing this he was about to explode."

"Immediately he said in a very cold tone: 'Comrade Gao Hai, I cannot agree with what you said.'"

"We are the County Party Committee and County Government leadership team, the government that leads all the people of Lieshan County."

"As a government organ, do we really need to fear a single enterprise? Judging by your tone, do we have to give them an explanation, or what?"

"And without the Twin Ditch Large Koji Winery, would our Lieshan County government go bankrupt, or what?"

"You say it will trigger a series of uncontrollable things—then I want to ask you, what kind of uncontrollable things would happen?"

"No matter how well Twin Ditch Large Koji does, even if it pays more taxes to the county, it's still a state‑owned enterprise, still a national asset."

"All of this is given to them by the government and the people; since we can give it, we can take it back."

"No matter what happens, they should cooperate with us, instead of us constantly guarding against a so‑called winery that might do something to us."

"If that's the case, then I must ask: is Lieshan County actually led by the Twin Ditch Large Koji Winery, or by our County Party Committee and County Government leadership team?"

"Or to put it bluntly, in the whole of Lieshan County, does the County Party Committee and County Government leadership team have the final say, or does Twin Ditch Large Koji?"

"As soon as these words were spoken, everyone's expressions changed—who would dare to pick up the thread?"

"In fact, everyone knows how it is—it's Twin Ditch Large Koji Winery that calls the shots, and it's Geng Miao who calls the shots."

"But they are the leadership of the County Party Committee and County Government, the County Party Committee team, the Cultivation Organization, the government."

"How could we say this place is where the winery calls the shots? Then what face would these people have left?"

"Gao Hai's face turned even darker, and he couldn't utter a word."

"Just as they were about to slam the table, Li Xianggao quickly walked in."

"Seeing this, he said with a teasing tone: 'What's going on today? The Standing Committee hasn't even started, yet it's already full of the smell of gunpowder.'"

"We're all adults—are we supposed to start fighting as soon as we meet, or what?"

"We represent the organization's government team, not street‑level hooligans."

"What are you doing? If this gets out, won't it become a laughingstock?"

"Enough, I won't say more; let's just get into the meeting. Today's agenda is a single item—concerning the County Public Security Bureau's forcible arrest and shooting of people at Twin Ditch Large Koji Winery."

"The impact of this incident is extremely bad; the meeting is to study opinions on how to deal with the Public Security Bureau deputy director who fired the gun, Sun Chengjun."