Chapter 766

Jia Guolong's face flushed with anger; how could he possibly just let this matter slide?

Entities: Jia Guolong

His status in this circle isn't the highest, but it's certainly not at the bottom either. To have been slapped in the face by a mere town mayor like Su Yang back then is something he could even dream about.

Entities: Su Yang, Town Mayor - is that a rank? It's a generic position, not in glossary. Should we include? It's a named entity? It's a title but generic. The instruction says exclude generic forms of address (not ranks). Town Mayor is a specific position but generic; maybe exclude. We'll see later.

Lately he's been traveling nonstop just to avoid meeting anyone from the circle who'd snipe at him. Yet he's incredibly calculating, calmly remarking, "It's not that I won't retaliate; it's just that the moment isn't right. I'm sure Su Yang will get his due soon."

Entities: Su Yang

Tian Xiaofei jumped in, saying, "Jia Shao, if you've got a plan, count me in—I'll go all out, even if it means storming the front lines. Damn it, I've sworn to feud with Su Yang for life; just let me catch my breath and I'll see to it that he has no grave to lie in."

Entities: Tian Xiaofei, Su Yang

Jia Guolong gave Tian Xiaofei a look and said, "Oh please, aren't you embarrassed enough? You've repeatedly come away from Su Yang with a black eye, and now you want to apologize and smooth things over, yet you still dare to talk about getting revenge on him? Forget it—let's just drink."

Entities: Jia Guolong, Tian Xiaofei, Su Yang

Half an hour later, after Jia Guolong plied the already somewhat drunk Tian Xiaofei with over half a bottle of XO, he headed straight to the bathroom to vomit.

Entities: Tian Xiaofei, Jia Guolong

Zhang Jiangbo, though a bit drunk, spoke clearly: "Jia Shao, are you really just going to watch Su Yang get away with arrogance? Everyone knows his situation; if we actually cause him trouble, we could still get away with it, after all he's merely a nominal son-in-law of the Zhou family."

Entities: Zhang Jiangbo, Su Yang, Zhou Family

"But if we wait until year's end when he marries Zhou Ruohan, this tie will be recognized by everyone in the circle. If we really move against him, we could easily end up in hot water—especially considering Zhou Laozi's temperament, which you know; I've heard he's quite pleased with Su Yang."

Entities: Zhou Ruohan, Zhou Laozi, Su Yang

Jia Guolong scoffed, "How could I not seek revenge? I've actually been plotting all along; it's just that this opportunity suddenly landed in my lap. I should say it, but I also have to thank that worthless Tian Xiaofei."

Entities: Jia Guolong, Tian Xiaofei

Zhang Jiangbo blinked, not catching the meaning: "What do you mean? Tian Xiaofei came back with his tail between his legs and still thanked him—how could I not understand?"

Entities: Zhang Jiangbo, Tian Xiaofei

Jia Guolong said, "Tian Xiaofei wants me to find a sucker to take over the winery—I just told him about an overseas Chinese who's in the baijiu business, right? The capital behind this person comes from an island country."

Entities: Jia Guolong, Tian Xiaofei, winery - generic, not named. overseas Chinese - generic. island country - generic.

"Islanders come to our country to do business, speaking nicely on the surface, but behind the scenes they're not exactly upstanding. Especially the person I introduced him to—he's outright no good."

Entities: islander

"I won't go into the specifics, but if his enterprise really gets a foothold, trouble will erupt within half a year, and when it does it'll be major—something their county‑division level officials can't just smooth over."

Entities: county division-level - generic rank? Actually "county division-level" is a rank level; appears in glossary as division-level. But "county division-level" maybe not exactly. We'll see.

"Once public opinion gets stirred up, not even Jinzhou City can contain it. Someone like Su Yang, no matter who he teams up with, will almost certainly stir up trouble; when something does happen, it'll be a case of the wall falling and everyone pushing."

Entities: Jinzhou, Su Yang

"In short, I'll never forget him slapping me in public. I won't just get even—I'll make him pay back with interest. And if worst comes to worst and that powder keg really blows, I expect it'll also drag Tian Xiaofei down, possibly to the point of being blown to bits."

Entities: Tian Xiaofei

"If it comes down to an investigation, it's neither my concern nor yours."

No named entities.

Zhang Jiangbo had a vague suspicion, his expression tightening as he whispered, "If that's really the case, then it's not just Su Yang who'll suffer—lots of people will get caught up. Aren't you afraid the Zhou and Qiao families will come after you?"

Entities: Zhang Jiangbo, Su Yang, Zhou Family, Qiao Family

Jia Guolong burst out laughing, "My dad still holds a position in Jiangnan Province, and in the capital we have plenty of connections. As long as it doesn't directly involve me, they can't touch me. As for Tian Xiaofei, it's up to his fate."

Entities: Jiangnan Province, Jingcheng, Tian Xiaofei

One week later, the investigation results into the Geng Miao incident have been released.

Entities: Geng Miao

All members of the county standing committee, except Zhou Yanru, have been detained. As for Zhang Guodong, who had been complaining bitterly about his reassignment, he didn't even get two days of grumbling before being sent off to eat coarse grain in detention.

Entities: County Standing Committee Member, Zhou Yanru, Zhang Guodong

Besides the county standing committee members, the Lie Shan Public Security Bureau chief Lin Zhinan, the county education bureau chief Bai TieJun, and the heads of the county finance and agriculture bureaus were almost all wiped out.

Entities: County Standing Committee Member, Lie Shan Public Security Bureau Director, Lin Zhinan, County Education Bureau Director, Bai TieJun, County Finance Bureau, County Agriculture Bureau. Also Bureau Chief generic.

In the city, Mayor Gao Xiaobo, Municipal Discipline Inspection Commission Secretary He Jinbao, a standing‑committee vice mayor, two vice mayors, and an Organization Department executive vice minister have all committed serious violations and are under investigation by the provincial discipline commission.

Entities: Mayor, Gao Xiaobo, Municipal Discipline Inspection Commission Secretary, He Jinbao, Standing Committee Vice Mayor, Vice Mayor, Organization Department Executive Vice Minister, Provincial Discipline Inspection Commission

What's more, Su Yang didn't expect that a provincial party deputy secretary and a vice governor would also be secretly taken away by the central discipline commission. This crackdown is far more severe than before. That provincial party deputy secretary is the very person who was investigated during an earlier inspection of the Geng Miao Shuangkou Daqu winery and who had previously received high praise.

Entities: Su Yang, Provincial Party Committee Deputy Secretary, Vice Provincial Governor, Central Discipline Inspection Commission, Geng Miao, Twin Ditch Large Koji Winery

Moreover, this leader had only been deputy secretary for half a year. Although the news hasn't been made public yet, Su Yang already knows, as do many officials in the city. Normally, by the time ordinary people see it on TV or in the newspapers, it's already several months later.

Entities: Su Yang, Common People

But among them there is indeed one person who completely surprised him: the deputy county party secretary Zhou Yanru. He and Hou Junlai, while having tea, inevitably asked, "What's the background of this Secretary Zhou?" I thought he'd be swept away in this dragnet, but he's fine—though he'll likely be transferred elsewhere, which amounts to a safe landing.

Entities: County Party Committee Deputy Secretary, Zhou Yanru, Hou Junlai

Hou Junlai said, "Old Zhou has had plenty of dealings with Geng Miao, so why is he unscathed? I really can't say, but he has no one in the province backing him. In the city, maybe some leaders support him, but for a matter this big, ordinary provincial leaders can't call the shots, and the city certainly doesn't have the authority."

Entities: Hou Junlai, Geng Miao

As they were talking, Shi Haoyun knocked and entered, saying, "County Magistrate Su, Secretary Zhou says he has some work to discuss with you—is now a good time?"

Entities: Shi Haoyun, County Magistrate Su

Su Yang blinked in surprise—why would Secretary Zhou seek him out now? Does he still want to keep shining in Lieshan County?

Entities: Su Yang, Lieshan County

Hou Junlai chuckled and said, "What's the deal with Secretary Zhou? When he shows up, you'll find out. Let me go handle some things first, and we'll catch up later."

Entities: Hou Junlai

Su Yang nodded, and Hou Junlai got up and left.

Entities: Su Yang, Hou Junlai

A few minutes later, Zhou Yanru entered Su Yang's office.

Entities: Zhou Yanru, Su Yang

"County Magistrate Su, hello. Since you took office, I've wanted to have a private chat about work, but you know the environment—anyone who gets close to you becomes the county's public enemy. I'm overly cautious, so I've put it off until now, and I really feel guilty about it."

Entities: County Magistrate Su

Su Yang laughed and said, "Secretary Zhou, you should be saying I'm here to report my work to you, right? This is all because of Geng Miao's delay. Today's a perfect chance to brief you on my recent work."

Entities: Su Yang, Geng Miao

No matter what purpose Zhou Yanru had in coming over, at least for now his Deputy Secretary position still stands, so it's only natural for Su Yang to say such polite remarks as reporting work.