Chapter 823

That woman is obviously scared; women naturally have a tendency to admire the strong.

When Old Qi of their family managed to move into the position of Political and Legal Affairs Commission Secretary, they naturally did some homework.

"What I'm saying is, I still think this person shouldn't be underestimated. If he were just a normal vice county magistrate, that would be fine, but he's… well, he's… Vice Governor Huang's… something."

"Since everyone here is our own, I'll speak openly. He merely offered his girlfriend to Vice Governor Huang, and then kept requesting related resources from the province. Even though he repeatedly made mistakes at the township level, because Vice Governor Huang was above him, he not only avoided severe punishment but actually rose step by step."

"Now I hear his girlfriend is pregnant and has been taken to the capital by Governor Huang. That child of his girlfriend could very well be Governor Huang's. He's enjoying benefits under the guise of a turtle shell, and Vice Governor Huang will surely look after him, so you'd better be careful."

"This person is quite petty; otherwise, if you can't bring yourself to lose face, I'll go apologize to him. Anyway, what just happened was also me being overly frank."

She said that because she mistakenly thought her husband had become a real power holder in the county Party leadership, and compared to her peers, it's like heaven and earth.

After finally gathering everyone together to show off a bit, encountering Su Yang, such an easy-to-manipulate passerby, she naturally wanted to make the most of it—but she never expected to hit a steel plate right away.

If Tian Xiaofei heard these remarks, he'd probably be pleased for a while. This rumor is spreading everywhere; anyone who thinks they have some influence and connections in the province has looked into it, and they all believe it to be true.

After all, neither Vice Governor Huang, Su Yang, nor Zhou Ruohan, who has been transferred to the capital, has come out to refute the rumor. In their minds, it's simply a settled fact that cannot be disputed, only made to look worse the more it's described.

Qi Guohui's face remained uncertain; after a while he said, "No need. Even if he has that connection, so what? This time, besides the County Party Secretary, the County Magistrate will also go to take office together with us. Moreover, you don't understand these county affairs; the work of Lieshan County is currently being presided over by Su Yang. Think about it: he's the lowest-ranked person, yet he's now in charge of the whole county's work, and I've heard he has taken some relatively strong measures."

"Even if I say nothing, others will inevitably have thoughts, especially since the County Magistrate is also about to take office—how could he tolerate someone like Su Yang continuing to develop? Moreover, the County Party Secretary is the absolute authority, said to be taking office after the New Year. Once he arrives, it would already be good if Su Yang isn't crushed beyond recognition."

"Moreover, in the county it's not like elsewhere; even if you have ties to Vice Governor Huang, so what? In the end, everything must be decided by a vote of the County Party Standing Committee."

"What arrogant capital does he have left, daring to act against me? I am the Political and Legal Affairs Commission Secretary, holding the power of public security, prosecution, and judiciary, especially the Public Security Bureau; both the County Party Secretary and the County Magistrate are trying to win me over. What is he, a mere scallion?"

"The most crucial point you haven't considered is that the vast majority of members in this County Party Standing Committee lineup have been sent down from the province. Just look at us—who among us doesn't have some connections and influence behind them?"

"So don't worry; we'll just eat and drink as we should. Once we take office, I'll immediately gather the other newly appointed officials, sort out the county's situation, then report to the superiors, demanding that Su Yang relinquish his authority over overseeing the whole county's work. Even if I don't take the lead, there's the deputy secretary or the executive vice county magistrate—there's simply no room for him to get his hands on it."

After Su Yang returned to his seat, his expression naturally wasn't as good as before. Shi Haoyun noticed at a glance and asked, "Leader, what's wrong? What happened just now? Why did you take so long coming back from the restroom?"

He also instinctively glanced left and right, seeing no one coming toward them or looking over.

Su Yang then recounted what had just happened in full.

Shi Haoyun was furious: "Leader, how can these people behave like this? Those who know think he's going down to become a Political and Legal Affairs Commission Secretary; those who don't think he's off to the capital to become a high official. With such quality and morality, he simply can't get any better."

"Leaving him aside, the people around him are also no good. Moreover, if he knew why we came today, he'd probably have come slinking over to apologize already."

The angrier he got, the more he wanted to get up and go find those people, but Su Yang held him down.

"It's unnecessary; I've already given him enough face. If he were sane, he wouldn't keep making a fuss over this. As for later, when we're in the county, friction will be unavoidable, but I still don't want to take the initiative; if he provokes me first, then that's another matter."

Because of this incident, although it didn't greatly affect Su Yang's mood, he really didn't want to keep eating. They left the restaurant and found a small inn nearby to rest, temporarily putting the matter out of mind.

In Su Yang's view, at most it's just about establishing an opponent in the Standing Committee. As the Political and Legal Affairs Commission Secretary, the most important thing he actually controls is the Public Security Bureau.

But the current state of the Public Security Bureau is such that not even today's Secretary Qi, let alone when Zhang Jiangbo takes office, will necessarily be able to get a grip on it.

Moreover, he has long since prepared for the worst-case scenario: after Zhang Jiangbo takes office, aside from the existing four people, everyone else will gather around Zhang Jiangbo.

Even the County Magistrate, at first, would have no choice but to rally around Secretary Zhang, because in fact he holds the municipal Party Committee's deputy secretary post with control over personnel authority. Of course that's a later matter; for now he doesn't need to consider these things—where there's a will, there's a way.

At around five in the afternoon, he was promptly awakened by Shi Haoyun. Although Bai Zhantang had said he could call anytime if something came up, and the two had indeed made plans for today, he still dutifully sent Bai Zhantang a message, lest Bai think he was utterly clueless about etiquette and trying to climb the ladder by ingratiating himself.

As soon as his message was sent, before he could even pocket his phone, Bai Zhantang's call came in:

"Why are you still being so polite? What's the point of sending a message? I already told you to just call if you have something. You're in the provincial capital, right? Hold on, I'll send you the address, but I might be a little late—the leader has a temporary small meeting tonight, so I should be able to make it by about seven-thirty."