Chapter 857: with translation of chapter title

Su Yang said: "You say what meaning?"

Fang Jingwen said: "I guess you don't know, you forgot I told you—you were already selected for the reserve team? This time it's also a test for you; if under pressure you can't turn in a perfect answer sheet, then you'll be like those ordinary cadres and won't go far."

"Even if you have connections, even if you have ability, your development ceiling will still be suppressed."

Su Yang's heart jolted; Old Zhou comrade hadn't told him this. Now thinking about it, Old Zhou comrade surely knew, but just didn't want to add too much pressure on him.

Others might not know this, but it's normal for Fang Jingwen to know. Originally he had already made up his mind to do his best; if Zhang Jiangbo insists on opposing him, as long as it doesn't involve the fundamental interests of the common people and doesn't hinder Lieshan County's economic development, he can bear it when necessary.

Anyway, such people won't stay long in a local post; once they're gone, it's over. Because he's already sent several teams packing, if this new team is just set up and then any discord or unpleasantness occurs, even if it's someone else's fault, it might not be a good thing for him.

Countless people have told him to unite with comrades and try to wash away the stigma of being an 'officialdom killer.' Otherwise, even if he has ability, daring, and connections, who would risk being sent away themselves to work with him? But now, hearing this, he has no retreat at all.

Even if he wanted to restrain himself, follow a middle-way, and practice non-action, reality is so ironic. Before, he was vigorous and couldn't tolerate any sand in his eyes; by this point he had finally learned how to compromise. But reality won't let him compromise—not only can he not compromise, he must also unleash all his sharpness.

Fang Jingwen heard Su Yang silent for a while and withdrew her teasing: "How did this scare you? Aren't you fearless of heaven and earth, unable to tolerate any sand in your eyes? Aren't you supposed to uphold your original aspiration and fight to the end against all illegal and disorderly phenomena? You're frightened so easily—I really doubt my initial judgment of you."

"Er, no, I really wonder how the superiors picked you. Could it be because you have this connection with Zhou Ruohan, so they pulled strings to give the Zhou family a favor? Then I'd despise this selection rule."

"Otherwise, if you think backing down in the Zhou family would invite ridicule, you can tell me. I'll try to pull strings to get you into the Discipline Inspection Commission; there, the label 'officialdom killer' wouldn't exist, and you could fully display your sharpness. What do you think?"

"I'm not joking with you; I'm doing this for your consideration—it saves your face and doesn't hinder your development."

Su Yang said: "You're clearly just trying to see me make a fool of myself. I tell you, I'm hard all over, with no soft spot. If you don't believe me, just wait and see."

Fang Jingwen giggled: "I don't know if you're hard or not—you've never let me see. Anyway, I'm just giving you a heads-up; I remember you still owe me a meal, right? I'm also going back to Jingcheng for the New Year, so remember to make good on it, or else I'll go find Zhou Ruohan, and the outcome could be uncertain."

Su Yang said: "Whatever you like, I don't care. If there's nothing else, I'll hang up."

Fang Jingwen said: "If your highway project funding is secured, then you can hang up too."

Su Yang had already reached to hang up, but hearing this, he immediately picked up the phone: "No, how do you know about this? Applying for the highway project is troublesome, the key is lack of funds. And how did this get to your ears? It seems our Lieshan County's confidentiality work is lacking; we'll need to tighten secrecy discipline."

Fang Jingwen giggled: "This isn't just a county or city matter; once it reaches the province, the news spreads much faster. And you've been jumping the queue everywhere, delaying projects that were already lined up."

"Coincidentally, one of those is in our city; Secretary Gao mentioned it at yesterday's meeting. Our project was supposed to be completed by year-end next year, but because you've stirred things up, it will at least be delayed until the year after next."

Su Yang then suddenly realized; indeed, there's no impermeable wall. Considering that Secretary Gao used to be the head of the Transport Department before transferring, this kind of thing certainly can't stay hidden—he knows it all too well.

"If someone else wanted to know about this, it probably wouldn't be easy either, and they wouldn't talk. But on second thought, Fang Jingwen bringing this up suddenly is definitely not without purpose."

He asked: "Have you forgotten County Magistrate Fang's influence? How about it? Can you help us out of pity for our poor, backward situation? You know the situation here—many projects won't move forward immediately, and after the New Year there could be changes."

"I myself don't mind; if it really fails, I could just run away early. But if the local economy doesn't take off this time, there may be no chance later."

"Especially a project like a highway, few people want to undertake it. Moreover, we really have no money; the self-raised portion is a huge problem. I originally went to the Transport Department, even talked with the Finance Department's leaders, but they couldn't spare funds to support me; their advice was for me to go to Jingcheng to lobby for this project."

"If you can take me to Jingcheng to get this project approved, I would be deeply grateful."

Fang Jingwen said: "You're really dreaming big; I'd take you to Jingcheng to lobby the project, but who do I know? Still, if you genuinely ask me, it's not impossible—it'll depend on your sincerity; if your sincerity is enough, I think I can probably bring you to meet the Transport Department's leaders."

"Or you could say that the Transport Department's leaders might come to our house during the New Year period. If you perform well, I'll leave a crack in the door for you to slip in. How about that?"

This is truly a case of someone bringing a pillow to a sleepy person—such a good thing he certainly wouldn't refuse: "Sure, sure, I'll prepare a generous gift in advance and come visit your home."

Fang Jingwen said: "Don't bother preparing a big gift; whether you get let in is still up for discussion. I have something to attend to, so I'll hang up now and we'll talk after I return for the New Year."

Su Yang hadn't even had a chance to thank her when the line went dead. Then he saw Chen Bo staring at him and quickly said: "Oh, she's just a former colleague who is now the county magistrate of Jincheng County. She gave me some advice on the highway project."

But Chen Bo's expression was like that of a bystander watching a spectacle; his gaze seemed to say 'You guess whether I believe you.' Still, he smiled and said: 'County Magistrate Su, you're still well‑connected—I'll get going now.'

After Chen Bo left, Su Yang suddenly felt something was off. He of course knew he needed to approach the Transport Department, and could have Old Zhou comrade make an introduction, or ask Zhou Ruohan to reach out to her uncles and aunts to see if he could connect with the Transport Department people.

In theory this should be possible; otherwise he wouldn't have raised the highway project in the first place. Between him and Fang Jingwen they basically know each other's backgrounds—could it be that Fang Jingwen had a mental short‑circuit? Who would have thought of this layer?