Chapter 937

Seeing the old gentleman's expression turn slightly stern, Su Yang couldn't help but straighten his body.

The old gentleman said: "Of course, this mainly has to do with you, but you don't need to be nervous."

"Regarding what happened at the club this time, it's already spread far and wide. That kid named Jia Guolong, whose morals weren't great to begin with, now bears a grudge against you because of this incident."

"Although you did this to stand up for that Fang family girl, and you and he had some old grudges, this time he has completely lost face."

"You don't really understand the people and affairs in Jingcheng. They value face above all. I've heard people say that because of this, even your father might be affected."

"That official from Shancheng who is close to your dad's partner— I heard they had dinner together yesterday, and our two families' kids were there too. Because of this, they might form a political alliance."

"Of course, this person from Jiangnan is trying to make a push upward this time; it's his last chance. If he fails, he'll basically have to retire afterward."

"And his family in Jingcheng does have some background, plus this Shancheng official's strong support— frankly, it's not hopeless."

"Of course, the worse outcome is if he feels he has no hope of advancing, he might then block your father's room for promotion."

"So from now on, for matters like this, you should try to handle them properly."

"Of course, I'm not blaming you for such things; I just want to say that many affairs in Jingcheng aren't as simple as they appear on the surface, and often pulling one thread moves the whole body."

"Originally this was just a minor matter among the younger generation; the elders wouldn't normally get involved, but this time it happened to coincide with this juncture, so it blew up."

"I think someone already told you before that your father's side won't have any problems in any aspect; otherwise they might come after you."

"It's also possible they deliberately set a trap, creating this situation to give outsiders a false impression."

"Actually, this is aimed at your father."

"Don't assume people are too kind, especially when faced with power; the ugliness of human nature will then be fully exposed."

Su Yang's heart gave a jolt; to be honest, he really hadn't thought that much— he just felt he and Jia Guolong had some old scores, and he owed Fang Jingwen too much of a favor, so stepping in to help her wasn't a problem.

Leaving aside Fang Jingwen herself, Minister Fang has also looked out for him; and someone like Minister Fang, newly arrived in Jingcheng, inevitably hasn't yet smoothed relations with the major families, so Fang Jingwen still needs allies in that circle, making it only natural for him to step forward.

Zhou Weiguo said: "Dad, I know your worries, and I understand your expectations of me. But this sort of thing can't be blamed on Su Yang— he couldn't have anticipated these. Normally I wouldn't even consider such matters; right now I just need to finish my work well, give the superiors an account, and contribute to local economic development."

"Besides, at my age I'm not in a rush to achieve anything particular this time; just doing my work thoroughly and well is enough."

"Su Yang, you shouldn't carry a psychological burden either. I still say: if you think something is right and should be done, go ahead and do it— don't worry about who's ahead of you, don't fear others targeting you; even if the sky falls, I'll bear it."

Su Yang felt another wave of emotion; Old Zhou really couldn't be faulted in his treatment of him.

Qiao Lao Ye suddenly felt his tone might have been too harsh, so he added: "Su Yang, do you think what I just said was too severe? You also need to understand me."

"No one in our Qiao family continues an official career; even if we shoehorn them in, the highest they could reach is a bureau‑level post, which hardly amounts to anything."

"I've placed all my hopes on Zhou Weiguo, treating him entirely as my own son."

"One could say Old Zhou hasn't put in that much effort."

"The older one gets, the more one cares about such things, and I hold even greater expectations for you."

"At your age, even the scions of Jingcheng's aristocratic families cannot directly see the nation's top leaders."

"Not even during the New Year would they be taken along, because the juniors simply lack the qualifications."

"Only you have been singled out by the leaders to go there— how could I not place great hopes in you?"

"I also heard you have many project contacts and collaborations with your aunt's side."

"Actually, I should have told you this last time: from now on, whenever it concerns infrastructure and helps your work, you can just call your aunt and ask her to assist."

"Of course, don't think I'm using resources without limits; that's not the case. The places you work in are the nation's underdeveloped poor areas, which inherently need support from central ministries and related SOEs."

"But in reality, very few actually receive these policies; the vast majority are grabbed by profit‑seeking people who turn them into tools for extorting wealth."

"To be frank, our country's policies are good; they provide ample care for both grassroots construction and grassroots cadres."

"Especially for the common people, we try every possible way to care for and look after them."

"Every generation of Party and state leaders has taken developing the economy and improving livelihood as their duty, but in practice, how many of these policies actually reach the grassroots?"

"Moreover, most leaders of our central ministries, because provinces below constantly come to them for projects or resources, have become hot commodities."

"Thus a very bad atmosphere has formed, making a ministry bureau chief act more important than a vice provincial governor."

"Where does the root cause lie? Is it that our original resource allocation was insufficient? No— it's because those with background and connections have taken all the resources."

"Logically, the Jingcheng aristocratic youths also go to the provinces for training, and local cadres even call it 'gilding themselves.'"

"Could they not obtain such resources? No, they can."

"But their minds aren't on this at all, because their fundamental goal is to get promoted, to form small cliques locally and show off their status."

"And most of these resources are used by them as chips to trade power with others, making it almost impossible to use them locally."

"Worse still, they use their relatives to set up related companies, treating those resources as a form of power to be exchanged."

"Also, some officials' children hold nominal posts in enterprises, then leverage family connections to seize all the resources and approvals that poor localities need."

"Then they use them to make money, while nobody cares about local development."

"So since you now have the ability to access these, you must devote all resources to local construction and development, directing them to the common people who truly need them."