128: Chapter 128 is really infuriating!

When Township Head Jiang Tiansheng slammed the folder onto the desk, Luan Ping was sitting in the chair opposite him, reporting on his work.

The sound of the files scattering exploded in the office, and Luan Ping's words got stuck in his throat; he dared not say another word.

"Take a look, take a look."

Township Head Jiang Tiansheng pushed a slip of paper in front of Luan Ping, tapping his finger against the words on it, making a rhythmic thumping sound on the desk.

"Sent over by the Party and Government Office. Written by Xu Weidong himself."

"Comrade Jiang Tiansheng, the office plants are withering a bit, please arrange for a replacement. You can refer to the varieties at the County Committee Compound, don't make it too monotonous."

After reading it, Township Head Jiang Tiansheng crumpled the paper into a ball and threw it into the trash can, his movements carrying a sense of long-suppressed anger.

"I am a dignified Township Head, the top leader of the government branch, and now even something like replacing plants requires me to handle it?"

"Does he, Xu Weidong, even respect me as the Township Head? What is the point of the people in the Party and Government Office? Is that director Wang Jianguo just a decoration?"

"He can't handle this kind of thing? He has to pass it to my desk?"

Luan Ping sat in the chair, leaning back slightly, as if trying to dodge the fire spewing from Township Head Jiang Tiansheng.

Having been in Hukuang Township for all these years, he had seen Township Head Jiang Tiansheng scold people, had seen him slam the table, had seen him berate subordinates until they were devastated, but he had never seen Township Head Jiang Tiansheng like this.

"Township Head Jiang, please calm down."

Luan Ping's voice was very low, carrying a sense of cautious ingratiation.

"Small matters like replacing plants, I'll go tell Wang Jianguo in a bit and have him handle it, you don't need to be angry over this."

"Is this about replacing plants?"

Township Head Jiang Tiansheng leaned back against the chair, his chest heaving a few times, his voice filled with an indescribable bitterness.

"Luan Ping, you haven't just been in Hukuang Township for a year or two."

"Let me ask you, back when I was Deputy Party Secretary, when did I ever have to put up with this kind of treatment?"

"Back then, which Secretary didn't politely consult with the Township Head when doing things?"

"Now it's great; by the time I was promoted to Township Head, I've become nothing at all."

"He, Xu Weidong, uses me even more readily than he uses Wang Jianguo. At least Wang Jianguo is his director of the Party and Government Office, but what am I? A glorified secretary in his eyes?"

Luan Ping dared not respond to this.

He lowered his head, his gaze falling on the pile of scattered documents on the desk, pretending to study something.

Township Head Jiang Tiansheng did not let him off, his voice rising a few degrees, as if he wanted to pour out all the frustration he had been holding in for the past few days.

"Last week, he asked me to go to the Forestry Station to verify the data on returning farmland to forests."

"Can't the Forestry Station head do this kind of thing himself? Can't the deputy township head in charge do it?"

"Does it have to be me, the Township Head, going there in person?"

"Fine, I went."

"The week before that, he asked me to go to the village to mediate a dispute over a homestead."

"Mediating disputes is the job of the Judicial Office, the job of the Comprehensive Management Office; no matter what, it shouldn't be the Township Head's turn to step in personally."

"Fine, I went too."

"Now, even replacing plants requires me to handle it personally."

"If one day the light bulb in his office breaks, does that mean I have to go change it too?"

Sweat began to bead on Luan Ping's forehead. He knew Township Head Jiang Tiansheng was in a fit of rage and that saying anything was useless, but he also knew that he couldn't let Township Head Jiang Tiansheng keep talking like this.

If he said too much and it got out, it wouldn't be good for anyone.

"Township Head Jiang, Secretary Xu might not have done it on purpose."

"He is young after all, and might not be very familiar with the division of labor in township work. There are some things he doesn't know who to look for, so he just comes to you."

"You are the top leader of the government, it's normal for him to look for you..."

"Normal?"

Township Head Jiang Tiansheng interrupted him, his voice carrying a sense of long-suppressed anger.

"Luan Ping, are you really not understanding, or are you pretending not to understand? It's not that he doesn't know who to look for; he's doing it on purpose."

"Something like replacing plants can be handled by just finding anyone."

"He insists on writing a note and handing it to my desk just to tell me that in this township, whatever he tells me to do, I have to do."

"I, Township Head Jiang Tiansheng, have been in Hukuang Township for over a decade; what kind of Secretary haven't I seen?"

"Yet he, Xu Weidong, has been here less than half a year, and he's already treating me like a beast of burden."

Luan Ping's expression changed slightly. He subconsciously glanced at the door; it was closed tightly, and the curtains were drawn halfway, so it shouldn't be audible from outside.

"Township Head Jiang, you mustn't say things like that."

His voice was very low, so low he was almost whispering.

"Secretary Xu is young and energetic, and his way of doing things is a bit overbearing, but if these words of yours get out..."

"What if they get out?"

Township Head Jiang Tiansheng's voice rose again, but he quickly lowered it, as if he realized he had gone too far.

"If they get out, let them say I, Township Head Jiang Tiansheng, am just complaining."

"So what? I've worked here for so many years, can't I even say a few honest words?"

He picked up his teacup and took a gulp; the water had already gone cold, and it was so astringent that he frowned.

Afterward, Township Head Jiang Tiansheng slammed the teacup onto the desk and leaned back in his chair, his chest still heaving.

Damn it, the tea in his office is always cold!

"Luan Ping, do you know how I feel right now?"

"Back when I was Deputy Party Secretary, although there was a Secretary above me, the Secretary managed the overall work, and the specific matters were still handled by me."

"Back then in Hukuang Township, my words still carried weight."

"Now that I've been promoted to Township Head, logically it's a promotion, but look at the life I'm living now?"

"Committee Member Chen Ruo is being held firmly in check by Deputy Party Secretary Hu Ming, and your side, the political and legal branch, is also being watched tightly."

"I am a Township Head, the work of the government branch hasn't been sorted out yet, and I have to act as a secretary for the Secretary first."

"Replacing plants, mediating disputes, verifying data—these trivial matters come one after another; I don't even have time to catch my breath."

Luan Ping listened, feeling uncomfortable himself.

He was also someone promoted by Township Head Jiang Tiansheng, and seeing him suppressed like this now, he didn't feel good either.

But he knew even better that this was not the time to add fuel to the fire.

The example of Committee Member Chen Ruo was right before his eyes; the person who was publicly humiliated by Deputy Party Secretary Hu Ming at the leadership meeting and eventually had to go kowtow and beg Xu Weidong for mercy was still keeping his head down and behaving himself.

"Township Head Jiang, I understand everything you've said."

"Secretary Xu is a bit overbearing, and some things he does are indeed not proper."

"But we must consider this carefully; you are the top leader of the government, and he is the Secretary. If you two start a conflict, it won't be good for anyone."

"Over at the county level, they won't support you either."

Township Head Jiang Tiansheng didn't speak, just looked at the ceiling.

Luan Ping didn't know what he was thinking, and he didn't dare to ask.

"Who does he, Xu Weidong, think he is? Is he an emperor? Does he really treat all of us like servants?"

Luan Ping was so scared he almost jumped out of his chair. He subconsciously glanced at the door, and after confirming it was closed, he breathed a sigh of relief.

His voice dropped to the lowest point, carrying a tone that was almost pleading.

"Township Head Jiang, please calm down."

"If these words reach Secretary Xu's ears, we will be in a truly passive position."

"You saw what happened with Committee Member Chen Ruo; Deputy Party Secretary Hu Ming is worried about not being able to find leverage."

"If these words of yours are exaggerated and spread around, who knows, someone might just put you on the spot at a leadership meeting."

Township Head Jiang Tiansheng was silent for a while, his chest slowly calming down, and the flush on his face fading a bit.

He reached out to pick up the cigarette box on the desk, pulled one out, lit it, took a puff, and exhaled slowly.

"I was just muddled with anger."

"Xu Weidong has indeed been too overbearing lately. Replacing plants, mediating disputes, verifying data—which of these is a job for a Township Head? If he acts like this, what else is it but treating me like a secretary?"

"I was angry, so I spoke without restraint. Just listen and that's it; don't spread it."

Luan Ping nodded quickly and said, "Township Head Jiang, don't worry, I'll pretend I didn't hear this."

"Once I leave this door, I won't mention it to anyone."

Township Head Jiang Tiansheng nodded and took another puff of his cigarette.

"Luan Ping, what do you think he is actually trying to do?"

"I have no problem cooperating with his work, but he can't treat me like a maid, right? Asking me to handle something like replacing plants, what kind of behavior is that?"

"If it gets out, what authority do I, the Township Head, have left?"

Luan Ping didn't know how to answer this question. He wanted to say that Xu Weidong might have really just written a note casually without thinking too much about it.

But he didn't even believe this himself. After all, that person Xu Weidong had been laying out his pieces since the first day he arrived, and every step was calculated; how could he possibly just write a note casually?

"Township Head Jiang, I think Secretary Xu might just want to establish his authority."

"He just arrived, he's young, and he's afraid the people below won't be convinced."

Township Head Jiang Tiansheng's anger immediately surged up again, and he said, "If he wants to establish authority, he uses me as the sacrifice?"

Luan Ping was instantly in a thankless position, and after being lectured by Township Head Jiang Tiansheng for over half an hour, he left dispiritedly.

Work was becoming increasingly difficult to do, and it seemed he would have to visit the Township Head's office less often in the future.

After all, some person's lackey was still in charge of political and legal work, and who knows, one day it might become a sword pointed at him.