Chapter 820 - 821: It’s So Satisfying to Confront the Leader
Liu Qingyuan just said that and then hung up the phone abruptly. Jiang Xueliang held his phone, his face that had just softened turned grim again; muscles twitching, his hand clutching the phone with knuckles whitening.
"Old Jiang, what’s wrong?" Cui Ying immediately asked with concern.
Grinding his teeth, Jiang Xueliang said: "Liu Qingyuan wants me to toast him upstairs. I’m not his deputy anymore, why should I listen to him? I’m not going."
Cui Ying’s face also turned very ugly, but in the end, she still restrained herself and said: "You should still make the trip. Guard against gentlemen but not against villains. Liu Qingyuan is always hovering around the district chief and the district party secretary. If he badmouths you behind your back and you’re left with no future, that would be even worse."
Fisting his hands, Jiang Xueliang said: "No future then no future, if they don’t let me be an official, I’ll just be an ordinary civil servant. I walk a straight path, act rightfully; even if he targets me, he can’t smash my rice bowl or leave me jobless."
"But..." Cui Ying’s face twisted with worry, she still wanted to persuade her husband.
"No need for persuasion, I, Jiang Xueliang, have labored through so many years, I’m already sick of bootlicking. Even if they invite me back now to be Liu Qingyuan’s deputy, I won’t do it. Let alone sweet-talk him, no way."
Jiang Xueliang’s statement was definitive, without hesitation—he was truly adamant.
"Well said! A man should have such backbone. Uncle, I toast to you." Song Xiaodong immediately praised and raised his glass.
Feeling appreciated by Song Xiaodong, Jiang Xueliang suddenly felt the kinship of a kindred spirit. He clinked glasses with Song Xiaodong and drained his in one gulp, saying: "Little Song is right. A man should stand tall between heaven and earth. Spending all day fawning over others is not truly working. If I don’t do it, so be it. I want to live with some dignity."