50: Chapter 50 The Meaning of a Name 50: Chapter 50 The Meaning of a Name When Ji Yang got up in the morning, he made a call to the Party and Government Office to inquire about the preparation status of Miao Xiaoying’s meeting.
After all, such a meeting was being attended, local officials all needed to be notified properly, and village officials had to come as well. ɪꜰ ʏᴏᴜ ᴡᴀɴᴛ ᴛᴏ ʀᴇᴀᴅ ᴍᴏʀᴇ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs, ᴘʟᴇᴀsᴇ ᴠɪsɪᴛ novel⸺fire.net
“Deputy Chief Ji, don’t worry, things are under control.”
After finishing the call, Ji Yang washed up and went to the dining area.
Breakfast was being served at the guest house.
Upon entering, he saw several people already eating.
After greeting everyone with handshakes, Ji Yang also went to get himself a big bowl of noodles.
Yan Xingshun asked, “How are the preparations for the meeting coming along?”
The job of preparing the meeting had been assigned to Ji Yang at yesterday’s brief meeting.
“I just confirmed over the phone, everything is ready, and the village officials from distant areas have all arrived.”
At that moment, Mayor He Chengjun also entered.
He looked like someone who had seen the world, carrying himself with a leader’s authority, and immediately began engaging with everyone with handshakes and greetings.
“Ji, how is the meeting preparation going?”
Hearing this, everyone turned their gaze toward Ji Yang.
Though it was just a manner of address, it carried a lot of implications; He Chengjun exuded a superior air, using this address to suppress Ji Yang, indicating from any angle Ji Yang was inferior, even bearing a tone of an elder addressing a younger one.
If Ji Yang had agreed then, it would have meant he acknowledged his own inferiority.
Everyone wanted to see how Ji Yang would respond.
Ji Yang hadn’t expected this young man to act this way.
“Haha, Old He, I was just reporting this matter to Secretary Yan.”
Hearing Ji Yang’s address, everyone suddenly looked at Ji Yang with a peculiar expression.
If both parties had been polite, such an address wouldn’t have been used.
Now that both had used such informal addresses, it appeared superficially very affectionate—an ‘Old’ and a ‘Little,’ placing them on equal footing, and Ji Yang’s statement about reporting to Secretary Yan implied he was on the same level as He Chengjun, while Yan Xingshun was a generation above.
Everyone felt Ji Yang should not be underestimated, as he had strongly countered, expressing his discontentment to He Chengjun: You don’t respect me, so I don’t care to respect you either.
He Chengjun, accustomed to arrogance, always had people courting and flattering him.
Arriving in a new place, he wanted to establish his authority, and Ji Yang became his target.
He was testing this approach to see Ji Yang’s reaction; if Ji Yang were inexperienced, he might have just responded reflexively, and He would have then dominated him.
However, he hadn’t expected Ji Yang to also act over-familiarly, leaving out any formal titles.
After observing Ji Yang for a while, He Chengjun then looked at Yan Xingshun with no expression yet a smile in his eyes.
He Chengjun realized his probe had backfired, as this equated to pushing someone like Ji Yang to Yan Xingshun’s side.
Initially thinking Ji Yang was just a young man who had gained promotion by chance, he hadn’t anticipated such experienced behavior.
Naturally, He Chengjun didn’t want to see Ji Yang unclearly side with Yan Xingshun; his face quickly wore a smile as he said, “Deputy Chief Ji has a good grasp of the township matters, we’ll certainly need your advice more in the future.”
“Mayor He, rest assured, whatever I know, you all can ask about anything.”
The address had changed again.
At this point, everyone looked at Ji Yang differently, thinking this young man should definitely not be underestimated.