The Beautiful County Magistrate
Chapter 165: Follow me, Xu Qianli, and you’ll have meat to eat!

Chapter 165: Chapter 165: Follow me, Xu Qianli, and you’ll have meat to eat!

"You’re ignoring me, who else are you paying attention to?"

"Alright, Sister Sun Yan, don’t be angry, come, listen to my explanation."

Without further ado, Xu Qianli took Sun Yan into his arms, sat down on the sofa with her, and started pouring out his thoughts.

Xu Qianli told Sun Yan a lot, spoke about his vision for the future, his ambition, and how he intended to climb upwards at all costs, to grasp more power and wealth, to become a true highflier.

As for why he got together with Huang Ling, it was simple, his mindset had completely changed from half a month ago, and he had to change his perspective and approach to certain matters.

For instance, in dealing with Huang Ling.

Firstly, Huang Ling was indeed very beautiful, and he wasn’t one to pass up a free meal, and secondly, there were many opportunistic people like Huang Ling around. Since she was willing to throw in her lot with him, it would be unwise to refuse and end up pushing her towards his rival, Zhang Kuisan, thus making an enemy for himself.

Huang Ling herself wasn’t important, but what if there were ten, a hundred, like her? If they all stood by Zhang Kuisan’s side because he rejected them, that would be no good for him at all.

Listening to Xu Qianli’s explanation, Sun Yan profoundly disagreed, "So if a bunch of women throw themselves at you, you’re going to accept them all?"

"How could that be possible?"

"In the entire County Government, aside from you, Sister Sun Yan, how many can match Huang Ling?"

"Besides, I’m just one man, I can’t handle that many women."

"I assure you, Huang Ling is an exception, it won’t happen with a bunch."

"Alright, Sister Sun Yan, don’t be angry anymore, come, let me take good care of you."

Xu Qianli tightened his grip on Sun Yan’s waist, eyeing her pretty face like a wolf.

"No!"

Sun Yan quickly left his embrace upon realizing Xu Qianli’s intentions.

"Ugh, disgusting, you just messed around with Huang Ling, you can’t touch me now."

"And there’s something important I need to talk to you about."

"Zeng Changyun came to see me just now, he..."

Sun Yan recounted everything that had just happened to Xu Qianli, who quickly came to understand the situation.

It turned out that while he was getting hot and heavy with Huang Ling, that useless Zeng Changyun actually went to Sun Yan, offering many benefits in hopes of persuading her to side with Zhang Kuisan.

In other words, Zeng Changyun had offered her benefits to make her an enemy of Xu Qianli and Lan Qianrong.

As for Zeng Changyun’s offer, it was to get Sun Yan promoted to a department in the city by the end of the year.

Although it was a lateral move, that unit had substantial perks and more room for advancement, much better than her current position as Deputy County Magistrate in charge of culture and education.

Zeng Changyun, a Deputy County Magistrate himself, had the audacity to offer such a deal because he had used his father-in-law, a big shot in the city, as a guarantor.

After laying out everything, Sun Yan said, "Xu Qianli, what do you think about this, what should I do?"

"Sister Sun Yan, tell me your thoughts first," Xu Qianli said.

"My thoughts?"

"My thoughts are very simple, I too want to advance, but I don’t want to be your enemy."

"It’s not just our relationship, but more importantly, I can tell that Zhang Kuisan is no match for you. Standing with him will definitely not be beneficial."

"But my wishing to help you is purely because I think highly of you, and I don’t have any good feelings towards County Magistrate Lan."

"The vibe she gives off makes me really uncomfortable, I always feel that she’s very calculating and conceals it deeply!"

Sun Yan mentioned Lan Qianrong and inexplicably felt uncomfortable.

Since Lan Qianrong arrived in Jiang City for her assignment, barely more than ten days had passed. Others said she had no real talent, that she had ascended the ranks through her beauty alone. They said that in Jiang City, she wouldn’t be able to accomplish anything; she had no capabilities and was completely suppressed by Zhang Kuisan, and would soon be forced to leave in disgrace.

But Sun Yan didn’t see it that way. After interacting with Lan Qianrong for a while, she vaguely felt that this woman was a wolf in sheep’s clothing, acting harmless while being a ferocious beast, waiting for an opportunity to strike viciously.

From her recent actions, it seemed like Lan Qianrong did nothing but push everything onto Xu Qianli, making Xu Qianli stand in front of her, bearing all the pressure and attacks while she reaped the benefits.

At face value, it might seem reasonable, given that Xu Qianli was her secretary, whose role was to share her burdens. Yet, no matter how Sun Yan looked at it, she felt uncomfortable and distasteful.

All in all, her impression of Lan Qianrong was extremely poor, even worse than what she thought of Zhang Kuisan.

Was Lan Qianrong incredibly scheming?

Xu Qianli had a profound understanding of this.

"Being able to become the County Party Secretary at such a young age, she couldn’t be simple. Sister Sun Yan, your speculation is probably correct; her scheming must be very deep."

"However, my fate is now tied to hers; I have no choice but to help her."

"No matter what, I must deal with Zhang Kuisan. That would be beneficial for both her and me."

"Of course, I will also try to ensure that Sister Sun Yan benefits as well. How do you feel about the position of Deputy County Magistrate?"

Deputy County Magistrate?

Sun Yan’s ears perked up, a brilliant light bursting in her eyes as she stared intently at Xu Qianli without letting go.

"What did you say, Deputy County Magistrate?"

"Do you mean, Xu Qianli, that once you’ve dealt with Zhang Kuisan, you’ll make me the Deputy?"

"Let’s not talk about whether you can handle Zhang Kuisan, what about me—do I have enough experience?"

Sun Yan was well aware of what being promoted to a substantive post like Deputy County Magistrate meant. It was a position with real power lying just below the County Magistrate. She would be eligible to attend the Jiang City County Committee standing committee meetings, symbolizing a real entry into the core power circles of Jiang City’s bureaucratic world.

In the future, there was even the possibility of becoming the next County Magistrate, offering immense potential for advancement.

But did she qualify?

Xu Qianli said, "Experience is not that crucial. After all, your only competitor is Zeng Changyun, who’s new to Jiang City and has even less seniority than you."

Sun Yan replied, "Isn’t there also Ding Biao?"

"By the time, he’ll be too preoccupied with his issues to even dare to compete for the position of Deputy."

"If you have no objections, then we can settle this matter."

With that, Xu Qianli made the decision.

His relationship with Sun Yan was not bad, and naturally, he wanted her to align with him and Lan Qianrong. He couldn’t just order her around for nothing, and he also wanted to help Sun Yan gain an advantage.

Offering Sun Yan the position of Deputy County Magistrate seemed quite fitting to him.

Sun Yan said, "I’d be more than happy, but would County Magistrate Lan agree?"

"At this critical juncture, your willingness to help her would be a godsend. What reason would she have to refuse?"

"Moreover, the position of Deputy requires me to make an effort to deal with Zhang Kuisan before it becomes available. She would merely be capitalizing on the situation."

"No matter how you look at it, she has no grounds to refuse."

"Just rest easy and wait for your promotion to Deputy."

"Just one thing needs to be clear—you must publicly agree to Zeng Changyun’s proposal to side with Zhang Kuisan and even appear to be dissatisfied with me and County Magistrate Lan."

Xu Qianli instructed.