Volume Four: Glory Days - Chapter 155: You Can't Touch a Tiger's Butt

Yang Tian said nothing, willingly letting Xiao Xiaoliang handcuff him and take him to the township police station. While he could use direct methods to deal with old man Xue and his cronies, fighting back aggressively against the likes of Xiao Xiaoliang was unwise. Not only would it yield no substantial advantage, but it would also fail to achieve the desired effect.

You don't use a cleaver to kill a chicken; a butcher's knife is reserved for an ox!

As soon as Yang Tian was taken away, old Ruan hurriedly scraped together a few thousand yuan in the village and rushed after them, hoping to minimize any suffering Yang Tian might endure at the police station and find a way to bring him back.

Old Xue followed along as well, purely for the spectacle and, more so, out of malicious joy. Earlier, Yang Tian had beaten him until he ate dirt; now, he wanted to watch Yang Tian get humiliated and dragged through the mud by Xiao Xiaoliang and his men.

According to protocol, arresting a village chief required notifying the township committee. Consequently, Xiao Xiaoliang called the township committee secretary, old Wang, asking him to come to the police station to jointly "educate" this village chief who had dared to strike a villager.

Xiao Xiaoliang felt entirely justified. As a grassroots cadre, a village chief raising a hand against villagers was not only a complete lack of political consciousness but also a disgraceful stain on the image of the people's servants.

Old Wang owed his position as township committee secretary entirely to the patronage of Vice Mayor Yuan Meishan, meaning he did have influential backing. He essentially ruled the township with an iron fist, and his cozy relationship with Xiao Xiaoliang was the very reason the latter dared to commit acts others wouldn't touch.

By the time old Wang rushed to the police station, Xiao Xiaoliang and his men had already roughed Yang Tian up. Given Yang Tian's martial prowess, they shouldn't have been able lay a finger on him, but he deliberately offered no resistance, even provoking them during the beating to ensure they hit him a few more times.

In fact, before coming, he had instructed old Ruan to hand his mobile phone over to Zhang Xiaoshan, telling her to dial the fifth number in his contacts list to report that he was in trouble the moment he was arrested.

That fifth number did not belong to Lang Ping; it belonged precisely to Yuan Meishan. Yang Tian preferred not to bother Lang Ping with such trivial matters, and having Yuan Meishan intervene was more than enough to achieve his desired outcome.

"So you're Village Chief Yang? How on earth did you pass the civil service exam to become a village chief? Is raising a hand against villagers something a people's servant should ever do?" As soon as old Wang arrived at the police station, without asking for the rights or wrongs of the matter, he launched into a furious tirade against Yang Tian.

Yang Tian merely smiled faintly and remained silent. He knew that aside from old Ruan, everyone present here was one of old Wang's men. Even if he had ten mouths, he wouldn't be able to argue his way out. When it came to high-sounding political rhetoric, he was no match for these seasoned bureaucratic old-timers.

"Secretary Wang, it's all my fault for not guiding him properly. Little Yang is a city boy, and it's only his first day here—he doesn't understand anything yet!" Old Ruan stepped forward to plead on Yang Tian's behalf.

"And you have the nerve to speak? Old Ruan, you're a veteran cadre yourself! How could you let him pull a stunt like this? Isn't this smearing our collective reputation as cadres?" Old Wang slammed his hand on the table, startling old Ruan into hastily retreating a few steps.

"Before the law, everyone is equal. Whether you're a village chief or an ordinary villager, resorting to violence means facing the sanctions of the law! Village Chief Yang still hasn't said a single word, just sitting there smiling. It's clear he still doesn't grasp the severity of the situation. I think he needs a bit more re-education! Little Dong, take him to the inner room!" Xiao Xiaoliang was getting carried away. He bummed another cigarette from old Xue, and with a twitch of his eyes, prepared to continue venting old Xue's frustrations.

"It's one thing to bully ordinary citizens, but now you even dare to beat a village chief. I wonder whose guts have gotten fatter these days!" Yang Tian chuckled merrily.

"Brat, still running your mouth? So what if you're a village chief? Even a crown prince breaks the law to the same punishment as a commoner!" Xiao Xiaoliang roared with a righteous expression.

Just as Xiao Xiaoliang and two other police officers grabbed Yang Tian to drag him away, old Wang's cell phone rang. After answering the call, old Wang's expression shifted into a flurry of nervous bows and nods, repeatedly stammering agreements. In an instant, his face drained of color, turning ashen gray, and he turned to stare at Yang Tian in utter disbelief.

"Director Xiao, what Little Yang... Village Chief Yang has a point. When cadres make mistakes, there are established procedures within the official channels to handle them. You can't treat them like street ruffians. Release Comrade Little Yang right this instant!" Old Wang feigned composure, but his tone was intensely urgent, as if he couldn't wait to set Yang Tian free and send him as far away as possible. Beads of fine sweat quickly formed across his forehead.

"How can we do that? If you don't give a youngster some discipline, he'll never learn to work honestly!" Xiao Xiaoliang had no idea who was on the other end of old Wang's call, so he maintained his self-righteous facade, itching to beat Yang Tian a few more times to make old Xue feel better and boost his own prestige around Dafu Village.

Hearing this, old Wang panicked. The call he had just received was from Yuan Meishan, who had anxiously demanded to know if the Wanshan Township Police Station had detained a village chief named Yang Tian.

Completely in the dark, old Wang had naturally confirmed it on the spot. Yuan Meishan had nearly slammed his fist down on the other end, ordering old Wang to treat the man with the utmost care and respect. Otherwise, if old Wang failed to keep his position as township committee secretary, he shouldn't blame Yuan for not warning him beforehand—and with that, he hung up.

Although Yuan Meishan hadn't explicitly spelled out the relationship between Yang Tian and Municipal Party Secretary Lang Ping, old Wang could already sense that this Yang Tian was not someone to be trifled with.

Treat him with the utmost care and respect? Just moments ago, Xiao Xiaoliang had severely beaten the man, and there was still dried blood at the corner of his mouth! Crap, hadn't he just stroked a tiger's whiskers?

However, having spent years wading through the murky waters of township politics, old Wang had managed to pick up a few survival tricks. He knew very well that if he suddenly exposed Yang Tian's powerful background right now, it wouldn't smooth things over; instead, it would plunge him into an intensely embarrassing predicament.

Right now, there was only one solution: release Yang Tian immediately, then slowly apologize, cozy up to him, and beg for leniency.

Yet this fool Xiao Xiaoliang still hadn't realized the gravity of the situation and was actually trying to provoke the tiger further. Old Wang grew frantic. If this farce continued, not only would Xiao Xiaoliang be in deep trouble, but he himself might as well start packing his bags as township secretary.

"Director Xiao, educating cadre comrades is the business of the township committee! Since when is it your turn to point fingers and bark orders here?" old Wang snapped sharply. This caught everyone by surprise. Just moments before, old Wang had been singing the exact same tune as Xiao Xiaoliang; why was he suddenly turning against him?

The most astonished of all was Xiao Xiaoliang. He mentally scrambled to figure out what had gotten into old Wang to make him turn his back on him like this.

Suddenly, he recalled the phone call old Wang had just answered—there was definitely something wrong with that call. He turned to look at Yang Tian again, only to catch the chilling, mocking smile on the young man's face. Xiao Xiaoliang finally understood. No wonder this punk hadn't fought back or cursed when hit; he had been setting a trap for him all along! It was over—this punk probably had serious backing, and he had stepped in it big time.

"Secretary Wang is entirely right! Comrade Little Yang, it was just my temper getting the better of me earlier; my handling of the situation was rather rash. I am apologizing to you right here—I hope you won't take it to heart. Everything I did was for the stability of the region!" Xiao Xiaoliang flipped his attitude in a flash, personally removing Yang Tian's handcuffs while offering him a cigarette.

"I don't smoke. As leaders, we cannot casually accept other people's cigarettes, especially those from the common folk. It gives people the impression that we only solve their problems after taking favors, which ruins our work style!" Yang Tian patted Xiao Xiaoliang on the shoulder. Xiao Xiaoliang's complexion instantly shifted, turning as pale and ugly as ashes.

"Comrade Little Yang is right! Director Xiao, you must get rid of this bad habit from now on!" old Wang chimed in, though his heart was gripped with cold fear. If Yang Tian started throwing a tantrum right then and there, he wouldn't be quite as terrified, as it would at least give him a chance to prepare and pull some strings. But Yang Tian remained inscrutable, leaving him completely unsettled because he had no clue what the young man intended to do next.

"Yes, yes, yes, I'll definitely change! Ah, Village Chief Yang, I suppose we can consider this a friendship forged through blows! It's my first time seeing a village chief who fights so passionately for the people, and I truly admire you. How about this—from now on, we'll address each other as brothers. If you ever need anything, just give me a direct call!" Xiao Xiaoliang was extremely slick; regardless of Yang Tian's background, he figured he should cozy up first.

"A friendship forged through blows? Heh, I suppose you could call it that. As for addressing each other as brothers, wouldn't that make me Director Xiao's younger brother? I'm just afraid that when the time comes for me to call upon you, Director Xiao won't dare to answer! By the way, speaking of which, what about that irrigation ditch..." Yang Tian shrugged, finding Xiao Xiaoliang utterly laughable. If this man knew that the Municipal Party Secretary was his sworn brother, he wondered if he would still dare utter such words.

"Agricultural irrigation is the top priority in rural construction. Neither collectives nor individuals have any right to cut off the farmers' irrigation water supply under any pretext. As for the water dispute between Shitou Village and Dafu Village, I'll make my stance clear today: whenever Shitou Village needs water, the gates will be opened immediately!" old Wang began playing the good guy. Since he hadn't personally laid a hand on Yang Tian, if things blew up later, he could simply push Xiao Xiaoliang out to take the fall while he safely secured his own relationship with Yang Tian.

"With Secretary Wang's words, my work will be much easier to handle. Well, it's getting late, so I'll head back first. We can catch up next time the township holds a work meeting!" Maintaining his smile, Yang Tian led old Ruan away.

Old Ruan was still completely bewildered. What on earth had just happened? How had such a tense and threatening situation suddenly turned so harmonious? Not only had they let Yang Tian off scot-free, but they had even resolved the water issue.

True to the cautious nature of a veteran farmer, however, old Ruan figured that since everything was settled now, it was best not to dwell on it. Relieved, he put the several thousand yuan he had chipped in back into his pocket.

"Director Xiao, are we just going to let it go like this?" Old Xue was deeply displeased. He hadn't even finished venting his anger, yet Xiao Xiaoliang had just released Yang Tian and even planned to hand the water over to Shitou Village.

"What else do you want me to do? I might lose my job over this! Go back and make sure you show proper respect to this Village Chief Yang from now on, otherwise... No, tomorrow morning I'll make a trip over there myself. Old Xue, you listen to me: don't ever provoke this Yang Tian again. Even if he beats you to death, I won't stick my neck out for you!" Once Yang Tian was out of sight, Xiao Xiaoliang's heart refused to settle.

"It is indeed necessary to make a trip tomorrow. Old Xiao, I won't go with you. Make sure you handle this properly and don't let any more mishaps occur!" Old Wang took a deep drag of his cigarette, fell silent for a moment, and softly instructed Xiao Xiaoliang. Old Wang was even more cunning; if he tagged along tomorrow to apologize and try to curry favor, it would make it blatantly obvious that he had been complicit in the whole affair. It was much better to distance himself—that way, he could handle whatever came next with plausible deniability.

Xiao Xiaoliang could clearly see that old Wang was getting cold feet and trying to back out, but there was nothing he could do. In times like this, everyone looked out for their own skin. He could only blame his own bad luck for trying to show off and recklessly stroking a tiger's whiskers.