48: Chapter 48 This is Power

Su Ye first smiled and nodded at the others. Although the others looked at him with curious and scrutinizing gazes, seeing how close Yan Zheng was with Su Ye, they all smiled and nodded in response.

After Su Ye led Jiang Bai to sit down at Yan Zheng's left hand, Yan Zheng looked at Jiang Bai and said with a smile:

"This must be your girlfriend, right? Little Su, you have a good eye, finding such a beautiful girlfriend."

Hearing Yan Zheng's teasing, Jiang Bai's face instantly flushed red. Although she was a bit shy, she still very magnanimously poured herself a glass of beer, stood up, and toasted Yan Zheng:

"Brother Yan, I've often heard Su Ye mention you recently, saying that you are like his own older brother. I'd like to toast you to thank you for taking care of Su Ye."

Yan Zheng, who had previously appeared somewhat dignified, laughed so hard upon hearing Jiang Bai's words that wrinkles appeared on his face:

"Good, good, good. I, Yan Zheng, will drink this toast of yours."

With that, he downed the liquor in his glass. Jiang Bai also followed suit quite boldly.

Only then did Su Ye slowly say with a smile:

"Brother Yan, Jiang Bai has toasted you, but I haven't yet. However, before I toast you, shouldn't you introduce everyone to me first?"

Hearing Su Ye's words, Yan Zheng slapped his forehead, repeatedly saying he had drunk too much tonight, and then began introducing everyone to Su Ye:

"Deputy Bureau Chief Chang Le—there's no need for me to say much about him, right?"

Su Ye poured a glass of wine and said to Deputy Bureau Chief Chang Le with a smile:

"Deputy Bureau Chief Chang, we meet again."

Deputy Bureau Chief Chang Le didn't put on airs either; he picked up his glass, stood up, and said:

"Why are you being so polite, kid? Still calling me Deputy Bureau Chief Chang? Just call me Brother Chang from now on."

After seeing the two clink glasses and down their drinks, he continued to introduce others to Su Ye:

"This is Team Leader Li, who is in charge of anti-narcotics. This is my younger brother, Su Ye."

"Hello, Team Leader Li. My name is Su Ye; you can just call me Little Su. I have always admired heroes like you who fight on the front lines for the safety of the people. Let's have a drink."

"Hahaha, Bureau Chief Yan, your younger brother really knows how to talk. I'm making friends with him."

"Little Su, this is Station Chief Zheng from the Heping Police Station."

"Hello, Station Chief Zheng—"

After toasting everyone around the table, Su Ye finally understood what kind of gathering this was. Present were various police station chiefs, captains of several powerful departments within the district bureau, as well as people from the court and the procuratorate. To put it bluntly, these people were the foundation upon which Yan Zheng stood in the High-Tech Zone and even the entire city of Chengdu.

It could be said that the people sitting here contained seventy percent of the power within the entire Chengdu Public Security, Procuratorate, and Judiciary systems. This showed Yan Zheng's capability; he was definitely not just a reckless brute who charged into battle. On the contrary, Su Ye believed that the reason Yan Zheng had reached his current position was more due to his political wisdom.

And by introducing his own core team to Su Ye today, Yan Zheng was essentially laying his cards on the table.

"Su Ye is my younger brother. In the future, in this little patch of land of the High-Tech Zone, please give him some face and take care of him where you can."

Furthermore, Su Ye believed that this wouldn't be the only time Yan Zheng would stand up for him; Yan Zheng would definitely invite him to other gatherings later. After all, there were still connections outside the Public Security, Procuratorate, and Judiciary systems that hadn't been introduced to Su Ye yet.

"Brother Yan, originally I should have toasted you first, but we two are so close now, and this is my first time meeting all these other brothers. You don't mind, do you?"

According to the rules of drinking gatherings in Xia Country, Su Ye definitely should have toasted Yan Zheng first, as he sat in the main seat and held the most power. However, Su Ye believed that since Yan Zheng had naturally called him over to introduce his connections, he certainly wouldn't mind; on the contrary, he would be quite pleased.

"Hahaha, what of it? That's no big deal. There's no need for that between us brothers."

Yan Zheng's actions and heartfelt smile made everyone present jealous to the point of madness. If Su Ye wanted to pursue a career in the Public Security, Procuratorate, or Judiciary, Yan Zheng would definitely pave a golden path for him. To say the least, reaching the division level within ten years would certainly be no problem.

But where would Yan Zheng, who would be in his forties, end up in ten years? One must know that Yan Zheng was currently serving as the secretary of the District Political and Legal Affairs Commission, and his appointment to the District Standing Committee was basically set in stone. In ten years, would he be a department-level official? Or would he enter a ministry? No one knew.

"Come, come, come, eat some food. Just now—"

Meanwhile, Jiang Bai, who sat on the side with a constant smile on her face and would occasionally pick food for Su Ye, felt turbulent waves in her heart.

She had heard Su Ye talk about Brother Yan before, but she hadn't expected him to be a bureau chief—at the very least a division-level leader. Yet, he was so amicable toward her. The various section-level leaders present were even somewhat fawning toward Su Ye.

This made Jiang Bai think back to a few years ago when her family had some business needs and sought the help of a section chief from the Finance Bureau, hoping to resolve the matter.

When Jiang Bai went to pick up her father at that time, she saw his fawning smile, his pale face after downing half a jin of liquor in one go, and the constant flattering words in his mouth. At that time, it was like sharp arrows piercing Jiang Bai's heart.

But what about now? A division-level cadre was Su Ye's brother, and section-level cadres had to flatter Su Ye. One must know that this was the provincial capital; if they were in a lower-level prefecture-level city or county-level city, these people would very likely be division-level cadres themselves.

In comparison, what was that Finance Bureau section chief who had made her father fawn and flatter him years ago? If he came to this dinner table, who knows how fawning he would become.

Just as Jiang Bai was experiencing intense internal turmoil, the door to the private room was pushed open, and a hearty voice rang out:

"Oh my, my apologies everyone. My wife called to check up on me just now, and I accidentally chatted for a bit too long. I, Old Zhang, will punish myself with three drinks."

Station Chief Zhang from the Heping Police Station said with a smile:

"I'm afraid you won't even be able to get through the door when you go home tonight, let alone chat a bit longer. We're all old brothers here; who doesn't know how formidable your wife is?"

Section Chief Zhang looked toward Station Chief Zhang and jokingly scolded:

"You old Zhang, we share the same surname, at least. And you're teasing me like this? I don't care; after I finish my three penalty drinks, I'm coming to drink with you. You're not allowed to run away."

Station Chief Zhang wasn't angry either and chuckled:

"You'll have to wait in line to drink with me. Bureau Chief Yan's younger brother is here; shouldn't you toast Brother Su first?"

Station Chief Zhang's words left Section Chief Zhang a bit confused. Everyone knew that Bureau Chief Yan only had two older sisters—where did a younger brother come from? And his surname was Su, too. Could he be a sworn younger brother?

Thinking this, Section Chief Zhang looked in the direction of Yan Zheng. When he saw the familiar figures of a man and a woman, his face instantly turned pale. Cold sweat broke out from his forehead and back. Weren't these the man and woman who had gotten into an argument with him at the door just now?

Su Ye saw Section Chief Zhang's pale face and terrified eyes and knew that he had recognized him. After thinking for a moment, he took the initiative and said:

"So this is Section Chief Zhang. Come, come, come, let's have a drink first. Your drink with Station Chief Zhang will have to be postponed."

Saying this, Su Ye took the initiative to raise the glass in his hand.