The game of power begins with the police officers at the local police station.

Chen Shi also said with a relaxed expression, "If this matter blows up, the relevant leaders of the county government will also have to take responsibility."

Why should I be anxious if you're not? You're the top leader; if something goes wrong, you won't be able to escape either.

Zhang Kaizhi asked, "County Magistrate Chen, how do you intend to resolve this? Do you have a specific plan?"

Chen Shi thought for a moment: "According to the previous plan, the county government will bear half, 500 million yuan, and the Chengnan Subdistrict Office will bear the other half, raising 500 million yuan to make up 1 billion yuan, and then we can start the reconstruction immediately."

Knowing that the treasury was short of funds, Zhang Kaizhi looked at Chen Shi and said, "County Chief Chen, you are fully responsible for this matter. The county government will bear 500 million yuan. I have no objection, as long as the treasury can allocate the funds."

Zhang Kaizhi's meaning was very clear: if the treasury doesn't have money, can you conjure it up?

Chen Shi had already come up with a solution: "County Chief Zhang, I checked with the Bureau of Revenue earlier. The Bureau of Finance only has 370 million yuan in its account. One hundred million yuan is for teachers' salaries, and two hundred million yuan is a special fund allocated by the Water Resources Department that cannot be touched. The maximum we can raise is 50 million yuan. The rest can only be raised by selling land."

Zhang Kaizhi asked solemnly, "In Chen County, is there any land left for sale in the Chengnan Subdistrict?"

"There is no land left to buy in Chengnan Subdistrict, but there is still a lot of land in Zhongshan Subdistrict. I want to set up a development zone in Zhongshan Subdistrict to attract investment, so that companies can invest in Chunyang, creating jobs and generating tax revenue for the government."

Zhang Kaizhi thought to himself, "I can support you if you want to cause trouble. If you achieve political success, it will be thanks to me, the top leader. If something goes wrong, you will take the blame. It's a sure win."

"Chen County, your idea is excellent. We'll hold a government party group meeting, compile a report, and submit it to the county party committee. Once the county party committee reviews and approves it, you'll be fully responsible."

However, it's unrealistic to sell the land and raise 500 million yuan in a short period of time. What you need to do now is to stabilize the rioting residents and prevent them from petitioning higher authorities, which would leave a bad impression on the relevant leaders of the municipal party committee regarding Chunyang County.

Chen Shi continued, "The dilapidated housing renovation project has been going on for too long and can't be delayed any longer. We will issue a document in the name of the county government, instructing the Zhongshan Subdistrict Office to expropriate the land in Dawandi and use it as collateral to obtain a loan of 500 million yuan from the bank to solve the dilapidated housing renovation project first. After the infrastructure is completed, we will auction off the land to repay the bank loan."

Zhang Kaizhi looked at Chen Shi: "County Chief Chen, this matter is very important. It's not up to you or me to decide. We need to hold a meeting to discuss it, formulate a formal document, and submit it to the County Party Committee for their decision."

Chen Shi didn't intend to use the AI ​​to support his work; it was just a formality. As the top leader, he needed to report in advance and would go to Zhang Xiangdong to report tomorrow.

"Zhang County, please make arrangements as soon as possible, hold a meeting to study the matter, formulate a government work report, and submit it to the county party committee."

Zhang Kaizhi sneered inwardly, "I'm the boss. I decide when to hold a meeting to discuss this."

"You can't get fat in one bite; you have to take it slowly."

Chen Shi didn't want to waste any more time with Zhang Kaizhi, so he got up and left.

At five o'clock in the afternoon, a series of noises came from outside the county government. Chen Shi called Xie Shanquan to his office.

"Xiao Xie, what's going on outside?"

"I just went to see Chen County. There were more than ten vans parked outside the county government, and hundreds of people holding banners that read, 'We want our houses back, we want our homes back.'"

They've surrounded the county government building. Judging from their appearance, they're very agitated. Should we call the police to come and maintain order?

"Call the police station immediately and have them send officers to control the situation. We can't let things get chaotic."

Xie Shanquan walked out of the office and called the Public Security Bureau.

Chen Shi's phone rang. He picked it up and saw that it was Li Hong calling.

"Li County"

"Chen County, something bad has happened! Hundreds of residents from Xiaxin Neighborhood Committee have come and surrounded the county government. I asked the staff from the petition office to persuade them, but they directly attacked and beat up the staff from the petition office. They have now been sent to the hospital for examination."

They were very agitated, claiming that no one would leave the county government unless the government resolved the issue.

Realizing the seriousness of the situation, Chen Shi quickly said, "County Chief Li, you go to the scene immediately and calm them down. I'll report to County Chief Zhang and be there in a minute."

After hanging up the phone, Chen Shi called Zhang Kaizhi.

"Chen County Magistrate, what's going on outside the county government building?"

"Residents of Xiaxin Neighborhood Committee in Zhang County surrounded the county government building. More than a hundred people came and demanded a solution to the problem of dilapidated housing renovation."

"This is your responsibility. Go and resolve it immediately, persuade the residents to go back, and bring the situation under control."

Before Chen Shi could say anything more, Zhang Kaizhi had already hung up the phone.

Just as Chen Shi was about to leave the office, his phone rang again. It was Zhang Xiangdong calling, and he quickly answered the phone.

"secretary"

What's going on outside the county government building?

"Secretary, the residents of Xiaxin Neighborhood Committee have surrounded the county government. Their houses were destroyed in a fire in 08 and were classified as dangerous buildings. In 09, a project was launched to demolish and rebuild them all."

I went to inspect the area yesterday, and it was still a wasteland; there wasn't even a trace of a house in sight. They've been petitioning for a long time without getting a resolution, so today they resorted to this extreme measure and surrounded the county government building.

"We can deal with other things later. First, calm them down and persuade them to go back. You need to know that besieging the county government is a serious offense. If the relevant leaders in the city find out, the relevant leaders in your county government will all be punished."

After hanging up the phone, Chen Shi hurriedly walked out of the office, with Xie Shanquan following behind: "County Chief Chen, please wait a moment. The police officers maintaining order have not yet arrived. The residents are agitated and have beaten up the staff of the petition office. They have been sent to the hospital."

"If you go at this time, your safety cannot be guaranteed."

Chen Shi shouted, "Who are those people outside? They are not thugs, but the people. I am the people's elected official, and I must stand with the people and solve the difficulties they encounter."

Xie Shanquan followed behind, calling Yang Bin to come over. He was ready to rush forward at any time to shield his leader from bullets.

Chen Shi walked to the entrance of the building and stopped. The crowd was dense, consisting of elderly people, women, and children.

An elderly man with gray hair and a emaciated frame was carrying a can of gasoline. He poured it on himself, took out a lighter, and shouted, "I'll give you one hour. If you don't resolve the housing issue, I'll set myself on fire in the county government compound."

His eyes were resolute, not intimidating; he was prepared to self-immolate.

As the sirens blared, Xu Ping'an led the team, followed by Wang Tao and Zhang Hu, as they got out of the police car one after another.

More than twenty police officers arrived, squeezed through the crowd, stood in front, and blocked the petitioners.

When Xu Ping'an saw the lighter in the old man's hand and gasoline dripping from the old man's body onto the ground, he immediately told the police not to approach and not to provoke the old man into doing anything extreme.

Li Hong ran up to Chen Shi, panting, and said, "County Chief Chen, I've asked Zhao Xiongcai, the secretary of the Chengnan Subdistrict Office, to handle this matter."

Chen Shi knew that it wouldn't matter who came; they needed a clear answer. They had been fooled too many times, and nothing they said mattered. They needed to see concrete actions.