I was married off to a disabled hero in lieu of marriage; my in-laws doted on me and I aspired to gr

Zhou Zhonghai, you despicable, shameless scoundrel!

Xia Lei angrily hung up the phone, his eyes rolling back in his head.

Promoting him from research institute director to Minister of Agriculture may seem like a promotion to outsiders, but in reality, it was Zhou Zhonghai settling a personal score.

The entire province needs new wheat seeds, roughly estimated at 700,000 to 800,000, but the Ministry of Finance only gave him a paltry 200,000.

No, the Ministry of Finance gave 600,000, of which 400,000 was used to pay off debts.

Xia Lei was restless and couldn't stay in the office any longer. He grabbed his briefcase and headed to the Agricultural University.

Zhou Zhonghai left, taking even Gu Quan, the secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture, with him, and sent Qiu Zhongyou, the opportunist from the Ministry of Information, to serve as his secretary.

Xia Lei had no choice, because Qiu Zhongyou could drive.

"Minister Xia, where are you going?"

Qiu Zhongyou has no talent or ability, but he is very good at flattery.

He humbly opened the car door for Xia Lei and handed him a jar of lukewarm tea, saying, "Please have some tea. It was brewed this morning, and the temperature is just right."

Xia Lei, who was in a bad mood, took a sip of tea, which made him feel a bit better: "Go to the agricultural university."

"Okay, Minister Zhou used to like going to agricultural universities too."

"Don't mention him to me."

"Yes, yes, please sit down."

Qiu Zhongyou, observing the situation, was quite puzzled. Zhou Zhonghai often visited the agricultural university and casually promoted you to the position of Minister of Agriculture. Could this be considered a favor to him?

Why is the person who brought the favor still unhappy?

What a load of rubbish! Xia Lei's head was about to explode. What was he going to do about the shortfall of hundreds of thousands? Was he going to swallow his pride and ask for credit? He hated Zhou Zhonghai's practice of asking for credit the most.

With a deep sigh, I realized that without money, how could I develop agriculture without credit?

One year, just one year. When next year brings a bumper harvest, we'll allocate more research funds to the institute, which will be a fair reward to our old subordinates.

Alas, in the end, he followed in Zhou Zhonghai's footsteps.

Returning to the research institute evoked mixed feelings.

As a former director of the research institute, he was wary of Zhou Zhonghai when he came to have tea, fearing that he might be misled by him.

Of course, prevention is useless; nine times out of ten, it will still lead to disaster.

Today, he is the Minister of Agriculture, and he wants to confuse the current director of the research institute.

With their identities switched, Xia Lei suddenly understood the hardships Zhou Zhonghai had endured.

Zhou Zhonghai is annoying, but he delivered all the wheat and corn seeds he got on credit to Tonggang County. He served the people and was a good official.

"Teacher, what brings you here?" The new director was Yuan Ruyi, Xia Lei's student.

"Teacher, please sit down, I'll make you some tea."

Yuan Ruyi is in her thirties, but in front of Xia Lei, she is still a child.

"I'm just here for a quick look around. Are you busy? Has our newly formulated insecticide been delivered to the pesticide factory yet?" Xia Lei tried to relax.

"It's been sent out; they're preparing for mass production. Teacher, Vice Governor Zhou has paid off his debts, and all the salaries of our institute staff have been paid in full. Everyone even received a small bonus. We really have to thank you."

"You came from our research institute, so you know our difficulties. That Vice Governor Zhou is simply a scoundrel," Yuan Ruyi said casually.

"Xiao Yuan, you can't say that about Vice Governor Zhou. He has his own difficulties." Xia Lei awkwardly took a sip of tea.

"If there are difficulties, we can't just blame our research institute. Our meager salaries are earned under the scorching sun in the lab. Take today, for example. The sun is so strong, and the students are all out in the fields, collecting seedlings and pruning. We in the lab, although we don't have to be in the sun, are still working on pesticide formulations with those highly toxic raw materials every day. It's not easy for us."

Xia Lei couldn't swallow his water. He had already told Zhou Zhonghai about the difficulties Yuan Ruyi had mentioned.

But now, what can we do if we don't have money and need wheat seeds?

"Teacher, how are the wheat seeds allocated across the province this year? Approximately how many tens of thousands of jin are needed? I've saved them all for you. That batch of wheat seeds with a yield of 1,000 jin per mu has already been collected and stored in the warehouse. Which county will it be given to?"

Yuan Ruyi, unaware of Xia Lei's predicament, asked happily.

"Demand is high this year, and all the wheat seeds from the research institute will have to be used," Xia Lei said sullenly.

"Great, teacher! What about the Angora rabbits and the pork?"

If we don't even have the money for wheat and corn seeds, how can we talk about raising Angora rabbits and meat pigs?

Xia Lei was very puzzled. How exactly did Zhou Zhonghai manage to trick him out of so many things?

"Everything is needed, take your time."

Xia Lei couldn't bring himself to say the word "buy on credit." The research institute was his home base; he had finally been promoted, how could he turn around and cheat his home base?

Ugh……

"Master, you've arrived."

Zhao Jintao was tanned and looked very happy to see Xia Lei.

"Hey, Jintao, you're out in the fields again?" Xia Lei put down his teacup and nodded to Zhao Jintao.

"Master, have you eaten? I'll treat you to a meal at the cafeteria." Zhao Jintao could only afford to treat everyone at the cafeteria.

"No need, it's too hot to eat," Xia Lei said, making excuses.

"Master, is it that the whole province needs wheat seeds, but the Ministry of Agriculture doesn't have the money?" Zhao Jintao immediately saw through Xia Lei's predicament.

"I……"

Xia Lei glanced at Yuan Ruyi, too ashamed to speak.

Yuan Ruyi asked in surprise, "Teacher, are you here to buy on credit too?"

Xia Lei felt really hot.

"The Ministry of Agriculture is short of funds, and the Ministry of Finance can't cover the entire shortfall either, so we have to find a way ourselves. Master, the research institute also needs to make a living, and it can't cover such a large shortfall. Why don't you take it in two steps? Owe the research institute a portion, and have Tonggang County pay a portion of the deposit for next year's wheat seeds."

Zhao Jintao earnestly offered Xia Lei some advice.

"Would Tonggang County agree to this?"

"You have to agree, whether you like it or not. As the minister, you have to act like one. Tonggang County achieved its bumper harvest thanks to the Ministry of Agriculture's full support. Now that they have money, of course they should help the Ministry of Agriculture."

"Jin Tao, what you said makes sense. However, Tonggang County was established with Zhou Zhonghai's support. Can my words carry any weight?" Xia Lei asked with some concern.

"Just say it was Vice Governor Zhou's order, and County Chief Xu wouldn't dare hesitate."

"Is it okay? Zhou Zhonghai won't cause me any trouble, will he?"

"We're all doing this for the people, not putting the money in our own pockets. Uncle Zhou understands."

Zhao Jintao smiled slyly, and Xia Lei was somewhat dazed; Zhou Zhonghai and Zhao Jintao were becoming more and more alike.

"Alright, then I'll use Zhou Zhonghai's name to ask for the deposit. Little Yuan, you see, even your teacher has difficulties. We're bound to owe some money for the wheat seeds. Just one year, one year. Once the whole province has a bumper harvest, I'll allocate research funds for you."

Once things were out in the open, Xia Lei wasn't so nervous anymore.

"Teacher... alright, let's tighten our belts and get through another year."

"What about Angora rabbits and pork?"

"Teacher, you don't even have the money to buy seeds."

Yuan Ruyi was a little reluctant to part with the Angora rabbits and pork.

"If you send them to other provinces, the rabbits and pigs will grow well, bringing honor to those provinces. But it's different here in our province; we're family."

"But teacher, we want to eat."

"Just one year, please?" Xia Lei said humbly.

"Fine, since the teacher said so, we'll just have to endure it for another year." Yuan Ruyi's face darkened.

Xia Lei suddenly understood and said to Zhao Jintao, "Jintao, let's go eat at the cafeteria, it's your treat."