Please, mature women, have some self-respect. I just want a raise and a promotion.

After unbuckling her belt, Deng Hong turned her back to Lin Zheng and rested her hand on the edge of the desk.

She turned to look at Lin Zheng.

Then, I sat down.

Lin Zheng held up his phone, pointing the camera at Deng Hong.

From her rounded shoulders, the line slid down to her narrowing waistline, finally stopping where it shouldn't have.

Deng Hong turned her head, her cheeks flushed, and asked in a breathy voice, "Are you done filming?"

What's the rush?

Lin Zheng's phone was pressed against her from behind, then wrapped around her waist and moved to the front.

"You must take a picture and keep it. Later, when I'm not at the village committee, you can take it out and look at it to quench your thirst."

Deng Hong gripped the edge of the table tighter, her voice trembling.

"What if someone sees us..."

"Set a password; without it, no one can open it."

"And Sister Deng, the pose you struck just now was even more beautiful than the one you did in the melon shed."

"The moonlight was too dim that night to take a clear picture."

Deng Hong shuddered; those words had pulled her back to that memory.

The smell of straw in the melon shed, and the moment she looked up at Lin Zheng while biting into a cucumber—those images rushed to my mind, and my legs went weak.

The two went wild in the office for over an hour before Deng Hong finally gave in.

She remained naked, pressed tightly against Lin Zheng, and the comfortable feeling made her not want to leave for even a moment.

Just then, the cell phone in my pocket rang.

Lin Zheng glanced down at the screen; it was Zhao Daniu calling.

He took a deep breath, suppressing the anger burning in his throat, and patted Deng Hong's hand.

"Don't move, I need to take this call."

Deng Hong sat up, picked up the cup of tea on the table that had gone cold, took a sip, but her gaze remained fixed on Lin Zheng.

Lin Zheng turned to the side and pressed the answer button.

"Manager Lin, Cheng Yuan Earthwork has shipped the goods. The first batch of sand and gravel just arrived, a total of eight truckloads, and was unloaded on the open ground on the east side of the construction site."

Zhao Daniu's voice was filled with barely suppressed excitement, as if he had been holding his breath for several days and was finally letting out a sigh of relief.

"Brother Zhao, please check the quantity and compare it with the outbound slip. If there are any discrepancies, let me know immediately."

"Checked, not a single truckload is missing, and the quality is better than the previous batch. Liu Xueyi said there will be eight more truckloads tomorrow, for three consecutive days."

"Okay, tell the workers that there are enough materials, and ask them to work overtime. They'll definitely get overtime pay."

After hanging up the phone, Lin Zheng turned around and met Deng Hong's gaze.

Deng Hong didn't say anything, but simply handed over the now-cold cup of tea, a seductive smile playing on her lips.

"Have the materials arrived?"

Lin Zheng took the tea and drank a sip, then pulled Deng Hong into his arms.

"We've arrived. Eight truckloads of sand and gravel. I've asked Zhao Daniu to arrange for workers to work overtime."

Deng Hong looked up and kissed Lin Zheng, then asked, "When do you plan to work on the funding issue?"

"We're going this afternoon. Have you prepared the materials?"

Deng Hong turned around, took a document from her desk drawer, and pushed it in front of Lin Zheng.

"These are the application materials from the village committee. I worked overtime last night to prepare them. Please take a look and see if there are any problems."

Lin Zheng glanced at it and his brows twitched slightly.

"This number is less than what we calculated before."

"Too little? I calculated it according to the cost report from Li Zhengang's side, not a penny more."

Lin Zheng lit a cigarette, took a deep drag, and said, "Sister Deng, you can't calculate based on cost; you have to calculate based on demand."

"The town allocates funds, no matter how much. Once it reaches the village committee's account, we can return any unused portion, but if it's insufficient, we have to stop work. You can report an extra 10% as contingency funds."

Deng Hong was silent for a moment before saying, "Overreporting by 10% means an extra 170,000 yuan. Will the town's finance department approve that?"

Whether it can be approved or not is something we need to discuss.

"Whether we report it or not is our business."

"If you submit too little information, they will only approve the amount you submit; they won't proactively increase it for you."

"170,000 isn't a lot, but if material prices rise again and workers need extra overtime pay, this money will be a lifesaver."

Deng Hong looked at the document, pondered it carefully for a moment, picked up the pen on the table, changed a number in the amount column, and then pushed the document back to Lin Zheng.

"It's been changed. Take a look."

Lin Zheng looked down and saw that the number was more than 170,000 higher than before, the change was subtle and seemed to be the original calculation.

He nodded and closed the file.

"I'll go to the finance office this afternoon; I'll take the documents with me first."

"You should talk to Yang Wanshan and tell him that the village committee has unanimously approved it, and ask him to give the message to them as well."

Deng Hong nodded: "Okay, are you still going to Li Zhengang's place?"

"Go ahead, I've finalized the materials with you, but I still need to discuss the construction schedule with him."

Deng Hong didn't stop him anymore, but just leaned against the table and watched him leave the office.

Before closing the door, Deng Hong said, "Will you be back for dinner tonight? I made some soup."

Lin Zheng smiled and said, "We'll see."

"If I make it back in time, remember to dress a little more provocatively."

"I want to have sex with you in the kitchen."

"Okay, if you're willing, I'll wear nothing underneath my apron and wait for you."

Lin Zheng grabbed Deng Hong hard before leaving the village committee compound.

Half an hour later, Lin Zheng arrived at Li Zhengang's battlefield.

Inside, machines roared, and several large trucks were loading sand, kicking up yellowish-brown dust that swirled in the sunlight.

Lin Zheng walked through the dust and pushed open the office door.

Li Zhengang sat in front of the computer, an account book half-read open in front of him, and a cigarette almost burned down to the filter between his fingers.

Li Zhengang looked up, stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray, and casually closed the ledger and pushed it aside.

"sit!"

Lin Zheng pulled out a chair, sat down, and placed the funding application materials on the table.

"The town has loosened its grip. Yang Wanshan called me this morning and said the finance office could process the fund allocation this afternoon."

"I just got the materials from Deng Hong. How's your work schedule going?"

Li Zhengang took a folded piece of paper from the drawer and laid it on the table.

A timeline was drawn on the paper, starting from the start date and continuing until the deadline fifteen days later.

The surface was covered with various markings drawn in different colors, densely packed, making it look as if it had been repeatedly erased and rewritten several times.

"This is the work schedule. Take a look at it."

Li Zhengang pointed to several nodes on the timeline, sliding his finger along the lines.

"The foundation has been laid. If the materials are not used up, the main frame can be erected in ten days. The remaining five days are for plastering and flooring."

"But there are two variables: first, the supply of materials cannot be interrupted; second, workers' overtime pay must be paid on time."

Lin Zheng's gaze followed the path Li Zhengang had pointed, and he finally nodded.

"I've finalized the materials with Liu Xueyi. They'll be delivered for three consecutive days, enough for at least ten days."

"Regarding the workers' overtime pay, I'll distribute it directly to the village committee's account once the funds are allocated, avoiding the town's involvement to prevent any delays."

Upon hearing this, Li Zhengang looked up at him but did not immediately respond.

He picked up the thermos on the table, unscrewed the lid, took a sip, and put the cup down, his voice low and strained.

"Lin Zheng, have you considered how Yang Wanshan will treat us after Qiu Ruiming falls from power and Yang Wanshan secures his position as the top leader?"