Me! A high-ranking official!

Does that old bastard Luo Shuishan really think he's some hot-blooded, greenhorn? He's only been in office for one day, barely settled in, and he's already trying to sow discord and set traps for him!

Special funds being intercepted and misappropriated by higher authorities is the most disgusting and common problem at the grassroots level. The money is taken by the county, but at the end of the year, the town and village have to find ways to beg for money from other places to balance the accounts during the audit.

Now, Luo Shuishan, that old fox, clearly wants to pass this hot potato to Zhao Jianguo!

Not to mention that Zhao Jianguo and Zhang Baocheng are now at odds, and Zhang Baocheng would love to skin him alive, even if the two of them were as close as brothers, the Cultural and Tourism Bureau only has so little financial allocation per year, and it's not even enough to give out bonuses to itself, so where would it get the surplus to build roads and settle accounts in your poor mountain village?

Trying to make me a scapegoat? No way!

He knew exactly what was going on in his mind, but his face immediately showed an extremely troubled yet sincere expression.

He pondered for a moment, then sighed with a furrowed brow: "Village Chief Luo, Director Wang, this matter... is difficult to handle."

Looking at the two of them, her tone was extremely sincere: "This is also my first time doing this, like a young woman getting married. I've always been writing reports in the county, and I really have no experience in overseeing such a big project as road construction. However, since the organization sent me here, I will definitely stand with the village through thick and thin!"

He abruptly changed the subject, adopting an extremely diplomatic approach: "Five hundred thousand is not a small sum, but I believe that with your high standing in our village, Village Chief Luo, and with a leader as capable as Director Wang in the town, you must have already devised strategies and methods to deal with the audit! Rest assured, whatever plan you've decided on, I, Zhao Jianguo, will fully cooperate in its implementation! I'll run errands for you, fill out forms for you, and absolutely won't hold our village or town back!"

With a "bang," the ball was kicked back by Zhao Jianguo, not only returning it but also giving the two men a compliment.

Upon hearing this, Luo Shuishan's fingers holding the cigarette stiffened slightly, and the smile on Deputy Director Wang's face froze for a moment.

The two seasoned veterans, who had spent half their lives working their way up from the bottom, exchanged a glance, both seeing a hint of surprise in each other's eyes. This kid isn't taking the bait! He's so slippery, he's harder to catch than an eel!

"Hehe...that's right, that's right..." Luo Shuishan chuckled dryly, raising his glass to hide his embarrassment. "There's always a way to overcome difficulties, right? Come on, Secretary Zhao, let's drink, let's drink!"

"Come on, Jianguo, bottoms up!" Deputy Director Wang chuckled along.

For a moment, glasses clinked in the private room. The three appeared to be having a good time, laughing heartily, but in their hearts, they were all starting to rethink their plans.

After a hearty meal, Deputy Director Wang wiped his mouth, got into the town's Santana, and sped back home.

Luo Shuishan and Luo Ming left behind, and drove a beat-up Wuling Hongguang van covered in mud, taking Zhao Jianguo to the village committee.

Throughout the journey, the car was filled with the pungent smell of tobacco and alcohol. While steering, Luo Shuishan, still determined to persuade Zhao Jianguo, continued, "Brother Jianguo, look at the conditions in our village, it's like a muddy ditch. Since you're the first secretary sent down from the county, you're practically an imperial envoy with a sword of Damocles! You'll have to run around to higher levels to get more policies and funding for this 500,000 yuan hole, the broken streetlights, and the old, dilapidated water pumps..."

Zhao Jianguo, sitting in the passenger seat, seemed like a completely different person. His face was flushed, his head was bobbing up and down, and he leaned back in his seat with a dazed look in his eyes, muttering incoherently, "Village Chief Luo... No problem, no problem... Our village's affairs are my affairs... Oh dear, this alcohol is really strong, I'm dizzy, dizzy..."

No matter how Luo Shuishan tried to subtly pressure him to make a statement, he would simply retreat in a drunken stupor, repeating the same few drunken ramblings over and over, refusing to engage in any substantive discussion.

Luo Shuishan glanced at Zhao Jianguo in the rearview mirror, exchanged a disdainful look with Luo Ming, the village head next to him, pursed his lips, and said nothing more.

The car was parked in the village committee compound. The compound was overgrown with weeds, and in front of it was a row of five single-story red brick houses.

The two men dragged him, who was completely drunk, out of the car. Without even bothering to tidy up his dorm room, they took him directly into the first conference room, which contained only a dilapidated long conference table and a few peeling folding chairs.

"Secretary Zhao, you can't hold your liquor. Lie down on this chair for a while and sober up. We have a lot going on in the village, and Lao Ming and I have to go check on the fields, so we can't keep you company." Luo Shuishan said dismissively, and without waiting to see if he heard him, he turned and left.

With a bang, the conference room door was closed.

As the sound of the bread truck starting up in the yard faded into the distance, Zhao Jianguo, who had been snoring in his chair, suddenly opened his eyes.

His previously cloudy eyes were now crystal clear, showing no trace of drunkenness.

He slowly sat up, dusted off his clothes, walked to the window, looked at the empty courtyard, and a cold smile curled at the corner of his mouth.

Luo Shuishan, that old fox, was trying to intimidate him.

The town had clearly instructed the village to clean up empty houses and prepare bedding and daily necessities, but Luo Shuishan just threw him into this meeting room without even a bed and ran away. It was obvious that he wanted to tell him in this way: In Luojia Village, if you are a dragon, you have to coil up; if you are a tiger, you have to lie down. Without my nod, Luo Shuishan, you, the first secretary, don't even have a place to sleep!

He pulled up a chair, lit a cigarette, and fell into deep thought amidst the swirling smoke, his mind racing as he pondered a way to break the deadlock.

Before coming, he had prepared himself mentally and even simulated various worst-case scenarios, but the mess in Luojia Village was even more difficult to handle than he had imagined. Luo Shuishan was a local tyrant who had controlled village affairs for many years. He controlled the mud board factory, which was a money bag, and he also had the support of the old, weak, sick and disabled people in the village. His base of influence was very stable.

As an outsider, he was all alone, with no one, no power, and no funds. Without Luo Shuishan's cooperation, he couldn't even find someone in the village to run errands for him. It would be a pipe dream for him to start any work, and sooner or later he would be forced to slink back to the county.

"A direct confrontation is definitely out of the question. Even a powerful dragon can't suppress a local snake, especially since I'm still working for the system; I can't resort to violence." He took a deep drag on his cigarette, his eyes gradually sharpening. "Interests, it's all about interests. To gain a foothold in Luo Family Village, I must first break Luo Shuishan's arrogance and find his Achilles' heel!"

He had a vague idea of ​​what was going to happen.

Having figured this out, he was no longer in a hurry. He walked out of the conference room and pushed open the doors of two empty rooms next to it used for storing miscellaneous items.

Inside, there were tattered woven bags, discarded farm tools, and a thick layer of dust, and the air was filled with a musty smell.

He took off his coat, found a broken broom and a rag, went to the well in the yard to fetch a bucket of water, and started working on it himself.

Thanks to his enhanced physique from the Treasure Basin, this level of physical labor was nothing to him. In less than an hour, he had cleaned an empty room spotless.

However, looking at the empty room, he shook his head helplessly.

There wasn't even a single bed or a table and chairs inside, let alone air conditioning or a fan. It's mid-May now, and with the afternoon sun shining, the room is as stuffy and hot as a giant steamer.

"I have over ten million in my hands, why should I put up with your bullshit?" he sneered.

He locked the door, took out his phone, found a taxi number in town online, added fifty yuan, and asked the driver to come pick him up directly at the entrance of Luojia Village.

Anyway, Qianzhao Village isn't far from here. Why not go back to your comfortable home and instead feed mosquitoes in this empty house? That's just plain stupid.