Me! A high-ranking official!

In rural areas, some people are genuinely simple and honest, but sometimes, the undisguised law of the jungle and the evil of human nature can indeed drive people to desperation.

"Auntie, I'm going to visit Liu Zhijun this afternoon."

After lunch, Wang Shuzhen went to wash the dishes and told him to take a nap in the second bedroom.

He lay in bed and casually started scrolling through short videos. As he scrolled, a video of a local TV program about government accountability popped up. In the video, several bureau chiefs were sweating and stammering in the face of sharp questions from the host and the public. The comment section was full of praise for the program team.

As he watched the video, a thought suddenly struck him.

In the past two years, government accountability programs have indeed become very popular. The public likes to watch these straightforward programs that dare to expose problems and solve them face-to-face.

"I'm currently a village-based Party secretary with no real power, so I'm definitely not qualified to host a televised accountability program, and I don't have the platform." He stroked his chin thoughtfully, "But... if we don't have official accountability programs, what if I host a village-level live-streamed accountability program?"

The actual difficulties faced by the villagers of Luojia Village, neighborhood disputes, and acts of bullying can be made public through live streaming. Some policies that benefit the people can also be released through short video platforms. This can not only attract attention, but also use public opinion to force the town and county governments to solve problems!

Lost in thought, the phone in my hand suddenly vibrated.

The caller ID reads: Li Dafang.

He raised an eyebrow. Why would Li Dafang call him at this time? After a moment's thought, he guessed the reason pretty accurately.

It's highly likely that the time bomb I planted for Zhang Baocheng and Li Dafang before I left has finally detonated today!

Regarding the two new ideas that Secretary Zhou Qingyan put forward for the Cultural and Tourism Bureau's project, apart from him secretly conducting in-depth research, no one in the bureau grasped the true essence of them. Zhang Baocheng and Li Dafang must have submitted them by making up stories in the old way, but they couldn't escape Secretary Zhou's anger. They had nowhere else to turn, so they came to him, their former pen, for help.

"Now you remember me? Too late."

He sneered, decisively pressed the volume button to mute, tossed his phone next to his pillow, and continued watching his short videos.

Less than five seconds later, the screen lit up again, showing Li Dafang once more.

The fact that they called twice in a row is enough to show that the county bureau is now extremely anxious.

He rolled over, completely ignoring everything, closed his eyes, and took a comfortable nap.

I slept straight through until 2:30 in the afternoon.

When I picked up my phone, wow, there were seven missed calls! Two were from Director Zhang Baocheng, three were from Office Director Li Dafang, and the remaining two were from Xu Ling in the Personnel Department and my old subordinate Wang Pingping.

He slowly put on his clothes, greeted his aunt, and strolled back to the village committee compound.

Only after sitting down in his freshly cleaned office did he pick up his phone and start returning calls.

First, transfer the money to Director Zhang Baocheng.

"Beep...beep...sorry, the number you dialed is currently busy." The call was abruptly disconnected.

He chuckled inwardly and then dialed Li Dafang's number again.

As expected, the call was disconnected instantly.

I bet those two are sitting in the meeting room right now, sweating buckets and getting a scolding. They wouldn't dare answer the phone at a time like this.

Finally, he dialed Xu Ling's number.

The phone was answered after one ring, and Xu Ling's low, anxious, and reproachful voice immediately came through the receiver: "My dear brother! You finally answered the phone! What were you doing? You were driving me crazy!"

He feigned a sleepy, languid tone and chuckled, "What's wrong? I had lunch at a villager's house, and after a long morning of running around the countryside, I was exhausted and took a nap. My phone was on silent, so I didn't hear it. What happened?"

"You've had it easy being out in the countryside, but our bureau was practically in chaos by noon today!" Xu Ling said in a low voice, her tone filled with gleeful tension. "Director Zhang and Director Li were at a big meeting at the county committee today. Our bureau's project in Xiaozhai Village wasn't going well, and we got a real dressing down from the leaders! Director Li called you like crazy at noon, but you wouldn't answer. Director Zhang called you himself, but you still wouldn't answer. Then Pingping and I took turns calling, but you still wouldn't answer! Director Zhang was so angry he was smashing cups in his office and even cursed his own mother!"

He suppressed a laugh and deliberately asked, "I just called Director Zhang and Director Li back, but they both hung up. What exactly caused such a big fuss?"

Xu Ling said in a low voice, "I'm not entirely sure either. It seems that Secretary Zhou from the county party committee came up with two new ideas for our project and asked the bureau to refine the plan. As a result, Director Li and the others stayed up all night to put together the materials, but when Secretary Zhou took one look, he said it was completely nonsensical and didn't capture the essence at all! Secretary Zhou immediately flew into a rage and ordered them to rewrite it right away. It's going to be discussed at the Standing Committee meeting this afternoon. They can't write it themselves, so they're trying to drag you back to be a firefighter!"

He sighed, his tone extremely sincere: "Oh dear, that's really unfortunate. It seems the leaders are currently in a meeting revising materials and don't have time to answer my call. I really didn't expect such a big problem to arise. I can only trouble Director Zhang and Director Li to take extra care."

He chatted casually with Xu Ling about some gossip from the bureau for a bit, then hung up the phone.

At this moment, his mood was even brighter than the summer sky over Luo Family Village.

For the past few years, Zhang Baocheng and Li Dafang have taken him for granted, treating him like a slave. Now that they've left him, they finally realize that not everyone can handle this challenge. No wonder you two are so anxious now!

Putting away his phone, no longer caring about the fate of those people in the county, he grabbed a notebook, walked out of the village committee compound, and strode towards Liu Zhijun's house at the east end of the village, following the direction Wang Shuzhen had indicated.

Following the bumpy dirt road through the village, Zhao Jianguo walked all the way to the east end of the village and finally saw the two dilapidated brick houses that Wang Shuzhen had mentioned, which belonged to Liu Zhijun.

He felt a pang of sorrow in his heart after just one glance.

This is hardly a home; it's worse than an abandoned cowshed. The earthen wall surrounding the yard has long since collapsed, with a few rotten branches stuck haphazardly in the gaps as a fence. The yard is overgrown with waist-high weeds, and even the path is barely visible. The two red brick houses haven't even had their exterior plastered; the bricks have weathered and turned black from the wind and sun, and the roof tiles are broken and missing, making them look like they're about to collapse.

In front of that wooden door, whose paint had long since peeled off and become mottled, a person was huddled up.

If it weren't for the man's slightly heaving chest, Zhao Jianguo would have thought it was a skeleton wearing clothes.

That was Liu Zhijun. He was sitting on a small stool with a broken leg, propped up by bricks. He was terribly thin, and his old gray undershirt hung loosely on his skeleton. Because his entire stomach had been removed and he was malnourished, his cheeks were deeply sunken, and his skin had a deathly yellowish-gray color, as if a thin layer of skin was directly stuck to his skull.

Hearing footsteps approaching, Liu Zhijun turned his head slowly. His eyes were sunken and vacant, with no trace of the luster a living person should have.