Me! A high-ranking official!

After hanging up the phone, the man waved to Zhao Jianguo and said, "Hey, Secretary, wait a bit. I'm boiling water at home, so I'm off." Then, as if avoiding a plague, he quickly slipped away.

Zhao Jianguo and Liu Zhijun waited in the courtyard for about twenty minutes.

"Buzzing..."

A dilapidated electric tricycle stopped at the gate of the courtyard, and an old man with a bald head, covered in mud and grass clippings, who looked to be in his sixties, strode in.

He is Luo Haitao's father, Luo Jiaxin.

As soon as Luo Jiaxin entered the courtyard, his face turned as black as the bottom of a pot. He first went into the house and glanced at Wang Xiujuan, who was lying unconscious on the bed. He was furious and kicked the iron bed hard.

With a loud crash, Luo Jiaxin cursed angrily, "You're such a worry! I can't get anything done without someone by my side when I'm working in the fields! You spendthrift woman, you'll drag the whole family down with you!"

After venting his anger, Luo Jiaxin turned around, his deeply lined face hardening, and stared coldly at Zhao Jianguo: "What are you doing here?"

As he spoke, he glanced at the weak and exhausted Liu Zhijun beside him. They were probably from the same village, and he knew about Liu Zhijun's tragic situation of losing his family and home. He felt a sense of sympathy for him and kicked a broken wooden stool from the corner of the wall over: "Zhijun, sit down."

But they didn't bring a stool for Zhao Jianguo.

Zhao Jianguo knew that the other party had been struggling in this quagmire of despair for many years, and it was normal for him to feel frustrated and angry. He didn't care about the cold reception, and with a smile on his face, he took the initiative to step forward and said, "Uncle Luo, I am Zhao Jianguo, the first secretary sent down from the county to the village. I came here today to visit your family and do some on-site research to understand your actual situation."

Luo Jiaxin frowned and stared intently at Zhao Jianguo for a long time, then looked over his shoulder at the empty courtyard and outside the gate.

Suddenly, the old man's lips curled into a sneer, his face full of mockery: "Understanding the situation? Humph! In the past, when officials from the town or county came to investigate, at least they carried two bags of rice and a bottle of soybean oil! Now, officials come to the countryside empty-handed, their heads exposed! These officials are getting worse with each term!"

These words were extremely harsh. If it were Zhang Baocheng or Li Dafang, they would probably have turned hostile and acted arrogantly on the spot.

But Zhao Jianguo wasn't annoyed. He still smiled and said, "Uncle Luo, bringing rice and flour is just a formality. I came here this time to help solve some practical difficulties for our family in the long term."

"Solve practical problems? Sure!"

Luo Jiaxin, as if he had heard the funniest joke in the world, suddenly raised his voice, pointed into the room, and roared with a dark face, "My family lacks nothing, except money! We lack the money to afford medical treatment! Since you're so capable, go and cure my crazy daughter-in-law and that crazy girl lying in the other room! If you can cure them, I, Luo Jiaxin, will kowtow to you, and I will be eternally grateful to your ancestors!"

"If you can't afford the treatment, then get out of here! Don't waste my time talking nonsense and keeping me from getting to work in the fields! I haven't finished weeding yet!"

After saying that, Luo Jiaxin rudely stepped forward, shoved Zhao Jianguo on the shoulder, and pushed and shoved him towards the courtyard gate: "Go, go, go! Get out of here! Don't bother me unless it's important! I don't have time to serve you big shots!"

Zhao Jianguo was abruptly pushed out the door, and the sickly Liu Zhijun followed awkwardly out as well.

"Bang!"

Luo Jiaxin slammed the iron gate shut, locked it from the outside, and without even glancing at Zhao Jianguo, climbed onto the dilapidated electric tricycle, turned the ignition, and sped off into the fields in a cloud of dust.

Standing outside the tightly closed iron gate, Liu Zhijun looked embarrassed and awkwardly rubbed his withered hands. Afraid that the young cadre Zhao Jianguo might be too embarrassed to hold a grudge against Luo Jiaxin, he quickly whispered to persuade him, "Secretary Zhao, don't take it to heart. Uncle Luo... he's just been driven crazy by family matters these past few years. He's been feeling very aggrieved. He's not usually like this..."

Zhao Jianguo looked at the rusty iron gate, sighed, and showed no anger on his face.

He patted Liu Zhijun on the shoulder and said earnestly, "Brother Liu, don't worry, I won't blame Uncle Luo. The people haven't been living a good life, and have even been forced to this point. That's our dereliction of duty as cadres. We are the ones who should reflect on our actions. Why should we blame the people for getting angry?"

After saying that, he composed himself and smiled, "Alright, let's go, come back to the village committee with me."

For the past few years, Liu Zhijun had been sitting in his own yard waiting to die. Today, he had walked more in the middle of the day than he had in the past year. He was so tired that his legs were trembling and he was sweating profusely. He waved his hands repeatedly, saying, "I can't go anymore, Secretary, I really can't walk anymore. I want to go home..."

"Go home? Let's go!" Zhao Jianguo ignored him completely, grabbed his arm without saying a word, and half-supported him as they walked towards the village committee.

Along the way, we encountered several villagers carrying farm tools who had just returned from the fields.

Everyone looked over and exclaimed, "Hey! Has the sun risen in the west?" Old Liu Zhijun, the last surviving member of the Liu family who always sat at his door like a living dead man, had actually gone out! And he was being led around the village by a young man?

"Hey! Zhijun, you're out already?"

"Zhijun, are you feeling much better?"

Several villagers greeted him in surprise. Liu Zhijun was so embarrassed that his face turned red. He could only nod stiffly in response. He felt like he wanted to die, but Zhao Jianguo's hand was like an iron clamp, and he couldn't break free.

After being half-dragged and half-carried to the village committee compound, Liu Zhijun collapsed onto the steps, his face full of pleading, almost crying: "Secretary Zhao, my good secretary! I'm just too tired to go on. Please, have mercy and let me go back to lie down!"

Seeing his miserable state, Zhao Jianguo couldn't help but laugh and said, "What are you going back for? To keep looking at that pile of withered grass in your yard? I had someone buy two sets of furniture and an air conditioner from the county. They should be delivered soon. Help me tidy up in a bit."

Liu Zhijun, with a pained expression, pointed to his emaciated body: "Secretary, look at me! I had my stomach removed, and now I'm out of breath after just a few steps. How could I possibly have the strength to help you move furniture!"

"I didn't ask you to move anything!" he explained. "I just asked you to keep an eye on things here for me! I'm new here and don't know anyone in the village. I'm going to go out and explore later to get familiar with the village. You just sit here and point out a house to me when the delivery guys come."

Upon hearing that he would only have to sit and watch without doing any physical labor, Liu Zhijun breathed a sigh of relief and reluctantly agreed.

After settling Liu Zhijun in a shady spot, he took a notebook and, under the scorching sun, began to conduct on-site visits and investigations in the village.

Not long after, the truck driver who delivered the furniture called. He told the driver to drive directly to the compound and find someone inside to make arrangements. After hanging up, he continued his inspection along the village road.

Luojia Village is long from north to south and has more than 200 households. After walking around for a long time, Zhao Jianguo's brows furrowed more and more.