Me! A high-ranking official!

He had lived in the village for decades and knew the old men and women there all too well. Most of them had endured hardship and were extremely frugal, so if you talked to them about environmental protection or preached about morality, asking them to sort their garbage, they would just ignore you.

But if you tell them that they can exchange rotten vegetable leaves and scraps for real red-shelled eggs and soy sauce for cooking, my goodness! Forget about getting them to deliver them voluntarily, they'd sweep the entire village road clean, leaving not a single hair behind, just for a few points!

"It's a fool not to take advantage of a bargain," that's the simplest truth in rural areas!

Seeing Liu Zhijun's shocked expression, Zhao Jianguo's smile faded, and his tone became incredibly sincere: "Zhijun, I know you have a weak stomach and can't do heavy work, so I won't let you do this work exposed to the wind and sun. You'll just sit at the exchange point and be responsible for keeping accounts and calculating points for me!"

"I'm all alone in the village, I don't know many people. This bookkeeping job is like being the manager and accountant of our environmental protection bank. If I mess up the accounts, or if someone cheats or embezzles, my environmental protection bank will definitely go bankrupt!"

He stared intently into Liu Zhijun's eyes and said, word by word, "After much thought, out of the hundreds of people in Luo Family Village, you're the only one I can truly trust!"

Liu Zhijun swallowed hard, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down with difficulty.

He wasn't stupid; he knew exactly what was going on. Through these two days of interaction, he had already figured out that this new Secretary Zhao was trying every possible way to dispel his suicidal thoughts and awaken his instinct to live.

However, years of suffering from illness, the departure of his wife, and the harshness of life had long since made him lose all hope in this world. He originally only wanted to quietly rot away in a deserted corner.

But now, when this high-ranking Party Secretary from the county sat upright in his humble courtyard, looked him in the eye, and told him, "After much thought, only you can help me; only you are someone I can trust,"...

Liu Zhijun's heart, which had long been ashen, began to beat violently and uncontrollably, and a long-lost surge of passion rushed to his head.

That feeling is called "a scholar would die for one who understands him!"

His eyes reddened uncontrollably, and his lips trembled a few times, but he swallowed the words that were on the tip of his tongue. He just kept his head down, his eyes red, and didn't say a word.

Seeing this, Zhao Jianguo smiled with satisfaction, reached out and patted Liu Zhijun's thin shoulder heavily, laughing loudly, "If you don't say anything, I'll take that as a yes! It's settled then!"

"Alright, you can take your time making the food. I need to go to Uncle Luo's house at the east end of the village again."

Zhao Jianguo stood up, dusted off his trousers, and said as if having a casual conversation, "You know about Uncle Luo's family situation. His daughter-in-law and youngest daughter are both sick, and Haitao is the only one working hard on the construction site. It's too difficult for him."

"Uncle Luo is tied up at home and can't go out to work. He only has a few acres of poor land to take care of. He usually stays at home with nothing to do. He is strong and healthy. I plan to ask him to take charge of the physical work at this environmental bank. He will collect garbage, sort garbage, and ferment and compost it every day."

"That way, we can give him an extra salary subsidy every month. It's not a lot of money, but it can at least help ease some of the financial burden on Haitao's family, right?"

Upon hearing that Zhao Jianguo had even considered the livelihood of Uncle Luo's family, Liu Zhijun suddenly raised his head.

He took a deep breath and rubbed his sore nose, feeling as if the fire in his chest, which had been extinguished, had finally been completely rekindled.

He yanked the firewood out of the stove and stomped it out, then stood up abruptly and said in a hoarse voice, "Secretary, wait for me a moment, let me wash my face and come with you!"

Upon hearing Liu Zhijun's words, Zhao Jianguo was taken aback at first, then a genuine smile spread across his face.

These past few days of relentless pursuit and painstaking efforts have finally paid off. Not only have they saved someone's life, but they have also truly established their first core group in this tightly knit Luo Family Village!

"Okay!" He nodded emphatically, his voice booming, "I'll wait for you!"

Zhao Jianguo, leading Liu Zhijun, walked along the uneven dirt road in the village and arrived once again at the door of Luo Jiaxin's house at the east end of the village.

Standing before those two dilapidated wooden doors, he felt a mix of emotions. Luo Haitao's tearful accusations on the phone last night were still vivid in his mind. Facing a gaunt old man who would stand by and watch his daughter-in-law be driven mad and give false testimony for a rapist for a mere 50,000 yuan hush money and the so-called family reputation, he felt contempt and anger from the bottom of his heart.

But anger aside, grassroots work isn't about acting on impulse. This family is truly mired in a quagmire. Even if it weren't for the stubborn old man, just for Wang Xiujuan, who's chained up in the house, and their mentally ill young daughter, he had to lend a hand. Besides, this was part of his plan.

The two walked to the door. This time, he didn't knock directly. He first leaned close to the crack in the door, squinted, and looked into the yard. He saw Luo Jiaxin squatting in the yard cooking. After confirming that he was home, he raised his hand and knocked on the door.

"Who is it?!" Luo Jiaxin's irritable and wary voice came from the courtyard.

"Uncle Luo, it's me, Zhao Jianguo."

The commotion in the courtyard paused for a moment, then the door bolt creaked open. Luo Jiaxin, still carrying half a piece of firewood, glanced at him with a gloomy expression, didn't utter a single polite word, and turned to walk into the courtyard, coldly uttering, "What are you doing here again?"

Liu Zhijun was now completely convinced by Zhao Jianguo, knowing that the Party Secretary genuinely wanted to help this family. Fearing that Luo Jiaxin's nonchalant attitude might anger Zhao Jianguo, he quickly followed and advised from the side, "Uncle Luo, what are you saying? Secretary Zhao came today specifically to help us solve our difficulties!"

"Solve the problem?" Luo Jiaxin continued walking, sneering without turning his head. "How will you solve it? Did you bring me two bags of rice, or two jugs of oil? Do you have any cash? Three hundred or five hundred?"

As a long-time impoverished resident of the village, Luo Jiaxin was well-versed in the tricks of the poverty alleviation cadres of the past. They would go through the motions during holidays, take a few photos, and give him some rice, flour, and oil to appease him. He knew it all too well, so his question was direct and harsh.

Liu Zhijun was taken aback, then said with a wry smile, "Uncle Luo, this time it's not about giving me anything..."

"Hmph!" Luo Jiaxin slammed the firewood he was holding onto the ground, turned around, and rolled his eyes. "If you're not going to give me anything, then what are you going to give me? You came empty-handed with just your arms and head between your legs? What, you don't expect this old man to feed you when it's mealtime, do you?!"

As Liu Zhijun heard his words becoming increasingly harsh and sarcastic, he grew anxious and raised his voice: "Uncle Luo! Secretary Zhao is truly a good secretary. He genuinely wants to help us find a way to survive, unlike those other people who just went through the motions!"

"Hmph..." Luo Jiaxin scoffed, looking Zhao Jianguo up and down. "What's different? I didn't see him grow a pair of wings and turn into a birdman!"

Liu Zhijun was so angry that he was speechless. He looked at Luo Jiaxin without saying a word, thinking to himself: This old bastard is a damn stubborn donkey!

Faced with Luo Jiaxin's sarcasm, Zhao Jianguo was not angry at all. Instead, he smiled and stepped forward, saying, "Uncle Luo, it's like this. I'm planning to set up an environmental bank in our village to handle the village's garbage. I'd like to ask you to come and help out. I'll pay you a fixed salary every month. Of course, this job won't take much time each day, and the hours are flexible. It definitely won't interfere with you staying at home to take care of your sick family. What do you think?"

Luo Jiaxin was about to continue his sarcasm when he heard this and suddenly froze, looking up at Zhao Jianguo in surprise: "What are you doing? Disposing of garbage?"