Me! A high-ranking official!

Luo Shuishan's words of reneging caught in his throat. His expression shifted several times, and he could only force a dry laugh and grit his teeth, saying, "Secretary, don't worry... I, Luo Shuishan, am a man of my word. I will fully support you without hesitation!"

"Great!" He had deliberately led him to the workers, precisely to achieve this effect. Without hesitation, he immediately announced loudly, "Since Village Chief Shuishan is so supportive, I actually have an idea! Let me tell you, I plan to build an environmental bank in our village! Villagers can sort their household garbage, bring it in, and accumulate points, which can then be used to exchange for daily necessities like rice, eggs, and soy sauce in the village!"

"We collect kitchen waste and take it to the west end of the village for centralized composting. The resulting organic fertilizer is sold for money, while waste materials like cardboard and scrap metal are sold to recycling stations. We use the profits to buy daily necessities for the villagers, creating a closed loop that completely solves the problem of littering in our village!"

Zhao Jianguo spoke extremely quickly, giving Luo Shuishan no chance to interrupt, and then dropped another bombshell: "Perfect timing! Don't we have two particularly impoverished households in our village, Liu Zhijun and Luo Jiaxin? Liu Zhijun is in poor health but is sharp-minded, so I've arranged for him to keep accounts and calculate points at the exchange point. Uncle Luo is tied up at home by a sick family member and can't leave, but he's strong, so I've arranged for him to collect garbage and sort compost in the village every day, and we'll give them a fixed monthly salary!"

"This is a win-win situation! Not only did it solve the village's garbage problem without bloodshed, but it also solved the livelihood problems of two extremely poor households!"

At this point, he stepped forward, grabbed Luo Shuishan's hand, and said with a face full of gratitude, "Village Chief Shuishan, didn't you just state in front of everyone that you would fully support my idea without any hesitation? I plan to give it a try first!"

"Since you don't object, then I'll proceed with this plan! This afternoon, I'll broadcast it throughout the village via loudspeaker, and then Liu Zhijun and the others will go door-to-door to explain the policy. For a better life in our village, we must get this done as soon as possible!"

Luo Shuishan froze on the spot, dumbfounded, his eyes almost popping out of their sockets.

A mouthful of blood was stuck in his chest, unable to go up or down, causing his face to turn a deep purplish-red.

If he still doesn't understand that he's been made a fool of by this point, he doesn't deserve to be the village chief!

Zhao Jianguo's worried and desperate look in the office just now was all an act! He didn't come to ask for my opinion at all. He had already prepared a flawless plan and came here specifically to dig a big pit, forcing me to jump in and make a statement in public!

Faced with this perfect plan, if he dared to utter even a single word of dissent, in the eyes of the villagers he would be a bastard who prevented them from receiving eggs and prevented the poor from surviving! What's more, he had just righteously declared in front of more than a dozen workers that he would fully support it without hesitation!

We've fallen for their trap! We've fallen for that little bastard's elaborate scheme!

Luo Shuishan stared intently at Zhao Jianguo, his chest heaving violently, his hands clenched tightly at his sides, almost driven by an urge to unleash a torrent of curses.

However, the dozen or so workers around him looked at Zhao Jianguo with an admiring gaze, as if they had never seen Secretary Zhao so powerful. Then they turned their attention to him, the village chief, as if waiting for him to fulfill his promise of full support.

Luo Shuishan held his breath for a full ten seconds, feeling like his lungs were about to explode. He gritted his teeth, his eyes twitching wildly, and he forced a laugh, his gaze flickering: "Ha...haha...so...so the secretary already had such a good idea in mind! Well...okay! I keep my word, I will definitely...support it."

"That's wonderful! I knew Village Chief Shuishan was a good leader who understood the bigger picture and prioritized the overall situation!" Zhao Jianguo's smile was radiant as he released Luo Shuishan's hand. "Then it's settled! Village Chief Shuishan, you go about your business. I'll go to the village now and spread this good news!"

After saying that, he turned around without even looking back and strode towards the factory gate with incredibly light steps.

Luo Shuishan stood alone in the dusty courtyard, watching Zhao Jianguo's receding figure, feeling dizzy and his vision blurred.

I've been a local tyrant in this land for over a decade, wielding immense power! Yet today, in less than half a day, I've been tripped up twice by a mere thirty-year-old's smooth talk, like swallowing two dead flies!

That was so frustrating! That was so infuriating!

"Bang!"

Luo Shuishan suddenly kicked a discarded wooden crate next to him, and the crate shattered into pieces instantly. The workers were so frightened that they shrank back and quickly lowered their heads to continue working, none of them daring to provoke this bad luck.

When Zhao Jianguo returned to the village committee on the old electric bike he had borrowed, Liu Zhijun was hunched over the table, writing and drawing. When he looked over, he saw a long list of items: rice, flour, soybean oil, soy sauce, vinegar, soap, salt, red-shelled eggs... all the most practical and down-to-earth daily necessities.

"Well done, Brother Zhijun! You've thought of everything so thoroughly!" He praised with a smile, then turned to look out the window. The once bright sky had darkened considerably, with large, heavy clouds pressing down overhead. The air was thick with a sultry, earthy smell, and it looked like a downpour was imminent.

He frowned. "The environmental bank has to start operations tomorrow. We need to strike while the iron is hot; this can't be delayed even for a day. Zhijun, you wait at home; I'm going to town right now!"

Without hesitation, he rode his electric bike straight to the town. Once there, he paid out of his own pocket and quickly bought a brand-new electric tricycle. Then he went to the supermarket and grain and oil store and made a big purchase according to the list Liu Zhijun had made.

By the time he had loaded the rice, flour, cooking oil, and the old electric scooter into the tricycle and started driving back, it had already started to drizzle. Fortunately, the shop owner had given him a large raincoat when he bought the tricycle, so he wrapped it around himself and braved the wind and rain to head back to the village.

By the time we got back to the village committee, it was pouring rain, the raindrops hitting the ground and creating a mist.

"Secretary, why did you come back in the rain!" Upon hearing the commotion, Liu Zhijun quickly put on his clothes and rushed out, following Zhao Jianguo as they unloaded the supplies into the specially cleared storage room next door.

Looking at the once empty house now filled with oil, salt, soy sauce, rice, and noodles, Liu Zhijun wiped the rain off his face. A glimmer of light appeared in his previously lifeless eyes. For the past few years, he had been lying at home like a useless person, waiting to die. He hadn't experienced this feeling of doing something practical and being needed for a long time. The stagnant water in his heart finally came alive.

At noon, Zhao Jianguo simply cooked two large bowls of hot noodle soup. The two of them slurped it down, and taking advantage of the rain outside, they each found a place to lie down and take a nap.

I had only dozed off for a short while when a series of bangs and frantic shouts came from the door: "Is anyone home?! Is the new Secretary Zhao here?"