Me! A high-ranking official!

Liu Zhijun hadn't slept well to begin with, and when he heard the noise, he quickly ran to the door. He saw Luo Xiaofeng, a young man from the village, running over with his chubby face covered in rain and sweat, panting heavily.

"Here I am! Xiaofeng, what's wrong? Why are you in such a hurry?" Liu Zhijun asked quickly.

Luo Xiaofeng slapped his thigh and shouted urgently, "Uncle Zhijun, something terrible has happened! Old Heizi and Li Yushan's families are fighting! They're both carrying shovels, and it looks like they're about to fight to the death!"

Zhao Jianguo heard everything clearly inside. He sat up abruptly, grabbed a raincoat from the doorway, and rushed out, pulling it on as he went: "Let's go! We'll talk as we go!"

The three ran towards the village in the pouring rain. Along the way, Zhao Jianguo shouted, "What happened?"

"Hey! It's all because of building a house!" Luo Xiaofeng shouted, explaining, "Li Yushan's family built a new house, and the eaves are so long that they don't have a drip edge. Whenever it rains, all the water flows into Old Hei's yard next door. Old Hei told him to change it, but Li Yushan wouldn't listen! So today, Old Hei somehow got two stone-carved Pixiu (mythical creatures) and installed them directly on his own yard wall. The Pixiu's big mouths are right facing where the water is flowing from Li Yushan's yard!"

"Li Yushan got furious as soon as he saw it, saying that this was a Pixiu eating away at his wealth, ruining his family's feng shui, and demanding that Lao Heizi tear it down immediately! Lao Heizi refused to tear it down no matter what, saying that he would keep it until Li Yushan solved the dripping problem. The two argued more and more fiercely, and Li Yushan called several of his brothers, while Lao Heizi also called his relatives. Now there are about ten people on both sides facing off with weapons, and several neighbors are almost unable to stop them!"

As Zhao Jianguo ran, his face grim, he asked, "Didn't you go to see Village Chief Shuishan?"

"He's gone!" Luo Xiaofeng spat. "The village chief's at the mud-brick factory. He said he's too busy to leave today, and that since you, Secretary Zhao, are in charge of the village now, you're fully responsible for resolving this!"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Jianguo couldn't help but sneer inwardly.

You, Luo Shuishan, are willing to abandon all principles just to see me make a fool of myself! Why are you playing this "stepping down and handing over the reins" game now, trying to dump all the mess on me? If a mass bloodshed really breaks out, do you think you, the current village chief, can escape punishment? At a time like this, all you think about is personal revenge. Your political acumen is only at the level of a country bumpkin; you'll never amount to anything!

Before we even reached the destination, we could hear a burst of fierce shouting and cursing from afar.

When Zhao Jianguo rushed into the crowd, he saw that Lao Heizi had red eyes and was holding a shovel with wire tied to it. Behind him were seven or eight men with sticks, who were pointing at Li Yushan across the street and cursing him.

On the opposite side, Li Yushan's side had even more people, more than a dozen, each wielding a hoe and bricks, their emotions running high. Only a few elderly neighbors were desperately trying to hold both sides back, but they were about to be pushed apart.

"Stop it, you bastards!"

Zhao Jianguo pushed aside the onlookers and plunged into the middle of the two groups. He gathered his strength and roared like thunder, "I am Zhao Jianguo, the village secretary sent by the county! If you have any problems, come to me. Put down what you're carrying!"

However, these two families are now really angry with each other and don't care whether he is Zhao Jianguo or Wang Jianguo.

"I'll kill you, you old bastard, today!" On Li Yushan's side, one of his relatives got so excited that he broke free from the neighbors' obstruction, brandished a thick wooden-handled hoe, and walked past Zhao Jianguo, about to smash it down on Old Heizi!

The situation spiraled out of control in an instant!

Zhao Jianguo's eyes narrowed. He knew very well that there could be no retreat in this kind of clan feud in the countryside. He had to use absolute force to intimidate everyone from the very first second, otherwise the consequences would be unimaginable once blood was drawn!

Just as the hoe was about to strike, he stepped forward instead of retreating, his large hand gripping the wooden handle of the hoe like an iron clamp.

The man tried desperately to snatch it back, but found that the hoe seemed to be permanently attached to Zhao Jianguo's hand and wouldn't budge.

"You won't listen to advice, huh? You want to fight, huh?"

Zhao Jianguo's eyes widened, like an angry Vajra, and he roared, gripping the hardwood hoe handle, which was as thick as a strong man's forearm, with both hands, his muscles bulging instantly.

"Snap!!!"

With a deafening crack, the thick, sturdy wooden handle of the hoe was snapped in two in mid-air by Zhao Jianguo's explosive force with both hands!

Amidst flying splinters, he slammed the broken stick into the muddy water, pointing at the crowd and roaring, "Anyone who dares to take another step forward will end up like this stick!!!"

The entire venue fell into a deathly silence.

Everyone stared wide-eyed at Zhao Jianguo and the two broken pieces of wood on the ground as if they were looking at a monster.

That was a pine hoe handle! Normally, even chopping it with an axe would take ages. What did this new Party Secretary eat to grow up like that? He snapped it in half with his bare hands?! If that same force had been used on a person, wouldn't he have slapped them to death?!

"Why aren't you arguing anymore? Keep arguing!" Seeing that his intimidation had worked, Zhao Jianguo pointed at both sides and cursed without any politeness: "Are you all just bored and have nothing better to do? What's the big deal that you have to gather a crowd and cause trouble?! Believe me or not, I'll just make a call to the county public security bureau, call the riot squad, and throw every single one of you here in jail for half a month to reflect on your actions!"

Zhao Jianguo glared angrily at the two groups of people: "Li Yushan! Old Heizi! If you have something to say, say it! Now throw all your weapons on the ground! Throw them!"

Under the dual pressure of Zhao Jianguo's terrifying aura and astonishing strength, Lao Heizi and Li Yushan glared at each other. Although their faces were full of resentment, they still threw the shovels and bricks in their hands all over the ground with a clatter.

"Secretary Zhao, you be the judge!" Li Yushan angrily pointed at the two menacing stone Pixiu sculptures on the wall. "Old Heizi is so rude! My house was just built, and he put two mythical beasts on the wall to eat my water. Isn't that cursing my family to lose money and ruining my feng shui?!"

Old Heizi stiffened his neck, pointed at Li Yushan's eaves, and retorted with spittle flying, "Bullshit! You built your house without leaving a single drop of water, and every time it rains, it floods my yard! How many times have I told you to change your ways?! Since you're so heartless, don't blame me for being ruthless! This is my wall, I can put whatever I want on it, what's it to you?!"

Li Yushan, his neck stiff, roared, "I've already built my house like this, and you want me to change it? You're going to compensate me for the losses? You pay me and I'll change it right away!"

"I even paid for my Pixiu and cemented it up! You're still pouring water on the base of my wall! You compensate me for the damage to my wall, and I'll tear it down too!" Old Heizi retorted defiantly.

"You're just jealous that my family is living a better life than yours, and you're deliberately trying to disgust me!"

"Pah!"

Seeing the two start arguing again, Zhao Jianguo's face darkened, and he pulled them aside: "Li Yushan, the Civil Code clearly states that neighboring property owners cannot haphazardly drain water onto their neighbor's property. This is illegal, and you'll win every time you sue in court. But it's Old Hei's freedom to put a decoration on his own wall. The law doesn't say you can't put a Pixiu there."