Me! A high-ranking official!

"Oh, Secretary, there's really nothing valuable here!" Old Hei Zi refused to accept it, pushing it back with all his might, and said earnestly, "It's really not something I bought! It's an old hen that I just stewed at home today! I know it's inconvenient for you to cook at the village committee, so I had my wife serve you a big bowl of chicken, and also get you a bottle of bulk liquor and a cold dish to go with the liquor."

Old Hei Zi patted his chest and said, "All things considered, this thing isn't even worth a hundred or two. If you let me take this hot meal, I, Old Hei Zi, really won't feel right! You've gone to so much trouble for me in this rainy weather, you must accept it!"

Upon hearing that it wasn't a cash gift, but rather chicken and cold dishes cooked by the villager herself, Zhao Jianguo knew that refusing too firmly would only hurt the villagers' kind feelings. So he readily relented, laughing heartily, "Alright then, since it's a hot meal cooked by Auntie herself, I'll shamelessly accept it. Thank you, Uncle Heizi. It's raining and chilly; I was just wondering what to have for lunch this afternoon!"

Old Hei grinned, revealing a mouthful of yellow teeth: "Secretary, that's more like it! This is just a small token of my appreciation. Originally, I should have treated you to a nice meal and drinks at home since things were handled so well today, but... I just had a fight with Li Yushan. If I were to invite you over for a big meal and drinks later, I'm afraid that old man might notice something amiss and cause some gossip."

"Great, great! You've thought of everything." He smiled and patted Old Heizi on the shoulder. "Hurry back, the rain is heavy and the roads are slippery, be careful. Thanks, Uncle Heizi!"

After seeing off the profusely grateful Old Heizi, Zhao Jianguo turned around and saw Liu Zhijun standing at the door of the storage room with a shocked expression.

Liu Zhijun's mouth dropped open. Pointing in the direction Old Heizi had left outside the door, he stammered, "Secretary...Secretary...don't tell me that Old Heizi put a stone Pixiu on the courtyard wall to disgust Li Yushan...this nasty trick, was it your idea for him?!"

Seeing Liu Zhijun's utterly shocked expression, he chuckled, walked over, picked up the bottle of baijiu from the table, raised an eyebrow, lowered his voice, and half-jokingly instructed, "How can you call it a dirty trick? This is called using magic to defeat magic! Li Yushan doesn't follow the law, does he? Well, I'll make him talk about feng shui and metaphysics, but... this is a secret between heaven, earth, you, and me, you absolutely can't tell anyone else!"

Liu Zhijun gasped, instantly understanding the whole story.

No wonder Zhao Jianguo was so at ease on the scene, no wonder he wasn't afraid to escalate the situation. It turns out he planted the fuse himself! He used Lao Heizi's recklessness to force Li Yushan to submit, and then made a thunderous entrance, intimidating both sides. He not only perfectly solved the long-standing problem, but also established his authority and won over Lao Heizi's heart.

These methods and these schemes are simply divine!

Liu Zhijun was utterly impressed by the young Party Secretary before him, nodding repeatedly and saying knowingly, "Secretary, don't worry, my mouth is tighter than an oyster shell, I promise I won't utter a single word!"

"Alright, stop standing there, get your chopsticks!" Zhao Jianguo opened the takeout box; the hen was stewed until tender and falling off the bone, its aroma filling the air. "That bowl of plain noodles at noon wasn't enough to fill us up. With this good meal from Lao Heizi, let's have another one!"

The two enjoyed a delicious meal with the chicken and cold dishes that Lao Heizi had brought.

After eating and drinking to their hearts' content, Zhao Jianguo noticed that although the rain was still falling outside, most of the village had quieted down and people were probably getting ready to take a nap. However, he didn't stay idle. While everyone was taking shelter from the rain at home, he quickly walked to his office and turned on the village's dusty loudspeaker.

"Hey, feed? Sizzle... sizzle..."

After fiddling with the switch a couple of times to make sure the sound could carry throughout the village, he cleared his throat, turned to the microphone, and began broadcasting in a loud, down-to-earth voice:

"Attention, villagers! Attention, villagers! This is Zhao Jianguo, the village secretary. I'm taking a moment of your rest to broadcast some good news!"

"To improve our village's environment, starting tomorrow, we're officially establishing an Environmental Protection Bank! What is an Environmental Protection Bank? It means that from now on, please stop throwing your household garbage into that stinky ditch at the west end! Sort your cardboard boxes, plastic bottles, and rotten vegetable leaves, and bring them directly to the village committee!"

"Trash can be exchanged for points! What can you do with points? You can exchange them for rice, flour, soy sauce, and eggs at the village committee! They're all good stuff!"

"Those who live far away or are elderly and have difficulty going out don't need to worry. Every day at 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., Comrade Luo Jiaxin from our village will ride his tricycle through the streets and alleys to collect the garbage! There will be a loudspeaker to announce the times, so just bring out your garbage when you hear it!"

"This is a great thing that benefits the country and the people, and it will also save every household money on oil and salt! I hope everyone will spread the word and actively cooperate with our village's environmental improvement measures! From now on, our village roads won't smell bad, there will be fewer mosquitoes, and everyone will live more comfortably! I'll broadcast this again..."

The powerful sound pierced through the heavy rain and reached the eaves of every household in the village. Many villagers who were lying on their kang (heated brick bed) snoring away, upon hearing the loudspeaker say that garbage could be exchanged for eggs and rice, pricked up their ears and began to calculate how much scrap metal and cardboard they still had at home.

Zhao Jianguo broadcast the message four or five times in a row to make sure that every household could hear it clearly before turning off the loudspeaker.

The rain outside was getting heavier and heavier, and the whole village was washed clean by the rain. It was not convenient to go out for visits in this kind of weather. Zhao Jianguo stretched and then went back to the back room. Accompanied by the sound of the rain outside the window, he and Liu Zhijun took a comfortable nap, just waiting for the big day to start tomorrow.

When I woke up, the torrential rain outside the window hadn't stopped; in fact, it was pouring down even harder, with rainwater gushing down the glass.

He rubbed his slightly swollen temples, yawned widely, and glanced at the cot next to him. Liu Zhijun was fast asleep, snoring loudly. Clearly, he had been preoccupied with worries for the past few years and hadn't slept so soundly in a long time.

Without waking him, I leaned against the headboard, took out my phone, and habitually opened WeChat to scroll through my messages.

Suddenly, his gaze stopped on a large group chat for people working within the county's government system. The group was usually a place where people would send out notices and chat occasionally, but now messages were flashing by at lightning speed.

Someone posted a message: "My God, the new county party secretary was in a big meeting today, and he suddenly threw up on the spot, covered his mouth, and ran out!"

Upon seeing this sentence, his pupils contracted sharply, and his heart leaped into his throat.

Others might not know what was going on, but how could he not? Zhou Qingyan calculated the days, and this was exactly when the morning sickness was at its worst!

He felt a cold sweat break out on his back and quickly held his breath to look down at the discussion in the group.