Me! A high-ranking official!

He took the notebook and pushed open the door to go in. Liu Zhijun had just woken up and was sitting on the edge of the bed rubbing his eyes.

"Brother Zhijun, you're awake?" He walked over, tore off the page with the exchange rates written on it, and handed it to Liu Zhijun: "Take a look at this. This is our Environmental Protection Bank's exchange rate list."

Liu Zhijun took the paper and saw that it was written in a clear and organized manner, even specifying how many kilograms of kitchen waste and rotten vegetable leaves could be exchanged for one point.

Zhao Jianguo patted him on the shoulder and instructed, "You're meticulous. The Environmental Protection Bank will officially open first thing tomorrow morning. Work hard this afternoon to familiarize yourself with this ratio table. Tomorrow, we'll temporarily use this standard for exchange. If we encounter any unreasonable parts, we'll make minor adjustments as needed during actual operation!"

As the night deepened and all was quiet, the rain outside the window gradually stopped, leaving only the occasional dripping water from the eaves hitting the puddles and making a crisp sound.

Liu Zhijun also went back, leaving him alone at the village committee. He took his phone, went outside, and dialed Zhou Qingyan's number.

The phone rang several times before being answered. Zhou Qingyan's voice, strained with suppressed fatigue, tinged with irritation and coldness, came from the other end: "Feeding? What are you doing so late at night?"

Sensing her unease, he cut to the chase without beating around the bush: "I've found a place. It's a private obstetrics and gynecology clinic in the city, run by an old classmate of mine. It's a decent size, safe, and confidential. They don't use ID cards or go through the medical system, so there won't be any trace left. Check your schedule and make a time. I'm available to come and be with you anytime."

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone, followed by Zhou Qingyan's slightly heavy breathing. After a while, she spoke hesitantly, "The day after tomorrow, I'll go to the municipal party committee for a meeting. I'll be staying at a designated hotel in the city for the night, so I'll arrange it for the night after tomorrow. I'll go back to the hotel to rest after the surgery."

"The day after tomorrow?" Zhao Jianguo frowned slightly and couldn't help but say with concern, "After this kind of surgery, your body will be very weak. It would be best if you could take a few days off to rest in bed, otherwise it's easy to develop a chronic condition that will affect your health in the future..."

"When do I have time to rest?" Zhou Qingyan interrupted him coldly, her tone revealing an undeniable firmness and helplessness: "I was just transferred to Linshui County, and the province and city are watching me closely. The county's work will be very intense for the next period of time, and my schedule is full every day. I can't possibly take leave and disappear at this critical juncture. You don't need to worry about anything else, just make sure the surgery time and confidentiality are arranged properly."

Hearing her resolute tone, he sighed helplessly in his heart. Being a top leader in the system may seem glamorous, but in reality, one is not in control of one's own destiny, especially for a woman. The price she has to pay is unimaginable to ordinary people.

"Okay, I understand. I'll finalize the time with them right away. Take care of yourself." Zhao Jianguo hung up the phone and then called Lin Zhuzhu again, setting the time for the night after tomorrow and asking her to make sure everything was arranged properly.

The next morning, the rain stopped and the air was filled with the fresh scent of earth.

After having breakfast, he first called the town party committee office to ask for leave for the next two days. According to the grassroots attendance rules, short leave of two days or less only requires the approval of the town leaders and does not need to be reported to the county level. This saves a lot of trouble and will not attract the attention of people above.

After requesting leave, Zhao Jianguo left the office.

At this moment, Liu Zhijun, dragging his not-so-clean leg, swept the open space in front of and behind the village committee building clean with a large broom. Not only that, he also moved an old desk out of the house and placed it neatly at the door. On the desk were a scale, a notebook, and a pen, and next to it were neatly stacked exchange supplies such as salt, soy sauce, and eggs, resembling a small business outlet.

Today is the first day of the Environmental Protection Bank's opening. This is crucial to whether Zhao Jianguo's first initiative to benefit the people in this remote and impoverished area can be a resounding success, so he can't afford to be careless.

Zhao Jianguo did not go out to intervene. Instead, he sat in the conference room, holding a teacup, his eyes fixed on the outside. Although it was only a little past eight in the morning, his heart was already involuntarily pounding.

As nine o'clock approached, a figure finally appeared on the village road. An old man smoking a pipe, carrying a dirty woven bag, tentatively walked to the entrance of the village committee, peeked inside, and asked, "Zhijun, yesterday the loudspeaker said we could exchange trash for things, is this where we do it?"

"Yes, yes, sir! Change right here!" Liu Zhijun's eyes lit up with excitement when he saw that the store was finally open, and he quickly went to greet the customer.

He took the woven bag from the old man, opened it, and frowned slightly. Inside, fruit peels, rotten vegetable leaves, waste paper, and broken wine bottles were all mixed together, damp and emitting a strange smell.

Liu Zhijun put on rubber gloves and said with a patient smile, "Grandpa, we can exchange the trash, but we have to sort it. However, this is your first time, so you have no experience. Let me help you sort it first, and you can watch and learn from me."

As he spoke, Liu Zhijun deftly emptied the garbage, sorting through it while explaining to the old man: "Look, these rotten vegetable leaves and leftover food that can be composted, we put them in this green bag. These glass bottles, cardboard boxes, and plastic buckets that can be sold to the recycling station for money, we pick them out and put them aside to dry. As for those useless dead garbage like plastic bags and toilet paper, we'll pack them separately and collect them all later."

After sorting, Liu Zhijun weighed the eggs, made a note in his ledger, and then smiled as he took a large, red-shelled egg from a nearby basket and handed it to the old man: "Grandpa, your weight is just right for one egg. Here you go!"

"Wow, this is a great deal! This is wonderful. Usually, I would just throw it away, but now I can get an egg for free!" The old man held the egg, beaming from ear to ear, and walked away happily.

Sitting inside the house, Zhao Jianguo smiled and nodded with satisfaction at the sight. When doing this kind of grassroots work, he wasn't afraid of spending money at the beginning; he was afraid that the people wouldn't believe him and no one would come. Once he got started and the first person to try it out, in the familiar rural society, it would immediately create a sensational effect, spreading from one person to ten, and from ten to a hundred. Especially now, when everyone has finished breakfast and is out strolling and chatting, the news spreads faster than the wind.

Just as Zhao Jianguo had predicted, not long after the old man left, a woman came over carrying two large bags of garbage.

Liu Zhijun, familiar with the process, helped her sort the trash as before, teaching her how to do it. Finally, he asked, "Sister-in-law, you have quite a lot of trash. Are you planning to save up points to redeem larger items later, or do you want to redeem something now?"

"Let's exchange it now, we're out of salt at home!" The woman exchanged it for a bag of salt and left happily.

Gradually, more villagers came over with garbage bags.