Me! A high-ranking official!

"Besides," Zhao Jianguo concluded, "we're running a bank. If someone wants to deposit their trash, as long as it meets the sorting standards, we'll accept it all! It doesn't matter if the trash was swept from their home or dug out of a hole. As long as we don't lose money selling it to the recycling center, this cycle can keep going! It's a win-win situation, understand?"

Liu Zhijun was stunned, then suddenly slapped his thigh, realizing, "That's right! Secretary, you're so quick-witted! How come I didn't think of that? So, not only have we not lost out, we've actually made a huge profit!"

"Alright." Zhao Jianguo waved his hand with a smile. "Your health isn't good to begin with, so don't linger here. Take advantage of the fact that no one's around now and go back inside to lie down and rest your legs."

Just then, a loud shout suddenly came from outside the yard: "Zhijun! Is Zhijun there? I'm here to exchange the trash for laundry detergent!"

Liu Zhijun gave a wry smile and shrugged helplessly: "Well, no rest now, back to work!"

Zhao Jianguo watched his retreating figure, then shook his head with a smile.

Calculating the time, tomorrow is Saturday. His younger sister, who is a senior in high school and has always been an outstanding student, only gets two days off a month according to school regulations, so this weekend is the day she goes home.

Thinking about it carefully, I realized that it had been almost two months since I last saw my younger sister, and I really missed her.

"What a pity..."

He sighed. According to the regulations of the county party committee's organization department, the first secretary stationed in the village is required to live and eat in the village. If he wants to leave the village and return to the county town, he must follow strict leave procedures. He had just taken two days off in the past two days under the pretext of "running projects" because of Zhou Qingyan's mess. It would be unreasonable for him to take leave to go home to visit his family now.

"Looks like it'll have to be delayed again this time. I'll give the little girl some extra pocket money next month after I get my salary to make up for it."

Just as I was pondering this, my phone, which was on the bed, suddenly vibrated.

He quickly picked it up and saw that it was a WeChat message from Zhou Qingyan.

But the screen only shows a lone punctuation mark: "?".

He frowned. It was clear that the other party was asking him what urgent matter he had, but he wasn't sure if Zhou Qingyan was alone. He also didn't dare to send a text message about the extremely sensitive matter of Lin Jiaojiao's clinic being investigated. If the chat history was left behind and someone else saw it, it wouldn't be good.

He gritted his teeth and could only reply, "It's urgent, I'll tell you over the phone. Is it a convenient time for you to answer?"

A few seconds later, Zhou Qingyan replied with three words: "Not convenient."

He looked at the screen and sighed helplessly. Well, this young lady definitely has someone watching her. This potential death bomb will have to be kept inside for now.

Just then, the phone screen flashed, and a call came in.

Upon checking the notes, it was found to be Li Xing, the director of the Agricultural Section of the Finance Bureau.

He immediately sat up straight and pressed the answer button: "Hello, Director Li, hello."

On the other end of the phone, Li Xing's voice sounded very capable: "Secretary Zhao, it's like this, the special funds for the solar street lighting project that your Luojia Village applied for in the report have already been discussed in a meeting."

His eyes lit up; this was the project he had been closely monitoring since he came to the village: "Director Li, has it been approved?"

"Yes, it has been approved, but the process for disbursing this money has changed slightly from before."

Li Xing explained over the phone: "This time, the county is strictly controlling the funds. In accordance with the latest work requirements from above, in order to prevent the special funds from being misappropriated or the villages below from taking the money and not doing the work, the principle of 'doing the work first and then receiving subsidies' is now being implemented."

"What do you mean?" Li Xing paused for a moment, then continued, "It means that your village collective is required to find a way to advance the funds to purchase and install the streetlights. Only after all the work is completed and the county has inspected and approved them will this special fund of 80,000 yuan be allocated to your village in one lump sum."

Li Xing gave his final instructions: "This year, the higher authorities approved a total of three million yuan for this lighting project. This time, they plan to allocate one million yuan, which should cover about fifteen villages. If your Luo Family Village wants this money, you must get the work done as soon as possible and submit the relevant construction contracts, proof of advance payment, and other materials to me for filing within ten days. Once this opportunity is gone, it won't come again. You'd better hurry up and make the arrangements."

"Okay, okay! I understand, Director Li! We'll definitely finish the work within ten days and deliver the materials to you! Thank you so much!"

After hanging up the phone, Zhao Jianguo excitedly paced back and forth in the room twice.

The lighting project costing 80,000 yuan is neither a large nor a small amount, but if these solar streetlights can be installed along the main roads of the village, the history of Luojia Village being dark at night will be completely over. This is a real and tangible benefit that the villagers can see and touch! It will greatly enhance his prestige among the villagers.

However, after the initial excitement, the harsh realities immediately came crashing down on them like a bucket of cold water.

"Work first, then get reimbursed; the village is required to advance the funds..."

This regulation sounds reasonable, but for Luojia Village right now, it's simply an impossible task.

Most of the people left behind in the village are elderly people with no source of income. Expecting to raise money from them to cover the expenses is pure fantasy. Moreover, the village collective's accounts are as clean as their faces; they have to carefully calculate even the cost of buying a broom. Where would they possibly come up with 80,000 yuan to cover the expenses?

"It seems I'll have to figure out a way to cover this cost myself first, or... maybe I should try contacting those solar street light installation companies? See if I can negotiate with their bosses to subcontract the project to them, with the material and labor costs paid on credit, and then use that money to cover the shortfall once the special fund comes through?"