Me! A high-ranking official!

Zhao Jianguo deliberately emphasized his words, sighed, and adopted a posture of utter devotion to the village: "I had no choice! I had to swallow my pride and ask my old boss in the county government office to plead for me. Oh dear, that night, to get that 80,000 yuan, I almost got a stomach hemorrhage from all the drinking by the bureau chiefs and collapsed under the table!"

Upon hearing this, the surrounding villagers suddenly realized what was going on. Their eyes were filled with admiration as they looked at Zhao Jianguo, while their gazes toward Luo Shuishan took on a subtle change.

Without pausing, he continued with a smile, adding insult to injury: "Well, we finally made some progress, the money has been approved, so I'm going to find Boss Chen today to finalize it. I figured the village isn't that big, so I took some people to walk around and take a look. I know you're busy making big money at your factory, so I didn't dare call you again."

Luo Shuishan's face changed color repeatedly after hearing these words, feeling as uncomfortable as if he had swallowed a fly.

He knew perfectly well that his verbal skills in official documents were no match for the young secretary in front of him, who had been trained in the county government compound. But installing streetlights was a real achievement. Once completed, the whole village would see the lights every night, and his popularity would skyrocket! He absolutely could not be kicked out.

Luo Shuishan forced a smile and said with a righteous air, "Secretary, you're being too polite! This is a major issue concerning the nighttime travel of everyone in our village. Even if the factory is busy and I'm losing a lot of money, I still have to come and personally oversee it!"

He started to defend himself: "You didn't explain things clearly when you called earlier, you just told me to go to the county for drinks. I thought it was just a private gathering and nothing serious, so I didn't go. But don't worry, I've been privately communicating and pushing this matter forward with the town's top leader. I've been working on it patiently for a year now, and it's finally showing some progress. I feel relieved!"

Seeing that Luo Shuishan, that old fox, was shameless enough to try and steal a piece of credit from this project to embellish his image, Zhao Jianguo narrowed his eyes slightly and a sly smile appeared on his lips.

"Village Chief Shuishan is right!" Zhao Jianguo suddenly echoed loudly, "Village Chief Shuishan has truly gone to great lengths for this street light project! Everyone should remember his kindness!"

Luo Shuishan was stunned for a moment, not understanding why Zhao Jianguo suddenly changed his tune and praised him.

But Zhao Jianguo's next words plunged him into an icy abyss.

"Since Village Chief Shuishan is so concerned, there's a problem I've been struggling to solve!" Zhao Jianguo sighed with a worried look on his face.

He deliberately raised his voice to ensure that the surrounding villagers could hear him clearly: "Village Chief Shuishan, according to the county's latest policy, our village collective is required to advance the funds for this special fund of 80,000 yuan! Only after the streetlights are purchased, installed, and pass inspection will the county approve the funds and transfer them to us."

He spread his hands, looking helpless: "I was just thinking of discussing the matter of advance payment with the village chief of Shuishan. You see, most of the people in our village are elderly people left behind, and they don't even have money to buy meat. The village's collective account is also empty."

At this point, he changed the subject, staring expectantly at Luo Shuishan: "After thinking it over, I realize that in our village, only Village Chief Shuishan has such a large and powerful family. And as you just said, you've always been so dedicated to the development of the whole village, not even caring about the money losses incurred by the factory. So... Village Chief, could you be so generous and lend us the 80,000 yuan for the equipment?"

"Don't worry!" Zhao Jianguo assured him confidently, "That payment will come quickly. Once it passes inspection, it should be ready in about a month. As soon as the money is in the village's account, I will transfer it back to you immediately! Is that alright with you?"

"Buzz..."

Luo Shuishan felt a buzzing in his head and was completely dumbfounded.

This project requires upfront funding?! They only release funds after it's secured?!

He had only written an application before, and had not bothered to learn about the current special fund disbursement process. Today, he only heard from someone at the village entrance that a construction team had come to measure the streetlights, so he rushed over from the mud board factory to try and get credit. Little did he know that there was a huge pitfall of advance payment waiting for him!

Luo Shuishan looked around.

The villagers who had just been somewhat critical of Zhao Jianguo were now all looking at him with expressions of approval and anticipation.

"Yes, village chief, you're so rich, why don't you cover the village's expenses first!"

"Yeah, Shuishan, it's only 80,000 yuan. Isn't that just a drop in the ocean for you?"

"The village chief is usually kind-hearted; he'll definitely be willing to do this great thing for everyone!"

The villagers' chatter was like a series of huge tall hats, crashing down on Luo Shuishan's head.

Luo Shuishan was so angry that he felt like his back teeth were about to break.

You little rascal, Zhao Jianguo! You've got your eye on me!

You, Zhao Jianguo, are having a good time now, standing on the moral high ground, praising me on behalf of the entire village! But the 80,000 yuan that I have to hand over is my real money!

Eighty thousand yuan isn't a huge sum, but it's definitely not insignificant either. If he takes the money today just to save face, this door will be permanently opened. From now on, whenever the village needs money for road repairs, bridge construction, or any other project, will the villagers all expect Luo Shuishan to cover the costs?

He's rich, but his money doesn't just fall from the sky!

What's worse is that these government-allocated funds are often slow and bureaucratic; who can guarantee they'll be approved in a month or two? What if something gets stuck in the middle, or Zhao Jianguo sabotages things behind the scenes, and the funds ultimately fall through and aren't approved at all…

Then wouldn't Luo Shuishan's 80,000 yuan be completely wasted?! To take such a big risk for a vague and uncertain achievement, Luo Shuishan isn't some fool who does charity!

Luo Shuishan's fat face twitched twice, forcing out a dry laugh that looked more like a grimace, and stammered, "Uh... this... Secretary Zhao, it's not that I'm refusing, it's just that... the factory has just received several big orders recently, all of which require the clients to advance funds for the work, and my accounts... are really tight, I can't even pay the workers' wages, otherwise, I would definitely cover for the village without hesitation..."

Upon hearing this, the villagers' expectant eyes instantly dimmed, and a few couldn't help but scoff softly.

Zhao Jianguo sneered inwardly, not giving him a chance to finish his sentence or continue making up excuses.

He immediately interrupted with a laugh, "Hahaha, Village Chief Shuishan, don't be nervous, I was just joking with you!"

Zhao Jianguo patted Luo Shuishan on the shoulder and said loudly, "I know our factory has developed rapidly in the past two years. Although we're making money, we've also invested a lot of capital. It's only natural that we're experiencing cash flow difficulties!"