Me! A high-ranking official!

The driver had just met Zhao Jianguo at the village committee when he was delivering the first batch of goods. Upon seeing him, he acted as if he had seen a savior, quickly dropped the cigarette he was holding that he couldn't give out, and ran over to greet him.

"Secretary Zhao! You've finally arrived!" The driver said with a pained expression, lowering his voice, "These old folks, I don't know what's wrong with them, they absolutely refuse to let our material trucks pass!"

The driver wiped the sweat from his brow and said aggrievedly, "In our line of work hauling goods, we know the rules when it comes to village checkpoints like this. I was thinking of settling things peacefully, paying a few dozen or a hundred yuan as a way of saying 'treating everyone to tea.' I politely asked them how much they wanted to let me pass, but... they immediately demanded a thousand yuan!"

"One thousand?" Zhao Jianguo raised an eyebrow.

"Yes! He's asking for a thousand yuan right off the bat, and the old man in charge said he won't budge an inch. Not a penny less and this truck won't get through today!" The driver stamped his feet anxiously. "Secretary, that's impossible! Our company only makes a few thousand yuan a month from this whole lighting project. We still have several more trips to make to the village! If we have to pay a thousand yuan each time, we'll not only work for free, but we'll also lose money. We simply can't afford it!"

After hearing the driver's words, his doubts vanished instantly, and the whole story became clear.

Having dealt with grassroots government officials for so many years, he had certainly seen and heard about the unreasonable and demanding practices of blocking roads and extorting money in the countryside. Some villagers would indeed use road repairs or damage to farmland as an excuse to ask for exorbitant prices. However, in rural areas, if someone was really trying to gain a little money, as long as the driver was willing to talk nicely and spend a little money, such as a few tens or hundreds of yuan or even buying a few packs of cigarettes, these villagers would definitely give way while cursing and swearing.

But what about these old men and women? They're adamant about paying a thousand yuan, not giving a single penny more, completely unyielding! Is this how they ask for money? This isn't about negotiating or extorting a toll; they're clearly on some strict orders, determined to cause trouble and disgust people!

He had just secured sponsorship for a street lighting project for the village, but now, at this crucial moment, a neighboring village was causing him this kind of underhanded trouble. Who would be so bored and deliberately try to make things difficult for him?

Needless to say, the answer is obvious.

It must be that old fox Luo Shuishan!

Yesterday morning in the village, Luo Shuishan was severely criticized for his alleged pre-financing failure and his reputation for being lazy and incompetent. Not only did he not gain any benefits from the street light project, but he also lost both face and reputation, becoming a spineless coward with no prestige.

Luo Shuishan had been a local tyrant in the surrounding villages for so many years, so it was understandable that he couldn't swallow this insult. However, he didn't dare to openly confront the first secretary, who brought him funds and prestige, in Luojia Village. So, he used his local connections to extend his reach to the neighboring Dongsanzhuang Village! By spending a little money and offering some benefits, he instigated a group of idle people from the other village who relied on their seniority to sabotage his project and hinder its progress!

"Trying to force me to back down with this kind of stubborn, rural tactic? Luo Shuishan, your methods are ridiculously crude."

Zhao Jianguo sneered inwardly.

He understood the crux of the matter all too well. Knowing that Luo Shuishan was behind it all meant that this issue could not be resolved through normal means such as popularizing the law or simply paying money to avoid trouble. If you give them a thousand, they will ask for another two thousand later. Their goal was to delay your project indefinitely.

What's even more troublesome is that the other side consists of a large group of elderly, infirm, and disabled people in their seventies and eighties with gray hair! At the grassroots level, this is the most powerful nuclear weapon. Not to mention him, the village secretary from outside, even if the police from the local police station came, they would have no temper with these old folks who dare to lie directly under car wheels and feel pain all over their bodies if touched. They would not be able to use force or forcibly disperse them.

A direct confrontation will definitely result in a huge loss, and reasoning with someone is like casting pearls before swine.

He reached out and patted the driver on the shoulder, signaling him to calm down.

Zhao Jianguo propped up his electric scooter by the roadside, looked at the few elderly men and women who were as steady as Mount Tai, and showed no anger on his face. Instead, he greeted them with a smile.

"Dear elders, thank you for your hard work in this hot weather. I am Zhao Jianguo, the newly arrived village secretary of Luojia Village." He introduced himself in a very friendly tone.

The elderly men and women raised their somewhat cloudy eyelids, glanced at him sideways, snorted, and didn't move an inch, completely ignoring him. One old woman fanning herself with a palm leaf fan curled her lip and continued chatting with the people next to her, completely treating this big leader as if he were invisible.

The driver was so anxious he kept stamping his feet: "Secretary Zhao, look at this..."

Zhao Jianguo winked at the driver to step back, and without getting angry, he continued with a smile, "Grandpa and Grandma, this traffic jam is no joke. We actually called the police just now, and they'll be here soon."

Upon hearing that the police were called, one of the old men smoking a pipe was not afraid at all. Instead, he sneered, tapped his pipe, and said in a hoarse voice, "So what if the police come? Even if the King of Heaven himself came, this matter would still need to be explained! Your truck damaged our village's asphalt road, which is public property! Don't even mention calling the police; even if you take this all the way to the capital, you still can't justify paying compensation for the damage!"

"Yes! That makes perfect sense!" Several elderly men and women echoed, straightening their backs even more.

"Yes, yes, yes, you're right, sir. I understand, I understand!" Zhao Jianguo not only didn't refute, but nodded repeatedly in agreement.

Then, he suddenly leaned closer to the elderly women, glanced back at the truck driver mysteriously to make sure the driver couldn't hear him, and then lowered his voice, acting suspiciously, and whispered, "Grandpas and grandmas, to be honest, you did a fantastic job today! I'll let you in on a secret, I'll pull out my own pocket and give each of you an extra hundred yuan! You absolutely must stop this truck for me, don't let it leave!"

The elderly men and women were stunned. They stopped fanning themselves and smoking their pipes, staring at Zhao Jianguo with wide, bewildered expressions: "You... what did you say?"

Zhao Jianguo chuckled, rubbing his hands together with a smug, complicit expression: "Oh dear, didn't Village Chief Shuishan tell you all this beforehand? You really thought we were just sending you to stop the car? This was all part of a scheme I planned with Village Chief Shuishan!"