Me! A high-ranking official!

"Alright, don't call me a great benefactor. I'm the village's first secretary; this is just my duty. As long as your family is safe and sound, that's all that matters." He chuckled and added, "Once the case goes through legal proceedings, there's no use in rushing. Right now, the most important thing for you is to focus on your work and earn as much money as possible to save for your wife's medical treatment. I'll keep an eye on things back home, so just focus on your work!"

Luo Haitao excitedly agreed repeatedly on the other end of the line, "Yes! Yes! I'll listen to you, Secretary Zhao! I'll definitely work hard outside and earn more money! I'm entrusting everything to you at home!"

After hanging up the phone, he leaned against a tree trunk, exhaled a deep breath, and finally felt a weight lifted from his heart. He rubbed his temples and stood there, starting to plan his next steps. Although Guo Nanguo had publicly pledged to try to squeeze out 100,000 to 200,000 yuan from the bureau's funds to support the village, the main road leading into Luojia Village was long and dilapidated. To pave it completely with cement or asphalt, the 100,000 yuan would barely be enough. Roughly estimating, there would still be a shortfall of at least 500,000 to 600,000 yuan.

"If the county had been able to allocate that 500,000 yuan poverty alleviation road repair fund, plus the money from the bureau, it wouldn't have been much different." He shook his head self-deprecatingly. He knew without a doubt that the 500,000 yuan had been misappropriated elsewhere. Now, hoping that the county would suddenly have a change of heart and return the money was harder than climbing to heaven, almost impossible.

Just as his mind was racing, trying to figure out where to go to beg for more alms, he suddenly heard a deep and powerful engine roar.

He looked up and followed the sound, and saw a black car speeding past at an extremely fast speed on the bumpy, potholed dirt road leading into the village.

Surprisingly, on this terrible road where even a tractor would shake, the car's body was remarkably smooth, with excellent chassis suspension and almost no bumps or jolts. Although he couldn't see the license plate clearly because of the car's speed, he recognized it at a glance from its streamlined appearance and distinctive front end as an extremely rare and undoubtedly valuable luxury SUV.

Squinting, his gaze followed the dust kicked up by the luxury car as it went, and a thought suddenly struck him.

That direction... doesn't it lead directly to the underground dogfighting arena?

He muttered to himself, "I wonder which big boss came from, running around in this remote, impoverished place throwing money around for thrills..."

That evening, Mr. Chen's construction team worked quickly and finished installing all the streetlights on the main road before dark.

Upon receiving the call, Zhao Jianguo went to the site for inspection. Dozens of brand-new solar streetlights were lined up along the village road. When Boss Chen switched on the switch, even though it was broad daylight and the sun hadn't set yet, the LED lights were still shining brightly, making people squint.

"Secretary Zhao, look at the brightness and the materials used. We definitely didn't skimp on the quality, did we?" Boss Chen said with a smile, handing over a cigarette.

"Not bad, indeed very sophisticated." Zhao Jianguo accepted the cigarette with great satisfaction, exchanged a few polite words with Boss Chen, expressed his gratitude, and promised to get the funding approved as quickly as possible.

Around 9 p.m., when it was completely dark, he was still a little worried, so he went out of the village committee and made a special inspection along the village road with the newly installed streetlights. To his credit, Boss Chen did a really good job. Once the high-wattage lights were turned on, the originally dark village road was brightly lit, and you could even see a few toads in the roadside grass.

After making a complete round trip and repeatedly confirming that there were no other problems, he finally strolled back to the village committee compound, satisfied.

Back in his dormitory, he turned on his computer and, following the train of thought he had shared in the live stream that afternoon, began searching online for successful cases of solving village-level elderly care issues and the rural economic cycle in other places.

Those model villages and advanced villages that rank among the top in the country have indeed done a good job, but behind them are massive funds from the provincial, municipal, and even county-level finances, and various special policies have given them the green light all the way.

Luojia Village has nothing, so it's practically impossible for Zhao Jianguo to single-handedly create a self-sustaining pension and economic system in the village!

"Sigh, this is tough..." He rubbed his throbbing temples, his mind filled with jumbled data and policies. Thinking about these headache-inducing problems, a deep weariness crept over him. Leaning against the headboard, without even taking off his clothes, he fell into a deep sleep without realizing it.

Just as I was drifting off to sleep, in the quiet night, a low, rumbling car engine sound suddenly came from outside.

"Creak..."

The car seemed to stop directly at the entrance of the village committee. Immediately afterward, there were several dull thuds of the car doors slamming shut. Then, a series of hurried, chaotic, and undisguised footsteps pounded on the ground in the courtyard, heading straight towards his dormitory!

He suddenly opened his eyes, his mind still a little groggy from just waking up. He glanced at his phone instinctively; it was the middle of the night.

"Who came to the village committee so late at night? Has something urgent happened in the village?"

Feeling puzzled, he propped himself up and looked out the window. Through the glass, in the moonlight, he could vaguely see four or five dark figures approaching the door with menacing intent.

Before he could even sit up completely straight...

"Bang!!!"

A deafening crash! The already flimsy wooden door was violently smashed open with an explosive kick, the screws on the lock flying off, and the door slammed against the wall before bouncing back.

Immediately afterwards, four or five muscular men wearing baseball caps and masks, moving with incredible speed, rushed into the house like a well-trained squad!

He instantly broke out in a cold sweat, his mind clearing completely! This wasn't a fellow villager coming to ask for help; this was someone coming to take his life! These people were incredibly audacious, daring to break into the village committee office in the middle of the night!

At this critical moment, his abnormally fast reaction speed, modified by the Treasure Basin, saved his life. Without even thinking, he rolled smoothly from the bed to the ground, grabbed the thick wooden round stool next to the bed, and using the strength of his waist, without even looking, swung it around and smashed it hard into the face of the person charging at the front!

The leader reacted extremely quickly. He didn't panic when faced with the flying stool, but instead quickly raised his forearm to block it.

With a loud "bang," they withstood the heavy blow head-on. Although they were jolted back half a step with a muffled groan, their attack formation remained perfectly intact.

These men were clearly not ordinary thugs; they moved with strategy and coordination, instantly forming a semi-encirclement and pressing forward.