Me! A high-ranking official!

She paused, her tone becoming more sincere: "Moreover, when I said I admired you, it wasn't just politeness. I've always thought that Mr. Zhao is a person with great courage and practical ability. Everyone in the industry knows that the two most popular cultural tourism projects in the county were actually planned and executed by you, Mr. Zhao. I have high hopes for those two projects. If it weren't for the county finance leading the investment, I even considered investing and operating them myself."

His fingers, holding the cigarette, paused slightly as he looked at the other person with surprise. He was genuinely pleasantly surprised, and even felt a long-lost warmth. Those two cultural and tourism projects were the culmination of his hard work and could be considered his proudest achievements in the early stages of his political career. Although he had been ostracized to this remote and impoverished area because he had offended someone, and his achievements had been taken by others, the sense of recognition he felt now, hearing a business tycoon worth over 100 million yuan affirm his abilities, was something he couldn't fake.

He lowered his head, lit the cigarette, took a deep drag, and the bluish-white smoke spread between the two of them.

Surprise as it may be, he couldn't just look at the surface of things. No businessman is without guile. Even if the woman praised his abilities to the skies, the ultimate goal of this multi-million dollar investment was still Zhou Qingyan.

A few million is nothing to a woman, but for the hundreds of households in Luojia Village who toil in the fields, it is an opportunity to make a living and change their destiny. Once the villagers plant medicinal herbs on their land, they will be completely tied to this industry chain.

If he can climb up the ranks within the system and gain real power in the future, then he naturally won't have to worry about the woman withdrawing her investment. But what if, in the future, the woman discovers that she can't reach Zhou Qingyan at all and can't get the political protection she wants? If she ruthlessly withdraws her investment and cuts off the distribution channels, then the unsold medicinal herbs all over the ground will be a catastrophic disaster for the people of Luo Family Village!

He cannot gamble his own political future with the lives of ordinary people.

The woman seemed to see through his furrowed brow behind the smoke, and suddenly chuckled softly, "Mr. Zhao, why are you being so cautious?"

He looked up, his gaze sharp as he stared at her.

The woman said calmly, "Several million is indeed a huge asset for ordinary people, even a matter of life and death. But for you, Mr. Zhao, it's just a drop in the ocean. Back then... the funds you took from my dog ​​farm were far more than just a few million, weren't they?"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Jianguo's pupils contracted sharply, and his heart skipped a beat.

This woman is too smart! She is clearly telling him that he doesn't need to worry about her withdrawing her investment and running away to cut her losses in the future. He has enough confidence and funds in his own hands. Even if he withdraws for some reason one day, with his financial strength, he can completely cover the losses, consume all the medicinal materials produced, and find new channels. He doesn't need to worry about the people being catastrophically affected by this!

The woman crossed her arms on her lap and continued, "This planting project wasn't something I came up with on a whim. My think tank had been planning it for a while. There are three reasons why we ultimately chose Luojia Village as the pilot site and decided to cooperate with Mr. Zhao."

"The first reason is something everyone knows without saying, and Mr. Zhao is well aware of it; the second reason, as I just said, is that I do value Mr. Zhao's personal abilities and potential; the third reason is that Mr. Zhao is a pragmatic person who puts the people first."

She looked into Zhao Jianguo's eyes and said, word by word, "Actually, I value the latter two points more. Mr. Zhao is the kind of person who, when he speaks, is astonishing. Your future will definitely not stop at this small village, or even at Linshui County."

He held a cigarette between his fingers, couldn't help but chuckle, and shook his head: "Boss, you flatter me. This compliment makes me a little dizzy. I never imagined that I was so outstanding that I could get you to spend millions of dollars just by using my personal charm."

"Whether it's an overstatement or not, we'll see." The woman smiled slightly, then suddenly threw out her final, and most crucial, bargaining chip: "If Mr. Zhao can finalize things as soon as possible, we can still plant a batch of seedlings this year. In addition... to facilitate the subsequent entry of large agricultural machinery and the cold chain transportation of medicinal herbs, my company can fund the construction of half of the approximately 5,000-meter dirt road connecting Luojia Village to the provincial highway!"

His hand holding the cigarette froze in mid-air, staring intently at the woman in front of him.

What a ruthless gaze! What precise methods! This woman has truly got him by the throat!

The dilapidated road in Luojia Village is his most pressing concern. Although Guo Nanguo verbally promised 100,000 to 200,000 yuan, it is a drop in the bucket compared to the cost of road repair. Even for just the two or three-kilometer section from Luojia Village to the main road, the shortfall exceeds 500,000 yuan.

If this woman's plan is followed, and the road is built directly from the village to the provincial highway, the entire line will be 5,000 meters long! This is not just building a road; it's opening up the economic lifeline of Luojia Village! Based on current construction costs, this would require an investment of at least 1.3 to 1.4 million yuan!

If the other party is willing to contribute half of the funds, he can then seek donations from the county and town authorities for the rest, and the road can be completely repaired!

If this road is completed, along with village-wide lighting, an environmental bank, and a traditional Chinese medicine industry base... for him, this would be an extremely impressive achievement, perhaps even enough to alarm the municipal party committee!

The woman calmly met Zhao Jianguo's extremely imposing gaze: "Mr. Zhao, a business deal worth a few million is really not something I value. What I value is the long-term effect, your future worth as a person. Now, I've built a ladder for you. If you can seize this opportunity, it will be a chance for you to soar to new heights, and for me, it will be a win-win situation."

Zhao Jianguo looked deeply at the woman across from him through the rising smoke, then slowly stubbed out the half-smoked cigarette in the ashtray and solemnly extended his right hand.

Seeing this, the woman smiled brightly, raised her hand, and shook hands firmly with Zhao Jianguo.

"Boss, you're very generous." Zhao Jianguo held the slightly cold but soft hand and said in a deep voice, "You're willing to invest real money to give hundreds of households in Luojia Village a chance to change their destiny. Even if I, Zhao Jianguo, am a clay idol, I can't block the development of the whole village because of my own uncertain future. I hope our cooperation can truly achieve mutual benefit."

"As Mr. Zhao wishes." The woman smiled and withdrew her hand, straightening her posture slightly. "Now that we have confirmed our intention to cooperate, I am always very efficient. The first batch of start-up funds and professional technical guidance personnel will be stationed in Luojia Village within a week. For the initial cooperation, we have initially planned a pilot area of ​​500 mu. As for the specific contract details, seedling purchase, and guaranteed purchase agreement, my project manager will personally coordinate with Mr. Zhao in the next few days."