Me! A high-ranking official!

Luo Shuishan, his face grim, pulled out a chair, crossed his legs, and said with obvious impatience, "Secretary Zhao, what earth-shattering matter has gotten us here in the middle of the night? Secretary Zhao, village committee meetings aren't something you can just call whenever you want. According to the rules, you can't just bother people without a truly important matter. Even though you're the first secretary sent from above, if you don't have a legitimate reason, I can refuse to cooperate for everyone's rest!"

Compared to Luo Shuishan's barbed remarks, Luo Ming, who followed him in, was much more low-key. He found a seat on the side, put his hands in his sleeves, and looked down at his nose, as if the open and covert struggles around him had nothing to do with him. He was completely detached and like a bystander watching the show.

Zhao Jianguo gave Luo Shuishan a cold look. After getting to know him over this period of time, he knew Luo Shuishan all too well. He was ambitious and loved to show off. Having been a local tyrant for a long time, he liked to put on airs of officialdom at the drop of a hat. However, he was mediocre in ability and extremely narrow-minded.

But given the current situation, getting things done really requires getting around this local bigwig, and I could be transferred at any time, so the subsequent implementation work needs a strong person to push it forward.

"Since we can't avoid it, let's just grit our teeth and drag him onto the boat. It's just a matter of giving him a hefty share of the political achievements. As long as this investment of several million can land in Luojia Village, and as long as the people can make money, what does it matter if I, Zhao Jianguo, work here for nothing?"

Having figured this out, his expression softened slightly, and he looked at Luo Shuishan and slowly said, "Village Chief Shuishan, just now, I finished talking with a big boss who deals in authentic Chinese medicinal herbs. He plans to invest several million yuan in our village to set up a demonstration base for Chinese medicinal herb cultivation."

These words were like a bombshell exploding in the quiet conference room.

Luo Shuishan, who had been full of resentment and ready to find fault at any moment, was suddenly shocked. His hand on his lap trembled violently, and his slightly cloudy eyes widened instantly.

"Investing millions?! To grow medicinal herbs?!"

Even a fool could see what this level of investment meant for Luo Family Village! It was a whopping several million yuan! If this project were to actually go ahead, how much profit and benefit could it bring to the village and to him, the village chief?

A glint of light flashed in his eyes, and he leaned forward involuntarily, staring intently at Zhao Jianguo as he asked, "Is it confirmed? They're really willing to invest millions to build a base in this poor mountain village?"

Looking at his greedy and eager expression, Zhao Jianguo said in a calm tone, "Village Chief Shuishan, if I wasn't sure, would I have called you two over in the middle of the night to discuss this?"

Luo Shuishan was taken aback by these words and coughed twice to cover his embarrassment, but his mind was racing with calculations.

He glanced at Luo Ming, who was sitting next to him pretending to be dead, and a surge of anger rose in his heart. During this period, he had suffered repeated setbacks at the hands of Zhao Jianguo, this young upstart. Even his former trusted confidant Luo Ming had been completely subdued by Zhao Jianguo and was no longer paying any attention to him!

Upon thinking of this, Luo Shuishan's initial excitement instantly cooled, replaced by resentment and defensiveness. He leaned back in his chair, his tone returning to its sarcastic tone: "Secretary Zhao, if it's true, that's certainly a good thing, but... this matter is probably not easy to handle!"

Zhao Jianguo's eyes instantly turned cold.

All I did was throw out a project topic, and Luo Shuishan didn't even ask about the specific details, benefits, or conditions. His first comment was that it was difficult to handle. It was obvious that he didn't want to cooperate properly and was just trying to take advantage of me.

Suppressing his anger, he asked in a cold voice, "What does Village Chief Shuishan mean by that? Millions of dollars in investment are offered to us, so why is it difficult to handle?"

Luo Shuishan took out a cigarette, lit it, exhaled a thick cloud of smoke, and said slowly, "Secretary Zhao, you haven't been at the grassroots level for long and don't understand the ways of the countryside. It's not that I, as the village head, am complaining to you, but it's really difficult to do grassroots work these days! Setting up a planting base of several hundred acres must require large-scale land transfer, right?"

He sneered and continued, "For ordinary people, land is their lifeline! If you want to transfer it, how will you set the price? Besides, the land in our village is of varying quality; it's impossible to please everyone. Some want more, some want less. If the money isn't distributed evenly, someone will definitely cause trouble! If it's all distributed equally, those who have the good land will feel resentful and will also cause trouble! So, this sounds good, but in reality, it's like a hornet's nest—it's not going to be easy!"

Zhao Jianguo nodded. He was well aware of the difficulties in land transfer, but he could not tolerate this attitude of being cowardly before the battle even began and shirking responsibility.

He stared into Luo Shuishan's eyes and said, word by word, "There will definitely be difficulties, but I don't want to hear about the difficulties themselves, but how to solve them! This matter concerns the future economic cycle of the entire village. The intentions of a few individuals for personal gain are not within my consideration. I also hope that Village Chief Shuishan, including all the cadres of the village committee, will not be evasive when faced with such a major issue that can help the people escape poverty and become prosperous!"

Luo Shuishan, having been lectured to his face, glanced at Zhao Jianguo with disdain.

"The larger the scale, the harder it is to please everyone, and the more trouble it will cause." Luo Shuishan smiled sinisterly. "It seems Secretary Zhao is determined to get this project! Well then, just like you said, such a big matter is indeed not something I, as the village head, dare to make a decision on. Since you have a village committee meeting tomorrow, let's go there and have a frank discussion, and see what everyone's opinions are!"

Zhao Jianguo's heart sank when he saw Luo Shuishan's attitude of being utterly unfazed and clearly intending to create obstacles.

He decided to make one last attempt and said in a deep voice, "Village Chief Shuishan, this matter concerns the economic lifeline of the village and the livelihoods of hundreds of people in Luojia Village. I won't hide it from you, I plan to work with you on this project! For the development of our hometown, let's work together. I also hope that Village Chief Shuishan can take the lead and ensure that more people benefit from the project. After it's successful, the town and county will recognize Village Chief Shuishan's contributions!"

Zhao Jianguo emphasized the words "together" and "merit," clearly implying to Luo Shuishan that as long as he helped, they would share the political achievements equally, and Luo would receive half of the honor.

Upon hearing this, Luo Shuishan's eyes flickered. As a seasoned veteran who had spent half his life on the fringes of officialdom, how could he not understand Zhao Jianguo's implied meaning?

But... what does this have to do with Luo Shuishan?

Luo Shuishan sneered inwardly. Political achievements? Merits? Can that stuff put food on the table? If things really go through, won't Zhao Jianguo take the lion's share to get promoted and make a fortune? Then you'll just walk away and get promoted, leaving me with a mess to clean up. Besides, I own a clay slab factory, making a steady hundreds of thousands a year, enough for me to be a big shot in Luo Family Village. If all the villagers get rich from growing medicinal herbs, who will want to work as a laborer in my clay slab factory? Who will respect me, the village chief? Whether the other villagers are rich or not is none of my business!