Me! A high-ranking official!

After hearing this, he understood perfectly. Given his current irreconcilable relationship with Zhang Baocheng, Zhang Baocheng would rather kick him to the ground than give him any money to support his construction in Luojia Village. The fact that Guo Nanguo was able to squeeze 70,000 yuan out of Zhang Baocheng's teeth probably meant that he had already slammed his fist on the table and used all his power and influence in private!

Otherwise, given Zhang Baocheng's narrow-mindedness, he would never have approved even a single penny for him!

"Director Guo, thank you!" He didn't say any of those empty pleasantries, but looked at Guo Nanguo with a solemn expression and his tone was full of sincerity.

Guo Nanguo laughed heartily: "Why are you being so polite with me? You're my soldier, you're fighting on the front lines, and I have to manage logistics. But the boundaries of my authority as your old leader are only so big. This 70,000 yuan really makes me use all my face!"

He nodded emphatically and said with a smile, "Don't worry, leader, this money will be spent wisely in Luo Family Village. You will definitely not feel that the money was wasted or that you lost face for nothing!"

Guo Nanguo laughed heartily and gave him a couple of playful taps: "Alright, alright, stop flattering me. I hate that nonsense! Just get back to work and do a decent job, don't embarrass our Culture and Tourism Bureau! Go on, get back to what you're doing!"

He nodded vigorously, turned around, and walked out of the director's office.

As I walked out of the Culture and Tourism Bureau building and onto the streets in early autumn, I silently planned out my next steps.

Although Guo Nanguo agreed to call Wang Yongchun, the town party secretary, to negotiate, Zhao Jianguo knew even with a fool's eye that the outcome would likely be unfavorable. How could Wang Yongchun possibly give in so easily just because Guo Nanguo was merely a deputy director of a county bureau, when he had already offered him a five million yuan prize?

The only hope for breaking the deadlock now is that Guo Nanguo can find an opportunity to persuade the county's main leaders at the afternoon or tomorrow's reporting meeting. As long as the county leaders are interested in the five million yuan investment project in Luojia Village, and preferably one of the county heads can personally visit the site and show his face, then no matter how bold Wang Yongchun is, he will never dare to hold him back!

"Director Guo helps me with policy matters, but I still have to handle the actual work in the village myself."

He then thought of the mess in the village. Once the five million yuan medicinal herb base was officially launched, from measuring the land and coordinating the signing of contracts with the villagers to supervising road construction and planning infrastructure, he would definitely be overwhelmed with work in the short term.

But what about now? In reality, he's the only one leading the entire village work team in Luojia Village, stubbornly holding out against the odds!

The village committee members are unreliable, and as for the other two "prodigals" sent down from the bureau to partner with him, they are now using the pretext of going to the countryside for temporary assignments to avoid even going to the bureau. They haven't even seen a shadow of Luo Family Village and are brazenly taking a long vacation!

Even if I had three heads and six arms, I definitely wouldn't be able to handle everything by myself for a while. I need to find a reliable and efficient helper.

He stood by the roadside for a moment, then took out his phone and dialed Liu Tao's number directly.

"Taozi, busy?" he asked with a smile as the call connected.

"Brother Jianguo! Nothing much, I just got back from the building materials market." Liu Tao's voice was full of energy: "Don't worry, everything is fine here, the renovation is progressing smoothly, and the workers are doing a great job."

He asked, "Here's the thing, there's a big project coming up in my village soon, it'll probably keep me incredibly busy, and I'm really short-handed. I was thinking of getting Li Gan to come to the village and help me out for a few days. You're the only one left over there right now, overseeing the renovations and getting supplies in. Is that feasible?"

Upon hearing this, Liu Tao immediately took on the responsibility without hesitation: "Hey, I thought it was something serious! Brother Jianguo, if there's anything important in the village, you should send Ganzi over right away! I'll be fine here. The basic construction is almost finished. Right now, I just need to keep an eye on getting some tables, chairs, and other miscellaneous materials in. I can definitely handle it all by myself. If I really can't manage, I'll call my parents over to help watch the place for a while. Just send Ganzi over!"

Hearing Liu Tao's honest words, Zhao Jianguo felt a warmth in his heart: "Okay, Taozi, thank you for your hard work."

"We're brothers, no need for formalities! Brother, once I'm done here, I'll come to the village and ask you for work!"

"Okay, it's a deal." Zhao Jianguo smiled. "Then tell Li Gan to pack a couple of changes of clothes. I'll call him this afternoon, and we'll go back to the village together!"

After hanging up the phone, Zhao Jianguo went straight to the Finance Bureau. Li Xing happened to be in the office, and the two exchanged a knowing greeting. Zhao Jianguo didn't stay long; he simply left the case of good wine he had bought at a familiar supermarket near the gate and sent Li Xing a message asking him to pick it up after get off work. This was the custom in the county town—good manners were essential for lasting friendships.

After finishing all that, he checked the time and realized it was still early. He suddenly felt much more at ease. He remembered the second-hand house he had bought in the county. The renovation company had called him a couple of days ago, saying that the simple-style hard decoration had been completed according to his requirements and asking him to take some time to inspect it and settle the final payment.

He took a taxi to the new house, and as he pushed open the door, a faint scent of wood and latex paint wafted towards him. Although the house was empty and unfurnished, the modern minimalist decor with its gray and white tones looked very refreshing. He went from room to room, touched the solid window sills, and tried the light switches. For the first time, he felt a sense of belonging, as if he had settled down in the county town.

"Not bad, it feels like a home now."

He promptly sent a WeChat message to the person in charge of the renovation to express his satisfaction, and then transferred the remaining tens of thousands of yuan as final payment. With nothing else to do in the afternoon, he went to a nearby furniture market, picked out several affordable and elegant solid wood beds, sofas, and dining tables, paid a deposit, and asked them to deliver and assemble them immediately.

The furniture deliveryman had just unloaded the furniture into the living room and was busy unpacking when his phone suddenly started vibrating violently in his pocket.

He picked it up and his pupils contracted slightly; it belonged to Guo Nanguo.

"Hello, Director Guo..."

"Jianguo, come to the small conference room on the third floor of the county committee office building right now! Remember, immediately!" Guo Nanguo lowered his voice and spoke very quickly. Before he could even ask, "What happened?", there was already a rapid dial tone on the other end of the phone.

His heart tightened suddenly. Director Guo was always steady and reliable. For him to be in such a hurry to call him over, something serious must have happened! Without even checking the furniture at home, he told the installer to "lock the door after you're done" and rushed out of the house, hailed a car on the roadside, and headed straight for the county committee.

When he arrived at the door of the county committee's small conference room, he took a few deep breaths to calm himself before gently pushing the door open a crack.