Me! A high-ranking official!

"It's Zhu Yan and Luo Ming!" The background noise on the other end of the phone was extremely chaotic, with what sounded like shouting and cursing. "This morning, the two of them took people from their company to the west side to conduct door-to-door surveys and confirm land rights, but... but they got surrounded at the threshing ground at the west end of the village! Not only did those people refuse to sign the letter of intent, they also blocked the road, surrounded everyone, and were yelling for a rent increase. The situation is about to get out of control!"

Upon hearing Li Gan's words, his heart sank, and his eyes instantly turned cold!

Sure enough, the tree may wish to remain still, but the wind will not cease. The fox hiding in the shadows could not hold back any longer and stretched out its claws!

In grassroots work, mass incidents are a red line that must never be crossed!

If there is no physical conflict, it is at most a matter of the masses expressing their demands. But once blood is drawn and a safety accident occurs, even if it is just a scrape, the nature of the matter changes completely! This will not only become a major case under the supervision of the city and county levels, but not only will he, the newly appointed village secretary, be directly dismissed, but even Luo Shuishan, the local tyrant, will definitely not escape being severely punished by Party discipline and national law!

"That old bastard Luo Shuishan, he's really gone mad!" He cursed inwardly through gritted teeth. In order to sabotage him and ruin the project, Luo Shuishan didn't even care about his own official position or the peace of the whole village. This was a desperate act!

"Ganzi, listen up!" He shouted sternly into the phone, his tone leaving no room for argument: "Call the police immediately! Call 110 and say that there are people causing trouble in Luojia Village and threatening personal safety! Then you, Zhu Yan, and Luo Ming, protect those two people from the company at all costs! No matter what, stabilize the situation first. If the villagers lose control and start a physical fight, don't fight back! Protect them and get them away first! I don't care where you hide, you absolutely cannot have a direct confrontation with them! I'm coming back right away!"

"Okay! Brother Zhao, we'll hold on, hurry up!" Li Gan shouted at the top of his lungs on the other end.

He hung up the phone and rushed out of the county government compound, hailing a taxi on the roadside.

"Driver, to Luo Family Village! Take the main road, floor the gas pedal!"

Once inside the car, his face was ashen. Without the slightest hesitation, he quickly dialed the number of the female owner of the underground dog farm.

The call connected almost instantly.

"Mr. Zhao," the female boss's cool yet slightly languid voice came through, "My subordinates have already reported the situation to me. Luo Shuishan is inciting the villagers to cause trouble. Should we clear the area now?"

The other person spoke casually, as if they were not facing hundreds of rioting villagers, but a group of ants that could be crushed at any moment.

His eyes were icy as he said in a deep voice, "Have them get ready, but don't show yourself yet. I'm on my way back, I should be there in about forty minutes! Once I arrive, act on my signal!"

"Okay, as you wish." The female boss hung up the phone decisively.

The taxi sped along the provincial highway, and he kept urging the driver, "Sir, go faster! I'll take responsibility if anything happens!"

The car had only gone halfway when the phone on my lap started vibrating wildly again.

It's Li Gan!

He answered the phone immediately, and Li Gan's voice was hoarse with anxiety, accompanied by increasingly loud shouts and curses in the background: "Brother Zhao! It's terrible! We can't control it! Many villagers who didn't originally intend to cause trouble, but just wanted to raise prices, have joined in! There are now over a hundred people gathered at the threshing ground!"

"Zhu Yan and Luo Ming's words are like farts; nobody listens to them! Those people have the company's staff completely surrounded, pushing and shoving them, demanding they raise the price on the spot to 1,000 yuan per mu, or they won't let them leave today!"

Upon hearing this, his eyes flashed, and a surge of overwhelming anger instantly ignited in his chest.

He had long anticipated that Luo Shuishan would make some underhanded moves and had taken precautions in advance. He originally thought that the price of 550 yuan per mu was absolutely the highest price in Linshui County, and that most villagers should be satisfied. No matter how much Luo Shuishan stirred up trouble, at most it would only be a few relatives he had arranged to cause a ruckus, and it wouldn't amount to much.

But to his utter surprise, these villagers, who usually seemed honest and simple, actually followed this evil trend and joined in!

It's really unpopular!

For the sake of a meager few hundred yuan in immediate gains, these people completely disregarded the long-term development of the village collective and the future of their descendants! The frustration of being angry at their incompetence and ignorance made him grit his teeth.

"Ganzi, listen to me clearly!" Zhao Jianguo roared into the phone, "You tell them right now! If there's any problem, come to me, Zhao Jianguo! Tell them that even if they surround the company's people, it won't do any good!"

"Tell them exactly what I said: 'Even if the company boss stands here today and raises the price for them, I will never stamp the transfer contract unless I, Zhao Jianguo, agree! Tell them to wait until I come over to discuss everything in person!'"

Li Gan on the other end of the phone was completely stunned by these words, and exclaimed in shock, "Brother Zhao! Are you crazy?! Aren't you just deliberately provoking them? These guys are bloodshot right now, aren't you putting yourself in a very dangerous situation?!"

"That's it!" Zhao Jianguo said sternly, his eyes filled with a do-or-die determination. "These people are a mob right now. If I don't direct all my hatred and firepower at myself, and they lose control of their emotions and cause bloodshed with company personnel or you, things will really get a complete mess! Only by using me, this obstacle to their profits, as a target will they temporarily hold back!"

"Have the police arrived yet?!"

"We've already called the police, but this is a poor mountain village. It would take at least half an hour for the police station to get here, and they haven't arrived yet!" Li Gan was as anxious as an ant on a hot pan.

"I understand. Do as I say! Hold them off at all costs!"

After hanging up the phone, he frowned, his hands gripping his thighs tightly, his anger surging within him.

That old fox Luo Shuishan is truly ruthless to the extreme! He chose the exact time—today when he was going to the county to report on his work and the village was leaderless—to deliberately cause trouble while he was away. This completely caught him off guard!

"Driver, more money! Drive faster!"

With his constant urging, the original one-hour drive was compressed into forty minutes by the driver.

As soon as the car turned onto the dirt road leading into Luojia Village, we could see a huge crowd gathered at the threshing ground at the village entrance, three or four layers deep, with at least a hundred people surrounding it!

Dust filled the air, and the scene was chaotic. Some people were even carrying shovels and hoes, shouting and yelling. The crowd was so agitated that it was like a pot of boiling water that could explode at any moment!

When they were still more than 30 meters away from the crowd, he suddenly slapped the back of his chair: "Driver, stop right here!"