Me! A high-ranking official!

"You two are tasked with keeping detailed records! Who came, which plot of land they signed, and who didn't come—you need to keep a complete record. For those who didn't come, pay extra attention to them and take the time to visit them and explain the pros and cons. But remember one bottom line: if they really don't want to sign, we will never force them. We can't do anything like forced buying and selling! Before you leave work, give me a total estimate of how much shortfall we have to make to reach 500 mu."

Luo Ming and Zhu Yan immediately straightened their backs and nodded repeatedly as if they had been injected with chicken blood. After today's thunderous battle, the village chief of Luoshuishan, who had served for more than ten years, was easily taken down, and their awe of Zhao Jianguo was already very profound.

He let out a long sigh and waved his hand: "Alright, you two must be shaken after such a big battle. Go back and rest, have something to eat, and come back to work this afternoon when you're refreshed."

After the two left, Li Gan approached and said, "Brother Zhao, you should go back to the inner room and lie down for a while. I'll go to the backyard and make you some hot food. I'll call you when it's ready!"

"Go ahead, just grab a couple of bites."

He did feel a sense of fatigue, not physical, but a relaxation after intense mental tension. He pushed open the door to the inner room, lay down fully clothed on the simple single bed, put his hands behind his head, and quietly sorted out the current situation.

Although today was dangerous, it can be seen as a case of "no destruction, no construction." Luo Shuishan, the biggest stumbling block, brought this upon himself. With the evidence irrefutable, he will definitely lose his position as village secretary and village head, and will likely face imprisonment. The prestige he has cultivated in the village for more than ten years has been completely swept away today.

Without the covert obstruction of this local tyrant, the work ahead will surely proceed with unstoppable momentum!

Just as he closed his eyes to rest, Li Gan's extremely vigilant and angry roar suddenly came from the courtyard.

"Luo Shuishan?! What the hell do you have the nerve to show your face here?!"

Immediately afterwards, Luo Shuishan's voice, which was usually full of vigor and high-handed, became hoarse and trembling like a broken bellows: "Brother Li... Brother Li Gan, I... I've come to see Secretary Zhao..."

"Pah!" Li Gan's furious voice boomed like thunder: "You almost cracked Zhao's skull open and nearly killed him, and you still have the nerve to come looking for him?! Get the hell out of here! Or I'll beat you with a stick!"

Zhao Jianguo lay in the room, raising an eyebrow slightly. He knew without a doubt that Luo Shuishan would come running over like a drowning dog at this moment, what else could he do but beg for mercy? He snorted coldly, too lazy to even lift his eyelids, turned over, and continued to pretend he hadn't heard, preparing to let Li Gan kick him out.

To everyone's surprise, the argument in the courtyard not only didn't stop, but escalated even further.

"Luo Shuishan, what are you doing?! Didn't you hear me tell you to get out? You still dare to force your way in?!" Along with Li Gan's roar, the sounds of pushing and shoving came from outside.

"Brother Li Gan, I beg you, please let me in! I need to see Secretary Zhao!" Luo Shuishan's voice trembled with tears, then he suddenly raised his voice and shouted desperately into the room, "Secretary Zhao! Secretary Zhao! I know I was wrong! I really know I was wrong! Please, please see me, Secretary Zhao!!!"

Hearing the annoying wailing, Zhao Jianguo sat up in bed with a furrowed brow. He was worried that if Li Gan really fought Luo Shuishan in his current desperate and deranged state, he might cause some serious injury and end up getting himself into trouble.

He put on his shoes, walked to the door, and said in a deep voice to Li Gan, who was grabbing Luo Shuishan by the collar and preparing to throw him out of the yard, "Ganzi, that's enough. Let go and tell him to get in!"

Li Gan glared at Luo Shuishan fiercely, then shoved him aside like he was spitting out snot: "Brother Zhao let you in! Stop your damn mourning here!"

The moment the door was pushed open, a shocking scene unfolded.

"thump!"

Luo Shuishan, the local tyrant who once held sway over Luojia Village, suddenly collapsed to his knees as soon as he crossed the threshold, kneeling upright on the rough cement ground in front of Zhao Jianguo without any dignity!

At this moment, Luo Shuishan was no longer the village cadre he once was. He was covered in mud from the threshing ground, his hair was disheveled, and his old face was pale and distorted with fear and despair.

"Secretary Zhao... Brother Jianguo! I was wrong! I was completely out of my mind!" Luo Shuishan cried bitterly, raising his trembling hands and slapping them with both hands.

"Slap! Slap! Slap!"

The crisp sound of slaps echoed in the silent room. Luo Shuishan mercilessly slapped himself in the face, his cheeks swelling and turning red in just a few blows: "I'm not human! I'm worse than a pig or a dog! I was blinded by money, how dare I go against you!"

"Please, please have mercy and let me go! Please don't hand the video over to the county! Just give me one chance to reform, and from now on in Luojia Village, I'll do whatever you tell me to do! I, Luo Shuishan, am your dog; I'll bite whoever you tell me to bite!"

Looking at Luo Shuishan, who was kneeling on the ground like a mudfish, frantically kowtowing and begging for mercy, there was no pity in his eyes, only deep disgust and contempt.

"Now you know you're wrong? Too late!" Zhao Jianguo looked down at him condescendingly. "When you intercepted investors at the village entrance and actively demanded lower transfer fees for the villagers, did you ever think about the fact that you were the village chief of Luo Family Village?! You colluded with outsiders to incite the villagers to riot, how come you don't know you're wrong?!"

He slammed his hand on the table and shouted angrily, "Luo Shuishan, you're the kind of person who eats the people's food but smashes their pots! Keeping you around is the biggest cancer in Luo Family Village!"

Luo Shuishan trembled with fear, tears and snot streaming down his face. He lunged forward, trying to grab Zhao Jianguo's leg, but Zhao Jianguo kicked him away.

"Secretary, I have elderly parents and young children to support! If I go in, my family will be ruined! Please, I beg you to show leniency!" Luo Shuishan lay on the ground, his forehead hitting the cement floor with a loud thud, and blood quickly seeped out.

Zhao Jianguo remained unmoved: "Stop with your self-inflicted suffering charade. Everything will be handled according to the law and regulations. I will report everything that needs to be reported to the Discipline Inspection Commission without missing a single word. This is Party discipline and national law, not a bargaining chip that I, Zhao Jianguo, can use for bargaining!"

"roll!"

Upon hearing the word "get lost," Luo Shuishan froze in his kowtow.

After a moment, she raised her head, looked at him in despair, knelt for a while, then got up from the ground in a daze. Without looking at Zhao Jianguo again, she staggered out of the village committee gate like a walking corpse.