Me! A high-ranking official!

Faced with Wang Yongchun's thunderous anger, he remained unfazed and responded in a deep voice: "Secretary Wang, I am first and foremost a village-based cadre, sent down by the county's Culture and Tourism Bureau. Although my temporary organizational affiliation is with the town, my administrative position and personnel relationship are still with the Culture and Tourism Bureau. When I encountered major difficulties in carrying out my work in the village that endangered the project and my personal safety, I reported to my direct superiors in accordance with organizational procedures, which is by no means considered bypassing my superiors."

Looking at Wang Yongchun's ashen face, he continued, "As for reporting to the county discipline inspection commission and the county party committee office, that was a collective decision made by the bureau's party group after hearing the report. It's not something a small village cadre like me can influence."

Wang Yongchun felt a tightness in his chest from Zhao Jianguo's watertight words, and his lips trembled with anger.

Zhao Jianguo's words were indeed correct in terms of rules, but this approach was actually putting him, the town's Party Secretary, in a very difficult position! The Culture and Tourism Bureau had already reported the matter, and if he was even a fraction of a second slow to react, the county would hold him, Wang Yongchun, accountable for serious dereliction of duty! He had to immediately compile the materials, proactively write a self-criticism to the county party committee to explain his situation, and strive for leniency; otherwise, he would definitely be implicated.

Wang Yongchun took a deep breath, suppressing the urge to overturn the table, and said coldly with a stern face, "Even if it's a decision from the bureau, you should have reported it to me immediately after this happened! The town should have handled it, instead of this kind of surprise attack!"

"The secretary's criticism is correct; it was my oversight." He was too lazy to argue with him any further and simply nodded in agreement.

Looking at the unyielding Zhao Jianguo, Wang Yongchun felt a sense of helplessness. He knew that Zhao Jianguo's current status was very special. He was not only a key cadre cultivated by the Bureau of Culture and Tourism, but also a favorite of the main leaders of the county party committee. No matter how unhappy he was, he could not easily manipulate the other party now.

His face was grim. He waved his hand dismissively, as if shooing away a fly, and said, "Alright, go back to work. In the future, if you encounter any emergencies like this, you must report to me immediately. Do you understand?"

"Understood, Secretary Wang." He stood up briskly, without any hesitation, and strode out of the office.

As the wooden office door closed gently in front of him, Wang Yongchun's previously tense face immediately fell. He slumped into the large boss's chair, a feeling of pent-up frustration welling up inside him.

Honestly, as he replayed Zhao Jianguo's words in his mind, he felt a growing sense of admiration for the young man. In the deeply entrenched grassroots bureaucracy of townships, what village cadre would dare to embarrass the town party secretary so openly? But Zhao Jianguo not only dared, but he handled the matter flawlessly! This guy used the situation against him, acting first and reporting later to the county party committee and the county discipline inspection commission, effectively sidelining him as the town party secretary. Now, even if he wanted to throw a tantrum, he couldn't find a reason to do so. He could only try to downplay the incident and swallow his humiliation.

Having spent half his life working at the grassroots level, Wang Yongchun had a keen eye and a sharp mind. He knew exactly what Zhao Jianguo was doing. Zhao was now the apple of the county's eye and a key reserve cadre being groomed by the cultural and tourism bureau. He was doing a fantastic job in the village, securing a five-million-yuan order that attracted county-wide attention. The county was praising him highly and making him a role model for the whole county. It was foreseeable that as soon as his two-year term in the village was over, Zhao Jianguo would be promoted immediately. A powerful position at the section chief level was a sure thing. With this solid and dazzling achievement in his hands, this young man's future career was destined to be smooth sailing. Who knew, he might even surpass Wang Yongchun in rank someday.

Logically speaking, facing such a promising stock, his best strategy now is to take advantage of the situation and quickly improve his relationship with Zhao Jianguo to build a good rapport.

But from a personal perspective, he was utterly fed up with Zhao Jianguo's uncontrollable work style. That kid was too prickly! Once a disagreement arose, Zhao Jianguo would never play by the rules. He would always find a way to escape his control, jumping around and causing trouble for him, the top leader, leaving him caught off guard. In the end, he would have to swallow his pride and clean up Zhao Jianguo's mess. It was simply incomprehensible that a dignified town party secretary could be rendered helpless by a village cadre sent down from above!

He sat there dejectedly for a long time, and finally could only let out a long sigh.

"Forget it!" He rubbed his face in frustration. Zhao Jianguo was currently riding high and not someone he could easily mess with. Since that old bastard Luo Shuishan had been blind enough to run into the line of fire and was taken down by Zhao Jianguo, it was his own fault. Anyway, Zhao Jianguo would only stay in Luo Family Village for two more years before being promoted. There was no need for him to completely ruin his relationship with Zhao Jianguo at this critical juncture and create a promising political enemy for no reason.

On the other side, after leaving the town government compound, Zhao Jianguo did not rush back to the village. Instead, he took a detour to the town's wholesale market to replenish the village's environmental protection bank with exchange goods such as rice, flour, oil, soap, and towels.

When he tied the supplies to the back of his electric scooter and bumped his way back to the entrance of Luojia Village, he could see dozens of people gathered under the big banyan tree in the distance. It seemed that some fierce conflict had taken place in the crowd, and the noise could be heard from a great distance.

A thought struck him, and out of curiosity, he parked his car on the side of the road and went over to investigate.

In the middle of the crowd stood a black Volkswagen sedan with county license plates, stuck in the middle of the road, unable to move an inch. In front of the car, Luo Shuishan's wife, Wang Guihua, was lying sprawled on the dusty ground, displaying her signature tactic of crying, making a scene, and threatening suicide, rolling around in a rage and wailing loudly.

"Everyone, come and see! This world is outrageous!" Wang Guihua slapped her thigh and pointed at the air, cursing, "Our Lao Luo has been the village chief for so many years, he's worked hard even if he hasn't done anything great! Why are you treating him like this! It's all Zhao Jianguo's fault! Why don't you discipline inspection commissions investigate him! That bastard has no good intentions, our Lao Luo has worked in the village for over ten years without making a mistake, how come he's made a mistake as soon as Zhao Jianguo came? He must have done something bad behind the scenes, God, please open your eyes and strike him dead!"

The villagers gathered around, pointing and whispering about Wang Guihua lying on the ground. Some looked on with disdain, thinking that Luo Shuishan, who had always been arrogant and domineering, deserved his fate and that it was a cause for celebration. However, a few elderly people who were related to the Luo family couldn't help but shake their heads and sigh. They felt that although Luo Shuishan hadn't accomplished anything great, he had maintained the stability of the village for many years, and they felt some sympathy for him for being arrested so suddenly.