Me! A high-ranking official!

She patted her chest and volunteered, "Although I'm a bit old, I'm in great shape! I'm very good at farm work and housework, and I'm efficient at it. That's why I came to sign up with you first thing this morning!"

Upon hearing this, he immediately laughed and said, "Sure, Auntie! It would be great if you could take the lead. There's absolutely no problem. I'll write it down for you. In the next couple of days, I'll get a feel for the situation of those dozen or so elderly people in the village, and then communicate with their families. If everything is fine, we'll get it done as soon as possible!"

"That's great! Your aunt will be waiting at home for your good news!" Wang Shuzhen was overjoyed to receive confirmation and happily turned to leave.

No sooner had Wang Shuzhen left than Luo Xinniu strode over.

"Secretary! I heard you're planning to set up a free public classroom in the village?" Luo Xinniu, being straightforward, got straight to the point: "My family has an old courtyard at the east end of the village. Ever since I built my small villa and moved out, it's been empty. It's a spacious place with four large brick houses and a decent yard—perfect for using as a classroom!"

He was overjoyed to hear that Luo Xinniu was willing to let them use his old courtyard. He knew that Luo Xinniu's old courtyard, although it was quite old, had a very sturdy main structure. With a little cleaning, it would definitely be an ideal teaching place. If he could get it, the extracurricular tutoring class would be half done.

"Brother Niu, this has really saved me from a dire situation!" He asked gratefully, "How do we calculate the rent for the old courtyard?"

Upon hearing this, Luo Xinniu waved his hand dismissively, saying with a touch of magnanimity, "Secretary, are you trying to humiliate me? You've done so much for the children of Luo Family Village, how could I possibly ask for any rent! I only have one request, Secretary, my little rascal just started junior high this year, and his grades are at the bottom. Could you let him attend free classes to learn some manners?"

He chuckled, amused. "Of course! This tutoring center is supposed to be free for all the children in the village. But one thing is one thing, we still have to pay the rent. You know the village's finances; we can't afford much more. How about this, three hundred yuan a month for maintenance fees, okay?"

"Oh, no, no!" Luo Xinniu waved his hands repeatedly, sticking his neck out, and said, "I said it's free for the village, and it's free! If you insist on forcing money on me, then I'll lock this yard and not lend it to you!"

Seeing Luo Xinniu's stubbornness, a warm feeling welled up in his heart. He shook his head helplessly, smiled, and compromised, saying, "Alright then, I'll take advantage of Brother Niu. Thank you on behalf of the village children!"

"There's nothing to thank me for!" Luo Xinniu chuckled憨厚ly. "Secretary, you're not even from our village, yet you're so genuinely concerned for the future generations of Luo Family Village. We natives should really thank you. My offering a small courtyard is nothing!"

He spent the entire morning dealing with various miscellaneous matters in the village. He was busy until almost ten o'clock before he finally had a moment to tell Liu Zhijun to keep an eye on things in the village. Then he rode his bicycle straight to the town government.

Upon arriving at the town government compound, I went upstairs with ease. I had planned to first go to Deputy Director Wang of the Party Office to sound him out, but when I knocked on the door, he wasn't there. After a second thought, I simply went directly to the office of Wang Yongchun, the town party secretary.

He had just moved closer to the window to peek inside when, unexpectedly, Wang Yongchun was looking out with a teacup in his hand, and their eyes met.

"Jianguo's here? Don't stand outside, come in quickly!" Wang Yongchun greeted him through the glass, his smile more sincere and radiant than ever before.

He grinned, pushed open the door, strode in, and said respectfully, "Secretary, I'm here to report on the work in Luojia Village!"

Wang Yongchun was clearly in a great mood today, and his attitude was noticeably more enthusiastic. He put down his teacup, smiled, and pointed at Zhao Jianguo, saying, "I watched your live stream yesterday, and I guessed that with your decisive and impatient nature, since you said you were coming to town in the next couple of days, you would definitely come this morning. I was afraid you'd be disappointed, so I came here early this morning specifically to wait for you!"

He keenly sensed the goodwill in Wang Yongchun's words and the change in his attitude; the friction between the two in the past seemed to have vanished overnight.

He immediately seized the opportunity, smiling and apologizing, "Oh dear, it's truly my fault for making the secretary wait for me!"

"Alright, stop with the formalities, sit down and help yourself to some water!" Wang Yongchun waved his hand with a smile, then his joking expression vanished and his tone became serious.

"Jianguo, your willingness to hand over the 1.4 million yuan road repair funds to the town government for oversight is a tremendous show of support and trust in the town party committee's work." Wang Yongchun looked at him intently, his tone firm: "Since you've revealed your hand, the town government is absolutely willing to cover for your Luojia Village!"

He leaned forward slightly and dropped a bombshell: "After watching your live stream last night, I immediately spoke with Li Fen in the office. Once this fund is established in a joint account, it will absolutely be used for its designated purpose. The town government will not only not withhold or misappropriate a single penny from your Luo Family Village, but the town has also decided to squeeze out an additional 100,000 yuan from its budget as a bonus to help you get all the streetlights on the road leading into your village lit up!"

Upon hearing this, his head buzzed, and a huge surge of joy instantly welled up in his heart. 1.4 million yuan for road repair seemed like a lot, but it was barely enough. He had never thought about streetlights. He never expected that Wang Yongchun would offer such a generous gift!

He jumped to his feet, took a half-step back, and bowed deeply to Wang Yongchun: "Secretary! On behalf of all 800-plus villagers of Luojia Village, I sincerely thank you and the town party committee for your strong support!"

Wang Yongchun smiled and stepped forward to help him up, patting his arm meaningfully and saying, "Alright! As long as you stay aligned with the town government, they will definitely not hold you back. The county has now decided to establish Luojia Village as a model for rural revitalization, which is a great honor for our entire Sanchahe Town. Jianguo, go for it! I have high hopes for you!"

Listening to Wang Yongchun's heartfelt encouragement, he felt completely at ease. With the full support of the town's top leader, the development of Luojia Village had completely cleared away the obstacles within the system.

He straightened up, met Wang Yongchun's gaze, and declared firmly, "Since Secretary Wang treats me like one of his own, then I'll be frank with you. From now on, I, Zhao Jianguo, will fully cooperate with Secretary Wang's work under the leadership of the town's Party committee and will never let you down!"

Wang Yongchun burst into laughter and gave Zhao Jianguo's shoulder a firm squeeze: "Great! With such a capable assistant like you, I can save myself a lot of trouble in this job!"

The two looked at each other and burst into laughter.