Me! A high-ranking official!

Seeing his sister so earnestly getting into character, he smiled, didn't linger any longer, and turned to go back to the village committee for dinner.

The next morning.

Zhao Jianguo had just finished washing up when he casually picked up his phone and glanced at it. The county bureau's internal WeChat group was buzzing with activity.

Someone sent a message: "I just ran into Secretary Zhou downstairs at the office building. It startled me; he had to be helped in."

Immediately, someone below asked, "What happened to Secretary Zhou? Was he in a car accident?"

The man replied, "I don't know the specifics, but the injury looks pretty serious. His arm is in a cast and he's wearing a chest brace. I guess he broke something somewhere."

The group chat immediately erupted with speculation, and he stared at the chat history on the screen, his brows furrowing involuntarily.

Given Zhou Qingyan's injuries, why didn't she spend more time in the intensive care unit? Her hasty return to the bureau to oversee things speaks volumes. She feared that delays would lead to unforeseen complications, and worried that if the external funding chain completely broke, her brother Zhou Mingyuan would face utter ruin if he couldn't fill the financial hole. Her return, barely clinging to life, was simply an attempt to stabilize the situation, and she was even prepared for the worst-case scenario of using public funds to clean up Zhou Mingyuan's mess.

Just as he was pondering this, his phone suddenly vibrated, and Zhou Mingyuan's name flashed on the screen.

Upon answering the phone, Zhou Mingyuan's deep, weary voice came through the receiver: "I've arrived in Linshui County. I've made contact with the roads there. When can I get the medicine?"

Hearing Zhou Mingyuan say this, his heart, which had been hanging in suspense, finally settled down. As long as he could make contact, he was absolutely confident that he could take the billion from that incredibly wealthy family.

"I'll go to the county town later and give you the things when we meet."

After hanging up the phone, he quickly tidied up, gave Li Gan a brief explanation of the village's daily arrangements, and then drove straight to Linshui County.

At nine o'clock in the morning, a time-honored steamed bun shop opposite the county government compound.

He chose a corner seat, ordered two steaming baskets of meat buns and two bowls of millet porridge, and had only been sitting down for a few minutes when Zhou Mingyuan pushed the door open and walked in.

This once-glorious deputy director-level official now wore an inconspicuous jacket, his eyes were sunken, and a layer of dark stubble appeared on his chin. He sat down opposite Zhao Jianguo and, without any ceremony, picked up his chopsticks, grabbed a steamed bun, and put it in his mouth. He didn't say a word throughout the whole process, and the only sounds were the chewing and swallowing.

Zhao Jianguo took a sip of porridge and broke the silence: "Are the channels absolutely reliable? This is no small matter; we can't afford to make any mistakes."

Zhou Mingyuan swallowed the food in his mouth, looked up at him and said, "I found a Hong Kong and Taiwan celebrity who is often active in the mainland. This person has a very close personal relationship with the core members of the gambling king's family. I used my mother's name to vouch for him. He contacted the gambling king's family and they agreed that as long as it works, they are willing to pay one billion."

He nodded slightly. A reliable channel was the top priority. If he ended up losing both his money and his life by exchanging for this medicine in the system, the double backlash would be enough to kill him on the spot. This was no joke.

After confirming that everything was correct, he took out a palm-sized, exquisitely carved sandalwood box from his pocket and pushed it across the table.

"This is the medicine. As long as he has a breath left, taking it will prolong his life. I can't guarantee exactly how long, but it will definitely pull him back from the brink of death."

Zhou Mingyuan swiftly gathered the wooden box into his palm, then casually slipped it into his inner pocket, promising in a deep voice, "I'll keep a close eye on that side and make this deal happen as soon as possible."

After a two-second pause, Zhou Mingyuan's gaze swept over Zhao Jianguo's face with a hint of inquiry: "There's something I really can't figure out. Would you mind telling me?"

Zhao Jianguo knew what he wanted to ask: he was curious about the origin of the medicine, why it was stuck at the figure of 500 million, and why it was so urgent to get it within a few days.

"It's inconvenient." He cut him off without any hesitation.

Zhou Mingyuan frowned. Accustomed to the control of those in power, he rarely received such a blunt rejection. However, this person had not only saved his sister's life, but what he was now offering was their last lifeline. He forced down his displeasure and changed the subject: "Besides what you mentioned before, do you have any other conditions?"

"No." He put down his chopsticks and wiped his mouth with a tissue. "There's only one bottom line: the money must be in my account within three days, and it must be deposited into that anonymous overseas card."

After finishing breakfast, he paid the bill and left first.

Now that I'm back in the county town today, I can't let this trip go to waste. The two key projects in the bureau are at a critical juncture, and I need to go to the site in person to get a feel for them.

Half an hour later, Zhao Jianguo's car stopped at the entrance of Xiaozhai Village.

This is the location of a key immersive ancient-style experience project developed by the county. Walking along the village road, I took a look around and found that the early renovation work had already made a lot of progress. The dilapidated courtyard walls on both sides of the road, and the large holes that were drilled during construction, have now been mostly repaired and restored with blue bricks and antique-style mortar. The overall shape of the ancient town is already faintly visible.

He walked along the repaired alleyway to the depths of the village and finally stopped in front of a spacious courtyard.

The scene here was completely different from other places. The roof of the main house in the courtyard had completely collapsed, and broken bricks and tiles were scattered all over the ground. A conspicuous yellow and black warning line was stretched around the perimeter, and a yellow excavator covered in mud sat lifelessly next to the ruins.

This is the site of the safety accident that led to the city's emergency halt of the entire project.

He stood outside the cordon, looking at the broken bricks and tiles scattered on the ground and the stagnant yellow excavator. He felt a pang of sorrow. This one safety accident had completely ruined the futures of Li Dafang and Zhang Baocheng, and both of them were sent to the Discipline Inspection Commission for investigation. It was clear that in engineering projects, once safety was compromised, the price was irreversible.

After touring Xiaozhai Village and getting a clear picture of the project's progress, we drove to the ancient city project site. Although the groundbreaking ceremony hadn't officially started yet, the area was already completely enclosed by high iron fences. Peeking through the gaps, we saw some additional building materials on the ground, and several heavy construction vehicles were already parked there, clearly indicating that they were ready to start work at any time.

It was already noon when he left the construction site, so he simply went back to his residence in the county town, ate a quick bite, and took a short nap.

As the afternoon workday was approaching, he got up and headed to the Bureau of Culture and Tourism, whose offices were located in the old county committee compound. But as soon as he reached the gate, he suddenly stopped.

A bright white banner with black characters was strung across the mottled iron gate: "The Culture and Tourism Bureau disregards human life and harms the people."