Me! A high-ranking official!

A dozen or so men, women, and children blocked the gate completely. At the front, three people dressed in mourning clothes were kneeling. A middle-aged woman with two teenagers was holding a black and white portrait of a man and was wailing loudly. Several security guards stood between the gateposts as if facing a formidable enemy, preventing them from rushing into the courtyard. On the outer curb, a dozen or so onlookers were standing and pointing.

Seeing this scene, his heart sank. The family members were so emotionally distraught that they blocked the gate. Did the bureau not even have anyone to come forward to comfort and mediate?

He frowned and walked toward the gate. The family members were busy crying and wailing, but they didn't deliberately stop him as he walked in. After entering the courtyard, he went straight to the office of Deputy Director Guo Nanguo. He knocked on the door twice but there was no response. The person was not there.

Turning back to his director's office, as soon as he opened the door, staff member Wang Pingping looked up from her workstation, her face beaming with surprise and delight: "Director, you're here! There's been a lot of talk in the bureau these past few days about you being transferred back to take over this job. Is it true?"

He smirked and casually replied, "There is such an intention, but no official documents have been issued yet. What's going on with the main gate outside?"

Wang Pingping's smile vanished instantly, and she sighed helplessly, "The family of the worker who was crushed to death in Xiaozhai Village has come to make trouble."

"Didn't the bureau send anyone to talk to them?"

Wang Pingping spread her hands, complaining bitterly: "We talked to them. We clearly explained to them before that the construction company was the Industrial Investment Group, and our Culture and Tourism Bureau was only responsible for project supervision. The specific compensation matters had to be discussed with the Industrial Investment Group. As a result, the family went to the Industrial Investment Group and asked for more than three million yuan. When the Industrial Investment Group heard that the amount was too large, they immediately changed their tune and said that they were just the project contractor and that the specific responsibility lay with our bureau. They just passed the buck back to us. Director, you know that Li Dafang and Director Zhang have been taken away now. Those two are the real responsible parties. Who is willing to take on this mess now? Director Guo originally asked Xu Ling to contact the family, but Xu Ling claimed to be sick and hid at home and refused to come. When the family saw that no one was paying attention to them, they got angry and put up a banner at the gate."

After listening, he nodded slowly. This matter was indeed thorny. Logically speaking, the production investment company was responsible for the specific construction and recruited the workers. Therefore, they should be in charge of compensation in the event of an accident. However, the Culture and Tourism Bureau, as the regulator, could not say that it had no responsibility at all. The main responsibility definitely lay with the production investment company.

"Where is Director Guo?" he asked again.

Wang Pingping lowered her voice: "I heard that Secretary Zhou returned injured, and Director Guo went to the secretary's office to report on his work."

After a moment's thought, he said in a deep voice, "It's not a good idea to keep dragging this out and letting them cause trouble outside."

Seeing that he was considering taking on the responsibility, Wang Pingping quickly stepped closer to dissuade him: "Director, please listen to my advice, don't get involved. The investment company is clearly not involved now. If you step in now, the family members will cling to you relentlessly!"

He shook his head, ignoring her words, and immediately took out his phone to send a WeChat message to Guo Nanguo: "Director Guo, the deceased's family blocking the door is causing a bad impression. Should I go and talk to them?"

A moment later, Guo Nanguo replied: "You're back at the bureau? The responsibility for this matter lies with the investment company, but since they're insisting on us, you can go and make contact. However, remember, their demands are too high. I've communicated with the investment company and consulted a lawyer. They'll accept a maximum of one million. Keep that in mind. You can go and negotiate, but whatever you do, don't take the responsibility upon yourself!"

Seeing that Guo Nanguo had revealed the truth, he had a plan in mind and quickly replied, "Understood, Director Guo."

He put down his phone, turned to Wang Pingping who was still sweating for him, and instructed her, "Go to the office and get the key to the conference room, open the door, and take a few bottles of water over there."

Seeing that he was determined to intervene, Wang Pingping sighed heavily: "Director, you are good in every way, but you are too soft-hearted."

He smiled and didn't explain much. This matter had to be resolved sooner or later, and it had to be suppressed as soon as possible. The county had given a strict order for the ancient style experience project to be completed by the end of July. With such a fatal accident, if the family members weren't comforted as quickly as possible, the construction site simply couldn't resume work. He was transferred back this time to take charge of this work, and he absolutely couldn't let this matter hold him back and delay the construction schedule.

Zhao Jianguo strode out of the government office, scanned the area under the glaring sun, and raised his voice to greet everyone: "I'm the director of the Culture and Tourism Bureau. It's like a blazing fire outside. Even the strongest body can't withstand this kind of commotion. Everyone, come in, sit down in the conference room and have some water. If you have any requests, talk to me."

The group of people, who had been baking in the scorching sun all day and were already somewhat listless, perked up instantly at the sight of someone in charge. Instead of showing any gratitude, they became even more aggressive than before. Several men who had been sitting in the shade immediately stood up and led the shouting: "The Culture and Tourism Bureau is disregarding human life! They killed a worker and refuse to compensate!"

Others followed suit and started shouting, attracting the attention of many people!

Seeing this, Zhao Jianguo understood their mentality. Now that they had found the main culprit, they had to make a big fuss and create a stir in order to gain the upper hand at the negotiating table. He stood on the steps, watching their performance calmly and patiently. After a few seconds, he realized that no one intended to stop and listen to him.

He wasn't going to tolerate this behavior, so he turned to the security guard next to him and raised his voice: "Sir, keep an eye on them. Call me from the office when they stop making noise."

After saying that, he turned around and walked into the office building without looking back.

This sudden turn of events left those outside dumbfounded. The group that had been shouting enthusiastically exchanged bewildered glances, momentarily stunned. What was going on? Normally, when leaders encountered such situations, wouldn't they be terrified of being watched or filmed, and would quickly and politely coax the person inside? Why wasn't this person following the script, leaving without warning?

Without an audience, the show couldn't continue. The group of people absentmindedly let out a couple more dry howls. The scorching sun at three in the afternoon beat down on the asphalt road, and waves of heat surged up one after another. Within minutes, the group of people were parched and sweating profusely, and they all stopped and went to find shady places to squat down. Only the orphan and widow were left kneeling and sobbing in front of the big iron gate.

Once the security guard saw that things had calmed down outside, he quickly ran into the guard booth and dialed Zhao Jianguo's internal phone number.

Zhao Jianguo answered the phone, then calmly walked out the door again, a friendly smile on his face: "Gentlemen, what are we arguing about in this sweltering heat? Besides, everyone knows the Culture and Tourism Bureau is a powerless department. If you went to the entrance of the Industrial Investment Group to cause trouble, they would have called the police and cleared you out long ago. But here, the police are too lazy to even come out. What's the point?"