Me! A high-ranking official!

Although Wang Yongchun took on all the responsibilities and didn't have to worry about anything, he remained vigilant. Sitting in his car, he called Sister Zhen, the casino owner, gave her a few brief instructions, and asked her to prepare. He also instructed her to send a few trustworthy people to the outskirts of the village to stand by and help with some work, in case things got messy tomorrow with so many people around.

After finishing this matter, he called Liu Tao and asked him to come to Luojia Village immediately.

Not long after returning to the village, Liu Tao drove up in a hurry. Instead of taking Liu Tao to the village committee, he led the people directly to the mud slab factory in the south of the village.

The mud board factory occupies three acres of land. The site is spacious and empty, with precast cement slabs piled up everywhere. Luo Shuishan was taken away for investigation only ten days ago. In the neglected yard, weeds have already sprouted from the gaps between the cement slabs, giving it a desolate feel.

Liu Tao looked around, his face full of confusion: "Jianguo, why did you call me to this run-down factory?"

He pointed to the rows of equipment and explained, "This is the property left behind by the former village party secretary, Luo Shuishan. He was taken away by the county discipline inspection commission for violating discipline and will probably be in jail for two or three years. The factory is now abandoned, but it has been built for quite some time and has a stable customer base and skilled workers. More than a dozen households in the village work here. It would be a pity to shut it down directly. My identity is sensitive and it is inconvenient for me to show up. I plan to let you take over and continue to operate it."

Liu Tao waved his hands repeatedly, complaining loudly, "Let me take over? This is completely foreign to me; I know absolutely nothing about this business."

He reassured him, "The workers are all skilled, so you don't need to worry about the production line. After you take over, you just need to maintain the existing customer relationships. The work is actually very simple. The most important thing is that the factory is very profitable. Luo Shuishan claims to earn 200,000 to 300,000 a year, but I have checked the accounts and conservatively estimate that the net profit is around 300,000 to 400,000 a year."

Upon hearing such stable profit figures, Liu Tao's eyes lit up instantly, his businessman's shrewdness fully awakened: "If the profits are this stable, then it's definitely worth a try. However, this operation is so large, it will take a lot of money to take it over."

He had already planned ahead: "The land belongs to the village collective, and we only need to pay a rent every year. Apart from the land, if we only consider the factory buildings and machinery, the estimated value is just over 500,000 yuan, which is really not much."

The cost of over 500,000 yuan could be recouped in just over a year. This calculation quickly piqued Liu Tao's interest. After walking around the factory area twice, he immediately agreed and said he would go back and raise the funds and complete the formalities.

Seeing Liu Tao's excitement, he calmed him down: "There's still a tough nut to crack for you. I personally sent Luo Shuishan in. His problem isn't extremely serious; he'll be out in two or three years. How do you get the Luo family to willingly transfer the factory to you? You'll have to negotiate that yourself."

Upon hearing this, Liu Tao frowned slightly, immediately realizing how deep the water was. The Luo family would definitely object to a deal introduced by an enemy, but looking at the hen in front of him that could consistently lay golden eggs, he gritted his teeth, solemnly nodded, and agreed to the task.

In the afternoon, Li Fen, the director of the town government office, led the people from GG Company into the village in a great hurry. Specialists from the county party committee office and the county government office also followed closely behind. As soon as they met, they immediately directed the workers to set up the stage and erect the display boards. From the arrangement of the venue to the leaders' positions and the order of speaking, several groups of people gathered together to go over the process repeatedly. They even dragged Zhao Jianguo to rehearse on and off the stage several times.

The town took over the event, which gave him some free time. He cooperated with them in coordinating the entire process, and by the time all the details were finalized and the group was sent off, it was already past 10 p.m.

Back inside, he locked the door and summoned the treasure basin.

The two anonymous cards lay quietly at the bottom of the basin. With only a dozen minutes left before the Treasure Basin collected the debt, he had barely managed to scrape together 500 million yuan. This was the first time he had ever borrowed something of such astonishing value. It would be a lie to say that he wasn't a little emotional. Time ticked by, and when the time was up, the two anonymous cards at the bottom of the basin vanished into thin air, along with the 50 million yuan he had painstakingly accumulated, all of which disappeared in an instant.

He immediately took out his phone and logged into mobile banking. The page refreshed, and the long string of numbers had been cleared, leaving only a few lonely zeros.

The heart that had been hanging in my throat finally settled down. The first debt to the gods was settled. As long as nothing went wrong in the next two days, the gambling king would transfer the remaining nine hundred million, and the hole of the second debt to the gods could be plugged.

After calming himself down, he turned his attention to the county data on the Treasure Basin panel. The various indicators hadn't changed much compared to before. According to the system's rules, a special reward would be triggered when the permanent population exceeded 500,000, but they were still far from that goal. To increase the population, the key was to revitalize the county. The two cultural tourism projects he had on hand were the key to breaking the deadlock. Once they gained fame, they would definitely attract a large number of tourists. Although tourists didn't count as permanent residents, according to the Treasure Basin's algorithm, every additional person in the county would generate an extra dollar in revenue per day. The flow of people brought consumption, and consumption created jobs. As long as they could earn money at their doorstep, those who went out to work would naturally be willing to return and settle down. This long-tail effect was what he truly valued.

The next morning, just after seven o'clock, Li Fen led the town's staff to the venue to make the final arrangements before the meeting. He called on a few quick-witted villagers to help move tables and chairs and set up bottled water.

At 8:00 a.m., Wang Yongchun arrived at the scene to take charge. At 8:30 a.m., staff from the County Party Committee Office and the County Government Office entered the scene one after another. Guo Nanguo and Guo Huaixing also appeared one after another. Before long, the leaders and village cadres from all the towns in the county arrived one after another. The originally spacious venue was soon crowded with people, and the scene was noisy and lively.

At 8:50, three black sedans lined up and drove into the venue, stopping at the side of the podium.

As the car door opened, County Party Secretary Zhou Qingyan stepped out, supported by a messenger, followed closely by Organization Department Minister Wang Dongqi and Deputy County Head Qi Linshan. Upon seeing this, Wang Yongchun quickly called Zhao Jianguo to join them in welcoming him.

The group walked to one side of the stage. Qi Linshan looked Zhao Jianguo up and down and said with a smile, "You must be Zhao Jianguo, right? I've been watching those two live broadcasts you did recently."

Wang Dongqi also said with approval: "Comrade Jianguo, your live broadcast format that allows ordinary people to participate in governance has indeed opened up new ideas for our grassroots work. I have learned about the practical things you did in Luojia Village. The fact that you were able to achieve such great results in just a month or two is enough to prove that you are hardworking and dedicated to serving the people."

Zhao Jianguo quickly replied with a few polite words.

Zhou Qingyan stood aside, her gaze fixed on him, and slowly said, "The results are indeed remarkable, but with this job adjustment, you need to do a good job in overall coordination. You can't neglect the progress in the village just because you're temporarily going back to the county to help out. You have to do both things well."

He looked at Zhou Qingyan, who had an indifferent expression. In the few days since he last saw her, her complexion had become visibly rosier. It seemed that the Great Rejuvenation Pill was working very well, and her body was recovering at an amazing speed. She could even walk on the ground. Although he could vaguely see that she was wearing protective gear under her large coat, there was no sign of any serious injury on her face.

He secretly thought to himself that this woman never uttered a single soft word; her tone was always harsh, as if she were lecturing him. However, since she was the top leader, he naturally wouldn't show it. He immediately nodded and said, "Please rest assured, Secretary Zhou, I will definitely coordinate the time well, and the village's work will not be neglected."