Chapter 71

On the morning of the fourth day of the first lunar month.

Zhao Zhiqiang led a group to inspect the terrain, but the villagers of Guomu Gou were abuzz with the scandal involving Miao Cuifhua, who accused Zhao Zhiqiang of visiting Lan Baihe's house, even though her own husband might have gone there.

The sixty-plus households in Guomu Gou were in an uproar.

Not for any other reason, but because someone was trying to tarnish the reputation of the unmarried Zhao Zhiqiang!

In Chang'an Village, adultery and keeping a lover were ridiculed, but it was not considered a serious offense. However, if someone falsely accused an unmarried person, they would be condemned by the entire village!

More than fifty women gathered at Wang Zhu's front door, cursing Miao Cuifhua so fiercely that she didn't dare to come out, not even to retaliate. Later, they even dumped several chamber pots of excrement at her doorstep!

The combative Miao Cuifhua never imagined that a single comment about Zhao Zhiqiang would lead to such humiliation. As an outsider, she only now realized how fierce the local customs in Guomu Gou were!

The men did not participate, but stood near Wu Bing's car wash, watching the commotion from a distance.

Some felt sympathy for Zhao Zhiqiang, while most discussed the plan he had proposed.

Wu Bing had already spread the initial plan to the villagers, and everyone was talking about it.

Around ten o'clock in the morning, Wu Bing and his group returned from the city with shocking news!

Zhao Guangming had been arrested!

Zhao Guangming had been taken into custody by the district disciplinary committee!

This news spread like a flock of pigeons with wings, flying throughout all of Chang'an Village!

People ran around to spread the news.

The Zhao family, however, went into hiding, even dispersing the prepared dragon dance team, feeling ashamed. When they heard that Zhao Guangming had hidden in a cave and was caught looking like a kitchen god, they felt even more disgraced.

Zhao Guangsheng and others hurriedly sought out their relatives in official positions, like Li De, to devise a plan.

The common people, however, celebrated with drums and gongs!

Upon hearing Tang Gun say that there might be over four million yuan in two boxes, the crowd became furious and charged towards Zhao Guangming's house on First Street.

"Damn Zhao Guangming, even a thousand beatings wouldn't satisfy me!"

... The crowd's curses grew louder, and more people gathered.

It was said that Xiao Jun and Zhiqiang were caught while inspecting the terrain on the mountain, and the entire village, except for the Zhao family at the foot of the mountain, applauded!

Some who had seen Zhao Zhiqiang's skills were already fabricating the details of his capture. In the eyes of these simple farmers, Zhao Zhiqiang, who had caught the corrupt official, was a hero.

Zhang Weifa went to Zhao Guangming's house and, after much persuasion, managed to calm the crowd.

"Uncle Fa, you must give Zhiqiang and Xiao Jun credit for catching that bastard, and our village will suffer much less loss!"

"That's right, Uncle Fa, don't you have some responsibility for this? How could you not know that the old man had two boxes of money?" Villager Zhang Er, who had some knowledge of government affairs, immediately pointed the finger at the village secretary for poor supervision.

On the chaotic street, Zhang Weifa had no time to argue with them. "Alright, alright, the matter with Zhao Guangming will be handled by the organization and the disciplinary committee. Let's put it aside for now. He won't be able to run away with the villagers' money, and I'll take responsibility for it! However, there's a new situation from the higher-ups. The State Council has approved the transformation of the two streets into state-owned land, requiring demolition. And the new rural construction pilot project for the fourth group on the mountain has also been officially approved!"

Ah?

This...

The news about the change in the nature of the land on the two streets immediately overshadowed the hatred for Zhao Guangming.

"What should we do?"

Many people in Guomu Gou were very anxious. "The new rural construction doesn't offer much compensation!"

"Isn't that right?" a villager said anxiously.

"We were counting on the land to sell for a good price, but now the state won't buy it back, and developers won't come in. What will we do?"

The crowd clamored and headed to the village committee.

Village Secretary Zhang, Tian Xiuqing, Zhang Jike, Liu Caiyun, and other current village committee members were all present, as were the representatives of each group.

This news was much bigger than the arrest of Zhao Guangming.

The crowd was in an uproar.

All kinds of opinions were expressed.

The people from the two streets applauded, as they had houses and land and would receive substantial compensation!

Some estimated that their homes and properties could be compensated with up to two million yuan, and immediately, some wanted to invite their neighbors for drinks.

The four groups on the mountain were disappointed.

They were dejected and extremely disappointed. After a lifetime of farming, they thought they would finally be able to leave the hard life, but now the government wouldn't buy the land.

How would the new village be built, and would it still be called a village?

For those with elderly parents and young children, who were counting on this money to build houses, find wives, and treat illnesses, the lack of money was a matter of life and death.

Many people saw the situation as settled, with the four groups of villagers and their representatives leaving dejectedly, while the people from the two streets were elated, celebrating with drums and gongs...

In comparison, the news of Zhao Guangming's arrest was less exciting. Apart from his wife, Su Fengrong, and his close relatives who rushed to the district disciplinary committee to visit him, everyone else was calculating how much money they could make.

As for the money Zhao Guangming had embezzled, now that the monk and the temple were both found, the villagers were not afraid of public interests being harmed. Some of the money embezzled by the old man could be returned, which was a good thing.

But this had little to do with the four groups on the mountain. Even if there were benefits, they would mostly go to the two groups at the foot of the mountain and the two streets.

Wu Bing received a call from Zhao Zhiqiang, asking him to help at Gu Quanyou's company!

Seeing that only the representatives of the four groups on the mountain were left, he cleared his throat and imitated Zhao Zhiqiang's tone, "Fellow villagers, don't be disheartened! The new village construction is better. As long as we can attract investors, we have the land and the strength. Why should we fear not making money? Daqiang returned from the army to help us prosper. His plan is to make every household rich. If we lose the land, the hundreds of thousands of yuan in our hands might be lost in a few nights! Stay positive, and let's see what happens tomorrow. If you're not satisfied with the compensation, now that it's not being expropriated, you can rest easy. Wait and see. Daqiang has asked me to help him improve the plan. Come back tomorrow, and I guarantee it will be better than getting a few hundred thousand yuan!"

That's right.

Let's go. Tomorrow is the first day of the new village chief election, where they will present their plans and campaign for votes. It might not be much different.

The representatives of the four groups returned home with the remaining hope for the new village construction.

...

"Iron Army, you're almost better. Get out of the hospital tomorrow! Go and bring the prepared sponsorship money, and win back the position of village chief. He's clever, with connections in high places. If we can get just one-tenth of the benefits from the two million square meters of land, it won't be in vain to have held this position!"

City Hospital.

Li De soon received another piece of bad news: Zhao Guangming, the bastard, had been arrested.

This guy was a key part of the original plan, but he had overstepped and been reported.

Heaven, he must find someone quickly, and he can't let him reveal anything...

"Uncle, now that it's state-owned land, there's no benefit in competing for the position of village chief..."

"Glutton! The two streets are part of Chang'an Village. Without the cooperation of the village committee, no relocation can go smoothly. Besides, apart from the normal compensation—forget it, you wouldn't understand. Go and win the position of village chief for your uncle! I have other matters to attend to. If you can't handle this, I'll have to find someone else next time!"

Li De shook his head, looking at his nephew who only knew how to fight and was clueless. He was speechless.

Zhao Tiejun had been living in fear for the past two days.

Since the news of the Lone Wolf's capture was broadcast on TV yesterday, he hadn't slept well.

Just now, Bai Haijun had called, and he feared the matter couldn't be covered up. The person he had hired was Bai Haijun!

He told him to prepare, as the call was recorded!

Zhao Tiejun never imagined that the plan to break Zhao Zhiqiang's legs would turn into such a big deal!

Now his mind was completely focused on this.

He was hiding in the hospital, thinking about running away.

He only half-listened to what his uncle said.

His mind was elsewhere.

But since his uncle had spoken, he dared not disobey and was preparing for the next day...

Zhang Jike's campaign team was very strong.

All the people that the Zhang clan in Linzhou could mobilize were invited to his father Zhang Zhen's house. After a mobilization, they directly invested five million yuan to build a factory.

And his uncle, who was originally in construction, also promised to invest in the new village construction. Zhang Jike spent the whole night memorizing the content of his plan, ready to give a speech without notes the next day.

In his view, the farmers, vendors, veterans, and ruffians like the two Zhaos and Fu were no match for him!

If a college graduate like him were to be outdone by these rabble, he would have no face to show.

...

Zhao Zhiqiang asked Wu Bing to assist Gu Quanyou in improving the plan for the resort. After lunch, he withdrew the money from the card given by Bai Haijun and transferred it to the black gold card returned by Gu Quanyou. He then took out 500,000 yuan in cash and drove to the city children's welfare home. Not dispersing energy and resources would hinder his health, and this was the top priority for Zhao Zhiqiang.

"I'm really here to donate money!"

Zhao Zhiqiang forgot that it was only the fourth day of the first lunar month, and the welfare home was still in a semi-closed state.

The guard at the gate refused to open it.

He originally wanted to give the money to Teacher Liu to renovate the village nursing home, but then he thought that he had already given 300,000 yuan before the New Year, and it probably hadn't been used up yet. Giving more would scare the teacher.

So he came to the city's largest welfare home, intending to donate some money.

But the old man refused to open the door!

"Sir, I'm really here to donate money. Look, this is real money, not to cause trouble!"

"How do I know you're not here to cause trouble? Hehe, the leadership has said that during the New Year, no outsiders are allowed in without the director's permission. Besides, if you're here to donate money, why isn't there a photographer or a leader with you? Don't try to fool me!"

The old guard, about sixty years old, chuckled. "I know what you young people are up to. Are you here to check out which child to adopt because you can't have your own? No way!"

Zhao Zhiqiang was completely baffled. What did donating money to the welfare home have to do with whether he could have children?

As he was pondering, he felt a light tap on his shoulder!

"Hey, Zhao Zhiqiang, what are you doing here?" A very gentle voice came from his side.

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