Chapter 87

The day after leaving Brother Lide Sheng's house, Zhao Zhiqiang finished treating his mother and had breakfast. Seeing that it was still early, he chatted with his father for a few moments.

For Hu Xuemei, this father-son chat was like the sun rising in the west. From a young age, Daqiang and his father had a relationship like two repelling magnets, never able to come together. Now, this was truly rare.

Or perhaps, his father had grown old and no longer insisted on controlling his son.

Or maybe, his son had grown up and realized that filial piety and respect were not the same, and that respect for elders was equally important.

"Father, don't go out. Stay home and help Mother take care of your younger brother; he has to study for his exams."

"No way. Even if I don't go out to work, I still need to get back the money from the past two years. Although it's not much compared to what you earn, it's hard-earned money. If I don't get it back from that black-hearted boss, I won't feel at ease, it's just too frustrating!"

"Father, tell me, what's the situation?" Zhao Zhiqiang had always wanted to resolve this issue for his father, but he had never found an opportunity like today, where his father could calmly talk with him.

It was a simple matter.

In an era where owing migrant workers' wages was like writing an IOU, the large developer owed the subcontractor, who in turn owed the workers. When asked for payment, they would say they had none, but in reality, the guy was very wealthy. The foreman, Zhao Guangqing, and the workers all knew this. The total amount owed to Father's team was nearly five million yuan.

Apart from a few hundred yuan per month or a few ten thousand yuan borrowed for emergencies, Father's wages were still four ten thousand yuan short after two years, all reduced to empty promises. The village construction team had forty-three members, some of whom had not received a single cent.

After listening to his father, Zhao Zhiqiang looked him in the eye and said, "Father, go talk to Uncle Guangqing. I will definitely get the money back for you. Have him send a few people to keep an eye on the boss as usual. I'll go to the provincial capital to handle this matter. The money will definitely be recovered! Don't go out to work today. I've already contacted General Gu Quan, and the construction team will sign a formal employment contract with their engineering company. From now on, you won't have to travel, and you won't have to worry about not getting paid. At least, you should stop working on the construction site. You're over forty, and your body can't handle it. Help me supervise the resort construction!"

"That won't do! You've finally become the village chief, and I can't become a kingmaker. I'll do what I should do, and you don't need to assign me tasks. Just get the money back for everyone. Ah... Dogsheng's wife is waiting for the money to treat her illness!"

Zhao Zhiqiang turned and took out ten thousand yuan from his backpack.

Seeing his father's surprised look, he smiled and said, "Take this money. Give it to your coworkers or neighbors who need it. We can help them out!"

Zhao Jincan raised his hand and saw several bundles of money.

"Daqiang, this money feels like it was blown in by the wind. You carry hundreds of thousands of yuan with you so casually. Tell me, what do you do to earn this?"

"Ha ha, Father, you don't need to worry about that. It's a business secret! But, you'll see. Once the resort is built, our village will become wealthy soon. This money will be nothing to you in the future. Oh, by the way, you and Mother can spend the money on the card freely. Mother doesn't need surgery anymore, and we don't need to renovate the house. I'll take care of everything. You and Mother just enjoy your life. It's time for me to go. The village committee is having its first meeting today. Hehe, I'm a bit nervous!"

"Go, go, nervous you, you scoundrel! If you don't do a good job as village chief, I won't forgive you!" He turned and took a deep breath, watching his son go down the stairs with his backpack and drive out of the neighborhood...

"Zhiqiang's mother, once the resort on the mountain is built, we'll go back to live there. The conditions here are good, but it's suffocating. There's no one to socialize with..."

Zhao Zhiqiang was indeed a bit nervous.

He had never held an official position before. Even in the army, he hadn't been a deputy squad leader. In school, he was a troublemaker, and the teachers didn't even let him be the physical education committee member. So, sitting in the second chair of the village committee was different from before.

Zhang Jike had a false joy yesterday, but now he was much more restrained. The others, however, mostly showed encouragement and expectations. After a round of applause, the old man Zhang Weifa, with his yellow hands, began to hand over the work, occasionally showing his yellow teeth.

First, Secretary Zhang Weifa explained the village's situation in detail, then he handed over more than a hundred large and small matters to Zhao Zhiqiang, involving the accountant, deputy director, women's director, and others.

Due to Zhao Guangming's sudden arrest, some matters he handled alone were temporarily sealed. Whether it was the village committee's debts or the private and public work he did under the village committee's name, these unclear matters needed to be verified and handled at the detention center.

...

The entire morning was spent, and Tian Xiuqing had filled half a notebook with large and small matters for Zhao Zhiqiang!

Dizzy and disoriented!

Zhao Zhiqiang felt like he had been tricked!

There were too many matters for the village chief...

From large-scale immediate tasks like demolition and new rural construction, to medium-scale tasks like annual national grain subsidies, agricultural machinery subsidies, seed subsidies, and pig farming subsidies, to disaster relief, support for the destitute, and spiritual civilization, to family planning and fines for overpopulation, to small-scale tasks like mediating conflicts, allocating homesteads, and arranging weddings.

The previous village chief, Zhao Guangming, had left a batch of IOUs, owing several nearby restaurants and supermarkets a total of over twenty thousand yuan. Some were verified as expenses for welcoming and sending off guests, while half were personal expenses by Zhao Guangming. The accounts were not settled.

Under the name of the village chief, Zhao Zhiqiang had privately approved the use of two pieces of collective land. The one in the fruit tree valley was easy to handle, as the partner was waiting for someone to take over and return the money. The twenty acres of land at the corner of the two streets, which was originally a garbage pit, had been leased to a manufacturer of disposable chopsticks, bringing in twenty thousand yuan for the village. In fact, the land use rights were leased for twenty years, and he had received over two million five hundred thousand yuan. He kept over two million yuan, which led to Zhao Guangming's flight.

However, Zhao Zhiqiang quickly had an idea.

As village chief, he was not there to handle these small details. His two goals were to control the Lingquan and lead the villagers to prosperity.

If he had to handle these small matters, he would have no time to cultivate his spiritual energy, and his mother's illness would be delayed. No, he needed to delegate tasks to others.

First, he politely thanked everyone, then took the notebook and, according to Secretary Zhang Weifa's instructions, directly assigned tasks.

"Alright, the main tasks today are attracting investment and cooperating with the government to demolish the two streets. I will assist the secretary in this. Since we haven't started work this spring, all the subsidies are still available. All agricultural, forestry, and water-related matters will still be handled by Uncle Ma, thank you for your hard work; family planning, comprehensive governance, and the militia will still be handled by Brother Hu; the village committee's financial management will still be handled by Uncle Tian; innovation and introduction of technology, and spiritual civilization will still be handled by Jike..."

Zhao Zhiqiang did not change the existing power structure. He knew the thoughts of each person present. As a newcomer, he would inevitably impact their power, even though he was not a significant official. However, he understood that, for example, the women's director had significant influence in matters of childbirth and overpopulation, and the accountant's calculations could affect the distribution of funds.

Everyone felt relieved.

The new chief did not make drastic changes to the current situation, and everyone felt more at ease! They could continue doing familiar work and handling familiar matters!

They all expressed their support for Zhao Zhiqiang.

"Alright, there are two more major tasks that need to be assigned. After the two streets become state-owned, the demolition work will be handled by Deputy Director Zhang. He has a higher education, good relationships, and a solid foundation in previous work, which is better than me. The new village construction on the mountain will be personally supervised by me, and the construction and demolition will be carried out simultaneously. We clearly don't have enough manpower, so I suggest forming the Chang'an Village Construction Supervision Committee."

"Supervision Committee?" Zhang Jike thought he wouldn't be involved, but unexpectedly, Zhao Zhiqiang assigned him the major task of demolition. He was still unsure whether it was good or bad and whether he should decline.

"Yes, for the new village construction, I plan to package all the approved plans and intentions of the villagers, and divide the overall construction into blocks and phases, to be contracted to sponsors. Professional companies or enterprises will complete the construction according to our quality and time requirements. The shortfall will be tendered externally."

In fact, the main difference from before was whether to do it himself or delegate it to others.

"Regarding the resort, General Gu from Jin Da has already reached an agreement with the original owner. As long as our village committee agrees to the transfer of operations, he will immediately come to re-sign the contract. According to my plan, we will invest twenty million yuan in one year to reach the level of the Jin Zun Hotel. Next year, we will invest another twenty million yuan to build the planned comprehensive resort, with the main product being holiday hot springs, and later, fashionable beaches and bungee jumping. General Gu has already conducted market research, and there are no similar resorts in the Bin Cheng area, which is an opportunity. Similar to the resort, the new residential construction will be given to one company, and the infrastructure of the light industrial park will be handled by another. The orchard on the Fu family side will not be abandoned, and the light industrial park will be built near the provincial road, connecting with the district."

"Daqiang, these tasks are enough to keep you busy. The small matters of the villagers, like feeding and caring for children, will be handled by me and Uncle Ma. You focus on the new village construction. Jike, handle the demolition of the two streets as instructed by Zhiqiang. This is a test for you. Others will continue their current tasks, and the Supervision Committee needs to be established. Daqiang, who do you think is suitable?"

"Hu Jun, Wu Bing, Tang Gun, Fu Jinghua, and one more from the four families. Their main responsibility will be to coordinate with the development units, solve the problems they need us to solve, and supervise the implementation of all matters after the contract is signed."

"Then—what about the money?" Tian Xiuqing was overwhelmed, having not slept well for the past two days.

"Ha ha, this money isn't ours. Can you live by guarding it? Once the work starts, the money will be returned to the people!" Zhang Weifa laughed, "Miser!"

Tian Xiuqing smiled awkwardly.

After the meeting, Zhao Zhiqiang treated everyone to a meal and then went directly to the secretary's house.

Zhang Jike, however, asked Hu Jun suspiciously, "Brother Hu, if Zhao Zhiqiang divides the tasks like this, won't he have nothing to do? Is he just a figurehead?"

"He? He's in charge of the overall situation!"

Hu Jun, on the contrary, asked, "Can't you let Zhiqiang both attract investment and handle trivial matters like lost pigs and collapsed walls?"

That's true.

Although Zhang Jike was still puzzled, he didn't ask anymore. If he had difficulties, he could ask Grandpa Weifa. That kid seems... quite good at being an official!

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