Chapter 7

"Truly a place for immortals to dwell!" Chen Taijun, who had just arrived, stood at the entrance of the Donglinshui Village and felt a surge of enthusiasm as he looked at the village under his governance.

Actually, the way he phrased it wasn't quite accurate.

He should have said, "This is a place where only immortals can dwell." As for humans, it was absolutely unsuitable for them to live here; the conditions were just too harsh.

Thirty years ago, Donglinshui Village was a picturesque place, nestled in a hilly area. To the east, the Bai Feng Creek flowed gently, and people could fish from boats.

The hills were covered with dense forests and shrubs, and the woods were full of pheasants and rabbits, presenting a vibrant scene.

Donglinshui Village didn't have much arable land, and the soil was poor and shallow, yielding only a modest amount of grain each year. In normal years, it could barely provide enough food for the villagers to be 80% full.

In summary, with the addition of fruit and other side businesses, and the villagers selling some handmade products, life here was originally self-sufficient, except in very bad years.

However, in recent years, with economic development, Donglinshui has also been affected. This meager resource has been exploited maliciously.

Thus, the current situation is like a "hell on earth." Donglinshui Village has started to desertify.

The term "desertification" isn't quite accurate; more precisely, it's "stone desertification," an ecological disaster even harder to manage than a desert.

To put it simply, the trees on the hills are gone, and the little soil that remained has been washed away by water. Now, apart from the arable land, the rest of Donglinshui Village is just rocks upon rocks.

When it rains, it's a spectacular waterfall, and when the rain stops, it's just a pile of bare pebbles, unable to retain water, making it extremely unsuitable for human habitation.

Even the Bai Feng Creek, which used to be a place for fishing and catching shrimp, now, during the dry season, has less water than a child's urine.

This is a very difficult disaster to manage. Someone once suggested building a reservoir, which was a good idea, but it's not practical.

What would a reservoir be built with? There's no soil around, and the only option is to blast out stone pits to hold water or use reinforced concrete, which would be extremely expensive.

To make matters worse, the temperature in Phoenix City is relatively high year-round, making it easy for water to evaporate, making life here quite challenging.

One might think that, given this situation, Chen Taijun should have many complaints. After all, being the village chief of this place isn't very meaningful.

But those who think this way are wrong. He came to communicate with people, and he doesn't care, nor does he want to care, about how dire the village's condition is.

For a cultivator, cutting off emotions and desires is not difficult at all.

So, as soon as he arrived in the village, he started wandering around without a care, chatting with people. In the past, he had no reason to force communication with others, but now, as the deputy village chief, it's easy for him to chat with anyone he meets.

The village chief is a local, surnamed Li, and is considered a major surname in the village—actually, a major surname in the country. He is a large, burly man, and it's rumored that he has some connections to the underworld.

Actually, a chicken coop can't produce an ostrich. In such a small mountain village, how could there be any real mafia? He's just a local thug, but it can't be denied that he is a dominant figure in the village.

Li Fanding doesn't particularly like Chen Taijun, but he can only keep this dislike in his heart. After all, this is a cadre sent down from above for a temporary assignment. Even though he's just a deputy, if he rises to prominence, it would be too late to try to curry favor with him.

In the political arena, there are no secrets. The village chief received all the information about Chen Taijun almost as soon as he arrived. Like others, he couldn't understand the deputy village chief's background. How could a civil servant with a high school education come from an ordinary citizen's family?

Not understanding isn't a problem as long as this person is harmless. Li Fanding would never provoke him. Even if this guy has no powerful connections in the political arena, he is so young that it's hard to say whether he might one day rise to prominence.

Moreover, Chen Taijun is famously uninterested in politics; he only likes chatting.

Therefore, the relationship between the village chief and the deputy village chief is relatively harmonious. Even when there's an opportunity for a lavish meal, he doesn't forget to invite Chen Taijun, as such luxurious opportunities are rare in this small mountain village.

For example, right now, the owner of a private cement factory upstream on the Bai Feng Creek has come to invite the village chief for a meal. Li Fanding, besides the village party secretary, also invited Chen Taijun.

The cement factory owner isn't here just to play in the pile of stones. His factory, once operational, will earn more in a week than Donglinshui does in a year. He has important business to attend to.

The factory is about to start production, but the road hasn't been built yet. One section of the road will pass through Donglinshui's territory, and more importantly, it will go through one of the few arable lands in the village. This is a very difficult task.

Logically, the villagers will obstruct this, and in the eyes of the cement factory owner, this obstruction is a form of harassment. However, no one can grasp the exact degree of this harassment.

Li Fanding is well aware of this. In fact, this situation has occurred with his tacit approval. His influence in the village is so overwhelming that it can be described as "overwhelming." However, if someone invites him to a meal, why not go?

More importantly, the cement factory owner has said that the main guest is the township chief, Zhang Heng. The village chief can ignore anyone else, but he doesn't have the courage to ignore Zhang Heng.

After a few rounds of drinks and dishes, seeing the township chief continuously speaking on behalf of the cement factory owner, the village chief understands that this matter must be resolved, whether he agrees or not.

"Here's a carton of cigarettes and 500 yuan," the factory owner, seeing the right moment, smiled and offered the gifts, not minding that the township chief was sitting right there. "The villagers' work still needs to be done by the village chief."

"It's a small matter," Li Fanding, with a red face and a swollen neck from drinking, didn't even look at the cigarettes and money, though he was tempted to reach out. He still has his pride, doesn't he?

He patted his chest and guaranteed, "I'll take care of this. Since Mr. Lu is a friend of Township Chief Zhang, it's just a matter of a word."

At this moment, Chen Taijun, who had been observing their conversation, spoke up, "Mr. Lu, how much cement will your factory produce in a year once it starts production?"

This was just small talk, as Chen Taijun saw it. He had been observing and learning for a while, and he wasn't the main character at this table.

However, unfortunately, Mr. Lu didn't see it that way.

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