Chapter 8

Mr. Lü's regard for Chen Taizhong far exceeded his regard for Li Fanding.

After all, a thug is still a thug. Although Li Fanding was the local tyrant in Donglinshui Village, his horizons were limited by his environment and conditions. In a situation like this, a pack of cigarettes, a bottle of liquor, and five hundred yuan would be enough to satisfy him.

However, Chen Taizhong was different.

He was a child who grew up in Phoenix City, and his horizons and experiences were destined to be much broader than Li Fanding's. Moreover, such a young high school graduate could stand out in the fiercely competitive civil service examination. To say he had no background, who would believe it?

Therefore, the deputy village chief on a temporary assignment had always been a bit of a mystery to Mr. Lü.

At the beginning of the dinner, Chen Taizhong just focused on eating, and Mr. Lü was happy to pretend not to notice. But when Chen started to speak, he couldn't help but shiver.

Listen to what he asked—“How much cement can the cement factory produce in a year?”

A question like this, Li Fanding, a thug, would never ask. But if Chen Taizhong asked this, it was very likely that he was calculating the factory's annual profit.

If he calculated the annual profit, he would surely demand a large sum.

Mr. Lü wasn't afraid that Chen Taizhong would stop the road construction. How could a deputy village chief overturn what the chief had agreed to? And he had already heard about Li Fanding's tyrannical behavior in the village.

But he was worried that Chen Taizhong might cause trouble. After all, the farmland occupied during the road construction had no land use certificate, and the procedures were incomplete.

If no one cared, it wouldn't be a big deal. But if someone really wanted to make a fuss and escalate the issue, it could become a serious problem!

Better to spend money to avoid trouble than to provoke a small person! This was Mr. Lü's motto. He was a successful businessman, and spending money where it was necessary was one of the reasons for his success.

So, he smiled and replied to Chen Taizhong, "Ah, you must be Brother Chen from the city on a temporary assignment? Indeed, you are young and talented, with a remarkable demeanor."

"This cement factory, in its first phase, has an annual production capacity of ten thousand tons. In the second phase, we plan to build a kiln with a capacity of twenty thousand tons. My ultimate goal is to make this factory reach sixty thousand tons!"

The last two sentences sounded a bit boastful, but no one could say he wouldn't achieve such a scale. Only Mr. Lü knew that the water resources here were tight, and unless a new source was found, twenty thousand tons would be the limit.

Chen Taizhong usually enjoyed being praised, but being called "Brother" by the other party made him slightly uncomfortable. In the relationship between officials and businessmen, officials come first. "I'm an official, and you're a businessman. Do you think you can be my elder brother?"

Of course, after more than a month of training, his self-cultivation had improved. Most importantly, he knew he was an official and didn't need to quarrel with a businessman. So, he lazily nodded, "Oh."

His displeasure was written all over his face, and even Mayor Zhang noticed something was off. He glanced at Mr. Lü: Do you have a grudge against him?

Mr. Lü shook his head slightly, indicating no grudge. He was clear in his mind: "Hmm, he's reaching out. If he doesn't get enough benefits, it will become a weapon to choke me!"

In short, this hand won't retract without a reason!

Seeing that the two seemed to be at odds, Mayor Zhang, who rarely took the initiative, raised his glass and proposed a toast, "Here, here, here, to the cooperation between both sides, let's have a drink!"

In his eyes, Chen Taizhong didn't count. As the mayor of the town, he was no small figure, and the evaluation of the dispatched officials by the mayor and the party secretary was very important.

Chen Taizhong didn't realize that there were so many subtleties in raising a glass. Seeing Mayor Zhang propose a toast, he couldn't help but join in, "Ah, Mayor Zhang, you and Mr. Lü are quite familiar, aren't you?"

There was a hidden meaning in his words! Mayor Zhang was momentarily stunned, unsure of the implication.

"Not familiar, not familiar," Mr. Lü quickly responded with a smile, trying to clear the air, "We were introduced by Mayor Duan from the city."

"Kid, Mayor Duan, you should be careful," Mr. Lü was puzzled. "Do I have a grudge against you? Why are you so persistent?"

Chen Taizhong wasn't very polite to him. He nodded and said frankly, "Oh, Mr. Lü knows Mayor Duan, that's impressive."

His words were neutral, but to Mr. Lü, they sounded sarcastic. Especially his indifferent expression, which Mr. Lü interpreted as extreme dissatisfaction.

"Kid, you're young but quite deep," Mr. Lü was a bit annoyed but thought that as a newcomer, Chen Taizhong was just a student, and he could handle him. So, he smiled and swallowed his words.

However, he was still a bit worried. This guy doesn't even give face to Mayor Duan. Which faction does he belong to? The Qin faction, the Zhang faction, or the Ji faction?

He never imagined that Chen Taizhong was just a wild card with no ill intentions!

However, this mistaken guess cost Mr. Lü a bit. He originally planned to give a thousand yuan secretly to deal with this young man, but later increased it to five thousand, and after careful consideration, decided to give him ten thousand!

No businessman does a losing deal. Mr. Lü had his own calculations. Spending this money to avoid many troubles was worth it. However, this was a significant investment, especially since it was 1996!

Chen Taizhong received this unexpected gift and couldn't refuse it. This was the first time in his life he had received such a windfall, and he was a bit at a loss. He carefully calculated: The civil service examination cost him five hundred yuan, and now he had received twenty times that amount. Being an official is indeed a good business!

Mr. Lü was also quite pleased. Students are students. "Kid, no matter how indifferent you look, when I throw ten thousand at you, you'll still be dazzled."

However, this money wasn't easy to get. The next issue followed.

The road passed through the village, and the construction party had to hire villagers to do some work, like earthwork, which basically had to be done by the villagers. There was no official document stating this, but it was a tacit rule.

Even though Li Fanding was a thug, Chinese farmers have their own cunning. He wouldn't give up this piece of fat meat.

Thus, Chen Taizhong's issue came up again.