PCJ – Chapter 628 Unexpected

Everyone looked at Cui San strangely, not understanding why he suddenly became so timid. While it was true that this Zhang Jiaohua was a village official, he was just that — a village official. If they were afraid of someone like that, how could they survive in the future?

Seeing the others questioning his actions, Cui San said, “You think I’m just being cowardly? Afraid of a mere village official? Let me tell you, if he were just a regular official, I would’ve taught him a lesson right then and there, let him know how to behave. But this guy isn’t that simple. Do you know what it felt like when he stared at me just now? It was like being watched by a wild beast. My legs were literally trembling. I’ve only ever felt that way once in my life — that time, I was being stared down by a notorious thug from Bijiang City. Same feeling. We walk in the rivers and lakes; we need sharp eyes. Otherwise, one day we won’t even know how we died. Tao Chunhe, we’re not even relatives. I wouldn’t bother with you if we were. But you absolutely must not mess with that man again. He’s in Yingpan Village. From now on, anything related to Yingpan Village — people or business — we stay out of it. He doesn’t even see us as worth his time.”

Even after Cui San said all this, the others still looked doubtful. Tao Chunhe felt especially wronged — that slap he took now felt completely unjustified.

As for Zhang Jiaohua, he never cared about this gang of petty thugs. He had just warned them, and if they still didn’t know what was good for them, he wouldn’t mind helping the people by removing some threats.

He rode his bike to the bank and withdrew several thousand yuan in cash. In a small place like Tianbaqiao, very few people withdrew close to ten thousand yuan in one go. The bank clerk’s eyes lit up when they saw the balance in his account. Unfortunately for them, Zhang Jiaohua just stuffed the cash into his pocket and walked off.

“Rich guy! Total nouveau riche!” the clerk cried out as they watched his back.

Another clerk nearby quickly asked, “What are you yelling about?”

“You don’t get it! That guy who just withdrew money — his account has over ten million in it. A young multimillionaire!”

“You sure you weren’t seeing things?”

“How could I be wrong?”

After withdrawing the money, Zhang Jiaohua headed to the township office.

As soon as Zhu Qingdong saw him, he pulled him into the office. Although Zhang Jiaohua wasn’t part of Zhu’s own political faction, he had come back to the countryside alongside Zhao Ruiping — whom Zhu had personally brought in from the county. So their relationship was naturally closer than with other ordinary cadres.

Zhao Ruiping had already retreated from the countryside, and seeing Zhang Jiaohua come to town too, Zhu figured he couldn’t hold out any longer either.

“Xiao Zhang, after staying in Yingpan Village these past few days, what’s your impression?” Zhu Qingdong asked.

Zhang Jiaohua thought for a moment. “It’s alright. Just lacking water — makes things a bit inconvenient.”

Zhu Qingdong nodded. “Yes, it’s very inconvenient. Water shortage is a big problem. Do you have any thoughts on Yingpan Village?”

Zhang Jiaohua nodded. “I think, to solve Yingpan Village’s issues, we have to solve the water issue first.”

“But fixing the water issue isn’t easy,” Zhu said with a frown.

Zhang Jiaohua replied, “Actually, I came here today to discuss with you a potential solution to the water problem.”

“Oh? I thought you came because you couldn’t hold out in Yingpan Village anymore?” Zhu looked surprised.

“Nope. I’m doing fine in Yingpan Village — why wouldn’t I be?” Zhang Jiaohua said with a smile.

Zhu Qingdong gave him a curious look. “Then tell me your idea.”

Zhang Jiaohua nodded. “The biggest problem in Yingpan Village is that the small reservoir turned into a saline-alkali lake. But that’s not unsolvable. I’ve already identified the source of the salinity and managed to control it. The next step is to remediate the salt-alkali conditions in the reservoir, and the village’s water issues should be resolved. My plan is…”

He then laid out his plan to Zhu Qingdong.

Zhu Qingdong stood up excitedly. “Excellent! Xiao Zhang, this is very well done. I’ll submit a report to the county right away and try to get funding to implement your plan as soon as possible. To be honest, I was skeptical of these university graduate village officials at first — thought you were just here to go through the motions. But from what I’ve seen in you, I now understand the real value of sending educated talents to grassroots work. You’ve done a great job.”

Zhang Jiaohua smiled. “Mayor Zhu, everything still depends on your support. Without funding, all I’ve done won’t mean much.”

“Don’t worry. With your plan, the county will definitely allocate some money. Our Daihua County is a poverty-stricken county. The state and provincial poverty-alleviation funds are meant to tackle urgent problems like this. The county and town have been trying to address the water shortages in Yingpan and Wanyaoshu villages for a while. If Yingpan’s water issue gets resolved, maybe Wanyaoshu’s can too. But you need to fully investigate the situation. We must ensure that this water improvement project solves the problem completely — no unexpected complications,” Zhu said.

Zhang Jiaohua nodded. “When I get back, I’ll continue the investigation to make sure the issue is resolved once and for all.”

Zhu Qingdong personally escorted Zhang Jiaohua out of the office. “If anything comes up, feel free to come to the town office. We’ll do everything we can to support you. The city really values you university graduate village officials, and we at the local level have high expectations for you too.”

Once back in Yingpan Village, the first thing Zhang Jiaohua did was distribute payments to the villagers for their wild produce and medicinal herbs.

Gu Baishui sneered at Zhang Jiaohua’s act of using his own money to buy mountain goods at high prices. “Just watch. If he keeps this up, he won’t last long in Yingpan Village. That place is a bottomless pit.”

Gu Baishui wasn’t entirely wrong. After Zhang Jiaohua bought the goods at double the price, a wave of villagers swarmed into the mountains to gather more herbs and produce. Before long, every household would be bringing large amounts of goods to Zhang Jiaohua’s residence. If he didn’t find a sales channel, he’d have to keep shelling out money. But what Gu Baishui didn’t know was — Zhang Jiaohua wasn’t short on money.

Zhang Jiaohua wasn’t in a rush to sell off these herbs and mountain products. To him, the current quantities weren’t significant enough to be worth taking to the wholesale markets in big cities. He might as well wait until the amount piled up before making a move.

The next day, Zhang Jiaohua went up the mountain again. If he didn’t find the root cause behind Yingpan Village’s water shortage, the problem might reappear even after this round of remediation. He suspected the culprit was some creature that had burrowed through salt-rich mineral veins in search of salt — leaving behind the channel that caused the issue. If he just blocked that route, the creature might simply dig another.