Marry a female star at a bargain price

Chapter 291, page 292: No matter how strong your background is, can it be as strong as mine?

The leadership meeting was held this morning.

After lunch, Lin Xiao took Deputy Mayor Ge Tao for a stroll to the New Village Garden at the southern end of the town.

This is a residential community that was just handed over to residents last year. Although it is called a commercial community, it is actually a redevelopment project. Several scattered old houses were demolished, and a few acres of wasteland next to them were added to form this community.

Xincun Garden is a demonstration site for Xingguang Town to implement the national policy of "merging villages and towns".

Xincun Xincun is actually a combination of several villages that have been built into an urban residential area.

This refers to the merging of villages and towns.

Because Xingguang Town is located in a mountainous area with undulating terrain and little flat land, the 33 natural villages are basically one house on the east side and one house on the west side. Most houses do not even have the concept of "neighbors" and stand alone in the mountain valleys or field ridges.

This situation is completely different from that of rural areas like Chaobai Town, which are located in a relatively flat area and where collective land is in short supply.

The natural villages in Xingguang Town are generally characterized by a small population and a large amount of land.

This is why the first phase of the Xincun Garden project could be completed by demolishing only a few houses.

If an entire densely connected village were to be demolished, the demolition costs plus construction costs would be far too high.

Even though merging villages and towns is a national policy, given Mashan County's financial capacity, it is simply impossible for them to come up with so much real money for demolition and development.

Of course, then again.

If a village has a dense concentration of houses, it must mean that the population is thriving, and there is no need to merge villages and towns.

Therefore, the reason why this policy is being vigorously promoted in certain areas is because the local population is flowing out in large numbers, and a village may only have one or two hundred people or even fewer, but still own a large amount of land.

With the village's limited labor force, it was simply impossible to cultivate such a large area of ​​land.

However, because these villages are all located in mountainous areas with undulating terrain, it is very difficult to carry out intensive farming. A large amount of land has been forced to be abandoned, and modern agriculture simply cannot be developed here.

Merging villages and towns can bring together scattered farmers, provide unified water and electricity supply, and offer a better living environment and resource supply. It can also integrate and utilize scattered and vast lands to carry out modern agricultural planting according to local conditions.

A win-win situation for both farmers and the country.

At least that's how Lin Xiao understood the policy when he first saw it.

Of course, as someone who grew up in the countryside, he understands very well the attachment rural people have to their homeland, especially some middle-aged and elderly people who have lived in the village their whole lives. Suddenly asking them to "move to the city and live in an apartment building" is definitely not something they can adapt to.

However, Lin Xiao felt that the reason of "not being used to it" alone was not enough to hinder the implementation of the policy of merging villages and towns.

After all, he had studied the policy carefully.

The national documents offer very favorable conditions for the merger of villages and towns. Not only will the construction of new buildings be fully funded and residents will be able to move in for free, but villagers will also be able to retain a portion of their collective land for farming after moving to the city.

It's like getting free access to a brand-new building while retaining the land as a foundation.

At most, this place is a bit further away, not as convenient as it was near my home before.

However, when considered in conjunction with another issue in rural areas, this inconvenience seems insignificant.

The problem is that it's difficult for single men in rural areas to get married.

In rural areas, the problem of bachelors is now very serious. A large number of single young men aged 28-40 cannot find wives. Of course, there are various reasons for this, but the main reason is that they "don't have a house in the city"!
Starlight Town is just a town, not a city.

But no matter what, it's still much better than living in a poor, remote mountain village.

If you can get a house for free in town, your child will have a better chance of getting married, that's for sure.

What? You're saying families without sons don't need to consider this?
Just kidding!
In rural areas, almost every family has a son; they either have no children or at least one son.

The huge gender imbalance is the main reason for the existence of 3000 million single men, without exception.

Lin Xiao came from the countryside and saw that many of his cousins ​​were unmarried, so he naturally understood the importance of "owning a house in the city" for rural families.

It was precisely because he understood this background that he felt genuinely perplexed by the difficulties in promoting the work of merging villages and towns.

Because it doesn't make sense logically.

So, while he was having lunch to digest, he and Ge Tao strolled over to the New Village Garden.

The residential area is located at the southernmost end of the town, neither too far nor too close to the town government.

But since Starlight Town isn't very big, it only took about twenty minutes to get there.

Standing across the street, Lin Xiao saw a fairly grand gate to a residential complex, with the four large characters "Xin Cun Garden" painted in gold. The grass radical of the character "Hua" (花) had disappeared, indicating it had been removed.

Looking inside from the main gate, there are two rows of neat six-story villas with bright orange and white exterior walls.

But a quick glance reveals several areas where the paint has peeled off.

Lin Xiao frowned: the quality of the houses in this new village garden doesn't seem to be very good.

However, considering that this is a mountainous town, the quality of the houses is acceptable, especially since even the walls of my own office have large areas of bulging and cracking.

It really is nothing.

After crossing the street, the two entered the residential area. The security guard in the guard booth at the entrance was so engrossed in watching the young woman wiggle her hips that he didn't even glance at them.

Lin Xiao went inside and took a look around.

The cement roads are cracked and potholed, and the flower beds and green spaces are bare.

At several garbage collection points, both the blue and black trash cans were overflowing, and the stench could be smelled from afar. In the sweltering summer heat, it was incredibly invigorating and had a strong aftereffect.

After looking around, Lin Xiao had a general idea of ​​what was going on.

Ge Tao noticed the mayor's displeasure and quickly explained, "Mayor, this rural area can't compare to the city, that's just how it is. To be honest, the quality of the houses in Xincun Garden is much better than the commercial housing complexes built in the town in recent years..."

Lin Xiao didn't reply, but casually asked, "What is the plot ratio of this community?"

Ge Tao was stunned for a moment.

"Floor area ratio?"

"Old Ge, don't you think the buildings are too close together? There's only about the distance of two cars between them. If someone is cooking in the kitchen on one side, they can see what's being cooked in the pot on the other side!"

Lin Xiao stood at the entrance of the walkway between the two buildings, his face serious.

Ge Tao looked at it and scratched his head.

It was noon, yet half of the ground between the two buildings was shaded. This exaggerated distance between the buildings was something even a country bumpkin like him couldn't stand.

"This...this project is entirely funded by the government, the villagers don't have to spend a single penny...building it this way might save money..."

Ge Tao is a very honest person, and he's even stammering now.

Lin Xiao didn't reply and continued wandering around.

After circling around, I returned to the gate of the residential area.

The community is not large, with only 6 buildings, each with 3 units, totaling about 400 households.

Considering that most rural residents are elderly, the houses are designed to be small, around 40 to 50 square meters. These 400 households can actually accommodate a total of less than 600 villagers.

That's roughly the population of three or four village collectives.

These three or four natural villages, with the current land area of ​​Xingguang Town being about thirty or forty square kilometers, even if only the residential area is considered, is over ten thousand square meters. Each household's self-built house occupies three or four hundred square meters, which can only be considered normal.

But now, there are only five or six hundred people.

Yet they are crammed into this garden apartment building of less than 20,000 square meters.

As Lin Xiao walked around, his brows furrowed deeper and deeper. He was beginning to understand why the villagers were unwilling to leave the village and move to the town or live in high-rise buildings.

However, this is not the end.

After entering the residential area, Lin Xiao and Ge Tao walked westward. After circling around, they came from the east and saw several elderly people sitting in the open space under the wall, enjoying the cool air.

When everyone saw Ge Tao, they immediately shouted "Mayor Ge" and swarmed around him.

Since the start of the village-to-town merger project, Ge Tao has been in charge. The residents of the new village garden phase one were all persuaded to move here last year by Ge Tao and the village cadres, who went door-to-door to persuade them.

The villagers don't know the super-popular internet celebrity mayor Lin Xiao, but they do know the local deputy mayor Ge Tao.

Everyone swarmed over.

"Mayor Ge, you have to do something about this! The house is leaking and we've been trying to fix it for over half a year, but it's still not fixed!"

"That's right! I live on the top floor. Whenever it rains heavily outside, it drizzles inside. It's impossible to live here!"

"My apartment doesn't even live on the top floor, but it leaks too!"

"The last time the developer came, he promised to fix it, but then he never showed up again!"

"Mayor Ge, you were the one who confidently told us that moving to the city and living in an apartment would mean a better life, but now we're living worse than we did in the countryside! You have to do something about it!!"

"And before, it was said that after moving into the apartment building, each household would still be allocated a small plot of land, but now that we've moved into the apartment building, the land is gone. What do you mean by that?"

"Mayor Ge..."

At first, Ge Tao tried to calm everyone down, shouting as he tried to explain.

However, he quickly succumbed to the villagers' anger.

In contrast, Lin Xiao, the town mayor, was ignored by everyone and had no face at all as a celebrity, music genius, and super star.

This situation made Lin Xiao feel a little amused.

He guessed that these old men thought he was a minor town official who had come with Ge Tao because he looked young.

This feeling of being "unknown" is something he now misses dearly, now that he is known throughout the internet.

However, he only reminisced for less than ten seconds before Ge Tao betrayed him.

"Gentlemen, this is our new mayor of Starlight Town, Mayor Lin!!"

Ge Tao shouted this sentence out loud.

As soon as he finished speaking, the dozen or so old men fell silent at the same time, their eyes fixed on Lin Xiao with an incredulous look, as if a virus were spreading.

Lin Xiao: Alright, the ten-second amateur experience card is over!

The old men were all shocked, instinctively thinking that Ge Tao was joking with them.

Could this seemingly immature young man be the town mayor, holding a higher position than Ge Tao, and the most powerful person in the entire Xingguang Town?
No one could believe it.

Ge Tao then reiterated Lin Xiao's identity and said, "If you have any requests, you can tell our town mayor, and the mayor will definitely resolve them for you!"

His tone was very serious, and he gave Lin Xiao a very apologetic look.

That means: Mayor, I can't hold on any longer, can you take over for a while?
Lin Xiao, on the other hand, was quite composed.

He should be responsible for his duties in his position.

So he waved his hand and calmly said, "Uncles and sirs, I am Lin Xiao, the mayor of Starlight Town. Please feel free to tell me what you want to say, and I will do my best to help you solve it..."

When talking to the villagers, there's no need to use official jargon; it's best to be straightforward.

Hearing this, the old men were still shocked, but they finally became certain of Lin Xiao's identity.

After a moment's hesitation, the accusations surged up again, this time all aimed at Lin Xiao.

Lin Xiao listened intently, completely absorbed.

Soon after, I developed a severe headache.

It's not that he finds everyone annoying, nor that he doesn't want to get involved, but... he doesn't understand!
The old men speak the purest local dialect!
The mountains of Nanzhou stretch endlessly, with each small hill revealing a different world, creating a unique cultural environment where different accents and customs can be heard every ten miles and different customs every hundred miles.

Although Lin Xiao is a native of Nanzhou.

However, Xingguang Town and Anyang County are far apart, and their dialects are quite different.

In addition, the old man spoke with a very heavy accent, which was difficult for even local young people to understand, let alone Lin Xiao, an outsider.

So even though he listened very carefully, he still didn't get much benefit.

Ultimately, they had no choice but to ask Ge Tao for help.

With Lao Ge's translation, Lin Xiao finally understood everyone's demands, which mainly concerned leaky houses and the division of villagers' private plots.

However, the villagers didn't mention a word about the problems he discovered after his on-site inspection, such as the narrow spacing between buildings, poor greening in the community, poor infrastructure, and garbage not being cleaned up in a timely manner.

It is clear that their requirements for living "upstairs" are already very low.

As long as it's a place to live, it's fine.

Unfortunately, even these basic requirements could not be met, and leaky roofs became a common problem plaguing more than 400 households in the entire community.

Xingguang Town is located in a mountainous area of ​​a central province, where the climate is naturally humid and rainy.

Since the new village garden was built and residents moved in, the problem of leaks has never stopped, and the villagers' homes are almost never dry.

The developer has repaired it several times.

But it only lasts for a few days, and then it starts leaking again, with the house constantly dripping!
The people wouldn't have dared to surround the deputy mayor and make a scene demanding an explanation if they hadn't been desperate.

After all, everyone present was elderly, having come from an era when food was scarce, and their reverence for official power was deeply ingrained.

Now they've been driven to a dead end.

Lin Xiao understood and saw clearly. He was already suppressing his anger, and now he could no longer hold back.

He is not an impulsive person.

But after listening to the old men's complaints, he directly asked, "Old Ge, which company developed this residential complex?"

"Yaofa Construction is a local engineering and construction company in Mashan County, and also..."

Ge Tao left his words unsaid, clearly mindful of the large number of villagers present and unable to say more.

Lin Xiao didn't take it to heart.

Do you have the boss's phone number?

"Huh? Oh, yes...yes!"

Ge Tao was somewhat taken aback, but answered truthfully, with a sense of foreboding in his heart.

My premonition soon became a reality.

"Call them and bring them here!"

"Huh? Now?!" Ge Tao was truly shocked.

"Yes, now!"

"Uh……"

Ge Tao was in a very difficult position, and he hesitated to speak.

In the end, he could only say, "Mayor, it's the middle of the day... how about we call their boss to town this afternoon, and we can sit in the meeting room and talk it over..."

Before he could finish speaking, Lin Xiao interrupted, "No, we're not going to the town! The problem lies in the quality of the construction. What kind of nonsense can we come up with sitting in an office? We'll resolve this right here, right now!"

Ge Tao was somewhat bewildered.

In my nearly 20 years in this industry, I've never seen anyone work like this, especially a town mayor and the top leader!

"Make the call, call now!" Lin Xiao urged again.

"oh oh……"

Ge Tao came to his senses and was truly stunned by Lin Xiao's imposing aura.

In fact, in the few days since Mayor Lin took office, he had been resentful of this young mayor who was "connected".

Admittedly, Ge Tao had heard about his achievements in Anyang County.

He had heard of Lin Xiao's strength and talent in the music industry.

But Ge Tao always felt that songwriting and singing were like playing ball and fishing, at most hobbies, unrelated to his job... or rather, not seriously related!
As for Lin Xiao's achievements in Chaobai Town, Anyang County.

Ge Tao acknowledged it, but at the same time, he felt that if he had such a father-in-law, he might have been able to achieve the same success.

and so.

Ge Tao harbored deep resentment and even contempt for Lin Xiao.

Moreover, from another perspective, I'm over forty years old and have been the deputy mayor for five or six years, so naturally I have some thoughts about removing the word "deputy" from my head.

After the original mayor of Starlight Town was transferred, his thoughts became stronger and stronger.

For a while, he even felt that the county leaders looked at him differently and that their words to him had a deeper meaning, which was equivalent to a kind of hint.

He was very happy and practiced calm and composed demeanor at his workstation every day.

Even while taking a shower at home, he would still be thinking about how, if he were really promoted, he could get along harmoniously and cooperate fully with the other two deputy mayors, while also maintaining a clear distinction between primary and secondary roles and between the two...

The more Ge Tao thought about it, the closer that position seemed to him.

Just when he thought the position was within his grasp, an official document from the county informed him that the new town mayor would soon be taking office.

Ge Tao was dumbfounded.

If this town mayor were truly qualified, that would be one thing, but he's just a greenhorn who's not even thirty yet and is a nepotism hire.

Ge Tao became increasingly frustrated, feeling like he had a lump of phlegm stuck in his throat, unable to swallow it or spit it out, feeling utterly suffocated.

Just now, we were surrounded and attacked by the crowd.

Ge Tao pushed Lin Xiao out, partly because he was truly at his wit's end, and partly because he wanted to test the town mayor's abilities and see how he would handle the situation.

Lin Xiao's performance wasn't particularly amazing, but at least he didn't panic and appeared genuinely eager to solve the people's problems.

Ge Tao, however, was indifferent to him.

Having worked at the grassroots level for twenty years, he had seen plenty of leaders who were full of empty promises and righteous indignation. They made countless vows, but very few of them were actually fulfilled.

Ge Tao subconsciously felt that this kid was probably the same kind of person, and even more so because he was so young and so good at pretending, he despised him even more.

But I didn't expect it.

Lin Xiao immediately told him to contact the developer and resolve the issue right now, on the spot!
Ge Tao was completely dumbfounded.

My goodness, I've been doing this for twenty years and I've never seen this trick before!
If he doesn't have real skills and real ability, then he's just a complete idiot!
A crowd had gathered around!
If the developer comes and acts all high and mighty, but in the end the problem isn't resolved, that would be truly embarrassing.

Therefore, most people would promise to investigate thoroughly, understand the situation, and resolve it as soon as possible.

Then go back and inquire about the reasons, and call the developer to discuss solutions.

Heartless people just forget about it and don't care at all!
It's impossible to tell whether Lin Xiao is intentional or not, but it's clear he's incredibly bold!
What Ge Tao didn't say earlier was that the owner of the "Yaofa Project" had a lot of connections and influence in Mashan County.

However, he believed that even if he hadn't finished speaking, Lin Xiao would have understood.

After all, he had worked in towns before, and he couldn't have been unfamiliar with the things that happened at the grassroots level.

But he didn't care at all.

He didn't even ask who the powerful backer was behind Yaofa Project; he just ordered people to be called in!

Such domineering presence undoubtedly captivated Ge Tao, leaving everyone speechless.

"Damn, that's so handsome! Having a mayor as a father-in-law is awesome!"

Although Ge Tao still envied his powerful background, he was no longer jealous.

I even started to think: this kid is actually pretty awesome.

After all, put yourself in their shoes.

If he were in Lin Xiao's position, he would also choose to appease the crowd first, and then return to the town to understand the situation and deal with it gradually.

I would never choose the "on-site work" solution because it's too easy for things to go wrong.

Hearing Lin Xiao's calm yet firm command.

Ge Tao paused for two seconds, then quickly nodded: "Okay, I'll start now!"

I took out my phone, found the number, and dialed it.

The elderly men who raised the issue were also dumbfounded; they had lived for fifty or sixty years and had never seen anything like it!

Are all young leaders these days so reckless?

The old men looked at each other, somewhat at a loss.

The calmest person on the scene was actually Lin Xiao.

Looking at the honest and law-abiding villagers, and then at the cramped and dirty environment, he felt an inexplicable anger rising in his heart that he couldn't suppress no matter what he did.

Starlight Town comes from here.

He repeatedly warned himself that now that his online persona was exposed and the whole internet was watching, he had to be extra careful with his words and actions. He absolutely could not make any mistakes. If photos or videos of him were taken and posted online, it could easily turn a small matter into a big one, and a big matter into a huge mess, becoming known to the whole internet and subjecting him to endless insults.

He himself didn't care.

But now he has elderly parents to care for and young children to raise; the whole family is relying on him as their pillar of support.

Lin Xiao didn't want to cause trouble for his family, so even though this wasn't his true nature, he still told himself to be patient, to be lenient, and to take a step back to broaden his horizons.

But now.

Seeing this good policy ruined like this, seeing these simple villagers being bullied like this.

No matter how much Lin Xiao tried to convince himself to stay calm and composed, it was all useless at this moment, as the fire in his heart burned as fiercely as could be.

He knew, of course, that the owner of Yaofa Engineering must be someone of considerable influence to be able to run an engineering company in a small county and even undertake government projects.

But he can't control it, and he's too lazy to care.

So what if you have a strong background? Can it be as strong as mine?
Right now, at this very moment, I'm going to resolve this matter! Resolve it completely!!
(End of this chapter)