Marry a female star at a bargain price

Chapter 293, Section 294: Gaining a Little Fan

It's really hard to define who wins and who loses in this world.

At noon in Xincun Garden, Lin Xiao unleashed his full power, completely overwhelming Yu Yaojun, the local tyrant of Mashan County, leaving him unable to lift his head or even breathe loudly.

Yu Yaojun accepted all of Lin Xiao's "unreasonable" demands without daring to bargain.

Judging from the situation and the outcome, it seems that Lin Xiao has won.

However, at night.

While Yu Yaojun and his backer were sitting in the most luxurious private room of the county's most luxurious restaurant, eating abalone, sea cucumber, shark fin, and drinking Moutai, Lin Xiao, the winner, was sitting in his office eating instant noodles, specifically shrimp and fish cake flavored ones.

Judging from the styles of both sides, it's difficult to conclude that Yu Yaojun lost and Lin Xiao won.

Fortunately, Lin Xiao doesn't smoke or drink, but he is a womanizer, and he only has eyes for his own wife.

Therefore, Mayor Lin really looked down on Yu Yaojun's luxurious lifestyle, so even if he were to have a video call with President Yu right now, he wouldn't feel ashamed.

This shrimp and fish cake noodle soup was really hard to eat.

After quickly finishing his meal, he pushed the box aside and continued to study the policy documents related to the merger of villages and towns in detail.

Just as I was engrossed in watching, someone knocked on the door.

"Come in!"

Lin Xiao agreed and glanced at the time in the lower right corner of the computer screen, finding that it was 7:23 PM.

People have already left work by now, who would be knocking on the door?
The suspense was soon resolved.

The person who pushed open the door was Ge Tao, the deputy mayor who was a heavy smoker—unusually, he wasn't holding a cigarette.

"Mayor, you haven't left yet?"

Ge Tao had a friendly smile on his face, a far cry from the awkward "I can't stand you but I can't do anything about it" expression he had been wearing lately.

Lin Xiao pondered that the change in Deputy Mayor Ge's attitude was probably related to his brilliant performance at the New Village Garden at noon.

"Hmm, I'm looking at some documents. Why haven't you left yet?"

"I... organized some materials!"

Ge Tao's expression was somewhat evasive.

Lin Xiao guessed that the materials he had compiled were related to the first phase of the Xincun Garden project.

Since he didn't say anything, I didn't bother to ask any further.

"Mayor, you're eating instant noodles for dinner?" Ge Tao asked in surprise.

"I'll just grab a bite for now, and eat more when I get home!"

"Don't wait any longer!"

Ge Tao said with a serious face, "There's a rice noodle shop in town that makes really authentic stir-fried noodles, mixed noodles, and soup noodles. How about I treat you?"

"This one……"

Lin Xiao glanced at the information on the computer, then at Lao Ge, who looked expectant.

He finally nodded: "Alright, then I won't stand on ceremony!"

Upon receiving a positive response, Ge Tao's tense expression relaxed, and he smiled knowingly.

Lin Xiao drove, and Ge Tao gave directions.

The town is very small, and there is no such thing as evening rush hour. It only took less than 5 minutes to drive to the rice noodle shop.

The shop wasn't big, but it was quite crowded, and they occupied the last empty table.

Lin Xiao looked at the greasy menu on the wall.

The once calm shop gradually became agitated. Several young people looked in this direction while whispering among themselves, and even took out their phones to take pictures. They all looked excited and exaggerated.

The rustling sound caught the attention of the middle-aged people at the two tables.

The middle-aged people followed the young people's gaze and looked in this direction, but they didn't know what they were looking at, so they all looked confused.

Lin Xiao realized that he had been recognized.

But it didn't matter; he had already made preparations and ordered food with a nonchalant air.

Ge Tao was a little embarrassed and said in a low voice, "Mayor, I forgot you're quite famous online... I shouldn't have invited you out for dinner!"

Lin Xiao waved his hand dismissively: "I'm just famous, not a wanted criminal, so I'm not afraid of being recognized. It's fine, let's just eat and pretend these comments don't exist!"

Ge Tao nodded, admiring Mayor Lin's magnanimous spirit.

There were two tables of middle-aged men in the restaurant. They looked like construction workers, covered in dirt, drinking beer, eating snacks, and smoking.

This isn't Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, or Shenzhen, so there are no indoor smoking bans.

The shop was filled with smoke, but everyone was used to it.

Ge Tao hasn't smoked a single cigarette since he knocked on Lin Xiao's office door, intending to work until dinner is over.

As a result, the smell of smoke made him feel anxious and restless.

Lin Xiao quickly laughed and said, "If you want to smoke, then smoke. You always knew to do as you please before, why are you being so reserved today?"

Ge Tao then smiled and lit a cigarette.

After taking a deep drag, he exhaled smoke contentedly before saying, "Before, it wasn't that I was acting on my own; it was that I was taking advantage of my age. Today, it's not that I'm being reserved; it's that I've been intimidated by your demeanor, Mayor, so I don't dare to act recklessly anymore!"

"oops!"

Lin Xiao laughed exaggeratedly, his face full of teasing, "Old Ge, those words are really from the bottom of your heart!"

Ge Tao laughed so hard his chubby face swelled up, revealing a mouthful of yellow teeth.

"Hehehe, I've really seen something new today. I admire you, Mayor, to the core!"

"Just because of what happened at Xincun Garden at noon?"

"Yes, yes, that's it!"

Ge Tao sighed, "Mayor, you might think this is a small matter, but it's actually a big one! You haven't been in Mashan County long, so you don't know, but Yu Yaojun has a powerful background. He's a notorious spoiled brat in the whole county, and nobody dares to mess with him. Even the county leaders have to give him face. He doesn't even respect us town officials. Ever since I took charge of the village consolidation project, I've been dealing with him because of the new village garden construction, and I've suffered a lot of bullying from him... Sigh!"

As Lao Ge spoke, he looked embarrassed and dejected.

Lin Xiao understood his emotions very well.

Although the deputy mayor is not an official, he is still a person who can govern a certain area in the township. The work may be hard, but it is almost impossible for him to be mistreated.

After spending the past few days getting to know Ge Tao, Lin Xiao concluded that Ge Tao was a good cadre with a temper and a bit of pride, but a very upright heart.

Such a person, upon seeing the various irregularities in the construction of the Yaofa New Village Garden, would certainly not turn a blind eye, but would instead do everything possible to negotiate with the construction team and report to higher authorities.

However, judging from the current environment and housing quality of Xincun Garden.

Ge Tao's previous efforts had clearly yielded little result, and his blatant opposition to the local tyrant Yu Yaojun had undoubtedly caused him considerable trouble behind the scenes.

Lin Xiao disciplined Yu Yaojun like a dog today.

Although he was acting in a businesslike manner, it was a great relief for Ge Tao, allowing him to vent his anger.

No wonder his attitude towards Lin Xiao has completely changed; now he genuinely admires and respects him from the bottom of his heart.

This emotional shift is somewhat like children fighting.

But Lin Xiao said he completely understood, because a man is a boy until he dies!

"Old Ge, are you feeling better today?" Lin Xiao asked with a grin, his tone like he was coaxing a child.

"That felt so good, so satisfying!!"

Ge Tao smiled broadly, then said with a touch of emotion, "Mayor, don't be angry. When you first came, I really thought you were just here to go through the motions and gain some grassroots experience. After all, you're so famous, your family connections are so strong, and you have such amazing talents outside of work... With your level, you'd be in high demand anywhere. Our poor, remote Xingguang Town doesn't seem like a place that can accommodate someone as important as you." Ge Tao scratched the back of his head: "So I thought that even if you came, you'd just be gaining some grassroots experience and would leave quickly. Since that's the case, you probably wouldn't be doing your job sincerely during your tenure, just trying to stay safe and avoid trouble... I didn't expect you to pull off such a big thing so soon after you arrived. It scared me half to death. I'll never think of you like that again!"

These words made Lin Xiao's face turn sour.

"I just scolded Yu Yaojun and got him to fix the leaky roof. Does that count as pulling off a big job?"

“It may be a small matter for you, but in Starlight Town, it’s a huge deal!”

Ge Tao spoke with a serious expression.

After a moment's thought, Lin Xiao guessed that Lao Ge's assessment of the matter was probably based on the perspective of the local bully, Yu Yaojun.

Anything related to Yu Yaojun should be a major event.

He nodded.

"But Lao Ge, even though I scolded Yu Yaojun today, he accepted the scolding!"

Lin Xiao then asked, "But don't you think I'm just taking advantage of my powerful father-in-law to bully others?"

Ge Tao exclaimed in surprise, "How could that be! It depends on who you're bullying. If you give our town's cadres a hard time, that's just a dog relying on its master's power. But if you put that kind of power on a scoundrel like Yu Yaojun, then you're a hero!"

As Ge Tao spoke, he sighed, "Mayor, to be honest, I've been in this line of work for almost twenty years, and I've seen plenty of people abusing their power. I can tell whether leaders are good or bad... Of course, I misunderstood you at first, but since I have this opportunity today, I'll punish myself with a bottle as an apology!"

After saying that, without waiting for Lin Xiao's reply, he pried open a bottle of ice-cold beer with his chopsticks and chugged it down.

Lin Xiao was terrified.

Well, why does this look like something out of a gangster movie?

He had only scolded Yu Yaojun in a "business" manner at noon, but unexpectedly, he had won over the deputy mayor who had always been dissatisfied with him.

What's going on now? Ge Da, the heavy smoker, has become his own little fanboy?

Oh no.

Ge Tao is ten years older than me, so I shouldn't call him a fanboy, I should call him a... fanboy brother, right?

Lin Xiao thought of the nickname and found it a bit funny, almost bursting out laughing as he pursed his lips.

In front of him, Ge Tao finished a bottle of beer, chuckling and burping as he drank.

"Alright, now that you've finished your drink and your anger has subsided, I have some serious questions to ask!"

Lin Xiao's expression suddenly turned serious.

Upon seeing this, Ge Tao, who had been laughing just moments before, stopped laughing in an instant.

"Mayor, please ask!"

"This afternoon I studied the policy on merging villages and towns and found that the regulations stipulate that only villages with a registered population of less than 100 need to be considered for merger. But why is it that the village and town merger plan in our Mashan County uses a permanent resident population of 200 as the cutoff?"

Lin Xiao voiced his doubts.

When Ge Tao heard the question, he clearly had something to say, but his expression was somewhat hesitant.

"If you feel uncomfortable saying it, you don't have to say it."

"Hey, there's nothing I can't say!"

Ge Tao sighed with relief and said, "The county's explanation is that Mashan County is located in a mountainous area with a low population density. The basic situation of the village is that there are few people and a large area, and the houses are not adjacent to each other, which is even more stringent than the conditions proposed in the policy of merging villages and towns."

"Although the regulations state that only villages with fewer than 100 registered residents should be considered for mergers, this is only a suggestion, not a clear line. Specific implementation will depend on the actual situation in each region. The county believes that villages with a population of less than 200 should be merged, as this would consolidate a large amount of land resources..."

Lin Xiao nodded, thinking that the county's explanation made a lot of sense.

But after pondering what Lao Ge had just said, he clearly felt that Lao Ge had something else to say.

as predicted.

After a pause, Lao Ge continued, "The county's plan seems reasonable at first glance, but in reality, although Mashan County is large, it is mostly mountainous, so the rice cultivation area is not much at all, and the per capita area is far below the provincial average."

"Moreover, these paddy fields follow the contours of the mountains and are mostly terraced, so even after consolidation, mechanized planting and harvesting are not possible. As for the supporting industries of agriculture in Mashan County, they are fruit tree planting, with navel oranges being the most widely planted."

"This kind of thing is even more impossible to cultivate mechanically. Each household has to contract an orchard and even live and eat in the orchard to take good care of it. This is why the houses of the villagers in Xingguang Town are scattered. This dispersion is not artificial, but rather the villagers gradually dispersed as the orchards were divided."

“Once the village-town consolidation project is implemented, and villagers leave their orchards to live in the towns, will they still need their orchards, which are their means of livelihood? If they do, they will have to travel long distances from the town to the countryside every day, greatly increasing their time costs, and their manpower will not be able to support the labor required for orchard management; if they don't, the villagers are already struggling to make a living, how will they make a living in the future? Just by renting out the orchards to outside contractors and collecting rent, that is obviously unrealistic…”

By the end, Ge Tao's expression had become very serious.

He stubbed out his cigarette and tapped the table with his fingers: "To put it bluntly, the main reason why the villagers are unwilling to move to the town is the issue of livelihood—if you have money, you'll dare to go through fire and water; if you don't have money, you won't even dare to go to a high-class place!"

Old Ge made a joke, but Lin Xiao couldn't laugh at all.

After several days of agonizing doubts, he finally understood today.

It turns out that it wasn't that the villagers were unwilling to move, nor that the quality of the houses in Phase 1 of the New Village Garden was too disappointing, but rather that as soon as they moved away from the village, their livelihoods would be taken away.

Even though the bowl is somewhat broken and can only hold a little cold rice to fill one's stomach.

But for rural people, especially some older rural people, this is already a very satisfactory guarantee for their later years.

Going into town? Going upstairs?
Stop joking!

Lin Xiao finally understood the underlying logic and why, despite such a good policy and the houses in the town being given away for free, no one wanted them!

"Therefore, the county disregarded the general policy of merging villages and towns and forcibly expanded the requirement of 100 registered households to 200 permanent residents. On the one hand, this would allow more villagers to move to the town according to the policy, so that more houses could be built and more funds could be allocated. Yu Yaojun and the county finance could both benefit from this."

Lin Xiao guessed with a serious expression, "On the other hand, the relocation of a large number of villagers to the town will inevitably lead to a large number of vacant orchards, which can be rented out to earn a considerable amount of rent. Large-scale, technologically advanced fruit cultivation can also improve the quality rate of fruit trees, without affecting economic output. Ideally, it can even effectively improve economic indicators... Am I right?"

When the matter was mentioned, Ge Tao couldn't help but look alarmed.

"Mayor, I dare not speak carelessly about that. My rank is too low; I have no idea what the higher-ups are thinking..."

Although he waved his hand repeatedly, his eyes were full of affirmation.

Lin Xiao knew he had guessed correctly.

From the perspective of the county and town, merging villages and towns is indeed a good policy. It can promote the transformation of agriculture in Mashan County from small-scale farming to intensive agriculture, and introduce large agricultural companies with strong financial resources to take over the orange and tangerine planting industry in Xingguang Town.

The presence of businesses can not only effectively control the yield of high-quality fruit, but also guarantee sales channels and even provide some employment opportunities for villagers.

This way.

Villagers can earn money by renting out their orchards and also earn money by working in the orchards. Their income is stable and not necessarily worse than running their own orchards.

From this perspective, bringing together scattered villagers in the town is indeed a good policy.

But here's the thing.

Businesses are there to make money, not to do charity.

Xingguang Town is located in a mountainous area, and although there is a road, transportation is not convenient.

Given this natural environment, companies will definitely offer the lowest possible contract price for orchards, and the wages they pay to workers will certainly not be high either.

Moreover, such large-scale planting does not require a large number of workers. Generally, a large number of workers are needed only during harvesting, while a very small number of workers are sufficient to maintain the normal operation of the orchard.

This way.

Even though Xingguang Town has little land and a small population, the even smaller labor needs of contractors still cause a large number of villagers who have moved into apartments to lose their jobs.

Who will solve this problem?
There's no one else available, so the villagers have to deal with it themselves!

These villagers are all getting old, so it's impractical for them to go out to work. They don't feel a sense of belonging living in the town, and their wallets haven't really gotten fuller.

It's like all that work was for nothing, no wonder nobody wants to move.

Once Lin Xiao sorted out these thoughts, he realized that when the county was formulating policies, all they were considering was how to quickly improve economic data, how to promote the so-called new agricultural reform as soon as possible, and how to increase the urbanization rate of the county.

As for other shady thoughts, there's no way I can talk about them.

Lin Xiao was certain that the leaders had not taken into account the individual thoughts and needs of the villagers, nor did they care whether the villagers wanted to go to the town or whether they were happy living in the commercial housing.

(End of this chapter)