Starting as a town mayor, he rose through the ranks.

Back in his office, Luo Zhiguo lit a cigarette and secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Despite his confident and authoritative demeanor in the conference room, he was actually quite nervous inside.

After all, he was just a young man in his twenties who had only been in the system for a few years.

Facing those seasoned veterans of the system all at once, it's hard not to feel apprehensive.

If he hadn't followed the county party secretary for a year and learned a lot of tricks, he probably wouldn't have had the ability to resist after arriving in Bohou Town.

"Boss! It's lunchtime. Would you like to go to the cafeteria, or should I get it for you here?"

Qiao Yan knocked on the door and came in, looking at him with a respectful expression as she asked.

In particular, the change in address from "town mayor" to "leader" indicates that she has made up her mind to side with Luo Zhiguo.

Seeing the change in her, Luo Zhiguo looked at her with a strange expression.

Thinking to myself that I was here to take the blame, although I now have some hope of helping the villagers solve the aloe vera problem.

But none of them were confident in getting rid of the blame, so she was so confident in relying on him.

"I'd better go downstairs to eat."

Although he didn't understand why Qiao Yan wanted to rely on him at this time, he wouldn't refuse since she had offered herself up.

Having someone on your side makes things easier; otherwise, you'd really be a commander without an army.

"I'll take you there."

Upon hearing this, Qiao Yan immediately spoke up.

Luo Zhiguo nodded, stood up, walked out of the office, and then headed downstairs.

Along the way, all the office staff would greet him respectfully when they saw him.

Although he was a scapegoat mayor, he displayed a strong presence.

Now no one dares to openly belittle him like they did yesterday, because He Li is the best example.

The canteen was not far from the Party and government office building. Soon, Qiao Yan brought him to the canteen, intending to take him to the second floor where the leaders ate.

But he didn't go up; he stayed on the first floor with the other office staff.

Then Qiao Yan offered to get him some food, but he refused and took the bowl and chopsticks that Qiao Yan had prepared for him to queue up for food.

"Mayor! You go first..."

On the first floor, when everyone saw that he was staying to eat, they immediately became reserved, and the originally noisy cafeteria became completely silent.

Then, when the people queuing for food saw him coming to join the queue, they all made way for him to go first.

"No need! I can just wait in line."

Luo Zhiguo smiled slightly, his demeanor completely different from his assertive nature, and waved to those who had given up their seats.

His action immediately won everyone's approval, but those who should give up their seats still had to do so, and no one dared to take his politeness seriously.

Finally, with no other option, Luo Zhiguo could only smile wryly as he went to get his food.

After getting his food, he casually walked over to two staff members and sat down beside them, with Qiao Yan also carrying her food.

The two men became extremely nervous as soon as they saw him sit down, and then they picked up their food and prepared to leave.

"I'm not a jackal or a tiger, why are you running away? Are you hiding something delicious that you don't want me to see...?"

Luo Zhiguo stopped the two from leaving and joked with them.

Hearing his words, the two who were about to leave couldn't help but laugh and were no longer so nervous.

After sitting down, one of them said with a smile, "Mayor! We didn't hide anything good to eat, but we brought some homemade pickled vegetables."

"This is a great accompaniment to rice!"

Looking at the pickled vegetables in front of the two men, Luo Zhigang couldn't help but smile and ask, "Could I have some?"

The two were taken aback when the town mayor asked them to eat the pickled vegetables they had brought. They were slightly surprised at first, but then quickly handed over the pickled vegetables in front of them.

Luo Zhiguo didn't stand on ceremony; he picked up a few pieces, put them in his bowl, and ate them with his rice.

"Mmm! It smells so good."

He ate while praising the food, a gesture that once again won the favor of everyone watching.

They were all ordinary office workers; usually, those leaders all acted arrogantly and superior.

They had never met a town mayor like Luo Zhiguo who was so approachable.

On the second floor, Fan Ming, Zhou Guan (the organization committee member), and Li Xiumei (the united front committee member) all saw this scene and couldn't help but show a hint of disdain in their eyes.

Clearly, they looked down on Luo Zhiguo's actions, because in their view, as leaders, they should be high and mighty.

You shouldn't be polite to ordinary staff members, otherwise it would lower your status.

"A country bumpkin is a country bumpkin; even if he wears a yellow robe, he can never be an emperor..."

Fan Ming sneered, his tone full of sarcasm.

Organization Committee member Zhou Guan nodded in agreement, then said with a sneer, "I heard that guy held a meeting this morning, talking about aloe vera with Lao Ye and the others. It seems like he's trying to make a last-ditch effort. He's really overestimating himself. He thinks he can solve the aloe vera problem in each village and get rid of the blame on himself..."

"It's understandable that young people are unwilling to take the blame..."

Beside her, United Front Work Committee member Li Xiumei smiled slightly and said.

Upon hearing this, a hint of contempt flashed in Fan Ming and Zhou Guan's eyes, because they simply did not believe that Luo Zhiguo could solve the aloe vera problem in each village.

"Let's see how that guy manages to turn the tide and solve the aloe vera problem in each village..."

Although Luo Zhiguo narrowly escaped disaster last night, Fan Ming and the other two still looked down on him.

Fan Ming sneered and made a sarcastic remark before walking towards the private room on the second floor.

After lunch, Luo Zhiguo returned to his office to rest for an hour, then gave Qiao Yan a few words of advice before riding his motorcycle alone to the countryside.

Although he arranged for Ye Hao, Ding Wei, and Yang Chen to go to the countryside to collect statistics on the aloe vera production in each village, he was still worried and prepared to personally go deep into each village to get a better understanding.

Bohou Town is a large town with more than 30 villages and a population of tens of thousands.

The first village he went to was called Xia Nan Village. The people who went to the town government compound yesterday to demand an explanation were from this village.

"Ugh! The road conditions here are still so bad..."

He had visited Bohou Town and villages with the county party secretary before. When he saw the potholed roads, the county party secretary even thought about repairing them for the villagers.

But unexpectedly, before the plan could even begin, he died in a car accident.

Now that Luo Zhiguo has seen this road again, he can't help but have some plans in mind.

However, they are struggling to even take care of themselves, so how could they possibly plan to build roads?

Let's focus on helping the villages solve their aloe vera problems first; thinking about other things now is pointless.

This road is not only full of potholes, but it's estimated that it would be impossible to ride a bike in it on a rainy day.

After a long and dusty journey, Luo Zhiguo almost threw up his lunch, but finally arrived at Xia Nan Village.

Looking at the low, tiled houses that filled the village, and remembering what Liu Ming had done, he felt even angrier.

I thought to myself, I really don't know how Liu Ming could bring himself to cheat those poor villagers. He has no conscience at all.