In name only: I will break the chess game in Handong!

Understanding the true living conditions of ordinary people is a rare privilege for high-ranking officials like Chen Luo.

After all, some people stay in the atmosphere for too long and then stop looking down to observe the earth... or they see it but pretend they don't!

There aren't many young people in this village; most of them have left their hometowns to work elsewhere, leaving behind mostly elderly people and children.

Chen Luo and the others visited and investigated, and found that a lot of land had been abandoned and was still being cultivated, except for some private plots near the front and back of houses. This phenomenon was the same all over the country.

Professional staff accompanied them in the fields, measuring the soil's pH level, pollution levels, and so on. Meanwhile, Chen Luo and Secretary Yue Chi led the others to a farmer's house.

The house was made of stone, with a tiled roof. The yard was unpaved, just firm mud where a few hens roamed freely. When Chen Luo and Yue Chi arrived in the yard, the accompanying staff understood without being told and gently knocked on the wooden door.

Is anyone home?

The wooden door was slowly opened after being called three times. An elderly woman with a limp in her left leg opened the door, followed by a little girl who looked to be about seven or eight years old.

The old lady looked bewildered and anxious. She unconsciously tensed up as she looked at Chen Luo and his group, and instinctively blocked the entrance, showing great vigilance.

Secretary Yuechi smiled and tried to make his expression as amiable as possible as he stepped forward and said, "Sister, we are from the government. We've come to see if you have any difficulties in your life. Don't be afraid, we are not bad people."

Yue Chi is sixty years old after all, with a full head of white hair, so it's perfectly acceptable for him to call the old lady "elder sister".

Upon hearing this, the old lady, still somewhat doubtful, pulled the little girl aside to clear the way for the entrance.

"Are you all government officials?"

The old lady asked casually, and Secretary Yuechi nodded, "Yes! We are all cadres! We are all Party members!"

Only a few people entered the room, as it was cramped. There were only five people: Chen Luo, Secretary Yue Chi, Mei Xiaoge, Ai Xianzhi, and the Deputy Secretary of the Luzhou Municipal Party Committee.

The other staff members waited in the courtyard.

Upon entering the house, there was a musty smell in the air.

Secretary Yuechi asked the old lady in a calm tone, while Chen Luo smiled and took out a lollipop from his pocket, tore open the wrapper, and handed it to the little girl in front of him.

This lollipop was given to Chen Luo by Chen Zhengxi in his pocket before he came to Beiyue.

"Girl, what's your name? How old are you?"

The little girl looked at Chen Luo warily, but seeing the unusual gentleness in his gaze, she finally replied, "My name is Lin Xiaojun, and I'll be eleven years old soon!"

Hearing this, Chen Luo felt a pang of sadness. This girl was about the same age as his daughter, but she looked like she was only six or seven years old, probably only as tall as Chen Zhengxi's chin.

Chen Luo sighed inwardly, then took the little girl's hand in his, her little hand slightly dirty.

Besides some old dirt, there were also scabs and wounds on his fingers, clearly from work injuries.

At this time, Secretary Yuechi also started talking to the old lady about Lin Xiaojun's parents.

"Grandma, where are your granddaughter's parents?"

Mentioning this old man brings tears to my eyes.

"They're not coming back... The villagers all said they went to work in Southeast Asia, but it's been six years and there's still no news. They're not coming back..."

This answer left Secretary Yuechi speechless for a moment.

"So how have you been making a living these past few years?"

"Farmers won't starve if they farm, but I feel sorry for my granddaughter. She's almost in sixth grade, and junior high school costs money. I really can't afford to send her to school..."

"What about the local government? What about the village? Did they not care? Didn't they even give you a poverty alleviation quota?"

Secretary Yuechi pressed for more information, but the old woman shook her head blankly and said, "The village secretary said we don't meet the requirements. He's very powerful, and I have nowhere to reason with him."

Upon hearing this, Secretary Yuechi's face instantly turned grim, while Mei Xiaoge and Ai Xianzhi, standing beside him, turned even paler. If the situation was true, then it was the responsibility of their local officials!

As expected, Secretary Yuechi's face had turned ashen.

"Sister, did your village's Party Secretary really say that?"

"Grandpa, the Party Secretary is so mean! A few days ago he said that the hens Grandma feeds are very authentic and he wanted to buy them for ten yuan. When Grandma refused to sell, the Party Secretary just threw down ten yuan, grabbed the hens, and left."

If the old lady's words only angered Yue Chi, then what the little girl Lin Xiaojun said was like adding fuel to the fire.

Once again, they've been humiliated in front of officials from other provinces. Secretary Yuechi is so angry he could kill someone!

She turned and gave Mei Xiaoge and Ai Xianzhi a cold look, then ordered, "What are you two standing there for? Bring that village secretary here. I want to ask him myself how he dared to do this! This is outrageous!"

Mei Xiaoge and Ai Xianzhi felt a jolt, then ran out of the house with two staff members to find the village party secretary.

After Mei Xiaoge and Ai Xianzhi left, the old lady was clearly frightened and said tremblingly, "Brother, why don't you just forget about it? The Party Secretary has a lot of influence, and the deputy mayor of the town is his brother-in-law. Don't get yourself into trouble."

Upon hearing this, Yue Chi suppressed his anger and smiled, "Big sister, don't be afraid. To tell you the truth, I'm a very high-ranking official. Don't think I'm just a deputy town mayor; even a vice governor would have to behave himself before me!"

Upon hearing this, the old lady rolled her eyes.

"Brother, we don't brag. Although I don't know many words, I do know a thing or two about how high a position a vice governor is—they're like celestial beings descended from heaven!"

Chen Luo then joked, "Secretary Yue, it seems the old man doesn't trust us. Old man, have you ever heard of the Provincial Party Secretary?"

"I've heard of him! He's the head of a province!"

"That's right! Secretary Yue is the Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee of your Beiyue Province, um, the third-highest-ranking official in Beiyue Province!"

It was obvious that the old lady didn't know what a deputy secretary was, but from what Chen Luo said, she knew that the other party was a very high-ranking official!

Secretary Yuechi glared at Chen Luo. Who describes someone like that? He's not a bandit, yet he calls himself a leader…

"Sister, I do hold a high-ranking position, but this young man next to me is no ordinary person either. He'll only rise higher and higher in the future; even a vice-governor won't have as much power as him!"

Chen Luo smiled and nodded; that was the truth.

The conversation veered off course, but that was fine, as it eased the old lady's anxiety.

Ten minutes later, Lin Xiaojun sat next to Chen Luo, and he was teasing the little girl.

"Girl, do you want to go to junior high, high school, or even university?"

"I want to! But Uncle, my family doesn't have any money..."

Lin Xiaojun's gaze gradually dimmed. She wasn't a two or three-year-old child anymore; she knew the importance of money.