"This... isn't this inappropriate?" Liu Dagu exclaimed in shock. This woman doesn't play by the rules. In this ancient town, nine out of ten households are poor. If these things get exposed, that would mean dereliction of duty for him.

"There's nothing wrong with it." Tang Yumeng smiled and said, "Officials and citizens are all one family."

In the end, at Tang Yumeng's strong insistence, a local household was visited. The household had a small courtyard, and the arrival of these government officials terrified the family. The head of the household was a middle-aged man, an honest and simple farmer. Hearing that the city Secretary and other officials had come, he was struck with fear.

While Tang Yumeng and Song Ming were visiting the farmer's house, Liu Dagu found the middle-aged man.

"Go, just kill a few chickens and get a sheep," Liu Dagu glared at the middle-aged man. He naturally wanted to prepare a good Chinese meal so as to show that the area under his jurisdiction was economically prosperous.

"We don't have sheep..." the honest and simple man panicked: "We only have two hens that lay eggs, two pigs in the pigsty, and one ox for tilling the fields."

"Then kill the two hens, and pick one of the fat pigs to slaughter," Liu Dagu hurriedly instructed, "Quickly, don't keep Secretary Tang waiting."

"Yes, yes!" the honest and simple man quickly nodded.

Lin Chuan witnessed this scene clearly.

In the backyard, the anxious wife looked at the farmer and said, "Head of the household, this pig was saved for our child's school fees. We cannot kill it."

"What can I do?" the farmer bit his pipe and angrily said, "If we don't host these people well, we'll be the ones suffering later."

"Wow..." the wife burst into tears, "We can't live like this anymore."

"Goodness," the farmer sighed, stood up, and walked toward the pigsty.

Butchering a pig or sheep is a very solemn and joyous occasion in the countryside. However, the pig being slaughtered by the farmer's household brought immense heartache, and the wife helped while wiping her tears.

Soon, this two hundred-pound fat pig was thus slaughtered, with boiling water prepared, fur shaved, and the body opened.

Liu Dagu specifically invited Tang Yumeng and the group to a restaurant.

"Secretary Tang, Deputy Secretary Song, you really came at a good time," Liu Dagu said with a beaming smile, "It just so happens that this farm family had to slaughter a pig, we also get to taste some local pork."

"Is that so?" Song Ming nodded and said, "Not bad at all, look at this pig, it's really fat."

"Haha..." Liu Dagu laughed heartily.

However, Tang Yumeng was skeptical; it wasn't even the end of the year, so why slaughter a pig? Although Tang Yumeng wasn't from a rural area, she understood some things about rural life, especially since taking office, she had thoroughly studied rural customs.

The farmer stood by silently.

At that moment, Lin Chuan walked over and handed the farmer a cigarette, smiling, "Uncle, how old is your child?"

The farmer was pleasantly surprised as he accepted Lin Chuan's cigarette. Seeing Lin Chuan's attire, he felt a deep affinity, and smiled, "The kid's at university."

"Which university?" Lin Chuan asked curiously.

Shanghai Fudan University," the farmer replied, his tone carrying a sense of pride.

"Fudan, huh? The tuition isn't cheap," Lin Chuan smiled, "It's over ten thousand a year, how is your usual income?"

"Ah..." the farmer took a drag of his cigarette, speaking dejectedly, "We were relying on these two pigs to gather most of the tuition. We were also hoping to sell them for a good price at the end of the year..."

Liu Dagu's expression turned ugly, and his mouth twitched.

"Then why did you have to kill this pig?" Tang Yumeng asked, puzzled.

"Hmph..." the farmer hummed softly, keeping his head down as he continued working, clearly lacking the courage to say it outright.

"Secretary Tang, please come inside, come inside!" Liu Dagu hurriedly interrupted Tang Yumeng's further inquiries, deliberately diverting her by changing the topic: "Regarding the construction of tourist attractions in Xiaotang Town, we still have many questions to ask you, after all, you are a doctor who returned from overseas, far more theoretically and experientially rich than us."

Thus, Tang Yumeng was ushered inside by Liu Dagu. The group followed into the house, leaving only Lin Chuan and the farmer and his wife in the backyard.

"Young man, to be honest with you, we are just ordinary folks, how dare we offend them," the farmer clenched his teeth, it appeared he truly considered Lin Chuan a confidant.

"One who does not work for themselves will be doomed by heaven and earth." Lin Chuan laughed and said, "The character for 'official' is quite illustrative; it has two mouths, the upper mouth is the government official's, the lower mouth is the common people's. Only when the officials have eaten their fill can we commoners get a bite to eat."

"Haha..." The farmer laughed heartily, saying, "Well said, well said indeed."

After chatting for a while, the pig was ready. Liu Dagu specifically wanted the best piece of ribs, and the farmer dared not cheat, cutting the best piece from the pig and handing it to his daughter-in-law. At this point, Lin Chuan took out a few red banknotes from his pocket and handed them to the farmer: "Uncle, life is not easy for you, consider this thousand yuan as a subsidy from the government."

"That shouldn't be!" The farmer hurriedly declined.

"Just take it." Lin Chuan smiled, "This thousand yuan isn't even enough to buy your pig."

"No worries, I'll sell the remaining meat at the market and make some profit," the farmer chuckled.

"That still won't cover it fully." Lin Chuan stuffed the money into his hand and walked away without looking back.

Holding the stack of money, the farmer felt deeply touched, his eyes moistened. After a long while, he put away the thousand yuan and, watching Lin Chuan's departing figure, he sighed: "In this world, there are still many good people."

In the front yard of the farmhouse, people crowded around an eight-immortals table. Tang Yumeng took a seat, with Vice Secretary Song Ming to her right. Liu Dagu, who admired Tang Yumeng, squeezed himself tightly to her left, taking care of her warmly and occasionally taking advantage of serving tea and water to make advances.

Tang Yumeng was anxious, with a sly fox on her right and a lecherous wolf on her left, feeling somewhat helpless.

Suddenly, Tang Yumeng saw Lin Chuan coming out of the hall with a cigarette in his mouth.

"Lin Chuan." Tang Yumeng's eyes brightened.

"Huh?" Lin Chuan was startled and said, "Secretary Tang, what can I do for you?"

"Come, sit here," Tang Yumeng pointed at Liu Dagu's spot.

Flushed, Liu Dagu turned to glance at Lin Chuan, lowered his head and said nothing, curious to see if Lin Chuan would dare to supplant him without moving himself. Vice Secretary Song watched the situation with a smile, as if it had nothing to do with him.

Once Lin Chuan sized up the situation, he confidently walked over and said with a smooth grin, "Oh, Secretary Tang, thank you for your kindness."

That slick tone both endeared and annoyed Tang Yumeng.

Lin Chuan indeed walked over, but Liu Dagu continued drinking his tea, unwilling to move.

"Secretary Liu, it seems your jade necklace has been left in the backyard," Lin Chuan said with a smile.

At this, Liu Dagu's face changed color. He felt his pockets, and indeed found it missing. He hurried towards the backyard. Lin Chuan smoothly took his place. As Liu Dagu was about to step out, Lin Chuan quickly called out, "Secretary Liu, I forgot to tell you, I picked it up for you."

Lin Chuan lifted up the string of jade beads belonging to Liu Dagu, heavy and translucent under the sunlight, clearly a premium jade of top quality. Seeing this, Liu Dagu's expression darkened.

Tang Yumeng's eyes lit up with joy; previously not knowing much about Lin Chuan, now she had a preliminary understanding of him. Not only was he physically formidable, but his intellect also excelled, brave and tactful, skilled in both letters and arms, showing extraordinary courage.

After Lin Chuan took his seat, he playfully winked at Tang Yumeng, which amused her greatly. She bit her red lip, trying her best not to laugh out loud.

Soon, the farmer's wife served a series of delicious home-cooked dishes, all organic vegetables and homemade pork. The dish, spicy pepper fried pork, had everyone's stomach rumbling. Everyone couldn't help but inhale deeply, their eyes glowing with hunger.

"Time to eat, I'm starving," said the plump Liu Dagu, can't stand hunger.

The farmer's wife brought out a big basket of rice, and Liu Dagu filled a large bowl and started eating noisily beside them. The way he ate was indeed quite scary. After devouring a large bowl and filling his stomach, he chuckled and said, "Secretary Tang, shall we have some wine?"

"I am here to inspect the work, not to drink," Tang Yumeng emphatically declined.

"Right, right, inspection work should not involve drinking," Vice Secretary Song nodded, saying, "We should indeed adhere to some work principles."

After a full meal, the group made their farewells to the farm family. They needed to return to the county committee building to continue discussing work in the afternoon. On the way back, Tang Yumeng asked, "Secretary Liu, which company is investing in this project?"

"Japan Zhu's Company," Liu Dagu said excitedly, "Zhu's Company is wealthy, ready to invest thirty billion to build a tourist attraction here. This time, I will make sure to secure this investment, no matter what."

Tang Yumeng was startled, while Lin Chuan, walking behind, frowned, "How can we let the Japanese invest here?"

"Why not?" Liu Dagu asked puzzled, "Aren't we advocating Sino-Japanese friendship now?"

"That's fine," Tang Yumeng nodded, "As long as there are no unreasonable demands, and it's based on principles of equality and fairness, we welcome Japanese investment. But, don't you find it suspicious that someone is willing to invest thirty billion in Xiaotang Town?"

"Oh, if they are foolish with their money, we are happy to take it," Liu Dagu laughed, in fact, he was very eager to land this project. Securing it would not only bring prestige to himself but would also look great on his political record.

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