"Think about it," Zhou's father said angrily, "Don't call him by his first name. We still have to have basic courtesy."

"Okay, I'll listen to my dad."

Originally, Zhou Xiang wanted to find out how Xia Cuilan negotiated with her cousin after she returned, but a new rural construction inspection team came from the province, disrupting her leisurely days of watching the show.

The inspection team is composed of the Provincial Agriculture Bureau, the Provincial Party Committee Office, and the Municipal New Rural Construction Leading Group Office, referred to as the New Village Office.

After the delegation arrived at the town government, Mayor Zhang led them to visit three streets in the town and the South Street project under construction.

Then, Zhou Xiang, the person who worked behind the scenes, was invited, and Ling Ran naturally followed to protect his wife.

Hearing all the official nonsense, Zhou Xiang yawned continuously.

"Miss Zhou, I heard that you not only invested in the town, but also in Huai County."

The provincial office leader's words frightened Zhou Xiang, who was halfway through a yawn, to the point of nearly dislocating his jaw.

She raised her hand to push her chin, pressed her cheeks, and when the pain subsided, she replied, "Investment? Investments must have returns. Now that you've heard about it, you should know that the money I deposited in the bank is interest-free, including the loan from the county government."

The leader felt a little embarrassed because his words almost scared Zhou Xiang's jaw off, so he didn't care about Zhou Xiang's impoliteness and even made a joke, "There are also failures in investment."

"So do you think the market town is a failure? If so, you wouldn't be in this remote town, would you?"

"Hahaha," the leader laughed and stood up. "When I came here, someone reminded me to be careful with my words to avoid being criticized."

Zhou Xiang wasn't curious enough to ask further questions. He pretended to continue admiring the mess of the demolished house.

"Haha," the leader touched his nose awkwardly, "Aren't you curious?"

"Not curious." Curiosity kills the cat. Because of her honor, no one in the country would provoke her directly, and she is not afraid of people provoking her behind her back.

"Ahem," the leader choked back his words and changed his target, "Ling Ran, are you from the class of 1986?"

"Yes." Ling Ran nodded and squinted his eyes to look at the leader. He was about 41 or 42 years old, of medium build, slightly fat, and had an ordinary appearance.

"I'm from the class of '81," the leader continued, "Old Tang wasn't even the team leader at that time."

Ling Ran just glanced at him and didn't say anything else.

Zhou Xiang guessed that the person the leader just mentioned was Tang Ganwen, "Leader, I don't have any money."

The leader choked. He was used to beating around the bush in official circles, so he was a little uncomfortable with such directness. "Ahem, ahem, that's definitely not what I meant."

"That's good."

The leader choked again.

Someone from the Municipal New Village Office quickly came over to help. "We called Miss Zhou here to ask her to assess whether the new rural construction in Xuzhen can all be built according to the four-story villas in Xuzhen."

"It's expensive," Zhou Xiang offered only one opinion, then added, "Neighbors and brothers alike are not easy to manage the relationship between upper and lower classes."

"So, Miss Zhou, do you mean ordinary buildings? Like the buildings on both sides of this street?"

"I didn't say that," Zhou Xiang shook his head. "That's just my personal opinion. You should listen to the villagers and analyze the interests involved for them."

He kicked the ball back slipperily, and the people from the city's new village office looked a little embarrassed.

Mayor Zhang could only come on stage to explain the original intention of the four-story villa and how much effort their government had put in to resolve the conflict between upper and lower class living relationships.

People from the city's new village office nodded repeatedly and praised Mayor Zhang for his good work.

The topic shifted away from Zhou Xiang, who breathed a sigh of relief and continued yawning.

At noon, Zhou wanted to say goodbye and go home. He would rather go back and stare blankly than face these insincere people.

I thought I had escaped, but who knew these people were so perseverant and came to inspect every day. After accompanying them twice, Zhou Xiang used the excuse of being busy to decline the invitation.

After a weekend, the delegation saw the bustle of the market town before leaving. I don’t know how they reached an agreement with Mayor Zhang, but three days later, people from the county’s new village office went to visit each village with the town government to listen to public opinion.

Then, Mayor Zhang came to Zhou Xiang with a stack of investigation materials.

"So?" Zhou Xiang didn't look at the pile of documents, but only at Zhang Shanbiao. "Those villagers and you are planning to use morality to kidnap me? You should know the consequences of greed. Don't force me to go to the bank to withdraw all the funds, including the county's debts."

"No, no," Zhang Shanbiao waved his hands repeatedly. "This is just a public opinion survey of the villagers. We've analyzed the costs, but the villagers said that building a house is a lifelong undertaking, and if the buildings in the new countryside are different from those in the market town, it will expose the gap between the rich and the poor, which is not a good look. So they are willing to overcome all kinds of difficulties and take on more debt just to be on par with the market town."

"That has nothing to do with me, right?" Zhou Xiang remained unmoved. "If you have any problems, go to the new village office. At worst, the town and county governments have the financial resources to solve this problem. You're using a chicken to lay eggs, and now you're holding the chicken in your hands. I'm already regretting it."

Zhang Shanbiao hurriedly left with the information. Zhou Xiang was already impatient, so he decided to solve the problem himself!

Soon, the Xuzhen Town Government issued a notice regarding the construction of a new countryside:

All rural areas with inconvenient transportation around the market town were relocated to roadside locations and built according to the market town's four-story villa standards. A four-story villa is designed to accommodate two households, with upper and lower occupants freely agreed upon. Once determined, it cannot be changed. A single household is also permitted to purchase the entire lot. This is the maximum amount of excess space each household is allowed to purchase. However, the additional space must be paid in full upfront; otherwise, the purchase will be ineligible.

The announcement brought cheers from surrounding rural communities, but also pressure. Who wouldn't want to overpurchase? How dazzling is a single-family villa? However, the requirement to pay the full, one-time payment for the overpurchased space dampened the enthusiasm of most farmers.

The original cost of a villa is 20% higher than that of an ordinary building. The low-interest loan from the bank is enough for the whole family to pay it back for several years, not to mention paying the full amount in advance. It seems like a good benefit, but I don’t have enough money. I want to borrow some from relatives and friends, but then I think of my relatives and friends who are all in the process of demolition and relocation, so I give up the idea. Fortunately, the villas in the new countryside are much larger than those in the market town, and two floors are enough to live in.

Zhou Xiang and Ling Ran found Guan Bo at the food court stall on the first floor. "Godfather, Guanjia Village is going to be demolished and rebuilt. Do you have enough money? Aren't you planning to buy a four-story building?"

"That's enough." Guan Bo had enough money to pay the down payment for the basic area of ​​the overpurchased area, so he didn't need his goddaughter's help.

Zhou Xiang, however, forced a bank card into his hand and said, "Here's only 200,000 yuan. Consider it as a down payment for my godfather."

Guan Botto couldn't refuse, and thinking that he would leave the house to his goddaughter after he passed away, he accepted it.