The young man scoffed, "He can even connect wires, what consequences could there be?" The middle-aged man, however, was already thinking, considering the group's tendency to commit mass suicide at the drop of a hat…

Wouldn't some tired old man deliberately get electrocuted and then have his family use a guarantee to extort money from him?

No, not a single word about the promises can be uttered!

At the other table, Ruan Xianxian was also adding fuel to the fire, poking Zhu Qing's forehead with the tip of her pen.

"Did you hear that? The leader is a good leader. After he signs it, take a picture of the guarantee and publish it in the newspaper!"

Zhu Qing: Here, take the pen!

The young man was about to speak when he was stopped by the middle-aged man, who was gritting his teeth. "It's just a line. Why sign a guarantee? That's making a mountain out of a molehill."

Hu Heshuo waved his hand and shook his head, "I don't have the knowledge in this area. I don't know if the repaired telephone line will affect its use or its lifespan."

Just consider me being petty.

Leader, since you've stepped in to mediate this matter, you should be prepared to bear the consequences.

You can't just make empty promises, take all the benefits and favors, and then expect the victim to bear the subsequent risks. That's just not fair anywhere.

The middle-aged man fell silent. He had been in the position for many years and had never seen such a difficult captain.

He didn't reject it outright, giving them face on the surface, and then set up another difficult problem!

No! The middle-aged man was startled. It wasn't a difficult problem; rather, all the difficult problems had been pushed onto him without his knowledge.

The other party seemed to have backed down, agreeing to a settlement as long as he vouched for them.

This person acted as guarantor, causing the Pingtou Brigade a loss, and it's obvious that they'll use this as an excuse to cause trouble...

At best, the brigade would cut the phone line every now and then and make him come and fix it; at worst, they would find a few elderly people nearing the end of their lives to deliberately electrocute themselves and make him take responsibility.

I would rather die than be a guarantor.

But when the news got back to his superiors, they wouldn't understand his difficulties; they would only see that he failed to do the job because he refused to act as a guarantor.

Unbeknownst to him, he was now on the hot seat of the fire, unable to escape.

Once you figure out the key points, middle-aged people will feel terrible.

His gloomy gaze swept over the still immature, impulsive young man beside him, who was embodying the Five Virtues and Four Beauties ideals. He composed himself and spoke with a smile.

“Okay, Captain Hu is very thoughtful. I’ll have Xiao Wang sign a guarantee with you, and the county office will take care of all the subsequent repairs.”

The young man named Xiao Wang's smile faded. He was somewhat reluctant to be the guarantor, but when he thought about how his contributions and name would be reported back to the higher-ups, his smile returned.

Hu Heshuo glanced at Ruan Xianxian with a meaningful look in his eyes, then nodded and said, "Okay, I'll write a written agreement. After you two have reviewed it and found no problems, please sign and stamp it."

Receiving a signal from the eyes, Ruan Xianxian began lecturing her nephew again, speaking very loudly: "Guarantor, write it down, write it down."

Zhu Qing glanced at her dejectedly and then said, "It's just a guarantor position. There's a word limit in the column. Are you sure you want to include it?"

Ruan Xianxian laughed, ostensibly instructing her nephew, but actually speaking to the young man, "You don't understand, do you? Who would dare to act as a guarantor without extraordinary abilities?"

If any problem arises with the telephone, such as an old, faulty circuit that electrocutes someone, the guarantor who signed the agreement would be held liable for the consequences.

Upon hearing this, the young man shuddered and considered backing out, but he had not yet fully realized the sinister intentions of the middle-aged man.

Zhu Qing rubbed her forehead, which was being repeatedly tapped by the pen tip, and glanced over there. "It's not that serious, is it? Auntie, are you thinking the worst of me?"

The words "aunt" slipped out of Zhu Qing's mouth, and he felt extremely aggrieved.

But after two months of hardship in the countryside, he had lost his arrogance and pride. In order to get a job at the new factory and to avoid the upcoming autumn harvest...

Auntie is fine, as long as his mother doesn't mind, he can call her ancestor.

"Good boy!" Ruan Xianxian had nothing to hide and directly used middle-aged people as examples.

"If there were absolutely no risk, why wouldn't that shrewd-looking middle-aged man sign it himself? Why send a young guy to take the blame?"

He took the lion's share of the credit, while the fool took all the risks. When you enter the workforce, stay away from people who seem to value you highly; it's all a trap.

Zhu Qing put down his pen, clasped his hands in a strange gesture, and said, "I've learned a lot."

On the other side, the young man's face changed completely. He almost slammed his fist on the table and stood up, but he held back. If he couldn't understand what was being said, he would really be a fool.

Besides his anger, there was also some hurt in his eyes. After working together for so long, Uncle Chen had treated him like a son or nephew.

To encourage him to put in the effort, his parents gave him many benefits and support.

It's no wonder you feel terrible to be betrayed by someone you consider an elder.

The young man clearly had a powerful background and confidence. Without saying a word, he got up and left. After walking to the door, he turned back and took a deep look at Ruan Xianxian, who was happily tapping his nephew's forehead.

He seemed to want to say something... His lips twitched, but he left without uttering a word.

The middle-aged man panicked and got up to chase after him, calling out, "Xiao Wang, where are you going? Wait a minute, let's go together."

We can't just let him go like that. Although the other party's father isn't my direct superior, he and his superior are childhood friends who grew up together.

The other person paused, a sarcastic smile curving his lips. "Uncle Chen, what's the rush? Let's finish signing the guarantee before we go back."

I will tell my parents everything that happened today when I get home.

The middle-aged man's legs buckled, and he nearly collapsed to the ground. That was it.

He turned around, his fierce gaze fixed on Ruan Xianxian, "Are you satisfied?"

"How could that be?" Ruan Xianxian looked back without fear, a mocking smile curving her lips.

"How could I be satisfied if I didn't see you ostracized by your colleagues, marginalized by your boss, and ultimately suffer a miserable end due to your insatiable greed?"

Only after the middle-aged man walked away with heavy steps did Hu Heshuo breathe a sigh of relief. "Two thousand yuan, is that all?"

The money hasn't even arrived yet, but the distribution has already been planned.

Except for the Hu family, every family in the village received fifty yuan.

Please ask this ancestor to come out of seclusion and help, two hundred yuan.

I've learned the essence of Ruan Xianxian's way of dealing with people: there are no permanent enemies, only permanent interests.

He used shared interests to closely connect himself with the villagers.

“This is still missing.” Ruan Xianxian slapped the unedited first draft written by Zhu Qing onto Hu Heshuo’s chipped desk, which the latter read quickly.

Goodness! Hu Heshuo exclaimed after reading the entire manuscript.

Taking an observer's perspective, focusing on the cause, process, and result, and praising the county official as the central theme, it seems fine at first glance, but upon closer inspection, it is full of satire.

I can't even imagine how much criticism the county official will receive if such an article is published.

She put the manuscript away, waved to Hu Heshuo, and said, "I'm taking him with me. My nephew will be working at the new factory from now on."

Only after the two disappeared from the brigade office did Xiang Hongjun enter through the back door. "Is everything resolved?"

"Hmm! That's about it. After this battle, none of those bastards in the county will dare to come to the countryside and provoke our village's big tiger again."

Hu Heshuo: "I still don't quite understand why Xiao Ruan deliberately stirs up hatred at every turn, when she clearly has more gentle methods?"