"Miss Cheng, you have quite an imagination."
Chen Feng replied with a relaxed smile.
"Chen Feng, this matter is so serious, and you're still in the mood to laugh? What I mean is, why don't we let Deputy Mayor Hong handle this? It's widely acknowledged that rural affairs are difficult to execute successfully. If the Lotus Town Science and Hardware City project fails, no one will blame you."
Cheng Lu advised Chen Feng.
"Miss Cheng, you are correct. Doing things in rural areas is indeed difficult. This is because, compared to cities, there are still differences in the overall quality of people in rural areas. However, it's alright. We cannot only look at the disadvantages but also the advantages."
Chen Feng explained calmly.
"The advantages of doing things in rural areas? What do you mean?"
"Although rural folks like to get small advantages and are a bit difficult to deal with, on the other hand, rural people are timid, which makes things easier to manage. Alright, they're about to arrive, I need to make a call to the Lotus Town Police Station."
After speaking, Chen Feng directly called the Lotus Town Police Station.
As soon as the call ended, a large group of farmers crowded into Chen Feng's office.
"Deputy Mayor Chen, we are all of the opinion that the compensation for the graves is too low, and the compensation standard must be raised."
They stated directly.
"Then how much do you plan to increase it by?"
Chen Feng asked tentatively.
If the increase in standards wasn't too high, they wouldn't need to escalate the matter.
In the political arena, unless absolutely necessary, it's generally best to avoid escalating matters.
It wasn't that big matters couldn't be handled, it was just that there was no need.
The political arena is similar to the business world; harmony is the mainstream.
There's no need to be overly aggressive and decisive from the outset!
"More than triple."
The group, with their mouths wide open, stated.
Chen Feng immediately decided that if the compensation was to be increased by more than triple, this matter could only be handled on a larger scale.
If they continued to try and downplay the situation, there would only be one outcome: their scheme would succeed. The cost of the Lotus Town Science and Hardware City project would skyrocket, ultimately leading to its bankruptcy.
"You can go back now."
Chen Feng said calmly.
"What do you mean?"
The group was confused by Chen Feng's calm response.
"The meaning is very simple; compensation of more than triple is absolutely impossible. To be honest, originally, because you are relocating graves, the standards are higher than ordinary land expropriation compensation. If you are still not satisfied and want to ask for the moon, then there's nothing we can do, this matter cannot be handled. Either you go back quickly and pretend this never happened, or you wait, and the police will be here soon."
Chen Feng replied calmly.
"Deputy Mayor Chen, what do you mean? Are you threatening us?"
The group roared.
"It's not a threat, I'm just asking the police to come and mediate. The contract has been signed, does it have legal effect? Can it be arbitrarily broken?"
Chen Feng said, word by word.
"Deputy Mayor Chen, don't try to scare us with the police. There are so many of us here today, how many police officers can come? One? Two? Hahaha..."
The group said with disdainful smiles.
Cheng Lu, standing by, couldn't help but feel a pang of anxiety for Chen Feng. These villagers were indeed as stubborn as pigs that feared boiling water.
"Chen Feng, as you can see, these villagers are not to be trifled with. Forget it, let's ask Deputy Mayor Hong to handle this matter,"
Cheng Lu quietly said to Chen Feng at the first opportunity.
"Miss Cheng, don't worry. The police will be here soon."
Chen Feng comforted Cheng Lu.
"I know the police are coming soon, but how many police officers does the Lotus Town Police Station have, and how many troublemaking farmers are there on site?"
Cheng Lu asked with concern.
"Miss Cheng, you still don't believe me. Since I knew a group of people would come to cause trouble, I would naturally ask the Lotus Town Police Station to send more people. I've already WeChat transferred the money for the extra personnel,"
Chen Feng comforted Cheng Lu.
"But the problem is, the number of police officers at the Lotus Town Police Station is fixed, it's not like you can just add more if you want,"
Cheng Lu countered with confusion.
"The number of officially registered police officers is indeed small. After all, the Lotus Town Police Station is just a township-level police station. However, in emergencies, auxiliary police can be hired. There are monthly hired auxiliary police and daily hired auxiliary police."
Cheng Lu understood after Chen Feng's explanation.
So, Cheng Lu helped Chen Feng stall for time with these villagers.
After half an hour, the police arrived. As Chen Feng had predicted, there were only one or two officially registered officers, and the rest were auxiliary police.
Seeing this, the farmers exclaimed, "My goodness, what's going on? Why are there more police officers than us?"
"Everyone, listen to Deputy Mayor Chen and go back quickly. Stop causing trouble. I've reviewed your grave compensation standards, and they are much higher than in the neighboring town. You should be content. If you continue to cause trouble, we will arrest you legally and rightfully."
The police said sternly to the crowd.
"What if we don't leave?"
The group provocatively challenged the police.
"If you don't leave, there's no problem, we'll arrest you directly for provoking trouble."
"If you dare to arrest us arbitrarily, we'll petition!"
The group continued to be defiant.
"You can. Anyway, we have valid reasons. If you want to petition, go ahead. No one will agree with you trying to rip off the country with such exorbitant demands."
With that, the police signaled the auxiliary police to bring out the handcuffs.
Seeing that the police were serious, the group panicked.
"Hold on, we won't cause trouble, we won't make outrageous demands, we just want to cancel the contract. That should be fine, right?"
The group changed their strategy. Since force wouldn't work, they would try a softer, more cunning approach.
The police were momentarily taken aback.
Canceling a contract seemed not to be illegal.
"If you want to cancel the contract, we police can't manage it. Deputy Mayor Chen is right here, ask him if you can cancel the contract."
The police passed the buck to Chen Feng.
"Everyone, you can cancel the contract, but you will have to pay a breach of contract fee. As long as you pay the breach of contract fee, you can cancel the contract."
Chen Feng replied seriously.
"Why do we have to pay a breach of contract fee?"
The group was bewildered.
"This is a society of law and civilization. Everything is agreed upon in black and white. Whoever violates it has to pay, it's quite normal."
"What if we don't have the money to pay?"
The group intentionally asked Chen Feng.
"If you don't have the money to pay, then you can't cancel the contract. If you force the cancellation of the contract, then it depends on whether the police agree. If they agree, the Lotus Town government has no objection."
Upon hearing this, the group's arrogance vanished.
They had initially thought that because Chen Feng was young, they could bully him with impunity. However, they hadn't expected that although he wasn't very old, his mind was exceptionally sharp, and he had silenced them with a few words.
"Deputy Mayor Chen, you're bullying the common people like this. Aren't you afraid I'll expose you?"
From among the group, a middle-aged man wearing glasses stepped forward.
Chen Feng recognized this bespectacled middle-aged man; it was Xiao Bo, the owner of the stone factory in Lotus Town.
This time, due to Xiao Bo's high bid for stone, the Science and Hardware City project had procured stone from another town. Xiao Bo harbored a grudge and had been opposing Chen Feng at every turn.
"Factory Director Xiao, tell me, how exactly have I been bullying the common people?"
Chen Feng questioned Xiao Bo calmly.
Unburdened by guilt, unafraid of anyone's threats!