The arrogance the village chief had shown earlier was completely gone now.
“Look at the situation we’re in… what are we supposed to do?” he asked, his face heavy with worry.
His son was currently in college—a time when money was tight. His family owned a large plot of land, and their relocation compensation had totaled over three million.
Honestly, he had been satisfied with that amount. Once his son graduated and got a job, he planned to buy him an apartment outright in the city so he could settle down and start a family. There would even be enough left to buy a place in the county for himself and his wife to retire in comfort.
But then, late last night, the project lead had knocked on his door and convinced him—and several other village leaders—to rally everyone into demanding more money.
The logic was simple: with so many villagers on their side, if they stirred up trouble after signing the contracts and receiving the payouts, RC Corporation—facing construction deadlines—would
