Chapter 472: Future Plans

Mai Hangyu made a phone call, chatted a couple sentences, and happily said, "Brother An, Mayor Xi hasn't left yet."

I told Chen Zhuren you were coming.

Mayor Xi happened to hear that and asked if you have time, wanting to meet you.

Wu An said, "Whether I'm free or not, I have to go meet him."

Hurry up.

Don't ride your motorcycle, it's loud like a hooligan on the street.

Mai Hangyu responded, happened to have an empty tricycle, and the two of them, bringing Li Xin, headed straight for the Village Committee.

Arriving at the Village Committee of Zhenzhongcun.

Wu An knocked on the door.

Chen Zhuren came to open the door.

Wu An spoke first: "Chen Zhuren, sorry I'm late, thanks for waiting."

Chen Zhuren shook his head, welcoming him inside.

Inside there was no one else, just a man with a square face—obviously that Leader Xi.

Chen Zhuren made mutual introductions.

This time Wu An didn't rush to speak.

Xi Lianghong extended his hand and said, "I've heard many people praise you; upon seeing you, you truly are a promising young talent."

Wu An also extended his hand, saying, "Thank you, Leader, for the praise."

Xi Lianghong waved his hand: "Sit down and chat; I want to hear about your homestay project."

Wu An looked toward Chen Zhuren.

Chen Zhuren said, "I merely introduced some basic circumstances."

Wu An nodded and said, "I once got into college, went out, know what the outside world is like; now back in my hometown, I've always wanted to start a career."

"First, I became a fisherman, luck was good, I earned a sum of money."

"This first pot of gold, I invested in the homestay."

"Leader, Chen Zhuren, we're all locals; I say our place has great mountains, sea, and scenery—this isn't bragging, is it?"

Xi Lianghong and Chen Zhuren nodded in deep agreement.

Wu An continued, "I think future tourism will be a boon; our scenery, old houses, even this alley with several hundred years of history are highlights. Coincidentally, I learned someone in the village wants to sell an old house, and after further cooperation with the village, we created the current homestay project."

Xi Lianghong looked seriously at Wu An, after a moment said, "So you mean the project's funds are all your own earnings?"

Wu An nodded and said, "The startup funds were mine; later I met several bosses from our town who thought highly of it and also invested some money."

"Actually, I'm not short of money."

"Leader, I'm not hiding it—I go out to sea fishing and still make good money; in just a few months I've secured a roughly ten-meter fishing boat, and at the shipyard there's a twenty-six-meter fishing boat that will be launched next month."

"As the saying goes, a hero needs three helpers; relying solely on myself, even with money I might not succeed, but with their involvement the project can develop better."

"Leader, what do you say?"

Xi Lianghong nodded and sighed, "That's not bad; to have such thoughts at a young age is truly rare, truly rare."

Chen Zhuren also nodded vigorously, saying, "Mayor Xi, this young man A An, I'm convinced."

"Quick-witted, hardworking, capable—I say it's a good thing he didn't go develop in the big city; otherwise our town would have suffered a huge loss."

"At first."

"He was not optimistic about Wu An."

"Other cadres in the village thought the same; bluntly, they just wanted to take advantage, fix the village roads, gain some benefits, and wait to watch the spectacle."

"As a result."

"Working on it, working on it, the project seemed destined to succeed."

"Not only were they surprised, it also attracted extra attention from the town's leaders; Mayor Xi even ran to the village several times to inspect the project, promising to help with any difficulties."

After hearing Chen Zhuren's words, Xi Lianghong nodded deeply in agreement: "Young people willing to return to their hometown, build and develop it—this is a good thing; we should strongly support it."

"Actually, I sought you out just to hear your grievances and see if there's anywhere I can help."

"But I'll listen after you finish speaking."

"You lack neither money nor manpower; Chen Zhuren also repeatedly assured me the village will safeguard the project, so there's no room for me to intervene."

Having said that, he laughed heartily.

Wu An also laughed, picked up his teacup and took a sip; instead of seizing the moment to say something, he made a request, wanting to exchange contact information with the leader, saying that if anything comes up or he has new ideas later, he'll report to the leader for guidance.

Xi Lianghong was very pleased and immediately exchanged contact information.

Next, Wu An proactively suggested letting Mai Hangyu and Li Xin give a thorough introduction of the homestay project; Xi Lianghong exclaimed in surprise, "You kid, you're not holding anything back at all."

Wu An said, "Although we're just commoners, we still have awareness."

Xi Lianghong praised without cease: "Do it well, make it a benchmark, lead to prosperity."

Wu An remained modest and unassuming, not letting the leader's words go to waste.

Mai Hangyu and Li Xin also answered some questions from a professional standpoint, and everyone discussed happily.

Half an hour later, Wu An and Chen Zhuren saw Xi Lianghong off.

"Not long after."

"Wu An also left afterward."

"On the road."

"Mai Hangyu asked, 'Brother, after chatting that long, there's no tangible benefit?'"

"Wu An smiled: 'That's none.'"

"Mai Hangyu felt dejected, muttering about wasting so much talk for nothing; before he could stop the car, Wu An's pocket phone rang—it was Xi Lianghong calling."

Wu An let the car stop.

Connected the phone.

"Leader."

"A An, I feel you have something unsaid at the Village Committee."

"Yes, at the Village Committee there are indeed some things hard to say, Leader, please understand, I'm not intentionally hiding anything."

"Then perhaps we can be straightforward and talk openly over the phone."

"Leader, as long as you don't mind my talkativeness," Wu An coughed once and said seriously: "Leader, I'm not afraid of your ridicule; the Homestay Project is just my initial plan, not exaggerating, it's merely testing the waters. Actually, I want to do something bigger—Homestay, sea‑catching, tourism projects, all to be set up here."

On the other end, Xi Lianghong listened with a stunned expression, and after a while said, "You continue speaking."

Wu An said, "I have told this to Chen Zhuren, but Chen Zhuren directly told me that what I said cannot be done in Zhenzhongcun."

Xi, the leader, was not surprised, and said, "If you really want to do this, to achieve it, you basically have to remodel the entire village; there are too many matters involved. Not to mention the village, even the town would find it hard to make a final decision."

"Moreover, to succeed, it requires the whole village to work together. In the Jiang‑Zhe region, there are many village‑run or privately‑run enterprises that are large and successful; we can emulate that model."

Wu An, upon hearing, nodded in deep agreement.

This aligns exactly with his thoughts.

He could say he saw it; this leader has something in his head, possesses foresight, which is why he pays special attention to the Homestay Project.

He said, "Leader, you are right."

"Indeed, it's hard to operate in Zhenzhongcun, after all, I'm not a local."

"I plan to try it later in Xixi Village."

Xi Lianghong's eyes flashed: "Xixi Village... Wu Yingwei is you..."

Wu An said, "He is my father."

Xi Lianghong, suddenly understanding, said, "I see..."