Chapter 1266

Hackett had come this time from Zhedong Province, where the World Bank had a highway project currently under construction.

As soon as Su Xinghui saw Hackett, he stepped forward to shake his hand and said to him, "Mr. Hackett, why haven't you come to visit us here for such a long time?"

Hackett laughed heartily, "In your China right now, infrastructure construction is happening everywhere, and key projects are all over the place. I haven't stopped moving all year long; I really haven't had the time to come here. Now that I've cleared a few days, isn't that why I've come?"

Su Xinghui also laughed, "Welcome, Mr. Hackett! Let's go, let's go sit in my office for a while."

Hackett said, "Let's go to the construction site and take a look first."

Su Xinghui also knew Hackett's working style, so he nodded and took Hackett to the Changjiangdaqiao construction site.

The bridge piers of the Changjiangdaqiao were being cast, the approach bridges were also under construction, and a large number of construction workers and machinery were working in full swing.

The company responsible for the construction of the Changjiangdaqiao was the Hudong Province Highway and Bridge Construction Co., Ltd. This was a state-owned enterprise, the one with the most experience and strongest capabilities in bridge construction in Hudong Province, having had experience in the construction of multiple bridges within the province.

At the construction site, managing this project was a senior manager sent by the Hou Group, as well as a section chief from the county government's Jiaotong Bureau; they were the representatives of the Shangxin Changjiangdaqiao Management Company.

The project manager responsible for the construction was named Zhang Shengming, and the World Bank had sent two experts in construction and engineering supervision to assist with the project's construction work; one was named Thompson, an American, and the other was named Hank, a German.

Su Xinghui often came to the construction site and was already very familiar with them. When they saw Su Xinghui arrive, they all greeted him, and Thompson and Hank naturally greeted Hackett as well.

Hackett stepped forward to hug Thompson and Hank, and then everyone sat together in the project department's mobile cabin to talk.

Hackett asked Thompson and Hank many questions about the progress of the project, including the materials used and the costs, all in great detail. This was his job; as the Chief Representative of the World Bank's Representative Office in China, he had to be fully informed about every World Bank project in China.

These things were related to whether the World Bank's loans would face risks, and controlling risk was Hackett's responsibility. Moreover, he also had the responsibility to control the quality of the project; good project quality not only represented the World Bank's good reputation but was also related to loan risk.

Because if the project quality was not good, it meant that the project might collapse, the project inspection might not pass, the project funds might be difficult to recover, and the local government might refuse to repay the loan, thereby leading to a series of uncontrollable risks.

The World Bank had a large number of infrastructure construction projects all over the world, which made their experience in construction and engineering supervision unparalleled. Thompson and Hank were top-tier construction and engineering supervision experts from the World Bank, and Hackett himself was also a former engineering supervision expert.

With them here, Su Xinghui was very reassured about the quality of the Changjiangdaqiao project.

After Hackett asked Thompson and Hank some questions, he went to the construction site again. Su Xinghui also accompanied him, wearing a safety helmet, onto the site. Hackett was a former engineering supervision expert, so once he arrived at the site, he could naturally see exactly how the construction quality of this bridge was.

Hackett spent two full days observing at the construction site and noted down many things in his notebook. Overall, he was quite satisfied with the work of Thompson and Hank. Up to this point, the Changjiangdaqiao was still well-controlled in terms of cost and quality.

That evening, Su Xinghui treated Hackett to a meal. Hackett said he would leave Pengjiawanzhen the next day; he had to go to Yuedong Province, where they had a hydropower station project.

Su Xinghui said, "Mr. Hackett, I once said I would take you to taste the tea art of a high monk. Tomorrow happens to be Saturday, so I will take you there tomorrow. Half a day at most will be enough. This can also be considered as me fulfilling my promise."

Hackett pondered for a moment and then nodded in agreement. For this Changjiangdaqiao project in Shangjun County, he had originally arranged three days for inspection. Now that he had only spent two days, going to see this high monk was also acceptable.

Hackett had always had a great interest in Chinese culture, especially in drinking tea. After hearing Su Xinghui talk about this high monk's tea art that time, he really wanted to taste it.

The next day, Su Xinghui borrowed a car from Hou Wenhai and drove Hackett to Lingxiangheluling. When passing through the Shangjun county seat, he also picked up Lu Xiaoya, so the two could take this opportunity to spend a weekend together.

At the Lingxiangheluling government, Su Xinghui picked up Yan Junda again. They first arrived at the Lingxiangheluling Reservoir. Su Xinghui asked Hu Jinshui to arrange a meal for four people at noon and handed Hu Jinshui one hundred yuan, but Hu Jinshui said one hundred yuan was too much, and after much persuasion, he only accepted fifty.

Su Xinghui also knew that for a meal for four people here, fifty yuan was indeed enough. He thanked Hu Jinshui, drove the car to the foot of Shi Quan Mountain, and then the few of them got out of the car and walked up the mountain.

There were quite a lot of tourists on Shi Quan Mountain today, since it was the weekend.

Hackett was quite interested in the scenery here. While climbing the mountain, he frequently looked back at the Lingxiangheluling Reservoir below the mountain. Su Xinghui asked, "Mr. Hackett, the scenery here is not bad, right?"

Hackett nodded and said, "China is too big, and there are too many places with good scenery. It seems like every place has a different style of scenery; it's truly wonderful."

Su Xinghui said, "Then you must have seen many places with good scenery, right?"

Hackett said, "Yes, 365 days a year, I spend about two to three hundred days traveling all over China. Especially since many infrastructure projects are in mountainous areas, so I have probably seen more places with good scenery than many Chinese people."

Su Xinghui laughed, "Then I certainly don't see as much as you do."

Hackett laughed heartily, feeling somewhat proud.

The group climbed the mountain and entered Shi Quan Zen Temple. There were many tourists in the temple, and the incense was flourishing. Yan Junda found a young novice monk and spoke to him, and the novice monk led them into the quiet room in the backyard.

Master Guangming was meditating in the quiet room. The novice monk reported to him that guests had arrived. Only then did Master Guangming open his eyes, stand up from the meditation cushion, and press his palms together towards Yan Junda, saying, "Director Yan is here!"

Yan Junda said, "Master Guangming, do you still recognize this person?"

Master Guangming looked at Su Xinghui and nodded, saying, "Of course I recognize him. This is Benefactor Su, who has been to the small temple before."

Su Xinghui smiled and said, "Hello, Master Guangming. We have come today with a request. This is Mr. Hackett, the Chief Representative of the World Bank's Representative Office in China. He is helping our Shangjun County build the Changjiangdaqiao. He admires Chinese culture very much, especially likes drinking tea, and he heard that Master Guangming's tea art is very exquisite, so he wants to taste it. I wonder if the Master can fulfill his wish?"

Master Guangming asked, "Is he the one helping our county build the Changjiangdaqiao? Is it that Changjiangdaqiao currently under construction in Pengjiawanzhen?"

Su Xinghui nodded and said, "Yes, their World Bank provided a loan to our Changjiangdaqiao project, and they also sent excellent construction experts to help us with the construction. They have been a great help to us."

Master Guangming pressed his palms together and said, "Since that is the case, then this Mr. Hackett is our friend. How could this old monk be stingy with a little bit of meager tea art? Please sit down, distinguished guests, and wait a moment while this old monk boils water and makes tea for you."

Hackett thanked Master Guangming, sat down following the example of Su Xinghui and the others, and watched the process of Master Guangming making tea with great interest.

Master Guangming had the novice monk bring high-quality Qinggang charcoal and lit a red clay charcoal stove. He boiled water using a copper kettle and washed several white porcelain teacups, then patiently waited for the water to boil.

The charcoal fire was very strong, and there wasn't much water in the kettle. In just a few minutes, the water began to bubble. Master Guangming watched the water in the kettle intently. Just as the water was about to boil, he lifted the kettle, first scalded the teacups, then put in the tea leaves, and injected the water into the teacups separately using the special "Phoenix Three Nods" technique.

Su Xinghui explained to Hackett, "Mr. Hackett, this technique of Master Guangming is called 'Phoenix Three Nods,' and it is specifically used to welcome distinguished guests who have come from afar like you."