Chapter 1537: Soft Power

In truth, Adrian and his group had been in China for quite some time and could speak a few phrases of Chinese. However, there were simply too many Chinese dialects; the Changshan dialect was completely different from the Shangjun dialect. The Chinese Adrian had learned carried a Shangjun accent, so once they arrived in Changshan, the locals naturally couldn't understand them.

Su Xinghui helped Adrian and his group order a few dishes, let them sit down, and waited for the proprietress to serve the food. He chatted with Adrian for a while longer.

Adrian asked if he was also here for leisure. Su Xinghui replied that he was currently the Vice County Magistrate of Changshan County.

His words left Adrian and the others astonished. Although they didn't understand China's administrative hierarchy, they had a concept of what a county was. They knew that a single Chinese county could be larger than a French city, governing hundreds of thousands or even over a million people.

For Su Xinghui to become a Vice County Magistrate at such a young age was truly remarkable.

Adrian gave Su Xinghui a thumbs-up and said, "It seems I should call you Magistrate Su now. I truly admire your talent; you were such a good Town Mayor, so you will surely be a good County Magistrate as well."

Su Xinghui smiled and said, "Thank you. Welcome to Changshan for a visit. Do you find it fun here?"

Adrian said, "I think the scenery here is simply beautiful. It's just that we can't understand anything, and we can't read those Chinese characters. But we have taken many photos; when we go back, others will surely be envious. I think I must learn Chinese and Chinese characters as soon as possible so that when I come back to visit in the future, I won't have to worry."

Su Xinghui said, "Hmm, there are many fun places in China. If you learn Chinese, you can travel everywhere during your weekend breaks."

Adrian nodded and said, "That is what I think as well."

Su Xinghui asked again, "I heard that your Special Steel Factory has already started production, right?"

Adrian said, "Yes, production has already begun, and sales are very good. Currently, the products from our first phase are in short supply, and we have already started construction on the second phase."

Hearing Adrian's words, Su Xinghui felt very gratified. Although he was no longer the Town Mayor of Pengjiawan, this Special Steel Factory was something he had built with his own hands, embodying his hard work. Seeing the factory develop smoothly, he was naturally happy.

As they spoke, Adrian and his group's food arrived. Su Xinghui stood up, nodded, and said, "Then please eat slowly; I'm going over to have my meal."

Adrian nodded and said, "Thank you, Magistrate Su. If we hadn't met you, perhaps we would have gone hungry today."

Su Xinghui laughed, waved at them, and returned to his own table.

Professor Tang said with some surprise, "Xinghui, your English is also this good?"

Su Xinghui said, "I learned some in university and some after I started working. I might have to deal with foreigners often in the future, so it is necessary to learn some English."

Professor Tang also understood English because he was involved in economic research and often had to read foreign monographs and visit foreign countries, so English was essential. He had understood the conversation between Su Xinghui and Adrian just now.

Professor Tang said, "Is this person from the foreign side of that Special Steel Factory you introduced back in Pengjiawanzhen?"

Su Xinghui said, "Yes, he is a technician. I have dealt with him before."

Professor Tang said, "Quite interesting. They are certainly bold, daring to come out and travel without even knowing a few phrases of Chinese."

Su Xinghui said, "Foreigners are generally more adventurous than us, perhaps. When we do something, we often make many preparations and only dare to start when we have absolute certainty. But they are different; they dare to act even with only ten percent certainty."

Professor Tang said, "Indeed. Perhaps this explains why our nation has lagged behind for the past hundred years or so."

Wei Pengfei said, "I didn't expect that foreigners would be coming here to travel now. It seems our Tourism Development Company needs to put English training for our staff on the agenda."

Su Xinghui nodded and said, "Yes, this is just the beginning. As Changshan County's fame grows, more and more foreigners will come here to travel in the future. We do need to provide some simple English training for our staff. The signs in the scenic areas should also use both Chinese and English to make it convenient for foreigners. When we develop tourism, not only must the hardware be excellent, but the software must also be excellent. This is also a part of soft power."

Wei Pengfei nodded. As the Deputy Manager of the Tourism Development Company, since he had seen this today, he had to make suggestions to Xiang Tianlu and the others to conduct some necessary training in this area.

Regardless, it was a very good thing that their scenic area could attract foreign tourists; some necessary investment was still required.

After the meal, Su Xinghui's group simply joined Adrian's group to tour the area. Su Xinghui used English to explain the historical anecdotes and cultural legends related to these scenic spots, which made the foreigners listen with great interest.

It wasn't until nearly five o'clock in the afternoon that Adrian and his group bid farewell to Su Xinghui's group, drove away from Changshan County, and returned to Pengjiawanzhen.

Before they left, Su Xinghui told Adrian to help promote the area after returning to the Special Steel Factory, letting his compatriots know they could come to Changshan County to play on weekends. He said Changshan County still had many places with beautiful scenery that would surely make them very satisfied.

Adrian agreed very happily and then left.

Professor Tang remarked with emotion, "I finally understand why you can achieve such outstanding results. You are thinking about work anytime and anywhere!"

Su Xinghui said, "Actually, it's not that mysterious; this was just a matter of convenience."

After resting for a day on the weekend, Su Xinghui threw himself back into intense work. By the end of this month, the Changyu Highway would be fully completed and opened to traffic, and Su Xinghui would often go to the construction site to check on the situation.

The construction of the Changshan section of the Changwu Highway was also underway, and as the Vice County Magistrate in charge of transportation, Su Xinghui also had to go to the construction site often to take a look.

Currently, the urban construction work in the county seat was also progressing well. The old city renovation was in full swing, and the new northern district, centered around the Hou Group's grand hotel, was already taking shape. It would be built into an administrative and business district, and the Changshan County government planned to build a government office building there next year and relocate the county government.

Many administrative agencies and units in the county had also acquired land there, preparing to build new office buildings within the next year or two. This was a realistic necessity; their original office buildings were all in the old city center, and because the space in the old city was narrow, their office areas were all very small, and the floors were not high—none exceeded four stories. By now, these old office buildings could no longer meet current office needs, and it was time to relocate to the new district.

Once their office buildings were relocated to the new district, their original old office buildings could be demolished to build residential communities. By then, the new Changshan county seat would take on a brand-new look.

In addition to transportation, urban construction, and tourism, Su Xinghui was also in charge of agriculture, animal husbandry, and investment promotion. He could not put these tasks aside either. In the process of going down to the townships, he went to various townships to check on their development of forestry and animal husbandry.

Changshan County was not a traditional grain-producing area, so the main force of Changshan County's agriculture was now forestry and animal husbandry, especially animal husbandry. Su Xinghui planned to build it into a pillar industry for Changshan County and form an industrial chain, so this was the top priority of Changshan County's work this year.

Currently, the townships and towns that have developed relatively well in animal husbandry include Matou Town, Xiongshan Town, Chengguan Town, and Xiapu Township. They have already followed the Matou Town model to establish many animal husbandry cooperatives, and the scale of livestock farming is growing steadily.

However, there are also some townships and towns where the work on developing animal husbandry has not been satisfactory, and the work progress is relatively lagging. This is mainly related to the capabilities of their leaders. The leadership capabilities of these townships and towns are limited, and wanting to develop animal husbandry is truly a case of the spirit being willing but the flesh being weak.

Developing animal husbandry is not that simple; it requires leaders to have very strong leadership and organizational skills, and there are very high requirements for their work ability, efficiency, and other aspects.