Chapter 518

At noon, the county arranged for the Hou family to rest at the County Committee Guest House. Taking advantage of this time, Su Xinghui reported in detail to Ji Tao and Zhang Kaishan in a room at the guest house about his experiences in Jiangcheng over the past two days.

When Ji Tao and Zhang Kaishan heard Su Xinghui talk about his confrontation with Ge Honglin, they were both shocked. They were very glad that they had sent Su Xinghui to Jiangcheng; otherwise, even if the two of them were present, they wouldn't have dared to clash head-on with a deputy mayor of Jiangcheng.

That was a dignified department-level cadre, with the same rank as their Municipal Committee Secretary.

China is a country with a very serious official-standard ideology and strict hierarchy. Although Shangjun County didn't belong to Jiangcheng, Ge Honglin’s rank was much higher than theirs, and they absolutely wouldn't have dared to confront Ge Honglin to his face.

If they had encountered this situation, they might only have been able to report it to the city, hoping the city could stand up for them and find the province to uphold justice. However, how much effect that would have was hard to say.

Didn't Su Xinghui say? Governor Tian Chengzu even sent Provincial Government Secretary-General Feng Shaokun to help Jiangcheng keep the Hou family in Jiangcheng. If Su Xinghui hadn't gone, this matter would have been hard to say.

Su Xinghui was truly a lucky general!

Ji Tao smiled, "Little Su, sending you to Jiangcheng was truly the right choice! In the entire Shangjun County, besides you, I’m afraid no one could have completed this task!"

Su Xinghui smiled, "I was just lucky. It was mainly because Elder Hou was eager to return to his hometown. Secretary-General Feng represented Governor Tian in inviting them to a banquet. If Elder Hou hadn't firmly refused, I wouldn't have had any way either."

Ji Tao laughed loudly, "Don't be modest. If it weren't for your kindness to the Hou family, they wouldn't have had such an attitude."

Zhang Kaishan said, "What expenses did you incur when you went to Jiangcheng yesterday? Take the receipts to the county government for reimbursement."

Su Xinghui said, "There wasn't anything else, just a tank of gas and one night at the White Rose Hotel. The accommodation fee might have exceeded the standard. If it can't be reimbursed, forget it. It’s not much money anyway."

Ji Tao waved his hand, "There is no such thing as exceeding the standard. Of course, you had to stay in the same hotel as the Hou family."

Zhang Kaishan nodded and smiled, "I know you are a rich man now, but the expenses that should be reimbursed must be reimbursed. You shouldn't pay out of your own pocket for public business; otherwise, no one will appreciate it, and instead, some people will say strange things. Give me the receipts, and I will reimburse them and give you the money."

Su Xinghui naturally knew this principle, so he took out the receipts and handed them to Zhang Kaishan.

Ji Tao said, "Little Su, do you think the Hou family will invest in our Shangjun County?"

Su Xinghui shook his head, "It’s hard to say. Actually, the Hou family hasn't expressed any intention to invest in the country. To put it bluntly, we are just wishful thinking. So, with Jiangcheng competing with us so fiercely, if the Hou family doesn't have any intention to invest in the country at all, our struggle will become a joke."

Ji Tao and Zhang Kaishan both nodded. It was indeed true. When the Hou family said they were returning to China, they didn't propose any intention to invest in the country. However, now that the country is doing everything possible to attract investment, even to the point of being obsessed, as long as overseas Chinese return, they want them to invest in the country, even if there is no sign of it yet, treating them as honored guests.

Su Xinghui added, "However, I talked to Elder Hou for a long time last night. As long as we are sincere, I think it is possible for the Hou family to invest in the country. After all, China is now the most economically vibrant country in the world. Not to mention their feelings for their hometown, just from the perspective of investment, investing in China will also yield the most generous returns."

Ji Tao said, "Then what should we do? I always feel insecure. Even if the Hou family really wants to invest, investing in Jiangcheng is much better than in our Shangjun County. Now Jiangcheng is also eyeing the Hou family. Can we compete with them?"

Zhang Kaishan also looked at Su Xinghui with burning eyes. Now they seemed to rely on Su Xinghui. On the matter of the Hou family, the only thing they could rely on now was Su Xinghui.

Su Xinghui said, "Needless to say, in terms of investment environment, Jiangcheng is definitely much better than ours, with very obvious advantages. Our Shangjun County lags far behind Jiangcheng in all aspects. If we don't consider other things and only consider the conditions of both sides, we definitely can't compete with Jiangcheng."

Ji Tao and Zhang Kaishan both frowned. The joy of seeing the Hou family return to Shangjun had vanished. They knew Su Xinghui was right. If Jiangcheng wasn't competing with them, they would still have hope of keeping the Hou family’s investment in Shangjun. But now that Jiangcheng was competing with them, they really felt insecure.

Su Xinghui continued, "However, since Elder Hou firmly refused Governor Tian’s banquet today, it shows that he is emotionally inclined toward our Shangjun County. After all, this is his hometown that he has missed for decades. Now what we need to do is to prove to him that they can also get generous returns if they invest in Shangjun County."

Ji Tao said, "Then how should we prove this to him?"

Su Xinghui said, "Shangjun County’s development in the last two years has been very rapid. Shangjun County’s urban construction achievements are significant, and Shangjun County’s investment environment is also getting better day by day. We don't need to belittle ourselves. Facts have proven that the enterprises investing in Shangjun County now have quite good returns. What we need to do is to let Elder Hou see all this."

Ji Tao said, "You mean, let Elder Hou go around the county to take a look?"

Su Xinghui said, "Now our county also has several enterprises with investments of over ten million. Aren't they very prosperous now? I think if Elder Hou sees these enterprises, it should give him more confidence in investing in Shangjun County."

Ji Tao said, "Speaking of which, most of these enterprises are your investment promotion achievements."

Su Xinghui didn't speak, just smiled.

Zhang Kaishan said, "How about this? Tomorrow we can go to Menghuling. Menghuling’s scenery is quite good now, and both industry and agriculture are developing well. This can also let Elder Hou see that even the most remote township in Shangjun County can develop into this, which should give him more confidence in Shangjun County’s development prospects."

"Menghuling?" Ji Tao nodded, "We must let Elder Hou go to Menghuling to take a look."

Menghuling? Going to Menghuling again? Su Xinghui couldn't help but tremble in his heart. For some reason, he also had a feeling that the closer one gets to home, the more timid one becomes about Menghuling. In fact, since he arrived in Pengjiawan, he hadn't been to Menghuling for more than half a year.

When he left Menghuling, he left in a hurry and didn't let anyone see him off. Perhaps because it was too sudden, when he left, the people of Menghuling didn't know he was about to leave Menghuling. If they had known, Su Xinghui didn't doubt that the crowd seeing him off would have blocked the entire Hutou Street.

But that wasn't what Su Xinghui wanted to see. Farewells are always sad, and Su Xinghui was most afraid of such sad scenes.

This time he was going back to Menghuling again, and Su Xinghui thought of his friends and fellow villagers in Menghuling. He had spent too much effort and invested too much emotion in Menghuling!

Seeing Su Xinghui stunned, Ji Tao smiled, "Little Su, why aren't you talking? Are you looking forward to going back to Menghuling to take a look?"

Su Xinghui came back to his senses and smiled, "I think it’s good to let Elder Hou go back to Menghuling to take a look."

Ji Tao said, "Then it’s settled. We’ll go to Menghuling tomorrow."

That afternoon, Hou Guangbi went to many places, swept the Hou family’s ancestral graves, and walked around the county seat. Of course, the current Shangjun County seat couldn't be compared with Paris, France, but it had greatly exceeded Hou Guangbi’s expectations. Too many new buildings had been built in Shangjun County in the last two years.

Now every unit is building new dormitories, the commercial street has just been completed, and commercial housing complexes are also emerging. The roads are wide and smooth, and the entire Shangjun County seat is filled with a vibrant vitality, which greatly surprised Hou Guangbi.

Before returning to the country, although Hou Guangbi had heard some things about Shangjun County from Hou Dali, he couldn't form a concept before seeing it with his own eyes. In his impression, Shangjun County was always that small, dilapidated county with low, old houses and narrow, crowded roads. Now seeing such a Shangjun County with his own eyes made Hou Guangbi exceptionally pleasantly surprised.

That night, after dinner, Hou Guangbi really moved into the courtyard in Zhuangyuan Lane. The county government had sent staff to place furniture in the rooms of this courtyard and lay brand-new bedding on the beds. The conditions were indeed no worse than the County Committee Guest House.

Hou Guangbi lived in the main room, while his two sons lived in the side rooms. After dinner, he went into the main room, and Su Xinghui also went into the main room to keep him company.

Su Xinghui said, "You took a look around the county seat today. What is your impression?"