Chapter 524

Hou Guangbi laughed, "Actually, I saw such things decades ago; it's nothing strange."

Su Xinghui said, "Precisely because of that, I am extremely cautious. Every time I sell a painting or buy something, I keep the contracts and receipts safe, in preparation for investigations by superiors. You must know that the struggle between political opponents stops at nothing. In fact, just two months ago, someone wrote a report letter against me, claiming I had accepted bribes. If not for my caution, I might have already been disciplined."

Hou Guangbi nodded silently and dropped the subject, though he admired Su Xinghui even more in his heart.

After a long while, Hou Guangbi said, "Very well, I will certainly do my best to facilitate this matter. However, this is quite a grievance for you."

Su Xinghui said, "It is no grievance at all. I am already very satisfied with the current outcome."

Su Xinghui was not lying; he was indeed satisfied with the current result. Having won out in the competition against Jiangcheng and obtained Hou Guangbi’s verbal commitment to invest in Shangjun County, what more could he be dissatisfied with?

Hou Guangbi asked, "Then, if I invest in building a factory in Shangjun County, where do you think is the best place to build it?"

Su Xinghui said without hesitation, "Pengjiawan Town."

Hou Guangbi nodded, "Pengjiawan Town, hmm, not bad."

Su Xinghui said, "I am not saying this because I am the Town Mayor of Pengjiawan; it is entirely because Pengjiawan Town is the most suitable location. Next year, Pengjiawan Town is likely to begin construction on the Changjiangdaqiao and an expressway. The transportation here will be very convenient, and it is very close to both Jiangcheng and Yulin, making logistics extremely easy. Whether it is bringing in raw materials or selling products, it is the best."

Hou Guangbi nodded, "Then it is settled. As long as we invest in Shangjun County, we will build the factory in your Pengjiawan Town."

Su Xinghui was overjoyed, "That is wonderful!"

Hou Guangbi said, "Since that is the case, let us go to Pengjiawan Town tomorrow to take a look. Since we are going to build a factory there, I must see what it looks like now."

Su Xinghui said, "Very well, then please get some rest, and I will come to pick you up tomorrow!"

After touring Pengjiawan Town for a day, Hou Guangbi returned to the Shangjun County seat and took the initiative to sign an investment intent agreement with the Shangjun County government. The agreement stipulated that the French Hou Group would make a first-phase investment of no less than ten million US dollars in Pengjiawan Town, Shangjun County, to build an electrical appliance factory.

The signing of this investment intent agreement brought great joy to Xiang Jitao and Zhang Kaishan. They had finally managed to sign this agreement before the end of the year, and with a first-phase investment of no less than ten million US dollars, it was an astronomical figure!

In recent years, the entire Yulin City had not had a single project with an investment exceeding ten million US dollars. It was easy to imagine what a huge highlight this investment from the Hou family would be if it were realized.

Even though it was currently just an intent agreement, it was enough to add a significant stroke to their political achievements. This project would also become a massive driving force for Shangjun County’s economic development. As long as the project landed, Shangjun County’s GDP growth rate could maintain its strong momentum of around thirty percent.

After signing the investment intent agreement, Hou Guangbi sent his eldest son, Hou Da, back to France. He had Hou Da represent him at a meeting of family members to discuss the investment. If other family members agreed, all the better; if they did not, Hou Guangbi intended to use his private assets to make the investment, and Hou Da would have full authority to handle the related matters on his behalf.

Just as Hou Guangbi had said, to have a debt of gratitude and not repay it is to be less than human. Since he had promised Su Xinghui, he would do his utmost to ensure this investment landed in Pengjiawan Town.

Hou Guangbi also sent his second son, Hou Dajun, to Jiangcheng to investigate the current state of the domestic electrical appliance industry and to produce a feasibility report and project plan as soon as possible. Hou Guangbi had his two grandsons and one granddaughter accompany Hou Dajun to Jiangcheng so they could quickly familiarize themselves with the situation and the operational methods of the relevant domestic industries, as he intended to hand the management of this new factory to them in the future.

After sending his children and grandchildren away, Hou Guangbi settled into the old house in Zhuangyuan Lane, playing chess with Hou Dali every day and walking around the streets, looking just like an ordinary elderly man from Shangjun.

Su Xinghui accompanied him for another day before Hou Guangbi told him to return to Pengjiawan Town. He knew that Su Xinghui was a Town Mayor with countless affairs to attend to every day and could not spend all his time accompanying him.

Su Xinghui had indeed delayed too much time for this matter. Feeling uneasy about the town, he told Hou Guangbi that he would head back to the town first and come to see him again once he was through this busy period.

Upon returning to the town, Su Xinghui first asked Liu Yongjun about the vegetable sales over the past few days. He had been having Liu Yongjun keep an eye on this matter, as Tong Yuejin’s ability was poor and he was too self-interested; he simply couldn't trust Tong Yuejin.

Liu Yongjun told him that the amount of vegetables hitting the market every day had been increasing, and during this period, the average daily sales of vegetables in the entire Pengjiawan Town had reached over 200,000 yuan.

Liu Yongjun’s words satisfied Su Xinghui. It wasn't even the peak season for large-scale vegetable harvesting yet, so having such sales figures was truly excellent. Moreover, these vegetable vendors all paid in cash, which could effectively improve the living standards of the common people and stimulate commercial prosperity in Pengjiawan Town.

Su Xinghui still had an ambition: he wanted to build Pengjiawan Town into another central town of Shangjun County. To become a central town, it couldn't just rely on agriculture; it also needed industry and commerce.

If the Hou family’s investment could truly land in Pengjiawan Town, it would be a very positive sign for the town’s industry, because a large-scale electrical appliance factory did not exist in isolation; it required a batch of supporting enterprises, which would allow a group of businesses to be cultivated in Pengjiawan Town.

And with money in their hands, the common people would naturally need to buy things, which would also be a great stimulus for the town’s commerce and service industries.

Back at the town government, Su Xinghui immediately presided over a town mayor’s office meeting. The main content of this meeting was to study the preparatory work related to the Hou family’s investment, including land acquisition. Hou Guangbi had already taken a fancy to a piece of land less than a kilometer east of the town government, covering an area of about 100 mu. Although the investment hadn't landed yet, the town needed to carry out relevant work.

The compensation plan related to land acquisition had to be made now, and this plan had to satisfy and be accepted by both the investors and the common people. In particular, the future work and lives of the people who lost their land had to be arranged properly; they could not be left without a source of livelihood.

By doing the work in advance, they could start the "three supplies and one leveling" work immediately after the Hou family confirmed the investment, allowing the factory to enter the construction phase as quickly as possible and generate benefits sooner.

As soon as Su Xinghui revealed the news of the Hou family’s investment in Pengjiawan Town, the attendees were all excited. A massive investment of ten million US dollars was coming to Pengjiawan—this was a great thing for everyone. If nothing else, a huge political achievement had just fallen into their laps; wasn't that enough?

The news of the Hou family’s massive investment in Pengjiawan Town spread like wildfire. The people of Pengjiawan Town told each other the news; in this day and age, everyone knew what such a huge investment meant. This was a great thing for the entire town.

This news was certainly a great thing for Shangjun County and Pengjiawan Town, but for some people, it was not necessarily good news.

That day, Ge Honglin went to see Zhang Shiguang again. He said to him, "Secretary Shiguang, I have received news that the Hou family has already signed an investment intent agreement with Shangjun County, preparing to invest ten million US dollars in the first phase!"

An investment of ten million US dollars was not a small sum, even for Jiangcheng. One had to know that the total amount of foreign investment introduced nationwide in the nineties was only a few tens of billions of dollars. Ten million US dollars counted as a large investment, and furthermore, the Hou family’s strength was far beyond that; this was only the first phase of investment!

Having lost this investment, Ge Honglin felt the pain! If Su Xinghui were standing in front of him right now, he would have loved to bite him a few times.

Zhang Shiguang frowned, "Is this news accurate?"

Ge Honglin said, "It is accurate. A friend of mine in the Shangjun County Committee told me."

Zhang Shiguang said, "Shangjun County has some ability, to have made the Hou family decide so quickly? Did the Hou family not consider Jiangcheng at all? In any case, Jiangcheng’s various conditions are far better than Shangjun County’s!"

Ge Honglin said, "That old man Hou has already sent his two sons to do the preparatory work for this investment project. It seems he has truly made up his mind. I also don't understand why he decided so quickly; clearly, our Jiangcheng’s conditions are far superior to Shangjun County’s. I think it's just that the old man was bewitched by that kid surnamed Su."

Zhang Shiguang said, "Then tell me, how did that kid surnamed Su bewitch the old man?"