Chapter 528

Seeing Zhang Kaishan resting in the rearview mirror, Yan Xiangjie drove the car even more steadily. Su Xinghui didn't speak either; he also leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes to rest.

About an hour later, the car arrived in Jiangcheng City. Su Xinghui said softly, "Uncle Zhang, we are in the provincial capital."

Zhang Kaishan woke up immediately. He rubbed his face to wake himself up. Soon, the car drove to the provincial government building. After registering, the two arrived outside Lu Zhenghong’s office. Lu Zhenghong’s secretary, Li Shanlin, asked about their identities and said to them, "You may enter. Governor Lu is waiting for you."

Li Shanlin was a young man in his thirties, wearing glasses and looking scholarly. He had, of course, heard of Su Xinghui’s name and knew that this was Governor Lu’s future son-in-law. He couldn't help but look at Su Xinghui a few more times, and Su Xinghui also nodded at him with a smile.

Li Shanlin had also just become Lu Zhenghong’s secretary, so he was a bit cautious and hadn't fully entered his work role. Seeing Su Xinghui smiling at him, he hurriedly smiled back at Su Xinghui, then led the two into Lu Zhenghong’s office, had them sit down, brewed them tea, and then exited the door.

Zhang Kaishan said, "Governor Lu, you have arrived at the provincial government, and we haven't taken the initiative to come and report our work to you. Please forgive us!"

Lu Zhenghong smiled faintly, "Comrade Kaishan, you have also arrived at a new work post. Your work must be very busy now, so there is no need to come and report work often. As long as you do your work in the county well, that is enough."

Zhang Kaishan nodded, "Very well, thank you, Governor Lu!"

Lu Zhenghong said, "I called you here today because there is a major matter I want to tell you."

Hearing there was a major matter, the two sat up straight, and their expressions became serious. Lu Zhenghong then stated the major matter, and after Zhang Kaishan and Su Xinghui heard it, their brows were tightly furrowed.

It turned out that regarding the site selection for the expressway starting construction this year, Lu Zhenghong had originally done a lot of work in the early stages, and with Gu Shanmin’s mediation, the province had basically decided on the plan passing through Pengjiawan. However, in the past few days, this matter had risen in waves again, and Governor Tian Chengzu was leaning toward another plan—the plan passing through Gangzhou City.

The expressway starting construction this year was a connecting line of the Jinggang Expressway within Hudong Province. Currently, there were two plans. One plan was to cross the river from Gangzhou City east of Jiangcheng, then head west all the way to Yulin City southeast of Shangjun, then to Hongshan County southwest of Shangjun, and then connect with the Jinggang connecting line within Huxi Province.

The second plan was to cross the river from Qingyang City west of Jiangcheng, pass through the territory of Pengjiawan Town in Shangjun County, then head south to pass through the junction of Yulin and Hongshan, and directly connect with the Jinggang connecting line within Huxi Province.

The first plan perfectly avoided Shangjun County, which was naturally unfavorable to Shangjun County. The second plan was, of course, the result Shangjun County wanted. Moreover, the second plan was basically a straight road to Huxi Province, while the first plan required taking a large detour, with the distance being at least several tens of kilometers longer than the second plan, and the construction cost would be much higher.

Tian Chengzu leaning toward the second plan naturally had his reasons. The current Mayor of Gangzhou was an old subordinate of Tian Chengzu, who had once served as his secretary. Choosing Gangzhou for this expressway site would naturally be beneficial to his old subordinate’s political achievements.

However, due to Gu Shanmin’s mediation, and because the second plan was clearly more reasonable than the first, the provincial government had originally leaned toward the second plan, and Tian Chengzu had signs of defaulting. Now, why had he suddenly changed his mind?

Su Xinghui and Zhang Kaishan looked at each other. It seemed this was still the aftermath of the Hou family matter. Hou Guangbi had now decided to place his investment in Shangjun County and had stayed in Shangjun County ever since, never going to Jiangcheng again, so naturally, he couldn't attend Tian Chengzu’s invitation. This made Tian Chengzu lose face. If Tian Chengzu didn't make things difficult for Shangjun County, how could he show his prestige?

Su Xinghui asked, "Uncle Lu, what reason does Governor Tian have for leaning toward the first plan?"

Even if Tian Chengzu was the Governor, he couldn't cover the sky with one hand in the provincial government, not to mention that Lu Zhenghong had now become the Vice Governor in charge of the economy and had a great say in this matter. The second plan was clearly more reasonable than the first. If Tian Chengzu wanted to change the plan, he naturally had to have a reasonable reason.

Lu Zhenghong said, "His reason is that Gangzhou City already has a ready-made Changjiangdaqiao, so there is no need to build another one. But your Shangjun County does not have a Changjiangdaqiao yet. If you want to build this expressway, you have to build a Changjiangdaqiao, which is another investment of several hundred million. The province cannot come up with such a large sum of funds, and it is also difficult to successfully establish the project with the State Planning Commission."

In the nineties, building a Changjiangdaqiao required about 400 to 500 million in funds. This was indeed a not-insignificant investment. And Gangzhou City did indeed start construction on a Changjiangdaqiao the year before last, which would be completed next year. In this way, the step of building a bridge was saved, which indeed saved a lot of trouble, especially in establishing the project with the State Planning Commission, which was the most troublesome thing.

The State Planning Commission was a large government office. Even if the Governor went there, he would have to wait honestly in the gatehouse to see a division chief.

Su Xinghui pondered for a moment and said, "Uncle Lu, but the expressway passing through Gangzhou City is 40 to 50 kilometers further than passing through Shangjun County. When passing through Yushan District, there are many mountainous areas with complex terrain, and the construction cost is higher. In total, the construction cost of the first plan is nearly one billion higher than the second plan. Isn't that enough to build a Changjiangdaqiao?"

Lu Zhenghong said, "Governor Tian also has his reasons. He said that expressways can drive economic development. Gangzhou City and Yulin City are both economically underdeveloped regions. The first plan has the expressway passing through these two cities for a longer distance, which can better drive the economic development of these two cities. He said that Qingyang City and Shangjun County’s economic development is quite good now, so they should show some style and let others have the opportunity to build the expressway first."

Su Xinghui smiled, "So our county’s rapid economic development is also our fault."

Su Xinghui said so, but Tian Chengzu’s words were high-sounding, especially since Shangjun County’s Changjiangdaqiao project establishment was also a result with unknown outcomes, so it couldn't be said that his words were wrong.

Zhang Kaishan said, "Governor Lu, is there no room for recovery now?"

Lu Zhenghong shook his head, "It is not that there is no room for recovery. I have done some work for you. Now Governor Tian has promised that if you can go to the State Planning Commission to run the project establishment, and the establishment is successful, and you raise 50 percent of the funds yourself, the province can adopt the second plan."

Su Xinghui and Zhang Kaishan looked at each other again. They knew that Lu Zhenghong said he had done some work for them, and he must have put in a lot of effort. This was also because he was now the Vice Governor in charge of the economy and had a great say in this issue, which was why he could win this result.