Chapter 63: Going to the Provincial Capital with County Magistrate Zhang

Zhang Cheng talked about the content of the report about Menghuling Township published in the "Yulin Daily" and "Hudong Daily" these days. Only then did Xu Xiaoguang know that the things Su Xinghui had done had already been in the provincial newspaper.

Xu Xiaoguang happily patted Su Xinghui on the shoulder, "Okay, buddy! Really amazing!"

Su Xinghui smiled faintly, "Luck, luck!"

Zhang Cheng said, "That’s not luck. How many people have your luck? You have achieved results by working solidly."

Xu Xiaoguang said, "This is really a good thing, worth drinking a few cups."

After the food and drinks were served, the group took turns proposing toasts to Su Xinghui. Although they did not know the story behind the report appearing in the provincial newspaper, they knew this was a great honor, and thus, they were all genuinely happy for him.

At first, they had felt that Su Xinghui going to Tiger Ridge was not a good choice, but now it seemed that gold would shine wherever it was placed.

After they had eaten and drunk their fill, Xu Xiaoguang originally wanted to treat them to karaoke, but Su Xinghui was a bit afraid of singing now. He said he wanted to go home to eat mooncakes that evening, and since he had to go to Jiangcheng the next day to handle some business, he wanted to rest early.

Zhang Cheng confirmed that Su Xinghui would be going to Jiangcheng with his father the next day, so Xu Xiaoguang did not insist. The group went home separately, and the task of seeing Xue Qin home naturally fell to Su Xinghui.

Along the way, Xue Qin did not say anything, and Su Xinghui remained silent as well. When they arrived downstairs at Xue Qin’s building, Su Xinghui finally said, "Thank you, Xue Qin!"

Xue Qin said to him, "You're welcome. Remember to treat me to a meal next time you come back."

Su Xinghui nodded, and only after watching Xue Qin go upstairs did he return home.

Back home, Su Xinghui called Lu Zhenghong’s house again. Lu Xiaoya answered the phone. Su Xinghui first wished her whole family a happy holiday, then told her that he was going to Jiangcheng the next day to handle some business and would visit their home that evening.

Upon hearing this, Lu Xiaoya was very happy and immediately said she would wait for him at home tomorrow evening.

After Su Xinghui hung up, Lu Zhenghong asked Lu Xiaoya who had called. Lu Xiaoya said it was Su Xinghui, who wished them a happy holiday and mentioned he was going to Jiangcheng for business and would come over to visit in the evening.

Lu Zhenghong did not say anything after hearing this, merely nodding.

On the morning of the 12th, Su Xinghui went to Zhang Kaishan’s office at the County Government. After Zhang Kaishan gave some instructions to the staff, he and Su Xinghui boarded a Santana and headed to Jiangcheng.

The driver of the Santana was surnamed Peng, named Peng Qiang. He was also a retired soldier, very young, only in his twenties. Unlike many drivers, he was not talkative and remained silent throughout the journey.

The road conditions from Shangjun County to Jiangcheng were quite good, and Peng Qiang’s driving skills were also excellent. He drove fast, yet passengers rarely felt any bumps. In less than an hour and a half, the car arrived in Jiangcheng.

Su Xinghui asked Peng Qiang to drive to Jiangcheng Agricultural University. Peng Qiang simply nodded and drove in the direction Su Xinghui indicated. After another ten minutes or so, the car arrived at the university, and after registering, they drove onto the campus.

When Su Xinghui and Zhang Kaishan found Professor Rao’s office, the professor was waiting for them. After exchanging pleasantries, he handed an inspection report to Su Xinghui.

Su Xinghui flipped through it and then handed the report to Zhang Kaishan.

Zhang Kaishan carefully looked through the inspection report. It provided a very detailed introduction to the special resources of the Tiger Ridge region, including the climate, soil, and other conditions of that area.

At the end of the report, the experts provided professional suggestions on which industries were suitable for development in which areas.

This inspection report was, of course, extremely valuable and held significant reference importance for the economic development of Tiger Ridge Township. It could be said that as long as they followed this report, the economic development of Tiger Ridge would be just around the corner.

After finishing the report, Zhang Kaishan was overjoyed and thanked Professor Rao repeatedly.

Professor Rao smiled and said, "County Magistrate Zhang, don't be so polite. Our university has already agreed to establish several research bases in Tiger Ridge, and the plan to set up a Eucommia planting protection zone there has also been basically approved. You just need to submit the application to the higher authorities with us when the time comes. We will have many opportunities for cooperation in the future."

Professor Rao was very happy. The animal and plant resources in Tiger Ridge were very rich, making it very suitable as their teaching and research base. More importantly, the local government was very supportive and cooperative with their work, which was rare.

Many local governments did not support or cooperate with their work because they felt that establishing such research bases did not provide much benefit to the local economy, especially the GDP, and instead caused a lot of trouble, so they were not very willing.

This was a very short-sighted behavior, but in this era, there was too much of this short-sightedness, and Professor Rao did not know how many he had seen.

Upon hearing Professor Rao’s words, Zhang Kaishan was even happier. He said, "Professor Rao, just call me when you are ready to start this work, and I will definitely cooperate at any time."

Professor Rao nodded in agreement. Su Xinghui said to Zhang Kaishan, "County Magistrate Zhang, shall we take our leave then?"

Regarding the itinerary for the trip to Jiangcheng today, Zhang Kaishan had said everything would be arranged by Su Xinghui. He nodded and said, "Alright, Professor Rao, we shall take our leave."

Professor Rao hurriedly said, "Why the rush? Stay for a meal at my house this noon, so I can fulfill my duties as a host."

Zhang Kaishan said, "Let's skip it today. We still have quite a few things to handle in Jiangcheng. We will definitely bother you next time, Professor Rao."

Professor Rao had no choice but to see Su Xinghui and Zhang Kaishan downstairs, and he kept urging them to visit his home next time they came.

Leaving Jiangcheng Agricultural University, Su Xinghui had Peng Qiang drive to Jiangcheng University. Upon arrival, he asked Zhang Kaishan to wait in the car for a while, and he went to Professor Qin Jie’s office.

Professor Qin did not have many classes to teach now, and since he knew Su Xinghui was coming today, he waited in his office.

Su Xinghui came to Jiangcheng University today for two reasons: first, to visit Professor Qin, and second, to show the professor the name seal he had carved.

When Professor Qin saw the name seal Su Xinghui had carved, he held it in his hand and played with it for a while, then nodded and said, "Hmm, it’s carved quite well. Your knife technique is much more seasoned and mature than when you were in school. You have truly had an epiphany."

After finishing, Professor Qin handed the seal back to Su Xinghui and then asked what business brought him to Jiangcheng this time.

Su Xinghui said that their township needed to build a road, the county lacked funds, and he had come to the provincial capital with the Deputy County Magistrate to request funding.

Upon hearing this, Professor Qin frowned. He knew the difficulty of requesting funding; without connections, it was impossible to get any. He asked, "Do you have any certainty? Do you need my help?"

This was only because it was Su Xinghui, and he was handling legitimate business. If it were anyone else, Professor Qin would certainly not take such matters upon himself, as he was most afraid of trouble.

Su Xinghui was moved in his heart. He smiled and said, "I don't know if there's any certainty, but I'll try. If I can't get it, I'll have to ask for your help, sir."

Professor Qin said gently, "Alright, if you need to, come find me. With this old face of mine, I should still be able to get a few hundred thousand in funding."

Su Xinghui bowed to Professor Qin and said, "Thank you, Master! I will go handle my business now!"

Professor Qin smiled and waved his hand, saying, "Go!"

Su Xinghui was very happy. He had gained quite a bit from visiting Professor Qin. The professor’s promise could be considered an insurance policy for this trip to Jiangcheng. If he couldn't get any results from Lu Zhenghong, he would come back to find Professor Qin.

However, unless it was truly necessary, Su Xinghui did not want to ask Professor Qin for such a favor. The professor was so old and did not like getting involved in such things; Su Xinghui really did not want to trouble him.