Chapter 913

If the Hou family truly wishes to invest domestically, the capabilities of local officials, including the good relationship the Hou family maintains with them, are factors they need to consider as a priority.

Therefore, if Hou Guangbi decides to invest in Shangjun County, Su Xinghui might just be the deciding factor; he has done the Hou family a favor, his relationship with them is excellent, and his strong capabilities and bright prospects are also evident to Hou Guangbi.

Hou Guangbi said, "Xinghui, if our Hou family invests in building a factory in Shangjun County, could you resign from your position as town mayor and join our factory? I will make you a senior manager at the factory, at least a vice president."

Su Xinghui was somewhat surprised; he had not expected Hou Guangbi to extend such an invitation, and for a moment, he did not know what to say.

Seeing Su Xinghui's hesitation, Hou Guangbi added, "As long as you join, I will give you a ten percent stake, and the factory's investment will be no less than ten million US dollars."

Hou Guangbi's words caused Su Xinghui's heart to beat a little faster; ten million US dollars—ten percent of ten million US dollars was one million US dollars. What was the concept of one million US dollars in the nineties?

Starting this year, the official exchange rate of the US dollar to the renminbi has been set at 8.7, so one million US dollars equals 8.7 million renminbi. In this era, 8.7 million renminbi is an astronomical figure; as long as he manages it well, becoming a multi-millionaire within ten years would not be difficult.

In this day and age, when salaries are only two or three hundred yuan, this is undoubtedly a huge temptation. If Su Xinghui were not a reborn person, he would likely have accepted Hou Guangbi's invitation. However, as a reborn person, his heart only raced for a brief moment before returning to its normal rhythm.

Su Xinghui shook his head and said, "Grandpa Hou, thank you for your high regard, but I do not want to resign."

Hou Guangbi found this somewhat incomprehensible. Su Xinghui certainly had bright prospects in his official career, but he was currently only a town mayor. If he resigned and accepted his invitation, he could immediately become a millionaire, and with his support, his future prospects in the business world would be incredibly bright. He could not think of any reason for Su Xinghui to refuse his invitation, yet he had refused.

Hou Guangbi asked, "Why? As far as I know, your monthly salary should only be a few dozen US dollars, right?"

Su Xinghui quickly calculated in his head and nodded, "About less than fifty US dollars."

Hou Guangbi said, "An elite like you, who has made such a great contribution to society, directly increasing Shangjun County's GDP by at least tens of millions every year, yet you receive such a meager income. Don't you feel any imbalance in your heart?"

Su Xinghui admired Hou Guangbi's insight; Hou Guangbi's words hit the nail on the head. This has always been a problem. In this era, for any official capable of getting things done, their income is completely disproportionate to their contribution, which is also one of the main factors causing official corruption.

With such an income, is Su Xinghui's heart balanced? Of course, he is not balanced either. However, this is the current situation in China, which Su Xinghui does not have the ability to change. Fortunately, he is a reborn person, so he still has the ability and vision to earn more money to make his life better. Otherwise, he is not sure if he would be noble enough to refuse Hou Guangbi's invitation.

Su Xinghui smiled and said, "Grandpa Hou, I have other sources of income. For example, my paintings sell quite well, enough for me to live a relatively superior life. I also have some investments, and I believe they will yield relatively high returns in the future."

Hou Guangbi said, "That is also due to your own ability and has nothing to do with your position. An elite like you should absolutely live the best life. If you work at our factory, as long as you have the ability, I can even appoint you as the general manager, hand the factory over to you completely, and give you a platform to fully display your abilities."

It must be said that Hou Guangbi is a very good lobbyist and has a good grasp of human psychology. He knows that for someone like Su Xinghui, what he needs is not just money, but a platform to display his abilities, so he offers Su Xinghui such a platform.

As for whether Su Xinghui is qualified for the position of general manager, Hou Guangbi is not worried at all. Su Xinghui has done a booming job in his positions as deputy township head of Meng Hu Ling and town mayor of Pengjiawan, and he has a very accurate grasp of the pulse of domestic economic development. For him, serving as this general manager is too easy.

Su Xinghui still shook his head and said, "Grandpa Hou, I'm sorry, I still cannot accept your invitation."

Hou Guangbi asked, "Can you tell me why this is?"

Su Xinghui said, "I feel that I can do more things and allow more people to live a good life while in the position of a government official. I feel that I cannot just focus on personal development; only by being a government official can I maximize my value."

Hou Guangbi asked, "Will you not reconsider?"

Su Xinghui shook his head and said, "There is no need to reconsider. You just compared me to Duke Chongguo; I dare to say, if Duke Chongguo had only considered his personal gains and safety at the time, would he have gone to pacify the Japanese pirates? Would he have gone to resist the Mongol invasion? Would he have gone to oppose those corrupt officials and eunuchs?"

Hou Guangbi fell silent. After a long while, he nodded and said, "I understand. I said you are very similar to Duke Chongguo, and I was not wrong. Like Duke Chongguo, you have the ambition to care for the world. Fine, I will not force you. As for the investment in Shangjun County, I will also strive to facilitate it."

Su Xinghui nodded and said, "Thank you for your understanding, Grandpa Hou."

Hou Guangbi said, "How about this? As a return for your kindness, I will still give you ten percent of the factory's shares, coming out of my own shares."

Su Xinghui quickly waved his hand and said, "Grandpa Hou, if you really want what's best for me, please don't do this."

Hou Guangbi asked in confusion, "Why is that? This is a gift from our Hou family to you voluntarily; it shouldn't count as anything, right?"

Su Xinghui said, "In China, this is absolutely not allowed. Those people I have offended are definitely watching me, waiting for me to make a mistake. If I accept the shares you give me, I will definitely be seized upon by those people. You may not yet fully understand the domestic political ecology; once you have stayed in China for a long time, you will know."

Hou Guangbi said, "But how can we feel at ease this way? You have done such a great favor for our Hou family; to have a kindness unrequited is to be unworthy of being human."

Su Xinghui said, "Grandpa Hou, as long as you can do your best to facilitate the Hou family's investment in Shangjun County, that is the best thanks to me. Besides, my income from selling paintings is already enough for me to live very well, and my life will only get better in the future!"

After pondering for a long time, Hou Guangbi said, "Then how about this? I like the paintings you draw very much, and I want to buy your paintings. Do you have any works now?"

As soon as Su Xinghui heard this, he understood Hou Guangbi's meaning. He shook his head and smiled, "Grandpa Hou, there is no need for that. If you like my paintings, I can give you a few, but it is best not to have direct economic dealings between you and me; that would make it impossible for me to explain myself."

Hou Guangbi said, "You are being too cautious. Selling paintings is a very normal thing. Could this also cause any problems?"

Su Xinghui smiled and said, "Grandpa Hou, you might not know this, but there are many ways to offer and accept bribes now. Some people, in order to curry favor with leaders, ask them to write calligraphy or paint, and then give them a huge sum of money, calling it a 'brush fee.' This is actually bribery."