Chapter 244: Honor Returns to Linyang

The provincial People's Congress had been ongoing for half a month, and Zhou Ming finally boarded the train back to Linyang. Upon arriving, he was directly picked up and taken to the factory.

At that time, Factory 760 was adorned with red flags, and as the car approached the factory sign, the newly expanded road was filled with people. A banner hung there read: "Warm welcome to Representative Zhou Ming returning from the provincial meeting."

As Zhou Ming stepped out of the car, the welcoming workers on both sides cheerfully shouted, "Welcome! Warm welcome!" Zhou Ming waved at the crowd, and behind him, Su Han was very excited. Although she knew that today's welcome event was organized by the factory, she could still tell that the workers were genuinely happy for Zhou Ming.

Zhou Ming climbed the steps in front of the factory sign, and the office director, Sun Jie, handed him a microphone. Zhou Ming addressed the crowd: "Thank you all for coming to welcome me today. I also gained a lot from my time in Tanzhou. Some of you may have already learned the results through the news, but I want to say here that the provincial authorities have recognized our rural industrial park, and both in policy and other aspects, they will provide the maximum support for our rural industrial park!"

"I believe this is not only my victory but also the victory of Factory 760 and the entire Nan Hui Rural Industrial Park. This honor belongs to all of us!"

As Zhou Ming finished, the crowd erupted in cheers, shouting, "Long live Boss Zhou!"

After the passionate speech, Zhou Ming stepped down, and the crowd immediately surged forward, eager to shake hands with him. This treatment, akin to that of a national leader, made Zhou Ming feel a bit overwhelmed, and he could only shake hands with them one by one.

The welcome event lasted an hour. Zhou Ming returned to the factory office building and immediately convened a meeting with all the staff.

At the meeting, Zhou Ming first inquired about what had happened in the factory during his and Su Han's absence. This was a routine matter. Although he had been in constant contact with the factory during his time in Tanzhou and knew most of the significant issues, as the factory owner, it was necessary to stay informed, even if just for appearances.

After hearing the factory reports, Zhou Ming discussed the results of the provincial meetings over the past half-month. He said, "The province has now fully recognized our rural industrial park. They will research and support policies and establish an investment promotion bureau to attract investments for the industrial park."

"There is one more piece of news to share," Zhou Ming continued, "During the meetings in Tanzhou, I met with Liang Tian, the Chairman of Linchu Machinery Company. We discussed the cooperation between our rural industrial park and their company. Chairman Liang happily agreed and expressed that they would come to Linyang within a week to discuss cooperation and factory establishment."

This announcement caused a stir among the attendees. They all knew that Linchu Machinery Company was a leading company in the mechanical industry within Jingchu Province. Although they had previously considered collaborating with them during the peak of Factory 760's glory, Linchu Machinery had ignored such small factories. They did not expect Zhou Ming to achieve this now. The young boss's level of capability was indeed extraordinary.

Zhou Ming did not want the meeting to turn into a discussion forum. He quickly raised his hand to signal for quiet and then said to Li Hua and Sun Jie, "Directors Sun and Li, the establishment of Linchu Machinery Company's factory here is a very important matter. It is also the first investment in our rural industrial park. No matter what, we must make this first step a success. I believe the Production Department and the Office should prepare thoroughly in advance, whether it is training related technical staff or other preparations. We cannot leave things to the last minute!"

Li Hua and Sun Jie agreed to complete the tasks, and Zhou Ming nodded in satisfaction.

After the meeting, Zhou Ming only had time to handle some urgent documents in his office before leaving Factory 760. He went to the Nan Hui County Committee since Gu Ping, the Secretary of the Nan Hui County Committee, was now the director of the Rural Industrial Park Management Committee. Zhou Ming needed to report to him about the meeting results.

However, to Zhou Ming's disappointment, Gu Ping was not in the county at the moment but had gone to the city for urgent matters.

Zhou Ming thought about coming back another time but was informed by the County Committee Office Director: "Representative Zhou, I've already paged Secretary Gu. I believe he will return the call soon."

This answer surprised Zhou Ming because, typically, it would be the County Committee Office Director who would return the Secretary's call, not the other way around.

Seeing Zhou Ming's confusion, the office director quickly explained, "Representative Zhou, this is what Secretary Gu instructed. He said that whenever you come, he should be paged, and he will return the call."

Zhou Ming nodded, and after a few minutes, the office phone rang. The County Committee Office Director answered to find it was Gu Ping's secretary. The secretary said that Gu Ping was in a meeting and asked Zhou Ming to wait in the office until he returned.

Since Gu Ping had gone to such lengths, Zhou Ming decided not to say anything further and waited.

Zhou Ming thought he might have to wait all day, but unexpectedly, Gu Ping arrived an hour and a half later. Gu Ping came in, shook hands with Zhou Ming, and said, "Representative Zhou, I'm terribly sorry. I had planned to join the welcoming team at the factory, but I had an urgent meeting in the city that I couldn't miss."

Zhou Ming quickly said, "Secretary Gu, I appreciate your thoughtfulness. But if you had really come to welcome me, I wouldn't know how to handle it."

Zhou Ming was indeed a bit embarrassed.

Gu Ping laughed heartily, "Representative Zhou, you're still so modest. But you've truly achieved something remarkable this time. I've been following the news about the provincial People's Congress over the past half-month and noticed that a significant portion of the news was about you and our rural industrial park. Representative Zhou, you've really brought great honor to our Nan Hui County. The people here are very proud of you!"

"It's nothing. It's all due to the provincial leaders' attention to our rural industrial development," Zhou Ming modestly replied.

Zhou Ming then recounted his experiences at the provincial level to Gu Ping. When Gu Ping heard Zhou Ming refer to the rural industrial park as a "Small South Jiang" in Jingchu Province, he could no longer contain his excitement.

"Representative Zhou, you mean that the provincial leaders will treat our rural industrial park as an economic special zone in Jingchu, providing special policy support and attention, and will establish an investment promotion bureau to help us attract investments?" Gu Ping asked. As a county official, he was naturally concerned about his future. Everyone knew the significance of South Jiang in the national political landscape, and now that Small South Jiang was emerging within the province, Gu Ping was understandably thrilled.

Zhou Ming nodded, "Since we want to make our rural industrial park a national model, attracting investments is essential. For that, supportive policies are necessary."

Gu Ping agreed, "Indeed, attracting investments and building the rural industrial park go hand in hand. As long as the provincial policies are favorable, we can get the work done."

Zhou Ming thought for a moment and then said, "By the way, Secretary Gu, there's one more thing. During my time in Tanzhou, I finalized a deal with Linchu Machinery Company. They have agreed to collaborate with Factory 760 and promised to come to Linyang soon to sign a cooperation agreement."

Gu Ping had heard of Linchu Machinery Company, so he was initially stunned, then looked at Zhou Ming with amazement and praised him, "Representative Zhou, your surprises just keep coming. I've been in Linyang for half a lifetime and have seen all sorts of people, but someone like you is truly unique!"

...

Three days later, Linyang City held a work meeting. Gu Ping took Zhou Ming along to attend. The meeting was about the documents supporting the rural industrial park from the provincial authorities.

The meeting was chaired by the City Party Secretary and Mayor, Chen Da, who said, "According to the provincial plan to vigorously promote rural industrial park development, our city will establish an investment promotion bureau. It is proposed to appoint Gu Ping, Secretary of Nan Hui County Committee, as the head of the investment promotion bureau, to be responsible for the overall investment and construction work of the rural industrial park."

After the meeting, Zhou Ming congratulated Gu Ping, "Congratulations, Secretary Gu, on your promotion. Now you are responsible for both investment and management of the Nan Hui Rural Industrial Park. In the future, whenever people in Jingchu mention Secretary Gu, they will certainly give a thumbs-up! Even our Factory 760 will need to rely on your support."

"Representative Zhou is too kind. Promotion is nothing. Regardless of the title, it ultimately comes down to serving the people!" Gu Ping replied.

However, while Gu Ping spoke modestly, the excitement in his eyes was evident.

Despite his excitement, Gu Ping remained composed and said to Zhou Ming, "Representative Zhou, I have never been involved in investment promotion and don't understand how to attract investments. I hope you can assist me in this work in the future."

"Don't worry, Secretary Gu. Since the rural industrial park was my proposal, I won't ignore it," Zhou Ming said. "How about this: once the Linchu Machinery Company's factory establishment is confirmed, I'll accompany you to South Jiang for investment promotion. You can focus on training your staff, and I'll handle the investment promotion."

Zhou Ming added,

 "With the growing importance of economic development, the investment promotion bureau will surely become a vital and independent department, not always being temporary."

"Representative Zhou is very thoughtful and forward-looking!" Gu Ping said with pleasure.