CHAPTER 392: CHAPTER 237: HE WHO KNOWS ME, XIAO CHEN -2

Chen Cheng did not expect Cao Yue to say such a thing; he was stunned for a moment, and then realized that Cao Yue was indicating that his previous comment was too official and not sincere enough.

"Magistrate Cao, you misunderstood, I..." Chen Cheng tried to explain, but Cao Yue interrupted him with a raise of his hand.

"I understand, you’re just speaking commercially, accustomed to that kind of foolproof way of speaking."

Cao Yue spoke gently, without a hint of blame, "But I hope, between you and me, we can be more honest."

He looked straight into Chen Cheng’s eyes, "I now need your financial support, this is my sincerity."

"I also said just now, once the matter is successful, I will give you a project that you can report on, this is also my sincerity."

Cao Yue’s tone was very sincere, and seeing that he had spoken so frankly, Chen Cheng also decided to speak openly,

"Magistrate Cao, rest assured, I understand your meaning. You hope to accomplish something truly beneficial for the people, not just to fulfill a task, much less for personal career advancement."

"You want to prove yourself, that even without family protection, you can still achieve something, right?"

When Cao Yue heard Chen Cheng’s words, a flicker of surprise passed through his eyes; he had not expected Chen Cheng to understand him so well.

"He who knows me, Xiao Chen indeed!"

Chen Cheng smiled and said, "Magistrate Cao, you flatter me, I just slightly understand your feelings."

He earnestly said, "Actually, I have always greatly admired people like you."

Cao Yue gestured for him to continue.

"You could have stayed in Beijing, enjoyed a comfortable life, and taken a path that others see as smooth and steady."

Chen Cheng’s tone carried a hint of emotion, "But you chose to come here, to take root at the grassroots level, to do real work for the people, and this courage and responsibility are not something everyone possesses."

"Actually,"

Chen Cheng’s tone became a bit somber, "Sometimes I also think, if I hadn’t met Mr. Jin, hadn’t received his recognition and support, where would I be now, what would I be like?"

He laughed self-deprecatingly, "Perhaps, I would still be that ordinary office worker, dealing daily with the subway and stressed over minor achievements."

Cao Yue listened quietly, knowing that Chen Cheng’s words came from the heart.

Everyone’s life experiences are different, but the pursuit of dreams, the longing to realize self-worth, is the same.

"Xiao Chen,"

Cao Yue patted Chen Cheng’s shoulder, his tone sincere and firm, "I believe that even without Elder Jin, with your abilities and efforts, you would still be successful."

"But,"

Cao Yue changed his tone, "there are many paths in life, different choices lead to different views. You chose this path, so you must bear the corresponding risks and pressures, but at the same time, you also have more rights to choose and can help more people."

Chen Cheng was deeply moved by Cao Yue’s words, "Magistrate Cao, rest assured, I will support you fully."

"For financial matters, don’t worry, I will arrange everything."

"There are no outsiders here, let’s not call each other by official titles, isn’t ’senior’ a more intimate term?"

Chen Cheng smiled lightly, "Eh, senior."

"I’ll show you the accounts of the tea factory," Cao Yue pulled out his phone, scrolled for a while, and opened a PDF file:

"I had someone prepare the digital version, can you understand it?"

Chen Cheng took the phone, the accounts were very clear, each income and expenditure recorded in detail.

As Cao Yue had mentioned before, the tea factory’s business condition was indeed not ideal, but fortunately, the scale was small and the debt was within a controllable range.

"Senior, this is indeed all your hard work." Chen Cheng handed back the phone to Cao Yue, "You’ve really put in a lot of effort to be this detailed."

Cao Yue waved his hand, "This county still has a lot to change."

He picked up his teacup, "High-value agricultural products are just the first step, next, after the economy improves, is to address the issue of education."

"Education?"

Chen Cheng blinked, "Isn’t there a school in the county?"

"Not in the county town, it’s a central school."

Cao Yue explained to Chen Cheng first, "A central school is where several nearby village schools are merged and run collectively."

"Although this approach solves the problem of scattered educational resources to some extent, it also brings new problems."

Cao Yue’s brow furrowed slightly, "The teaching staff is very different from the schools in the county town."

He smiled wryly, "You wouldn’t know, when I first took office, I went to inspect the nearby central school, it took two hours by car, all mountain roads."

"By the time I got there, there wasn’t a single student at the school."

Chen Cheng frowned, recalling a movie he had seen, "Is it because they couldn’t pay the tuition fees? That shouldn’t be the case, right?"

Cao Yue still shook his head, "It was because the principal had let out school early, had the cafeteria slaughter the chickens they were raising, and even caught fish to prepare a welcome meal for me."

Chen Cheng was stunned upon hearing this.

"At that time, seeing the table full of dishes, my heart was filled with mixed feelings. The children should have been in the classroom learning, but because of my visit, they were let out early, and even had chickens and fish slaughtered to entertain me; how could I possibly eat?"

Cao Yue sighed, "This place, it’s not too big, nor too small. But some local customs really give one a headache."

"Whenever someone’s pig has piglets, they have to host a feast, and when someone’s..."

Cao Yue stopped here, suddenly pausing as if realizing he was getting a bit emotional, and laughed at himself, "Look at me, pouring out all my grievances to you."

Chen Cheng could understand Cao Yue’s feelings; he knew that Cao Yue wasn’t complaining but sharing the difficulties and helplessness he faced when he first arrived at the grassroots level, as well as his determination and desire to change things.

"Senior Brother, I understand everything you’ve said." Chen Cheng thought of Luo Ziyang from last night, and seemed to understand where his tactics came from.

"Take for example the charitable Light Cavalry who came to help with schooling a few days ago, even though they had already delivered the materials and schoolbags to the school gate, they were still stopped from entering until all the leaders were present, the scene was set, and photos were taken, only then were the children allowed to come out and collect the items."

Cao Yue helplessly shook his head, "Such formalism, strictly forbidden time and again, yet the people below..."

"Senior Brother, changing this kind of atmosphere won’t be easy!" Chen Cheng took over the conversation.

Cao Yue waved his hand, "Over the years, developers have come and gone, have you seen that unfinished building across from the big complex? Such a prominent environment, and still, it ended up like this. Xiao Chen, you can imagine how terrible the investment environment here is."

He paused for a moment, "The reason I’m telling you all this is to let you know that investing your 20 million here carries a big risk."

Chen Cheng was struck by Cao Yue’s words.

He hadn’t expected Cao Yue to be so forthright, laying out the current predicaments without any reservations.

Cao Yue didn’t use false prosperity or beautiful prospects to attract investment; instead, he honestly laid out the difficulties and risks on the table, an act of sincerity and responsibility.

"Senior Brother, I’ll also put forward my stance."

Chen Cheng sat up straight, "If the 20 million doesn’t achieve the results you expect, I can back it up with agricultural products like tea."

Cao Yue hadn’t expected Chen Cheng to say such a thing; it was beyond his expectations and beyond the profit-seeking nature he was familiar with in businessmen.

"Xiao Chen, do you have the channels?"

Chen Cheng calmly replied, "My chain milk tea shop is also about to open. It has already been fully laid out in Big Willow Tree and is expected to bloom across Beijing by the end of the year."

"With my predicted capacity, consuming the county’s surplus tea production is definitely feasible."

"Once the business is on track, if you’re still here, I can also invest in a tea processing plant to provide employment opportunities."

Chen Cheng’s words were clear, and Cao Yue understood his intention.

"You’re a smart man." Cao Yue started laughing, "I like dealing with smart people."

Chen Cheng looked at the extended hand, without any hesitation, shook it.

"Thank you, Senior Brother."

Cao Yue: "It’s me who should thank you."

The two exchanged smiles, understanding everything without words.