464: Chapter 464 New Destination, Party Secretary of Jiangnan University

Looking at the bustling construction scene before him, Qin Chuan thought to himself that time flies; in the blink of an eye, half a year had passed since construction began.

After half a year of construction, the entire airport had begun to take shape. In the distance, two standard runways had been completed, and construction workers were already marking lines and installing landing lights.

Not far away, the massive terminal building had been topped out, and workers were already carrying out exterior wall decoration and installing internal facilities.

In another half a year or so, Taohua Airport would be able to conduct aircraft takeoff and landing tests, and at most in another year, it could begin operations.

Returning from the airport and sitting down in his office, he was just about to review some documents on his desk when his phone rang.

Picking it up, he saw it was a call from County Mayor Sheng Huaian.

The two of them were in frequent contact and would even meet occasionally when attending meetings in the province.

Relying on his achievements in Wanshun County, County Mayor Sheng Huaian had been promoted to Deputy Mayor of Ningzhou City two or three years ago, and because Wanshun County had developed well, there were rumors recently that County Mayor Sheng Huaian would take another step forward.

Taking another step forward would mean joining the Municipal Standing Committee; many people thought so, as having been in the position of Deputy Mayor for three years, promotion to the Municipal Standing Committee would be the natural next step.

But Qin Chuan knew that County Mayor Sheng Huaian was about to be transferred to serve as the mayor of a prefecture-level city in Northwest Province.

As soon as the call connected, County Mayor Sheng Huaian's voice, filled with gratitude, came through: "Secretary Qin, thank you. The Organization Department of the Provincial Party Committee has already spoken with me; I am just waiting for the official appointment."

Qin Chuan said, "Comrade Huaian, congratulations. I wish you outstanding achievements in your new position."

County Mayor Sheng Huaian was grateful yet humble: "Secretary, thank you for your encouragement, but I am nervous and apprehensive now, fearful that my abilities may be insufficient."

Why did he say that?

Although he had taken a big step forward to become the mayor of a prefecture-level city, that place in the Great Northwest was very arduous, and the conditions were poor.

Especially the city where County Mayor Sheng Huaian was about to take office, located at the westernmost end of Northwest Province, adjacent to Xijiang Province. The terrain was flat, stretching as far as the eye could see, but the climate was dry, and eighty percent of the territory was desert and Gobi.

Eighty to ninety percent of the population was concentrated in urban areas, while other places were uninhabited for a hundred miles. The total population of the city was just over one million, not even one-sixth of Ningzhou City, while the area was more than five times that of Ningzhou City.

While happy, County Mayor Sheng Huaian felt a lot of pressure.

Qin Chuan understood his pressure and comforted him: "Comrade Huaian, there is always a way to cross the mountain when you reach it. Although that place is desolate, it has unique geographical conditions."

"Oh, could you tell me about them?" County Mayor Sheng Huaian's eyes lit up slightly.

Qin Chuan said, "It is vast and sparsely populated with flat terrain and sufficient sunshine; you can vigorously develop the photoelectric industry. In addition, the wind resources are very rich, so you can vigorously develop wind power..."

On the phone, Qin Chuan offered many suggestions, which County Mayor Sheng Huaian treated like precious treasures, recording them one by one.

This call lasted a full twenty or thirty minutes. Before hanging up, County Mayor Sheng Huaian said he would personally come to Dongjiang City to seek advice from Qin Chuan in person.

Time quickly entered June 2018.

The construction of Taohua Airport entered the final stage, and they began to consider preparing for aircraft takeoff and landing tests. The entire Dongjiang City was developing vigorously.

A few days ago, Loongson International held another product launch, releasing a world-class mobile phone chip with complete intellectual property rights to the whole world.

After the release of this chip, the whole world was shocked, and the stocks of several Western chip giants fell in response.

Today, Qin Chuan returned to the capital again.

This trip back to the capital was mainly to attend his own doctoral graduation ceremony. That's right, three years ago, Qin Chuan had applied for a doctoral degree at Jingcheng University; as for his master's degree, it was from the Central Party School.

Because his situation was special, the school granted him special permission to not attend classes, but he could return to school to take exams and defend his thesis.

Successfully obtaining his doctoral graduation certificate, and it being a doctorate from Jingcheng University, Qin Chuan was still very happy.

In addition to attending the graduation ceremony, he naturally returned to the capital to visit his family, including his grandfather.

Under a large tree, the grandfather and grandson were playing Go.

Although he was old, Elder Qin's spirit and body were both in good condition, and his thinking was agile, not at all like an old man in his eighties or nineties.

In this physical condition, living past one hundred years old probably wouldn't be a problem.

After playing two games of Go, Elder Qin had no intention of continuing. He waved his hand to signal the staff to take the Go set away, and then the grandfather and grandson began to chat while drinking tea.

"Chuan'er, you have been in Dongjiang City for almost two years, right?"

"Yes, I took office in Dongjiang City in July 2016, so it's one month shy of two years."

"Time flies; it's already been two years," Elder Qin said. "The original plan was for you to train in Dongjiang City for three or four years, achieve some brilliant results, and lay a foundation for your future promotion."

"Your performance has been outstanding, far exceeding my expectations. When I drink tea and chat with those old friends, they all give you a thumbs up for your performance, and I feel very proud."

"Two years is enough. Are you interested in working at a school for a while to cultivate your character, settle down, and build a more solid foundation?"

Qin Chuan was slightly stunned. He had guessed where he might go next, but he never expected it to be working at a school.

Elder Qin said, "The Party Committee Secretary of Jiangnan University is about to step down due to age. I suggest you go to that position to train for a while. What do you think?"

Jiangnan University is a 985 prestigious university, ranked around eighth to tenth in the country. Although it is not one of the top few universities, it is a genuine, first-class prestigious university.

Its president and Party Committee Secretary are both at the deputy ministerial administrative level. If Qin Chuan went to serve as its Party Committee Secretary, it would be equivalent to a promotion, from the department level to the deputy ministerial level.

A 34-year-old at the deputy ministerial level is very dazzling.

Fortunately, it is not a position like a member of the Provincial Party Standing Committee; otherwise, it would be even more dazzling. It was probably also considering that it would be too dazzling that Elder Qin let Qin Chuan go to the position of Party Committee Secretary of Jiangnan University to train for a few years.

This position is good!

Qin Chuan especially missed the atmosphere of a university. Without almost any hesitation, he happily agreed: "Grandfather, going to a school to train for a while is something I have dreamed of."

Elder Qin said with gratification, "Well, that's settled. Around August, you will likely go to Jiangnan University to take office; the position is Party Committee Secretary."

Being a president definitely wouldn't work, but being a Party Committee Secretary, Qin Chuan was still very confident. He had experience in this area; he had served as a Deputy Party Committee Secretary at the Criminal Investigation Bureau, and he was also a Party Committee Secretary in Dongjiang City, so there was no problem.

The grandfather and grandson drank tea and chatted for a long time.