Located on the back side of Tiger Mountain, "Xiao'er Villa" is one of the best among them. William Bolton had been there once as well. From the outside, the villa looks like an ordinary residential house, but the interior decoration is no worse than the West Lake Hotel. It is the most popular place for all kinds of county government receptions and for township cadres coming to the city.

At this thought, William Bolton was just about to find an excuse to slip away when he suddenly heard a screech—Henry Clark's Santana smoothly stopped right beside him. The rear window slowly rolled down, and sitting inside was none other than Henry Clark.

Chapter 0007 County Magistrate as Tour Guide

“Hello, County Head Clark! I didn't expect to meet you here! Are you here to inspect the Party School?” William Bolton quickly greeted him enthusiastically.

“You must be Little William! Come, come, get in the car! Accompany me for a stroll. I heard you're a local and know the area well. I've been touring the county seat these past two days!” Henry Clark said kindly, his expression completely natural.

William Bolton was taken aback. Looking closely, he saw that Henry Clark really didn't bring any attendants, just a driver. So he didn't stand on ceremony, walked around the car, and opened the door from the other side.

Seeing William Bolton's straightforwardness, Henry Clark nodded to himself in approval. Young cadres should have some spirit—timid and overly cautious people won't amount to much.

“Great, I finally have a tour guide. Now you're the guide—how do you plan to arrange my itinerary?” Henry Clark said with a smile.

William Bolton glanced at him and, seeing that his expression was genuine, cleared his throat and said, “Let's start with the western suburbs! The western suburb of the county seat is the Liushui River. The largest hydropower station in Yongping County, the Sanjiang Power Station, is not far from here. Also, there are several cement factories and a phosphate fertilizer plant in the western suburbs. Since County Head Clark is traveling incognito today, let's just take a quick look around.”

“Good! A quick look around it is. I really haven't been to the places you mentioned. Today, you can broaden my horizons!” Henry Clark said happily. Clearly, he was very satisfied with William Bolton's quick response, thinking to himself, This young man is impressive—neither servile nor overbearing, clear-minded, able to grasp the key points in just a few words. Worth cultivating!

Having received the county magistrate's approval, William Bolton felt more confident. He guided the driver all the way, heading straight for their destination along the county's suburban road. The whole way, William Bolton kept talking, constantly explaining the surrounding environment to Henry Clark.

He easily recited things like where each fork in the road led, the completion years of various infrastructure projects they passed, the controversies encountered during the investment phase, the main people in charge of the projects, and so on.

When they arrived at the hydropower station and stood on the dam, he began explaining to Henry Clark the specific years of the Sanjiang Power Station's restructuring, its annual power generation, the resettlement of employees after the restructuring, and the names of the main people responsible for the restructuring—he remembered them all clearly.

At the same time, he deliberately revealed to Henry Clark some of the previous leadership team's established plans for this area. All of this was the result of William Bolton's diligent study over the past month. Some of the data might have been inaccurate, but William Bolton didn't bother to scrutinize the details, since today was just an informal inspection. The most important thing was to give County Head Clark a macro-level understanding and a sense of confidence.

Meanwhile, William Bolton also took the opportunity while strolling on the dam to secretly call Party School Principal Thompson, hinting that County Head Clark might come to inspect the Party School, suggesting that David Thompson should be mentally prepared to avoid being caught off guard and making a fool of himself.

At this moment, Henry Clark was secretly impressed as he listened, but also a bit puzzled. He wondered, Isn't William Bolton a cadre from Liziping Township? How is he so familiar with the area under Chengguan Town's jurisdiction? With this thought, he quickly said, “Little William, you've really opened my eyes today! You're very familiar with Chengguan Town's situation!”

William Bolton was startled, but immediately smiled and said, “It's just a professional habit. Chengguan Town has always been one of the three main towns in Yongping and has always been a model for other townships to learn from. Some of their experiences are worth us learning from as well!”

Henry Clark nodded approvingly, then suddenly changed the subject and said, “How is the work going in your Liziping? Last time I saw your Secretary Foster and Township Head Brooks, their morale was high!”

William Bolton secretly thought, Impressive. He knew Henry Clark was testing him, but he reacted quickly. After a brief pause, he replied, “Liziping has its own unique situation. It's a Tujia ethnic enclave, and the county party committee and government have always supported our work there. Although it's remote, our development has been rapid. The organization assigned me there for two years, and I've learned a lot—I've benefited greatly myself!”

William Bolton chose his words carefully, because as an ordinary cadre, he had no right to evaluate the overall performance of the government, so he could only touch on the positives and avoid the negatives.

At the same time, he also took the opportunity to let Henry Clark know how long he had worked there. He believed that with this, Henry Clark would have a preliminary judgment about his background. Someone who spent a few years in a remote area before entering the youth training class, and was even placed in the last group—this in itself says a lot.