Chapter 104: East Wind and West Wind (Part 8)
It was not until the third day that Xiaojia returned to Shazhou. Ever since she had arrived in Wu Hai County, she had been mentally preparing for a storm of thunder and lightning from her parents. Sure enough, when she walked through the door at noon on the tenth day of the lunar month, she found Zhang Yuanzheng and Chen Qingrong sitting on the sofa, their faces dark with anger.
Xiaojia pretended nothing was wrong. She called out, "Dad, Mom," then casually set down her bag, poured herself a glass of plain water, and prepared to retreat to her bedroom.
Smack!
Zhang Yuanzheng slammed the remote control onto the table and roared, "You make one phone call and disappear for three days. Have your wings finally grown strong enough that you want to fly into the sky? Tell me the truth—did you go to see Hou Weidong?"
Xiaojia turned around, her voice calm and steady. "Yes, I went to see Hou Weidong. He is my boyfriend. It is only natural to meet during the holidays."
Chen Qingrong crossed her arms, her tone icy. "Hou Weidong promised to transfer to the prefecture level within three years. I wonder if he actually has the ability to do that?"
Xiaojia had held back for over a year, but this time, she finally exploded. "Even if he doesn’t have that ability, I do. Transferring to Shazhou isn’t like landing on the moon. Is it really that difficult? Hou Weidong’s older brother transferred to the Shazhou Public Security Bureau without much trouble."
"The only reason you oppose him is because he works in Yiyang. Now there is a clear opportunity for him to transfer to Shazhou, yet you still object. This is a matter of my lifelong happiness. I want to marry someone I truly love. Dad, Mom, you need to be reasonable."
With that, she turned on her heel and marched back to her room, slamming the door shut behind her.
This was Xiaojia’s most firm stance yet. Zhang Yuanzheng and Chen Qingrong looked at each other in silence. After Xiaojia closed the door, the couple remained seated on the sofa, staring at the television. Neither of them had any idea what was being broadcast.
After a long pause, Zhang Yuanzheng tentatively spoke to Chen Qingrong. "It seems Jiajia has made up her mind. Thinking back on it, what she said makes some sense. Perhaps we were too harsh." As he spoke, he carefully observed his wife’s expression.
Chen Qingrong was still fuming. "What kind of ability is it to pull strings for a transfer?"
Zhang Yuanzheng tried to soothe her. "Everyone pulls strings. As long as he can get transferred to Shazhou, that’s what matters."
Chen Qingrong’s tone softened slightly. "If he really can transfer here, we can rest easier. The fact that Hou Weidong’s brother made it to the Shazhou Public Security Bureau shows that the Hou family does have some connections. Sigh… girls grow up and leave home."
Hearing that no major conflict had erupted, Hou Weidong felt relieved. After the holiday passed, he returned to his usual routine.
By late March, the first payment for the Sha-Yi Highway arrived—a total of 300,000 yuan. The Goubengwan Quarry received 200,000 yuan, and the Yinggang Quarry received 100,000 yuan. Hou Weidong took 250,000 yuan, paid off wages and other miscellaneous expenses, and made a profit of 100,000 yuan from this single transaction. In other words, the remaining 670,000 yuan was essentially pure profit.
Looking at the long string of digits in his account, Hou Weidong felt a sense of unreality. Had he really dug up the legendary "first pot of gold"?
On April 3rd, Hou Weidong received inside information from Deputy Director Zhu Bing: the Yiyang section of the Yi-Wu Highway was also set to start construction soon. Therefore, he decided to preemptively crush about 10,000 cubic meters of gravel. This would prevent a rush later when the highway project urgently needed materials, forcing them to work day and night, which was the easiest way to trigger safety accidents.
Starting April 4th, the Goubengwan Quarry accelerated the renovation of its stockpile yard and entrance, while other quarries remained in a semi-shutdown state.
On the 6th, a sunny and bright day, Hou Weidong was still immersed in the quarry work when his pager beeped. It was a message from Zhu Bing at the Transportation Bureau: "Wait on the mountain. I will be there shortly."
After receiving the money, Hou Weidong had originally wanted to buy the latest model Motorola mobile phone. It was rumored to be a new digital model, far superior in performance to the old analog phones. However, this model was too expensive—costing about as much as a small stone crusher—so he hesitated. Moreover, the signal on Qinglin Mountain was poor, so buying one would be useless, merely a decorative item. Thus, he continued to use his Chinese pager.
After waiting a while at the Goubengwan Quarry, he saw two cars approaching. The first was an imported vehicle; Hou Weidong couldn’t identify the brand, but he noticed its appearance was smoother than a Santana, with a shiny surface that could serve as a mirror. The second car was Deputy Director Zhu Bing’s Santana. Seeing this entourage, Hou Weidong guessed that a big shot was visiting and hurried to greet them.
As Hou Weidong approached, Zhu Bing quickened his pace and said, "Director Zeng is here to inspect the quarry and assess the material preparations for the Yi-Wu Road. You should introduce the situation at Goubengwan Quarry in detail. Be as factual as possible; Director Zeng wants to hear the truth."
Compared to their previous meeting, Zeng Zhaoqiang’s attitude was very amiable. He wore a gray jacket, looking stylish and approachable. With his hands behind his back, he carefully inspected the facilities of the Goubengwan Quarry and even chatted for a while with the villagers who were working overtime.
Hou Weidong thought to himself, "Being a leader is not easy. Their faces are like poker cards, constantly changing expressions. It must be exhausting."
After finishing the inspection at Goubengwan, they moved on to the Qin Dajiang Quarry, which had previously been the site of an accident.
Since the Sha-Yi Highway project had ended, there were no large customers on the mountain. Small customers bought from wherever the price was cheapest. Meanwhile, small quarries had sprung up like mushrooms after rain, driving prices down drastically. The Qin Dajiang Quarry was in a semi-shutdown state, with scattered rubble and dust everywhere. A broken stone crusher lay abandoned at the bottom of the quarry, creating a very poor impression.
Zeng Zhaoqiang squinted, looking up at the mining area, which was over ten meters high. He remained silent for a long time, walked around, and then said, "Let’s look at the Tian Dadao Quarry. That quarry also had an accident. Let’s inspect it on site."
The Tian Dadao Quarry looked quite shocking. The entire quarry spread out according to the mountain’s shape, resembling a folded book. The mining face was nearly twenty meters high, and the slope was particularly steep. To the naked eye, the angle appeared to be at least seventy degrees.
Zhu Bing explained, "This quarry also experienced a safety accident. A fist-sized rock fell from the top platform and killed a worker below on the spot."
Zeng Zhaoqiang snorted. "Look at his management level. A safety accident was inevitable; it would have been strange if one hadn’t occurred."
Besides the large quarries like Goubengwan, several other families along the highway were also digging into the mountain bodies. Zeng Zhaoqiang pointed at them and said, "The threshold for opening a quarry is too low. If this continues, who knows how many major accidents will happen. I intend to suggest to the county that we set standards for quarries. Those who do not meet the standards will not be allowed to operate. Director Zhu, in the future, when we select suppliers, we must inspect the sites in person. Any site with non-standard management will be cut off. Currently, for the Qinglin Mountain area, Goubengwan will be the standard. Any quarry that does not meet this standard will not be allowed to supply materials."
He emphasized, "The transportation department must always consider the safety of the common people."
Hou Weidong was somewhat flattered. While pleased, he also thought, "Love in this world is not without cause. According to economic principles, pies do not fall from the sky. What exactly is Zeng Zhaoqiang’s intention in doing this?"
After inspecting the quarries, Zeng Zhaoqiang said, "Having seen Goubengwan and Yinggang Quarries, I have a clear idea. Hou Weidong is quite capable. He lives up to his reputation as a law undergraduate. Today, I will treat you to dog meat in Yiyang. I know a place with Guizhou-style dog meat, specifically for summer consumption. They only sell yellow dogs." He spoke with great enthusiasm. "There are nuances to eating dog meat. The best is yellow dog, followed by mixed-color dogs, and the worst is white dog. I can’t explain the reason clearly; it’s just something summarized from practice."
Hou Weidong had guessed that Zeng Zhaoqiang definitely had something on his mind, but he couldn’t figure it out, so he followed Zeng into the car. Zeng Zhaoqiang sat in the front passenger seat. After getting in, he asked a few casual questions about Hou Weidong’s situation, then fell silent, leaving Hou Weidong with only his quiet back to look at. Inside the car, the only sound was the faint hum of the engine.
In less than two hours, the car returned from Qinglin Mountain to Yiyang County town. Taking the bus, with all its stops and delays, would have taken at least three hours. Stepping out of the car, Hou Weidong thought, "It’s still more comfortable to ride in a car. Clean, fast, and quiet. Damn, it’s enjoyable."
The car stopped at a modestly decorated dog meat restaurant. Several female waitresses were at the entrance. Seeing Zeng Zhaoqiang, they directly led them to a private room, while the driver sensibly stayed outside to smoke.
After a few minutes of small talk, Zeng Zhaoqiang said, "National policies are changing rapidly. Phasing out state-owned enterprises is an inevitable path. Yesterday, I heard County Mayor Ma say that all township-owned enterprises will be restructured next year to lighten the burden on townships."
Qinglin Town had many township-owned enterprises. Hou Weidong said, "Qinglin has many coal mines. If these enterprises are to be restructured, I wonder who has the money to buy coal mines worth millions or even tens of millions."
Zeng Zhaoqiang smiled but did not answer.
Zhu Bing said, "The bankruptcy of the Yiyang Silk Factory was expected. It’s a good thing that your wife-in-law left the factory early. The work at the silk factory was too tiring." He turned to Hou Weidong and said, "Director Zeng’s wife works in the finance office of the silk factory. After the factory goes bankrupt, she won’t be able to stay idle at home. She plans to open a quarry on Qinglin Mountain. You are the deputy head of the Qinglin working group and have experience in running a quarry. The matter of your sister-in-law opening a quarry is left to you to handle."
The Qinglin Highway had opened not long ago. Initially, Hou Weidong had wanted to keep the news of the lucrative quarry business secret, but there were too many sharp-eyed people. Soon, five large quarries were established on the mountain, along with many small ones. These small quarries did not care about costs, driving prices down to rock bottom. Hou Weidong had no choice but to accept reality and focus on management and sales channels.
Now that the Director of the Transportation Bureau was extending his reach into this sector, Hou Weidong keenly sensed the opportunity. He patted his chest and said, "Director Zeng, rest assured. Please give me your orders."
Zeng Zhaoqiang thought to himself, "Zhu Bing was right. Hou Weidong knows how to handle people." He smiled and said, "My wife is used to working and simply cannot stay idle. We have to let her do as she pleases. Hou Weidong, I’ll trouble you to help run the errands for your sister-in-law’s quarry."
Zhu Bing patted Hou Weidong’s shoulder and said, "This matter is entrusted to you. Find the site, negotiate contracts with the village, hire workers, and handle the paperwork. All these steps must be done properly. Once the quarry is up and running, it must strictly follow the management model of the Goubengwan Quarry. Absolutely no accidents are allowed."
"Director Zeng, Director Zhu, since you trust me so much, I hereby make a solemn pledge to get this done as quickly as possible."
Director Zeng added, "This quarry will be led by your sister-in-law, with Director Zhu’s father managing the daily operations. The Yi-Wu Highway will start construction in July. We aim to have the new quarry producing by June to stock up on materials. Director Zhu will oversee the quality of raw materials. Any small quarry that does not meet production standards will not be allowed into the Transportation Bureau’s supply chain."
Hou Weidong now fully understood: this new quarry was a joint venture between Zeng Zhaoqiang and Zhu Bing. They were asking him to handle the preliminary work without discussing payment. It was interesting.
He thought for a moment and made a request. "If we hurry, starting in June is no problem. To speed up progress, could you allocate some more funds to me?"
Zeng Zhaoqiang said, "We have already considered this. I have notified the finance office to pay all outstanding payments for the Goubengwan Quarry first. The Transportation Bureau is tight on money, but Goubengwan is the best quarry, so it can be treated as a special case. However, you must keep this confidential."
With the matter settled, the next day Hou Weidong visited the Finance Section of the Yiyang Transportation Bureau. Section Chief Gao had already received instructions and quickly transferred the remaining 540,000 yuan for Goubengwan into his account. As for the partial payments for the Yinggang Quarry, that would be discussed in the next phase.
Zhu Bing’s father, Zhu Fugui, also met with Hou Weidong. Zhu Fugui had previously served as a workshop director in a state-owned factory and was now retired. He looked even healthier than Zhu Bing. After meeting, Zhu Fugui and Hou Weidong agreed that Hou Weidong would first find the land and negotiate the price, and only then would Zhu Fugui step in.
Hou Weidong returned to Qinglin and repeatedly reflected on what Zhu Bing had said at the dog meat restaurant. Analyzing the current situation from every angle, he decided to invest money to build a quarry for Zeng Zhaoqiang and Zhu Bing. In essence, he was giving the two directors a money-making machine. Hou Weidong’s thinking was practical: since he could not control the competition in the quarry business, he would form a strong alliance to create a monopoly.
Over the next ten days, Hou Weidong went around looking for sites. He found a good location in Dushi Village, but it was more than 300 meters away from the highway, requiring a service road to be built.
Once the site was secured, Hou Weidong roughly agreed on the price with Qin Dajiang. He then invited Zhu Fugui to the mountain to negotiate the land occupation and road construction agreements with Qin Dajiang. After the agreement was reached, Hou Weidong handed the prepared cash to Zhu Fugui, who then paid Qin Dajiang and the villagers whose land was occupied.
With the legal issues resolved, Zhu Fugui went down the mountain.
Hou Weidong hired more than twenty villagers to rush the road construction overnight. By early June, Zeng Zhaoqiang and Zhu Bing’s Dawan Quarry began production. Zeng’s wife never even showed her face; only Wang Ying and Zhu Fugui’s names appeared on the business license. For the Dawan Quarry, Hou Weidong invested a total of 75,600 yuan. After the quarry started production, Zhu Fugui officially took over management, and Hou Weidong finally settled one matter.
Although he had spent money, Hou Weidong felt very secure. With the support of the two directors from the Transportation Bureau, he did not worry about sourcing materials or collecting payments. He just waited to count the money.
Life in Qinglin