Chapter 395

  Early the next morning

  Butler Wu Bo rushed back to the ranch on horseback to deal with matters. Lu Qiang’s private ranch was 40 minutes away from Qingdao by fast horse riding. If he drove the sheep from the ranch to the town for shearing, it would be there in two days, and the communication was very convenient.

  Lu Qiang also left the house early in the morning, and tomorrow he will take a boat to the Red River Valley for errands. He needs to clarify the tedious affairs on his hand today.

  The weather is bad today, and it will be clouded after dawn.

There may be heavy rain in the morning, and the busy and noisy construction site is finally quiet. The workers get together to chat and beat, play cards and drink to kill time. The girl is gentle and considerate, and the price is not expensive, suitable for all ages.

  Not long after

  About nine o'clock in the morning, black clouds in the sky rolled and thunder was gleaming, and the pouring rain finally poured down, turning the world into a white and rainy world.

   "Damn it, this **** weather."

  Lu Qiang, holding the account book in his hand, was checking the supplies with the accountant of the Honghegu Industrial Headquarters. Seeing that the sky fell suddenly, he cursed with some annoyance, and walked over to light the oil lamp.

The old housekeeper, Uncle Wu, went out early in the morning. By this time, he should have arrived at the ranch and would not be rained on the road. But the cowboys who were temporarily stationed outside the town were unlucky. At this time, they should be struggling to get the frightened sheep. group.

  The work of the wool purchase station in the town had to be interrupted. The damp wool could not be harvested, and there was no such big place to spread it. The interruption was at least three or four days.

  At this time, Lu Qiang thought of the injured cattle in his ranch and the muddy road after the rain. It seemed that there was no way to drive the cattle to the town and sell them. It was really impossible to kill them first and smoke them out.

  The heavy rain kept falling, and there was no sign of stopping at noon.

  The already constructed sewer culverts in the town played an important role. The billowing muddy water was drained along the brick culverts, and there was no accumulation of water on the street.

However, the construction site in the port reservoir area under construction was unlucky. The excavated foundation pit was covered with rainwater and turned into a small pond after another. It had to wait until the weather was clear and scoop the water out manually, which seriously delayed the construction progress. .

  It was such a pouring rain a few times again, and the original construction plan had to be postponed.

Lu Qiang and his assistant Wu Gouzi ran into the tavern in the town under a greased paper umbrella. Half of their bodies were soaked. The pants and cowboy boots were filled with water. He looked back with an ugly expression. The heavy rain was still there. It kept going down, as if the sky had leaked.

  There is no decent road from the ranch to the town. After the heavy rain, water will accumulate everywhere in the wilderness, and the carriage can easily get stuck. In fact, the traffic is interrupted.

The heavy rain brought huge difficulties to the supply of logistics materials. The supply from the pastures was interrupted. There was no shortage of food in the town. The non-staple foods could also support a few days. The key is that the large number of potatoes smashed out from the pasture was very humid in this humid weather. It is easy to mold and sprout, and the loss will be great.

   "Master Lu, your letter..."

With a loud shout, the postman in town ran over in the heavy rain and rushed all the way to the eaves. The poncho he was wearing was still dripping, and then he took out a letter from the mail packet under the poncho and handed it to Lu Qiang. It kept complaining inside; "Why am I so unlucky? It's raining so heavily, and there are still a few urgent items to be delivered to Townsville. The postman is really not a human job."

   "Don't blame me, look at the ranchers outside the town, I'm afraid I'm in a hurry now."

   "Hey... I feel much better after hearing what Lu Ye said." The postman's bitter face immediately eased.

  Townsville Town is more than 90 kilometers west of Qingdao Town. There is no road between the two places. It takes two days to get there by riding a fast horse. This heavy rain is simply a disaster.

  In damp and low-lying areas, you must lead the horse carefully to prevent the wet mud from breaking the horse's hooves. If the postman breaks his leg, the fun will be great.

  In the open field, it is called every day to stop, and the ground is not working well. It is no wonder that the postman will regard it as a daunting journey.

   Dismissed the postman, Lu Qiang saw that the letter came from Hongbao, so he did not dare to take it apart and quickly opened it, and soon a layer of joy appeared on his face.

  This is a letter written by Secretary Tang Shaoyi, saying;

On the order of the Lord Earl, I will follow the delegation led by Professor Glen Johnson to Europe. I am not expected to return until the end of the year or early next year. During this period, I will include Qingdao Port affairs and other related matters. I am very grateful to Lu Qiang brothers for mediation.

  Ok, you don’t need to go to the Red River Valley now.

  Lu Qiang pushed the door into the tavern with a letter in his hand. Someone had already come up all the way to the upstairs lounge. The mayor Li Siyuan, Zhao Qishan, Ma Limin and others had arrived and were sitting at the table drinking tea and chatting.

  They saw Lu Qiang coming in from outside, and greeted them with a loud voice; "Ooo...you are soaked in soup chicken, sit down and have a sip of hot tea."

  "Mayor, Red River Valley doesn't need to go anymore. Secretary Tang has already followed the delegation to Europe, and it is estimated that he won't be back this year." Lu Qiang sat down on the chair and handed the letter in his hand to Li Siyuan.

Mayor Li Siyuan frowned, took a look at the letter, and put down the letter with a depressed expression; "It's really bad luck, that's the only thing to do. Please report and apply for petroleum asphalt from the United States. Natural asphalt can't be expected anymore. ."

“Nine out of ten people in the world are unsatisfactory, just like today’s heavy rain disrupted the entire construction plan.” As one of the shareholders of the port construction, Zhao Qishan’s construction of Qingdao Port is related to his own interests, so he cannot relax. .

He turned the teacup in his hand to watch the heavy rain outside, showing no sign of stopping, he could not help but shook his head with a wry smile, and continued; The impact is not significant, but it is a pity that we have suffered from the port reservoir area project. The foundation pits that have just been dug are soaked in muddy water. How can it be so miserable?"

  Project delays coupled with heavy rains mean that more project funds have to be invested, which is a huge pressure on minority shareholders.

  If the investment cannot be increased simultaneously, the shareholding ratio will inevitably be compressed by then, which will eventually harm the interests of the small shareholders. This is what Zhao Qishan does not want to see.

  Don't look at them now, they have a lot of scenery, and they are carrying huge debts of Shangri-La Bank on their backs. How can they get it easily?

"Qishan, this is just a small setback, I believe we will be able to overcome it." The mayor Li Siyuan said with a look of encouragement on his face, knowing his worries; "According to the plan of the 19th Century United Airlines, Qingdao will be opened next month. The inland waterway from the town to Townsville and Linyi, the construction of thermal power plants and mining areas will also be carried out one after another. This is no less than a shot in the heart of Qingdao Port, and the future prospects are extremely bright."

  "Mayor, please don’t comfort us. I estimate that the entire port project will end up with a lot of overspending. At that time, I will ask you to help us with some public relations loans, but don’t be able to get on the table when you eat meat."

   "No problem, wrap it on me." Li Siyuan agreed.

  The newly established Shangri-La Bank expanded strongly, and most of the key personnel of the bank came from Huitong Bank. Among them, many students of the Young Eagle School have grown into the backbone of the bank. Li Siyuan believes that this incense is still there.

  Both Huitong Bank and Shanggra Rila Bank are financial institutions that the Lord Earl absolutely controls. The left hand is over the right. As long as the Lord Earl does not publicly stop it, this kind of digging will be difficult to stop.

  Okay, this is the business of the upper-class people.

   "Mayor, when will we arrive next time for immigration?" Lu Qiang asked with concern.

   "Why... is there a shortage of manpower again?"

"When will there be no shortage of people? Now there are close to 20,000 people in Qingdao Town. A small half of them are construction troops. We need a lot of non-staple food every day. Brother Qishan and I put it together at the intersection of several ranches. Come one piece of land to jointly establish a vegetable, vegetable and non-staple food supply base. Anyway, I have to tell you about this matter. I just invite you to invest in a large share to jointly start this profitable business."

  "Vegetable base...this is a good idea." Li Siyuan nodded thoughtfully, really moved, and after summing it up in his heart, he said cheerfully; "Okay, I count this thing."

The administrative officials of the State Autonomous Office and the middle and high-level managers of major factories and mining enterprises have a higher status and rich income. They are the elite class of society. While enjoying their rights, they are also subject to many restrictions. Individuals are not allowed to participate in commercial operations. Private transfer of benefits, no corruption or bribery, no illegal appropriation...

  The Security Department, the Police Department, and the Audit and Audit Department have the right to investigate economic violations. In the past few years, a group of corrupt officials have been punished, and their property has been confiscated and thrown into the forced labor camp to wash away their crimes with labor.

But it does not mean that high-level officials can be prohibited from doing business. There are policies at the top and countermeasures at the bottom. It is common to hold some benefits through family members from the same country. This situation is allowed.

The business of the vegetable and non-staple food supply base is very good, and it is a long-term and stable profit. The project was initiated by several private ranchers in the neighboring Qingdao town, and the relevant personnel in the town have another share. It's hard not to make money.

  Mayor Li Siyuan is not a saint who cannibalize fireworks. There are also big houses, servants, carriages, and Malay concubines. Salary alone is definitely not enough to maintain a wealthy upper-class life. Other income subsidies are necessary.

  With the inevitably skyrocketing population of Qingdao Town, the business prospects of the vegetable and non-staple food supply base are very good, and there is a lot of money. Even if loan participation is worth a try, the risk of failure is infinitely close to zero.

  (End of this chapter)