1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 2418
In fact, this is not the first time for Liu Shanxia to come here. After Haihan occupied this place in 1634, he came here to build a petrochemical industrial zone in the nearby mountainous area.However, at that time, the Executive Committee and the Ministry of Industry were still in the initial stage of planning for the Chusulkeng Oilfield, that is, to confirm the location of the underground oilfield first. As for the construction of other infrastructure projects, they were only implemented according to the initial colonial standards.Liu Shanxia had other important projects on hand at the time, so he didn't stay here for too long, and left after hastily deploying the infrastructure construction plan for the oil production area.It is precisely because the last time I came here was just to watch the flowers, and now I visit here again, Liu Shanxia does not have much feeling of revisiting the old place.

Looking at the local environment of Miaoli from a professional perspective, Liu Shanxia believes that it is not too difficult to build a land passage here. In the land of the Lord, there are basically no artificial obstacles in terms of land for road construction.Although the flow of Houlongxi has turned two large bends at almost right angles on the way, according to the existing map data and land passages, it is only necessary to build a bridge with a stronger traffic capacity in the middle section of Houlongxi to allow the The entire road is fully connected.

Liu Shanxia believes that the real possible problem is not the construction plan and related engineering technology, but manpower.To build such a road with a length of more than 40 miles, and there are certain requirements for the road grade, the construction period depends to a large extent on how much labor can be devoted to the construction process.However, most of the existing local labor force is concentrated in the oil production area, and they have their own jobs to complete. Obviously, it is impossible to draw too many people to participate in the road construction project. It seems that we can only pin our hopes on the immigrants who will move into the local area later. .

But Liu Shanxia is not an official of the civil affairs department when the action of moving in immigrants will be implemented, and there is no more accurate information on this.He also only knows that a large number of war refugees are being shipped out from Shandong, and perhaps some of them will be resettled in Miaoli.If it can be guaranteed that there will eventually be two to three thousand laborers participating in the road construction project, then it is expected that the construction period will be controlled within one year.

Thinking of this, Liu Shanxia turned to Gao Cong and asked, "Has the local area started to build housing for immigrants?"

Gao Cong scratched his head and said: "Reporting to my lord, the humble job is only in charge of defense, I don't know much about these arrangements..."

Liu Shanxia raised his hand to signal that he understood, but didn't let him continue to explain.If a large number of immigrants were to be resettled, housing and various basic living materials must be prepared in advance, and the project of this immigrant village is definitely not a trivial matter, requiring a lot of manpower and material resources. If construction has already started, it is impossible not to spread the news.Gao Cong said that he didn't know, so it's probably because he hasn't started talking about these things yet.

However, Liu Shanxia does not think that this is the responsibility of the local management committee. Judging from the level of development and construction here in Miaoli, the financial situation here is probably still at the stage of relying on the state to provide funds. Implementation will have to wait until funding is allocated from above.There are so many aspects involved in immigrant migration, it must be difficult to coordinate with the management committee of the Miaoli area alone, and most of them have to wait for the civil affairs department at a higher level to take the lead to solve the problem.

However, Liu Shanxia knows very little about the situation of the management committee here in Miaoli. He only heard that the officials in charge here are replaced more frequently. The reason is also very simple. Staff rotation can be arranged.This may also be one of the reasons why the level of local infrastructure is relatively backward. After all, the term of office of the competent officials is not long, so there is no need to do some long-term planning such as infrastructure projects.

In fact, in terms of the environmental conditions in Miaoli, it is not difficult to understand this situation. The vast majority of travelers prefer to stay in areas where life is more convenient, and that is the civilized world in their minds.It is true that many people would not be willing to accept such a work arrangement if they had to stay in this deep mountain and old forest for a year or so.Even if it were Liu Shanxia himself, it would probably be difficult for him to stay in this place for a long time.

Just as Gao Zong predicted, the three traffic boats sailed into the mountainous area two hours later. There is a very clear boundary line between the terrain and the plains in the lower reaches of Houlongxi. area range.

Due to the change of terrain, the water surface here is also narrower than that outside the mountain, and the boat's side may be only three to five feet away from the river bank, so the width cannot even accommodate two traffic boats running side by side.However, Liu Shanxia estimated that there should be a place with a slightly wider water surface upstream, otherwise the traffic boat would not be able to complete the U-turn in such a narrow place.

Sure enough, after entering the mountain and walking about three miles of waterway, the water surface suddenly opened up in front of it. It turned out to be a deep pool with a width of about ten feet, enough for the traffic boat to complete the U-turn calmly.The pier in the oil production area is built here. It is similar to the pier near the coast. It is also a wooden trestle, but there are obviously more houses on the shore, and you can faintly see it in the forest not far away. Scores of houses, with white cooking smoke curling up.If you didn't come here in person, it's really hard to imagine that there is a small town with a population of over a thousand hidden in this kind of place.

The steam engine on the traffic boat was quite quiet and could be heard half a mile away, so when they arrived, there were already several people standing on the pier, waiting to help the ships dock.The sailors on the ship threw out the cable, and after the people on the trestle received it, they dragged the cable to the rope pile on the shore and tied it, and then waited for the ship to dock and pushed the springboard on the trestle to set it up.

"My lord, please wait for a moment, I will go ashore first to make arrangements, and prepare the chariot and horses for my lord." After reporting to Liu Shanxia, ​​Gao Cong hurriedly disembarked first.

Seeing that there didn't seem to be any special welcoming ceremony arranged on the shore, Liu Shanxia was still slightly disappointed.He has traveled far and wide to many overseas colonies over the years, and even went as far as Liaodong to preside over the reconstruction project of the Jinzhou Isthmus defense line. No matter where he went, he was warmly received, and local officials attached great importance to his arrival, but Miaoli The place seemed a bit special, so a second lieutenant was sent to meet him.Although Haihan doesn't have any hard and fast regulations on the reception specifications, it will inevitably make Liu Shanxia feel a little slighted.

However, Gao Cong didn't make Liu Shanxia wait too long, and quickly returned to the pier to invite Liu Shanxia and his party to disembark.Gao Cong brought a few carriages and planned to take them to the residence first.

Liu Shanxia finally couldn't help asking: "Where are the people from the local management committee? Why didn't any of them show up?"

Gao Cong replied: "My lord, Director Wang of the management committee usually supervises the work at the oil well. I have sent someone to notify me, and I should be here soon. Why don't you go to the residence with me to rest for a while, my lord? It’s not too late to do business.”

In terms of official rank, Liu Shanxia is the deputy minister of the Ministry of Construction, and his rank is of course several levels higher than the director of the local management committee.But the two are not in the same department, and Liu Shanxia can't get angry in front of other naturalized people, and this is not Sanya after all.At the moment, he could only snort, and asked Gao Cong to arrange it quickly.

Of course, Gao Cong could also see that Lord Liu from Sanya was not in a good mood, but he knew that he was soft-spoken and dared not speak casually, so he hurriedly took Liu Shanxia to the station by car.

The only carriage that Gao Cong found was a four-wheeled box-type carriage that is relatively common in Sanya City, and the rest were caravans filled with people and goods.However, among the group of people who came this time, there was only Liu Shanxia as a distinguished guest, and there was no problem in arranging others to take the caravan.

Liu Shanxia's two personal guards were responsible for their duties. One sat in the carriage with him, and the other sat directly next to the driver.Gao Cong didn't get on the carriage, his subordinates had brought a horse, he got on the horse, and led the way in front of the carriage.

After the carriage left the pier, it didn't go far, and then went north to the other side of Houlongxi via a stone bridge.The residence arranged by the local management committee for Liu Shanxia is actually not far away. It is estimated that it is only one or less than two miles away from the pier, and it will take a short ride in a carriage.

After Liu Shanxia got off the car, Gao Cong stepped forward to lead the way. This is a Chinese-style manor built on the hillside beside the stream. The building is of brick and stone structure. The construction of such a large-scale manor in this mountainous area is really not a small project.

Gao Cong introduced that this was the residence built for Tian Yeyou, who was in charge of the work when the Sunkeng Oilfield was developed.However, Tian Yeyou also did not stay in this place for too long. After the oil well began to be produced normally, he also took over the work and left this place soon.

Liu Shanxia said with a smile: "I designed the construction plan of this manor, but when I left here, the construction had not yet started, and I don't know that Tian Yeyou lived here for a few days after this place was built. He invested money to build this house. Lost money!"

This kind of manor that requires certain construction skills is obviously not something that the laborers who were digging earth here at that time could complete. Before Liu Shanxia left, he suggested that Tian Yeyou hire craftsmen from Fujian to preside over the construction work. It seems that he probably listened to Liu Shanxia's words. up.But for such a large project, I am afraid that the Ministry of Industry will not reimburse Tian Yeyou for the cost, so Liu Shanxia judged that the manor should be built by Tian Yeyou with his own money.

Gao Cong lowered his voice and replied: "My lord, this house is still the property of Mr. Tian."

"Oh? Has it been so empty these past few years?" Liu Shanxia was a little surprised when he heard this.He knew that Tian Yeyou did not stay in Miaoli later, and the house should not be used as a dormitory for local workers, so it would have to remain vacant.

Gao Cong said: "That's not vacant. The directors of the management committee all lived in this manor when they came here. It is said that they rented it from Mr. Tian. The house has always been occupied by people, and it is usually cleaned very clean. Please Don't worry, my lord."

Liu Shanxia understood when he heard this.This model is actually not uncommon. There are also people in Sanya who build commercial real estate in beautiful places such as Yalong Bay, and then operate it as a resort hotel, and the service targets are travelers with spending power.After all, there are some travelers who do not live in Sanya, and it is not cost-effective to build a large manor by themselves, but for some reason, they will return to Sanya from time to time, and at this time, they rent a place with better conditions for a short-term stay It is undoubtedly an excellent choice.

Of course, there are many options for finding a temporary residence with suitable conditions in Sanya, but this place in Miaoli is different. There should not be another manor with the same conditions in such a place deep in the mountains and old forests.For the traversers who came here to work here, the short term of office means that it would be very uneconomical to build a house by themselves. It is very likely that the term of office has ended before the house is completed.If you don't want to live in a crowded dormitory with your subordinates, then renting this manor is basically a rigid need with no choice.

For such a large manor, if it were located in Sanya, Liu Shanxia estimated that the monthly rent would definitely be in the four digits.If, as Gao Cong said, there were tenants who rented this place for several years, it is estimated that Tian Yeyou had earned back the cost of building this manor at that time.

However, Liu Shanxia immediately remembered that since there were always people living here, wouldn't it be inconvenient for him to bring his subordinates to live here, so he immediately asked Gao Cong about it.

Gao Cong replied: "My lord, Director Wang of the management committee did live here, but in a few days, Director Wang's term will expire, and he will move out at that time. His family has left here a few days ago. I have left Penghu, so the only people living here are Director Wang and a few servants, and it is Director Wang’s intention to arrange for you to live here. Don’t worry, my lord, there is no fee for you to live here.”

Liu Shanxia was a little dumbfounded when he heard the words, how could he be the one who cared about the little rent, but Director Wang took the initiative to arrange for him to live in this manor, which can be regarded as a little bit of goodwill, which slightly diluted the previous experience of not personally welcoming Liu Shanxia. unhappy.

Gao Cong took Liu Shanxia around the first two yards of the manor, and the last two yards were where Director Wang lived, so they didn't enter without authorization.At this time, the luggage and working tools of Liu Shanxia and his party finally arrived, and they carried these large and small boxes into the second yard assigned to them.There are only three rooms on each side of the courtyard. Although Liu Shanxia and his party numbered more than a dozen people, living in this courtyard was not crowded at all.

Liu Shanxia lives in the main room suite, with a reception room on the outside, a small study room inside, and a bedroom after passing through the study room. There is also a bathroom next to the bedroom according to the habits of Haihan people.Liu Shanxia looked at it, and found that all the bathroom equipment was made in Sanya, so he nodded with satisfaction.It seems that when Tian Yeyou built this house, he really used his design as it was, without even discounting the decoration. No wonder the officials who came here later were willing to pay to rent this place.

(End of this chapter)