Sail across the sea

Chapter 402 So that's what they were planning.

"The contract fees are going to go up again..."

Yu Zhiping was speechless.

Yu Zhiping was all too familiar with the issue of raising contract fees.

When Gu'nan County first started developing rare earth resources, nobody knew anything about it. They offered to give the villagers nothing and even begged them to develop rare earth resources, but the villagers were reluctant, fearing that their investment would be wasted.

After some people made money from mining, the villagers became more enthusiastic about mining and all wanted to contract the mines. The township government thought that since they were all barren mountains, making some money was a bonus, and the contract fees they offered were practically free by today's standards.

Later, as county, township, and village levels learned about the profits from mining, they realized that the previous contract prices were too low, and thus demanded higher contract prices. This demand was not limited to mine owners who contracted new mines, but also applied to existing contractors.

In other words, the originally agreed-upon contract fee of 1 yuan has now been increased to 2 yuan.

The mine owners, of course, refused to accept this and boycotted it. Meanwhile, the county and township governments, driven by the desire to increase their own revenue, were adamant about raising prices.

In those days, there were no concepts like governing according to law or transparent governance. Or to put it another way, although such requirements existed on paper, in a place like Gu'nan, far from the reach of the central government, no one cared about them.

Both the county and township governments took strong measures, first halting the purchase of rare earth, then sealing off mines and detaining people. Most of the mine owners were farmers, and deep down they still had a mentality of not fighting against the government. In addition, the demands for increased contract fees from the county and township governments were not unreasonable, and the profits left for the mine owners were still quite substantial. So the mine owners reluctantly gave in.

The issue of raising contract fees has occurred three times in the past few years, with the mine owners' resistance growing stronger each time. The Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources has been at the center of these struggles, and Yu Zhiping loses seven or eight pounds after each incident; no one is more afraid of price increases than him.

At this moment, when Zhong Jiangang and Shang Weimin brought up the issue of raising the contract fee again, Yu Zhiping suddenly felt a darkness before his eyes.

“Old Yu, didn’t you hear what Director Pei said? One of their mines is willing to pay double the contract fee, and after paying it, the profit is twice as much as before. If all the mines in the county could double their contract fees, can you imagine how much the county’s finances would improve?” Shang Weimin was trying to persuade Yu Zhiping.

Yu Zhiping said with a bitter face, "It's precisely because I know this that I feel this matter is too difficult. In the past, when we raised the contract fee, it was only by 30,000 or 50,000 yuan. This time, it's going to be 300,000 yuan. Which mine owner would be willing to accept that?"

“This is simple,” Gao Fan said. “The state has already issued a notice to comprehensively rectify the rare earth industry, and it’s been published in the newspapers. The county will use this as a pretext to announce that all rare earth mines in the county will be closed down immediately, and all previous contracts will be null and void. Since everyone’s contract fees are paid annually anyway, taking back the contract rights early won’t cause any loss for anyone. What reason do they have to make a fuss?”

"Of course there's a reason!" Yu Zhiping exclaimed anxiously. "For example, some mine owners have just contracted mountains and invested money in building pools and buying equipment. Now they're saying the agreements are void. Doesn't that mean all the money they invested is wasted?"

“In this situation, the county will just provide full compensation. How much money could it possibly be?” Gao Fan said casually.

"This money..." Yu Zhiping wanted to argue.

Zhong Jiangang interrupted him and said to Gao Fan, "Assistant Gao, please continue."

Gao Fan smiled and continued, "After revoking the previous contract, the county will announce new contract conditions, with the contract fee at least doubling. Then, the county can also announce that mine owners can have priority to contract their original mines."

"I understand!" Shang Weimin slapped his forehead. "If the mine owners continue mining using the old methods after doubling the contract fee, they're bound to lose money. To recoup their contract fees, they'll have to come to you to learn the new technology, and that way you can earn money from technical services. No wonder you proactively offered to increase the contract fee; so that's what you were planning."

“Director Shang, that’s not very meaningful,” Pei Hengxue retorted.

Wasn't that exactly what he was planning? Now that he'd been exposed, he was utterly humiliated. He said:

“We have plenty of ways to promote new technologies. Those mine owners who don’t want to switch technologies will naturally come to us when they see others making money with the new technologies.”

“We proactively proposed increasing the contract fee to remind Gunan County that the previous contract fees were too low. We offered Gunan County a way to increase its fiscal revenue. How could Director Shang not appreciate our good intentions?”

"Haha, Director Pei, don't take it to heart. Old Shang was just joking with you."

Zhong Jiangang smiled and smoothed things over, letting the matter drop.

Zhong Jiangang understood that Pei Hengxue's purpose in proposing to increase the contract fee was to entice Gunan County to raise the contract fee standards across the board. Once the contract fee was so high that all mine owners using the pool leaching process would be unable to make a profit, they would have no choice but to go to the Zeyan Institute to learn the new process.

The approach taken by Gu'nan County will soon be imitated by other counties. At that time, the Zeyan Institute will be so busy collecting technical service fees that their hands will cramp up. Why would they care about a mere 30 yuan contract fee?

While individual cities and counties may disregard national directives, none will remain indifferent to a measure that could increase fiscal revenue. This measure, after all, could directly double fiscal revenue.

As a great man once said, 100% profit can lead people to trample on all laws.

What Zhong Jiangang wanted to trample on was nothing more than a contract.

In a very short time, Zhong Jiangang had already assessed the pros and cons of the entire matter:

The benefits are significant enough to motivate all departments in the county to work together to make this happen.

With the official mandate in place, and the state having clearly put forward the requirement to rectify rare earth development, Gunan County only needed to take up this banner.

The obstacles to the work are actually not significant. With the new technology from Zeyan Institute, the income of each mine can double. Under these circumstances, even if the mine owners pay double the contract fee, their profits will still increase net after payment. The mine owners can easily calculate this.

As for those who inevitably disagree, the county has sufficient methods to make them come to their senses.

Thinking of this, Zhong Jiangang's smile deepened, and he warmly said to Pei Hengxue and Gao Fan:

"Director Pei, Assistant Gao, thank you very much for your contributions to the economic development of Gu'nan County. Gu'nan County will definitely treat the promotion of new technologies as a top priority, so you can rest assured."

(End of this chapter)