Riding the wind of rebirth

Li Yutang initially assumed that the young man he was asked to look after must be Zhou Zhi, because he already had a certain understanding of Zhou Zhi's abilities and connections. He then told the other party with a smile to rest assured, saying that he had already become close friends with the young man despite their age difference.

He sensed that the other person sounded somewhat confused.

Once is fine, but it happened twice or three times. Whenever he talked about his friendship with the young people in Lianhe Township, they seemed a little incredulous.

In the end, Li Yutang finally realized that the young man whom the higher-ups had specifically asked to be taken care of was not Zhou Zhi at all, but Mai Xiaomiao, who still looked innocent and romantic to this day.

The person on the other end of the phone thought Li Yutang was openly discussing his close friendship with the little girl, which explains why they felt embarrassed and confused.

Especially since these people were all Li Yutang's direct superiors, Li Yutang felt increasingly embarrassed when he thought about it.

It was for this reason that Li Yutang began to pay attention to why Mai Xiaomiao had attracted so much attention from various bigwigs. He eventually discovered that she was incredibly powerful. Behind this cute little girl stood many bigwigs from the aerospace and military industry, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and the financial system.

Therefore, when Li Yutang met Mai Xiaomiao again, and Mai Xiaomiao still treated him like an elder, he couldn't help but feel a little flustered.

“I think ecological issues are a systemic project. If simply afforesting the mountains doesn’t have a good effect, then shouldn’t we consider taking the management of Qionghai Lake into account as well?”

"As far as I know, the Xichang Prefecture Gazetteer before the Republic of China recorded that its largest area once reached 34 square kilometers, but by the time of aerial survey in 1957, it had shrunk to 30 square kilometers; and then in 87, the newly written Liangshan Prefecture Gazetteer recorded that it was only 28 square kilometers."

"According to the local gazetteer, this reduction in area was caused by a large amount of mud and rocks entering Qionghai Lake from mountain streams such as Guanba River and Ezhang River, but everyone knows the truth."

"If we really want to address the problem of barren mountains, I think we should first manage the sea, rivers, and streams. That might create a local microclimate, further improve the moisture level of the hillsides, and allow the grass to gradually grow back on the mountains."

"Currently, the vegetation coverage rate in the Qionghai Lake basin is only 38%, which is clearly a serious problem. Therefore, we should start implementing the Qionghai Lake basin ecological restoration and management project, actively respond to national policies, implement the natural forest resource protection project, effectively manage the forests around Qionghai Lake, carry out forest closure and afforestation, and combine artificial afforestation, returning farmland to forest, returning farmland to grassland, returning farmland to wetlands and many other measures to first restore the ecology around Qionghai Lake and increase the vegetation coverage rate."

“For sloping land, some simple water conservancy projects can be implemented to prevent soil erosion,” Zhou Zhi said. “For example, the grass trellis soil stabilization experiment in Lianhe Township has been very successful so far. The grass trellis soil stabilization, combined with the widespread planting of drought-resistant legumes, can play a very good role in improving the soil and stabilizing water and soil.”

“Water conservancy projects can set up some simple water turbine pumping stations. Water turbine pumps are a very ingenious and environmentally friendly water lifting device. They use the principle of ‘water pushing water’ to convert the energy of water at a low level into the potential energy of water at a high level. Although it has certain requirements for water source conditions and the water lifting capacity is limited, it is undoubtedly an economical and practical choice in areas lacking electricity and fuel. It is also very suitable for expanding the irrigated area of ​​the slopes along the Guanba River, Ezhang River and other mountain streams, facilitating planting and forest expansion, and preventing soil erosion.”

"There's such a good thing? It can pump water without electricity?" "That thing is similar to a waterwheel, but the paddle wheel is laid flat and it is enclosed by a box and pipes. Of course, it is much more efficient than a waterwheel, but it also has conditions. There must be a drop in elevation and water flow. I think since the local gazetteer says that Guanba River and Ezhang River are both streams, it should be able to be used."

"If it can really achieve the function of lifting and irrigating without any cost, it can be of great use in the prefecture!" Li Yutang was a little happy. What he was thinking about was that some places along the Anning River Valley lacked electricity, and perhaps this equipment could solve some of the irrigation problems.

“There must be experts at the Agricultural University,” Zhou Zhi said to Wu Renzhong. “Brother Wu, you can go to the base and ask Sister Lu and the others.”

“I think that after so many years of no great results from aerial seeding, we should change our approach,” Zhou Zhi said. “Since the reason why we can’t plant trees is because the seeds are washed away, could we switch to a method of soil stabilization using grass grids and specially selected plants to first conserve water and soil and prevent the seeds from being washed away, and then implement aerial seeding technology?”

"The key is that someone has to use their brains and find ways to learn and acquire more knowledge through various channels," Li Yutang said with some emotion.

This brings us back to the issue of talent, a long-standing problem for the state. The area is underdeveloped, conditions are harsh, and the compensation is low, so it's naturally difficult to attract talent.

The issue has become more specific now. College graduates are no longer guaranteed job placement; they have to choose their own employment. In the past, there were some job placement quotas, but now people can choose to stay in big cities to work and not come back.

Secondly, Liangshan Prefecture is located in an earthquake zone, requiring housing to withstand earthquakes of magnitude 8. This makes the cost far higher than in other second- and third-tier cities, with housing prices even comparable to those in major provincial cities like Chengdu and Chongqing.

Previously, various work units had welfare housing policies, which were originally a good measure to attract talent. However, in the past two years, various government agencies have successively canceled this policy and instead require employees to pay the down payment and purchase commercial housing through bank mortgages. This is fine in other places with lower housing prices, but in Xichang City, where the economy is relatively backward and housing prices are quite high, the attractiveness to talent has become even worse.

Zhouzhi also misunderstands this issue. Apart from some old tricks like cadre exchanges, strengthening self-training, and targeted training, he can't think of any new solutions, so there's no need for him to speak up.

Fortunately, Li Yutang didn't come here today with the intention of learning from others. Zhou Zhi had given him and the state enough ideas over the years, and had attracted enough projects and industries. He sincerely admired this young man and was even somewhat grateful to him.

Now that Zhou Zhi is leaving, Li Yutang naturally wants to extend his hospitality by treating Zhou Zhi to a farewell banquet.

However, the trip wasn't entirely wasted. They gained insights into solving soil erosion by starting with ecological restoration of the Qionghai Lake basin. This is another reverse approach; whether it works or not remains to be seen, but at least it provided some inspiration in terms of problem-solving. (End of Chapter)