The sun never sets in America

Chapter 259 Infrastructure: Development and Debt

"Get up, get up a little higher..."

"Yes, yes, lower it a little!!"

Under a crane emitting black smoke, a foreman wearing a steel safety helmet was directing the crane to place the bridge deck on the north bank of the river, in an open space full of flowers and plants.

The bridge plank weighing several tons fell on the flowers and grass, crushing it. It was so tragic.

It’s true that the pear blossoms of a tree overwhelm the begonias! !

Under another shed, several engineers wearing canvas hats and glasses were measuring the data of the bridge.

On the mottled wooden boards, there are dense drawings. On the drawings, there are structural diagrams and bridge construction data of the bridge.

"I think it's best to start building the bridge on the left side of the river."

"That area is connected to nearby roads. If a bridge can be built here, it can directly lead to Hexi City. The economic benefits will be immeasurable..." (Capital of Anxi Province, Santa Fe, New Mexico)

"I think a two-way bridge should be built. With the current population growth, the population of Anxi Province will at least exceed two million in the future, and most of them will be concentrated near the capital..."

"According to the current situation, a two-way bridge is enough for the time being..."

One of the engineers said.

Several other people looked at the topographic map above, compared it in their minds, and quite agreed with the so-called two-way bridge plan.

"But our project volume will at least double. What's more, according to the funds allocated from above, it is only enough for us to build a one-way bridge. What's more, the construction materials we have prepared so far are originally prepared for the one-way bridge. Yes, if we build a two-way bridge now, let’s not talk about the construction funds, but let’s talk about the material money. Who will pay for it??”

The middle-aged engineer wearing black-rimmed glasses did not really agree with the so-called two-way bridge plan, but he was very smart and did not oppose the project itself, but found fault with the construction funds.

Under the shed, everyone was silent. Those who work on projects are most afraid of encountering such a situation, because they are afraid of insufficient funds.

This is the source of almost all engineering problems.

Either on the way to ask for money, or in the process of preparing to ask for money.

Money is really important! !

"I think, let's build it first and don't worry about it so much. If the project funds are not enough, we can ask the higher-ups for it later!!"

As soon as these words came out, everyone looked at Engineer Hu who spoke, wondering what nonsense he was talking about.

Engineer Hu said confidently: "Anyway, this project is the city's project, and its completion is a merit, and it is the achievements of those masters. If it cannot be completed, and it rots in their hands, it is their stain..."

"We've done half of it, and if we ask them for money again, they will definitely give it to them. If nothing else, we might be able to get more!!"

Engineer Hu had a sinister smile on his face.

When the others heard this, they looked at each other and finally nodded. Even the veteran who opposed it had to admit that although this method was shameless, it was the truth! !

As the project is finalized, a two-way bridge will also be built near Hexi City.

…………

Hexi City Financial Audit...

"Yueyuechao..."

"It exceeds the standard every year, and I don't want to lose face anymore. If this continues, the finance will go bankrupt!!"

In a small financial audit office, veteran Xu Cai would scold the new accountants so much that they couldn't hold their heads high.

"Damn it, if this continues, there will be a rat in the account!!"

"Ha ha……"

"why are you laughing??"

“Boss, the rats won’t come when you’re poor!!”

"I want you to say..."

Xu Caihui was so dizzy by this new young man that he slumped down in an armchair, breathless.

"Let's arrange a car and I'll go find the mayor. If we continue like this, we'll have to go to extremes!!"

"Yes, boss!!"

It was the same young man named Zhou just now, and this time he ran very fast.

"What the hell, who are these people!!"

Xu Finance cursed, then left the office and got on the prepared carriage.

town Hall……

"Mr. Wang, I really can't do this job as Finance Director. Now our finances are almost at the bottom. If we don't think of a way, we will really have no money!!"

"This money is spent too fast. Let's not talk about the railway. The money allocated by the higher authorities is for repairing bridges and repairing roads, building reservoirs, and industrial and commercial subsidies. I really don't understand. We always How many people are there, do we need so many??”

On the sofa in the office, Xu Caihui took the tea handed over by Mr. Wang. As soon as he grabbed it, he kept complaining and directly questioned the current plan.

After Mr. Wang heard Xu Finance’s complaint, he held his hand and said earnestly: “Old Xu, I know your difficulties, but in Hexi, who doesn’t have difficulties? Let’s just say that I, the mayor, seem to be in trouble. It looks majestic, but in fact it leaks everywhere..."

"I've been so busy that I haven't been home for a month. A while ago, my wife came to the office and scolded me. I'm so shameless!!"

Listening to Mr. Wang sadly talking about his suffering, Xu Caihui said with some unbearability:

"Master Wang, but the finances are already gone, alas!!"

In the end, he didn't say anything, just sighed heavily.

But the meaning is very obvious. If we continue this, the finances will really collapse, and no one will be able to reap the benefits.

Lord Wang gritted his teeth and finally said:

"In this case, I will go to the Imperial Bank to see if I can get another loan, so that everyone will be better off!!"

Upon hearing this, Xu Caihui immediately changed his expression, eagerly grabbed Mr. Wang's hand, and said with tears in his eyes:

"Your Majesty Wang, you are really the pillar of the country. You are the parent and official of our 400,000 people in Hexi. You are really..."

Mr. Wang twitched his lips when he heard Xu Caihui's words opposite him, and finally he could only reply:

"Finance Minister Xu has made great achievements in keeping money for me in Hexi. I am nothing more than a firefly..."

Finally, the conversation between the two ended with a slow walk.

But for Mr. Wang, the real trouble is yet to come.

.............................................

clap clap clap...

In an accounting room of the Imperial Bank's Hexi Branch, dozens of abacus were being moved rapidly.

"President, these are the latest earnings."

After taking the bill handed over by the financial director of the bank, Mr. Li, who graduated with a bachelor's degree in finance, couldn't help but rub his eyes. Finally, he looked at it carefully and then made a surprised voice: "How is it possible? Why are there so many bad debts!! "

"I remember, last month we were still breaking even. In the first few months, we were still making money. What's wrong?"

The financial director said with some embarrassment:

"President, you forgot, the city approved a large number of projects a while ago, and you signed these..."

After finishing speaking, the financial director took a special look at President Li's face, and saw that his face was as cold as snow in June, terrifyingly cold.

"Depend on!!"

This was the first sentence uttered by President Li.

"President, if you want me to see it, we should stop some loans, otherwise, I'm afraid!!"

"Ugh!!"

Although he didn't explain clearly, President Li knew what the other party was talking about, and in the end he could only return to the office alone.

Looking at the words "money" written in calligraphy on the wall, his expression was extremely complicated.

This is all a question of money. The current loans in Han are basically official loans, personal loans, and corporate loans.

Among them, personal loans are relatively small. After all, most people in Han are immigrants from China. They generally save money and buy mainly daily necessities.

Corporate loans are more troublesome. They include credit loans and mortgage loans, which are very troublesome at first glance.

Official loans mainly include cabinet loans and local loans.

Among them, cabinet loans are mainly in the fields of war, industrial support, large infrastructure, education, and medical care.

(Railways, national highways, etc., excluding bridges, reservoirs and other local construction)

And war is very obvious, it is the national debt issued to fight the war.

Industrial support is easy to understand. It is essentially support for some industries and technologies.

For example, the Han Dynasty Telegraph Company received more than 25 million subsidies in one year in the ninth year of Longwu, which can be said to be the most generous fiscal year in Han Dynasty. (Liu Peng: Thank you Leek)

Even Hantie, which has gradually been able to produce its own blood, received a subsidy of 13 million, and it lasted for four years. In addition, all companies that research motors and machinery have received varying degrees of subsidies. The highest one, Longhe Electric Power, even received a subsidy of more than 7 million. It is a new enterprise and the first time for a private enterprise.

(Han Railway and Han Telegraph are both government-owned enterprises)

The remaining two are related to people's livelihood. Among them, the medical care is mainly based on three pharmaceutical companies: Jinshan Pharmaceutical, Southern Medicine, and Bianque Medical.

Among them, Kingsoft Pharmaceutical and Southern Medicine are listed companies. On the day of the subsidy, their stock prices rose sharply. Although they have not returned to the peak of the stock market crash, they have also entered an upward trajectory, and rising back is a must.

The remaining Bianque Medical is a company established in the latest city. The company's headquarters is not in Han, but in Pontianak, Lanfang.

The company mainly produces Qingliang pills, Jiemi pills, heat-clearing and heat-clearing medicines, and cooling oil.

It looks ordinary, but it sells very well in Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and Africa.

Even the annual sales basically remain in the range of tens of millions of dollars, and the stability is terrible, so that this market segment is noticed by other giant companies, but in the end they either withdraw due to issues such as channels, recognition, price, etc., or they go bankrupt due to poor investment. .

The fundamental reason is that the owner of the company sells a bottle of medicine and pills at a price that is only 10 to 20% higher than the cost price.

In the words of their boss Zhou Jiansheng: "One executive said that we could increase the selling price by another 30% and make a lot of money. I immediately rejected it. I think that a truly good business should be done In a certain industry, there are no rivals, and the way to have no rivals is to make this industry unprofitable for anyone other than us to come in!!”

But such a good company has never been listed on the market. I have to say that it is also a kind of wisdom! !

The education in Han Dynasty basically means throwing money and talents. Apart from these two, there is no other good way.

Currently, the Chinese education department is discussing a plan for fifty universities. Once completed, Han's higher education will be no different from that of the United Kingdom and the United States. (currently twenty)

In addition, subsidies are provided to schools to repair teaching buildings, playgrounds, libraries, etc.

According to the data released by the Han Dynasty in the 10th year of Longwu, the largest expenditure in the entire Han Dynasty, besides infrastructure, was education.

Liu Peng even shouted the slogan of cultivating millions of middle school students.

Don't think that middle school students are not good enough. In this era, a country with tens of thousands of middle school students is enough to develop industry. The current scale of one million students may not be available in the UK.

The number of registered middle school students in Han is 315,000, which is still far from one million. This is mainly due to the large number of immigrants. The new generation of immigrants has only been twelve years old and has not yet fully grown up.

You must know that many young people in Han China currently have primary school education. Why, it is not the time to immigrate yet. They are already quite old. They only studied for a few years and then went to work in a hurry. .

According to the estimates of the Ministry of Education of the Han State, it will not be until the 16th year of Longwu, that is, four years later, when these children and the children who came in halfway have grown up, the higher education in the Han State will explode rapidly. This is also fifty years. A prerequisite for the university program.

After all, there would be no college students without middle school students! !

The education expenditure of the entire Han State is as high as 40 million per year, which is higher than the military expenditure.

(Military expenditure is about 37 million per year)

In addition to cabinet loans, there are local loans, mainly loans for local government development.

Like Hexi City, it is a typical local loan. Most of the funds are used for local infrastructure and the construction of the city itself.

It doesn't seem like much, just a few projects, but it adds up to an astronomical figure. If the local area is not wealthy, it basically depends on loans.

Central banks like the Imperial Bank are typical examples.

Local loans are different from ordinary corporate loans. The figures are also very scary, often running into millions.

Just in Hexi alone, it is said that there are loans of almost 7 million yuan.

It doesn't seem like much, after all, the annual finance is about four to five million.

But the Han Dynasty couldn't stand the construction in various places. This piecemeal patchwork actually created a huge debt of up to 300 million yuan.

Of course, according to an economist, it is still in a stable process and there will be no crisis.

But people in the financial industry like Mr. Li have actually sensed a crisis, but this crisis has been covered up by Han's rapidly growing economic population.

But it’s like a ticking time bomb, you just have to wait and see if there are experts who can dismantle the order.

Of course, as the old saying goes, a lot of debt never pays off.

There is wine today, drunk today, and tomorrow will be sad.

This is what many people think. After all, development problems must ultimately be solved through development! !

.............................................

"Mr. Wang, it's not that we don't want to borrow money, it's that this month has reached its peak!!"

"If you don't believe me, I'll show you the account book. If I continue to lose money this month, I, the bank president, can get out..."

Faced with Mr. Wang's request for another loan, Mr. Li really had no way of agreeing. As he said, if he continued to borrow more, he would probably lose his job.

"President Li, you are being accommodating. In this way, we still have a coal mine in Hexi, which will also be mortgaged to your bank. Once the construction is completed, the flow of people will come up, the economy will improve, and the money will be easily given..."

"You still don't believe me, Lao Wang? I'm famous for telling the truth!!"

Mr. Wang assured Mr. Li confidently.

But the once easy-to-talk President Li shook his head firmly, looked at Mr. Wang and said, "Mr. Wang, let's put it this way, if I lend you this money today, I have to get out. No kidding, now. Once the bad debts break out, it will be enough for me to drink a pot!!"

President Li's expression was genuine and did not look fake.

“Can’t we really get a loan??”

“Can’t get a loan!!”

“Can’t get a loan at all??”

“Not a dime!!”

Looking at Mr. Li's firm eyes, Mr. Wang sighed heavily, finally stood up, and before leaving, turned back to Mr. Li and said:

"If nothing else, thank you for the loan some time ago!!"

Finally, Mr. Wang left the reception room.

Manager Li behind him hesitated to speak, and finally had to say something.

Mr. Wang, who walked out of the bank gate, looked back at the Imperial Bank sign, his eyes dim.

On the way back, the mayor, who had been in charge of Hexi for four years and built a prosperous Hexi City with his own hands, did not say anything, but showed a hint of sadness in his eyes.

He knows that if things continue like this, many projects may have to be stopped. Once they stop, it is unknown how many people will lose their jobs and how many companies will go bankrupt.

Can we still maintain our current prosperity? ?

Mr. Wang, who returned to the office, searched almost all connections, but all the answers were that he was incapable.

A penny can stump a heroic man, Mr. Wang finally realized.

.........

In the office late at night, Mr. Wang still slept like that, lying on the sofa with a wool blanket covering his body. This was his sleeping equipment.

“Alas, it’s hard to make money, but it’s hard to reach the sky!!”

“I used to think that money was easy to come by, but now I find that it’s much more difficult to get money than to risk your life!!”

Master Wang flipped through a volume of the history of the economic development of the Han Dynasty and couldn't help but sigh.

During the day, this young official, who had taken charge of a party at the age of thirty and had a promising future, was severely hit by reality and realized what it means to be in troubled times.

No money, nothing! !

Scratch...

"Forehead……"

"This is??"

When he turned to the Xijing volume, he was happy at first when he saw the issuance of bonds in the development of Xijing, but soon dimmed. After all, the imperial court has not allowed the issuance of private debts since then.

(The main reason is that at that time, the government owed money randomly and owed money to private individuals, so they delayed it as long as they could)

"No, there is another way!!"

Mr. Wang, who was worried, suddenly thought of a great idea.

That's the stock market! !

What else is there in Hexi, resources? Although banks don’t like these resources, it doesn’t mean that the financial market doesn’t like them.

Thinking of this, Mr. Wang seemed to have discovered a new continent.

What he didn't know was how much trouble he would be in after that again.

　Monthly ticket, monthly ticket! ! !

　　

　

(End of this chapter)