Dramatic changes in the movies and TV shows

Chapter 1315 Departure
After the jubilant villagers left, Lin Jie convened a meeting with the county party committee and Lin Hao to formally announce the superior's document regarding the construction of an irrigation canal in Lin County.

"Comrades, we have obtained all the approvals for the Zhang River Diversion Project!"

"From today onwards, we are no longer just talking on paper; we can start doing it in earnest!"

A relieved yet triumphant smile spread across his face as he waved his hand and said:
"Alright, everyone, tell me. How should we plan the work? What are the next steps?"

County Head Li Mingyang was equally excited, and with an irrepressible smile on his face, he replied:

"Old Lin, before you came back, we were doing some calculations. When will the Zhanghe River water flow to our Lin County?"

Sun Shihou couldn't help but laugh and interject, his tone slightly teasing:

"Old Li did the math, and he said it would take two years! If we really wait two years, the daylily will be too cold!"

"Two years?" Lin Jie raised an eyebrow, looking on with a puzzled expression, and then said with a smile:

“I’ll do the math! The main canal is 70 kilometers long, 8 meters wide, and 4.3 meters high, right?”

After receiving affirmative responses from everyone, he said with great excitement:

"I'm planning to send 70,000 people at once! Each person will be responsible for one meter! You guys do the math, how long will it take to fix it?"

Sun Shihou immediately eagerly boasted, "I can easily settle this score!"

"Seventy thousand people, one meter each. Even if it takes ten days to repair that meter, or twenty days if we're being generous!"

"See, the canal was completed in less than a month! This shows that many hands make light work and great things can be accomplished!"

Committee member Lao Luo, listening to this algorithm that completely disregarded reality, couldn't help but frown and say:
"Old Sun, cutting through mountains and digging tunnels will take a lot of time. A month is simply not enough. We need to allow more time...!"

I thought he was clear-headed, but to my surprise, he changed the subject and joined in the fantasy, saying with absolute certainty:

"Three months! I think it will definitely be finished in three months!"

“Alright, alright, three months it is!” Sun Shihou said with a smile, readily agreeing.

Li Mingyang felt it was still too risky, so he couldn't help but add:

"What three months, Lao Luo? You have to factor in all the unexpected situations too."

"What's so unexpected?" Sun Shihou waved his hand dismissively and said:
"We've built quite a few water conservancy projects, what haven't we seen? I guarantee that as long as we start now, it will be completed after the New Year, that's a sure thing! At most, we'll work until the Lantern Festival, and it will definitely be finished by then!"

The conference room was filled with an optimistic, almost blind, atmosphere, as if the lifeline was already within reach.

However, seeing the crowd getting more and more excited and talking increasingly outrageous, Lin Hao couldn't help but pour cold water on their enthusiasm.

"Aren't you all getting excited too soon? With your calculation method, expecting the water to be flowing by the Lantern Festival is just wishful thinking."

The heated discussion came to an abrupt halt, and all eyes were on him.

Lin Jie's smile faded slightly, and the fervor in her heart subsided a little as she realized her own blind optimism.

However, Lin Jie's fervor remained, so he said with a hint of jokingness:
"Then tell me, Xiaolin, how did you come up with such a wild idea?"

"I know that it's not realistic to turn on the water during the Spring Festival, but wouldn't it be nice if everyone could be happy?"

"But Xiaolin, you have to have confidence. If it doesn't work during the Spring Festival, it'll be open during the National Day holiday. At worst, it'll be open by this time next year!"

Lin Hao did not back down because of the secretary's attempt to smooth things over; instead, his expression became even more serious.

Instead, a metaphor shattered his illusions. Lin Hao said with a serious expression:

"Let me give you an example. Now we want to split this piece of hardwood, but we only have one piece of wood and one axe."

His gaze swept over the crowd before he asked, "Excuse me, would it take less time for a hundred people to chop than for one person to do it?"

"There's only one piece of firewood and one axe. Why do we need so many people? It's just a matter of one axe. One person is enough," Old Sun said with a smile.

"That's the problem. If a hundred people have to work in a line and wait, they'll interfere with each other, and there's only one axe!"

"When we were building the canal, the Taihang Mountains were the hardest piece of wood we faced, and our steel chisels, explosives, and cement were the only axe we had."

"In narrow work sections, more people are not necessarily better. Without scientific organization and sufficient tools, more people may lead to more chaos and lower efficiency."

"We only have about a hundred technicians, and we only have one canal to build, which is a full seventy kilometers long. The drop must be kept within a range of one meter at eight thousand meters."

"If there is even the slightest mistake in the middle, that section will be completely ruined. If you are lucky, it can be repaired and still be used. If you are unlucky, it will take at least several hundred tons of cement to repair it."

"If we're even less lucky, a section might collapse, turning the original gentle slope into an inward-curving structure. The entire section would have to be replanned and rebuilt, and the difficulty would be more than ten times greater than it is now."

"By then, let alone two or three years, this section of the main canal can almost be declared a failure. Even if we want to continue building it, we can forget about it being completed in less than one or two decades!"

"Hiss~!" The conference room fell silent, then everyone gasped, not expecting the consequences to be so severe.

Lin Hao's words were like a bucket of cold water, effectively extinguishing the enthusiasm and inflated egos of a group of people.

Lin Jie, who had been extremely excited just moments before, had now calmed down and realized his own problem.

Lin Jie looked somewhat ashamed, then said to Lin Hao seriously:

"Xiaolin, thank you for cooling us down, preventing us from making an even bigger mistake!"

"When it comes to engineering matters, you're the expert. We'll listen to whatever you say and strictly follow your instructions!"

Lin Hao nodded, and then said:
"I have calculated our current resources, and it is unrealistic to expect to repair this section of the canal in one or two years. Not only is time not an option, but our reserves of materials, cash, technical personnel, and so on are also insufficient."

"But this raises another issue: if the canal is not completed for a long time, morale will inevitably suffer, and the progress and quality of the project may be compromised."

"Therefore, I suggest that we focus on building the Shanxi section of the main canal, and that we build one section at a time and make it open to water."

"We need to let the people see the Zhanghe River flowing into our Linxian County inch by inch in order to continuously boost their morale..."

While Lin Hao and Lin Jie were engaged in a heated discussion about diverting the Zhang River into Linxi, Deputy Secretary Yu was also busy. In Secretary Gao's office, Deputy Secretary Yu sat on the sofa, leaning slightly forward, his face showing both respect and concern as he spoke:
"Secretary Gao, I've come here today to discuss something with you regarding the Linxian County's project to divert water from the Zhang River into Linxian."

Secretary Gao picked up his teacup, blew away the foam, and said in a calm tone, "Oh? What is it? Tell me!"

"I heard that Secretary Shang in Shanxi has connections with Lin Jie, which is why he approved their water diversion?" Deputy Secretary Yu probed.

"Your information network is quite impressive," Secretary Gao said with a smile, a hint of smugness in his voice.
"That brat Lin Jie really hit the jackpot. Secretary Shang is an old acquaintance of ours, and Secretary Fang personally communicated with him, explaining the difficulties in Lin County. That's why they made an exception and didn't make things difficult for him."

"So... has the specific date for the canal construction been set?" Deputy Secretary Yu pressed.

"It's settled. Lin Jie's intention is to start construction on the 16th of this month."

"The 16th, tomorrow?" Deputy Secretary Yu's face instantly showed genuine surprise. "So soon?"

Judging from the other party's tone, Secretary Gao sensed that Yu Fenggao seemed to have ulterior motives, so he put down his teacup and said in a tone that was both reminding and warning:
"Old Yu, things have come to this point, you can't object this time."

"Secretary Gao, look at what you're saying!" Deputy Secretary Yu immediately put on a smile, trying to hide his embarrassment, and said:
"If neither we nor Shanxi object, what could I possibly object to? I wholeheartedly support it!"

"Here's what I think: Lin Jie is a driven person. He can build canals to bring water to the people of Linxian, which is a good thing!"

However, at this point, Deputy Secretary Yu changed his tone, saying with concern, "But I'm still a little worried!"

"Worried?" Secretary Gao leaned back, tapping his fingers lightly on the armrest, and said, "Worried about what?"

“I’m worried that he’s taking the entire county’s workforce to build the canal. Is that... is he taking too big a step?”

Deputy Secretary Yu said earnestly, "If the county's work focus is completely shifted, and something goes wrong in other places, or if the project itself encounters unforeseen difficulties, it may be hard to handle the situation."

"This is not child's play; there has to be a method to it. You can't get fat in one bite."

As his former superior, Secretary Gao knew Lin Jie's temperament well, and Yu Fenggao's words truly touched on his concerns.

After a moment of contemplation, Gao Hujia looked at Deputy Secretary Yu and tentatively asked, "Since you've considered this aspect, you must have some ideas, right?"

Deputy Secretary Yu knew the time was ripe, and he revealed his true intentions:
“Secretary Gao, the entire leadership team in Lin County is full of enthusiasm, but it’s almost entirely Lin Jie’s voice.”

"I think we could make a proper adjustment and send over... well, someone who understands the big picture and knows how to handle things, to balance things out."

"This is a safer approach, and it will also better assist Comrade Lin Jie in his work, preventing him from making rash mistakes."

Upon hearing this, Secretary Gao's heart immediately went on alert, sensing that the other party likely harbored ill intentions. However, he remained outwardly calm and merely probed:

"Oh? Since you're being so specific, it seems you already have someone in mind."

"I spoke with Comrade Tong Kun from Linxian County a few days ago," Deputy Secretary Yu suggested, no longer trying to hide his intentions.
"Comrade Tong Kun has always had his own unique views on the issue of canal construction. He is principled and familiar with the local conditions."

"My personal suggestion is to move him to a more critical position so that he can play a more active role."

Secretary Gao knew perfectly well that this was not an attempt to "assist" or "balance" the situation, but rather an attempt to sow discord and hinder progress.

However, Yu Fenggao's words were not without reason. If no one had involved Lin Jie, the other party might have really caused some big trouble.

But Secretary Gao also knew that Yu Fenggao's proposal was ill-intentioned, and he had also heard about how Tong Kun's identity was exposed by Lin Jie and he was scolded severely.

If Yu Fenggao suggested someone else, he wouldn't really object too much. He believed that with Lin Jie's skills, dealing with this kind of person wouldn't be too difficult.

However, it was Tong Kun who made the suggestion, which was obviously malicious. If such a person were promoted, wouldn't that be a slap in the face to Lin Jie?

He was certainly unhappy about this undermining of Lin Jie's prestige, but he couldn't directly refute it.

Furthermore, Secretary Gao was worried that the other party might send Tong Kun to interfere with or even sabotage the canal construction, so he gave a perfunctory reply:

"Yes, let's have a meeting to discuss this matter."

······
Secretary Gao temporarily suppressed Deputy Secretary Yu's actions, thus temporarily preventing any disruption to the construction of the irrigation canal in Linxian County.

Tong Kun was disappointed; the slap in the face he had been hoping for did not come. However, he had received a guarantee from Deputy Secretary Yu that he would be helped sooner or later, while also hinting that he should continue.

However, since he knew he had no hope of becoming deputy secretary, he definitely needed to ease his relationship with Lin Jie and the other committee members.

So when Tong Kun was leaving get off work, he found County Chief Li, and pretended to be embarrassed and shy, and said:

"Um, County Chief Li, I... I have something I'd like to ask you!"

"Tell me!" Li Mingyang asked, his face showing doubt, but his mind wary.

"You and Secretary Lin are usually quite close!" Tong Kun said, feigning shyness.

"As you know, we had some disagreements before, but I was just following orders from my superiors!"

"Everyone's doing this for the good of Linxian County, right?"

"I just wanted to ask if Secretary Lin has any objections to me?"

Upon hearing this, Li Mingyang lowered his guard and realized that it was best for the county committee to remain united. He then offered words of comfort:
"Old Lin isn't that kind of person, don't worry!"

After Li Mingyang left, Tong Kun breathed a sigh of relief. Now that his attitude had been conveyed, he could apologize to Lin Jie and appease him for the time being.

If the other party continues to make things difficult for him, then it won't be his problem anymore. He might even be able to use the other party's attitude to get Deputy Secretary Yu to help him out.

To his disappointment, when he apologized to Lin Jie, the latter generously said that the matter was over and that he should just serve the people well in the future.

That afternoon, the broadcasting station broadcast the good news that the construction had been approved by higher authorities to all the people of the county.

At the same time, mobilization has begun, with the first batch of 20,000 young men to go to Pingshun County, Shanxi Province, to start construction early tomorrow morning, accompanied by technical personnel.

next day
At the entrance of the county committee, Lin Jie, in front of all the county representatives, made a final mobilization speech.

This time, thanks to Lin Hao's arrangements, Deputy Secretary Yu did not come to Linxian County to guide the work, and Tong Kun ultimately did not become the deputy secretary.

Everything proceeded according to plan. With the blessings of the people of the county, and carrying the prepared tools, they set off safely and steadily towards Shanxi Pingxu.