Dramatic changes in the movies and TV shows

Chapter 1318 A Stage of Victory, New Problems
Upon hearing this, Lin Jie's heart skipped a beat. In fact, he knew better than anyone that the three million yuan that the county committee had scraped together was nothing but a drop in the ocean compared to such a massive project.

But he couldn't show it on his face, so he could only bite the bullet and reply:

"Secretary Fang, our Linxian County Party Committee has repeatedly studied and carefully calculated the results. We are confident that, relying on the strength of 600,000 people, we can overcome the difficulties and complete the Red Flag Canal!"

Secretary Fang sighed softly, already understanding the situation, and then said earnestly:
"Comrade Lin Jie, determination alone is not enough without sustained financial resources."

"To be honest, when the provincial party committee was discussing your proposal to divert water from the Zhang River to the forest, there was a water conservancy project in the Northwest that was similar to yours!"

"It was because the project was too large that the local government could not sustain it. When you started construction, they... had already stopped work and ultimately abandoned the project halfway through."

"This is a living, bloody example right in front of us!"

This news made Lin Jie's heart sink. He seemed to see the terrible future that the Red Flag Canal might face, but now there was no time to back down, so he said in a somewhat hoarse voice:

“…That’s right.”

Secretary Fang turned around, interrupting Lin Jie, and uttered the most important sentence of the trip:

“Deputy Secretary Yu said something that, although I don’t completely agree with his starting point, the reasoning behind it is correct.”

He said: "If the Red Flag Canal fails, those who made the main decisions will become sinners against the people and history."

The weight of the words "sinner" was immense, making Lin Jie feel an instant pressure.

He remained silent for a moment, then met Secretary Fang's gaze and said with a do-or-die attitude:

"Yes, Secretary Fang. I'll remember those words. I, Lin Jie, will bear all the blame and honor.

He didn't make any grand pronouncements, but this promise is more powerful than any slogan.

Secretary Fang looked at him. He had already given him the reminder he needed to. His old subordinate had staked his political life and even his personal honor on the Hongqi Canal, which was not yet filled with water.

Finally, he nodded, said nothing more, and patted Lin Jie's shoulder forcefully, everything understood without words.

······
On December 12, 1959, after meticulous construction, the headworks dam was nearing completion.

The Zhuozhang River, which is over 100 meters long, now has only a dozen meters left to close, and at this time, the Zhuozhang River has entered its most docile period of the year.

During the dry season, the water flow slows down significantly, the water level drops, and some of the mottled riverbed on both banks is exposed, making the construction easier than it was in May.

The reason why closing the dam was so difficult at the original time was because by May, the spring flood season had already begun. The difficulty of closing the dam then was incomparable to that at the time.

This precious window of opportunity is precisely why Lin Hao repeatedly urged Lin Jie to start work as soon as possible.

Lin Hao's forward-thinking planning bought the Hongqi Canal project more than three crucial months.

At this moment, the construction site at the head of the canal is bustling with activity, yet orderly.

Lin Hao stood on a makeshift platform on the shore, holding a tin megaphone, his voice clearly carrying throughout the entire construction site:
"Comrades! Based on the preliminary surveys and calculations, now is the best time to close the gap! The water flow is slow and the current is weak, which is the perfect time for us to lock down Zhanglong!"

He had previously instructed the construction workers to drive wooden stakes into the river and wrap them with precious wire, which now proved to be crucial.

The plan to close the gap had been rehearsed many times, so there was no need to use a large number of people, nor was it necessary to jump into the cold, turbid Zhang River to block the water as in the original story.

"Shi Shuisheng, take men and take control of the left bank!"

"Gu Dahai, take your men and take control of the right bank!"

"You guys will be in charge of throwing stones and sandbags later!"

"Transportation team, ensure the supply of stones and sandbags, and prioritize the deployment of wire mesh gabions!"

"Lookout post, keep a close eye on the water level and the dam. If anything happens, immediately sound the alarm as agreed!"

One command after another was issued in an orderly manner, and everyone quickly went to their posts to prepare for the final push to close the dam.

Fortunately, the Zhuozhang River was not roaring and struggling during the flood season. The migrant workers on both banks, like skilled engineers, shouted in unison as they accurately threw huge wire mesh gabions and sacks full of stones into their designated positions.

The massive gabion sank to the bottom of the water, was then stopped by the water-retaining piles, and then firmly took root, quickly building a solid framework in the river.

The tragic scene of failing to merge twice, as depicted in the original storyline, was absent, as was the sacrifice of jumping into the icy river to form a human wall.

The entire process proceeded without any surprises. Although it was still arduous and sweat still soaked through our clothes, everything progressed steadily thanks to scientific calculations and efficient organization.

Perhaps in artistic creation, we should include a scenario where the attempt to stop the flood fails, then everyone works together, and after a passionate speech, they overcome the difficulty together.

But engineers don't want that kind of excitement at all; they don't want to see even the slightest accident.

They simply wanted to complete the closure safely, not to embody any tragic or heroic act.

Because any accident means either a problem with the project or a problem with the people involved, and the so-called tragedy is inevitably reflected in the death of an engineer.

Therefore, no engineer wants to see the unexpected and tragic events depicted in these literary works.

When the last few specially made giant gabions were pushed into the dragon's mouth, the raging river was completely tamed.

When forced to flow along the newly excavated irrigation canal, the entire construction site fell into a brief silence, as if they could hardly believe that victory had come so easily.

Immediately, a deafening cheer erupted, soaring into the sky!

"It worked! We succeeded!"

"We've blocked the Zhanghe River!"

People waved their tools, embraced each other, and their faces beamed with unprecedented pride and joy.

This successful merger greatly boosted morale, especially for Lin Jie, who had been under the most pressure due to Secretary Fang's words.

The successful damming of the water left him speechless with excitement, finally relieving the pressure in his heart.

However, standing amidst the cheering crowd, only a faint trace of satisfaction crossed Lin Hao's face.

However, he knew better than anyone that the dam's closure was just the first fortress to be conquered among the many difficulties facing the Red Flag Canal.

There are still many problems on the entire list of issues related to the Hongqi Canal that need to be addressed.

The news of the dam's closure greatly boosted the construction team's confidence, but after the joy, the work still had to continue.

······
Many problems were encountered during construction, but Lin Hao and Lin Jie solved them one by one.

However, as the first phase of the project is nearing completion, two thorny problems have emerged: insufficient funds and materials, especially a severe shortage of cement.

In the command post, the logistics director, holding the nearly empty inventory list, said in a bitter voice:

"Secretary Lin, Engineer Lin, we're almost out of materials for repairing and reinforcing the canal, let alone building the canal wall."

Funds were already stretched thin, and no one had a solution to this problem. Finally, Lin Jie approached Changshun, wanting to use the special funds, but Li Mingyang strongly opposed it.

"Bang!" After hearing Lin Jie's words, Li Mingyang slammed his hand on the table and angrily rebuked Lin Jie:
"Lin Jie! You...you are incredibly audacious!"

Lin Jie was startled by his sudden outburst, quickly got up, closed the office door tightly, and turned back to lower her voice, saying:
"What are you yelling about! You scared me! Nothing's happened yet, do you want to make a scene?"

"Afraid of the whole city going crazy?" Li Mingyang's chest heaved violently as he growled in a low voice, his anger still not subsided.
"I think you've lost your mind! Are you willing to sacrifice your political life and the rest of your life for that Red Flag Canal?!"

"Keep your voice down!" Lin Jie pressed him back into his chair, then leaned closer, his tone resolute as he said:

"Sit down, sit down and talk. If anything goes wrong, I'll take responsibility, I'll bear the consequences! The reason I'm discussing this with you is that I don't want to act unilaterally."

"In case anything happens in the future... just pretend I didn't contact you this afternoon!"

"I think you've really gone mad!" Li Mingyang looked at him, his eyes filled with anxious anger at his son's lack of ambition.

"Yes, I'm going crazy!" Lin Jie admitted frankly, looking intently at Li Mingyang, "I'm frantic right now!"

"Old Li, no matter what, the Red Flag Canal absolutely cannot be stopped because of money, it absolutely cannot be stalled at this last hurdle!"

“But those funds are earmarked for specific purposes!” Li Mingyang emphasized through gritted teeth, “That’s an ironclad rule!”

"You think you know about earmarked funds? Don't you know?" Lin Jie retorted, his tone becoming agitated.

"Then you should know even more about where this money came from!" Li Mingyang said in a heavy voice.

"This is money the government is returning to the people! It will be returned to the people in every single penny!"

"Of course I know!" Lin Jie met his gaze and said firmly.

"The state returned the money that it shouldn't have collected to Linxian County, so that we could return it to the people."

"Now we're using that money to bring water to save the lives of hundreds of thousands of people. What's wrong with that? The money is ultimately going to benefit the people!"

“That’s the logic, but in terms of procedure and discipline, that’s a huge problem!” Li Mingyang tried to pull him back with principles.

Lin Jie fell silent, and only the heavy breathing of the two of them remained in the office.

A few seconds later, Lin Jie finally raised his head, his eyes filled with a do-or-die spirit, and said:

"Old Li, I'll say it one last time: if any problems arise, I, Lin Jie, will take full responsibility. It will absolutely not affect you, nor will it affect the county committee!"

"What kind of person do you take me for? Do you think I'm the kind of person who's afraid of taking responsibility?"

Seeing his stubbornness, Li Mingyang said, both annoyed and puzzled:

"Old Lin, what on earth has possessed you? What's gotten into your mind?!"

The two stood facing each other, neither of them speaking; the air seemed to freeze.

Although the construction of the Hongqi Canal required funding, the discipline that must be upheld will never be compromised, at least for now, it can be maintained for a period of time.

Li Mingyang finally stated unequivocally:

"Although more than a million has been transferred out of the account, the remaining funds can last for a while, so we'll use them for now!"

"Stop right now of that idea you just mentioned!"

"I'll figure out how to allocate funds. When it's time to use money, I, Li Mingyang, will definitely step up for you!"

“But now, you absolutely cannot use that money!” He stared at Lin Jie, issuing his final warning:

"Otherwise, without waiting for anyone else to investigate, I'll be the first to send you to the regional supervisory commission!"

"You, with such a temper, are giving me a headache from all that yelling...!" Lin Jie was extremely anxious when he heard that Li Mingyang still hadn't given in.

"Knock knock knock~!" Just as he was about to say something, there was a knock on the door.

Lin Jie and Li Mingyang couldn't care less about arguing at this point. They exchanged a glance and fell silent. Then Lin Jie immediately went to open the door.

"What's going on? The two top officials of Lin County are having a secret meeting in their office?" Lin Hao joked as he entered the room.

"Alright, stop exchanging glances. I could hear your argument from right outside the county committee building!"

"Good heavens, you guys are afraid the whole county committee won't hear this!"

"Ah, you know!" Li Mingyang asked anxiously.

Lin Hao pulled out a chair and sat down, then calmly said, "Don't worry, it's just that I have good hearing; the others probably didn't hear it!"

"Sigh!" Lin Jie and Li Mingyang sighed in unison, and at the same time breathed a sigh of relief: "It's good that it hasn't gotten out."

At this moment, Lin Hao continued:
"Actually, you don't need to argue. As Secretary Lin said, the three million yuan in special funds were used for the benefit of 600,000 people in Lin County."

"In principle, there is no problem with this approach. The problem is that the funds were misappropriated!"

"This is a mistake; it's neither legal nor compliant!"

Seeing the two looking at him, Lin Hao calmly said:
"So why don't you submit a report requesting that these funds be used for the construction of the irrigation canal?"

"Uh~!" Lin Jie and Li Mingyang were both stunned, then suddenly realized:

"Yes, we could have just submitted a report to our superiors and asked them to use the funds for the construction of the irrigation canal. It's such a simple problem, how come we didn't think of it?"

Just as Lin Jie was feeling happy, he seemed to suddenly remember something, then frowned and said:

"However, once this application report is submitted, I'm afraid it will be met with disapproval from Deputy Secretary Yu!"

"I know your concerns!" Lin Hao said with a smile.

"But this is not something that Deputy Secretary Yu can decide. According to the procedure, it must ultimately be reported to the province, and then to the capital."

"And I happen to have some connections in Beijing. If Deputy Secretary Yu withholds this report, I'll ask my people in Beijing to call the provincial and prefectural committees and find out what they're up to."

"I want to see just how tough his neck is, that he can defy the orders from his superiors!"

Upon hearing this, Lin Jie and Li Mingyang both gasped in surprise, as they had never imagined that Lin Hao's relationship with him was so deep.

They then realized that with such a deep relationship, the continuous supply of materials they had received before seemed reasonable.

"That's great!" Lin Jie and Li Mingyang were overjoyed by Lin Hao's news.

With the addition of these three million yuan, a large part of the funding gap for the main canal construction was resolved, which instantly relieved the two of them greatly.