Soldiers Assault: Starting from the 7th Steel Company

Chapter 240 If there are difficulties, then start with the easy ones and move on to the difficult ones.
After He Yuanchao and Chen Jiang returned, they immediately reported to their superiors.

When He Yuanchao handed the mineral water bottle containing the water that the Ninth Company usually drank to the General Logistics Department commander, the commander looked puzzled, opened it, took a sip, and couldn't help but frown.

"Is this what our soldiers drink?"

He Yuanchao nodded solemnly.

Chen Jiang then handed over the photos he had taken locally. The leader examined them very carefully, his eyes eventually welling up with tears. He picked up a glasses cloth, wiped his reading glasses, and said with deep sorrow,
"Our soldiers have had it so tough!"

"Some of our work is still too far removed from the front lines and from the soldiers!"

He picked up the internal hotline and said in an unquestionable tone, "Pass the word: a joint meeting will be held in ten minutes. All key personnel from the relevant departments should be present!"

After hanging up the phone, he looked at He Yuanchao and Chen Jiang: "You two, get ready and give a detailed report. Especially the situation of the Ninth Company, be specific and clear! Let everyone sitting in the office know the actual difficulties our lovely soldiers on the border are facing."

Ten minutes later, the atmosphere in the meeting room became very tense.

The projector clearly displayed photos of the Ninth Company's base, close-ups of the water source, the simple barracks, the stones used as chess pieces, and the homemade TV antenna.

He Yuanchao spoke calmly, but every word he uttered carried weight, objectively describing the extreme difficulties faced by the Ninth Company and similar border defense companies in terms of drinking water, food, accommodation, medical care, communication, and cultural life.

Chen Jiang added details he observed on-site, especially the soldiers' simple yet heartbreaking request to "take a hot shower."

Looking at the photos and listening to the report, some of the leaders present were shocked, some fell into deep thought, and some even felt their faces burning with embarrassment.

"Comrades," the General Logistics Department commander began in a low voice, "these scenes, these situations, happened either decades ago or right now, right on our border! Comrades Yuan Chao and Chen Jiang went down there this time and witnessed them. But what about the places we didn't see? How many more 'Ninth Companies' are there?"

He paused for a moment, then looked around the room: "The soldiers can't drink clean water, take hot showers, watch TV, or make phone calls. This is because we haven't done our job properly!"

"Has anyone from the finance department arrived? Give us your opinion!"

Upon hearing his name called by the leader, the deputy director in charge of the finance department said with difficulty, "The director just went out on an inspection tour, so I'll stay later. I was very moved by the report and the things that Director He and his team brought back, but there are too many new and renovation projects involved, and I'm afraid there might be a problem with the funding."

"Yes, for example, the tap water issue. We have to run a water pipe just for one company, which involves traversing so many mountain roads. Is it worth the cost? The construction will also be very difficult. Not to mention laying a network cable over there." The person in charge of the infrastructure department was also very troubled.

The other officials present all emphasized their objective reasons, which basically boiled down to one point: this suggestion is unrealistic and difficult.

"Difficult? Unrealistic?"

The leader's voice suddenly rose, and he picked up the bottle of murky water on the table and slammed it down heavily in front of him.

"Compared to our soldiers drinking this yellow, astringent water year after year, the kind of water whose harmfulness we don't even know, what difficulties are you talking about in terms of construction?"

The commander's gaze swept over the several officials who had spoken, finally settling on the deputy director of the finance department: "Your director went on an inspection tour? I think the most important thing to inspect are these border outposts! Tell him that when he returns, his first task will be to go to the Ninth Company to experience life there, eat and live with the soldiers, taste the water, and feel what it's like to not have hot water for a bath. Then he should ask himself if he still has any difficulties!"

The deputy director's face turned deathly pale instantly.

Chen Jiang had been listening quietly the whole time. What the person in charge of these departments said actually made some sense, but doing nothing was definitely not an option.

Thinking of this, Chen Jiang took a deep breath and slowly said, "Leaders, I have a proposal."

"Oh, Chen Jiang, tell me!"

Normally, a cadre on temporary assignment shouldn't say much at such a meeting, but the General Logistics Department leaders were very impressed with the research and interview materials provided by Chen Jiang and his team, so they made an exception and allowed him to express his views.

"I think what the leaders said makes sense. The problem must be solved, but we cannot ignore the actual difficulties."

"Therefore, I suggest that we tackle these problems in batches, starting with the easier ones and progressing to the more difficult ones!"

The commander's eyes lit up, and he gestured for Chen Jiang to continue.

Encouraged, Chen Jiang continued to explain, "The most urgent thing for the soldiers right now is to have clean and safe drinking water and then take a bath. Everything else is easy to handle."

“Deputy Director Chen, what you’re saying is pointless. To get clean and hygienic water, you need to install water pipes. Do you know how far that would be, how much money it would cost, not to mention the construction time and the subsequent maintenance?”

The head of the infrastructure department impatiently interrupted Chen Jiang's speech. In their view, what did Chen Jiang, a cadre who had come up from below on a temporary assignment, know?
The other section chiefs also nodded in agreement, especially the one from the finance department, who was eager to try. If he hadn't been criticized by the leader earlier, he probably would have joined in criticizing Chen Jiang.

Chen Jiang couldn't help but find it amusing.
“Getting running water doesn’t necessarily mean you have to install pipes!” Chen Jiang pointed out incisively. “We can simply dig a well nearby, and if the mineral content is too high, we can add a filtration system. Wouldn’t that solve our drinking water problem?”

"As for domestic water use such as bathing, we can dig a ditch from the upstream of the river and divert the water here. Then we can install a solar water heater, which can use both solar heating and electric auxiliary heating. This will solve the problem of bathing."

"In this way, the investment will definitely be much smaller."

Chen Jiang's ideas are surprisingly good.

"Good, I think this is a good idea!" The leader nodded in approval, which was considered a full affirmation.

"As for the others, we can only resolve them in batches. Cultural and daily necessities can be purchased in batches and sent directly for immediate improvement. As for the network, we can only use wireless receiving devices. I think there's a research project on this at Nanjing University. Although the effect is not as good as wired, it can solve the urgent needs of the border guards." "So, do you have a figure for the total cost?" The commander spoke, needing a decision made today to resolve the problem.

Chen Jiang was prepared. He immediately took out a stack of papers with a detailed breakdown of inputs and a list of materials. He had made many copies in advance and distributed them at the meeting.

The deputy director of the finance department took Chen Jiang's detailed and clear budget list and examined it with great care.

The more I looked at him, the more relaxed his expression became, even showing a hint of relief.

He raised his head, his tone no longer evasive and hesitant, but much more pragmatic: "Sir, if we follow Comrade Chen Jiang's plan, the funds are indeed within an acceptable range. The preliminary budget of over one million is well-considered, and our finance department agrees in principle, and will do our utmost to ensure the funds arrive as soon as possible."

The head of the infrastructure department also came over, his gaze lingering on items such as "drilling deep wells," "small-scale filtration systems," and "solar thermal collectors" on the list. He pondered for a moment and said, "Hmm, avoiding the difficulty of laying long-distance main pipelines and instead solving the water and energy problems locally will indeed significantly reduce the construction difficulty and timeline. Our engineering team has experience in drilling wells and building small-scale water storage and filtration facilities in mountainous areas. We can immediately organize technical personnel to conduct on-site surveys and produce construction drawings as soon as possible." He looked at Chen Jiang, his eyes showing more approval. "Deputy Director Chen's approach is very practical and solves a major problem."

Heads of other relevant departments also circulated the budget, whispering among themselves, and the focus of their discussion shifted from "impossible" to "how is it possible."

Some said they would immediately contact the Nanjing University research team mentioned by Chen Jiang to assess the feasibility of using small wireless network receiving equipment suitable for border outposts; others said on the spot that cultural and living utensils and solar energy equipment could be allocated from existing reserves and sent up as quickly as possible, "so that the soldiers can have some hope."

The General Logistics Department commander took in everyone's reactions, his expression softening slightly. "Good! Now that the direction is clear and the methods are in place, let's not just keep talking about it. The Logistics Department will take the lead, with all other departments cooperating. We must do this well!"

With a wave of his hand, the General Logistics Department chief finalized the matter.

After the meeting, He Yuanchao assigned the specific task of supervising this work to Chen Jiang, who naturally accepted the task with ease.
With the money issue resolved, the most crucial thing now was contacting a construction company. Although the people in the infrastructure department had given their approval, he still had to follow up on it himself. To this end, he worked tirelessly, repeatedly urging his colleagues in the infrastructure department, and on their recommendation, he contacted a construction engineering company.

When the other party learned that it was to improve the living conditions of the border guards, they were very sincere and pushed the price down so low that they were barely making a profit.

Moreover, the day after the agreement was reached, the company took a team to the border defense company for on-site surveying, which was remarkably efficient.

A few days later, a feasibility report was placed on Chen Jiang's desk. It stated that a well could be dug near the Ninth Company's barracks, although it was a bit deep, but the distance was still quite suitable.

Then, a small pump was built at a place with abundant water upstream. The water pumped could easily supply the daily bathing needs of all the officers and soldiers in the company.

Of course, during the dry season, people may need to use water sparingly, but it should still largely solve the problem.

We contacted a domestic manufacturer who donated several large 36-tube solar water heaters that also have electric heating capabilities, so this problem was easily solved.

Chen Jiang was generally satisfied with their progress.

However, just as he was on temporary assignment, family issues came knocking. The reason was that his son, Chen Gang, was about to start kindergarten. Previously, considering that the child was still young, he hadn't paid attention to the issue of his schooling.

In addition, Chu Ning's mother has been helping to take care of the child, but recently her health has not been very good. So Chu Ning had the idea of ​​sending his son to daycare so that boys can start exercising early.

However, after they got married, they didn't have a suitable school district house in the capital, and they lived in a dormitory assigned by the military, so they couldn't solve the problem of their child's schooling and household registration.

Therefore, they wanted Chen Jiang to use his connections in the government to try and resolve the issue of their child's schooling.

After receiving the call, Chen Jiang suddenly remembered that now was the low point for housing prices, and in a few years, housing prices in the capital would skyrocket.

Therefore, he was very proactive about his child getting a place to study and settle down in the capital, and also about buying a house there.

After getting off work, Chen Jiang discussed it with Chu Ning, but unexpectedly, Chu Ning objected outright.

"Are you crazy? Houses in the capital are very expensive, especially if you want to consider Xiaogang's school. You have to buy in a good location, and the price per square meter is basically around 11,000 yuan. How can we afford it with our meager salaries?"

Chen Jiang and Chu Ning were both mid-level officers. Chu Ning, in particular, was a military doctor. Although his rank was lower than Chen Jiang's, his income was higher. Even so, the two of them had only saved up 10 yuan at most.

A house in a good location in the capital, even a small one, would cost at least 60 yuan, which was an astronomical figure at the time.

It's no wonder that Chu Ning was so opposed.

Chen Jiang couldn't possibly tell Chu Ning that house prices would skyrocket in the future, and that buying one now for 60 yuan would be worth more than 600 million yuan in the future!

Therefore, he not only wanted to buy, but also wanted to do everything he could to buy a relatively large and good house in the capital, which would be a worthwhile investment.

"Don't you know about loans?" Chen Jiang smiled slyly.

"What loan? All I know is that to buy a house now, the minimum down payment is 30%. With our little money, we can't afford even a down payment. Even if Mom is willing to help out a bit, it's just a drop in the bucket." Chu Ning knew that her mother had raised her with great difficulty and didn't actually have much money.

“We don’t need Mom’s help. I have a way to solve this money problem. It’s just that we might have to tighten our belts a bit from now on.”

Once you start taking out a mortgage, you'll be a lifelong mortgage slave. However, from a long-term perspective, this investment is worthwhile.

Chu Ning did not continue to object. In important family matters, Chu Ning was truly a virtuous wife. In the end, she chose to unconditionally trust her husband. She only repeatedly told Chen Jiang that he must not do anything illegal or disorderly. If all else failed, they could buy a house that was a little out of the way and a little older, so that their son could go to school.

This touched Chen Jiang deeply. Since Chu Ning started following him, she had always had very low demands for material things and never bought him anything expensive.

If you get a wife like this, what more can a husband ask for?
(End of this chapter)