Spring Breeze Twenty Years

Chapter 729 Talented People Everywhere

Xiao Wei and Chen Hui studied the documents for a while and decided to buy five buildings: the Women's Association, the Broadcasting Bureau, the Mongolian Government Office, the Ministry of Finance, and the Ministry of People's Livelihood. This would divide Renmin Street evenly, with each building serving as a radiating area. The Mongolian Government Office and the Ministry of Finance would stand opposite each other. Xiao Wei planned to place the Jibei Food Factory and the Baking School there, while the Mongolian Government Office would serve as the Jibei flagship store of Anji Old Restaurant.

The building of the Jilin-Heilongjiang Salt Transport Bureau is indeed too small; it can only accommodate a small shop, which is really unsuitable.

Actually, Xiaowei quite liked the various six-pointed star-shaped main altar complex around People's Square, but he knew it was impossible. The suppressing stone in the center of the main altar had been dug up by the Russians, who buried the ashes of Russian soldiers and erected a tall monument. For some reason, Xiaowei subconsciously disliked this place.

There are many things that cannot be explained clearly.

After World War II, we suffered from natural disasters and man-made calamities for decades. The Soviet Union declined from its peak like a bungee jump, while Japan rose up again like a balloon, becoming a world power again, the world's second largest economy, and even once boasted that it would buy the United States.

In the 1980s and 90s, the Xidu government demolished some old buildings for urban development, causing Japan's economy to miraculously regress by twenty years. Then the Soviet Union collapsed, and Japan quickly recovered. During the same period, we began to develop rapidly, while Northeast China gradually became depleted.

Those mysterious building blocks with inscriptions, what do you mean? What is this altar built with the entire city?

……

"These are the five buildings, I suppose. They're just too small to be usable." Xiao Wei handed the documents back to the planning bureau official.

The planning bureau official took the documents and said, "Okay, these buildings are all within the planning area. The original units all want to relocate. I'll go back and report it immediately, and the city will coordinate. It's not easy, you know. There are a lot of old buildings, but most of them are still in use. How do you expect the school to relocate? How do you expect the hospital to relocate? To be honest, I'm really afraid you'll insist on taking those buildings. In the end, it's us lower-level staff who will have a headache."

Chen Hui said, "You should learn from Fengtian. Archive and protect the buildings, designate them as cultural relics, and then maintain them. In fact, it will not affect the urban landscape or development, as long as it is coordinated."

The planning bureau official said with a wry smile, "That's true, but can the two places be the same? How big is Fengtian? How big is Xidu? Fengtian's old city is just a concentrated area. If it expands in any direction, the economic strength will be too different. Besides, Fengtian is similar to Shanghai. They all have Western-style buildings, grand and practical. Look at us here, even the Japanese build small and cramped houses, all short and dilapidated, yet they take up a lot of space."

Xiao Wei said, "The Japanese build their houses so sturdy. The Russians and other countries build tall and nice-looking houses, but they're not as sturdy."

The planning bureau official chuckled and said, "They are indeed sturdy, and each one has a basement, all made of cement. Let me tell you, demolishing one of them is such a chore, the cost could be enough to rebuild a whole new building."

Xiao Wei said, "There are also many Japanese-style buildings in my hometown of Beixi, but they're not as big as these. They're all residential buildings. The quality of those buildings is really good. They're warmer than these new buildings now. The floors have been there for years, and they're still in great shape. The bricks from the old buildings are sold for more money than new bricks."

Chen Hui asked in confusion, "Then why are there so few Japanese-style buildings in Fengtian?"

An official from the planning bureau said, "Bingcheng and Fengtian have fewer [developments]. They were basically built by the Russians, British, Americans, and French. They managed them for a long time; they were the two largest cities in Northeast China during the Russian rule. Unlike here, which was managed by the Japanese for a shorter period. Beixi was originally just a town, but the Japanese built it up after discovering coal and iron, so there are many Japanese things here. It's the largest coal and iron mine in Asia."

Xiao Wei said, "Wait a minute, wasn't Zhang Da Wang the ruler of Northeast China back then?"

The planning bureau official packed up his things, stood up, shook his head, and said, "The main things are all in the hands of the Russians and the Japanese. The Russians entered Northeast China in 1855, and by 1905 they began to separate from the Japanese. 35 years later, the Japanese completely drove the Russians out and unified Northeast China. 45 years later, the Russians came back. You can calculate how many years that was?"

Chen Hui said, "Forty-five years later, didn't we get liberated? The country was founded in 1949."

The planning bureau official seemed to be a radical history buff, and he pushed up his glasses and said, "You're talking about the general trend. History books also describe the general trend, but the details are a million times more complicated."

When we founded the People's Republic of China in 49, the southwest and northwest were still not liberated, and the northeast was even more chaotic. Apart from a few major cities, most areas were inhabited by various groups of people, including Russians, Japanese, Chiang Kai-shek's agents, and ragtag troops, and there was constant fighting. Back then, the public security forces were not like the police of today; they were truly fighting a war.

To put it another way, it wasn't until 1956 that the Russians finally left completely, having thoroughly plundered us. The Japanese treated this area as their own territory, acquiring a lot of valuable goods. Where did they all go? And they didn't leave empty-handed; they took 800 million rubles from us. Back then, the ruble was worth more than the dollar.

Furthermore, I must tell you that the term "three provinces" refers to the three northeastern provinces during the Qing Dynasty. During the Republic of China, there were nine provinces, and during Manchukuo, there were fourteen. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, continuous planning continued until 69, when the current situation of three provinces plus Eastern Inner Mongolia was formed.

Xiao Wei gave him a thumbs up: "Dude, you're really talented. Is the planning bureau that powerful? You'll definitely get promoted there someday."

Chen Hui said, "I've always felt that King Zhang is pretty awesome, but now that I've said this, he's all show and no substance. Why doesn't he do it?"

An official from the planning bureau said, "We tried, but we couldn't win. Let's not go back too far. Back in 29, Zhang Xiaoliu and the Russians wanted railway rights. Nanjing didn't send a single soldier; Zhang Xiaoliu fought the Russians all over the country alone, and ended up getting utterly defeated, without even getting the railway back. He was weak. Why did the Japanese go to such lengths to kill Zhang Dawang instead of just attacking him directly? Because if he were alive, the Japanese wouldn't dare, understand? They wouldn't dare to do it."

Xiao Wei said, "I didn't expect to learn so much here today. You're awesome, buddy! When can I expect to hear back about this? When will the price be finalized?"

An official from the planning bureau said, "We only provide the planning proposal; the price is determined by the housing bureau and the state-owned assets bureau. But yours can be done quickly; the city leaders are watching. Mayor Mi is particularly attentive to urban planning and construction. As long as it's related to these matters, you can rest assured; it won't be slow."

As they were talking, Mayor Mi pushed open the door and walked in, saying, "Have you taken a good look? Are these suitable?"

The planning bureau official said, "Chairman Zhang wants everything except the one at the Tax Academy. I'm just about to go back and write a report for you."

Mayor Mi asked, "What's wrong with that building? Is it bad?"

Xiao Wei said, "It's a bit small, not very convenient to use."

Mayor Mi pointed at Xiao Wei with his finger and said, "You're still too young. You don't understand. Why did I show it to you? I wanted to protect them. Besides, this building isn't small. It's enough for me to run a finance and trade school and a tax college. What don't you need? You said yourself that you'll need so many people in the future. How many families will you need? How about you set up an internal childcare center here?"

Xiao Wei was taken aback for a moment and asked, "This building is going to be demolished?"

(End of this chapter)