Scholars in the courtyard.

Chapter 2522: Do something practical for fellow villagers

"Long-term railway?"

Yang Xiaotao glanced at the plan in Li Hongfeng's hand, then looked at Shi Yi, "Secretary Shi, do you want us to help build the railway?"

At the same time, he felt speechless. The nine departments really didn't have the ability to build a railway.

Thinking of this, Yang Xiaotao glanced at Yang Youning secretly. The latter felt the gaze and immediately covered his pocket with his hand.

Shi Yi did not agree directly after hearing Yang Xiaotao's words, but explained, "This Changyan Railway is what our Qinxi Province has always wanted to build, in order to strengthen the connection between the two places, and at the same time, it can also revitalize the economy of Yanzhou and allow the millet and apples there to be shipped out."

"The Yanzhou branch is now located here. If there is this railway, it can also develop rapidly."

"Also, this is of great significance to the old revolutionary base. The superiors were very concerned about this matter after learning about it, but..."

“It’s just that we haven’t found a suitable partner here.”

After saying that, Shi Yi took a deep breath and looked at Yang Xiaotao and the other two. "I came here this time to ask if you have any ideas for cooperation and to build this railway together."

After Shi Yi finished speaking, the conference room fell silent.

Even Li Hongfeng's hands, which were flipping through the books, stopped in mid-air, and he looked somewhat helpless.

As for Yang Xiaotao and Yang Youning, they knew nothing about building railways, so they looked at Li Hongfeng at this time.

The scene was quiet for a minute, and then Li Hongfeng sighed, "Lao Shi, I took a general look at this document."

“To be honest, the construction of this railway is very difficult.”

"This is just the marked railway. We have to build hundreds of bridges and drill hundreds of tunnels. There are many special landforms, so there are many problems to overcome."

Yang Xiaotao and Yang Youning leaned back, leaving the stage to Li Hongfeng.

A professional is a professional.

This man has been a railway soldier working in the southwest for more than ten years.

If you don't understand this, then isn't it all in vain?
Shi Yi was not surprised by what Li Hongfeng said. Since he had taken out the plan, he knew the difficulty involved.

Just by hearing the other person's tone, you can know what he means.

"Secretary Shi, this railway is difficult. How long have you been preparing for it?"

Yang Youning suddenly spoke, Shi Yi was stunned, then he sighed and said, "We have been preparing for this railway for five years."

"Five years?"

Li Hongfeng was shocked!
Shi Yi took a deep breath and slowly explained, "In the past five years, our comrades have traveled to every mountain, every village, and every river."

"The plan you are reading now has been revised hundreds of times."

"We also know that this is difficult and we may even fail, but we really want to do our part for the people of Qinxi and for the development of Yanzhou."

"If we don't repair it now, will it be left for our descendants to repair it?"

"In that case, let's do it."

"This will also help the villagers do something practical."

Feeling Shi Yi's helplessness, Li Hongfeng continued, "What is the attitude of the railway?"

After he finished speaking, Shi Yi lowered his head.

Seeing this, Li Hongfeng understood.

If the railway agreed, he would not

"There are more important things to do on the railway. Our railway plan can only be postponed."

"Maybe it will be one or two years, maybe ten or eight years, who knows!"

Shi Yi smiled bitterly, "I came here today just to see if I can do it myself!"

"Do it yourself?"

Li Hongfeng looked at Shi Yi in surprise. He did not deny the strength of Qinxi Province, but when it came to building railways, it would be more professional for the railway department to do it.

All the nine of them could say was that they were helpless.

Li Hongfeng stopped talking, but made his attitude clear.

Yang Youning felt a little embarrassed when he saw this. After all, the other party had asked for this, but they couldn't agree to it.

Then, everyone's eyes turned to Yang Xiaotao, who had been silent.

Shi Yi also came over, with a hint of anticipation in his eyes.

For a long time, Yang Xiaotao tapped the table with his fingers, thinking about what Shi Yi had just said in his mind.

Yanzhou really needs this railway.

The reason why we built the factory in Yanzhou in the first place and why we are building the railway now are actually the same reason.

After a long silence, Yang Xiaotao raised his head and asked, "Secretary Shi, if we cooperate, what do you need us to do?"

Hearing Yang Xiaotao's question, Shi Yi immediately took a deep breath and said excitedly, "Director Yang, we have three directions for cooperation."

“The first is the provision of rails, which will need to be produced by the steel plant of the Yanzhou branch.”

Yang Xiaotao remained calm, but Li Hongfeng beside him nodded. There were not many steel mills in Qinxi Province, and their nine departments were the only ones near Yanzhou, so it was normal to ask for help from the steel mill of this branch.

"The second is to provide help in terms of personnel. We need some technicians, especially those who can cut rocks and dig mountains to help."

"We have organized some personnel, but this railway requires building many bridges and digging many tunnels. If we want to complete it as soon as possible, we need to build it in sections and start work at multiple locations at the same time, so we need people."

Yang Xiaotao remained silent.

Yang Youning frowned. Want someone?

Where can they find people?

"The third one is, we need some start-up capital."

Speaking of this, Shi Yi felt a little embarrassed.

There's nothing else to say, their Qinxi Province is really poor.

Chang'an alone accounts for half of the output value of their entire Qinxi Province, which shows the development situation of other places.

It was the establishment of the Yanzhou factory in the past two years that brought them some financial support.

Even so, getting this money from the government would require many people to tighten their belts and even embezzle some of the funds.

Just when Shi Yi finished speaking with a somewhat uneasy look on his face, Yang Xiaotao's fingers tapping on the table suddenly stopped, and then Shi Yi heard Yang Xiaotao's voice.

"Secretary Shi, are these the only three points?"

Shi Yi was stunned.

Li Hongfeng and Yang Youning beside him were also stunned.

Then, everyone in the room looked at Yang Xiaotao.

Then Yang Xiaotao smiled and said, "If these are the only three points, I think we can give it a try."

"Yang Department!"

"Xiao Yang!"

As soon as Yang Xiaotao finished speaking, Li Hongfeng and Yang Youning spoke immediately, but Yang Xiaotao smiled and waved his hands, indicating that he had no problem.

Then he looked at Shi Yi and said, "The first one can be provided by the steel plant of our Yanzhou branch."

"From now on, we will save the money for you. We can cover the production costs first. You can pay it back when you have money."

After saying this, Shi Yi clenched his hands tightly and wanted to express his gratitude.

But Yang Xiaotao continued, "It's a manpower problem. I don't have any professional personnel here."

"but!"

Yang Xiaotao looked at Li Hongfeng and said, "Old Li, the shield machine of the First Machinery Department is almost finished. When the time comes, can you see if you can invite a group of people from the southwest to help?"

Li Hongfeng came back to his senses and then understood what Yang Xiaotao meant.

With a shield machine, we don't need so many workers.

The extra workers will be sent to Qinxi Province to help, and there will even be tunnel boring machines there.

This can be considered a seamless connection.

"Okay, I'll try my best to convince them here."

Li Hongfeng gave a guarantee, and Yang Xiaotao smiled at Shi Yi, "Then the second one can also be done. Of course, you have to wait for a while, probably around the beginning of next spring."

Shi Yi pounded his fist under the table excitedly, "We have been waiting for five years. We don't care about these few months."

Then he looked at Li Hongfeng again, "Old Li, thank you."

Li Hongfeng waved his hand, "If you really want to, then thank Director Yang. If he hadn't designed the shield machine, I wouldn't be able to help even if I wanted to."

"Tunnel boring machine?"

Shi Yi was a little confused, but now was not the time to ask, so he would ask Lao Li after the meeting. Yang Xiaotao continued, "Is this the third one?"

Then he looked at Shi Yi and said, "Secretary Shi, how much do you estimate it will cost to build the railway?"

Hearing this, Shi Yi opened his palm, then closed it again, and then said seriously, "After our calculations, if everything is in accordance with the minimum standards, it will cost, about 1 billion."

"One billion? Sure?"

Yang Xiaotao asked seriously.

After hearing this, Shi Yi swallowed and nodded.

Li Hongfeng and Yang Youning looked at each other and their hearts sank.

This is not a small amount.

"How much can you take out?"

Yang Xiaotao asked again.

Shi Yi gritted his teeth and said, "We can pay 300 million."

Then he whispered, "If we mobilize the people along the way, we can save some money."

Yang Xiaotao frowned after hearing this, which made Shi Yi feel uneasy.

Qinxi Province can only come up with 300 million yuan, which means that if the nine departments want to help, they have to come up with 700 million yuan.

this.
Although Yang Xiaotao didn't know how much money the Jiubu had, it would definitely not exceed 500 million.

Moreover, the funds that can be mobilized are only 200 million at most.

This is the money you will only get after the Desert Eagle is delivered.

Even though there are only 200 million, even if the working capital of the other eight machine ministries is added together, it may not be that much.

But compared with the construction of a railway, 700 million is not a small amount.

It would be fine if the country could allocate funds, but now the focus is on the southwest, and economic construction is placed in the eastern coastal cities, so where would the money be to give them?

Of course, this doesn’t mean that the nine films can’t get the 700 million.

After all, there are many projects that can make money now, and pharmaceutical factories alone can contribute most of them.

However, if the Nine Departments want to withhold part of the profits, they must have a good "communication" with their superiors.

Just when Shi Yi thought he was going to return empty-handed again, he suddenly heard Yang Xiaotao calling him, "Secretary Shi."

"Yang Department!"

"Secretary Shi, if we want to build the railway well, we can't just follow the minimum standards."

“Do you have higher standards?”

"For example, the best steel bars and cement should be used, good steel should be used for bridges, good sleepers should be laid, and compensation and work points should be given when personnel are mobilized. Is there another version?"

Shi Yi was already a little dazed, and he understood what Yang Xiaotao said.

This is because the standards they set are too low.

This shows that they don't take the 700 million seriously at all.

Shi Yi felt that there was still hope for a turnaround, so he turned around and shouted to his secretary, "Xiao Li, bring out the original document."

The secretary was still in a daze. When he heard Shi Yi's voice, he hurriedly took out the materials from his briefcase and quickly brought them to the table.

Shi Yi stood up, clenched his hands tightly, and handed it to Yang Xiaotao respectfully.

Yang Xiaotao quickly stood up and took it.

"Minister Yang, this is our first plan, and also the earliest one. We invited domestic professors and experts to come up with a plan together. However, this aspect costs more money, so we have a later plan."

"According to the budget, all the expenses added up will cost 1.5 billion yuan."

After Shi Yi finished speaking, Yang Xiaotao sat down with the materials.

However, Yang Xiaotao did not look through it, but asked solemnly, "How much money will it cost to start the plan?"

"Three hundred million. We will start the project during the Chinese New Year. Three hundred million is all we need."

“We plan to complete it and open it to traffic within five to six years.”

"In the future, we will need about 200 million yuan each year to ensure the smooth implementation of the plan."

Shi Yi assured.

Yang Xiaotao knocked on the table again with a serious look.

Li Hongfeng and Yang Youning on the side no longer dared to speak.

At this time, the only person who could make decisions for the nine departments was Yang Xiaotao.

"That means you will need 300 million next year, right?"

"Yes."

"Then let's follow this plan."

Yang Xiaotao slapped the plan on the table and said, "After the Chinese New Year, you will pay half and we will pay the other half. Let's build the railway frame first."

"Starting from the year after next, we will provide 300 million yuan in support every year. We will refund more and provide less. That's ok, right?"

Yang Xiaotao gently told Shi Yi about his plan, and Shi Yi couldn't believe it.

By this calculation, they only need to pay 250 million, while the nine departments will have to bear 1.35 billion.

This, this is more than they expected.

It's like pie in the sky.

Li Hongfeng and Yang Youning, who were standing by, were also confused by Yang Xiaotao's actions.

When it came to 700 million, they felt distressed.

But now, it’s almost doubled.

"Secretary Shi, I haven't finished speaking yet."

Yang Xiaotao continued to speak, and Shi Yi quickly gathered his composure and nodded seriously, "Minister Yang, go ahead and say what you want."

He no longer had any resistance. As long as the Ninth Department helped them build the railway, he would be happy even if he was asked to guard the gate.

"I have two more requests."

Yang Xiaotao stretched out two fingers and Shi Yi nodded quickly.

"First, our money is also earned by the workers through their hard work, so we need to know where the money is spent and what it is used for."

"Of course, as long as it is reasonable, we will not find fault with it."

Shi Yi's face was serious, but he felt relieved in his heart.

This is the best. What he fears most are those institutions that rely on personal connections to manage.

Now it seems that choosing to collaborate with Jiubu was the right decision.

"Don't worry about that. Our Qinxi Province will form a special team with the nine ministries, and personnel will be transferred from time to time to prevent any corruption."

"it is good!"

Yang Xiaotao just nodded, this was also a way to prevent any problems from happening.

In later generations, a section chief in charge of land expropriation could become very wealthy and he would not want to give the money to corrupt officials.

"Second, we need to have the right to use this railway, which means that the nine departments can enjoy the most favorable prices for cargo transportation and official activities."

"No money, Yang Bu. As long as the ownership of this railway is still in the hands of our Qinxi Province, any related transportation of the Ninth Bu will be free of charge."

"I said, on behalf of the 20 million people in Qinxi, I promise."

Yang Xiaotao smiled and said, "No need, let's keep things separate. We in the Ninth Department will not take advantage of the money that should be paid."

Shi Yi shook his head, and in the end both sides understood each other tacitly.

After the tone of the meeting was established, the communication between the two sides entered a new stage.

As for the railway matters, Yang Xiaotao and Yang Youning could hardly help, so they left the follow-up matters to Li Hongfeng.

Who knows him best?
Walking out of the conference room, Yang Xiaotao lit a cigarette for Yang Youning and stood in front of the corridor window.

"What on earth do you think?"

Yang Youning asked curiously.

Yang Xiaotao exhaled a puff of smoke lightly, and after a moment of silence, he turned around and smiled, "If I say that it was his words about wanting to do something practical for the folks that moved me, would you think that's childish?"

Yang Youning didn't smile after hearing this. He just took a deep puff on half a cigarette, then put it out without saying a word and turned to walk into the meeting room.

Yang Xiaotao smiled behind him, then slowly smoked a cigarette, looked at the sunlight shining through the clouds in the sky, and stretched out his hand as if he wanted to catch it.