During the Ming and Qing dynasties, the economic development and prosperity of Tianqu mainly depended on canal transportation. Although the growth of local commerce played a role in boosting the economy, there was no substantial breakthrough in the level of productivity development. In the 28th year of Emperor Guangxu's reign (1902), the canal transportation was completely stopped, and Tianqu lost its former glory.
Tianqu, which prospered for hundreds of years because of the Grand Canal, eventually declined due to the cessation of water transport along the Grand Canal.
The Grand Canal is both a source of pride and a pain for the people of Tianqu.
Especially since the 1990s, with the rapid development of industry, the crystal clear Grand Canal has finally turned into a stinking ditch. At the worst time, because the upstream paper mills were frantically discharging sewage into the Grand Canal, the Grand Canal has been emitting a pungent odor all year round. Not to mention fish, even flies, mosquitoes and rats are unwilling to approach the Grand Canal. The Grand Canal has become a completely dead river!
When Yang Jing was a child, his mother and uncle told him stories about the Grand Canal more than once. Among them, the stories told by his uncle were Yang Jing's favorite and he remembered them most clearly.
According to my uncle, when he was a child, the water in the Grand Canal was extremely clear and could be drunk directly. The first water plant in Tianqu was built next to the Grand Canal.
At that time, the Grand Canal was a natural playground for children in the summer. During the summer vacation, a group of young boys from the National Cotton Mill would spend the whole day in the river, swimming, catching fish, digging clams, and catching river shrimps. They could play for the whole day.
Of course, if parents scratched their arms with their fingernails after they got home and found a white mark, then they would be beaten like ghosts and wolves. But even if their buttocks were swollen after being beaten the day before, these bald boys would continue to gather on the river bank the next day, either going down to the river or playing dirt fights...
When my uncle was young, he was often beaten by his grandparents. At the worst time, they even hung him up and beat him. But even so, the Grand Canal is still a childhood memory that my uncle will never forget.
When Yang Jing was young, he often played beside the Grand Canal. However, by then the Grand Canal had become a stinking ditch, and the scene of fishing boats crisscrossing and ospreys flying through the waves that his uncle described could no longer be seen.
Ten years after the new century, the Tianqu Municipal Government began to realize the issue of protecting the Grand Canal. Not only did it dredge the section of the canal located in the urban area, it also spent money to build a riverside highway on the canal embankment, and even built a group of ancient buildings where my uncle and his friends used to play - the Grand Canal Ancient Street.
Although it is not a real ancient street, it is enough to prove the city government's concern for the Grand Canal.
However, these attention and concerns seem far from enough in Yang Jing's eyes. After all, the development direction of the municipal government is to the east, not to the industrially concentrated Hexi. Therefore, the so-called "Grand Canal Development" project has been hanging in the balance.
In the past, even if Yang Jing wanted to change the environment of the Grand Canal, which was only 400 meters away from the National Cotton Mill, he was powerless. But now, he has the capital, so he has the basic financial conditions to transform the land between the Grand Canal and the National Cotton Mill into a large public welfare venue integrating a museum, park and amusement park.
Yang Jing made $450 million using Bitcoin, which is nearly 3 billion yuan even with the appreciation of the national currency. If the Tianqu Municipal Government can agree to cooperate, then the $450 million will be more than enough.
This piece of land adjacent to the Grand Canal and the canal embankment that is more than ten meters high were Yang Jing's paradise when he was a child. Although he never went down to the river, he picked Sophora japonica flowers and elm seeds here in spring, dug for cicada larvae here at night in summer, and set fire with his friends in autumn to roast corn stolen from the land... These are all memories that Yang Jing will never forget.
Especially since Yang Jing had witnessed the most tragic time of the Grand Canal - it was a smelly ditch, so Yang Jing wanted to turn the Grand Canal into the clear water that his uncle described.
Being able to swim naked in the river with his friends, catch a few fish, and dig up some clams, this was Yang Jing’s biggest wish when he was a child!
Now is the time to make this wish come true!
PS: I would like to thank “墨香风韵” for the reward of 500 and “冰晶八度” for the reward of 200.
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