By the time Lin Sanqi arrived at the legendary "Shekou", he, who usually doesn't get carsick, was already vomiting all over the place. Seeing this, Leader Liu couldn't help but feel like vomiting too.
Lin Sanqi rinsed his mouth with a kettle and finally calmed down. He began to look at this first Chinese industrial park open to the outside world, which became famous 20 years later.
The establishment and development of the Shekou Industrial Zone played a pathfinder role in the establishment of the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone a year later, and was of great significance.
The slogans put forward by Shekou at that time were: "Time is money, efficiency is life", "Empty talk will ruin the country, hard work will make it prosperous", which have been influencing the entire country for decades.
As a result, the reality poured cold water on Lin Sanqi.
Because Shekou was not as flat as he had imagined, but instead had many hills. If he wanted to develop Shekou, he had to first blow up these hills and then reclaim the beach.
That would be a huge investment, and it was definitely not something Lin Sanqi could afford.
Leader Liu put his hands on his hips, looked at the deserted fishing village by the sea and asked:
"Comrade Sanqi, why did you bring us to this godforsaken place? You're not going to let us look across at Yuen Long, are you?"
Shekou, including the nearby mangroves, is actually the first choice for those fleeing to Hong Kong to smuggle themselves in. Five hundred retired soldiers also swam across the sea from here and landed in Yuen Long.
There are many successful people, but even more people have died in the sea here. Apart from a large amount of gold, there are piles of bones on the seabed.
Lin Sanqi had already rejected Shekou in his mind. After all, there were no roads or docks in Shekou at that time, and transportation was very inconvenient, which was not conducive to logistics and transportation.
The most important thing is that this is the only way for smuggling, which also means that the public security will be very chaotic and there will be a lot of desperate criminals.
Lin Sanqi said to County Magistrate Xue:
"Old Xue, I've inspected this place. It's not suitable for my plans right now, but the feng shui is good. I believe it will become a treasure trove of wealth in the near future."
Xue Ding frowned and looked around, but he really couldn't think of what kind of wealth this seaside community had.
Is it to go to the bottom of the sea to retrieve the dead person’s gold watch?
"Dean Lin, where are you going to visit next?"
Lin Sanqi looked at the map and picked a place: "Let's go to Sha Tau Kok."
Shekou is at the westernmost end of Bao'an County, and Shatoujiao is at the easternmost end of Bao'an County. It took the jeep almost two hours to reach Shatoujiao.
Decades later, Sha Tau Kok had a famous tourist attraction: "Zhongying Street".
This is the only township in Bao'an County that is connected to the Xiangjiang River by land and water.
A small road, the west side of the road is Hong Kong's territory, and the east side of the road is Shenzhen's territory. Tourists walking on this road are equivalent to visiting two places.
In the early days of reform and opening up, Sha Tau Kok was filled with vendors from all over the country who wholesaled clothes, jeans, electronic watches, small appliances, etc. from the other side of the Hong Kong River and then shipped them to the mainland for sale.
The profits were quite high, creating the first batch of wealthy people in the early days of reform and opening up.
Therefore, Sha Tau Kok was quite prosperous. To go to Sha Tau Kok, one had to apply for a special pass. It was known as the Special Administrative Region within the Special Administrative Region, which shows how special its status was.
But in 1962, what Lin Sanqi saw was a completely different scene.
The Sha Tau Kok Commune was deserted, and there was not a single person to be seen when passing through the village. However, the streets on the Hong Kong side were bustling with people, forming a huge contrast.
County Magistrate Xue introduced a little embarrassedly:
"Leader Liu, Dean Lin, look over here! This is our Bao'an Shatoujiao Commune. It used to have over a thousand households and over five thousand people. But, ahem, now there's not a single person left in Shatoujiao."
"Everyone in the commune, young and old, fled across Chung Ying Street to the Xiangjiang River. The problem is, as soon as one group of villagers fled, we would move another group in, but it wouldn't take long for them to flee again. So now we've cordoned off the area and won't allow anyone to enter Sha Tau Kok Commune anymore."
Lin Sanqi jokingly said:
"To escape to Hong Kong from other places, you have to swim across the sea. Here in Sha Tau Kok, it's much more convenient. You can just cross the boundary marker in the middle of the street and you're in the Hong Kong River. I would run there too if I were in your place."
At this point, Lin Sanqi's eyes suddenly lit up, and he asked anxiously:
"County Magistrate Xue, you said that Sha Tau Kok Commune is no longer relocating residents and that the entire commune is under closed management?"
County Magistrate Xue didn't know how to respond. He thought Dean Lin had objections to this approach, so he quickly explained:
"President Lin, we really have no other choice. You see, we can't control Zhongying Street at all unless we build a high wall here.
Every time a group of people moved in, a group of people fled. In the past few years, more than 10,000 people have fled, which is equivalent to the total population of two Sha Tau Kok communes.
So our county sent troops to help us blockade Sha Tau Kok, and our Bao'an County's own militia is also patrolling at all times, absolutely not allowing anyone to sneak into Sha Tau Kok."
Lin Sanqi continued to ask, "How big is the Sha Tau Kok Commune, and how many people live there now?"
County Magistrate Xue replied, "It's about six square kilometers, and there's currently no local residents. So, the houses you see, Dean Lin, are all ownerless, and the fields over there are also ownerless land."
Lin Sanqi's eyes sparkled.
The geographical location of Sha Tau Kok is exactly what he envisioned as an ideal pharmaceutical industrial park.
The first is that there is no one in the 6 square kilometers of Shatou Street. In this way, if Lin Sanqi wants to set up a factory, there will be no difficulty in demolition. He can demolish any village he wants and requisition any land he wants.
The second is to have a garrison to blockade Sha Tau Kok. In this way, when new industrial zones are built in the future, they can continue the policies of the special zone within the special zone and continue to be closed. If there is any disturbance in a few years, there will be two layers of "blockade lines" and those young people will not be able to rush to Sha Tau Kok.
If Lin Sanqi wanted to turn the 1,900 square kilometers of land in Bao'an County into a special zone, the impact would be huge. Only "national policy" would allow it, and the conservative central leadership might not agree.
But if the pilot project is only carried out in an area of 6 square kilometers, I believe the resistance will be much smaller.
The third advantage is that Sha Tau Kok is connected to Sha Tau Kok in Hong Kong, which makes land transportation convenient and greatly reduces logistics costs.
The fourth advantage is that the Lam Clan Gang’s base, Litchi Wan, is not far from Sha Tau Kok. Both belong to the North District of the New Territories and are less than 10 kilometers apart.
His own 500 Lin family gang members are ready to come at any time. This group of people is the strongest infantry in the world. Coupled with the advanced weapons of decades ago, who would dare to come to Sha Tau Kok to cause trouble?
Lin Sanqi made up his mind to go to Sha Tau Kok, so he drove a jeep and began to tour the Sha Tau Kok Commune inside and out.
Sha Tau Kok is not far from the later Yantian Port, it is almost next door.
The fact that a seaport can be built in Yantian shows that the geological conditions and sea and hydrological conditions of this place are very good. If Sha Tau Kok can develop first and replicate the "Shekou model" in advance, then Yantian Port will be the best port for foreign exports.
Thinking of this, Lin Sanqi has decided to set up the pharmaceutical industrial park in Shadijiao.
At the last moment, Lin Sanqi decided to tell the truth:
"Leader Liu, Brigade Commander Zhong, and County Magistrate Xue, you may be wondering why I dragged you from west to east today, looking at feng shui everywhere in Bao'an County.
Actually, I am looking for a suitable place to set up a factory. I plan to build a pharmaceutical factory in Sha Tau Kok. Some of the drugs produced will be supplied domestically, and some will be exported through Hong Kong to earn foreign exchange.
But you also know the current domestic policies. Whether I invest with Hong Kong businessmen or private investment from the mainland, it will probably not be easy to achieve and the resistance will be quite great.
So I decided to find a good location first, and then apply to the capital. If the application is approved, that would be what I call a good thing. Then our Lingnantang Pharmaceutical Factory, Huadu Military Region, and Bao'an County would jointly build a factory.
I'll invest in the drug production line and raw material factory. Bao'an County will find a way to recruit workers, and the Huadu Military Region will be responsible for security. As the majority shareholder, I hold 51%, and you two will hold 49%. We're definitely going to make a lot of money.
But this matter is too sensitive. If we don't handle it well, we'll be blamed, and your official hats will be gone. So you have to think carefully. Let's be frank and honest.
When Leader Liu and County Magistrate Xue heard this, they both gasped.
The two of them looked at each other, their minds a little confused for a moment.
Foreign capital coming to Sha Tau Kok to invest and set up factories is crossing the red line no matter how you look at it. We have finally driven out capitalism, so how come, only 13 years after the founding of the country, they are preparing to restore it?
If it were someone else, they would definitely turn around and leave without even thinking about it.
However, the identity of the young man in front of him was too special. He was not only a capitalist, but also an active-duty colonel and the director of a department. He was absolutely unique in the country with such multiple identities, and it also reflected the trust that the superiors had in Lin Sanqi.
Is it possible that Dean Lin can do something that others cannot?
The thought of large amounts of foreign exchange made Leader Liu and County Magistrate Xue swallow their saliva. Both the army and the local area were short of money, big money.
If you want to have a strong country and a strong army, money is a must.
Now both Leader Liu and County Magistrate Xue were beginning to feel conflicted. (End of this chapter)
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