Fourteen days after the completion of the bridge and culvert construction, when the concrete strength of the bridge and culvert reached more than 80%, the entire road was paved with potato stones and the gaps were filled with river sand. The township found a tractor and pulled a large stone roller to roll back and forth to compact the concrete. Then the four bridge construction teams were gathered together to mix concrete on site. The entire road was paved with 15-centimeter cement concrete. After paving a section, the mortar was manually leveled and a layer of plastic film was covered on the top to keep it moist.
In this way, within a week, the first cement road in the township was born!
Three days later, Sun Zongyuan arranged for people to cut a gap every seven meters. Many people didn't understand why the road was cut into sections.
"This is to prevent thermal expansion and contraction from damaging the road surface," explained Sun Zongyuan.
After school, students like to have fun on the newly built cement road, jumping and skipping, they are so happy!
Sun Zongyuan also directed the installation of curbstones and the construction of water winnowing baskets.
Sixty-centimeter guardrails have been built on both sides of the four culverts and painted with yellow and black warning paint to prevent people from accidentally falling under the bridge.
With the approval of Secretary Li, 500 Metasequoia trees with a diameter of 10 cm were dug from the riverbed of Honghua Village. Each Metasequoia tree is tall and straight, with a uniform height of 12 meters. One tree is planted every 6 meters on both sides of the road.
Each tree was given 80 cents for purchase. The secretary of Honghua Village was so happy that he couldn't stop smiling. He insisted on treating Sun Zongyuan to a meal and a drink. He even praised Sun Zongyuan for being righteous. Think about it, prices were really too cheap in that era.
In addition, a bunch of Shujinrong is planted in the middle of each tree. Shujinrong is a perennial herb and a traditional Chinese medicine. Boiling water with its roots can treat sprains and bruises. Its leaves are oval, hairless, and green, which is very beautiful.
There was still some cement left from the 200 tons of cement donated by the Transportation Bureau. Sun Zongyuan used the remaining amount to build two basketball courts and four cement ping-pong tables for the primary school and middle school respectively to facilitate students' extracurricular sports.
The road in front of the township government was extended by several meters with cement, so that there would be no more potholes when entering and exiting the compound.
In mid-September, the Director of Education and the Director of Transportation accompanied the County Party Secretary to the construction site. Seeing the new look in front of the school, they said with emotion:
"Honghua Township has blazed a trail for our education and transportation. Many of its experiences are worth promoting, and all other places should learn from Honghua Township."
"Secretary, this is all thanks to the good leadership of the county party committee and county government, and the support of the Transportation Bureau and the Education Bureau. Without your support, there would be no current achievements," Secretary Li complimented.
"That's right. I think we should hold a completion ceremony for this road. The county magistrate and I will come over. After the ceremony, we will hold an on-site meeting on education and transportation work. You, Honghua Township, Transportation, and Education Bureau, will introduce your experiences." The secretary arranged.
Several people quickly said, "Okay, let's implement it firmly!"
Since Honghua Township is 30 kilometers away from the county seat, if it were the 21st century, when all counties in the country were connected by expressways, all townships by roads, and all villages by hardened roads, this distance would only take 20 minutes for the driver to reach the destination if he stepped on the accelerator. Now is the 1980s, and there are only two asphalt roads in the county, running north and south. The road from Honghua Township to the county seat is not only long, but also a dirt road in the mountains, which is bumpy and difficult to travel. Therefore, it takes at least an hour to drive back to the county seat.
The secretary brought everyone to the cafeteria. The township party and government office had already arranged the meals. They killed a local black goat and stewed it in a big pot. The leaders had one table, and the service staff and drivers had another table.
During the meal, Secretary Li Jianguo gave the secretary and others a relatively detailed report on how to plan the road construction, how to introduce talents, and how to organize the construction. In particular, the township party committee, based on Sun Zongyu's proposal, pioneered and properly resolved the difficulties of the masses.
The county party secretary said, "Old Li, when I came here last year, many people thought the county buses were damaged because of the bad roads. Actually, I was angry about your Honghua Township's disregard for the people's difficulties and the future of our children."
After taking a sip of soup, the secretary continued, "The current situation is what we Communists should do. Comrades, no matter how important the masses' affairs are, they are everything to us. The masses are everything to us!"
"Yes, we will definitely remember it!" everyone said hurriedly putting down their bowls.
"What Honghua Township is doing today is for the benefit of the people. We should work harder in this area!"
The secretary went on to say, "Honghua Township is leading the county in this regard, but its economy is struggling, its finances are weak, and the people's incomes are too low. Look at that relocated household, they're in dire straits. Old Li, how many other households are there like that in the township? We can't treat them all the same way we treated the relocated households. We can't afford to do that. Let's all think about how we can enrich both the people and the finances."
"Next year, I think our priority will be to enrich the people and the government. If you have the brains, you can take the lead!"
Li Jianguo: "Okay, Secretary, we will follow your instructions and think of more ways to implement them actively!"
Before the completion ceremony of Zhenxing Road, the county head approved another 20,000 yuan. Secretary Li Jianguo renovated all the school buildings in the township and replaced all the middle school desks and chairs with new ones. The damaged classroom floors were repaired one by one, the blackboards were repaired and repainted, and the classroom doors and windows were repainted. The remaining money was used to pay the teachers one month's salary that was owed. The teachers were excited and full of energy. The education in the township has made a leap forward from hardware to software.
The county-wide education and transportation work site meeting and the Zhenxing Road completion ceremony were held as scheduled. Red flags were waving at the meeting site, and primary school students were singing and dancing while waving flowers. The leaders walked on Zhenxing Road and looked at the wide road, the novel street trees and green plants, and felt like they were entering the city. They observed the classroom renovation and the stadium of the middle school, and expressed their conviction in Honghua Township's emphasis on education and its courage to invest in education and transportation. They all expressed their willingness to learn from Honghua Township's experience, do a good job in transportation and education, and implement the decisions of the county party committee and county government.
The on-site meeting was a success, a triumph, a triumph of pride. Secretary Li Jianguo and Township Chief Zhao received a flood of praise! Honghua Township became a leading unit in the county, and for a period of time, visitors and learners flocked to the area.
At the Zhenxing Road summary meeting, five people, including Sun Zongyu, Zhang Hongzhi, Yang Zhenwu, Zhang Qingwen and the secretary of Honghua Village, were commended. The township party committee decided that Sun Zongyu would be the director of the newly established Construction Office and that the Honghua Township Construction Company would be established with Yang Zhenwu as the team leader, and would be under the management of the Construction Office.
A day later, Zhang Hongzhi and Shao Shidong were hired by the township as temporary cadres to work in the Construction Office.
At noon, Yang Zhenwu hosted a dinner in a remote tavern in the village. Village chief Wang was not present because he was attending a meeting in the county. Everyone expressed their willingness to work hard with Sun Zongyuan in the future and to ensure that they would do a good job and not fall behind!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
