Chapter 392 The God of Wealth Arrives: Digging a Canal
But some people simply don't want to wait for God's grace or the magic of time.
On the fifth day of the first lunar month, the day to welcome the God of Wealth, Wang Xiao and Ivanov attended an event: the groundbreaking ceremony for the dredging project of the moat.
This is an important part of the transportation plan in the "Outline of the Ninth Five-Year Plan for National Economic and Social Development of Jiangdong Province and the Visionary Goals for 2010", which was adopted at the Fourth Session of the Eighth People's Congress of Jiangdong Province in 1995. This is the Grand Canal Plan.
To be precise, the dredging project is the opening chapter of the Grand Canal project.
Each city and county should first clear the silt from designated waterways within its jurisdiction to deepen them, and then dig new canals to connect waterways and connect rivers to the sea.
The wind on the fifth day of the Lunar New Year was still far from being a gentle, warm breeze; it stung people's faces. But at the dredging site, flags fluttered and work was in full swing.
At the entrance, a huge red inflatable archway bears eye-catching yellow characters: "Warmly celebrate the auspicious commencement of the dredging project of the Grand Canal in Jiangdong Province."
Along the riverbank, colorful flags fluttered in the cold wind, red, yellow, and blue, turning into clusters of blazing flames as if the God of Wealth were calling out.
On both sides of the riverbank, brand-new excavators, bulldozers, and trucks painted in bright yellow lined up in a row. The gleaming steel reflected a cold, hard light in the thin winter sunlight, a tangible representation of industrial aesthetics.
Provincial Party Secretary Fang personally attended the groundbreaking ceremony, and Wu Haoyu also came along.
He stood in a slightly off-center position, his eyes unconsciously drifting towards Wang Xiao.
The wind was so strong that her face turned bright red, her eyes sparkled, and she looked to be in excellent health.
Ivanov leaned against her, helping her tidy her wind-blown hair and adjusting the position of her woolen hat to hold it down and prevent the wind from blowing it around.
An indescribable feeling of pain grew in Wu Haoyu's heart.
He thought it couldn't be jealousy, because he had no right to be jealous.
He just felt that the wind was too strong, that he was being torn into pieces by the wind, each piece floating lightly, unable to find a foothold.
To stop himself from suffering, Wu Haoyu turned his attention to the construction site.
There, the exposed parts of the riverbed had been drained of water, revealing glistening black silt that emitted a distinctive, rich, fishy smell from the sunlight.
When the wind blows, the smell goes straight into people's nostrils.
But this wasn't the part that Wu Haoyu couldn't bear. What truly intensified his pain was that when his gaze fell on the excavator, he couldn't help but recall that video.
That video was filmed by Russia's MTV television station.
Under the setting sun, Ivanov stripped down to his underwear and stood in the excavator bucket, looking like Apollo, the sun god from Greek mythology, Captain America from American comics, or the prince from a fairy tale rescuing the princess from the beast's castle.
In short, he perfectly embodies all heroic protagonists; he is fearless in the face of danger and gives up everything to save his lover.
Wu Haoyu believed that under the same circumstances, he would also risk his life to save Wang Xiao's.
This concerns a man's responsibility and dignity.
But tragically, at the same time, he also realized that he couldn't save her life.
Because Chechen kidnappers would judge that she is more valuable than him.
He was not Ivanov; he had no vast wealth or illustrious career. Apart from his family background, which he could only boast about in his home country, he had nothing.
This realization caused him even more pain, making it impossible for him to look directly at the excavator. He could only turn his head back to face the podium in a disheveled state.
On stage, his mother, Secretary Fang, had already turned to the last page of her speech.
"Comrades! Today is the fifth day of the first lunar month, a traditional day for welcoming the God of Wealth! But today, we are here not to welcome the God of Wealth from mythology, but to welcome the 'hard-working God of Wealth' of the people of Jiangdong who have achieved prosperity through their own efforts! We are welcoming the 'source of vitality' for the future development of Jiangdong!"
...
"Now, I announce," the secretary's voice boomed like a bell, piercing through the cold wind, "that the Jiangdong Province Grand Canal Project—the moat dredging project—has officially commenced!"
Before the words were even finished, the firecrackers and cannons that had been waiting for them went off in unison, the deafening sound echoing over the riverbank.
The excavators and bulldozers on the shore roared loudly as their strong steel arms slowly descended, plunging heavily into the dark silt and scooping up the thick layer of mud.
Wang Xiao clapped her hands frantically. When she saw Secretary Fang step down from the podium, she immediately went up to him, unable to hide her excitement: "Secretary, you and our provincial party committee are really amazing. I didn't expect that construction could start so quickly."
From a theoretical perspective, digging a canal is indeed a very good thing.
It is often said that the Grand Canal is half of China's history, highlighting its extraordinary significance for economic and cultural development and exchange.
However, starting in 1993, a key task for the national economy was to suppress inflation and halt various infrastructure projects.
Launching the Grand Canal project at this time actually goes against economic policy.
What's worse is that digging a canal requires a huge investment, and after it's finished, you still have to build bridges. Otherwise, if you dig up perfectly good roads, how are people and vehicles supposed to get around? You can't rely on ferries for everything.
That's so inconvenient. Not only is it slow, but when there's wind, rain, or fog, navigation is restricted or prohibited, which is a huge hassle.
Digging canals costs money, building bridges costs money, and what the government needs most right now is money.
Secretary Fang sighed: "I've been to Beijing three times for this matter. Jiangdong must approve this project."
The provincial party committee leadership came up with three reasons.
The first point is that the WTO accession negotiations, which started in 1995, are an inevitable trend. In the future, the role of water transport must be further explored.
The second point is that the reform of state-owned enterprises, which prioritizes large enterprises and lets go of small ones, has begun. A large number of employees of small and medium-sized enterprises have been reassigned, and they must be given jobs.
The third point is a derivative of the second point: digging a canal may seem like a lot of money, but it is profitable in both the long-term and short-term perspectives.
Why?
Because a large number of employees are laid off, and those who are reassigned are left without work, problems will arise.
When people can't even get food, what's the point of talking about morality and law?
Past experience with crackdowns has proven this point: when you crack down hard, the social atmosphere may improve, but it will soon be back to normal.
Only when the economy improves and young adults can go to work and earn money will social values naturally improve.
After all, in the underworld, the boss does live a life of luxury, wearing gold and silver, but the underlings are just thugs, just trying to get a free meal.
The quality of social atmosphere has a significant impact on the social economy.
For the sake of the next ten, twenty, or even a hundred years, Jiangdong is tightening its belt now to do this.
Since special funds are needed to resettle laid-off workers anyway, it's better to just use work-for-relief programs, get them working, and they'll earn more money.
Wang Xiao gave a thumbs up and sincerely praised, "Secretary, you really have the guts."
Secretary Fang laughed and said, "Don't flatter me. Wasn't this the proposal you put forward?"
Wang Xiao laughed heartily: "I didn't expect it to work out either."
A provincial leader standing nearby asked Ivanov curiously, "Mr. Ivanov, is Russia digging a canal?"
In his memory, the Soviet Union seemed to be quite obsessed with access to the sea, and probably attached great importance to water conservancy.
After Wang Xiao helped translate, Ivanov said in a serious tone, "We won't dig the river, we'll blast it."
The leader stared in disbelief: "Bombing the river?!"
He had only ever heard of frying fish, never of frying a river.
Secretary Fang, standing nearby, smiled and helped explain: "The Soviet Union used nuclear bombs to create the Chagan artificial lake in Kazakhstan."
Her colleague was startled: "How serious is the nuclear contamination?"
The Chernobyl nuclear power plant explosion is often said to have been the catalyst for the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Secretary Fang chuckled, "Back in 1965, when this artificial lake was blasted out, their Minister of Atomic Energy even jumped in for a swim and drank the water to prove it was safe. Oh, by the way—"
She then asked Ivanov curiously, "How did that old man fare later?"
Ivanov nodded affirmatively: "He died in 1991 at the age of 93. He was in good health before he died. I saw him ten years ago when I was in college."
Secretary Fang's colleagues were speechless, unsure how to comment.
Everyone says the Russians are reckless, and they really are reckless; there's nothing they wouldn't dare to do.
Ivanov dismissed it: "Besides blasting artificial lakes and reservoirs, nuclear energy has been used in mining and oil exploration expansion."
It was later due to international regulations that restrictions were imposed; otherwise, it's hard to say how far the Soviet Union could have applied atomic energy.
Secretary Fang couldn't help but exclaim, "The Soviet Union truly surpassed human imagination in many aspects."
Continuing this topic would be a bit sad.
Ivanov changed the subject, pointing to the construction site on the riverbed and asking, "How many workers can this construction site accommodate?"
Before answering, Secretary Fang habitually looked up at the construction site.
Upon closer inspection, she immediately sensed something was amiss. Having a background in water conservancy, she was quite sensitive to certain details.
There shouldn't be so few people. The density of workers on the riverbed is wrong; there are at least two-thirds fewer.
When the top leader had questions, the secretary quickly brought over the person in charge of the construction site.
Looking at the person in charge, who was wearing a safety helmet and covered in sweat during the Chinese New Year, Secretary Fang didn't make things difficult for him. Instead, he gave him a ready-made excuse: "Is everyone busy celebrating the New Year and visiting relatives and friends, and hasn't had time to come and start work yet?"
The person in charge paused for a moment, nodded, and said vaguely, "In a few days, more people will come."
Secretary Fang nodded, then asked gently, "How many workers have you placed here?"
Before the site manager could answer, a young member of the Youth Committee came over, his tone a bit sharp: "Secretary, are you asking how many workers are on the roster, or how many workers actually came to work?"
Under normal circumstances, people within the system would never speak to their superiors like this, unless they harbor resentment—extreme resentment—and are there to file a complaint.
The people next to him noticed something was wrong and quickly tried to smooth things over, saying, "There are 5,000 people working on this construction site, right?"
The reason for arranging so many is to meet the deadline and complete the dredging project before the water level rises during the peach blossom flood season.
“That’s right!” The young cadre was full of confidence and could not be stopped at all. “But there are less than 1,000 real workers.”
Secretary Fang's expression changed, and he asked sternly, "What's going on? Is this a case of someone receiving a salary on the construction site without actually working?"
She was about to lose her temper.
They don't even spare laid-off workers; that's utterly despicable!
The site manager was terrified and quickly denied it, saying, "No, no, I pay wages based on the number of people working. I pay the amount of money based on how many people come to work."
Secretary Fang frowned: "Then how come there are less than 1,000 out of 5,000 workers?"
The Youth Workers Committee member angrily emphasized, "Because the others who participated in the dredging were not workers."
Although today is the opening ceremony of the moat dredging project, in fact, dredging projects have been starting one after another in various parts of Jiangdong Province since the water level dropped last autumn and into winter.
So the junior clerk knew all about the ins and outs, and his words were barbed: "They're all big shots, why would they be willing to go down into the river to dredge silt? That's something only farmers do!"
Of the more than 5,000 workers, more than 4,000 were migrant workers who came under the guise of being workers.
There are fewer people today because the farmers have gone back to their hometowns for the Spring Festival and haven't had time to return to the city yet.
"The workers are farmers, and they have to share their wages with these old men!"
The junior cadre grew increasingly angry as he spoke, "How noble they are! They're like this in the factory, taking advantage of the factory and then continuing like this on the construction site. A bunch of shameless bloodsuckers! They're dedicated to undermining socialism!"
Silence fell over the scene.
Actually, this kind of thing happens all over the world, both ancient and modern.
Only those with official status can get work, but those who get work don't want to do it, so they find people without official status to do the work for them and take a share of the wages.
What is the essential difference between this and capitalists exploiting workers' surplus labor?
Secretary Fang looked up and saw that his secretary had run like a whirlwind and dragged the director of the Canal Office over.
You'd better explain this clearly.
The canal project was spearheaded by Secretary Fang, and it's only just begun, yet problems have already arisen.
Ivanov couldn't understand Chinese, so he subconsciously looked at Wang Xiao.
Wu Haoyu also approached, and couldn't help but feel nervous because it was too embarrassing.
Wang Xiao simply explained to Ivanov: "It's a common problem within the same system as the Soviet Union."
Ivanov immediately understood: Oh, low wages, low productivity.
Just as farmers are not all as simple and honest as depicted in literary works, workers are definitely not as collectively hardworking and ambitious as the symbols in propaganda.
Human resource management is a headache for every manager.
The director of the Grand Canal Office is the deputy director of the Provincial Party Committee Office, and he has had many dealings with Secretary Fang.
So now, faced with this awkward situation and under the watchful eyes of his superiors, he didn't panic but instead admitted with a helpless expression, "This situation does indeed exist."
The junior staff member of the Youth Workers Committee, who had been temporarily transferred to the Canal Office, immediately became agitated upon hearing this: "Secretary, did you hear that? They are the parasites of socialism! Giving them work is a waste of our jobs! Since they don't care about this job, just give it to the migrant workers. Why should they be allowed to bleed us dry?"
He truly couldn't stand these people who acted like they were royalty.
The director of the canal office was at his wit's end and wished he could cover his mouth on the spot. He could only try to make amends: "The reason why this worker doesn't want to come to the construction site is not so simple. The situation is quite complicated."
Secretary Fang remained calm: "Then tell me the complicated reasons. What exactly are the reasons? It's okay, take your time. I'm not in a hurry."
Wang Xiao also felt that he wasn't in a hurry for these few minutes. Why rush when he was listening to gossip?
She immediately perked up her ears, just like a rabbit.
The wind in January was howling, chilling the director of the canal office to the bone. He could only grit his teeth and answer, "That's right, the laid-off workers still misunderstand the policy. They think that the government initially assigned them bad jobs, and as long as they persevered and refused, they would be able to get good jobs and secure jobs later."
In the words of these laid-off workers, "There are so many of us, the government certainly can't just ignore us."
The junior staff member of the Youth Workers Committee couldn't help but chime in again: "They have such high expectations. When we arrange for them to participate in domestic service training and work as nannies or hourly workers, a bunch of them complain and complain, saying that serving others is something only farmers in the countryside do. Training them to be waiters is the same."
The government is now focusing on large-scale projects and letting go of small ones, and the main direction for diverting workers is the service industry, but people don't even look at it.
He wanted to complain more, but the words were cut off by a glare from the director of the canal office.
Since the director is in charge of overall coordination, he must also consider issues from the workers' perspective.
"To be honest, we can't entirely blame the workers for their mindset. It's been like this for years: distribution is based on who makes the most noise. Whoever is honest and obedient suffers, while those who cause trouble and refuse to cooperate always get some benefits."
Wang Xiao really wanted to nod emphatically, yes!
Before she time-traveled, this is how it was when she got vaccinated against COVID-19: the later people were vaccinated, the more rewards the community gave them. They received rice, oil, and fruit, while those who were vaccinated earliest received no benefits at all.
The director of the Grand Canal Office sighed heavily: "These are old ideas that have been formed over many years. It's too difficult to get them to change them in a short time."
He couldn't say much in front of his superiors.
Some of what the workers said makes a lot of sense. Inefficiency and procrastination can be exploited by paying outsiders to do the work for them, and this exists in large state-owned enterprises and government institutions.
Why are these people able to keep their secure jobs while people from small factories are laid off? Isn't this discrimination and bullying?
Wang Xiao listened from the side and nodded in agreement.
That makes sense.
In terms of living standards, the current order of priority is: employees of large enterprises > employees of small and medium-sized enterprises > farmers.
The Youth Workers Committee staff compared farmers with laid-off workers from small and medium-sized enterprises, and felt that the latter were insatiable and greedy.
But as the parties involved, laid-off workers from small and medium-sized enterprises will definitely compare themselves with employees of large enterprises, and of course they will feel wronged.
Ivanov was getting anxious listening to everyone. Judging from their expressions, he knew there was some juicy gossip going on, but he couldn't get a piece of it.
Wang Xiao patted his hand reassuringly, "Comrade, if you could understand anything, the leader wouldn't be speaking so bluntly here."
The discipline inspection secretary sighed beside him: "This is a problem. If things continue like this, the resettlement of laid-off workers will become meaningless."
Secretary Fang did not comment, but nodded and said, "I understand the situation."
Then she praised the staff member, saying, "You did a good job. You should report problems when you find them. Problems won't disappear if you hide them; they'll only accumulate and grow bigger."
The young officer blushed and stammered, "I just felt that what they were doing was wrong."
Secretary Fang sighed, but ultimately said nothing.
The construction site was still bustling with activity, with the young staff and site managers all busy with their own tasks.
The remaining Party Secretary Fang didn't leave either. Standing at the steep, windy spot, he took the initiative to speak: "Leaders, let's not go back to our offices to discuss this further. Let's have a meeting right here. How do we solve this problem? If you see one cockroach, there's definitely more than one in the room. If this happens in Jinning, it's sure to happen in other cities as well."
Sometimes, she even envied Jiangbei.
There weren't many state-owned enterprises in the previous decades, so the impact of state-owned enterprise reform on them was small.
Unlike Jiangdong, where state-owned enterprises are a family asset, they are also a heavy burden at present.
Wang Xiao had heard all the gossip and felt he could retreat now.
However, Secretary Fang wouldn't let her leave: "President Wang, don't rush back either. Help me come up with some ideas."
Wang Xiao distanced herself from the situation without hesitation: "I don't know the details, and I don't know what to do."
Secretary Fang wouldn't let her go: "You're a member of the Provincial Political Consultative Conference. Have you thought of any topics for this year's conference? Why don't you think about this one?"
Wang Xiao had no choice but to find a sheltered spot and listen to the provincial leaders discuss the matter.
Some suggested that we should strictly verify the identities of those who come to work, and not let them work if they are not the people on the roster, so as to avoid substitutions.
Immediately, someone retorted, "If that's the case, then their workers won't come, and the migrant workers won't be able to get involved. When will the dredging project end?"
What will happen when the canal is dug next?
Could it be that a nuclear bomb could actually be dropped and create an artificial canal?
Secretary Fang quickly dismissed his whimsical idea: "That won't do. Our population density here is incomparable to that of the Soviet Union, and we now control nuclear weapons."
Well, judging from this, it seems they really intend to bomb the artificial canal with nuclear weapons if they don't control it.
After discussing for a long time without reaching a conclusion, Secretary Fang thought of Wang Xiao again.
The moment she saw the girl, her eyelids nearly popped out of her head.
Because Wang Xiao was bored listening from the side, he quietly started playing a game of tag with Ivanov and was having quite a bit of fun.
Wu Haoyu, who was standing next to him, felt his eyes hurt from watching.
Helpless, Secretary Fang beckoned someone to his side, coaxing them like a child: "Alright, alright, play later. You're the boss, tell me, how are you going to manage these workers?"
Wang Xiao smiled, but his words were cold and ruthless: "I just don't know how to hire these workers. It's not like there aren't workers willing to work. Aren't migrant workers workers too?"
For employees who are not irreplaceable, there is no room for negotiation.
Other provincial leaders, who had been listening attentively, immediately shook their heads upon hearing this.
One important purpose of this canal project is to solve the employment problem of laid-off workers. Whether farmers from other places who come to Jinning have jobs is not something the province can control.
If local laid-off workers can't find work, that's when things will really get messy.
Secretary Fang readily agreed: "But you can only use these workers, and if you use these workers, the government will give you subsidies and tax exemptions, and part of their wages will be paid by the province. So what are you going to do? Get them to willingly go to the construction site to work."
Wang Xiao's eyes widened, and she looked quite delighted: "Really?"
Secretary Fang nodded: "Really."
Wang Xiao immediately laughed, his tone relaxed: "That's easy, just dig out the gold."
Wu Haoyu still didn't understand what was going on.
That noon, when the construction site was about to have lunch, someone suddenly exclaimed, "Gold!"
He dug out a small piece of broken gold ingot.
Good heavens! Sure enough, the fifth day of the Lunar New Year is the day to welcome the God of Wealth, and now the God of Wealth is bringing us treasures!
By the afternoon, the whole construction site was abuzz with the news that the moat was where Chen Youliang had buried his treasure.
Some people say it was Shen Wansan.
But whoever it is, Shen Jin is in the moat.
If they find something, the government can't do anything about it; they can just pocket it and that's it.
By evening, the topic of the moat treasure had become the talk of the town throughout Jinning City.
The next day, the sixth day of the Lunar New Year, a group of eager citizens wanted to go down into the river to dig for treasure.
According to news sent home by Ms. Chen Yanqiu, Zhang Yan, who refused to attend even regular classes, has also joined the ranks of those seeking to make money.
This enthusiasm is comparable to the gold rush in the United States back then.
Two more days later, on the eighth day of the Lunar New Year, even the police and military had to be deployed, standing along both banks of the moat to prevent overly enthusiastic citizens from falling into the river and causing accidents.
A professor from the History Department of Jinning University also stepped forward to emphasize that there is currently no historical material to prove that Chen Youliang and Shen Wanshan and Shen Jin actually built the moat.
As for the small gold ingot that the worker dug up, it was purely by chance. Any riverbed could potentially contain a small amount of so-called treasure.
As it turned out, the saying proved true: it's better not to refute the rumors; once they are refuted, things become hopeless.
Everyone believed it to be true, and the reason for denying it was simply to prevent them from getting a share of the profits.
Wu Haoyu had already returned to Africa; he had saved up this many vacation days over the course of a year. He was stunned to hear about this development.
He considered countless ways to motivate workers, such as performance rewards or disciplinary punishments; but none of them were like this—trying to get something for nothing.
When Secretary Fang was on the phone with his son, he sighed as he talked about this: "But it works, and it works very well."
The workers, who had previously complained and refused to clean up the silt, now all felt like they had won the lottery and couldn't wait to go down into the river.
Others are not allowed to go into the river.
Secretary Fang wanted to sigh again. If Wang Xiao were to marry into his family and enter politics, her future achievements would be limitless.
Ah, what's done is done, and there's no point in talking about it anymore.
Ivanov circled around Wang Xiao, excitedly saying, "Wang, we can dig irrigation canals in Siberia like this too."
The lack of water conservancy infrastructure has long been a stumbling block to the development of agriculture in the Soviet Union.
Moreover, the Soviet Union not only couldn't get workers to work, but the peasants on collective farms were also unmanageable.
This is one of the reasons why the Soviet Union's atomic energy department was always thinking about using nuclear bombs to bomb artificial lakes and reservoirs.
Wang Xiao nodded: "Sure, anyway, people always say that Russian landlords buried a lot of treasure underground."
After Ivanov finished his excitement, he remembered something else: "If they can't dig it out, won't they just give up and stop digging?"
Wang Xiao wasn't worried about this at all: "Every month or so, let them reap some rewards and keep them hopeful. Also, don't give the other laid-off workers any secure jobs. They have no other hope, and as long as they can get paid by dredging, they'll naturally continue doing it in the long run."
In this life, how many people can defy their fate?
If you don't accept your fate, then go and fight for it yourself.
If you don't work hard, do you expect others to deliver good fortune to you? There's no such thing as a free lunch.
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This must be the longest piece I've ever written, over three million words already. I think I've reached a new level, actually managing to keep writing. [Let me see] From now on, if anyone calls my writing filler, I'll glare back at them. Filler writing is for high-achieving students to earn more money; someone like me just wants to finish it immediately. But the story isn't over, so I can't finish it. [Chin resting on hand] Seriously, no one is more eager to finish it than me. [Hug] Also, the Soviet Union chose to use a hydrogen bomb to detonate the reservoir, but some data shows that it caused nuclear contamination. [Chin resting on hand]
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