novelslam Chapter 441 Breaking the Open Scheme, Abandoned Railway Tracks See the Light of Day Again
Chapter 441 Breaking the Open Scheme, Abandoned Railway Tracks See the Light of Day Again
"Brother Chen, the bridge is blocked, we can't get across!"
Wang Dagou's voice came through the phone, filled with barely suppressed anxiety.
Jiang Chen was eating in the village committee canteen, his chopsticks holding a piece of braised pork, when he paused for half a second.
"Don't move, don't move, I'm coming over."
He stuffed the braised pork into his mouth, chewed a couple of times, stood up, patted off non-existent dust from his trousers, and strode out.
Fifteen minutes later.
Jiang Chen's Land Rover Defender stopped at the head of the Qing Shi Bridge.
More than a hundred heavy trucks lined up in a long queue, stretching to the horizon. The low growls of diesel engines idling blended together, and the air was filled with pungent exhaust fumes.
Pan Dahai jumped out of the driver's seat, pacing anxiously in circles.
Wang Dagou stepped forward, pointing to the thigh-thick weight limit bar and the red notice board next to it.
"Brother Chen, see for yourself. The ten-ton weight limit is legal and compliant, and the official seals are complete. The document was issued just three days ago."
Jiang Chen walked up to the notice board and reached out to touch the paint on it.
It's dry, but not completely cured yet.
He looked up again at the distant mountaintop, where several egrets were leisurely strolling in the grass.
How many years has he been running on this bridge? When have egrets ever been seen here? When has he ever done any environmental protection work?
Unfortunately, the weight limit bar was erected on the third day after he mobilized the convoy.
The time card scores were perfect.
"A calculated scheme." Jiang Chen uttered two words.
Chu Tiankuo doesn't play dirty tricks on you. He uses environmental regulations as a weapon; a single official document can shut down tens of thousands of tons of your goods. You want to force your way in? Fine, he'll have your vehicle impounded, fined, and sent to jail—all under the table. You want to appeal? Three to six months. By the time it's approved, the steel will have rusted through.
This is what makes top-tier financial players so disgusting—they don't break the law; they just use the law to destroy you.
"Tsk tsk tsk."
A sarcastic voice drifted over from behind the crowd.
Jiang Jianwen arrived on his beat-up bicycle at some point. He waved his tattered palm-leaf fan, pushed up his thick-rimmed glasses, and wore a smug look that said, "I knew it all along."
"We're doomed now."
Jiang Jianwen stood with his hands behind his back, shaking his head.
"As the saying goes, the people can't fight against the officials. They're just using the noble cause of environmental protection, which is something that's been officially approved by government documents."
He pointed to the more than one hundred heavy trucks and sighed.
"Our huge project is completely ruined. All this equipment is going to be stuck with us and go to waste. Tens of millions of dollars have gone down the drain, tsk tsk."
"I told you before, taking too big a step can easily lead to trouble..."
Nobody paid any attention to him.
Jiang Chen didn't even lift his eyelids, turned his back, and waved to Attorney Zhou in the distance.
"Uncle Zhou, bring me that provincial topographic map from your car."
Attorney Zhou pulled a huge folded map from the Jinbei van, which was always crammed with documents, and jogged over to deliver it.
Jiang Chen took the map and laid it directly on the hood of the Land Rover Defender.
He squatted in front of the car, his fingers rapidly tracing lines on the map. His gaze started from Qingshui Town, following the contours of the mountains outwards, past the county seat, past the city, and all the way to the provincial capital.
People gathered around, but no one dared to make a sound to disturb them.
Jiang Chen's fingers suddenly stopped.
He pointed to a broken dotted line on the map, which meandered from the eastern suburbs of the provincial capital, through several mountains, and disappeared at the western end of Qingshui Town.
"Uncle Zhou, what is this dotted line?"
Attorney Zhou leaned closer, adjusted his gold-rimmed glasses, and carefully examined the small print next to the dotted line.
"Oh, this. This is a heavy-haul freight railway line built in the 1980s."
Attorney Zhou recalled for a moment.
"Back then, there was a large state-owned steel plant in the eastern suburbs of the provincial capital with a huge production capacity. It needed to transport ore and steel from the mountains, so this branch railway was specially built."
"The steel mill went bankrupt in the 1990s, and this branch line was abandoned. It's been more than 30 years since then."
"The rails are rusty, the sleepers are rotten, and the roadbed is overgrown with waist-high weeds and shrubs. The property rights are currently tied up in the provincial railway bureau's bad debts and are considered non-performing assets."
Jiang Chen ran his fingers back and forth along the dotted line twice.
He traced the trend of the dotted line and compared it with the location of the Qing Shi Bridge.
This abandoned railway line perfectly bypasses Qingshiqiao and all existing highways.
It travels through a valley.
A valley forgotten by the world for thirty years.
Chu Tiankuo's weight limiters can control both highways and bridges.
Can they control the railway?
"ha!"
Jiang Chen slapped the hood of the car, jumped up, and laughed loudly.
The laughter echoed through the convoy, startling several staff members near the weight limit bar, who all turned their heads to the side.
"Brilliant!"
Jiang Chen turned around and looked at Wang Dagou and Pan Dahai, who both looked completely bewildered.
"If the trucks can't go, then we won't take the highway!"
He spoke slowly and deliberately.
"I'll just bring in a whole trainload!"
"Huh?" Wang Dagou thought he had misheard.
"A train...?" Pan Dahai's mouth dropped open.
Attorney Zhou was also startled and quickly stepped forward to dissuade him.
"President Jiang, you need to think this over carefully. The approval process for rebuilding the railway is extremely complicated; the environmental impact assessment and safety testing alone will take more than half a year."
He adjusted his glasses and adopted a professional demeanor to analyze the situation.
"Moreover, the cost is astronomical. The abandoned heavy rails, which have been abandoned for more than 30 years, have rusted rails, rotten sleepers, collapsed roadbeds, and damaged bridges and culverts... Even just renovating and laying the section that extends to the village would cost at least tens of billions of yuan."
"There's also the manpower involved. Laying this kind of heavy-haul railway requires an extremely large professional construction team."
"Several hundred billion?"
Jiang Chen took out the black bank card with no spending limit from his pocket and casually tossed it to Attorney Zhou.
Attorney Zhou instinctively reached out to catch it, almost dropping it.
"What I have in abundance are money and people."
Jiang Chen stared straight into Attorney Zhou's eyes.
"Uncle Zhou, go to the provincial capital now. Go tonight."
"Find the department in the railway bureau responsible for handling non-performing assets and buy all the rights to use, renovate, and operate this abandoned railway line."
"I don't mind paying ten times the price. Twenty times is fine too. As long as the procedures are compliant, get it done for me within a week."
Attorney Zhou's Adam's apple bobbed as he carefully tucked the black card into his inner pocket.
"Understood."
He didn't say another word, turned around and jogged towards his car.
Pan Dahai's heart pounded as he listened, and he rubbed his hands together as he leaned closer.
"Chen...Brother Chen, this is railway construction, not a dirt road!" "Where are we going to find so many workers who can do this kind of heavy work?"
Jiang Chen turned his head and glanced in the direction of the old street.
The lights there came on in the twilight. Those who were supported by him, who believed in him, and who worked for him were there.
"A generous reward will surely attract brave men."
Jiang Chen took out his phone and dialed Wang Dagou's walkie-talkie channel.
"Big Gou!"
"arrive!"
"Issue recruitment orders throughout the county! If that's not enough, issue them to the two neighboring cities as well!"
Jiang Chen's voice was cold and hard, without the slightest hesitation.
"Tell everyone—laying rails and hammering spikes, three thousand a day, paid daily, three meals of meat and rice included!"
"I want 100,000 people!"
His last four words struck everyone like nails.
Wang Dagou's eyes widened, and his fists clenched involuntarily.
"Alright, Brother Chen!"
Like an enraged bear, he turned and charged toward his car.
Not far away, Jiang Jianwen was still in the position of waving a fan, his mouth wide open, unable to utter a single word.
The tattered palm-leaf fan in his hand swayed twice in the wind and fell to the ground with a "thud".
That night.
Throughout the county, all the loudspeakers simultaneously broadcast job recruitment announcements.
Shen Laosi's mesmerizing voice pierced through the night sky of every village.
"3,000 yuan a day! Smashing road spikes! Three meals of meat and rice provided! Cash payment daily!"
"No age limit! No gender limit! As long as you can still swing a hammer!"
"Jiang Group's Massive Railway Battle of 10,000 People! Are you ready to join the fight?"
The entire Qinghe County, as well as the three surrounding cities, were in complete uproar overnight.