UGB #146 - Take a look
#146 - Take a look
If we're calling in troops, a battalion is the limit. It's impossible to mobilize a regiment to deal with this place in these war-torn times.
Jiang Chongjing, being a high-ranking official in the border region, naturally understood this.
But while troops were out of the question, there was no shortage of civilian laborers, except that using them would incur expenses…
Jiang Chongjing's teeth ached at the thought of the border region's meager finances.
He glanced at Ren Zhong, hesitant to speak. Ren Zhong had already paid for the land requisition, and now they wanted him to bear the cost of civilian laborers as well. The arsenal being built wouldn't have money to pay for its products, and they were relying on him for everything. It was really hard to ask.
"Minister Jiang, is there perhaps something difficult on your end?" Ren Zhong was now quite adept at reading people's expressions.
"There are indeed some troublesome issues." Jiang Chongjing thought that if these problems weren't addressed now, they still wouldn't be resolved later. According to Ren Zhong's initial plan, at least a thousand people would be needed here. Such a large construction team would require at least one and a half pounds of grain per person per day, even with frugality, or they simply wouldn't be able to sustain the physical labor.
Jiang Chongjing doubted his ability to feed these thousand-plus people. Seeking help from relevant departments in the border region would be useless; everyone, regardless of their position, was treated equally and supplied according to their quota.
"Boss Ren is also aware that the border region is poor and produces little, with no external supplies. The finances are utterly depleted, and the grain supply is consistently strained. I can organize the people, but once construction begins, the grain needed to feed them will be a real problem. With just a battalion, we can barely manage by using the military's provisions, but if we also use civilian laborers, providing their three meals a day will be very difficult."
Jiang Chongjing spoke very frankly.
"Oh, that's easy to solve. Our organization has raised construction funds, and we'll cover all the expenses of the research institute. Of course, since we're providing the money, and it's all in silver dollars, I'll trouble Minister Jiang to coordinate the purchase of a batch of grain and livestock from outside the border region and have it delivered here," Ren Zhong said with a slight smile, having anticipated this.
"What's the price of grain in the border region now?" Ren Zhong asked.
"In silver dollars, about seventeen or eighteen pounds of wheat, or maybe twenty pounds of corn. Boss Ren, I'm truly sorry, the border region is poor." Jiang Chongjing was a little ashamed, but he breathed a sigh of relief when Ren Zhong readily took on this heavy burden.
After all, between organizing manpower and organizing funding, the latter was ten times more difficult than the former!
The border region wasn't lacking in people, especially now that the busy farming season was over. You could find people everywhere as long as you provided meals, not to mention the powerful grassroots mobilization capabilities here.
For Jiang Chongjing, who was always short on materials, this was like a pie falling from the sky.
"Minister Jiang, is there a problem with helping to purchase grain and sheep?" Seeing Jiang Chongjing looking somewhat dazed, Ren Zhong asked curiously.
"Ah? No problem, absolutely no problem!" Jiang Chongjing snapped out of it and readily agreed. With money, no problem was a problem.
Without money, everything was a problem.
There were no obstacles to the requisition. Even without Ren Zhong directly giving silver dollars to the households, these simple and honest farmers in the border region would actively cooperate. As soon as Jiang Chongjing acted, the county and district levels fully cooperated with the farmers' relocation work.
The forty-odd households, totaling over 200 people, were relocated in a few days. Hearing that there was construction work here, nearly a hundred people from these farming families enthusiastically signed up to work, not caring about wages, just wanting to be fed.
Ren Zhong lamented the low demands of the people in this era. It wasn't that everyone had such high awareness, but rather that there was simply no other choice. Every household lacked grain, and reducing one mouth to feed at home meant leaving more for the family.
Ren Zhong didn't pretend to be a magnate and insist on giving them more silver dollars. This was how things were in this era. Once the project was completed, giving each person a few dozen pounds of grain as a reward would satisfy them.
The construction site quickly gained full momentum, completely without any procedures or processes. According to Ren Zhong's plan, the area within a few kilometers was divided into several zones: the steel zone, the chemical zone, the processing zone, and the research zone. In the future, each zone would have secure divisions and guards to ensure information security.
This place was different from the closed-off Yang Village. Although there was no road access, large trucks traveled between the three counties, and there was a lot of traffic here.
In the future, with frequent material transportation, this place would become even more prosperous, undoubtedly forming a new city.
Ren Zhong was simply trying to build this city inside the mountain.
The earthen blast furnace was built against the mountain, blending seamlessly with the Loess Plateau. From a slight distance, it was impossible to distinguish it. If it didn't emit smoke, outsiders wouldn't know what it was used for.
After all, this earthen blast furnace was a completely new thing in this era.
However, after continuous generations of improvements by Ren Zhong and Professor Hu, with the addition of a steel frame structure, not only was the durability greatly improved, but the usability was also enhanced.
What if we burn the furnace at night and clean the slag during the day? Looking at the bustling construction site, Ren Zhong suddenly had an idea.
Smoke at night, calm during the day—Ren Zhong suddenly remembered some ghost production factories in the main world. Could this model be borrowed?
First update.