Shen Hua made a phone call for about twenty minutes, and when he walked back, he saw Huang Xinliang and Song Xiaojun, Zhao Liang and others squatting on the ground discussing the merger of schools. When they saw him coming over, they all stood up together and asked: "Director Huang should have briefly introduced the situation in the town to you, what do you think?"

  Song Xiao-jun said: "The town can allocate 400,000 yuan, which is enough to build a new primary school for the children of the two villages on this side. Of course, we hope it will be done as soon as possible..."

  "How quickly can you do it?" Shen Huan said, "If you can come up with a feasible plan now, the town will allocate funds to you tomorrow."

  When Shen Hua said this, Song Xiaojuan was also very excited. After retiring from the army and serving as a village cadre for several years, he had never seen such a generous allocation of funds by the town government. He said: "Caijiaqiao Village Elementary School can be merged with our Lishacun Village Elementary School first, and then we can ask the town to support us in building two simple houses. This side can be rebuilt into a new school... If it's fast enough, students from both villages can attend the new school next semester..."

  "Line," Shen Huai nodded, not expecting Song Xiaojuan to have such a strong sense of getting things done. This plan is the most efficient, and now Meixi Town owes too much debt, so it's necessary to speed up the process to make up for these debts. He pulled Zhu Li over and said, "In my opinion, this suggestion is also good. This is Old Zhu from Zhujing Construction. You two villages can gather people together, and the town will set up a preparatory group led by Director Huang Xiangliang to get things started. We'll invest 4 million yuan initially and build one standard teaching building. However, the town's investment in education for your two villages won't stop at 4 million, so you should have a long-term vision when planning the new school..."

  Shen Hua glanced at his watch and said: "I still have something to do, it's getting late, the specifics, you can go to town tomorrow to find Director Huang Xinliang..."

  The sky was still overcast and the road was difficult to open, Shen Hua wanted to return to the town before dark, so he followed Huang Xinliang, Zhu Li and Shao Zheng to drive back.

  Sitting in the car, Huang Xinliang said: "The merger of schools, is it up to He Zhenlong to be responsible? There are still many things to do with the party and government offices..."

  Huang Xinliang didn't want to take responsibility for this matter, he was worried that He Qing would have an opinion about it.

  He Qing She, as the town head, also serves as the director of the Education Office. If He Qing She knew that this was Shen Hua's decision, after all, Shen Hua's authority in Meixi Town is unquestionable, and no one dares to question it. But what he fears is that He Qing She mistakenly thinks that he got this job by whispering into Shen Hua's ear - Huang Xinliang worries that He Qing She will make things difficult for him.

  "Oh, I just discussed this with He Zhenchang two days ago," Shen Huai said. "You used to work at Mei Xi Middle School, so you're more familiar with educational affairs than we are. That's why I plan to recommend you to the district as a deputy town head. In addition to continuing to be in charge of the party and government office, I also want you to take care of the education office. The appointment may not come down for some time..."

  Huang Xinliang was stunned, with a mix of emotions swirling inside him. Ever since Du Jian left Meixi Town last year, he had been living on edge, never daring to slack off, always worried that Shen Hui would suddenly kick him far away. He had never dared to hope that Shen Hui would recommend him as the deputy town head one day.

  Although he is the director of the party and government office, he may not be worse than an ordinary deputy town mayor, but after all, he is not a deputy town mayor.

  Huang Xinliang wanted to say something loyal or grateful, but the words got stuck in his throat. At this moment, the car wheels suddenly slid into a muddy pit, and the people in the car leaned forward, Shao Zheng stepped on the accelerator twice but couldn't get out, Huang Xinliang said: "I'll get off and push..." to cover up the turmoil in his heart.

  Shen Huai and Zhu Li also got out of the car and pushed it out of the muddy pit.

  Sitting back in the car, Shao Zheng complained: "Every time we go to the countryside, we get stuck in a pit. It would be more convenient if we had an off-road vehicle to run around..."

  Shen Huai smiled and said, "The conditions are not ripe yet, let's work hard for another two years. By then, you can buy a cross-country vehicle yourself to play with, without relying on the town or factory to spend money, and you won't be afraid of what others might say..."

  Shao Zheng smiled and said, "Later on, I'm afraid Secretary Shen will be promoted to the district level and won't want me as his driver anymore..." He was an administrative assistant at Meixi Steel, a mid-level manager in the steel plant. This time, after restructuring, he and his wife Qian Wennui held 1.5% of the shares in the steel factory, second only to Zhao Dong in the management team.

  After the reform, the management will directly participate in the equity dividend distribution, and the year-end bonus plan will naturally be cancelled. Although the current conditions are still very harsh, everyone is full of expectations for the near future.

  Shen Hua asked, "Do you really want to continue driving for me? Then go to the town party and government office, be Huang Xinliang's assistant, and I'll give you the title of deputy director. Will you do it?"

  "I won't write any articles, will Director Huang think I'm a idle person?" Shao Zheng turned his head to look at Huang Xinliang.

  Huang Xinliang said: "How dare I dislike you?"

  The party and government office mainly revolves around the secretary's work, so wherever Shen Hua goes, Huang Xinliang usually follows closely. Shen Hua recommended Huang Xinliang as deputy town head, although he still had to be in charge of the party and government office, but also had to be in charge of the education office, so there was no way to let him follow again, so Shao Zheng was transferred to the town party and government office as deputy director.

  "Today is Huang Zhenchang and Director Shao's promotion, shouldn't I invite everyone out to celebrate?" Zhu Li asked, chiming in from the passenger seat.

  "You want to corrupt the party members and cadres in the town, and you also need to invite me to drink when I'm not around to be sincere," Shen Hua joked, and asked Zhu Li, "How many times have you been in contact with Song Xiaojun from Lishacun? What do you think of him?"

  Zhu Li saw Shen Hua suddenly ask about his views on Song Xiao Jun, turned back to look at him, and didn't know if Song Xiao Jun had left a bad impression on Shen Hua somewhere.

  "What can't you say, and still want to look at my face?" Shen Huai asked irritably.

  Zhu Li smiled and said, "From our company's perspective, Song Xiaojun is too shrewd and not easy to deal with. Don't be fooled by his gentle demeanor in front of you; when we interact with him and discuss relocation and resettlement issues, his words are not pleasant to hear. However, objectively speaking, he has ability and drive, and enjoys high prestige among the villagers. If he were to serve as village director for two more years, Li She Village's appearance would likely be better than it is now. I think that to do a good job with relocation work, doing thorough work on his part is crucial. Secretary Shen, you just offered 4 million yuan, and I think that has subdued him; the subsequent work should be much simpler..."

  Shen Huai nodded and said to Huang Xinliang, "There are many things that don't require forcing the villagers to bow their heads. We must remember that our ultimate goal is still to build a good Meixi Town. Zhu always speaks highly of Song Xiaojun, you should also interact with him more often. If there's anything, let him take charge and make decisions. As long as he's making the decisions, his enthusiasm will be high, and it will save the town a lot of trouble."

  Huang Xinliang could see that Shen Huai was also quite satisfied with Li Shecun's village director, and he knew that township cadres usually looked down on village cadres. Moreover, Li She and Caijiagou villages had just merged, and the village cadres' mentality would be more sensitive. He knew that Shen Huai was giving him a preventive shot, so as not to cause unnecessary conflicts due to work attitude problems.

  Huang Xinliang nodded in agreement, and Shen Huai continued: "Li She and Cai Jiaqiao villages are located at the eastern confluence of Mei Creek River and Zhejiang River. There is no bridge or ferry, and even after liberation, there was no decent highway connecting them to the outside world. Hetao Township was originally an economically backward township in Xiapu County, and Cai Jiaqiao and Li She villages were among the most impoverished villages in Xiapu County. In the past two years, I have reviewed the data handed over from Hetao Township, and the two villages have less than 800 households, with one-sixth of them being extremely poor households. This is really too poor. To others, these two villages may be a burden, but to me, Shen Huai, they are a treasure land. Do you know why?"

  "Secretary Shen, you have a broad vision, we don't have your insight." Huang Xinliang said with a flattering tone.

  Shen Hua promoted Huang Xinliang for two reasons: firstly, Huang had been following him closely without showing any intention of usurping his authority; secondly and more importantly, Huang was indeed capable, so Shen recommended him as the deputy town head, and there were some material works in the party and government office that needed to be taken care of by him.

  Shen Hua didn't want to see Huang Xinliang thoroughly sink into the vulgar political life, so the best way was to let him have a chance to stand out on his own.

  Shen Huai didn't want to get into a discussion with Huang Xinliang, sometimes some things are just about intuition. He continued the topic from earlier, saying: "The two villages have a 3-kilometer-long shoreline along the Zhejiang River, which is close to the estuary and has excellent navigation conditions. After preliminary surveys, the waterway almost doesn't need dredging, allowing large ships of 10,000 tons to dock directly. This provides very convenient water transportation conditions for Meixi Steel's steel products to be transported to coastal areas and along the Zhejiang River to Huaihai Province and Zhongyuan Province. The efficiency of water transportation can't compare with highways and railways, but the cost is low, about one-sixth of highway costs and one-third of railway costs. Currently, Meixi Steel's rebar has a market radius of about 300 kilometers, which is also suitable for highway transportation. Even so, transportation costs still account for around 5-8% of the market price. I had the marketing department calculate that if Meixi Steel's products continue to be transported by highway, and the market radius expands from 300 to 500 kilometers, transportation costs will double. For more distant markets, Meixi Steel will lose its competitive edge due to a lack of price advantage. Even without considering the national market or future expansion into overseas markets, if Meixi Steel's rebar can be transported along the Zhejiang River to both banks, and the cost of transporting raw materials is reduced, the overall profit margin will increase by 3-5 percentage points."

  "Such a big difference?" Huang Xinliang was also quite surprised.

  "Yes, relative to the output value of 4 billion, an increase in profit margin of three to five percentage points can earn an additional 100-200 million yuan each year. The investment in Jianggang cargo terminal seems huge, with at least 500 million yuan needed for the first phase of construction, but it will only take two or three years to recoup the investment," Shen Huai said.

  "Moreover, Caijiabridge is located by the river and is suitable for residential use. After Meixi Steel develops into a large steel enterprise, thousands of employees from all over will gather here to work, so we also need to consider the living problems of these employees and their families. Therefore, I have been thinking about merging Caijiabridge and Lishacun villages with Hetang Town since the beginning, considering the overall planning of industrial areas in Lishacun village and residential areas in Caijiabridge village.

  The work will be carried out in three to five years, requiring the construction of a concentrated residential area near the village committee and primary school in Caijiabridge village, relocating nearly 800 households from both villages to free up more land for industrial development and construction."

  Mei Creek town had previously administered more than 20 administrative villages, and a large number of dangerous houses were in urgent need of renovation. This time, four million yuan was directly allocated to the two villages that were transferred from outside. Huang Xinliang didn't understand it at first, but now he realized Shen Hua's plan: by merging schools, they could start with the merger of the two villages, build a school first, and then allocate land near the school to build a concentrated residential area, relocate demolished households, repair roads and connect them to the town, and everything else would follow naturally.

  Again, it is only when the town provides real financial support to both villages that it will be possible to eliminate the defensive psychology of these two villages.