Chapter 227 Trip to Vietnam (10)
Tao Donglai stood on the bow of the boat and said with high spirits: "I have been to Halong Bay once before crossing over, but at that time I really couldn't imagine that one day this place would become our territory!"
Tom Wang smiled and said: "When I think about it now, I always feel that Mrs. Zheng was a little bit sold by us and helped us count the money."
"They can't do this!" Tao Donglai sighed: "If they don't pay to buy our things and agree to our trading terms, then it won't be long before these things will appear in the hands of enemy soldiers. Zheng Zha is also a smart person, and he can understand many things after a little while, but people like him are bound to be limited in their understanding of the outside world, and it is impossible to imagine our true purpose. All they can do is take one step. Take a look, but this is in vain for them, and they will be led by our noses for a long time in the future.”
The voyage from Do Son Peninsula to Black To Port is only more than 40 nautical miles. The "Speed" set off in the afternoon and passed through the islands of Halong Bay before sunset and arrived at the strait at the southern end of Black To Port. Scattered small fishing boats can be seen on the sea here slowly returning to the port. These fishermen are naturalized citizens who have settled in Heitu Port. The sea fish they catch every day is also one of the main sources of meat in the Heitu Port area. one.
Wang Tom pointed to the top of the hill on the west bank of the strait and said: "Mr. Tao, there is an observation post set up by the Military and Police Department on that hill."
Tao Donglai looked over there with his telescope, and sure enough he saw a wooden sentry tower protruding from the treetops in the dense forest on the top of the mountain. Monitoring the surrounding sea surface from that height, you can have a panoramic view of the sea conditions within at least a dozen nautical miles.
The "Speed" slowly sailed into the port, and from a distance we could see that Gu Kai, Zhou Hengxing, Tian Yeyou and other leaders of the Black Tu Port Management Committee were already waiting on the trestle. Tao Donglai noticed that the port here is divided into north and south parts. The south part mainly docks some small fishing boats and foreign ships like the "Speed". In the north is the docking place for coal ships. From a distance, you can see hill-like piles of coal piled on the dock there.
After the ship docked, everyone exchanged brief greetings on the pier, then got off the ship and headed to the station together. At this time, the sky had begun to darken, so the management committee did not arrange any inspection activities for Tao Donglai. They would first follow the tradition to clean up the dust, and everyone would have a meal before talking.
"Mr. Tao, other conditions here are not good, but the food is really good. You have to try them all." Zhou Hengxing, who was in charge of arranging the banquet, greeted warmly.
Zhou Hengxing is indeed not bragging. In addition to being rich in fishery resources, the Halong Bay area also has many rare birds and animals in the mountainous forests. Although this feast may not look too impressive, there are really many good things: shark fins, sea cucumbers, and deer tails. , scallops, prawns...even bear paws. Zhou Hengxing introduced that these were several sun bears that the hunting team had shot in the forest the day before yesterday. The management committee specially kept the front paws, waiting for Tao Donglai and his party to use them to entertain the distinguished guests when they arrived.
Of course, in this kind of atmosphere, having food without wine is definitely not enough. The management committee has prepared fruit wine brewed by local naturalized people. Although it is not as strong as liquor, it is still better than nothing.
Tao Donglai joked: "Did you guys make any mistakes here, and are you now going to use these means to corrupt and win over the local inspection team sent by the executive committee?"
"Brother, you are really wronging us." Gu Kai repeatedly complained: "These things are really not rare in the local area, and they can't be said to have much economic value. The Military and Police Department has organized a hunting team. , we couldn’t finish the game we brought back, most of it was sent to the commune canteen to make big pots for the naturalized people to eat. If you don’t believe it, I will take you to the commune canteen tomorrow to see how the naturalized people here eat meat. There are a lot more base camps.”
What Gu Kai said is indeed the truth. After the colonization team arrived here and established a preliminary social system, an important issue was to solve the problem of food and drink for the increasing number of naturalized people here. At present, the permanent population of Black Earth Port has exceeded 3,000, and more than half of them are heavy laborers working in the mining area. With so many people consuming tons of food every day, the management committee is under heavy logistical pressure. Just imagine.
At the beginning of the opening of the port, the Administrative Committee could only guarantee basic food supplies. Every immigrant could obtain food, but the quantity and quality were very worrying. A considerable number of non-labor immigrants could only receive two meals a day. This situation has also indirectly affected the production of coal mines. Miners who are hungry cannot guarantee long-term high-intensity work. Even if the management committee invests more labor in the mining area, this situation of low production efficiency It didn't get better either.
Zhou Hengxing, who is in charge of civil affairs, made suggestions to the management committee, believing that more resources should be invested in logistics, especially the supply of food, to ensure that the miners can have sufficient productivity. After discussion by the management committee, this logistics improvement plan was divided into two parts. The first was to carry out trade with Vietnam and buy grain nearby so that local residents could have enough food. The second was to organize fishing fleets and hunting teams and build livestock farms to ensure that local residents can obtain more meat.
After launching the salt trade with North Vietnam, the Management Committee has begun to purchase rice from the Red River Delta area through barter, and the cost is much lower than transporting food from the base. At the same time, the Management Committee also purchased a lot of poultry and livestock from North Vietnamese businessmen during the transaction, and artificially bred them in Black Tu Port. The more than ten pigs that were transported to the Tushan Peninsula this time to serve as live targets were part of them. Coupled with the harvest from fishing and hunting, the total amount of meat products that the logistics department can currently provide to local residents every day is close to about a thousand kilograms. If the per capita meat supply is calculated, the current level of Black Earth Port is at least twice that of the base camp.
This is also because Black Earth Port has benefited from population resources, and has sufficient manpower to be assigned to do more things. The labor force in the base camp has always been stretched thin, and the meat supply mainly relies on the farm's livestock breeding base. Due to limited sailor resources, most of the fishermen who can operate boats have been converted into crew members. Therefore, although there are still a few boats going to sea every day in Victory Port, the amount of fishery resources obtained is not large. The hunting team was only formed at the beginning of the landing, but later had to be disbanded due to labor shortages. Only the Limiao mountain people living in the deep mountains and old forests would regularly send some prey in exchange for food, salt and ironware.
Although the meat supply in Black Earth Port also prioritizes the traveling public and military and police personnel, because the supply is large enough, the local naturalized people can obtain a lot of meat, and the types are rich and diverse, including delicacies from mountains and seas. In terms of food alone, the treatment of naturalized residents in Heitu Port is indeed better than that in Sanya Base Camp.
After listening to the explanation, Tao Donglai nodded and said: "The number of naturalized residents in Heitu Port and Sanya is actually very close. The reason why there is such a big difference in food supply is mainly because of the different industrial structures."
Black Earth Port is mainly dominated by coal mining, and the labor force required by related supporting industries is not too much. Most of the infrastructure projects have been completed, so there is a lot of surplus labor that can be dispatched to logistics support work. However, the industrial expansion and infrastructure projects in the base camp have almost never stopped, and the labor force is always in short supply, so naturally more logistics cannot be taken into consideration. However, this situation will be alleviated as the base camp gradually accelerates the introduction of immigrants. In the future, the number of immigrants arriving in Victory Port every month is expected to exceed 3,000. By then, Tao Donglai will finally be able to make complaints. The constant Ning Qi temporarily shut up about the labor issue.
As the development process of Black Earth Port gradually unfolds, more and more construction projects will eventually be implemented, and the demand for labor will gradually become tight. In particular, the Management Committee has now begun to turn its attention to the Guangxi region in the northeast, which means that Black Tu Port will devote more manpower and material resources to foreign trade.
However, the topic of food and labor was not the focus of everyone's attention. The topic soon came to the trade negotiations held on the Tushan Peninsula in the past two days. Tao Donglai detailed the process of the negotiation and the results obtained to everyone, and bursts of cheers broke out from time to time during the meeting. For those in the Black Tu Port Management Committee, there is no need for Tao Donglai to explain in detail how much the agreements reached this time will promote the development of Black Tu Port.
"I propose that we all toast to Mr. Tao for his hard work!" Zhou Hengxing raised his glass and said loudly, and everyone also raised their glasses in response.
After Tao Donglai drank this glass of wine, he said in a deep voice: "Everyone, how much the existence of Black Earth Port can promote our future development speed has been emphasized many times, so I won't repeat it again. . What I want to say is that the Executive Committee has always attached great importance to the development of Black Tu Port and is willing to support Black Tu Port as much as possible in terms of materials and policies. However, such support policies have limits. One day, Black Tu Port will still be We must start to operate independently. Currently, the base camp is facing many development difficulties. There may not be too many resources invested in Black Earth Port in a short period of time, so everyone must start to cheer up and plan for the future of Black Earth Port. Development path.”
Tao Donglai's words were not just a whim, but one of the tasks he had to undertake when he came to Heitu Port this time. In order to ensure a stable energy supply in the next few years, Chuanchuan Group did not hesitate to save money and go overseas to develop the Black Earth Port. For this purpose, it even invested most of the existing maritime transport capacity in the long term. Although Black Earth Port has begun to produce output and has also received a considerable number of Vietnamese immigrants, it has not yet completely gotten rid of its economic dependence on the base camp. The Executive Committee believes that Black Earth Port now has basic self-hematopoietic capabilities, and it is time to let go and let Black Earth Port move forward on its own. Of course, to make such a conclusion, Tao Dong will need to complete this inspection to obtain the information. Issue a report and put it on the executive committee for discussion. Tao Donglai personally believes that the time is ripe. Although Black Earth Port has only been open for more than two months, the development and construction work here has gone smoothly because the preparations beforehand were sufficient. Apart from the initial flash flood, there have been no other experiences here. catastrophic events. The two biggest problems that once plagued the Black Earth Port Management Committee - safety and food - have now been perfectly solved through the efforts of the Executive Committee. The remaining work depends on how the Management Committee operates. .
Tao Donglai's words also aroused everyone's thoughts. During the remaining time of the reception banquet, the atmosphere became much more solemn than at the beginning.
After the reception banquet, Tao Donglai was not in a hurry to convene a meeting with the management committee. He believed that everyone needed time to digest the information they had just received. So it was over, and everyone went back to rest. Tao Donglai and others were also arranged to the prepared accommodation-several wooden shacks.
Although the base camp has been continuously delivering various building materials to Black Earth Port, most of the limited cement has been used in more important infrastructure projects, such as freight terminals, rail transportation stations, material warehouses, etc., so the conditions for living here are limited. , still haven’t gotten rid of wooden houses, even if they are traveling through time. However, local brick kilns and lime kilns are now beginning to produce small-scale output. Although they are not yet able to supply the needs for housing construction, it seems that the time to achieve this goal is not far away.
For safety reasons, Black Earth Port has implemented strict curfew measures at night. Everyone must return to their residences at eight o'clock, and all lights must be turned off in all houses at nine o'clock. Only the watchtowers on duty outside the residential area are lit. Brazier torch. As for whether to turn off the lights so early to sleep in the house or to make people, no one cares. Anyway, as long as you can go to work on time every morning.
The treatment of those who travel through time is slightly better. After nine o'clock, they can still use the power supplied by the battery to read a book or turn on the computer to play a few battle games with colleagues online. Tao Donglai had just packed his luggage and was about to wash up when he heard a knock on the door.
When Tao Donglai opened the door and saw Gu Kai, he let him in: "It's just the right time. I also want to talk to you about something."
After Gu Kai entered the room and sat down, he asked: "Then you go ahead and say it."
"Risa asked me to bring you the clothes, tea, and, um, a USB flash drive. I don't know what the content is. I guess it's a love letter or something?" Tao Donglai took out the things and handed them over. Gu Kai.
Gu Kai smiled and took it from Tao Donglai: "Look, foreign wives can still love people. Every time a ship comes from the base camp, they have to bring me something."
Tao Donglai said: "Okay, I've finished talking about my business, let's talk about yours."
Gu Kai put these things aside and said seriously: "Brother, I came here mainly to give you a vaccination first."
"Oh?" Tao Donglai responded without knowing why.
"You should be inspecting the mining area tomorrow, right?" Gu Kai asked.
"Then I have to go. Most of my purpose in coming to Heitu Port is to see how the production is going here. Otherwise, how can I report to my colleagues when I get back?" Tao Donglai stared at Gu Kai and asked, "Is it production in the mining area?" What’s the problem?”
"Yes, there is, but it's not a big problem, so I want to tell you first, lest you find it unacceptable when you see it tomorrow." Gu Kai looked a little worried: "To be honest, I think the working environment of local miners is very poor. , there will definitely be quite a few people suffering from occupational diseases in a few years. I have raised this issue several times at the management committee, but no one seems to care much. Even Tian Yeyou doesn’t think it is necessary. Increase investment in improving working conditions.”
"Is this what you want to say?" Tao Donglai breathed a sigh of relief after hearing this. He originally thought that Gu Kai would reveal something violent when he came to meet him alone, such as internal disagreements within the management committee, or someone in the He made serious mistakes at work, etc., but he never thought that Gu Kai was here to plead for the people.
Seeing Tao Donglai's disapproval, Gu Kai continued to persuade: "Brother, don't underestimate this problem. Now these immigrants have to listen to our arrangements in order to seek a stable living environment. They will have to wait for a while." Over time, they may feel that their lives are not good enough, and the most likely cause of trouble is the working environment in the coal mines.”
"Gu Kai, you don't seem to be sitting in the right place!" Tao Donglai shook his head and said: "You are now the director of the Black Tu Port Management Committee, not the director of the miners' union. To put it bluntly, you are now the employer's representative , not labor representatives!”
"But..."
"It's nothing but, we don't have the conditions to pay attention to the working environment and occupational protection now." Tao Donglai interrupted Gu Kai: "I know what you want to say, miners' occupational diseases, coal silicosis and coal workers' pneumoconiosis. We were planning at the beginning When the Black Earth Port development plan was being developed, two foreign doctors came to talk to me about this matter. I also checked the information in the database and found that the matter is not as serious as you think. Coal workers' pneumoconiosis mainly occurs in underground mining. , the prevalence of open-pit coal mining is very low, and the pathogenesis of coal silicosis is very long, and there will not be the large-scale incidence that you are worried about in the short term.”
"But these miners are now naturalized citizens. We can't be as unrestrained as the forced labor camp workers in the Tiandu Iron Mine! The rights of naturalized people must be taken seriously!" Gu Kai still said Tao Donglai is to hold an objection.
Tao Donglai shook his head repeatedly after hearing this: "Don't forget the original intention of us coming to this time and space. We are here to change the world! The industrialized social system cannot be built without cost. The one we are using now is the most peaceful one. It’s a great way! We keep these people fed and clothed and provide them with the best living conditions we can. This is how we respect their rights!”
(End of chapter)