Chapter 360: The Ye Deng Clan Is Not Building a Village Road, They Are Building a National Highway!!

Chapter 360: The Ye Deng Clan Is Not Building a Village Road, They Are Building a National Highway!!!

  Babai County.

  Master Kang's Instant Noodle Factory  At this moment, Deng Shirong is tasting the new spicy beef noodle flavor that Master Chen has developed based on his suggestions.

  In the Master Kang's instant noodle kingdom, the best-selling product is undoubtedly the classic Red-Braised Beef Noodle, which can be considered an epic masterpiece. This single product, born alongside Master Kang, has shouldered half of the kingdom of Master Kang's instant noodles and has been a bestseller for nearly threeth  The reason why Master Kang's Red-Braised Beef Noodle became the first explosive product in the history of instant noodles is not without cause. According to later revelations, the prototype of Master Kang's Red-Braised Beef Noodle actually comes from Sichuan cuisine's Red Soup Beef.

  Before the liberation, as the Nationalist Party retreated to Taiwan, this Sichuan dish was brought to Taiwan by Sichuan veterans. There, Red Soup Beef underwent modifications, becoming sweeter and milder to suit the tastes of the new Taiwanese people from the mainland, eventually becoming a Taiwanese specialty beef noodle. It can be said that Red-Braised Beef Noodle, with its Sichuan roots, is the taste that best satisfies the diverse palates of the Chinese people.

  Besides this classic Red-Braised Beef Noodle, another single product has also made significant contributions to Master Kang's development, which is the spicy beef noodle that Deng Shir  Master Kang has relied on the Red-Braised Beef Noodle and the Spicy Beef Noodle to dominate the market, achieving a market share of up to 98% during the explosive sales era.

  Before Uni  After the noodles were ready, Deng Shirong tasted it under the watchful eyes of Master Chen and the factory management. Master Chen was undoubtedly the most anxious, having developed several versions of the spicy beef noodle based on Uncle Nine's suggestions but never receiving Uncle Nine's approval.

  This time, after the successful development, Master Chen had already tasted it and felt it met Uncle Nine's requirements, so he invited Uncle Nine to taste  Seeing Deng Shirong take a few bites and sips, pausing to savor each bite and sip, he finally smiled and said, “Congratulations, Master Chen! We have successfully developed Master Kang's second product, the Spicy Beef Noodle!”

  As soon as he spoke, the room erupted in cheers.

  “Great!”

  “Finally, we succeeded!”

  “We finally have a second flavor for Master Kang's instant noodles!”

  “...”

  Master Chen, relieved, said with a broad smile, “Thank you, Uncle Nine, without your guidance, I don't know how long it would have taken to develop this flavor, and it might have been impossible.”

  Deng Shirong smiled, “Master Chen, you don't have to be modest. Your expertise in this area is considerable, and I can only offer suggestions. If I were to develop it, it would be even harder.”

  Deng Changpei, excited, said, “Grandpa, now that the formula is confirmed, I will arrange for the production line to start producing this product.”

  Deng  Deng Shirong nodded, “Go ahead!”

  The development of this Spicy Beef Noodle had already begun before the Wuhan factory was completed and put into production. The packaging design was already ready, and now that the formula is confirmed, production can start at any time.

  Currently, Master Kang's instant noodles, besides the factory in Babai County and the Wuhan factory, the Tianjin factory is also under construction.

  It can be said that everything is progressing smoothly.

  Since Master Kang's instant noodles have created a unique niche, there are no similar flavors on the market.This exclusive business, with its classic taste, can quickly capture the domestic instant noodle market.

  After solving the second product for the instant noodle factory, Deng Shirong accompanied the team from the Nanning Architectural Design Institute led by Dean Huang to return to Naye Village, then walked along the river section belonging to the Ye Deng Clan.

  While walking and measuring, Dean Huang said, “Mr. Deng, if we build it as you said, this project is quite substantial!”

  Deng Shirong nodded, “The main challenge is dealing with the low hills near the river, which need to be excavated to a depth of 50 meters, making the project indeed significant.”

  The river section near the road is easier, with only a few sections of the road close to the river and a couple of low hills affected.

  On the other side, at least a dozen low hills are only 20 to 30 meters from the river, and one or two hills are right next to it. To achieve a 50-meter depth, these hills would have to be leveled.

  Dean Huang pondered, “Mr. Deng, I have a suggestion. Each of these low hills has its own characteristics, and I believe they should be preserved. Instead of excavating the hills, we should move the river.”

  “Instead of excavating the hills, we should move the river?”

  Deng Shirong repeated the suggestion, instantly understanding the idea, and nodded, “Dean Huang, your idea is excellent. Moving the river is easier than excavating the hills, and keeping these hills as a scenic feature is a good idea.”

  Dean Huang said, “Then, Mr. Deng, you finalize this, I will work on the initial design. Once you have the river modified and reserved enough land on both sides, I will come back to revise the design based on the actual site, and it should be about right.”

Deng Shirong asked, "President Huang, should we also build retaining walls along the new riverbanks when we modify the river?"

President Huang replied, "No need for retaining walls. While they would make the riverbanks look neat, they would lose their natural beauty. If possible, it would be best to bring in large boulders, weighing a few tons or even a dozen tons, and place them along the riverbanks, leaving some gaps. Then, plant willows and other ornamental plants. This would create the best effect."

He showed a conceptual diagram for reference.

Although Deng Shirong couldn't fully imagine the beauty, he trusted the expert's advice and nodded. "Alright, I'll gather some people to handle this. Once it's done, I'll invite President Huang to come and have a look."

"Sure, I'll come over when you're done," President Huang replied.

President Huang and his team didn't stay in the village long, only spending one night before leaving the next day.

After seeing President Huang and his team off, Deng Shirong informed the old clan head and then rode his motorcycle to the township government office.

Deng Shirong was now a well-known figure at the township government. As soon as he arrived, someone immediately reported to the Party Secretary and the Town Mayor, who both came out to greet him personally.

After exchanging pleasantries, Deng Shirong came straight to the point. "Leaders, I'm here to report on a matter."

Party Secretary Lin laughed heartily. "Uncle Nine, you're being too formal. Just tell us what's on your mind."

Deng Shirong said, "Our Ye Deng Clan plans to start building new houses next year, and we intend to build them along the riverbanks in our village. However, some sections of the riverbanks are near the mountain bases. To facilitate the construction, we plan to move these sections of the river. Additionally, some sections of the village road near the river will also need to be moved. I wanted to inform you both to avoid any unintended policy violations."

Party Secretary Lin and the Town Mayor were speechless. Building new houses along the riverbanks was already a significant project, but moving the river and the village road was an even more ambitious undertaking.

Regaining his composure, Party Secretary Lin said with a sigh, "Uncle Nine, your Ye Deng Clan is truly bold and decisive. As for policy, there are no issues. You just need to coordinate the land use within your village."

In this era, rural land management was very relaxed. As long as it was their own land, people could build houses or use it for other purposes without needing approval.

This situation continued until the early 21st century, when regulations became stricter, and new houses could only be built on existing homesteads. Building houses on farmland as they used to was no longer possible.

Having received the answer he needed, Deng Shirong didn't linger. After a few more words with the Party Secretary and the Town Mayor, he took his leave.

...

The next day.

Deng Shirong convened another clan meeting to discuss the river relocation and road realignment.

After explaining the situation to the clan members, Deng Shirong concluded, "This is the situation. I think the design expert's suggestion is very reasonable. Digging through the mountains would be a massive project. It's better to move the river and realign the road. What do you think?"

Deng YunGui was the first to respond. "I support moving the river and realigning the road. It's much easier to move a section of the river and build a road than to dig through several mountains."

Deng ChangBao added, "I also support moving the river and realigning the road. The amount of work required to dig through the mountains isn't the issue. The design expert said it would be more beautiful to keep the mountains, so we should follow their advice."

Deng YunQiang said, "I also support moving the river and realigning the road."

The other clan members also voiced their support. Clearly, moving the river and realigning the road was a much better option than digging through the mountains, and everyone knew what to choose.

Deng Shirong said, "Since everyone agrees, let's finalize this. Tomorrow, we'll start measuring the land. We need to leave a 50-meter buffer from the low hills. We'll mark the entire river with wooden stakes and record how much land each family's fields will lose. This will help offset some of the costs."

The clan members had no objections.

From this, it was clear that the Ye Deng Clan in this life was very different from the Ye Deng Clan in his previous life. In his previous life, if a family's land was encroached upon, it would lead to prolonged disputes, and they would never agree without sufficient compensation. There were even cases where people had died over disputes over a bit of land.

But now, with just a word from the clan head, no one objected. This level of cohesion was a stark contrast to his previous life.

Deng Shirong was very pleased with this and continued with a smile, "Once the land is measured, we'll start building the road. This is our village's road, so we should make the roadbed as wide as possible to avoid the need for expansion in the future."

Deng ChangXiong asked, "Uncle Nine, how wide do you think the roadbed should be?"

Deng Shirong replied, "The roadbed should be at least 60 meters wide."

He wasn't saying this lightly. In the future, every household in the Ye Deng Clan would have cars, and not just one or two. If the roadbed was as narrow as it was in his previous life, it would cause traffic jams just from the clan's cars, let alone other passing vehicles.

Moreover, once the villas on both sides of the river are built, this will be the most beautiful rural building cluster in the country. In the future, it will definitely attract many tourists to drive over for sightseeing. If the roadbed is not wide enough, traffic jams will be a nightmare.

Therefore, reserving a sufficiently wide roadbed is entirely necessary.

However, when the clan members heard this, they were all greatly surprised.

They had no idea how rapidly the country would develop over the next two to three decades or the extent of car ownership that would come. To them, a 60-meter-wide road seemed overly ambitious. With barely any vehicles passing through their village daily, they couldn't fathom the need for such a wide road.

Deng Changxiong said in amazement, "Uncle Nine, did you say it right? The roadbed needs to be more than 60 meters wide?"

Deng Shirong replied, "I didn't say it wrong. It indeed needs to be more than 60 meters wide. It won't be used now, but in over a decade, it will definitely be needed. We can't just focus on the present; we need to look to the future and think long-term."

Deng Changbao chimed in, "Uncle Nine, we all admire your foresight. If you say it will be needed in over a decade, then it will be needed. I agree that the roadbed should be more than 60 meters wide."

Although the others found it hard to believe, Deng Shirong's prestige in the clan was incredibly high. Seeing Deng Changbao agree, the other clan members also voiced their support, and no one opposed.

Deng Shirong smiled, "Then it's settled. We'll measure the land first, then start building the road. Once the road is built, we'll start digging the river."

The clan members responded enthusiastically, and the meeting dispersed after the discussion was complete.

The next day, the entire Naye Ye Clan sprang into action.

Deng Shirong, as the overall commander, managed to mark the positions of the new river and the new road by the afternoon with wooden stakes.

Only one-third of the new road could be expanded on the existing road, while the other two-thirds needed to be newly constructed. This part of the road would affect several farmlands, a small hill, and the houses of over a dozen clan members.

The farmland issue was easy to resolve, and leveling the small hill wouldn't be too difficult with the use of excavators and bulldozers. The more challenging part was the dozen or so clan members whose houses were in the path of the new road.

If their houses were demolished, where would they live before the new houses were built?

Deng Shirong personally talked to these dozen clan members, suggesting they stay in the Naye Ye Clan neighborhood in the county town or with other relatives until their new houses were built.

Their houses would not be demolished without compensation. The value of their houses would be calculated, and the money would be deducted when the clan collectively builds new houses.

All the clan members agreed, as no one would drag their feet during such a significant project for the entire clan.

With the house issue resolved, the construction of the new roadbed proceeded without any setbacks. The clan members brought their own tools and worked enthusiastically.

Initially, Deng Shirong planned to just level the road without laying asphalt or concrete. However, after a detailed calculation, he found that laying a concrete road would not be too expensive.

The main costs for road construction include land acquisition, engineering costs, labor costs, and equipment costs.

In the future, all these aspects would require significant spending, making road construction costs high.

However, in this era, the land was either collective property or owned by clan members. Only a small compensation was needed, so the cost was minimal.

For engineering costs, sand and gravel were free, and only cement needed to be purchased, with no other significant expenses.

Labor costs, which would be a significant part in the future, were negligible since the clan members provided their own food and labor.

The main equipment costs would be for renting excavators, bulldozers, and mixers, which would require some money.

In summary, the primary expenses would be for cement and equipment. With a budget of one to two million, it would be more than sufficient.

And one to two million was nothing for the current Naye Ye Clan.

Thinking about this, Deng Shirong changed his mind and decided to lay a concrete road now, and plant ginkgo trees on both sides and in the middle of the road.

Ginkgo trees, also known as white fruit trees due to their white fruit, grow slowly but have an extremely long lifespan. Naturally, it takes over 20 years from planting to bearing fruit, and 40 years to produce a large harvest. Therefore, they are also called "grandfather-grandson trees," symbolizing "planted by the grandfather and harvested by the grandson." They are long-lived trees with ornamental, economic, and medicinal value.

Here's a conceptual diagram:

Planting ginkgo trees, after a decade or two, these trees will grow, and their village road will likely become a popular tourist attraction in the future.

With this ginkgo avenue, the villas on both sides of the river, and the most beautiful ancestral hall in the country, along with other attractions, their village could be truly transformed into the most beautiful village.

Deng Shirong felt increasingly pleased, but he held back from sharing his thoughts. For now, they would focus on building the roadbed, and the concrete road would be funded by the year-end dividends from the food company and a collective fundraising effort.

Anyway, there are only two or three months left until the end of the year, so there's no need to rush.

The entire clan, men, women, and children, mobilized to build the road, and such a large-scale action naturally caught the attention of other surnames.

Moreover, this 3,684-meter village road, with 1,911 meters belonging to the township road (Shuangwang to Shapa), sees relatively more traffic, especially the buses from Shapa Town to Bobai County, which also pass through this section.

Therefore, the commotion caused by the Ye Deng Clan quickly spread throughout Shuangwang, and even reached the neighboring Shapa Town.

Initially, everyone thought the Ye Deng Clan was just slightly widening the roadbed. However, as time passed, those who frequently passed by noticed something was off.

Once the new roadbed gradually took shape, everyone who passed by was stunned.

This isn't just slightly widening the roadbed; it's directly expanding the original roadbed by at least 10 times!

The Ye Deng Clan is not building a village road; they are building a national highway!!!

The news quickly reached the township government, and the Party Secretary and the Town Mayor couldn't sit still. Both rode their bicycles to the construction site and found that the new village road being built by the Ye Deng Clan was indeed more than 10 times larger than the original. The two leaders exchanged glances, both seeing the shock in each other's eyes.

The Town Mayor couldn't help but say, "Secretary, should we go ask Uncle Nine?"

Party Secretary Lin's curiosity had reached its peak, so he nodded and said, "Sure, let's go ask Uncle Nine."

Thus, Party Secretary Lin and the Town Mayor made their way to Deng Shirong's house.

At that moment, Deng Shirong was sitting at the door smoking. Seeing the two leaders arrive, he put down his pipe, stood up, and greeted them with a smile, "Leaders, what brings you here today?"

Party Secretary Lin laughed and said, "Uncle Nine, you're quietly doing something big. If it weren't for others telling us, we wouldn't have known. You're expanding the village road by more than 10 times the original size. People are saying that the Ye Deng Clan isn't building a village road but a national highway!"

Deng Shirong invited the two leaders to sit down and then replied, "Leaders, to be honest, I plan to make this village road the most beautiful in the country. Our Ye Deng Clan's ancestral hall is now completed, and it is arguably the most beautiful ancestral hall in the country so far. Add to that the building cluster we will construct next year, and do you know what that means?"

The Town Mayor asked instinctively, "What does it mean?"

Deng Shirong said, "It means that Bangjie Village has the potential to become one of the most beautiful villages in the country. Once the news spreads, it will definitely attract many tourists to visit us. If the number of tourists increases, their consumption here will boost the local economy, which is a good thing."

Party Secretary Lin and the Town Mayor were greatly impressed.

Guilin, Guangxi, became one of China's first open tourist cities in 1973, and as grassroots leaders, they were aware of this.

If there were tourism resources locally, they would have considered leveraging them, but Shuangwang was a barren place, and the idea of tourism was a pipe dream.

However, now, hearing Uncle Nine's plans to make Bangjie Village one of the most beautiful in the country, if he succeeds in attracting tourists, it would be a great boon for Shuangwang.

Party Secretary Lin immediately asked, "Uncle Nine, where is your ancestral hall located? Can you show us?"

Deng Shirong smiled and said, "Of course, please follow me, leaders."

With that, Deng Shirong led the two leaders to the new ancestral hall.

Seeing the magnificent and stunning ancestral hall, Party Secretary Lin and the Town Mayor were once again stunned. No wonder Uncle Nine said it was the most beautiful ancestral hall in the country. Before seeing it, the two leaders were a bit skeptical.

After all, being the most beautiful in the country isn't an easy title to earn.

But after seeing the ancestral hall, Party Secretary Lin and the Town Mayor were convinced and truly acknowledged Uncle Nine's claim. It was indeed the most beautiful ancestral hall in the country, no doubt about it.

After touring the ancestral hall, Party Secretary Lin asked earnestly, "Uncle Nine, you said you want to make the village road the most beautiful in the country. That's not just about expanding the roadbed. What are your plans?"

Deng Shirong shared his ideas with the two leaders and concluded, "In a dozen or two decades, when these ginkgo trees have fully grown, this village road will truly be a picturesque sight."

Party Secretary Lin and the Town Mayor exchanged glances, both genuinely admiring Uncle Nine. He was already thinking about what would happen in 20 years, and his foresight was truly remarkable.

Party Secretary Lin stated, "Uncle Nine, go ahead with your plans. If you need our support, just let us know. We won't hesitate to help."

Deng Shirong smiled and said, "Thank you, leaders. If I need help, I'll let you know."

After some more casual conversation, the two leaders rode their bicycles away.

...

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(End of Chapter)

Chapter end