Chapter 530: Capital for Advancement

Chapter 530: Capital for Advancement

Dong Village, Baise City.

When Qin Fu suggested taking advantage of the Spring Festival travel rush to purchase more large buses to run routes, the three brothers—Qin Jin, Qin Yuan, and Qin Bao—were all very tempted. However, they did not let the allure of money cloud their judgment and decided to investigate the situation thoroughly before making any decisions.

The reason the three brothers could remain so composed was twofold. First, they were no longer young. For example, as the eldest brother, Qin Jin was already fifty years old this year. With age comes experience, and they were no longer as impulsive as they were in their youth.

Second, the three brothers had competed against the Tenglong Passenger Transport Company over a decade ago and were well aware of the strength of their opponent. Back then, Tenglong was already a formidable presence in Baise, operating in both the legal and illegal sectors.

Now, with the Spring Festival travel rush approaching, the most profitable time of the year, it was clear that Tenglong was not making this decision out of foolishness. There must be a reason unknown to Qin Fu.

Without a thorough investigation, they dared not risk their hard-earned wealth on purchasing more large buses. If something went wrong, they could lose everything they had worked for over the years, which was a scenario they were determined to avoid.

Seeing his father and two uncles being so cautious, Qin Fu gradually calmed down and said, "Father, Second Uncle, Little Uncle, I'll have something to eat first. Then I'll go and find someone from the Tenglong Passenger Transport Company to inquire about the situation and find out why they decided to suspend the Guangdong routes."

Qin Jin nodded and said, "Yes, you must ask detailed questions. If it's indeed due to the infectious disease, they will surely be willing to explain it to you."

...

In his previous life, there were many large buses running the Baise to Guangdong route, operated by different owners. In this life, while the Tenglong Passenger Transport Company had not completely monopolized the Baise to Guangdong route, it was the dominant player. Apart from Tenglong, only the three brothers of Jin Yuanbao and the Huang family's uncle and nephew owned large buses running to Guangdong.

The other bus owners could only operate routes to smaller cities, lacking the capability to enter the long-distance market in Guangdong.

The Huang family's uncle and nephew, Huang Qiang and his cousin Huang Qi, ran their large bus together.

In this life, the Baise to Guangdong route was first opened by the Tenglong Passenger Transport Company. When Jin Yuanbao and his brothers, as well as the Huang family's uncle and nephew, saw how much money Tenglong was making, they also entered the passenger transport business.

However, unlike Jin Yuanbao and his brothers, the Huang family's uncle and nephew chose to operate in cities that Tenglong had overlooked, building their business steadily over the years and making a substantial profit.

Now, with Tenglong suddenly announcing the suspension of all large buses running to Guangdong, this naturally alarmed the Huang family's uncle and nephew.

Thus, Huang Qiang, who maintained a good relationship with Tenglong, promptly sought out the company's manager.

After offering a cigarette and exchanging pleasantries, Huang Qiang eagerly asked, "Manager Deng, I heard your company is suspending the Guangdong routes. Could you tell me what's going on?"

The manager of the passenger transport company replied, "Of course, we made this decision because a severe infectious disease has appeared in Guangdong. We fear it might spread back, so we decided to suspend the routes."

Huang Qiang's brow furrowed in confusion as he asked, "A severe infectious disease in Guangdong? I run routes to Guangdong every day, how come I haven't heard anything about it?"

The manager explained, "The disease only appeared recently, and only a few leaders and medical personnel know about it. Most people are unaware, so it's not surprising you haven't heard of it.

However, as fellow Baise residents, I must warn you. This is a completely new infectious disease. If you get infected, there is a risk of death. Even if you survive, you will suffer severe aftereffects. Only a very few can be fully cured.

So, you need to consider carefully whether your buses should continue running to Guangdong."

Hearing this, Huang Qiang believed it. After all, with dozens of large buses, and the Spring Festival travel rush approaching, Tenglong would not suspend operations without a serious reason. Who would give up such a profitable opportunity if the disease were not severe?

Therefore, Huang Qiang gratefully said, "Thank you, Manager Deng, for the warning. I'll discuss this with Uncle Qi and also suspend our operations to Guangdong. While making money is important, it's not worth taking such a big risk. I don't want to bring the disease back to Baise for the sake of profit."

The manager smiled and said, "That's the right decision, Mr. Huang. During the Spring Festival, you can run routes to other provinces and cities. Even if the profits are less than running to Guangdong, at least you'll still be making money and won't have to idle your buses."

"Thank you, Manager Deng, for the advice. I'll go back and handle this."

"You're welcome, go ahead!"

...

Since Zhu Junjie's promotion and transfer to Nanning, the new county magistrate of Baise County became Li Haiyan, a female leader.

Li Haiyan was from Yulin and was also a fellow alumnus of Tsinghua University with Deng Yunsong.

Although they were both top students at Tsinghua, their political careers took different paths. Deng Yunsong, being the top student in Guangxi's college entrance exam that year, was an outstanding student even among Tsinghua's elite.

After graduation, he joined a heavyweight institution like the Ministry of Finance and, with the support of his father-in-law, rapidly ascended to the rank of a full ministerial-level official.

On the other hand, Li Haiyan, lacking Deng Yunsong's talent and opportunities, was only a full provincial-level official at this point, a whole rank below her former classmate.

Of course, Li Haiyan's appointment as the top leader of Baise County indicated that she was not far from being promoted to a deputy provincial level position.

In her previous life, Baise County was one of the top three most populous counties in the country, but it ranked low economically, even being a well-known impoverished county.

It wasn't until a few years ago that Baise County finally shed its impoverished county status.

But in this life, Baise County's economic strength was among the top in the country, far surpassing its previous state.

Therefore, anyone qualified to serve as the top leader of Baise County, as long as they didn't make any major mistakes, could secure a deputy provincial level position.

As the top leader of Baise County, Li Haiyan was well aware of even the slightest changes in the county.

For example, she learned immediately that the Tenglong Passenger Transport Company had suspended all routes to Guangdong.

Li Haiyan and Deng Yunsong were Tsinghua University alumni and fellow natives of Yulin, Guangxi, so they naturally maintained a good relationship. They had stayed in touch since graduation, and after Li Haiyan came to work in Baise County, she was well aware that Deng Yunsong was a member of the Naye Deng family.

The Naye Deng family was not just well-known in Baise County but also throughout Yulin.

Li Haiyan knew that Tenglong Passenger Transport Company was a subsidiary of the Deng family's group. The sudden suspension of dozens of large buses running to Guangdong caused significant inconvenience to both regions, and as a leader, she naturally had to inquire about the situation.

Soon, Li Haiyan received the answer: Tenglong Passenger Transport Company had suspended the routes to Guangdong due to a severe infectious disease outbreak there.

Upon confirming this, Li Haiyan could no longer sit idly by. She immediately called her fellow townsman, Deng Yunsong.

After the call was connected and they exchanged greetings, Li Haiyan got straight to the point: "Old classmate, your Deng family group's passenger transport company has suspended all routes to Guangdong today, citing a severe infectious disease outbreak there. How much do you know about this? Why haven't I heard any news about it?"

Deng Yunsong replied, "I heard about it from my father. According to his information, it's an unknown infectious disease. Once infected, it's very difficult to treat, and there's a significant risk of death. Even if you survive, you might suffer from severe aftereffects.

In short, it's a very terrifying infectious disease. As a leader in Baise County, you must take it seriously and implement appropriate protective measures to prevent it from spreading to our county."

Hearing this from her old classmate, Li Haiyan immediately took it seriously and said, "Understood. I'll make the necessary arrangements to do our best to protect our county."

They chatted a bit more about family matters before hanging up the phone.

...

When people face known dangers, their fear is limited. For example, during the Korean War in the early days of the People's Republic of China, it was impossible for the volunteer army to be unaware of the dangers they faced against the United Nations forces led by the United States.

But were our volunteer soldiers afraid? When they joined the volunteer army, everyone knew the risks of almost certain death, yet our brave predecessors marched forward without hesitation, determined to defend their homeland and face the world's most powerful enemy.

Similarly, the terrifying contagiousness of the novel coronavirus in the later years was evident to all. However, due to the decisive actions of our leaders, who publicly disclosed the daily new cases, the entire nation was well-informed about the progress of the pandemic.

The result was positive. The entire nation cooperated, united in their efforts, and ultimately defeated the pandemic.

Thus, known dangers are not truly terrifying.

However, when facing unknown dangers, normal people tend to panic.

The outbreak of SARS in the previous life was a prime example. Because the authorities did not disclose the true data on SARS and some leaders downplayed it, making it seem like a common cold, the public was left in a state of confusion.

As a result, in pharmacies, people frantically bought up Isatis Root, disinfectants, and other medicines.

In stores, people stocked up on all kinds of daily necessities. White vinegar and other disinfectants were widely out of stock, masks were sold out, and prices generally rose.

This panic only subsided when the government truly took SARS seriously, implemented various preventive measures, and publicly disclosed the daily new cases, reassuring the public. This was the key difference between known and unknown dangers.

In her previous life, during the SARS outbreak, Deng Shirong stayed in Naye Village, where no cases of SARS were reported in the surrounding towns. Therefore, he and the villagers were largely unaware of SARS, feeling that it was far from them and not worth much attention.

It wasn't until the outbreak of the novel coronavirus in the later years that Deng Shirong learned detailed information about the SARS outbreak online.

Therefore, Deng Shirong was very clear that many leaders did not take the SARS outbreak seriously at the time. Once the situation worsened and the government decided to take action, those leaders who downplayed SARS would be held accountable.

This was also a way for the government to give an account to the people.

Deng Shirong understood this, so he carefully called his eldest daughter's husband, his second son, his third son, and his third daughter-in-law, urging them to take the infectious disease seriously and even suggested they organize campaigns to educate the public on basic protective measures.

This kind of publicity about protective measures would neither mobilize a large number of people nor burden the authorities. It would demonstrate the leaders' concern for the epidemic. When the SARS outbreak became severe and the state decided to take action, these leaders might be held up as exemplary figures for propaganda.

At that time, their promotion would be a natural progression.

Deng Shirong's son-in-law, second son, third son, and third daughter-in-law all took Deng Shirong's words to heart.

Thus, as the year-end approached and the epidemic in Guangdong began to truly break out, the health departments in Fujian, Zhejiang, and Guangxi started to promote knowledge about infectious disease prevention. Even without the SARS outbreak, these efforts were commendable.

Promoting such knowledge in the early stages of the epidemic made the local leaders appear even more insightful, which would undoubtedly be a plus for their future promotions.

After the winter break, the security personnel escorted Xiaodong'er and Dongzi back from the capital.

At this time, the SARS epidemic was mainly concentrated in Guangdong, with the capital's outbreak not beginning until the following March or April.

...

After the 20th day of the 12th lunar month, things were mostly the same every year. Households would prepare New Year goods, make various rice cakes, perform rituals, and worship various deities. This was something the people of Shuangwang Town did every year.

This year, Deng Shirong's home was particularly lively. Apart from his second son's and third son's families, who did not return for the New Year, all his other children came back.

Not only that, but his youngest daughter's in-laws and his youngest son's in-laws also came.

Together with Deng Shirong's nephews and grand-nephews, the house was incredibly bustling, with several tables needed for meals every day.

With nothing much to do, Deng Shirong cooked delicious meals for everyone almost every day.

For those who love cooking, there is no aversion to being in the kitchen. The most tedious part of cooking for most people is the preparation of ingredients—washing and cutting meat, picking and washing vegetables, peeling ginger, and garlic, etc. These daily chores are the main reasons many people dislike cooking.

If someone else does the preparation, many people can even find joy in cooking.

Deng Shirong was in this situation now. His daughters, daughters-in-law, and nieces handled the preparation of ingredients, and all he needed to do was use his culinary skills to turn these ingredients into delicious meals.

One afternoon, Deng Shirong prepared several tables of delicious food.

As they began to eat, Feng's father said admiringly, "Father-in-law, this infectious disease has been named 'atypical pneumonia.' Everything is just as you predicted. SARS has indeed broken out in our Guangzhou, and many people have already been infected."

Deng Shirong replied, "SARS is only in its early stages. It hasn't reached its peak yet. Even the healthcare workers in hospitals haven't fully realized how terrible SARS is. When the number of cases increases, and healthcare workers and patients' families start getting infected, that's when the real panic will set in."

In his previous life, after the Spring Festival, SARS began to truly break out in Guangzhou, with new cases increasing day by day. Many of these cases were healthcare workers and patients' families.

At that time, healthcare workers finally realized how terrible SARS was.

Awakened healthcare workers started calling or sending text messages to their friends and family.

According to the text message traffic statistics from Guangdong Mobile Communications, the text message traffic from February 8 to 10, 2003, was comparable to that during the New Year's greetings from the 30th day of the 12th lunar month to the first day of the New Year. This gives an idea of how high the text message traffic was at that time.

Thanks to these text messages, rumors spread like wildfire, and people made all sorts of terrifying speculations about this mysterious and unknown "ghost."

Soon, long queues of panicked people formed outside pharmacies.

In fact, most people didn't know what medicines to buy; they just followed the crowd and bought antiviral drugs.

Before long, these medicines were sold out, and those who couldn't buy them became even more panicked, with people still queuing up even after the pharmacies closed at night.

In stark contrast, the streets were desolate, with few people visiting hotels, restaurants, or entertainment venues.

Zhou's father added, "Fortunately, medical science is more advanced now. If such an infectious disease had occurred in ancient times, with the medical conditions back then, the consequences could have been unimaginable, perhaps comparable to the terrifying plagues of the past."

"Indeed, even with modern medical science, many patients with SARS couldn't be saved. Imagine how much worse it would have been with the medical conditions of ancient times."

Deng Shirong then looked at his eldest son and asked, "Yuntao, have the supermarket employees been trained in epidemic prevention measures?"

Deng Yuntao nodded and said, "Yes, they have all been trained. We've provided them with masks and disinfectant. We've also posted notices at the entrances of our supermarkets in Guangdong, requiring customers to wear medical masks when shopping.

Customers without masks can buy them at the supermarket entrance, where we have set up a specific area for selling masks."

Deng Shirong said, "That's good. This rule should continue until the SARS outbreak is over. Have you stocked up on white vinegar and masks?"

"Both are well-stocked. We can let customers buy as much as they want without running out."

"Good. Keep a close eye on it. I think the outbreak will soon intensify, and the supermarkets will face a major rush."

"Understood, Dad. I'll keep a close eye on it."

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end