I'm back in 1990

Chapter 719: Ding 1 Wants to Build a Road

"1990 I'm Back": Explosive word-of-mouth and rave reviews!

Zhang Gaolei brought up the old topic again, asking about the woman from earlier with a gossipy look on his face.

"Chen Zhe, I think that girl who was walking with you earlier seems to have a bit of a thing for you!"

"Don't talk nonsense. She's not married yet. She was just asking me for advice on some professional matters." Chen Zhe firmly denied this.

Zhang Gaolei, however, looked confident: "I'm sure I can't be wrong. Besides, we're the bystanders who see things more clearly."

He then asked Huang Xiaochuan for confirmation, "Xiaochuan, do you think what I said is right?"

Huang Xiaochuan didn't want to answer, but he nodded anyway.

This emboldened Zhang Gaolei even more: "See? What did I tell you? Xiao Chuan saw through it too. You were just pretending to be confused in front of us."

Chen Zhe became a little anxious and retorted, "No way! He just wanted to ask me some questions."

At this moment, Zhang Gaolei casually patted Chen Zhe on the shoulder: "Chen Zhe, I'm serious, that girl seems alright to me. Why don't you give her a try?"

Huang Xiaochuan tried to pull Zhang Gaolei back to stop talking, but it was too late.

As expected, Chen Zhe stated resolutely, "I will not get married again. I think being single is just fine!"

Huang Xiaochuan could understand Chen Zhe at this moment. Back then, his ex-wife Chen Qiao had taken the initiative to strike up a conversation with Chen Zhe here, and the two later got together. Now that he had returned to the University of Finance and Economics, everything had changed. Chen Zhe certainly didn't want to go through the same thing again, especially in a place like the University of Finance and Economics.

"Old Zhang, shut up. You're acting like the emperor isn't worried, but the eunuch is." He said, while winking at Zhang Gaolei, signaling him to stop.

Zhang Gaolei then realized what had happened and remembered Huang Xiaochuan's earlier warning. He quickly slapped himself lightly across the mouth, saying, "Look at my stupid mouth. Chen Zhe, I didn't mean it. Don't take it to heart."

Chen Zhe waved his hand: "It's okay, I know you're just concerned about me."

At this point, Huang Xiaochuan changed the subject: "Old Chen, are you going to the financial and economic seminar next month?"

Chen Zhe pushed up his glasses, looking puzzled, and asked, "I didn't receive an invitation?"

Huang Xiaochuan chuckled, realizing that Chen Zhe hadn't yet grasped the true value of his current position, and reminded him, "Your title as the head of the Hong Kong Economic Research Institute branch is practically an invitation letter. You're treating this authority like a chicken feather. I'm speechless."

Reminded by Huang Xiaochuan, Chen Zhe immediately realized what was going on and smiled sheepishly.

Huang Xiaochuan then said, "You'll come with me then, we can keep each other company!"

Chen Zhe nodded: "Okay!"

Huang Xiaochuan stood up: "We've eaten and drunk our fill, let's go!"

Seeing this, Zhang Gaolei also stood up, supporting himself on a chair, and said, "Let's go!"

At this moment, Chen Zhe was the first to go out, busy finding the boss to settle the bill.

To everyone's surprise, Gao Song had already paid the bill. Chen Zhe said to Huang Xiaochuan with a displeased look, "Didn't I say it was my treat?"

"You're not as good as Lao Ding. You know he's always the one who treats me and I pay. I've gotten used to it over the years, haha!" Huang Xiaochuan joked as he put his arm around Chen Zhe's shoulder and walked out.

Meanwhile, Old Ding, Ding Yi, the Deputy County Chief Ding whom Huang Xiaochuan was talking about, was struggling to make his way along the rugged mountain road.

"Oh my god!" Ding Yi unbuttoned the top two buttons of his clothes, plopped down on a rock by the mountain road, and took a fan from the messenger, fanning himself incessantly.

After lunch, he would have to walk to get into the mountains, since cars couldn't go in. This reminded him of when he and Huang Xiaochuan went to the mountains to donate and build a school back in his university days, and it was so similar to what was happening now.

Back then, he was a young man full of energy. Now, due to years of overeating and binge eating, he has gained weight and lacks exercise. After walking only four or five miles of mountain road, he was too tired to stand up.

He was panting as he asked Lao Ming, the deputy director of the county government office who was leading the way, "Director Lao, how much further is it?"

Lao Ming, who was also fanning himself, replied, "Almost there, just another three miles or so."

The three li that Lao Ming mentioned may not seem far, but this is a mountainous area, and the journey is along a mountain road. It is not the same as three li on the plains at all. For Ding Yi, who has lived on the plains for many years, it is even more difficult than going to the Western Paradise to obtain Buddhist scriptures.

When he first arrived in this county, he was amazed by the scenery. The majestic mountains and the rushing river roared and meandered along the mountainside, like a painting. But now he felt that the mountain road was not beautiful at all.

Lao Ming, who had lived here for many years, noticed Ding Yi's discomfort and kindly suggested, "County Chief Ding, rest a little longer and take it easy. The rest of the road is even steeper than this. Let's not rush and walk slowly."

Upon hearing this, Ding Yi couldn't help but groan inwardly, "My goodness! This is going to kill me!" Despite his inner complaints, he didn't show it on his face at all, and instead calmly nodded.

Before he took up his post in this county, his father had given him earnest advice, urging him to use his strengths to find ways to help this impoverished mountain county escape poverty and become prosperous, thus adding a significant achievement to his resume.

So, after Ding Yi arrived here, in the beginning, apart from his normal work schedule, he spent most of his time learning about the county's agricultural, industrial, and commercial situation. Now, he wants to see for himself what industries can bring wealth to the surrounding villages.

To be honest, the county's industry is practically nonexistent. Due to its mountainous terrain and limited arable land, it has achieved little in agriculture, and its commerce is even more dismal. Only the county town is slightly better, with shopping malls, cinemas, supply and marketing cooperatives, post offices, and the like.

Before heading into the mountains, Ding Yi already had some ideas in mind, but he still needed to visit each township to see for himself and make some modifications and adjustments to the plan based on the situation in each township.

He felt that the advantage of the mountain's water resources could be used to develop small hydropower stations, which would solve the biggest problem in the mountainous area: the electricity problem. With electricity, planting and production could be developed, and the people could also have electric lights.

Furthermore, he consulted a lot of information and found that there were many local specialties in the mountainous area, but due to poor roads, it was difficult to transport them out on a large scale. Therefore, road construction was the top priority in front of him. As the saying goes, "If you want to get rich, build roads first!" Without roads, the equipment for the hydroelectric power station could not be delivered!

So the biggest problem is actually road construction. Although Ding Yi could handle it all by himself, he is part of the system and there are some things he can't do that way. He has to follow the existing rules.

However, this was not a difficult task for him. Huang Xiaochuan had taken him into the mountains to donate and build schools and roads, which gave him experience in this area. Besides, his good brother would definitely help him.

Having rested enough, Ding Yi stood up, roused himself, and said, "Let's go!"

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