Jing Yongli drove Feng Wu to the riverbank for a site inspection.
Although Yangli Village was backed by the Xiaosha River, the actual distance was still three to four hundred meters. The road from Xinqiao Town to Yangli Village had a straight line distance of six to seven hundred meters to the Xiaosha River, with large swathes of paddy fields in between.
In the middle of the paddy fields was a three-meter-wide mechanized farming road, paved with stones for farmers to harvest crops. It could accommodate cars and agricultural vehicles and was a single-lane road.
As soon as Jing Yongli drove onto this road, Feng Wu asked, "Yongli, will Xu Zheng's sand quarry use this road after it starts operating?"
"Of course, it has to. This is the only road accessible by car in this area to Xiaosha River; otherwise, they'd have to take a much longer detour."
"And this road belongs to Yangli Village, right?"
"Yes, the paddy fields on both sides are Yangli Village's. What's up?"
"Does Jian Ge's family have paddy fields on both sides?"
"No, because when the factory buildings were being constructed, Jian Ge's family exchanged their land with others."
"That's a bit of a shame, but it doesn't matter. Actually, it's very easy to bring down Xu Zheng's sand quarry; we just need to control this road."
"How do we control it? Although this road belongs to Yangli Village, we can't stop people from using it. Just like the highway earlier, Jian Ge paid for it to be built, but anyone can use it."
"Let me finish. To transport the sand he excavates, he will definitely need to widen this road. Otherwise, large trucks won't be able to enter. Also, it's a single-lane road, so cars can't pass each other. If he relies solely on the current road for transportation, he won't make much money. Therefore, he will inevitably spend money to acquire the land on both sides to widen the roadbed.
If you just talk to the village and tell them not to sell their land, his sand quarry won't be able to extract sand on a large scale."
Jing Yongli slammed on the brakes. "Wow, how did I not think of this? This is Yangli Village's territory after all. If he wants to open a sand quarry here, he has to seek the village's opinion, right? Let's go find Uncle Huailin first."
The car couldn't turn around, so Jing Yongli reversed it directly and then headed straight for the village committee.
"Little Jing, what brings you here?"
Yang Huailin received them in the village committee office.
"Uncle Huailin, you know about Xu Zheng opening a sand quarry, right?"
"I know. I was just wondering why he's rushing to open a sand quarry right when you're planning to develop Xiaosha River. Isn't he deliberately trying to annoy you?"
"So, what's the village's opinion?"
"The village naturally hopes you will proceed with the development. If Yaochi Garden really gets built, won't the villagers all benefit?"
"Uncle Huailin, we want to stop Xu Zheng from opening the sand quarry. We want to control the road leading to Xiaosha River. As long as the villagers don't sell their land to him, it will be difficult for him to transport his sand on a large scale."
Yang Huailin sighed. "You're too late. Xu Zheng has already privately reached agreements with the farmers on the east side of the mechanized farming road these past two days. He's willing to give them three meters to widen the road."
Jing Yongli was greatly surprised. "He's moving this fast? Have all the farmers agreed?"
"The evening he dug out the sand from Xiaosha River, he started contacting the farmers privately. He offered a very high price, so the farmers were naturally willing to sell to him. Except for two or three households where no one was home, they all took the money and signed."
Feng Wu's spirits immediately lifted when he heard there were still two or three households. "Uncle Huailin, as long as one family disagrees, his road won't be easy to build. Can you help us contact the heads of these families? We'll buy their land, and the price will definitely be higher than Xu Zheng's."
"Two families have already agreed to transfer their land over the phone. Now, only Yang Dalin hasn't agreed because he thinks the price is too low. He's the cousin of Er Jian. You can go talk to him yourselves."
"Alright, we'll go find him right away. Uncle Huailin, the village should notify the farmers not to sell their land arbitrarily, because we plan to acquire all the land along the Xiaosha River. If there are private sales, the authorities will definitely investigate.
I hope the village and the villagers will support the development. This is a major event that will benefit all villagers. We can't ruin a great development opportunity for a small immediate profit.
You know, our investment this time is estimated to be fifty million. Think about how much employment it will create. Jian Ge said that once this project starts, he will also give the village a sum of money to renovate the village committee and the village primary school, and donate to build a nursing home."
Jing Yongli was a bit anxious and preemptively disclosed some of Yang Jian's plans. These plans were originally intended to be implemented only after the construction of Yaochi Garden began.
When Yang Huailin heard this, he suddenly stood up. "Are you telling the truth? Does Er Jian really have this intention?"
"Uncle Huailin, would I lie to you? Jian Ge has been dabbling in shady businesses these past few years and is a bit superstitious. He feels that the money he earns is ill-gotten gains, and if he doesn't use a portion of it for charity, he will face retribution."
"Alas, you can't say that. I watched Er Jian grow up. He was kind from a young age. His willingness to do charity with money comes entirely from his heart, not from superstition. How about this, we'll hold a village representative meeting immediately, unify our opinions, and fully cooperate with your major development. We'll complete the land transfer procedures as quickly as possible."
Money makes the world go round. From the perspective of the village collective, Yang Huailin naturally hoped that Yang Jian would donate more money. He knew clearly that investing tens of millions in Yaochi Garden meant Yang Jian was making a lot of money outside, even if it couldn't be publicized.
After convincing Yang Huailin, Jing Yongli and Feng Wu immediately rushed to Yang Jian's house and asked Yang Jian's mother to find their neighbor Guihua, instructing them not to sell their land to Xu Zheng.
Guihua was also working at the template factory, responsible for purchasing for the kitchen. It was a lucrative position, and Yang Jian was taking care of her, as her family was the closest collateral relative to Yang Jian's family.
As soon as Yang Jian's mother intervened, Guihua immediately promised not to sell her land to anyone, nor did she want any additional money from Yang Jian.
With this promise, Jing Yongli felt relieved. As long as one family held out, Xu Zheng's road could not be built.
However, the mechanized farming road could still be passable for agricultural vehicles, and Xu Zheng's sand quarry could still operate, albeit with reduced output. Feng Wu still asked Jing Yongli to take him to see Xiaosha River.
The two arrived at the Xiaosha River embankment again and saw Xu Zheng personally directing workers to install equipment, with people setting up prefabricated houses on site.
Two excavators were clearing the surface soil layer, and it looked like they were planning to dig a pit for water extraction.
"Brother Wu, what should we do? His sand quarry is going to open no matter what. What if people from the opposite village also have this idea? It will be even harder to control then."
Jing Yongli was worried. Xu Zheng not only had his uncle from the police station as his backer, but also Hong Xing and Baoguo from the town supporting him. If the sand quarry really opened, even Mayor Peng Zhaoyang might not be able to stop it.
"Don't worry, I won't let his sand quarry operate smoothly. When my people arrive, the first thing they'll do is smash his equipment."
"Don't be careless. They might have firearms."
"It's fine, I can also get firearms. You just need to pay."
Feng Wu was not polite. Nothing could be done without cost. For the implementation of a multi-million dollar project, firearms were essential, otherwise, they wouldn't be able to suppress the opportunistic troublemakers.