I See through Everything

October 26th.

Hailufeng Company had obtained all the necessary permits for its comprehensive development project at the Bamboo Mountain Pumped-Storage Reservoir.

Jianfang Company’s equipment and construction teams had already been moved to the east side of Nanhu Village. After more than half a month of work, a simple, 30-meter-wide gravel road had been built, stretching from Nanhu Village’s main road to the vicinity of the Bamboo Mountain Reservoir.

The various engineering projects would now proceed in tandem.

To ensure the project was completed on schedule within 42 months, Jianfang Company brought in 280 engineering personnel.

Aside from clearing trees and soil from the reservoir area, the priority was to quickly build a six-lane asphalt road connecting to the main road of Jinting Village, making it easier to transport equipment to the site.

They would also blast parts of the mountain, using the excavated rock and soil from the reservoir area for land reclamation and to build the cofferdam, preparing for the construction of the Baisha Fish Farm.

To avoid wasting resources, all the Masson pines felled over the past few days were transported back to Nanhu Farm. They would be used as a raw material for the substrate for cultivating White Truffles.

The housing for the construction crew was set up behind a windbreak on the eastern side of Nanhu Village. A small residential area was created by stacking shipping container homes.

Cai Zhengdong, the project manager, was currently discussing how to handle the land reclamation and cofferdam with several design engineers.

One of the engineers pointed to the reef at their feet and said, "According to the geological survey, we should start from this reef and reclaim land toward the open sea. Building this section of the sea wall here could save thirty to forty percent on the volume of earthwork."

An engineer wearing glasses pointed to the seafloor topography map. "At a point thirty-four meters from the coast, we can build along a curved line. This would allow us to take advantage of three submerged reefs. Not only would this reduce the amount of earthwork, but it would also lessen the impact of waves on the sea wall’s structure."

Another engineer gestured with his hands. "Finally, it would cut diagonally toward the western edge of the large reef-strewn beach at the foot of the mountain where White Crane Temple sits. While this would make the wall’s shape irregular, it would hug the coastline, reducing the impact from wind and waves. Plus, the total amount of work would decrease by twenty to thirty percent."

Cai Zhengdong asked, "Won’t that reduce the holding capacity?"

"No, the capacity will actually increase by twenty percent. After all, the total area will be much larger. This will also help the company cut costs and improve efficiency."

Hearing this, Cai Zhengdong agreed it was a good approach. ’Less work means a shorter construction timeline, lower costs, and increased profits for us.’

He then instructed them, "Finish the design draft as soon as possible. I need to show it to Hailufeng Company."

"No problem. It should be ready in about a week."

"Then let’s go take a look at the reservoir site."

The group followed the excavated dirt path up to the reservoir valley, which sat fifty-two meters above the beach.

Once the topsoil was scraped away, the soil layer was only three to five meters deep, exposing a hard layer of rock underneath.

The engineer in glasses stomped on the hard rock. "Not bad! The soil layer here isn’t thick, which will make the next phase of construction easier."

Cai Zhengdong said with a smile, "What you don’t know is that the center of this valley has a large deposit of river sand. We won’t even have to buy any."

"How much?"

"I estimate there’s enough to pour three-quarters of the reservoir dam."

"That’ll save a huge expense."

The group inspected the valley’s conditions a bit more, then further refined the facility designs for the reservoir and its aquaculture base.

For example, when considering the installation of the dome, not using support pillars would require a solution involving the design and the strength of the steel, which would obviously drive up costs.

Therefore, the design engineers all agreed they could build several large, reinforced concrete columns to support the dome. This would reduce the required strength of the steel for the dome itself while also enhancing the overall stability of the structure.

Jianfang Company’s infrastructure work was proceeding in full swing.

Meanwhile, the third-party monitoring firm hired by Hailufeng Company had also dispatched a supervisory team, which took up residence at the Bamboo Mountain project site.

To prevent any conflicts of interest between the third-party firm and Jianfang Company, Jiang Miao arranged for the monitoring team to live in the Nanhu Village employee dormitories, with Hailufeng Company covering all their room and board.

...

Twelve o’clock noon.

A Mercedes-Benz slowly pulled to a stop at the entrance of Nanhu Resort. Old Ke put down his teacup. Seeing it was an unfamiliar car, he walked out and asked, "Do you have an appointment?"

"Yes, I’m from Guotai Company. I made an appointment a few days ago with General Manager Jiang to meet at noon today," Lin Ruifeng quickly replied.

"Then pull your car in. Don’t block the road," Old Ke said as he took out a remote and raised the barrier gate.

Lin Jili got out of the car first. Lin Ruifeng then quickly turned the wheel, driving into the resort’s small parking lot.

After getting out, he opened the trunk and took out several gift bags.

Meanwhile, his father, Lin Jili, was already at the entrance, chatting with Old Ke.

A moment later, Li Zixuan walked over from the experimental area across the road.

"Excuse me, are you General Manager Lin from Guotai Company?"

Lin Jili smiled and nodded. "I’m Lin Jili. And you are...?"

’He wasn’t well-acquainted with Jiang Miao, but they had met once at the Pingqing Lake Entrepreneurs’ Salon earlier in the year, so he knew what Jiang Miao looked like.’

"I am General Manager Jiang’s secretary, Li Zixuan. General Manager Jiang is waiting for you in the restaurant across the way," Li Zixuan replied with a calm and confident demeanor.

"Ah, Secretary Li. Thank you for coming to get us."

Just then, Lin Ruifeng came over, carrying the bags.

Led by Li Zixuan, the two men arrived at the restaurant on the second floor of the experimental area. It had a dining area with private rooms.