"China's investment in the African high-speed rail project may exceed 30 billion."
"This is the spirit of internationalism, free assistance to build high-speed railways and promote economic development in Africa!"
"Advancing is good for the world, and the Gauteng high-speed rail project embodies the pattern of China."
“Frugal on food and clothing, and win the favor of Africa, starting from the Gauteng high-speed rail project.”
"The largest national charity project in the 21st century, led by China Railway Group."
Not long after Houston issued the order, overwhelming reports about the Gauteng high-speed rail project appeared on the Chinese Internet and various news media.
This should have been a victory, or in other words, an important step for our infrastructure to go abroad and start earning foreign exchange for the country.
However, due to deliberate distortion by the media, the situation has changed slightly.
On the surface, the media praises China's so-called "internationalist spirit," praises China Railway's "willingness to help others without asking for anything in return," and praises the "deep friendship between the people of China and Africa."
But in fact, anyone with a brain can see the sinister meaning behind these reports.
How capable are you, just throwing 30 billion into Africa?
Is the domestic economic development in place? Do all the people in the country have food?
You don't care about those workers who have toiled in construction sites for a year without getting paid. You don't care about those farmers who have been farming all their lives and can barely make ends meet. You don't care about those children in the mountainous areas who can't afford to go to school. That's all. You don't care about the rural elderly who commit suicide by drinking pills on a large scale to ensure their livelihood, but you go and take care of those niggas?
Is that nigger your dad?
For a time, there were only two key words left in mainstream public opinion.
Questioning, anger.
"Measure China's material resources and bring happiness to the country. It's awesome. It's 2006 and you can still see news like this. The Qing Dynasty hasn't died yet, right?"
"Haha, at least we are forced to marry the country's favor. If we don't pay, we will be beaten. What now? We actually have to go to a country like South Africa to please?"
"It's really ironic. In the past few years, we have been developing both fighter jets and missiles. I thought we had stood up, but as a result, a piece of news brought us back to the prototype."
"It doesn't matter what you say upstairs. Maybe the official has other plans?"
"Layout? Layout what? Interest-free loans, technical assistance, what do you get in exchange for it? I heard that the biggest gain is a mine where birds don't poop. South Africa doesn't want that kind of thing. Isn't this charity?"
"It's purely because of the conditions of the mine, it seems that we are not so good at catching up."
"It is indeed a rush. I really don't know what the higher-ups are thinking. If 30 billion is invested in China, how many people in the country will benefit? If nothing else, as long as medical insurance is implemented, there will be more people in this country." Are so many people unable to afford medical treatment?”
"Seeing a doctor? Food is still a problem! 30 billion is enough to provide for millions of lonely elderly people in rural areas until they die!"
Comments gradually shifted from the project itself to the domestic environment, and as if to echo netizens’ discussions, social news was exposed one by one.
And these news point directly to the most painful and painful problems in the country.
The first thing to bear the brunt is the issue of rural elderly care. According to a survey by a special reporter, the suicide rate of rural elderly has reached a historical peak in recent years. In one village he sampled, the suicide rate of elderly people over 70 years old reached an astonishing 80%.
To be a bit exaggerated, the agricultural machinery stores near the village had run out of pesticides. The hemp rope hanging on the tree had the body of an old man hanging on it the day before. Because there was no time to destroy it, it was hung up again that afternoon. another.
Such a thing was exposed nakedly in front of everyone. "Shocking" is no longer enough to describe the horror of it.
——
Admittedly, everyone knows that this is a complex social issue.
Low income in rural areas, insufficient social security, and rural population outflow are all causes of the problem. To solve it, it is not as simple as simply increasing investment in rural areas.
But at this moment, who cares?
You have 30 billion to throw at Africa, can't you use 3 billion to solve this problem?
After emotions take the dominant role, there is no room for any rational discussion.
Although in addition to the official, there are a large number of politicians who spontaneously popularize science and explain the significance of foreign investment, explaining that this is definitely not a charity project, but a layout for the greater benefit, no one listens at all.
What's worse is that starting with this problem, a new round of problems has exploded.
Somewhere, several primary school students fell off a cliff on their way to school, killing two and injuring three others.
In one place, hundreds of migrant workers were living on the streets because they had not received their wages, sleeping under bridges. They were driven away by local law enforcement agencies and eventually became completely homeless.
In a certain place, a couple chose to give up treatment because they could not afford the high medical expenses. After the wife died of illness, the husband also died suddenly due to overwork, leaving behind a skeletal three-year-old daughter begging for food on the street.
One piece of news after another washes away everyone's awareness.
On the one hand, it was the medical expenses of tens of thousands of dollars that drove the family of three to desperation.
On the other hand, 30 billion yuan was just thrown into the water.
In this contrast, it is impossible not to be angry.
And even Chen Nian himself could only express his understanding of the people's anger after seeing such news.
Because the facts are exactly as discussed online.
We still have many problems that need to be solved urgently. If the Gauteng high-speed rail project is really a complete "construction aid" and "charity" project as the media says, then how can we explain to our own people who are still suffering? ? ——
Fortunately it is not.
In the near future, the results of this project will be seen.
It will earn us more foreign exchange, bring more resources, and one day, it will even become a milestone of "all-out attack".
By that time, so-called "charity" will become a joke.
Do we do charity?
Stop it.
We just want to use another way to obtain the resources of that vast and fertile continent to support our own people.
This is a strategy that is not easy to understand because it is so long-term.
From the perspective of an ordinary person, maybe 10 years is the limit of what they can see. This is human nature.
Chen Nian sighed and put back the chaotic thoughts in his mind.
I really have no way to prove anything - it's not my job.
To prove it, it's official.
But whether it is China Railway or MCC, they still need more time.
Meanwhile, the Evende region of South Africa.
Li Jing stood nervously on one side of the drilling machine, waiting for the drill bit to penetrate deep into the rock formation and extract the first batch of samples from the Baihe mining area.
The original termite nest has been destroyed, and homeless termites are everywhere in the air and on the ground, making people feel scalp numb just by looking at it.
But she just stared at the drill tightly, for fear of any accident during the process.
Even if termites crawled on her body, she would just pat them away without any other action.
Hu Wanyou on the side was also paying attention to the progress of the first drilling, but compared to Li Jing, he was much more calm.
Looking at Li Jing's expression, he said comfortingly:
"Don't be so nervous. Things have been decided now and the boots have landed. No matter how much you worry, you can't change the outcome."
"And, judging from the current situation, the situation should be much better than we previously expected."
"Although the content of gold powder in termite excrement is not high, it is the result of 'screening'."
"Based on the topography, these termites probably built their nests along the rock cracks and reached the inner sandstone layer."
"Among them, most of the gold powder taken out should have been consumed in the lower lairs, and perhaps less than 20% successfully reached the surface."
"In other words, the grade of the gold mine below should not be too bad."
After hearing his words, Li Jing straightened up, sighed and said:
"The current situation really cannot help but make me nervous."
"Have you read the domestic reports? Do you know what they said?"
Hu Wanyou was stunned for a moment. After hesitating for a few seconds, he finally nodded.
"Looked at it."
"I didn't want to tell you these things originally, for fear of putting you under psychological pressure."
"I didn't expect you to go and watch it yourself - you are usually so busy with work, do you still have time to watch the news?"
Li Jing smiled bitterly, shook her head, and replied:
"This matter is so big, no matter how slow I am, I can't help but know about it."
"The exchange of the Evander-White River area for the high-speed rail project has already aroused many people's doubts. Now, coupled with the fact that some people are deliberately fueling the situation in the country, the rationality of our project is even less trustworthy."
"The only way to reverse public opinion is to determine the value of the Baihe Gold Mine and let the public know that we are not doing a loss-making business."
"But the problem is...hey."
Li Jing didn't say any more, but Hu Wanyou had already guessed what she was thinking.
In the final analysis, it is not that she has no confidence in the gold mine itself, but her confidence in herself has been destroyed by the turbulent public opinions on the Internet.
Now, what she is worried about is not whether the gold mine exists, how large the reserves are, or how high the grade is.
She is worried that even if the gold mine is finally proven to be able to completely make up for the losses on the high-speed rail project, it will still not be able to convince the people and restore their confidence in the country's decision-making.
In the end, this project became an eternal stain in the history of China's development.
Thinking of this, Hu Wanyou patted Li Jing on the shoulder and said:
"Doing good deeds without asking for reward."
"Think about it for yourself, how many things in our country can we really fully understand?"
"From the very beginning, the birth of this country, it was actually in a storm of doubt and hostility."
"After that, when we invade the Northern Peninsula, resist U.S. aggression and aid Korea, reform and open up, develop fighter jets, and develop high-speed rail, which one of them really goes smoothly?"
"No!"
"All we can do is do the job at hand well."
"As for the rest, someone will take care of it for us."
After hearing Hu Wanyou's words, Li Jing nodded heavily.
At this time, the depth of the drilling machine has reached the predetermined depth. After a brief pause, the drill bit begins to move upward.
The two of them turned their heads at the same time, staring closely at the small hole with a diameter of less than five centimeters that the drill bit penetrated deeply.
There are no traces of groundwater seepage, and the underground sandstone should not have been eroded by running water.
Such signs make people even more confused.
Because the situation has begun to become polarized.
Or, the gold reserves under this mountain are far lower than expected.
Or, under their feet is a large gold mine that has never been truly explored, and its reserves may even be comparable to the large and small mines on Rand's main vein.
The time to reveal the answer is coming.
Li Jing couldn't help but hold her breath.
When the drill bit was completely lifted out of the hole, she immediately rushed forward and began to examine the sand and gravel that had been driven out.
Her fingers were trembling slightly, and she even adjusted the lens several times before finally adjusting the lens.
And when the gravel lay on her hands, her nervousness reached its peak in an instant.
My heartbeat seemed to skip a beat at this moment.
Her pupils suddenly shrank because she saw something incredible in the field of view of the lens.
Eyes full of gold.
She slowly raised her head to look at Hu Wanyou and stammered:
"We seem to have dug up a big guy."
A few days later, the first results from the Evander-White River exploration were released.
Judging from the results of multiple explorations and test mining, the total gold reserves of the Evander-White River Gold Mine are more than 400 tons, and the gold ore grade has reached an astonishing 9.6 grams per ton.
This number far exceeds the average grade of domestic gold mines, and is of high quality even in South Africa's Rand Mine.
After getting the report, Li Jing flipped through the more than 100 pages of the report page by page, remaining silent the whole time.
Hu Wanyou was smiling and talking on the phone nearby, reporting the situation to the country.
"Yes, the grade is around 9.6, of course, it could be higher."
"After all, our current exploration is not complete yet. It is impossible to get lower. The lower limit is right here."
“We got this mine right, we’ve made a lot of money!”
"If you consider full-cycle returns, as long as there are no changes in South Africa's policies, we estimate that we can earn more than 100 billion from this gold mine alone!"
"Oh, those Canadians are probably so regretful that their intestines are green - no, they have nothing to regret, after all, they never set their sights on this land from the beginning."
"How about calling them stupid?"
"Oh, it's not our fault, it's mainly because the superior leaders gave us the right direction."
"I'm not flattering you this time. I really don't know where their information came from."
"Okay, okay, let's not talk about it anymore. I have a lot of things going on here. You can just report according to the report I sent."
Putting down the phone, Hu Wanyou turned to Li Jing and asked cheerfully:
"You don't have to worry now, do you?"
Li Jing nodded, then shook her head.
"I'm still worried."
"The difficulty of mining here is much more difficult than we expected, in terms of mining infrastructure."
"Stop it."
Hu Wan waved his hand and interrupted her.
"In terms of infrastructure, what else can stop us?"
I haven't been in a good state lately and I'm not feeling well, so I'll post a chapter first.
What I owe in the past few days will be slowly made up later.
(End of chapter)
