In 1992, a small village owner became the richest man in the village by owning a car.

Chapter 502 Zhang Huaijin's Changes
“Maintaining a car? Sure, if you take good care of your car, you'll definitely have no worries about food and clothing.” Yu Dawei thought for a moment, then smiled and said, “If you don’t know anything about car maintenance or repair, feel free to contact me anytime.”

"Brother, I have something really important to ask you about this time. Although I know some people in the same industry in Kyoto, we're not particularly close. After thinking it over, I still think you're the most reliable person." The person on the other end of the phone described the situation in Kyoto, their tone tinged with hesitation.

Yu Dawei could tell from the phone call that Zhang Huaijin was talking about something important, so he sat up straight and said with a serious expression, "Tell me what it is."

"That's right. About two weeks ago, I heard from a project manager that there was a big project in Gansu Province: planting trees and building windbreaks. If you do this, the government will give you subsidies and you can even sign a long-term agreement."

When Yu Dawei heard Zhang Huaijin say this, he vaguely remembered that Gansu Province had started to control sandstorms in the 90s, and that sand prevention had become a behavior ingrained in the genes of every Gansu person since then.

Every generation of desertification control workers tirelessly plant trees and create forests in the desert.

If I remember correctly, it was around the early 2000s that the hard work of generations of desert control workers in Gansu finally paid off, with green plants taking root on the edge of the Gansu desert and continuing to extend inward.

In addition, the continuous impact of extreme weather over the years eventually led to the formation of a brand new oasis.

Of course, in terms of soil quality, it is still somewhat different from the black soil where everything can be grown, but through the efforts of generations, most vegetation can survive in the new oasis there.

It can be said that the land of China was not rich in resources from very early times, but rather that the farming gene ingrained in the bones of every Chinese son and daughter has changed this land.

"What is the price of the official subsidy? Do we need to buy the crops ourselves, or do we apply directly from the government?" Yu Dawei was most concerned about these two questions.

“The crops are all provided by the government, we just need to apply. As for the subsidies, they are quite substantial at the moment…” Zhang Huaijin then explained in detail the policies of Gansu Province on afforestation for sand control.

Yu Dawei then learned that the sand control project Zhang Huaijin was undertaking was commissioned by the government to first open up a road in the desert, and in order to form a road, sand control belts had to be built on both sides of the road.

The main task of this project is to plant trees and create forests along the sand-control belt.

The excavators needed are mainly small tracked wheel excavators, also known as mini excavators. Yu Dawei doesn't have these excavators, and Zhang Huaijin only has three.

However, the entire project will require a ten-year expansion and will need as many as thirty excavators. Unlike previous road construction projects, this project can bid for the first phase of the sand control belt project as long as the number of engineering equipment is sufficient.

Zhang Huaijin had his eye on this project. He wanted to jump from car maintenance to the later stages of sand control projects. On the one hand, it was for profit, and on the other hand, he explained that he had visited the deserts north and south of the Qilian Mountains and found that the local conditions were indeed harsh.

Yu Dawei felt that the kid was very sincere in his attitude, and he couldn't help but wonder about the feasibility of this matter.

“Brother Yu, there are a lot of big names in Kyoto eyeing this project, and large construction companies don’t care about this kind of work, so it’s a good deal for us small contractors. If we work hard and get through the first phase, the second phase will be much easier,” Zhang Huaijin said.

"So you want me to work with you on the first phase of the windbreak project?" Yu Dawei asked rhetorically, his right index finger tapping rhythmically on the table unconsciously. "But Huaijin, I don't have a single excavator. Even if the two of us work together, we can't get thirty of them."

“That makes things difficult. I heard a guy in Kyoto is already on his way to discuss a project.” Zhang Huaijin sighed on the other end of the phone. “He's missed out on a million.”

"How much?!" Yu Dawei immediately stood up straight.

“One million is just the hiring price for the first phase of the project in a year. The amount for the second phase of bidding is even larger, but the investment required is also considerable,” Zhang Huaijin added.

He actually learned his lesson a few years ago and was still thinking about how to achieve his previous success while maintaining his car.

Yu Dawei then calmly began to think things through again.

One million a year for thirty small excavators. If that's the case, the average cost per excavator per year would be around 30,000. The price is actually quite reasonable, considering that Zhang Huaijin only needs to provide the excavators.

The problem lies in the excavators. Neither Yu Dawei nor Zhang Huaijin could possibly produce so many small excavators at once.

Moreover, these small excavators are not as easy to sell as medium-sized excavators after use, which is why Yu Dawei dared not agree to this deal.

"Sorry, brother." Yu Dawei made his thoughts clear to the other party; it's always better to be honest about these things.

"I understand. I thought you'd have quite a few small excavators on hand these past few years," Zhang Huaijin chuckled on the phone. "By the way, how's Dafeng doing lately?"

"She's doing well; the parts distributorship has been doing quite well in Northeast China."

Afterwards, Yu Dawei chatted with Zhang Huaijin for a few more minutes before hanging up the phone.

Yu Dawei initially thought that Zhang Huaijin's matter had little to do with him, but during the leadership meeting that evening, Taozi's words rekindled his interest. "What did you say? LiuGong really has a batch of mini excavators to dispose of?" Yu Dawei sat on the kang (heated brick bed) with a surprised expression. "About how many? Logically speaking, this shouldn't be the case, their after-sales service hasn't handled many construction machinery cases."

"I heard it's a batch of defective products that were recalled. We'll have to find out more details," Taozi said, glancing at Yu Dawei.

"No need to ask around, I'll ask Engineer Zhang about this myself." Yu Dawei knew an engineer surnamed Zhang from the LiuGong Machinery brand.

If it's a domestically produced mini excavator, the price will be much cheaper than the foreign one. Plus, since it's a defective product, if the price can really be driven down to a certain level, it seems like the sand control project in Gansu Province might not be out of the question.

The next day, Yu Dawei called Engineer Zhang first, because he had helped LiuGong's after-sales service in Northeast China for the past few years and had repaired cars together at the project site, so they were quite familiar with each other.

After investigation, it was found that a total of twenty excavators from LiuGong were scrapped, all of which had engines that were inexplicably burning oil. Even after disassembling them, no clue could be found out. In short, there was a problem with the engine.

Yu Dawei thought for a moment and inquired about the acquisition. Later, Zhang Gong negotiated with the company's leaders and agreed to sell each unit at a low price of 50,000 yuan.

Yu Dawei didn't think the price was low. Domestic brands were prone to problems in the early stages of the development of construction machinery, and this batch of vehicles was defective.

Fifty thousand yuan? Are you kidding me?

Yu Dawei hung up the phone in a huff.

However, on the other hand, he called Zhang Huaijin again to inquire about the project.

"So you mean that this million is just the commission for the construction machinery, and there's also a cut for the saplings?" Yu Dawei asked.

“That’s right, that’s what I understand. After the sand-prevention belt is completed, we will need to carry out deep sand-prevention planting.” Zhang Huaijin explained patiently again. “Whether it’s the initial planting or the later planting, if there is machinery involved, in my opinion, it will last at least twenty or thirty years. As long as these machines can work, the cooperation will not be terminated.”

"Mmm." Yu Dawei nodded, it did seem to be a good business opportunity.

"What do you really want to do?" Yu Dawei asked again.

After a moment of silence on the other end of the phone, the person slowly said, "Making money is one thing, but on the other hand, I've been to Gansu Province twice in the past two years and sponsored a Hope Primary School there. I know all too well how difficult life is for the people there."

"They have to walk a very, very long way to get water from a well and draw a bucket of water."

Zhang Huaijin's tone on the other end of the phone was clearly agitated: "Logically speaking, it would have been the same if someone else had done this; it's all for the sake of our compatriots in Gansu Province."

"But, alas, I heard from a friend of mine in Kyoto who works on a project that some of the companies bidding this time are behaving unethically. They are not only maliciously planting and damaging the soil in Gansu Province, but they are also constantly tricking local residents into working for free."

"Free labor? What's going on?" Yu Dawei was a little confused.

"In the past two years, those people have contracted several small places in other cities in Gansu Province for sand control planting. However, after they won the bids, they started to mobilize the nearby villagers to act as volunteers and dedicate themselves to their homes. In short, they are really despicable."

Of the three companies Zhang Huaijin mentioned, two are trading companies. They were so busy that they changed their business scope to gain an advantage in the project, all in order to make more money this time.

“If what you say is true, then from both a moral and logical standpoint, we should indeed take action to stop them.” Yu Dawei said with a serious expression, but then changed the subject and praised Zhang Huaijin with a smile: “You’re quite something, kid. It’s been a few years, and you’ve become so compassionate. When I saw you before, you didn’t seem to have such a strong sense of social responsibility.”

"This all started when two college students sponsored by my grandfather came to him," Zhang Huaijin said with a hint of shame.

The story is that two students who had been sponsored by Professor Zhang came to him to express their gratitude after graduating from university.

These two graduates were also very promising; they both carried on Professor Zhang's legacy and began studying medicine.

Then Professor Zhang saw his youngest son and naturally started a round of teasing between father and son. As expected, Zhang Huaijin's stubborn and rebellious nature was activated again.

After that, he made a special trip to impoverished areas, specifically sought out two students for financial aid, and even stayed there for a while.

As a result, he was a completely different person when he came back.

(End of this chapter)