Siheyuan: I am a trader in both worlds!

Chapter 498 You may not have the technology, but we do!
Many people may not know much about the South Canal and what it is all about.

But when it comes to the famous Grand Canal, everyone knows it!
And so, we learned that the canal in front of us was a section of the famous Grand Canal.

He remembered everything. Many memories that he had almost completely forgotten about his history teacher suddenly came back to him.

"The Grand Canal, the one built by Emperor Yang of Sui, I know! I not only know that it took Emperor Yang of Sui six years and a large number of laborers to finally make it shine, but I also know that the Grand Canal can be traced back to the Spring and Autumn Period!"

"Do you know King Fuchai of Wu? The Han Canal he ordered to be dug, the one in the Yangzhou area, is the earliest precursor to the Grand Canal. It can even be traced back to the Spring and Autumn Period. Isn't that amazing?"

Once they started talking, they couldn't stop. They talked about everything from the starting point of the Grand Canal to its peak, and from how the Grand Canal was hailed as the golden waterway during the Ming and Qing dynasties to its irreplaceable significance to Chinese civilization.

He was practically spitting everywhere, showing off all the little bit of history he hadn't completely forgotten to his teacher to Lao Luo and Bai Ling.

While thoroughly indulging in his penchant for being a know-it-all, he also left Hao Pingchuan, who had the lowest level of education, speechless.
"I learned it, I learned it."

I took another sip of tea to moisten my throat.

Then, Ximen Lang realized something was wrong.

What's wrong?
Of course.
How could the Grand Canal, hailed as a golden waterway, be such a tiny speck of dust?
Honestly, if Bai Ling and Lao Luo hadn't told Ximen Lang from the beginning that the small ditch in front of him, which was only a dozen or twenty meters wide, was the legendary Grand Canal, Ximen Lang would never have thought of it this way!
After all, this is the legendary golden waterway!

The results of it?
It's just a tiny little ditch!

this.
"Isn't this just too low-class? I was wondering before why the Grand Canal, which is known as the golden waterway, can only carry small wooden boats, and not even slightly larger, heavier steamships!"

"It's just a small ditch! It's such a tiny place, of course it can't carry big ships! Not to mention steel-structured steamships, it can't even carry slightly larger wooden boats!"

After some research, I found that in the 50s, the South Canal could only accommodate small wooden boats of up to 30 tons.

Ximen Lang couldn't hold back any longer and said.

"I thought it would be amazing, but it's just this! This is so disappointing!"

Ximen Lang was naturally disappointed, after all, the Grand Canal was famous.

Although the South Canal is only a small section of the Grand Canal, it is still part of the Grand Canal!
It is also a vital waterway connecting the capital and the port!
The result was such a tiny thing, which naturally disappointed Ximen Lang.

Ximen Lang simply called the 20-meter-wide river a "small ditch".
"Isn't that going a bit too far? While you're right that large ships can't navigate the South Canal, it's not like it's some tiny ditch! You're just making baseless accusations! Is there really such a big ditch?!"

He still dared to talk back to Bai Ling.

The speechless Ximen Lang then quickly found many photos of this waterway from later generations.

Pointing to the vast river surface, nearly 200 meters wide, and the four cruise ships sailing side by side, Simon Lang said bluntly, "Look! This is what a canal should be! A canal that can accommodate four cruise ships, each at least 8 meters wide and 28 meters long, sailing side by side—that's what a canal should be! But look at yours now; I'd be impressed if your water was at least 10 meters deep!" (In the 1950s, the depth of the South Canal was only 5-9 meters, and even that was considered high.)
"The difference is so huge, to this extent! Is there a problem with me calling it a ditch? Is there something wrong with it? Do you have a problem with that?"

They practically shoved their phone screens right in Bai Ling's face!
The irrefutable facts rendered Bai Ling unable to utter a single word in defense of the South Canal.

He could only silently accept the fact that, in Ximen Lang's eyes, this section of the South Canal was indeed just an insignificant little ditch.

With a sigh, Lao Luo took over the conversation and told Ximen Lang the truth.

“We also know that the old waterways can no longer meet the growing domestic demand. We have been trying to widen and deepen this section of the waterway and properly manage the outdated canal. We don’t expect it to become like yours, but at least we need to double the width of the river so that ships can sail on it.”

"But there's no way around it, building the canal costs money. Compared to building the canal, even a golden bridge or a silver road is cheap! Of course, if that were all, it wouldn't be a big deal. Although we don't have much money or resources right now, we can still squeeze out a little to meet the needs of the initial phase of the project."

"But we don't even have the technology to dredge, widen, or deepen the canal, so there's really nothing we can do!"

Hearing this, some people will surely ask:

"Use the methods left by our ancestors! Just follow their example and do exactly what they did back then. That would save us so much trouble!"

It's definitely more convenient.

The problem is that our ancestors never imagined that such large boats would be sailing on the river!

Small wooden boats are enough to meet their needs, why would they need steel boats?

They had no idea that giant steel ships would exist in later generations!
As for purchasing this kind of technology from abroad, the foreign countries treat Beijing like a thief, either refusing to sell altogether or making exorbitant demands, offering conditions that Beijing would never agree to.

Even the Russians, who are highly respected by the Chinese people, are just like that!

The moment he opened his mouth, he started talking about all the good things in Beijing, like the port and the railway!
Under such circumstances, things naturally couldn't be organized in Beijing, and things could only be delayed day by day.

after all
“We’re not stupid, of course we know the benefits of building a canal. But unfortunately, even the most skilled cook can’t cook without rice! We have neither the resources nor the technology! We want to build it, but what can we use to build it? We don’t have the ability, you know?”

After his rant, Simon Lang felt even more disgusted with the greedy bastards led by the Americans.

As a result, they have also become increasingly dismissive of their elder brother, the Russians!
Even from the bottom of my heart, I felt it.
"These kinds of scum who only betray their own people and bully their own kind don't deserve to be leaders! We should kick them off the leader's seat and then we'll be the leaders! We'll definitely do a better job than them!"

Then, Ximen Lang immediately got excited.

"You may not have the technology, but we do! It's just widening and dredging a river channel, what's the big deal?!"

(End of this chapter)