What the hell is a private enterprise?

Chapter 334 Uninvited Guest

Nansha Islands.

When Tang Wen flew here again, the scene he saw was completely different from before.

After more than a month, large tracts of flat land can now be seen on the previously crowded islands and reefs.

It's time to check out.

In front of Tang Wen, Ge Xuan and Han Feng led him to the edge of the island and instructed an excavator to break through the fault, revealing a thick layer of cement nearly as tall as a person.

He used an electric pickaxe to hammer away, but after a long time he only managed to break open a shallow pit the size of a human head, revealing a steel bar about the thickness of a thumb inside.

"President Tang, in the past 36 days, we have constructed a complete 1-square-kilometer site according to these standards. There are ample provisions for power and drainage pipelines, and it is supported by large beams underneath. We are not afraid of a tsunami!"

Ge Xuan truly dared to make a guarantee, not only because he used high-strength, corrosion-resistant C80 concrete, but also because he incorporated a massive amount of steel structure.

Because Tang Wen promised an unlimited supply of steel, the two construction teams initially didn't believe it. Later, in order to speed up the progress and increase the proportion of steel structure, they kept increasing the amount of steel, just to see what would happen.

This million-square-meter area is an engineering marvel built with 7 tons of steel!
However, Tang Wen showed no reaction whatsoever, as if steel were free, which deeply shocked the two of them.

"Very good, Gongzhen Reef is enough for now. Next up are Feixin Island and Ren'ai Reef. Half of the six dredgers will be sent there. Let's build a runway here next."

My suggestion is that Huajian go to Feixin Island and Chengjian go to Ren'ai Reef, what do you think?

Usable area: 1.1 square kilometers

Oil production: 5500 tons/24 hours

Gongzhen Reef now covers approximately 1.3 square kilometers. Further expansion would gradually decrease efficiency. In contrast, separating it to build two smaller islands is a shortcut to further increase usable area.

The area that has been filled in at Gongzhen Port is not a square, but a somewhat elongated four-pointed star shape, which can be used to plan a 300-meter x 1500-meter long running track.

"No problem, it's just a matter of building a few towers and a fence."

With a solid, hardened foundation already in place, adding a running track is a minor issue.

Ge Xuan readily agreed, and Han Feng had no objections.

However, he had some doubts: wouldn't it be better to continue filling in Lile Beach?

The terrain here is somewhat similar to a bathtub, with the outer rim being the highest and the middle area being lower. This makes it easier to fill in and less prone to sand loss, making it a better location than small islands and reefs.

When he asked this question, Tang Wen explained:

"Yes, but this 'bathtub' is too big. Lile Beach is several thousand square kilometers in size. Even a small puddle in it is too big."

In reality, the area that Gongzhen Reef has been filled in is entirely due to the number of 6 ships and the construction team's frantic efforts to pile up materials, resulting in a high waste rate and slowing down the reclamation speed.

“We can first pour box girders to block the natural puddles, and then pump the water to fill them. This will not only effectively prevent sand from flowing away, but also serve as a breakwater to prevent future erosion. Finally, the construction difficulty will be lower than it is now.”

Han Feng immediately proposed a solution: to divide the huge bathtub into separate areas for construction based on the natural terrain, a common method of land reclamation.

However, Tang Wen shook his head frantically. How could he possibly plug a gap that was at least a dozen meters deep and hundreds of meters long? The scale of the project was equivalent to that of a small reservoir, and it would take too long and be too complicated for him.

"First, soon Gaijin will have a more powerful dredger, the Tianjing III, with an operating capacity more than three times that of the Tianjing II. Then it will return to continue the construction of Gongzhen Reef."
Secondly...you have information about the surrounding water depth and terrain, right?

Han Feng and Ge Xuan both nodded and had someone show it to him. Many of the seabed areas were only 10 to 20 meters below sea level, which were indeed suitable for filling in and building dikes.

Tang Wen: "Wouldn't it be much faster to use sunken ships to block the enemy?"

"..."

"..."

After a rough comparison, he found that the size of a 5-ton oil tanker was just right, as it would remain above water for several meters even after sinking.

An oil tanker only costs 3.8 silver coins, which is a little over a million. If you just want it to sink to the bottom, you can confidently cut corners and maybe even reduce the budget to less than 3 silver coins. You can get one in ten days.

Compared to the laborious process of pouring concrete caissons, this method saves time, effort, and money.

After a long while, Han Feng finally spoke and asked:

“If we were to use sunken ships, the quantity and cost would be…” “Just like this time, Gaijin has plenty of steel. You can also think of it as a precast steel box girder. Anyway, the function is pretty much the same.”

Just then, a few young men ran over and found Tang Wen; they seemed to be students brought by Chu Zhen.

"Mr. Tang, please help Teacher Chu! He's in trouble!"

……

When they met Chu Zhen again, he wasn't facing the wall on the island and questioning his life. Instead, he was confronting a group of people at sea with a survey ship.

Tang Wen glided the seaplane to the side of the survey ship and stopped. He found a lush green island not far in front of him, with some wooden buildings faintly visible.

The survey vessel lowered a ladder and pulled him aboard. Only after meeting Chu Zhen did he learn the whole story:

This is Hongcao Island, located more than 100 kilometers northwest of Gongzhen Reef. It is a small island of only 0.2 square kilometers, but it is covered with green vegetation.

Chu Zhen, relying on the revised algorithm, led the survey ship to wander around and conduct surveying when they encountered a disruptive small boat that demanded they stop the surveying.

After realizing they were no match for the large ship, they fled, and the survey ship followed them all the way here.

The troublemakers were not the local fishermen, but the monkeys.

Yes, it's another island that has been invaded, with only a small outpost and a motorboat for a few people.

More than 30 years ago, monkeys stole chickens from this place and built a few wooden buildings. They would occasionally sneak up in motorboats to leave "traces," but the scale was so small that Gaijin never noticed it.

Chu Zhen was worried that these guys might try to stage an accident later, so he simply blocked them here.

“These people claimed to be Luzon water police, and we couldn’t force them to do anything; we could only stop them and ask them to leave.”

Chu Zhen helplessly explained his current predicament, which was a consequence of his identity.

If they are just ordinary fishermen, they can be taken away for questioning.

Of course, Tang Wen didn't have this worry, and neither did Gai Jin.

He made a phone call, then gave an OK sign:
"You can leave now. Our ship will be here to keep watch later."

Chu Zhen: "What will happen to them?"

“Those monkeys who abandoned the darkness and turned to the light last time are still stuck on the mainland. I’ll have them fly over, beat them up, take them away, and demolish all the buildings.”

"Wow~ High!"

Chu Zhenzhen gave a genuine thumbs up, which was practically fighting fire with fire.

"There should be several other outposts around here, maybe we should go together..."

"Isn't this a bad idea? What if they get held accountable if this gets out?"

A discordant voice interrupted their loud conspiracy. Turning around, they saw a somewhat overweight young man who immediately started talking about international influence.

Tang Wen frowned: "You are..."

"Oh, I am XXX, you should know me."

Seeing that Tang Wen didn't understand, he quickly pointed upwards:

“My cousin has met you before, but I’m quite busy here, so I came directly to Nansha. I’ll visit Mr. Tang on shore in a few days.”

Perhaps believing his identity would give him impunity, the young man rubbed his hands together and laughed:
"I can help you buy advanced oil extraction machinery from abroad, especially offshore specialized equipment, which is definitely the most advanced regulated category in the world. You don't need to pay money; you can just convert it into shares."

"The equipment you're using on Gongzhen Reef is all no-name brand stuff; its efficiency and safety are definitely not as reliable as well-known foreign brands."

Chu Zhen and the others turned their heads to admire either the peeling paint on the deck or the azure sky.

Tang Wenchang said "Oh," and firmly remembered his appearance and name before taking the plane and leaving.

(End of this chapter)