I'm in the county town, and you say I'm a big shot?

Chapter 275 Land Acquisition is a Troublesome Matter

Qian Weimin didn't call Fang Qingye to ask about this, and Fang Qingye naturally wouldn't bring it up herself.

A few days ago, a typhoon struck. Afterwards, Fang Qingye was busy with rescuing the seedlings, speeding up drainage, clearing debris, and applying fertilizer and disinfection. This morning, when the weather was cool, he specially drove to the Nanxin Lake to inspect the impact of the typhoon on the project.

Accompanying him on the inspection were the company's general manager, Luo Yan, the project manager, Zhang Helin, and Wang Yu. Everyone now knows Wang Yu's identity; he was actually sent by Fang Qingye to Huacheng Development Company for an internship, so whenever Fang Qingye came to the construction site, he would accompany him.

This young man has gotten much darker than before.

“Chairman Fang, General Manager Luo, the project was suspended a few days ago due to the typhoon and heavy rain, but we plan to resume work tomorrow,” Zhang Helin explained. “The silt at the bottom of the lake has now been cleared, so the surge in water level has had virtually no impact on the project.”

"Once the lake level drops, we can continue construction on the island in the middle of the lake."

Fang Qingye can now see the outline of the island in the middle of the lake, but it is not high enough.

"After following Zhang Helin around for a long time, Fang Qingye was relieved to see that the typhoon a few days ago did not have a significant impact on the project."

"Mr. Luo, shall we go and check on the land acquisition situation?" Fang Qingye said.

"Okay, Mr. Fang, please."

The group walked forward along the road.

The development of the 300-mu (approximately 20 hectares) land by the lake was part of a separate project, not under Zhang Helin's jurisdiction, so he didn't participate.

Fang Qingye stood by the roadside, facing a rice paddy. It was already August, and the rice was filling out, with the ears of grain bowing their heads.

"President Luo, how is the land acquisition work going?" Fang Qingye asked.

According to the project plan, after this season's rice harvest, no crops are allowed to be planted, and Huacheng Development Company will take back all the land it plans to develop into residential buildings.

“I asked Director Guo of Lianhua Office, who is in charge of this work, the day before yesterday. He said that most of the land acquisition has been completed, but about ten acres of land remain, mainly involving some forest land and agricultural facilities, which is quite complicated.”

Fang Qingye frowned slightly.

Of these 300 mu of land, nearly half is wasteland unsuitable for growing crops, while the remaining 100 mu or so is mostly planted with rice, some with corn and vegetables, and there is also some woodland.

According to the agreement reached with the county, the total land acquisition compensation, including compensation for crops, was to be paid in half by Huacheng Publishing Company, which was estimated to be about 620 million yuan, while Huacheng Development Company would pay 310 million yuan.

"President Luo, has the 310 million been allocated yet?" Fang Qingye asked.

"The funds were already transferred to the county's land acquisition fund account last month," Luo Yan replied.

“Let’s go take a look at the land that hasn’t been negotiated yet.” Fang Qingye said as he walked forward. After walking less than 200 meters, a woodland appeared, which looked to be about three or four acres in size, and was planted entirely with fast-growing poplar trees.

When Fang Qingye arrived, she saw a group of people arguing about something at the edge of the woods.

"Chairman Fang, General Manager Luo, hello!" A middle-aged man wearing a striped T-shirt immediately came forward to greet them as soon as he saw them coming.

Fang Qingye recognized him; it was Guo Haixin, the deputy director of the Lianhua office that Luo Yan had mentioned earlier.

After shaking hands, Luo Yan said:

"Director Guo, I just accompanied Chairman Fang to check on the project's progress over there. Chairman Fang said he wanted to come over here to see what you're up to?" "The land acquisition work is basically complete, except for this little bit of woodland. These homeowners are too difficult to deal with. Chairman Fang, please don't go over there," Guo Haixin said in a low voice.

"Director Guo, I heard you mention this on the phone too. Didn't the county announce the land acquisition compensation standards?" Luo Yan asked.

“There are standards, but the reality is often very complicated,” Guo Haixin recounted the events.

"The original owner of this woodland was Gao Guigong. He planted this fast-growing poplar here two years ago, and then his whole family went to work in Shanghai. Not long ago, when the land was to be requisitioned, he was called back by the villagers to discuss the compensation, but they couldn't reach an agreement."

"Director Guo, I heard that the county has different standards for different types of land, such as wasteland, basic farmland, orchards, and woodlands. As long as the compensation is based on the standards, what could they possibly disagree with?"

It was Wang Yu who spoke, seemingly incredulous at Guo Haixin's words.

Guo Haixin glanced at him and smiled, "Young man, you've never worked at the grassroots level in a rural town, have you?"

"No, I came to Huacheng Development Company for work." Wang Yu said somewhat embarrassedly.

"The standards above are very clear, but in practice they are much more complicated," Guo Haixin explained.
“Take Gao Guigong’s three mu of land for example, which is basic farmland! According to relevant national policies, basic farmland can only be used to grow grain crops! His family planted fast-growing poplar trees to save trouble, which is illegal! Therefore, the compensation can only be based on basic farmland compensation, not forest land.”

"So Gao Guigong disagrees?" Luo Yan interjected.

"Yes, after all, the compensation standards for forest land and crops are quite different." Guo Haixin nodded.

"Why didn't you stop Gao Guigong from planting trees on basic farmland back then? If you had stopped him then, none of this would have happened now?" Wang Yu couldn't help but ask again.

Guo Haixin looked somewhat embarrassed, and after a moment she explained:
“Back then, the policies weren’t so strict. In places like Gao Guigong’s, where the whole family went out to work and no one was farming the land, it was better to plant trees than leave it fallow. So everyone turned a blind eye. This was the case in many places. But in the last two years, the policies have started to tighten. Land expropriation has become a real problem.”

Wang Yu was about to ask something when Fang Qingye stopped him with a look, and he quickly shut up.

Fang Qingye thought for a moment and said, "Although the subsidy is relatively low according to the basic farmland standard, these fast-growing poplars of his look to be about [amount missing]."

Fang Qingye looked at the woods ahead again before saying, "There are about 350 to 400 trees, which should be enough to make some money."

“That’s the problem. Fast-growing poplar trees are usually best sold after five years, and there are people willing to buy them then. But the trees in this grove are less than three years old, so they’re hard to sell and nobody wants them,” Guo Haixin said in a low voice.

Oh. Everyone suddenly realized.

Just then, a heated argument broke out over there. Guo Haixin hurriedly said, "I'll go take a look. Don't go over there. If we get entangled with you, it might be hard to get away."

"Okay, we won't disturb your work. Thank you for your hard work," Fang Qingye said.

"You're welcome, let's chat sometime." Guo Haixin said and hurriedly walked over there.

Fang Qingye knew that there was no point in staying any longer, so she returned the way she came.

"President Luo, when you were at Kerry, you also frequently encountered land acquisition and demolition issues. Sometimes the developers handled them. How did you deal with them?" Fang Qingye asked as they walked.

"If we can follow the policy, we will. If we really can't, we'll use other methods. There are people who specialize in this; we can pay them a little money to do the work," Luo Yan said.

Fang Qingye did not ask any further questions.

(End of this chapter)