Nominal: My senior brothers are all big shots

With the Zhou Tianming case settled, the rectification of the rare earth industry in Pingjiang has entered a substantial stage.

Lin Feng moved his desk to the front line of the rectification work command center, using a map-based approach, and held a daily meeting without fail. A huge map of the Pingjiang rare earth mine distribution hung on the wall, marking legal and illegal mining sites in red and blue. Red indicated closed sites, while blue indicated those that remained open. At the beginning, the red areas were densely packed, like a spreading sea of ​​fire.

The work to shut down illegal mining sites began in Longnan Town.

This is where Zhou Tianming started his business, and it's also the area where illegal mining is most rampant.

Lin Feng personally led the team, and Lei Ming mobilized over a hundred police officers to cooperate.

Excavators drove into the mountains, their roar shaking the very hillsides. The illegal mines hidden deep within the mountains, like black scars, were dug up, filled in, and sealed off one by one.

Some of the mine owners had already fled, some were still observing, and some tried to resist, but they all became obedient when they saw the police cars and excavators.

Sun Decai's successor was Zhao Zhiyuan, who was sent down from the province. He was in his early forties, wore silver-rimmed glasses, and was very polite, but he was decisive and efficient in his work.

He led his team to inspect each mine site one by one, retaining those with complete permits, completing those with incomplete permits, and resolutely shutting down those without permits.

When someone tried to plead for him, he retorted with one sentence: "It's no use coming to me. Go find Secretary Lin. Secretary Lin said that whoever pleads for him will have their name written down and handed over to the Discipline Inspection Commission." No one dared to come to him again.

After two months of intensive rectification, more than 200 illegal mining sites were closed in Pingjiang City, and the order of legal mining was standardized, giving rare earth mines a brand-new look. Those mountains that were once riddled with holes from mining have finally stopped bleeding.

Illegal mining sites have been shut down, and the mining operations of legal sites must also be regulated.

At a meeting of the Standing Committee of the Municipal Party Committee, Lin Feng proposed the establishment of a unified rare earth trading platform, under which all rare earth transactions must be subject to the platform's supervision and private transactions will not be allowed.

This idea received the support of the provincial party committee and the approval of the majority of people.

There are also dissenting voices, saying that doing so would harm the interests of mine owners and that Pingjiang's rare earth industry would lose its vitality as a result.

Lin Feng publicly responded at the conference: "Pingjiang's rare earth industry does not need to rely on illegal transactions to maintain its vitality. Anyone who thinks they can't survive without illegal transactions should quit."

The rare earth trading center is located in the economic and technological development zone in the east of the city, in a twelve-story office building with a simple and elegant interior. The first floor is the trading hall, where a huge electronic screen displays rare earth prices and trading data in real time.

The upper floors are office areas and meeting rooms.

On the day Lin Feng unveiled the plaque, provincial leaders, representatives from central state-owned enterprises, and media reporters all came.

Lin Feng stood on the stage, his voice not loud but clear: "The establishment of the Pingjiang Rare Earth Trading Center marks a new stage for the Pingjiang rare earth industry. From today onwards, rare earth transactions in Pingjiang will be open, fair, and just. Anyone who tries to engage in underhanded dealings should first ask the law if it allows it."

In the first week after the trading center was established, the transaction volume exceeded 500 million yuan.

Those mine owners who had made their fortunes through smuggling were either cursing, sighing, or quietly transferring their money from overseas back home. They knew that the situation in Pingjiang had truly changed.

The trading center has solved the sales channel problem, but Pingjiang's rare earth industry still needs further processing to truly become stronger.

Lin Feng set his sights on state-owned enterprises. He, along with Lu Jianping and Yang Xuefeng, made countless trips to Beijing, to the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission, and to the headquarters of various state-owned enterprises. After much persuasion, they finally convinced one state-owned enterprise to invest in Pingjiang.

The signing ceremony was held in the auditorium of the municipal party committee. Lin Feng and representatives of the central enterprises sat on either side of a long table and signed the weighty cooperation agreement.

The project involves an investment of 5 billion yuan to construct three deep-processing projects: rare earth permanent magnet materials, rare earth catalytic materials, and rare earth luminescent materials. Once completed, the projects will transform Pingjiang's rare earth industry from "selling raw ore" to "selling materials," increasing added value several times over.

At the signing ceremony, Lin Feng said, "This is the first and most important step in the transformation of Pingjiang's rare earth industry. In the future, we will take the second and third steps. Pingjiang's rare earths will be sold all over the world."

The mine has been closed, and the mine needs to be restored.

Lin Feng proposed a "one mine, one policy" restoration plan, with each mine developing restoration measures based on its actual situation. Some were filled in and revegetated, some were transformed into mining parks, and some were developed into ecological agriculture.

The old mine shaft in Longnan Town has been transformed into a mining park. The mine pit has been turned into an artificial lake, with trees planted along the shore, turf laid out, and boardwalks and pavilions built.

On weekends, villagers from the neighborhood come here to take walks, fish, and take photos.

Zhao Tiejun became the person in charge of the mining park.

He wasn't appointed, he was nominated. After the mine closed, he went back to his hometown to pay respects at his son's grave.

He sat in front of the grave for a long time and said many things. He said, "Xiao Jun, the person who harmed you has been caught, and your case has been investigated and cleared up. You can rest in peace now."

When he came down from the mountain, people from the town government found him and said that Secretary Lin wanted him to go to the municipal party committee. Zhao Tiejun hesitated for a moment, then went with them. Lin Feng was waiting for him in his office. When he saw him come in, he stood up and poured him a cup of tea.

"Master Zhao, please have a seat."

Zhao Tiejun sat down, unsure what to do with his hands. Lin Feng looked at him, his gaze filled with respect and entrustment.

"Master Zhao, the mines in Longnan Town are undergoing ecological restoration, and the town government has recommended you to lead the cooperative. What are your thoughts?"

Zhao Tiejun lowered his head and remained silent for a while. "Secretary Lin, I don't know how to plant trees, nor do I know how to set up any cooperatives."

Lin Feng said, "If you don't know how, someone will teach you. The town government has sent technicians to teach you how to plant trees, raise fish, and run agritourism businesses. You just need to organize everyone and lead them in doing it."

Zhao Tiejun looked up at Lin Feng. His eyes were a little red, but no tears fell. "Secretary Lin, I'll do it."

Thus, the Longnan Town Mine Restoration Cooperative was established.

Zhao Tiejun led dozens of miners to start planting trees in the mining park. They planted pine, cypress, ginkgo, peach, pear, and cherry trees. Technicians taught them how to dig holes, how to fill in the soil, how to water, and how to fertilize.

Zhao Tiejun studied very diligently, filling his notebook with densely packed words. Since he couldn't read, he had the technician read them to him, which he then memorized.

A year later, the trees in the mining park survived.

The hillside was lush and green, the willows by the lake sprouted new buds, and the peach trees were in bloom, their pink petals floating on the lake's surface—it was a beautiful sight.

Standing by the lake, gazing at the green expanse, Zhao Tiejun's eyes welled up with tears again. He remembered when his son was little, he took him to play in the mountains, and his son said, "Dad, why is this mountain so bare? It's not pretty." He replied, "When Dad has money, I'll plant trees all over this mountain." His son laughed and said, "How many trees would that take?" He said, "I'll plant until you can't count them all." His son didn't live to see that day. But he did.

Over the weekend, Lin Feng visited the mining park. Zhao Tiejun accompanied him on a walk, pointing out the trees and saying, "This is a pine tree, that's a cypress, over there are ginkgo trees, and by the lake are peach and pear trees." Lin Feng listened, nodding occasionally.

Reaching the lakeside, Lin Feng stopped and gazed at the water. "Master Zhao, thank you for your hard work."

Zhao Tiejun shook his head. "It's not hard work. Secretary Lin, to tell you the truth, I used to hate. I hated those people, hated this world, hated my own incompetence. Now, I don't hate anymore. My son would be happy to see this forest."

Lin Feng didn't speak. He stood there, gazing at the lake, the wind blowing and the willow branches swaying gently.

He recalled the words in Old Zhou's letter—"Rare earth is a strategic resource of the country. After the rectification, it should be used well." He recalled what Secretary Liang said—"The people of Pingjiang don't just care how many corrupt officials you arrest, but also whether you can enable them to live a good life." He recalled what Zhao Tiejun said—"If my son could see this forest, he would be happy too."

He took a deep breath, turned around, and got into the car. The car drove out of the mining park and onto the road back to the city. The fields outside the car window were lush and green, the distant mines were no longer emitting smoke, and the trees on the mountains were growing taller little by little.