Chapter 112: Investing in Rural Hydroelectric Stations

There were indeed some daring individuals, and the Five Towns produced a true talent. Aside from He Zhixing, the business maverick Li Tianlai, who had long been renowned in the region, returned home. He had amassed considerable wealth doing business in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, and this time, he invested over two million directly, specifying two targets.

He wanted to build two hydropower stations. He Zhixing chose one—namely, the one in Zhang Village. He reasoned that if investing in a hydropower station was permitted, then building one at the border between Zhang Village and Xi Village would be ideal. This way, when he established his own company, he could use electricity generated by his own plant.

Li Tianlai’s hydropower stations were erected swiftly; in just over two months, they were completed and operational. The government, witnessing Li Tianlai’s achievements, was filled with delight, feeling that Li Tianlai lived up to his reputation, having so quickly completed the rural hydropower station—from the diversion channel to the water storage canal, the generator installation, and connecting to the grid.

But this was not all. Less than two weeks after the two stations began producing electricity, he applied to continue developing more. Using the original two stations as collateral, he invested in three new hydropower stations. Such a madman—He Zhixing couldn’t keep up.

He Zhixing had no intention of competing with him. One station was enough for him, and his own hydropower station in Zhang Village was not yet finished, though four months had already passed. It’s not that he was unwilling to hasten the process, but rather he didn’t want to compromise quality. Mountain hydropower stations differ from those on the plains; they require sturdiness and safety above all.

During this period, He Zhixing spent a day or two every fortnight visiting the city or provincial capital to inspect his factories and chain stores’ performance. He was also recruiting talents in the provincial capital, especially those skilled in beverage formulas, production, and development. Some factory buildings in his Five Towns industrial park were already completed, waiting for product development and production. Meanwhile, the rural villages and households under his guidance had begun to see initial results from cultivating specialty wild vegetables and fruits.

It was now a flourishing scene. Among the most widely grown were thumb-sized gourds, Bai Sheng fruit, and various grass fruit trees, planted in greatest quantities and with most effort. Seeing the grass fruit trees along village paths and hillsides, laden with Bai Sheng fruit turning from white to red, He Zhixing thought, “Hmm, another month and they should be ready for harvest.”

Besides the original wild mountain ferns, water ferns, mountain celery, wild ginger, taro greens, wild vegetables, straight bamboo shoots, thorn bamboo shoots, emerald bamboo shoots, cattail bamboo shoots, and bamboo tubers, they had also developed sour stalks, oversized farm cucumbers, pickled spicy vegetables from the highlands, premium farm-grown mushrooms, wintergreen peaches, and green tofu trees.

As for wild fruits, in addition to Bai Sheng fruit, four kinds of wild strawberries, three types of wild kiwifruit, two varieties of wild rice ball fruit trees, and sugar claws, they had also cultivated wine press fruit, Dou Gu Nong, Ma Li Nian, vine fruit, and tea packet fruit.

The supply in He Zhixing’s two supermarkets was gradually reaching saturation. The regional constraints were evident, so what to do?

To address this, He Zhixing convened a meeting with Su Mei and several other village chiefs who had formed the Five Towns Development Alliance. They officially established the Rural Green Wild Vegetable and Fruit Corridor, set up commercial and transport teams, and, apart from shipping to provincial supermarkets, designated the Nuofeng Rural Specialty Collection Station for unified purchase and sales. They organized and dispatched products, recruited a large number of sales professionals, and launched a joint company aimed at influencing surrounding areas and breaking into the national market.