Chapter 1 Reconstructing Hengbo Port

"Reconstruct Hengbo Port?" Ye Tao asked, frowning in disbelief.

Since Old Man Qi hadn't arrived at Hengbo Port yet, the executive meeting naturally couldn't be held. However, old Mr. Liu Yi had already arrived. Liu Yi's son, Liu Qing, was already a key member of the Northern Frontier Pacification Office, holding a rank of roughly between the third and fourth grade according to the Dongping Dynasty's hierarchy. Liu Yi, on the other hand, no longer concerned himself with the Liu family's business. Instead, he diligently served as the chief steward of the entire Nanyang region, responsible for overseeing all planning and construction projects. Ye Tao was quite surprised to hear the request for the reconstruction of Hengbo Port from Liu Yi.

"Hengbo Port is such a new city. It needs reconstruction already? What a waste," Ye Tao exclaimed.

Liu Yi sighed. "When we first came here, it was at most the size of a town, with only about ten thousand people even during busy times. The Seven Seas Trading Company only needed a cargo depot and a place to replenish water and food. So, we simply expanded the port and added some shacks for people to live in along the port area. Later, as business grew, the port area expanded accordingly, and more buildings were gradually added. We repeatedly tore down old buildings to build new ones. Eventually, we realized this wouldn't do. For all the Seven Seas Trading Company's buildings, we repurposed what could be repurposed and rebuilt what could be rebuilt... Now, Hengbo Port may be a city in size, but the initial foundation wasn't laid well. The roads and residences are indescribably chaotic. Many of the indigenous tribes in Nanyang have poor hygiene habits, and relieving themselves anywhere is a minor issue. But if they don't relieve themselves anywhere, what can they do? Aside from private residences, Hengbo has virtually no public sanitation facilities... This tropical city doesn't need to deliberately store water, as it's never lacked fresh water. But when it rains, especially during the recent summer storm season, the whole city seems to be soaked in mud. It's still alright in high-lying areas, but in the lower-lying areas, especially the slums and the indigenous troops' camps, it's a terrible sight. Hengbo Port doesn't even have a set of crisscrossing main roads. When the port is unloading cargo, even without the troops' exercises in the city, the whole city is a mess, with the roads completely clogged. Carriages, oxcarts, rickshaws... and the excrement of horses and cattle... you can't imagine what it's like. Now that Hengbo Port is still small and can be changed, we should reconstruct it. If we wait a few more years, or a dozen years, it will be a major problem to renovate it. ... I think it's better to get it done now and then expand the city step by step in the future. That's the way to go."

Ye Tao nodded and said, "That makes sense. I haven't been walking around Hengbo Port much these days, so I didn't notice these things. I only saw that Hengbo Port and the surrounding villages and towns are well-organized. That should be your work, Old Man Liu, right?"

Ye Tao's compliment made Liu Yi chuckle and say, "These things aren't difficult. A village doesn't have many people. Many of the indigenous troops and local villagers are related. We help the villagers build houses, with the Seven Seas Trading Company paying half the cost. Land is granted to any homeless migrant who is willing to sign a tax agreement, and they repay it with annual rent and labor... These villages and towns don't cost much, but the effect is quite good. I say, Pacification Commissioner Ye, do you think Hengbo Port can be reconstructed? I wouldn't dare to hope that Hengbo Port can compare to Gondor, Suifeng City, or Iron City, but at least it has to look a little like something, right? I've been tempered by this stinky city to be good at patching things up, but to transform this city and give it a new lease on life, it's up to you, Pacification Commissioner Ye."

Liu Yi spoke sincerely, and Ye Tao listened attentively. He thought for a moment and asked, "So, Old Man Liu, how much will this cost? Old Man Liu, don't compare it to Gondor. If the budget is sufficient and there is enough time, Hengbo Port can become a jewel of Nanyang, and Gondor can be completely ignored. Gondor owes its magnificence to the mountain range, but Hengbo Port has a different flavor. Looking at the situation around Hengbo Port, as well as the ocean currents in the bay, the climate, and so on, this is really a good place. Also, Old Man Liu, renovating Hengbo will probably take a long time. What about the impact on business? Hengbo Port is an important port for the Seven Seas Trading Company, as well as for Dongping's construction of Nanyang and its connection of the Middle East with Western countries. It can't be closed for a year or two, right? ... In addition, Old Man Liu, you should also have a list in your mind. How exactly should Hengbo be reconstructed?"

Liu Yi was stunned for a moment and said somewhat embarrassedly, "This... this... I haven't really thought about it in detail. I was originally busy renovating the outer city towers and walls of Hengbo. You didn't give me any advance notice of coming to Nanyang, so I wasn't prepared at all."

Ye Tao chuckled and said, "It doesn't matter. I'm very familiar with various city projects. I'll list them one by one, and you can see which ones are needed and which ones aren't. Then we can discuss it further. We need to see how much needs to be changed and how quickly it needs to be done in order to estimate the cost."

Liu Yi nodded and said, "Isn't this like ordering dishes?... The more dishes there are, the longer it takes and the more it costs."

Ye Tao nodded in agreement. "That's really the logic."

Ye Tao leisurely listed a series of projects on paper, with some projects offering several options. For example, the price of using stone for the city towers and watchtowers versus using a mixed structure of steel, wood, and cement was vastly different. The cost of using stone was more than five times higher. Another example was the roads in the city. The price difference between using cement pavement and asphalt pavement wasn't that huge, but the durability and maintenance of the pavement were headaches... Ye Tao listed them one by one, and it really had the feel of a menu. But after the entire "menu" was written, Ye Tao drew a correlation diagram based on the relationships between these contents, which was essentially a technology tree system for urban construction... However, in this technology tree system, many projects could be directly upgraded to the top level, bypassing the intermediate transition projects. Having participated in the planning and construction of so many cities, it could be said that no one in the world was more professional and comprehensive than Ye Tao when it came to city construction and reconstruction. And Liu Yi imagined what it would look like if Hengbo Port was built to the highest standards.

Liu Yi took the menu back to discuss with his old partners, but Ye Tao was intrigued by Liu Yi and began to conduct on-site inspections and research on the geographical data of Hengbo Port. The Seven Seas Trading Company had done meticulous work in Nanyang. All kinds of data for Hengbo Port were available, and the materials on the terrain and landforms were very detailed, as were the records of the repeated large-scale expansions and renovations. Looking at the data might not be intuitive, but Ye Tao and Tan Weixin spent a day in Hengbo Port in disguise, and their feelings were extremely profound. The port area, the Yazhou Governor-General's Office, and the areas where the Seven Seas Trading Company's headquarters were located were relatively orderly, both in terms of architectural style and management. Although most of the roads were gravel and cement-flattened surfaces, and the sewers were only open ditches covered with porous cement slabs, at least the roads were relatively clean. If you ignored these shortcomings that the entire city couldn't avoid, those areas looked similar to Yicheng and Danyang. Purely in terms of order and cleanliness, they were even better than cities like Ningyuan and Suiyuan.

However, when Ye Tao and Tan Weixin, embracing their usual love for the streets and alleys and their enthusiasm for the market trade, stepped into the market where the most small vendors and bustling crowds gathered, they felt like they were in another world. Hengbo Port only had two markets. One was located in the port area, where large-scale trade and transactions of relatively expensive, high-end goods and labor took place. On a short street less than eight hundred steps long, there were two restaurants, a professional auction house, offices of PricewaterhouseCoopers and Deloitte, a transaction contract appraisal office, and a small tavern that was actually used as a talent center. This short road had something of the feel of Hengbo Port's central business district.

However, the market where ordinary people and small vendors conducted various transactions made Ye Tao and Tan Weixin flinch. The entire market was actually a whole open space between several blocks. In the very center, there was a small two-story building for registering vendors and paying small taxes, which also handled disputes arising from transactions. But the rest of this open space was a flat ground, and vendors freely set up tents to sell their goods. Those who were particular used wood and tar paper, while those who were less particular used a few pieces of wood or bamboo and simply topped them with a tattered piece of cloth. There were also many, many small vendors setting up stalls in the open air, with no fixed location at all. Many of the small vendors lived in the market. At night, they rolled up their stalls and crawled under them to sleep. Eating, drinking, and relieving themselves all happened here. And among the bustling crowds searching for what they needed, there were also quite a few people who had no public morality. If they felt an urgent need, they would just find a corner where no one was paying attention and solve it on the spot. There were no fixed roads here at all. Usually, what was a road today would be occupied by small vendors tomorrow or the day after. Sometimes, when one or several merchants failed in business or lost all their money gambling, they would remove their stalls, and a new road would appear... This place was impossible to describe. If one had to describe it, there was only one very modern word: chaos...

Ye Tao and Tan Weixin didn't even dare to go in. Before they even approached the market, just as they got out of the carriage, they were staggered by the indescribable smell that the market emitted to the surrounding areas. It was only then that they understood why Liu Yi wanted to rectify the city's public health so much. They couldn't bear to watch it for even a moment...