CHAPTER 1899: CHAPTER 897: LOTUS LEAVES TOUCHING THE SKY, TEN MILES OF PEACH BLOSSOMS

The main reason Yan Fei returned home was to meet Secretary Jiao. According to the grapevine, Secretary Jiao won’t be staying long in Tanghe County and will likely be transferred soon.

Yan Fei doesn’t really care who replaces Secretary Jiao, but they’ve always had a good relationship. Yan Fei originally planned to come home in a few days once his wife felt better, and now it seemed timely.

Looking at the newly built road, Yan Fei feels quite satisfied.

At the entrance to the road on the county town side, there’s a rather large sign that says "No large vehicles allowed. Violators will be fined 500 yuan."

Halfway to entering Sancha River village boundary, there’s an even stricter sign that directly says "No outside vehicles allowed, restricted to local vehicles only."

This is unavoidable. Everyone in the county supports road construction, but once the road is built, it inevitably brings some dissatisfaction. Originally, it’s expected that less toll fees would be collected.

A short road of just over ten miles built by Sancha River village itself definitely can’t be charged—a road donated by businesses. If the county sets up tolls again, that ties into a face issue. Currently, no one in Tanghe County has enough nerve to propose something like that.

In the midst of widespread tolling everywhere, if this place doesn’t charge fees, it won’t take three months before the road gets damaged. This is certain—the road was constructed to county road standards. Tanghe County is still a main traffic artery; if vehicles treat it as a national road and drive dozens to hundreds of tons of large trucks daily, the road won’t hold up for long.

Thus, signs are set up, and heavy fines enforced. Dare to hit the road, and they’ll stop the vehicle and fine you. Even if you can sneak out through the township boundary, you absolutely can’t pass through Sancha River village. After a few fines, if you still don’t learn, you’ll lose out.

As for local small vehicles, they’re free to drive!

Anyway, road construction is intended for local convenience. To speak bluntly, toll booths can hardly glean money from local small cars. Some people brazenly wave their permits and refuse to pay, some claim they know someone important, and refuse to pay just the same. Some sneakily follow big vehicles through, and the toll booth doesn’t dare stop them—what if the barrier damages a small car? Who’s responsible? Cars are expensive these days; even a cheap one costs tens of thousands. If you damage someone’s car, it surely leads to disputes.

Nowadays, there’s a small floating population, and not many car owners. Whether it’s people from the county town or the various villages, anyone who can afford a car likely has some connections. In fact, nearly every car owner in the county can pull some connections through a few friends.

Faced with this situation, toll booth personnel are in a tough spot, forced to turn a blind eye.

The road connecting two factories lined with morning glories can satisfy the county as long as large and outside vehicles aren’t allowed.

After checking the road and strolling around the village, Yan Fei moved his wife into the car and drove to River Heart Island.

At the entrance, he left some pills with two old men. Then he parked the car beside the yard, and as he was carrying his wife to the house, the woman finally awoke. Without opening her eyes, she hazily asked, "Are we home yet?"

"Yes, we’re home!" Yan Fei carried her into the room, laid her on the bed, and went back to close the door. "It’s fine, go back to sleep!"

"I can’t sleep anymore!" she pouted. "I want a bath."

Then go for a bath, directly at the Dinosaur World, an outdoor natural bathing area—particularly convenient—the crucial part is it’s big enough for some beneficial activities.

More than an hour later, Yan Fei returned proudly holding his wife who was too weak to move, and slept through till dawn.

...

A road no more than a dozen miles long with a bridge opening to traffic isn’t really a big deal. If it hadn’t been financed by a private company, it wouldn’t have been so widely publicized.

But being privately funded changes things—the county must certainly strongly promote and support any initiative for road construction—what if others are willing to build roads too? Even if only village roads, it’s still a good thing.

For the county, the celebration is mandatory. However, things are different for the people of Sancha River village—the biggest beneficiaries of the road are the villagers. Dragon and lion dance teams arrived at the bridgehead at dawn, awaiting the command, ready to traverse the entire route.

How convenient it is! Traveling to the county town now only requires about twenty miles, like a mere ten thousand meter run, so convenient. On the newly constructed smooth asphalt road, riding a bicycle takes less than half an hour to get to the county town.

Previously, traveling westward on the new road to the county town required forty miles; now, it’s cut in half. Who wouldn’t be happy with that?

Even those few bus drivers have no complaints. They aren’t worried about fewer passengers due to the shorter route. In reality, the reduced distance will probably increase the number of people going to the county town, even if ticket prices are halved.

When broke, people cycle; when affluent, they ride motorcycles. But sometimes when handling affairs and such, as long as the minibuses operate diligently, when the weather is slightly colder, probably no one would cycle—no one minds the extra three or tael yuan, right?

The key is no more fear of tolls. They’ve already discreetly inquired with Manager Shi, and this road isn’t intended to charge fees.

At today’s over two yuan fuel price, running freely means profit—simply marvelous. They’re now only worried about more minibuses taking the Sancha River route next year; the fees for this year to the station have been paid in advance, ensuring a foolproof business until the New Year.