173: Chapter 173 The Mountain Road is Long

Zhao Yang's footsteps paused.

The door to the private dining room on the second floor was slightly ajar, with warm yellow light leaking through the crack, accompanied by the aroma of wine and food.

Jiang Ruoxi's voice was as soft as willow catkins in March, making her seem like a completely different person from her serious daytime self.

"Secretary, County Magistrate Zhao is from the provincial level after all; you shouldn't speak so harshly."

"What's so special about someone from the province?" Wang Shoucheng's voice carried a hint of tipsiness, the end of his words trailing off.

"In a place like Cangyun, can someone from the province really figure things out? Let him run around; once he's exhausted, he'll understand the depth of these waters."

"You..."

Jiang Ruoxi elongated her words, her voice carrying an indescribable hint of flirtatious annoyance.

"You're just stubborn. When I first came here, didn't you also say I wouldn't be able to do it?"

"You're different."

Wang Shoucheng's voice suddenly dropped, so low that Zhao Yang could barely hear it.

"You are..."

The words that followed were covered by a low chuckle.

That laughter held a hint of intoxication and ambiguity.

It contained a gloom that even a thirty-watt bulb couldn't illuminate.

Zhao Yang's fingers unconsciously tightened around the handle of his briefcase.

He suddenly remembered what Zhao Liqun had said: "The waters in Cangyun are deeper than you imagine."

It would be awkward if he were discovered listening further, so Zhao Yang quickened his pace and quietly went up to the third floor.

He returned to his room and closed the door.

It was pitch black outside the window, with distant mountain shadows overlapping, making it impossible to tell where the mountains ended and the sky began.

He picked up his phone and checked it; Jiang Nan had sent a message an hour ago:

"Mom is taking very good care of me, don't worry, go to sleep early."

Zhao Yang replied with a "Good" and placed the phone on the nightstand.

He washed his face and lay on the bed.

The cracks on the ceiling were winding and curved, resembling the mountain roads of Cangyun.

For the next week, Zhao Yang left before dawn every day and didn't return until it was pitch black.

The route Liu Heng arranged for him started from the near and moved to the far, beginning with Chengguan Town and visiting every township one by one.

The jeep bumped along the mountain roads. Zhao Yang sat in the passenger seat with a notebook spread across his knees, filling it with dense notes.

North of Chengguan Town was Qingniwan Town.

The jeep wound through the mountain roads for over half an hour before scattered houses appeared in the mountain basin.

Qingniwan was the township with the most farmland in Cangyun County and was also the wealthiest local area.

Zhao Yang stood on the ridge of a field and looked out; his eyes were filled with corn and rice.

They were lush green and growing well.

But these could only fill the villagers' stomachs; it was very difficult to sell them.

"County Magistrate Zhao, that is Cangyun Ridge, located at the border of Cangyun Township and Qingniwan Town. It's the highest peak in our Cangyun County."

Liu Heng pointed to the distant cliffs. "Our selenium-rich rock ear is a specialty here, as is the cangyun maofeng. They're wild and can't be found anywhere else."

Zhao Yang looked where he pointed; the cliffs were steep and shrouded in mist.

The rock ears growing in the crevices and the tea trees hidden on the mountainsides were all high-quality goods.

In the afternoon, they visited a reservoir.

Cangyun had three large reservoirs built in the sixties that were still in use.

The water surface was broad and shimmering, surrounded by green mountains.

Over the next few days, he visited the remaining townships.

The situation was largely the same: many mountains, little land, and inconvenient transportation.

There was no industry.

He, the Vice County Magistrate in charge of industry, was almost just a figurehead.

However, every township had several specialties: deep-mountain wood ear mushrooms, wild kiwifruit, and stream-water water shield—all were excellent products.

"When merchants come to collect them, they drive the prices incredibly low."

A village cadre squatted at the edge of a field, counting on his fingers for Zhao Yang:

"They give eight yuan per catty for rock ear, then sell it in the province for eighty. They give five yuan for a basket of kiwifruit, but a single one sells for two yuan in the city. There's no choice; the roads aren't connected. If they rot at home, we don't get a single cent."

Zhao Yang squatted down, picked up a kiwifruit that had fallen on the ground, and took a bite. It was perfectly sweet and tart, and very juicy.

He praised it sincerely, "If this could be transported out, it wouldn't be any worse than imported kiwis."

The village cadre smiled bitterly: "From our village to the county town, you have to cross three mountain ridges. Large trucks can't get in, and small cars can't carry much. The cost of transporting them out is more expensive than the fruit itself."

After seven days of travel, Zhao Yang had used up more than half of his notebook.

He now had a general grasp of the basic situation in Cangyun County.

Two-thirds of the county's land area was mountainous, and farmland accounted for less than one-third.

Of the eleven townships, except for Chengguan Town which had a shadow of industry, the rest were all agricultural townships.

However, there was no shortage of resources or hardworking villagers here.

What was lacking was information and clear roads.

selenium-rich rock ear, cangyun maofeng, deep-mountain wood ear, and wild kiwifruit—any one of these would be a hot commodity in the city.

But with disconnected roads, isolated information, no branding, and no channels...

These good things could only rot in their hands or be taken by merchants at rock-bottom prices.

On Friday afternoon, Zhao Yang received a call from the Cenjiang Industrial driver, saying he was already waiting at the entrance of the county government.

Zhao Yang packed his luggage, picked up a large sack full of local products he had bought, and went downstairs to the car.

Outside the car window, mountains overlapped layer upon layer, seemingly endless.

"County Magistrate Zhao, the roads in Cangyun County are truly terrible!" the driver complained with a smile.

Zhao Yang gave a bitter smile and said, "This is the road from the county town to the city; it's much better. If we went to the townships, you wouldn't be able to drive this car at all. Next time, bring an off-road vehicle."

After chatting for a bit, Zhao Yang leaned back in his seat and closed his eyes.

The car was bumping along, but his mind was racing.

The reservoirs had good water quality and sufficient volume; they could be used for ecological aquaculture.

And those specialties—could they be unified under a single brand, with unified packaging and sales?

City people were particular about green, organic, and primitive ecology. These things from Cangyun fit those requirements perfectly.

Zhao Yang quickly found a line of thought.

The Taotao online shopping platform had already launched in May.

The best way was to sell these things hidden in the deep mountains of Cangyun through the internet.

As long as the logistics problem was solved, it would not only reduce sales costs but also multiply profit margins.

The farmers would benefit, and aquaculture and specialty planting could all be developed.

To get rich, one must first build roads.

But if they didn't see industrial development, how could Tongan City ever resolve to invest heavily in building roads?

It was a catch-22.

Currently, there was another way: use a portion of the sales profits to subsidize logistics companies and bring them in.

Given the current state of Cangyun County, no logistics company would be willing to move in.

—Unless it was Lin Xuecen.

The most frustrating part was that he was in charge of industry; agriculture was not his responsibility.

If he did it well, he would be doing the hard work for someone else to take the credit.

Forget it. For the people of Cangyun, he would go all out.

This time back in Jiangzhou, he had to paint a grand vision for her to pique her interest.

Otherwise, there would be no way to even start the conversation.

Thinking of this, Zhao Yang's sleepiness vanished instantly.

The car drove out of the mountainous area and entered the Jianghan Plain.

The mountains outside the window turned into large patches of fertile land, and the world opened up.

The distant city lights began to twinkle like stars, looking like another world.

Zhao Yang pulled out his phone and sent a message to Jiang Nan:

"Almost there. Miss you."

A few seconds later, the phone vibrated.

"I miss you too. Mom stewed pork rib soup, waiting for you to come back and drink it."

Looking at the message, the corners of Zhao Yang's mouth curled up unconsciously.

He gripped the phone in his palm and gazed at the lights outside the window.

The car stopped downstairs at Guanlan International.

Zhao Yang offered the driver some of the local products, but the driver adamantly refused to accept them.

"They're just local specialties from Cangyun County, they're not worth much."

Seeing Zhao Yang say this, the driver smiled and took them: "Then thank you, County Magistrate Zhao."

After waving goodbye to the driver, Zhao Yang carried the sack upstairs. Just as he stepped out of the elevator, he saw his front door was open.

Warm yellow light shone from inside.

Jiang Nan stood at the door wearing loose loungewear, her belly already slightly protruding.

She saw Zhao Yang and smiled: "You've lost weight."

Zhao Yang walked over and gently took her into his arms.

"Did you miss me?"

Jiang Nan buried her face in his chest, her voice full of amusement:

"Who missed you? Carrying a synthetic fiber bag like that, you look like a beggar."

Zhao Yang laughed and tightened his arms slightly.

"Hehe, this bag is full of good stuff. Only my wife is lucky enough to have this; those city folk would be crying with envy and still have nowhere to buy it."

From the living room, Du Lanxin's voice drifted out:

"Zhao Yang is back? Come in quickly and have some soup!"

Zhao Yang answered and led Jiang Nan into the house by the hand.

The warmth of home instantly made most of Zhao Yang's fatigue fade away.

He placed the sack in the corner and said softly:

"Nannan, these things are good, but I can't give them all to you. Tomorrow I'll take some to sweet-talk our mom."

Jiang Nan's almond eyes widened, "My mom is so sharp, you can even sweet-talk her?"