Chapter 24 Industrial Ideas

"What do you plan to do?" Tobias asked.

"Let him make a scene first," Mu Xin said calmly. "The more fiercely he acts, the sooner he will die."

"Richard Miller is already preparing to reopen the investigation into Jimmy's drunk driving case that killed someone."

"Once the evidence is solid, it will be submitted directly to the state prosecutor."

"At that time, no matter how much money Old Williams spends, he won't be able to save him."

Tobias fell silent, his expression complex.

He remembered when Jimmy hit and killed that college student last year, Old Williams spent millions to settle everything, leaving the victim's father, Richard Miller, to hide in his office alone, weeping over his son's photo.

And now, that father had finally waited for his chance for revenge.

"There is one more thing." Mu Xin looked at Tobias, his tone becoming serious. "After the Water Plant renovation is complete, I plan to build a large water purification equipment manufacturing plant in town."

Tobias was stunned.

"A water purification equipment manufacturing plant?" He couldn't believe his ears. "In Oxford Town?"

"Yes." Mu Xin nodded. "The biggest problem with Oxford Town right now is that it has consumption but no production."

"Students come and go, unable to stay. The elderly population is increasing, and their spending power is weakening."

"To truly boost the population, we must engage in industry."

"The manufacturing plant is just the beginning."

"Next, I also intend to build schools, hospitals, roads, and a commercial center in town."

"I want to turn Oxford Town from a small agricultural town of just over twenty thousand people into a modern city with a population of one hundred thousand."

Tobias stared blankly at Mu Xin, his mind a complete blank.

He had always thought that Mu Xin acquired the Water Plant just to make some money and, incidentally, help him and Richard Miller vent their anger.

But he hadn't expected Mu Xin's ambition to go far beyond that.

One hundred thousand people. A modern city.

These two phrases had never been spoken of in the history of Oxford Town.

"You… are you serious?" Tobias's voice trembled slightly.

"I never joke." Mu Xin smiled. "But it's too early to talk about this now."

"Let's finish the Water Plant renovation first; we'll take other things one step at a time."

"Okay." Tobias took a deep breath, suppressing the surging emotions in his heart.

"A water purification equipment manufacturing plant… if it can really be built, Oxford Town's population could increase by at least several thousand."

"Not just several thousand." Mu Xin shook his head. "A large manufacturing plant requires hundreds, if not thousands, of workers."

"These workers will bring their families to move here, and the population will naturally grow."

"Furthermore, once the manufacturing plant is built, it will drive the development of surrounding service industries."

"Restaurants, shops, hotels, schools, and hospitals will all follow."

Tobias nodded, his eyes filled with anticipation.

He had never imagined that the small town where he had lived for over forty years would one day turn into a modern city.

And the starting point for all of this was the Water Plant currently undergoing renovation.

In the days that followed, the Water Plant construction site worked day and night.

Before the clamor of the day had dissipated, the lights of the night were already lit.

More than sixty workers were divided into three shifts, changing posts every eight hours.

The day shift was responsible for equipment installation and factory renovation, the evening shift for pipeline network modification and land leveling, and the night shift for material transportation and site cleanup.

Tobias hardly rested, sleeping only three or four hours a day, spending the rest of the time watching over the construction site.

Robert's construction company also dispatched all its personnel; more than twenty construction workers were divided into two groups, one working inside the factory and one working on the pipeline network outdoors.

Material supply was also surprisingly smooth.

The building materials suppliers in Cincinnati had never received such a generous order, so naturally, they prioritized it.

All materials were ordered and arrived the next day, countless times faster than usual.

The same was true for the equipment suppliers.

The normal delivery time for three reverse osmosis filtration units was 45 days, but Mu Xin paid an extra $500,000 in expedited fees, and the manufacturer worked overtime to deliver the equipment to Oxford Town within two weeks.

During installation and debugging, Tobias hired over a dozen professional technicians from all over the United States, including some who flew in from California and Texas; the airfare alone cost over a hundred thousand.

But Mu Xin didn't even blink.

To him, money was not the issue; time was.

With over twenty million US dollars coming in every day, the money spent was not even a fraction of a fraction.

And this money could only be spent in Oxford Town; if it wasn't spent on his own industry, was he supposed to go to bars to drink and pick up girls?

The answer was that both had to be done; he would grasp both with both hands, and both hands had to be firm.

One morning, three weeks later, Mu Xin came to the Water Plant again.

He stood in the center of the plant, looking at the brand-new factory buildings and equipment before him, a satisfied smile appearing at the corner of his mouth.

All three production workshops had been completely renovated, with new color steel plates on the roofs, white waterproof paint on the walls, and anti-corrosion floor tiles on the ground.

In the central control room, a whole row of brand-new computer screens displayed the operating data of various equipment, and over a dozen surveillance monitors transmitted the dynamics of the production workshop in real-time.

In the water quality testing laboratory, all kinds of instruments and equipment were fully equipped, from spectrometers to chromatographs, from pH meters to turbidimeters, all of the latest models.

The three reverse osmosis filtration units were neatly arranged in Workshop No. 1, their silver-white stainless steel shells shining under the lights.

The weld points at the pipe connections were smooth and uniform, and the valves opened and closed flexibly and smoothly.

The ultrafiltration system and activated carbon filter in Workshop No. 2 had also been installed and were undergoing final debugging.

In the pump room and power distribution room of Workshop No. 3, all equipment had been replaced with the latest energy-saving models, with noise at least half that of the old equipment.

Outside the plant, the five-kilometer main pipeline network had been completely replaced, and over a hundred valves and more than thirty fire hydrants had all been replaced with new ones.

Three newly built secondary booster pump stations had already begun trial operations, and the water pressure was so stable that even Tobias was surprised.

"How is it?" Mu Xin looked at Tobias beside him. "Can it be completed on time?"

"Yes, in five more days, all equipment can be fully debugged."

"By then, we will be able to produce tap water that meets the highest federal drinking water standards."

"Good." Mu Xin patted his shoulder. "You've worked hard this past month."

"Not hard at all." Tobias shook his head. "Mr. Mu, if it weren't for you, I… would never have had today."

"Don't say that." Mu Xin smiled. "This is what you deserve."

"By the way, has the pipeline network modification been completed?"

"It has." Tobias nodded. "Yesterday afternoon, the last section of pipe was welded, and the pressure test passed."

"The newly installed valves and pump stations are all operating normally."

"That's good." Mu Xin turned around and looked at Oxford Town in the distance; the sunlight spilled onto those low buildings, casting a layer of golden light over the small town.

"Tomorrow, notify Richard Miller to come and test the water quality."

"Let him see what level our Water Plant is at now."

Tobias nodded, took out his phone, and began to send a message to Richard Miller.

Mu Xin stood in the center of the plant and took a deep breath.

The air no longer had that pungent chemical smell from before; there was only the fresh scent of soil and a faint smell of disinfectant.