"Compared to Baode County and Dingjun County, which one is better, father?" On a street car in the city of Baode County, only Goshkin and his son were sitting inside, and his son Ivan suddenly asked.

"Well, it's really hard to say." After pondering for a while, Goshkin thought about it and said: "When the Northern Railway was not built to the edge of the Wujiang River, and the population of the rest of the counties in Baoding was not very large, even if Dingjun County was the regional capital, there was a certain gap compared to Baode County, an old industrial county, in all respects. Well, even now, the population of Baode County is still larger than that of Dingjun County. ”

"But now you can also see that the Northern Railway not only extends to the south bank of the Wujiang River in the north, but even the north bank of the Wujiang River is being built non-stop. In the south, the railway has gradually extended to the junction of Taiping County and Luohan County, and there are more and more places for communication, and its importance is increasing day by day. Think about it, Dingjun County is at such a critical node, is the future development prospect much stronger than Baode County? Goshkin asked with a smile.

"But the traffic conditions in Baode County are not bad, right? Over the years, they have been squeezing out a considerable part of their limited financial funds to invest in the widening and dredging of the Baoan River. Over the past decade, the canal's navigable capacity has been greatly enhanced, and it can effectively communicate with Ping'an County, which has a population of nearly 100,000 and a large number of wealthy people. Moreover, those inland river vessels can also sail on the vast surface of Yazi Lake with full loads of goods, and send all kinds of commodities to Shenwu, West Lake, Zhongshan, Zhenhai, Hengtang, Meilin and other counties through the water system extending in all directions, and obtain huge profits. Isn't this a big advantage? Goivan retorted.

He is a graduate of Qingdao Road and Bridge School, and has been working hard in the society for some years, and there is an inland wharf in Baode County that he designed, so he still has a strange feeling for this county. Therefore, this time, when discussing the current situation of Baoding with my father, I subconsciously maintained Baode County.

"Well, how do you say this, there are good and bad. Through the canal system, Baode County can sell goods far away. But you also have to see that most of the places where the canal runs are old developed areas, and the market is not small, but is the competition small? Look at Ping'an County, yes, there are many industrial workers in this county, but are there no handicraftsmen? How can it be! These people likewise produce many goods that have homogeneous competition in Shield County, which will undoubtedly dilute their profits. In addition, a considerable part of the market in Baode County is Fanyang, Lintan, Tumen and other counties in the east and north. To go to these places, you can only go by land, and it is a bit difficult to walk, which is also a major disadvantage. Of course, on the whole, Dingjun County and Baode County are almost the same, they are both very good places, they are developing rapidly, and the future prospects are also very good. Goshkin looked at his son lovingly, and said helplessly: "Now these two counties are very competitive, one is the oldest and first developed place in the region (Baode County was taken from the hands of the Portuguese), and the other is the regional capital and transportation hub, which is not convinced by anyone, the open and secret struggle is very strong, it has lasted for many years, and it will continue for many years in the future, it is really difficult to see who is strong and who is weak." None of us can say accurately in this matter, so let time judge. ”

Actually, Goshkin is right, but anyone who is not blind in his eyes or deaf knows more or less about the signs of these two counties. For example, when Shao Yaoguang was still a member of the military management committee in Baode County, he collected temporary environmental taxes in several towns in the south where the industry was most developed, and established sewage treatment and urban water supply facilities that had never existed in the nearby area, which greatly improved the environment of these industrial townships.

At that time, Dingjun County was the army's military station, a construction site, and the environment was famous for its dirty and messy environment, which was naturally not as good as Baode County next door, so the cadres in the county couldn't even raise their heads. Later, when the Baoding area was established, Shao Shude was transferred from the position of Baode county magistrate to Dingjun county magistrate, and at the same time served as the executive deputy commissioner of the regional administrative office, so he began to slowly rectify the environment of Dingjun County, and single-handedly relocated many heavily polluting units such as fertilizer mixing yards, pigsties, cattle pens, and slaughterhouses, and built urban water and sewage facilities, which brought the two counties back to a horizontal county at the same time.

Later, Dingjun County was ahead of Baode County, spending a huge amount of money to introduce a full set of gas lighting systems from the East Coast Gas Company, and it was still very advanced to pump air from the city's sewage underground river for combustion (which can speed up the air circulation in the dark river, dilute toxic gases and explosive gases, and ensure the safety of dredging workers).

Seeing this, Baode County was naturally not willing to be left behind, and also introduced a gas lighting system from Wang Huadu of the East Coast Gas Company, illuminating a cross street in the core of the county. Subsequently, the county "made persistent efforts" and borrowed money from the United Industrial Credit Bank to set up the Baode County Street Car Company, built the urban light rail, and officially operated this rare thing that is only relatively common in large coastal cities, which stimulated Dingjun County a lot, and then made them grit their teeth and cut down on food and clothing to set up the Dingjun County Street Car Company.

The fierce rivalry between two counties in close proximity is rare in the East Coast, let alone under the same regional administration. However, it seems that Shao Yaoguang, the commissioner of the Executive Department, is happy to see this kind of competition, and has never expressed any negative views on the healthy competition between the two counties in various industries, and even has a faint element of encouragement, which undoubtedly further increases the competitiveness between the two counties.

"Okay, don't think about what you have or don't have, let's talk about something else." Goshkin patted Goivan on the shoulder and said with satisfaction: "I am very happy that your firm has won the design order for eight large wineries this time, which proves that you have become independent." Therefore, I plan to follow this project myself and try to do it well. Excuse me, my son, it's been a long time since I've personally directed such a small project, but this time I've decided to make an exception and talk to the owners of the wineries. ”

"Are you really planning to invest in the wine industry? That can only be found in Baode County, because of the soil environment and other factors, the wine industry in Dingjun County has been completely defeated and withered by Baode County......" Goivan asked softly.

"Yes, that's right, I'm going to invest in the wine industry, but it's just a test of the waters, and I'm not going to run it as a main business. You have to understand, my son, that the Goshkin construction company is our roots, our foundation, the main business for decades to come, and not the Goshkin wine company, understand? Goshkin looked at his son and said earnestly: "The construction industry will be an industry of long-term prosperity for the country for a long time to come, and business cannot be less, so we must manage it carefully." However, now the business world is not also popular diversification, I went to Qingdao County to participate in the salon lecture held by Mr. Liang of Qiangdong Trading Company, and I deeply believe that eggs really cannot be put in the same basket, horizontal diversification is to finish. It just so happens that our current construction labor force is getting bigger and bigger, and the amount of alcohol consumed every day is not a small amount, so investing in some wineries, wineries or something can also make some money back from it. ”

Goivan nodded silently. Since his father said so, then this matter has actually been decided, and the investment in the winery industry in Baode County should be signed this time. Of course, as the first heir of the Goshkin Construction Company, Goivan himself is not opposed to this investment, and it is indeed a good investment to wedge into Baode County, a place with a relatively large wine industry, in advance when the tobacco and alcohol tax has already begun to be piloted in 25 counties and the wine industry is about to be fully reshuffled.

It is important to know that in the future, the tobacco and alcohol tax will be levied on the place of origin, and the local and central governments will divide the accounts according to the proportions proposed by the reform of the tax-sharing system, which means that areas like Baode County, which produce a lot of high-quality grapes, will definitely be very sought-after. It is important to know that any local official has a strong urge to keep the raw materials (grain, fruits, etc.) for production in the local area, and then collect taxes, and there is a natural sense of rejection of the large-scale export of raw materials for brewing. Therefore, Baode County, a place with good natural conditions, will only become more and more sought-after in the future, and the wine industry in Dingjun County was defeated by Baode County in the early years because of its quality, and it can only survive, and it will be even more difficult in the future.

Goshkin wants to diversify his investment, and the first step is to take over his own logistics and statistics system, so it is normal for him to hit the idea of a winery in Baode County and take a large stake in the joint operation. In fact, not only that, Goshkin will also buy a number of small-scale liquor factories in the grain-producing counties of the Duck Lake basin, and then integrate them into a medium-sized distillery to fully enter the industry. As for whether it will enter the cured meat, canned food and other industries in the future, it is also uncertain, maybe it will be done.

Of course, while entering these industries, he will definitely not forget what his main business is. No, in addition to contracting some scattered municipal works, highways and wharves in the north, the main force of the Goshkin construction company has been transferred to the construction site of the Yanbu Railway south of the Le Plata River, and it is impossible not to pay attention to the progress of the country's key project - the construction industry, which is the foundation of Goshkin's fortune, and at the same time the most important tool for him to accumulate people's homes.

The swaying street car quickly stopped at the end. Strictly speaking, it is a suburb of the city, but it still seems to be relatively prosperous, with the sound of forged iron pieces coming and going, and goods such as horseshoes, knives, and farm tools being sent out of the workshops one by one, and then loaded onto horse-drawn carts and transported to distant places. It's worth noting that some of the workshops—which don't look like they should be workshops anymore—already have some small steam engines in them, which look like second-hand goods that the government has eliminated from auctions, but they should be good to use.

In addition to the apprentices and mechanics, there were also many non-national labourers from Ireland and Italy, who were generally engaged in hauling, burning, and cleaning ashes, and occasionally made a handiwork. Looking at the numb expressions on their faces, they should have been accustomed to this kind of high-intensity work. I didn't think about it.

"These workshops with their own steam engines should be business owners who have completed the original accumulation. Once upon a time, they also used horse-drawn vehicles to carry steel bars and equipment, and drove tirelessly to the government-invested central power plant to rent steam horsepower, which was very inconvenient. As a result, less than 20 years have passed, and some people have already spent their own money to buy boilers and transmission systems, and build their own steam engines. Although it is a second-hand obsolete goods, it is also very difficult, which shows that these industries are developing rapidly. Goshkin couldn't help but take a few more glances at this iron processing area, and said in a slightly emotional tone: "Ivan, my son, you have also seen that all walks of life are developing rapidly, and our construction industry is no exception, if I retire in the future, you must not take it lightly." The current position of the Goshkin construction company is the result of half a lifetime of hard work, and you can't let it decline. ”

Goiwan nodded silently when he heard this, and the feeling in his heart became heavier. In addition to the state-owned construction and railway construction companies, the strength of the private sector should not be underestimated, such as Batino Company, Mendes Company, etc., and even some local enterprises on the east coast have come from behind, such as Zhu Hengzhu, a celebrity in Luocha County, and Grandpa Zhu began to slowly enter the downstream of construction, which is a strong enemy in the future, and must be guarded against.

From November 10 to 25, 1680, Goshkin and his son were active in Baode County for almost half a month. During this period, they met with many people working in the wine industry, from winemakers and coopers to wholesalers and business owners, and then negotiated with several of the more powerful winemaker owners, signed a shareholding agreement, and officially entered the industry.

On November 27, just as the two of them were about to pack their bags and leave Baode County temporarily to discuss another business in the Jiangbei area in the north, they happened to meet Dr. Shao Yuanyi Shao, who had come here from Xihu County in the south on a business trip. After some delight, the three of them found a restaurant together and sat down for a drink or two, and after talking about the local customs, Goshkin naturally turned the topic to business, but did not waste the opportunity at all.