Chapter 2171

Ke Zhifang simply sat down under a tree and put on a look of listening attentively. Su Xinghui also sat down opposite him. Sitting under the tree, the breeze came, and on this summer afternoon, it was quite pleasant.

Su Xinghui said, "Decades ago, we enclosed lakes to create farmland because there was not enough food to eat. At that time, enclosing lakes to create farmland was necessary. However, with the development of society, we have basically solved the problem of eating food now, so at this time, returning farmland to lake is necessary."

"Enclosing lakes to create farmland occupied a large area of the lake, but the amount of water is still the same. Coupled with more and more silt at the bottom of the lake and in the river, the water level is naturally getting higher and higher. This is also the reason for the repeated floods in the past ten years. This year, it happened to encounter the extreme El Nino phenomenon, so this once-in-a-century major flood broke out, and the water level is even higher than that in '54."

"But in fact, the amount of water this time is not as much as that in '54. The water level is so high, completely because of the enclosing of lakes to create farmland decades ago and the poor water and soil conservation in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River. Enclosing lakes to create farmland reduced the lake surface for flood diversion, and poor water and soil conservation made more and more silt in the river, so the water level of the Yangtze River is naturally getting higher year by year."

"So, this year's major flood is accidental, but it is also inevitable. If it continues like this, even if there is no major flood this year, it is possible next year, and it is possible the year after next. In short, there will always be a day when such a major flood will occur."

"If we want to cure the water disaster, returning farmland to lake is a necessary measure. Doing so can increase the water surface for flood diversion and storage, effectively reduce the flood peak, and lower the flood water level. For example, in this year's major flood, if the water surface of Yanglan Lake increases by more than 1,000 square kilometers, the water level can drop by more than one meter, so the pressure on the embankment will be much smaller."

"In addition to reducing the harm of floods, in fact, returning farmland to lake also has many benefits in other aspects."

When Su Xinghui said this, Ke Zhifang couldn't help but ask, "What other benefits?"

Su Xinghui said, "The former enclosing of lakes to create farmland actually destroyed the original ecological environment of Yanglan Lake, and the harm to the environment is not small, especially the habitats of some wild animals have been reduced. Now, returning farmland to lake can restore the ecological environment of the original lake area to a certain extent."

Ke Zhifang nodded slowly. He of course knew the importance of environmental protection, and for Jiangyou Province, Yanglan Lake is very important. If the ecological environment of the lake area can be restored, it is very worthwhile.

Su Xinghui said, "After returning farmland to lake, the economic benefits produced may not necessarily be smaller than enclosing lakes to create farmland. Otherwise, why do many farmers dig their own fields into fish ponds to raise fish? If we return farmland to lake, with such a large water body, how many fish, shrimp, and crabs can be raised? Is the value of these things not higher than rice?"

"The lake water of Yanglan Lake is clear to the bottom, and the water quality is excellent. It can grow a variety of high-quality aquatic products, which should be able to sell for a quite good price, producing very good economic benefits for the residents by Yanglan Lake. The economic benefits produced by this 1,000-square-kilometer lake surface will be a very considerable figure."

"As for the residents living in these places where farmland is returned to lake, we can find other places to build new towns to let them live together, or we can directly issue compensation to them to let them buy commercial housing or affordable housing. Of course, if this is the case, the state must create enough employment opportunities for them."

Ke Zhifang asked curiously, "If your Chongjin County engages in returning farmland to lake, how do you plan to resettle these residents?"

Su Xinghui said, "It's easy for us here. If the area of about 100 square kilometers created by enclosing lakes to create farmland in our county is all returned to lake, about 50,000 people need to be resettled. Since the end of last year, our county has been building a new district on the west side of the county seat, and many real estate development companies are developing commercial housing and affordable housing, which can fully accommodate these 50,000 people."

"As for their employment problems, it is also easy to solve. The Economic Development Zone of our county has introduced more than 100 enterprises. Among these 50,000 people, at most one or two thousand are laborers, and these enterprises can also fully absorb these laborers. In this way, they can live and work in peace and contentment."

Su Xinghui said things very easily, but Ke Zhifang knew that this kind of thing was of course easy for him, but it was not an easy thing for other places.

He shook his head and thought of another thing, so he asked, "Did you build so many houses last year just for this matter of returning farmland to lake?"

Su Xinghui said, "At that time, there was no clear concept of returning farmland to lake, but houses always had to be built. We had to build a new district. At that time, we were thinking about expanding the Economic Development Zone and accelerating the urbanization pace of Chongjin County, so houses were always needed."

Ke Zhifang couldn't help but admire Su Xinghui's vision. He seemed to be ahead of everything he did, but after a while, his foresight was just right.

According to Su Xinghui's plan, these 50,000 people in Chongjin County could be easily solved, and the urbanization rate of Chongjin County could be increased by a large margin at once, which is a good thing that kills two birds with one stone.

However, in other places, this matter is really not easy to solve.

In short, such a big thing is not something he can decide alone. He still needs to think carefully and report it to the central leaders at an appropriate time. Only the central government can decide this matter.

Thinking of this, Ke Zhifang got up and said, "Fine, chatting with you today is quite interesting, and I am also deeply inspired. However, don't think about these things for the time being. Flood control and disaster relief is the top priority. I'm leaving first. You continue to do a good job in flood control and disaster relief."

Su Xinghui also got up and said, "Provincial Governor Ke, don't worry, we will definitely strive to overcome the flood!"

Ke Zhifang nodded, shook hands with Su Xinghui, Yuan Yifu, and others one by one, and got into the car and left. He had to rush to another county this afternoon. The time was too tight, otherwise, he really wanted to have a thorough talk with Su Xinghui here. Every time he finished talking with Su Xinghui, he had some new insights on how to govern.

After Ke Zhifang left, Yuan Yifu asked, "County Magistrate, do you really want to return farmland to lake?"

Su Xinghui nodded and said, "I do have this idea. Now I worry about major floods every year, which has a lot to do with enclosing lakes to create farmland. Instead of flood control and disaster relief every year, it is better to return farmland to lake. Although it will not be once and for all, the water level will drop a lot every year, and the pressure of flood control will not be so great."

Yuan Yifu of course understood this truth. Even if he didn't understand it, he understood it after hearing Su Xinghui explain it in such detail just now. He also had very rich experience in flood control and of course knew that returning farmland to lake had more advantages than disadvantages, and it was far greater than disadvantages.

If we really want to return farmland to lake, then the whole country should do so. The increased water surface area will be more than 1,000 square kilometers, but much larger than this. The flood storage area has increased so much, so the water level of the Yangtze River can be lowered a lot, and the pressure will indeed be much smaller.

Yuan Yifu nodded and said, "County Magistrate, your idea is indeed good, but I don't know if the Provincial Governor will agree."

Su Xinghui smiled freely. He believed that he had put forward this idea to Ke Zhifang, and Ke Zhifang would definitely attach importance to it and would put forward such a suggestion to the central leaders.

The reason why Su Xinghui put forward this idea to Ke Zhifang today is that he was afraid that because of his rebirth, the flood control situation in Hudong Province and Chongjin County would not be as critical as in his past life, producing some kind of butterfly effect, making the original returning farmland to lake no longer happen, which would not be a good thing.

Today Ke Zhifang came here, just in time to let him see the disadvantages of enclosing lakes to create farmland on the spot. When he put forward returning farmland to lake to Ke Zhifang again, Ke Zhifang would be much easier to accept. As long as he thinks about it carefully, he will know that the benefits of returning farmland to lake are far greater than the disadvantages.

In this way, in this life, Ke Zhifang should put forward this suggestion to the central leaders, and I believe the central leaders will also attach great importance to this suggestion. In this way, returning farmland to lake should happen as scheduled, just like in his past life.

Su Xinghui looked up at the people of Jingbao Village who were busy in the rice fields. He still had a sense of accomplishment in his heart. These people should not suffer from water disasters next year. They can live in buildings and go to factories to work. Life should be much better than it is now.

However, if we really want to return farmland to lake, we will definitely encounter some resistance. It is hard to leave one's homeland. Although Jingbao Village is a village created by enclosing lakes to create farmland decades ago, the people here have lived here for decades, and this is their homeland.

Letting them leave their homeland, watching this place turn into a swamp again, and watching the fertile fields they have worked on for decades be submerged is a very difficult thing to accept.

Of course, no matter how difficult it is, this matter still has to be done.