Chapter 2353: Demanding the Moon

Gu Lou Street was the heart of this shantytown area, and as the name suggests, it got its name from several ancient wooden buildings along the street.

In ancient times, Chongjin County was a bustling ferry crossing, with a large number of travelers passing through from north to south, so commerce here was relatively developed, and gradually, Gu Lou Street became the commercial center of Chongjin County.

Many powerful merchants built multi-story wooden houses here, mostly two to three stories high, constructed entirely of wood; the earliest of these wooden buildings were likely erected during the Ming Dynasty, but most were later destroyed in wartime fires, and the remaining wooden structures today were mostly built in the late Qing Dynasty, over a hundred years ago, making Gu Lou Street truly a century-old street.

After liberation, many of the merchants here were overthrown, but after the turmoil, a number of people returned to restart small businesses here, and it once again became the commercial center of Chongjin County.

Of course, that was in the past; with the construction of Chongjin County's new district, the commercial center will inevitably shift to the new district.

Thus, although Gu Lou Street is still bustling today, this prosperity carries a faint air of a final flicker before extinction.

Su Xinghui walked along Gu Lou Street, surrounded by a dense crowd; on both sides of the street, the ground floors of the wooden buildings were all used for business, with people not only displaying goods inside their homes but also setting up small stalls at their doorways, squeezing the street narrower, and with pedestrians thronging to shop, the street appeared crowded and chaotic.

Su Xinghui's brow furrowed involuntarily; the entire street was lined with wooden structures, and looking up, the overhead power lines resembled a tangled spiderweb, disorderly and hazardous—if a fire broke out, this would be no minor matter, the fire risk was far too great.

Du Changfeng said, "Secretary, this shantytown zone is the hardest to handle, especially Gu Lou Street, which is entirely composed of century-old wooden buildings with significant cultural heritage value, so they can't be demolished casually; but if we ask them to relocate, their demands are far too exorbitant, and with so many people, each has their own agenda."

Su Xinghui said, "No matter how difficult, the residents of this street must relocate as soon as possible—it's far too dangerous. Look at all these overhead wires, so old and worn—if one shorts out, it'll be a disaster, and the side streets are so narrow, even fire trucks can't get through."

Du Changfeng said, "Yes, we've noticed this issue, and we will accelerate our persuasion efforts to complete the renovation here as soon as possible."

Su Xinghui asked, "What exorbitant conditions did they demand?"

Du Changfeng said, "They demand equal-area storefronts in the new district's pedestrian street as compensation, plus a large cash payment—it's a blatant case of demanding the moon, and we absolutely cannot meet such conditions."

Su Xinghui nodded slightly; the street was over half a kilometer long, and the wooden buildings on both sides totaled at least a hundred to two hundred, so even if we gave them all the pedestrian street storefronts, it still wouldn't be enough.

The pedestrian street is now the heart of Chongjin County's new district, where land prices have skyrocketed; storefronts there are far more expensive than those in the old district. Demanding equal-area storefronts plus a massive cash payment is truly a case of demanding the moon.

Of course, if Su Xinghui had assigned this project to the Mi Group or the Hongtu Group, they could easily afford such compensation standards and the street could be demolished smoothly—but the key point is, this would violate commercial principles.

For flood control projects, which are life-saving, Su Xinghui could ask his friends to undertake them without regard to cost, but for old-city renovation, he could never ask his friends to operate at a loss just for the sake of appearances; as long as they didn't make ill-gotten gains, it was fine—they must be allowed to profit, otherwise they'd eventually be unable to continue.

If we raised the compensation standard here, the entire old-city renovation project across Chongjin County would become unworkable, so this precedent must not be set.

Su Xinghui asked, "Do you have confidence?"

Du Changfeng said, "After so much work, some merchants have begun to soften their stance, and many of the shantytown residents in surrounding enterprises have already signed demolition agreements; once those residents move out, I believe the others here will start to feel the pressure too."

Su Xinghui asked, "What conditions did you propose to them?"

Du Changfeng said, "We offered three options: either an equal-area storefront rebuilt in the old district, or an equal-area storefront in the new district—but not on the pedestrian street—or compensation in cash at current market rates; they can choose one."

Su Xinghui nodded and said, "Yes, I think this compensation standard is reasonable. Although storefront prices in the old district are currently lower than in the new district, as old-city renovation progresses, the commercial value here will certainly rise; those with vision will choose this side."

Du Changfeng said, "Yes, that's exactly how we've been working."

Su Xinghui said sternly, "Comrade Changfeng, no matter what, we must always conduct our work civilly—absolutely no violent demolition. Work must be done with care and diligence. I believe that if we do our job thoroughly, results will follow."

Du Changfeng's expression turned serious too: "Secretary, you've emphasized this to us many times already—we absolutely will not do such things. If we do, hold me solely accountable."

Su Xinghui was genuinely concerned, because violent demolition had become all too common nationwide; the power of capital was immense, and the temptation of money was overwhelming—when the temptation reached a certain level, capitalists would do anything.

If this involved only Mi Group or Hongtu Group—Su Xinghui's friends—he was confident they wouldn't do such things, but this old-city renovation project was too large for these two companies to handle alone, so many companies were participating.

Su Xinghui couldn't control every company involved, so he had repeatedly warned Du Changfeng, who directly oversaw this work, to ensure such incidents never occurred.

Such incidents terrified nearly every local leader—not because of the damage itself, but because of the massive negative publicity that would follow; if the fallout grew too large, higher-ups might use them as scapegoats.

But Su Xinghui wasn't afraid of the negative publicity—he truly didn't want such a thing to happen in Chongjin County; if it did, he would feel personally responsible.

Hearing Du Changfeng say this, Su Xinghui nodded; Du Changfeng was a steady man, so on this matter, Su Xinghui felt relatively at ease.

Soon, the group nearly passed through the entire Gu Lou Street when suddenly Su Xinghui saw a commotion ahead by the roadside—a crowd was shouting, "Amazing!" and "Police caught a thief!"

A man pushed through the crowd, grabbed a thin young man's wrist, firmly restraining him, then with a graceful motion pulled out handcuffs and snapped them onto the youth's wrists from behind.

Su Xinghui recognized this man—he was Lu Yecheng, captain of the Public Security Bureau's Public Order Detachment—but Su Xinghui hadn't expected that even as captain, Lu Yecheng still personally patrolled the streets to catch pickpockets.