Chapter 43: The Fox Borrows the Tiger’s Might

Li Xian's idea, to be honest, wasn't groundbreaking.

In this era, cement power poles weren't unheard of. In Bangye County, some high-voltage transformers were even supported by reinforced concrete poles.

But in the forestry areas, people were used to wooden poles and had grown accustomed to them. So, even though a fire in Dongfeng Forest Farm was caused by an electrical fault, no one paid attention to the ordinary wooden poles.

This is the blind spot in thinking.

For Li Xian, who was accustomed to cement poles, such blind spots didn't exist.

If there was an advantage he had compared to people of this era, it was his access to more diverse information and a more open and flexible mindset.

Indeed, as Li Xian said, once the idea was proposed, it was easy to understand.

Cai Wencheng lamented the missed opportunity; such a simple solution, and he thought he could have come up with it himself if he had just put in more effort! He repeatedly slapped his thigh, saying that Li Xian's cleverness was rather unkind.

However, Yang Hongshan, who had already witnessed Li Xian's thinking, smiled and pointed at Cai Wencheng, saying, "Old Cai, you're wrong about this. When Li Xian came to me and said he could clear out my entire warehouse of tiles, I didn't believe it. You said there are no major construction projects in the bureau now? The demand for tiles in various forestry areas wasn't high before, right?

If we estimate, how long would it take to sell out a whole warehouse of tiles?

But this kid figured out how to use the tiles for exterior wall decoration. Is that a brilliant idea? It might seem simple, but if it were up to us, would we have thought of it?"

Hearing this, Cai Wencheng thought carefully and found it reasonable.

However, he wasn't prepared to just hand over twenty thousand easily. He sulkily lit a cigarette and said to Li Xian, "No, I need to finalize the issue with the power poles before giving you the money."

Li Xian understood that Cai Wencheng thought he was making money too easily and felt a bit resentful.

Empathizing with him, if he were in Cai Wencheng's position, he would feel frustrated too.

Considering the various responses from the forestry bureau after the Dongfeng Forest Farm fire, it was clear that with the fire prevention period approaching, and the focus shifting to fire prevention, the issue of wooden power poles as a hazard would likely be addressed. Presenting a solution for it had a high chance of success.

Such a task could be managed by Cai Wencheng himself.

But to make sure the other party paid willingly, Li Xian chuckled and said, "No problem, I'll draft a document tonight and deliver it to the bureau tomorrow."

...

After returning to the rest center, Li Xian went straight to the reading room next to the activity room. He found some manuscript paper and a fountain pen and began writing rapidly.

It was a proposal;

He started with the fire at Dongfeng Forest Farm and, combining his knowledge of landscape planning, identified various hazards present in the forestry areas from a landscape construction perspective.

However, this part wasn't detailed. In this era, leaders preferred reading about conceptual ideas.

So, after the first section, he shifted his focus to the awareness of fire prevention among various units in the forestry bureau. The issue of power poles became the main argument in this part.

Through this argument, he concluded that "forest area fire prevention needs to address minor issues before they escalate, requiring attention to detail and the safety awareness of every unit and individual." He also pointed out that although wooden power poles could be replaced with concrete ones, no one had noticed or addressed this hazard after the major renovation in the forestry areas.

In the final paragraph, he praised the leadership of the bureau and the active efforts of various units during the Dongfeng Forest Farm fire, and concluded with a proverbial emphasis on responsibility.

Despite attempting to control the length, the article, which included professional theory, work-related thoughts, and solutions, ended up being over two thousand words long.

He used six and a half sheets of 400-word manuscript paper.

After reviewing and polishing the draft, Li Xian was about to transcribe it when the reading room door opened.

Wang Linhe, wearing glasses and a large cloth gown, entered with a magazine in hand.

Seeing Li Xian, he was surprised, "What are you doing here?"

Li Xian grinned, "Studying! Even though I've graduated, as the great man said, 'A day without learning...'"

"Stop the nonsense."

Since arriving at the rest center, Wang Linhe had never seen Li Xian touch a book. Therefore, he didn't believe in such study claims.

Placing the magazine on the bookshelf, Wang Linhe noticed the manuscript in front of Li Xian.

He picked it up, intending to glance through it. However, as he read, he became more engrossed, his expression growing increasingly serious.

After several readings, he sighed and placed the manuscript back on the table.

"Quite rare," Wang Linhe shook his head.

Hearing this evaluation, Li Xian chuckled, "So, how is the article? Is it well written?"

Wang Linhe gave him a stern look, "The perspective is sharp, and the issues you raise are prominent!"

Saying this, the old man grabbed a pencil from the table and struck out much of the text—making the article shrink by a third instantly.

Then he picked up an envelope, wrote Li Xian's name on it, and added "Wang Linhe, Attached" before handing it over.

"Copy it. Deliver it to the bureau tomorrow. Don't go through the mailroom; take this envelope directly to Xu Chaoyang."

Wang Linhe's Xu Chaoyang was someone Li Xian had heard a lot about through the old cadres during his time at the rest center.

He knew Xu Chaoyang was the illegitimate child of Wang Linhe's comrade and had been raised by him. Although he wasn't officially adopted, he was considered family.

Therefore, even though Wang Linhe had retired, his status in the bureau was still very high.

Li Xian could see that the old man was genuinely concerned about the issue with the power poles.

After Wang Linhe continued to talk for a while before leaving the reading room, Li Xian grinned and used an eraser to remove his name and the "Attached" from the envelope.

The next morning.

Li Xian delivered the letter to the bureau's mailroom for forwarding to Old Xu.

The woman at the mailroom didn't initially pay much attention to Li Xian, but upon seeing the familiar signature on the envelope, she immediately became friendly and assured him the letter would be delivered promptly.

Then, she took the letter and hurried upstairs.

Watching her round figure disappearing, Li Xian clapped his hands, feeling that the twenty thousand had already made its way into his pocket.