Chapter 959: Intending to harm others for personal gain and benefit the people

Xia Yu's words caused MacLehose to ponder deeply.

Xia Yu waited with a smile, occasionally looking out into the fields in the distance.

The less developed the area, the more satisfied he was.

Because that meant there would be less resistance to the construction of the Science and Technology Industrial Park, and the construction costs would be lower, so the Science and Technology Industrial Park could be completed and get underway more quickly.

This would be beneficial to his grand strategy.

After a while, MacLehose came back to his senses.

He said to Xia Yu, 'Mr Xia, you are right. As long as we can attract enough companies, it is fine to plan the science and technology industrial park on a larger scale. However, if we want to surpass the Hsinchu Science Park, then Xiacun Township alone is not enough.'

After saying this, MacLehose paused for a moment, pointed his finger at the map, and continued, 'The western part of Xiacun Township is already the coast, and the eastern part is mountains, so it can only go north or south.'

'To the south is Tuen Mun District. The construction and management of an industrial park that crosses districts would be fraught with problems. The terrain is not as flat as Yuen Long District, and there are many hills. To the north is Ping Shan Township, with Tin Shui Wai at its centre, and natural villages with large populations such as Sha Jiang Wei, Fengjia Wei, and Mangjing Village. If you want to expand the Science and Technology Industrial Park, these walled villages must be relocated, which is too difficult to implement.'

'Mr. Xia, it's not that I don't support your plan, but the reality is that there are too many constraints.'

MacLehose's tone was sincere. He truly wanted to develop Hong Kong well and benefit the people of Hong Kong. Otherwise, at the end of his political career, there would be no need for him to make such a big fuss and support Xia Yu in setting up such a technology industrial park.

He also knew very well that if this technology industrial park was successfully established, it would benefit Hong Kong for at least 50 years.

However, there was a high possibility that the result would be given to the mainland, and many people in the British political world did not want to see this happen.

Although there is also the factor of strengthening Britain's influence on Hong Kong, he is still willing to do something like this when there is a high possibility of doing the mainland a favour, which shows that he is truly worthy of the people of Hong Kong.

Xia Yu also considered this practical problem.

It is just that apart from Yuen Long District, even if it is Tai Po District, it is barely possible to establish a technology industrial park comparable to the Hsinchu Science Park, but it is not possible to surpass it.

Therefore, if Xia Yu wanted to realise his idea, he would have to face the two difficulties proposed by MacLehose head-on.

Either expand southwards to include part of Tuen Mun District, as long as the Hong Kong government is strong enough and implements his suggestions based on the experience of future generations, the risks of cross-district construction and jurisdiction can be solved.

But there are more difficult things. There are many hills, and they must be flattened, which is too much construction work.

Xia Yu knew full well that the Hong Kong government did not have the financial resources to do this, and it would take too long, after all, it would be like moving mountains.

If the expansion went north, the natural villages centred around Tin Shui Wai would become a huge obstacle, and most of the villagers' houses would have to be demolished.

The best solution would be to choose a point to concentrate the scattered population.

Although the Hong Kong government has now proposed a plan to develop Tin Shui Wai into a new town, it is also limited by the financial strength of the Hong Kong government, and there has been no movement yet, which has disappointed the villagers of Tin Shui Wai.

The Cheung Kong Group and several other companies that have already entered the market do not have the strength or energy to develop it at the moment, so it has to be shelved.

As long as the problem of relocating the population of these villages is not solved, the villagers naturally will not let the Hong Kong government confiscate their land without a fight. All kinds of conflicts and obstructions will definitely occur one after another.

Fortunately, the Hong Kong government had previously, in order to firmly grasp the political benefits of the land, introduced a policy that stipulated that, in addition to each male indigenous inhabitant of the New Territories being entitled to a piece of land to build a small house upon reaching adulthood, any change of use of the remaining agricultural land for commercial purposes must be approved by the Hong Kong government.

Therefore, the value of land that is not used for commercial purposes is low. As long as the housing and employment problems of these villagers are solved, so that they will not cause trouble, it will not be difficult to expropriate this land. The Hong Kong government can simply issue a document setting a fixed price and push it through.

'Mr Xia, why don't we go and have a look at the nearby walled village?'

Seeing that Xia Yu seemed unable to think of a practical and effective idea for the time being, MacLehose suggested.

Xia Yu nodded with a slightly furrowed brow and said, 'Okay, I'll do as you say.'

Afterwards, MacLehose and Xia Yu and the others took a car to the nearest Xiangjiangwei.

Xiangjiangwei is very remote, with bumpy roads. On the way to Xiangjiangwei, there were very few buildings to be seen, and it was basically fields and fish ponds or wilderness. From time to time, villagers dressed in simple clothes could be seen working, not only the elderly, but also middle-aged men and women.

At a shaded spot by the roadside, Xia Yu and the others stopped and everyone got out of the car.

The arrival of Xia Yu and the others attracted the attention of the villagers working nearby, and many of them stopped what they were doing and looked over.

Xia Yu found a middle-aged man who was fertilising the rice plants and walked over to him. He asked kindly, 'Uncle, can I ask you something?'

The middle-aged man gave a simple smile and nodded, saying, 'Of course.'

Xia Yu asked, 'Have you always made a living farming?'

The middle-aged man nodded and said, "Mainly farming, as well as two fish ponds. If there are any odd jobs nearby, I'll do them in my spare time.'

Xia Yu continued, "So, how much can you earn in a year? Is it enough to cover the expenses of your family?'

The middle-aged man sighed and said, 'Where can I make any money? Apart from the food we grow for ourselves, the money from selling the grain and fish barely covers the family's expenses, and we can survive, but we can't save much.'

'If I'm lucky and can find some extra work this year, I might be able to save some money and buy some furniture for the family.'

Xia Yu thought for a moment and asked, 'Why don't you let your wife and parents work the land? At your age, you could go work in a factory, which is better than farming.'

The middle-aged man looked helpless and shook his head. 'Working is definitely better than farming. How much money can you make farming?'

'But there are no factories nearby. If I want to work, I have to go to Tai Po District or Kowloon. We are too remote here, it takes a few hours to get there, and many factories don't provide accommodation, so it's not realistic. And I have an old parent and a young child, I need to take care of a lot of things, so I really can't leave.'

Xia Yu nodded slightly and continued, 'If you were given the opportunity to go to the city and find work, but you would have to give up these fields and the old house, would you be willing?'

The middle-aged man said without hesitation, 'Of course I would like to. Only a fool wouldn't. What can you achieve by staying in the countryside? Generations of people have guarded these fields, and they won't starve to death but they won't do well either. For generations they have been peasants. Only by moving to the city can you change the fate of your family and become someone important!'

'But with my family's resources, I can't even afford a flat in the city, unless the Hong Kong government will build us cheap public housing. But this kind of good fortune will not fall to me, there are too few public housing units, and none of them have been built in our area.'

'Hey, maybe I won't be able to buy public housing until the day I die. I might as well hope for more big bosses like you to come instead of hoping that the Hong Kong government will build public housing for all of us. I'll work more and save some money to see if I can move to the city in this lifetime?'

'By the way, boss, do you need anyone to do manual labour? I've got plenty of strength and I know the area really well.'

Xia Yu shook his head with a smile and said, 'Not for the time being.'

In the somewhat disappointed eyes of the middle-aged man, Xia Yu took out ten Hong Kong dollars from his pocket and handed it to him, saying, 'Uncle, thank you, I've disturbed you from working.'

The middle-aged man's eyes lit up, he rubbed his hands together, looked at Xia Yu, then grinned and accepted the money Xia Yu gave him, repeatedly saying, 'Thank you, boss, I wish you great wealth!'

Xia Yu smiled, waved to him, and then found some people to chat with and ask some questions.

The people he asked included the elderly and women, as well as young people.

After asking them, Xia Yu's thoughts became clearer and clearer in his head, and he came up with a highly executable method.

If implemented well, it could kill several birds with one stone, not only bringing about earth-shaking changes in Yuen Long District, but also benefiting his grand strategy for Xiangjiang.

However, this method is a bit unscrupulous. If Xia Yu really succeeds, then there are definitely some people who will hate him with a vengeance, just like Li Jiacheng.