Zhang Leyi's arrival was unlucky. When she arrived in Tianjin, there was a heavy rainstorm.
The long-term drought has finally been alleviated, but floods followed. The Haihe River has not been treated for three years since it was dredged in 1924, and the silt on the riverbed in many places is higher than the zero level of Dagu.
A sudden heavy rain brought more silt, and the river water spread everywhere, even flooding into the city of Tianjin. The port was seriously silted up, and Tianjin Port almost became an abandoned port, and ships with a larger displacement could not enter at all.
"Woo"
The whistle blew, and the crew knocked on the door from room to room, shouting: "Get off the ship, get off the ship! Everyone put on life jackets."
Zhang Leyi didn't have much luggage. She even bought a change of clothes on the way and went out with a small bag. When she got on the deck, she discovered that the ship had not entered the port at all and was surrounded by sea water.
"Why don't you drive into the dock?" Zhang Leyi asked the crewman.
The crew member explained: "We can't get in because the port is blocked. But don't worry, Miss, the pier has sent a boat over. You need to put on your life jacket first."
Sure enough, in less than a moment, hundreds of sampans arrived, approaching the passenger ship in an orderly manner.
Zhang Leyi put on a life jacket (only available in first- and second-class cabins), and the crew tied her waist with a rope. She slowly descended to the sampan and then slowly entered the port in a small boat.
Dredgers can be seen everywhere in the port, dredging the rivers and harbors day and night, but to no avail. Passenger ships were okay and could use small boats to carry passengers in, but merchant ships were in tragedy. The cargo could not be unloaded at all, and the losses were extremely heavy.
Zhang Leyi boarded the pier and found that the situation here was also very bad. There were traces of silt everywhere. The cleaners hired by the pier were working hard and it is expected that they will be cleaned up tomorrow.
Zhang Leyi moved forward carefully while holding up her skirt, but her shoes were still stained and soaked. She finally arrived at the concession by car, but the water in the concession next to the river was ankle-deep, and she could even go rowing while sitting in a wooden basin.
The rickshaw driver stepped on the muddy water and walked forward with great difficulty. Zhang Leyi couldn't help but ask: "Is Tianjin suffering from a flood?"
"Actually, it's not much of a flood. The main reason is that there is too much silt in the river." The coachman replied.
Zhang Leyi asked again: "Won't the government send people to regulate the rivers?"
The coachman sarcastically said: "Commander Chu is in charge of Tianjin now. He is busy fighting wars and collecting taxes. He has nothing to do with cleaning up the rivers."
Zhang Leyi said: "Then run slower and don't fall."
The coachman smiled and said, "Are you Mr. Zhou's friend?"
"How do you know?" Zhang Leyi was quite surprised.
The driver said as he walked: "The address you gave me just now is Mr. Zhou's home. He is a kind man. Who doesn't know the rickshaw puller in Tianjin?"
Zhang Leyi asked: "Because he runs a Hope Primary School?"
"It's not just volunteer schools. The victims of Tianjin these days are all thanks to Mr. Zhou for raising funds." The driver turned around and gave a thumbs up. "Mr. Zhou is like this. If it weren't for him, I don't know how many people would have starved to death. Everyone said
Mr. Zhou is the reincarnation of a Bodhisattva and a literate disaster victim. He also set up a longevity tablet for Mr. Zhou in the porridge shed and worshiped it every morning and evening."
Zhang Leyi was surprised: "How can he raise so much money?"
The coachman said: "The elders of the Green Gang are here to help. They have set up some sort of Jimin Association. But we all know in our hearts that Mr. Zhou has played a big role in it. In the past years, when Mr. Zhou was away, why didn't the elders of the Green Gang come out to provide disaster relief?"
I really saw the right person!
Zhang Leyi's heart felt as if she had eaten honey, and a sweet smile appeared on her face. She asked about things related to Zhou Hexuan along the way. She didn't go far when she suddenly saw three rickshaws coming in front of her. It was Zhou Hexuan and the Sun brothers.
"Brother Zhou!" Zhang Leyi waved happily.
"Le Yi, why did you come to Tianjin?" Zhou Hexuan asked in surprise.
Zhang Leyi said: "If you don't like staying at home, come out and take a walk. Where are you going?"
"The French Consul General's house," Zhou Hexuan said without bothering to ask too many questions, "Let's go together and explain slowly on the way."
Zhang Leyi asked curiously: "Can I also go to see the French consul?"
"No problem, just say you are my secretary." Zhou Hexuan said.
The two walked together, and Zhang Leyi quickly asked about the situation. It turned out that Zhou Hexuan was going to contact the consuls of various countries and take advantage of the port congestion to provide relief work.
Historically, the siltation of the Haihe River was not resolved until Chu Yupu died.
The Tianjin local government formally established the Haihe River Management Committee at the end of next year. It was not until October of the following year that the Haihe River Management Project Plan was approved. It was not until 1931 that construction finally started, which took five years.
In the past five years, the siltation problem in Tianjin Port can only be solved by dredgers. Whenever the summer flood comes, everyone from the dock to the shipping company is in a state of distress.
Hervé Jacques, the French Consul General in Tianjin, had a headache at the moment. From morning to noon, he received more than ten phone calls in half a day, all from French businessmen in Tianjin.
The businessmen urged the consulate to solve the problem, but the consulate could only contact the Tianjin local government. However, the local government officials were all just doing nothing and could not take care of things at all, and Chu Yupu, who was the one who could make the decision, was now fighting a war again.
"Dear, Mr. Zhou is here." His wife Marien said with a smile.
"See you or not, let him come back another day." Hervé said angrily. He only looked at Zhou Hexuan as a scholar. He could usually play to relieve his boredom, but he was not in the mood to pay attention to him at critical moments.
Marion said: "He said that the port congestion problem can be solved."
"Just him?" Herway obviously didn't believe it.
"I think you can meet him first," Marion suggested.
Hervé frowned, treating a dead horse as a living horse doctor, and said dejectedly: "Invite him in."
The door opened again soon, and Zhou Hexuan took Zhang Leyi inside, while the Sun brothers stayed outside to rest.
When they met, Herway asked: "Do you think you can solve the siltation problem?"
"Of course." Zhou Hexuan smiled confidently.
"Are you a water expert?" Hervé asked again.
"No, I don't know anything about water conservancy," Zhou Hexuan said.
Herway said speechlessly: "Then what are you doing?"
Zhou Hexuan smiled and said: "There are water conservancy experts everywhere, and there is no shortage of them. Now to clean up the silt in the port, dredgers can be used for the time being, but if we want to completely solve the problem, the Tianjin local government and the concessions of various countries must unite."
"You still have to say that?" Hervé shrugged.
Zhou Hexuan swaggered and sat on the sofa, crossed his legs and said, "I can communicate through it."
Herway said: "Communication is not a problem, the difficulty is who will pay for it. Logically speaking, this is what the Tianjin government should do, but your Marshal Chu doesn't care about it at all. I called him
On the front line, he only talks nonsense to me."
"Money matters are easy to handle." Zhou Hexuan tilted his head and smiled.
"Is it easy to handle? Are you kidding me?" Hervé seemed to be listening to fantasy.
