Chapter 148: The Invitation

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"Then thank you all! I’ve already written a detailed plan. When Governor Li returns, he can bring it back to your provincial party committee and government. As for the issues above, I can handle them myself. To be honest, I know some people in your central government, but I prefer not to bother them over minor matters," said Wei Hua.

Deputy Governor Li naturally understood Wei Hua’s capabilities and said no more. He left that day, while Li Aihong and Zhao Hongjun stayed behind. They intended to stay a few days longer, partly to deepen their friendship with Wei Hua.

Wei Hua’s highway plan was to build a highway traversing the entire Northeast, preparing for the Soviet Union’s eventual dissolution years later. His proposed highway would start from Dalian, connecting Shenyang, Changchun, Harbin, and then extending to Heihe. The section from Shenyang to Dalian was already reported and approved by Liaoning Province; Wei Hua’s investment would cover from Shenyang through Harbin to Heihe. He called this the Harbin-Dalian Highway.

At the end of August 1984, this detailed highway construction plan was approved by the Jilin and Heilongjiang provincial party committees and governments, then submitted to the Ministry of Transportation. By mid-September, it reached the hands of the second-generation leaders.

The second-generation leader put down Wei Hua’s highway plan, removed his glasses, and wiped them with a cloth, then asked his secretary, “That kid Wei Hua has been home for two months now, hasn’t he? How is he doing? You’ve read his highway plan too—what do you think of it?”

“Wei Hua has been home less than two months. Besides providing us with a new military technology and drafting this highway plan, he hasn’t done much of note. However, he has done plenty of small things: he built many houses for relatives in his hometown and is constructing a first-class road from the county seat to his village. Though I think that’s a bit extravagant. Does a road from an economically underdeveloped county to a small mountain village really need to be first-class?” the secretary responded.

“What does it matter? The kid’s rich, and it only benefits us. Building roads solves transportation and employment issues. A first-class highway is even better—it means we won’t worry about traffic there for decades. His highway plan is visionary, and starting domestic highway construction now is exactly what we want, but we lack funds. Since he wants to invest, let him. By the way, the 35th anniversary of our founding is coming soon. Have the General Office invite him to watch the National Day military parade. I want to ask him why he wants the highway to reach Heihe. It’s just a small border town in Heilongjiang with few resources. I feel there’s more to it.” The leader instructed his secretary.

Zhao Hongjun and Li Aihong stayed at Wei Hua’s home for a week before returning to Beijing. After they left, Wei Hua began preparing to survey his hometown. During this time, he repeatedly urged his sisters to move to Hong Kong with him, but none agreed.

Wei Hua understood the reasons: traditional Chinese values hold that daughters who marry out are no longer part of their birth family. His sisters accepted his help rebuilding their houses, but refused any money. Their husbands, too, had pride—they wouldn’t accept Wei Hua’s money lest the villagers gossip. After all, they were Wei Hua’s brothers-in-law, outsiders by surname, and feudal ideas ran deep in their mountain village. Wei Hua couldn’t change that, nor did he want his sisters or brothers-in-law to suffer any embarrassment.

Since his siblings wouldn’t take money, Wei Hua resolved to find other ways to help them prosper. He could easily find several paths to wealth for them, so he planned to survey the local resources.

Just as Wei Hua and Ding Peng prepared to venture into the mountains, several people arrived from the county seat—officials from the General Office of the State Council. They invited Wei Hua to attend the 35th National Day military parade. Due to time constraints, Wei Hua and Ding Peng had to abandon their mountain trip.

Three days later, Wei Hua returned to Beijing with the State Council officials. After they settled him at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse, they left. That evening, Wei Hua met the second-generation leader again at Zhongnanhai.

The leader studied Wei Hua carefully and said, “Looks like you’ve been enjoying yourself back home. That’s good! But while you’ve been happy, you’ve caused me quite a bit of trouble. Because of your GPS satellite positioning system, we conducted a thorough internal purge, removing some dangerous elements. You know, we uncovered many troubling signs. It seems we’ve focused on economic development these past years but neglected spiritual construction. That’s dangerous! We’ve already started planning to strengthen spiritual civilization. After the National Day parade, I intend to write an article opposing bourgeois liberalization.”

Wei Hua was stunned. He hadn’t expected his little butterfly’s wing flaps to cause such ripples. In real history, the second-generation leader’s opposition to bourgeois liberalization was announced on May 20, 1985, but here it had come six months early. Wei Hua didn’t know if this was good or bad. If this change had occurred, what about future events? Would his plans be disrupted? These were the questions on his mind.

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