Chapter 118: Commercial Planning

The plan for East Gate Market began at the outer moat of Bairren Fortress's east gate, extending three hundred meters westward to form a main thoroughfare christened "East Gate Street." Cross-streets would intersect it every hundred meters on each side, creating a grid of "one vertical, two horizontal." Plots of varying sizes along these streets could be sold to merchants for self-built shops, while the transmigrators themselves would construct additional storefronts along East Gate Street for rental.

"This plan is enormous," someone objected. "Setting aside the consumption of construction resources—does Lingao even have enough merchants to rent your shop fronts? Surely you're not expecting vegetable peddlers to sign leases?"

"Lingao's economy is minuscule—barely above subsistence," Cheng Dong added with concern. "Isn't this market rather exaggerated?"

Dongmen Chuiyu remained unruffled. "This is long-term planning. We'll begin with Phase One."

Phase One encompassed a hundred meters of street with accompanying drainage, plus a mule and horse inn of the type common along old highways and major markets. Such establishments featured large courtyards for tethering animals and parking carts, warehouses for temporary goods storage, and kitchens equipped with cooking facilities but serving no prepared meals—guests cooked for themselves. Lodging consisted mainly of dormitories with a few private rooms available, serving as standard stopovers for small and medium-scale traveling merchants.

Next came a restaurant. Contact between the transmigrators and locals was steadily increasing, he explained; they needed an external venue for dining and meetings. Under normal circumstances, it could also serve wealthy merchants. Across from the Administration building, a merchant hall would rise—a concept borrowed from British East India Company trading posts: a high-walled compound containing trading offices, cargo warehouses, storage yards, and guest rooms, dining rooms, and meeting chambers for merchants of importance.

The original plan had called for running water to East Gate Market, but long-distance water supply remained technically difficult. Instead, they would dig several wells, one designated as public to provide free drinking water for both people and animals. Finally, there would be public toilets—locals doing business here had taken to defecating everywhere, which had become extremely troublesome. The plan even addressed landscaping, though Bairren Fortress itself possessed none. East Gate Street would feature tree-lined sidewalks, with species to be selected by the Agricultural Department. Wu Nanhai immediately volunteered to research suitable varieties.

On security, Dugu Qiuhun foresaw no serious concerns. The major structures would be constructed of brick and stone with iron-plated doors and windows, and each corner of the merchant hall's walls would feature a watchtower. Even under attack, any breach would require considerable time—and Bairren Fortress's earthwork wall blockhouses and watchtowers stood ready nearby. For petty disturbances such as theft, he requested ten sets each of stab vests, stab gloves, and batons, proposing to form an "East Gate Market Comprehensive Enforcement Squad" from current staff. "I guarantee," he declared, "nobody causes trouble here."

"We can provide those," Wen Desi agreed. "But how do you plan to attract investment?"

"Allow me to explain the overall strategy—it's substantial and complex."

Given permission, Dongmen Chuiyu retrieved his file folder. This commercial plan had been developed primarily in collaboration with Yan Maoda and Zhang Xin. Yan Maoda, formerly a jewelry company manager, had departed for Guangzhou with Xiao Zishan. Zhang Xin had served as sales section chief for a small shipyard. In commercial acumen, Dongmen Chuiyu could only bow in admiration before these two. Fortunately, neither harbored any interest in local commerce and saw no point in competing with him. Their collaboration had been entirely pleasant.

East Gate Market's current prosperity rested on the transmigrators' large-scale procurement. With over five hundred high-consuming modern people, the sheer purchasing volume attracted numerous traders. But a market sustained solely by bulk institutional purchasing faced inherent limitations. How could they draw the entire county—even neighboring counties—to trade and consume here?

Their first proposal: build roads.

Bairren Fortress occupied an ideal location, positioned precisely halfway between the county seat and Bopu Bay, the gateway port. It sat at the center of the county's most developed and densely populated region along the banks of the Wenlan River, geographically well-connected in every direction. The Bairren–Bopu highway was already complete, and the county seat extension was under construction. Soon the county seat and Bopu Port would be fully linked. Mainland merchants could conveniently reach the county seat, while riverbank residents could easily access the port.

The highway, however, ran along the river's east bank, leaving west bank residents without convenient transport. Dongmen Chuiyu proposed constructing a footbridge upstream of the Bairren Hydroelectric Station to link north-south traffic, sparing nearby commoners the lengthy detour via the Wenlan River Bridge at the South Gate. As long as traffic flowed continuously through Bairren Fortress, East Gate Market—the highway's only market—would naturally become a hub for personnel and goods. Commerce would flourish of its own accord.

Wen Desi endorsed the bridge proposal readily. With the west bank industrial zone now operational, the transmigrators' own personnel and material transport had grown inconvenient, and a bridge would serve both purposes.

Dongmen Chuiyu noted one complication: commoners currently avoided the highway entirely, intimidated by its blockhouses and the vehicles rumbling along it.

"That's easily remedied," Wen Desi said with a slight frown. "But people here have no concept of traffic rules. Will our vehicles run them over?"

"Unlikely. We have few vehicles, dispatched only for important matters. Currently our fastest transport is bicycles, and our largest is the four-wheeled wagon. Safety concerns are minimal."

The second proposal: attract outside merchants. Intelligence reports had made abundantly clear that Lingao was not a favorable market. Its economic structure wasn't merely subsistence—it was particularly backward subsistence. Economic capacity and purchasing power couldn't compare to the Jiangnan or Guangdong regions, nor even to average densely populated areas in the north. The standard transmigrator "quick fortune" method—mass sales of "clever crafts" and modern goods such as mirrors, glass cups, and lighters—simply wouldn't work here. They could only sell to the mainland, and ideally, merchants should come to them for purchasing rather than requiring the transmigrators to deliver goods.

Beyond their future industrial products, Lingao itself boasted numerous exportable local specialties. Historical research indicated that the Ming era's major exports from this region included cattle, salt, rattan (both red and white varieties), and betel nut. Rattan and betel nut originated primarily in Li minority territory—processed locally, then shipped to the mainland. These represented the most profitable commodities.

Yet historically, with the exception of salt shipped from Bopu and Ma'ao ports, most exports had flowed toward the prefectural capital and embarked from Shenying Port. If that trade could be redirected to Bopu Port, the well-connected East Gate Market would become the natural collection point for mainland merchant purchasing.

"We can't control the betel nut trade yet," Dongmen Chuiyu continued, "but we already control salt production. I propose a complete monopoly on salt production and sales—making the East Gate Market salt shop Lingao's wholesale headquarters. Total control of wholesale. Any merchant wanting salt must come to Bairren Fortress." His eyes gleamed. Monopoly—oh, monopoly! The very word sang with profit.

Additional proposals followed: abolish Bopu Port's "water tax" and berthing fees to attract coastal trading vessels; provide favorable business environments through tax exemptions, warehousing, and transport services. Dongmen Chuiyu even proposed leveraging the Guangzhou outpost to establish a Hainan–Guangzhou commercial wireless telegraph service, providing daily Guangzhou-Macau market price bulletins. With such inducements, mainland merchants would naturally shift their local product purchasing and processing centers to Lingao. The accompanying influx of both permanent settlers and transient population would obviously stimulate the economy, and when the transmigrators eventually began producing modern industrial goods, they could utilize these merchants' established channels for mainland sales and material procurement—avoiding the burden of doing everything themselves.

The commercial plan received approval. The Construction Engineering Group groaned collectively—their burden was already overwhelming. The county road had just been completed; Damei Village's nearly two hundred relocated households required housing; Bairren Fortress itself had ongoing projects. Now East Gate Market development was added to the pile. Brick kilns and cement kilns ran day and night. Labor shortages plagued every site. Ma Qianzhu, responsible for coordinating the entire operation, found himself drowning.

He summoned Wu Nanhai, his expression grim. "Nanhai, your workload is about to increase. From now on, prepare eight hundred additional meals daily for the Damei Village migrants. Engineering urgently needs that labor force."

Wu Nanhai gasped. Previously he had provided at most seven hundred daily meals. Adding eight hundred more represented a Great Leap-style surge—setting aside everything else, the kitchen equipment alone was insufficient.

"The Planning Committee just delivered the Gou Manor spoils—kitchen supplies and daily-use items. Go select what you need." Seated behind a huanghuali wood table, Ma Qianzhu scribbled a note, stamped it with his personal seal, and handed it over. Official seals didn't yet exist; documents were validated through Committee members' and group leaders' signatures or personal stamps.

"We don't even farm anymore—cooking alone is overwhelming!" Wu Nanhai burst out. Recently, constant kitchen duty had left him no time for his beloved agriculture.

"Select whoever you need. Choose women from among the Damei Village migrants to assist. They must be reliable—absolutely no Gou family connections. Also, locals can't handle our food; keep the cooking areas separate. Understood?"

"How am I supposed to know who has Gou family connections?"

"Security is conducting individual vetting. As cleared personnel emerge batch by batch, you select from each batch."

(End of Chapter)