160. Construction Quality at Huaxia Construction Company

The construction of New Tuvalu had never stopped since its inception.

Over the past twenty days or so, although Li DaniU had been entirely focused on launching WeChat and its promotional campaigns, the three thousand immigrants had all arrived successively.

Strictly speaking, these immigrants could not yet be considered true Tuvaluans because the contracts they signed were employment contracts with the New Tuvalu Construction Company.

Although every month, in addition to their regular salaries, they received an additional living subsidy of five hundred US dollars, they would face deportation if the New Tuvalu Construction Company dismissed them.

Furthermore, even after they passed the probationary period and, like normal Tuvaluans, began receiving a monthly living subsidy of three thousand US dollars, if they chose to leave the New Tuvalu Construction Company, they would be required to find another job in Tuvalu within three months; otherwise, their Tuvalu citizenship status would similarly be revoked.

Only when they reached true retirement age would they be exempt from labor while continuing to receive their regular monthly living subsidy.

The same rule applied to the native inhabitants of Tuvalu. Although every native currently received a monthly living subsidy of three thousand US dollars, any violation of the law or engagement in low-conduct behavior would result in a demotion. Not only would their monthly subsidy be reduced, but they could also face imprisonment.

Moreover, native Tuvaluans were required to make contributions to Tuvalu in order to enjoy the monthly living subsidy.

Tuvalu was a monarchy. Although its laws included provisions stating that citizens' private property was sacred and inviolable, Tuvalu's laws also stipulated that all land and resources within the country belonged to the King of Tuvalu, and Tuvalu citizens bore the responsibility and obligation to contribute to the development of Tuvalu.

This contribution could be large or small, but it could not be entirely absent. Without any contribution whatsoever, one would not be considered a qualified Tuvalu citizen and would thus have no right to claim the monthly living subsidy.

Under such a premise, the newly arrived immigrants participated in the construction work of Tuvalu with an exceptionally high work ethic.

Even the original Tuvalu citizens began heading to New Tuvalu to clear wasteland and engage in farming, animal husbandry, or fisheries.

Although the living environment in New Tuvalu was currently very harsh, the standard of living was far from low.

Living in tents, they ate hearty meals of fish, meat, and ample vegetables every single day. Furthermore, with the installation of signal towers and solar-wind power grids, both electricity and internet access in New Tuvalu had become much more convenient.

However, continuing this way was not a long-term solution, as winter was fast approaching.

The Auckland Islands, where New Tuvalu was located, featured a temperate maritime climate with minor seasonal temperature variations, yet the average winter temperature hovered around 10 degrees Celsius.

For people from northern China, what did 10 degrees amount to? They did not even need to wear long johns.

Yet for those who previously lived in Tuvalu's tropical maritime climate, where the annual average temperature was 29 degrees, 10 degrees felt like a crisis: could they wear padded trousers?

Therefore, establishing permanent housing was imperative.

The reason this work had not been initiated earlier, aside from capital shortages, was a lack of manpower. Moreover, in the beginning, lacking professional planning and layout, Li DaniU could not simply point at a map and arbitrarily establish settlements.

Now, not only were there sufficient funds and personnel, but the overall master plan had also been completed by the Germans. That plan strictly adhered to Li DaniU's vision for the future New Tuvalu. Many issues that Li DaniU had failed to anticipate had been accounted for by them—that was the difference between professionals and amateurs.

Additionally, although the docks and airport had not yet been fully completed, they had reached a basic operational capacity for immigration.

Part of the airport runway had already been paved. Fully operational now, Li DaniU's private jet could land in New Tuvalu without the slightest issue. As for the docks, while they could not yet accommodate ten-thousand-ton cargo ships, several makeshift piers had been constructed.

Though operating at full capacity, these piers might still fall short of handling all construction material shipments, they were entirely sufficient for bringing in daily living supplies for over ten thousand people.

The installation of the power grid and signal towers also meant Tuvaluans would not be forced back into a primitive lifestyle.

In other words, once the residential settlements were built, Tuvalu could formally commence its immigration workflow.

Under such circumstances, how could Li DaniU not be deeply invested?

After arranging the affairs of his various companies, Li DaniU boarded a flight with Burns to his very own New Tuvalu.

Aside from its two runways, the Tuvalu airport still had all its other supporting facilities in the foundation-laying stage. However, this did not hinder the landing of Li DaniU's private jet. It was not an Airbus; though reasonably large, it only seated about twenty people and touched down smoothly with the help of manual guidance.

The moment Li DaniU opened the cabin door, he spotted the German fellow waiting below, along with several key leaders from the China Construction Engineering Corporation.

It was entirely natural for the German to welcome Li DaniU, as Li DaniU was now his employer, giving him an opportunity to apply his expertise in his twilight years. For someone who had spent a lifetime in the architectural planning industry, what could possibly compare to participating in the construction of a nation from the ground up, in a project that would astonish the world?

As for the Chinese representatives coming to greet Li DaniU, it was even less surprising. Although back in China they were figures capable of turning a local subcontractor into a wealthy entrepreneur with a single word, within the one-hundred-billion-US-dollar budget of New Tuvalu, their share constituted only a small fraction.

Building a good relationship to secure more projects was their ultimate goal. If not for Li DaniU's status as a king, he would have long been intoxicated and knocked out countless times by these people across banquet tables.

"Welcome, Your Majesty, to inspect our work," a Chinese man said enthusiastically. "Had we not been pressed for construction deadlines, we certainly would have arranged a grand welcoming ceremony for Your Majesty."

Strictly speaking, this was Li DaniU's first time visiting the Auckland Islands, and also his first time meeting representatives from China State Construction.

"And you are?" Li DaniU felt a strong sense of affinity for Mandarin speakers. Without waiting for the interpreter beside him to speak, he asked directly in Chinese.

"My humble surname is Liu, and I am the general manager in charge of China State Construction's building operations in New Tuvalu," Director Liu introduced himself with a beaming smile, before offering a compliment: "I had long heard that Your Majesty's proficiency in Chinese was exceptionally high, but I never expected your Mandarin to sound even more authentic than my own."

After a brief exchange of polite pleasantries, during which they agreed to share a light meal later, the personnel from China State Construction departed, leaving behind only the German and a few staff members from the New Tuvalu Construction Company.

Li DaniU, Burns, and the German boarded an off-road vehicle. The traffic infrastructure in New Tuvalu was still in a deplorable state, and even with one of the best-performing off-road vehicles available on the market, they could only travel from the airport to the dock. Heading to the power plant required walking a portion of the route in the middle and transferring to another vehicle.

"How is the construction quality?" Quality was naturally Li DaniU's primary concern. The progress could be slightly delayed, but quality had to be guaranteed unconditionally.

Konrad, the German, raised his thumb and said, "Boss, you made the absolute right choice when you picked the Chinese construction crew. Not only can these people meet our German standards in terms of engineering quality, but their construction speed is also more than twice that of our German workers under equivalent conditions. Their laborers actually work in twelve-hour shifts, rotating in a double crew, twenty-four hours a day without stopping. That is completely unimaginable in Germany, because our laws dictate a maximum eight-hour workday, with mandatory rest periods during shifts."

Having finished his praise, Konrad leaned in and whispered mysteriously, "Boss, I asked those workers why they didn't complain to their country's labor protection agencies given such high-intensity work. They actually told me that anyone who complained when there is money to be made must be a fool. They even said that if this project weren't under the direct supervision of the Chinese government with strict safety production mandates, they could easily work sixteen-hour days."

*Good grief*, I know about this better than you do; why are you acting so mysterious? The diligence of the Chinese people is arguably unmatched anywhere in the world.

Rest? A balance of work and leisure?

Those are concepts advocated only by people in developed nations like yours.

"Burns!" Li DaniU turned his head and instructed, "Communicate with China State Construction. Because we are satisfied with both the engineering quality and the construction schedule, award every worker a bonus of 500 US dollars. But remember one thing: you must first investigate and confirm the exact number of construction personnel currently working here. Furthermore, this money cannot be handed directly over to China State Construction; you must arrange for your own staff to personally deliver it to every single worker from China State Construction operating in Tuvalu."

Burns harbored no doubts whatsoever regarding Li DaniU's command. After all, the number of China State Construction personnel currently in New Tuvalu was under ten thousand. At five hundred US dollars per person, how much did that even total?

Konrad, however, looked profoundly perplexed and asked, "Boss, aren't you unnecessarily increasing our workload with this? Why not just communicate directly with the head of China State Construction?"

"Heh, it's not that I'm increasing your workload; it's simply that you don't understand China." Li DaniU smiled without offering a deeper explanation. Wasn't there an old saying: family shame should not be aired in public.

"I truly don't understand," Konrad pressed further. "Boss, I've heard that there are many 'tofu-dreg projects' in China, and some were even built by subsidiaries of this very same China State Construction. I was extremely worried about this initially, which is why I paid meticulous attention to every single detail. Yet the outcome completely exceeded my expectations. Why is that? Could those news reports all be smear campaigns against China?"

To this, could he say it was because this project was personally brokered by someone at the Vice-Premier level of the Chinese government? A project introduced by the highest leadership, bearing upon China's international reputation—who would dare cut corners with shoddy work?

After a moment of thought, Li DaniU replied, "Precisely. Those news reports you saw were fabricated by Western countries specifically to smear China."

"No wonder," Konrad said with a sudden realization. "Earlier I heard that Chinese people couldn't even afford soap and only ate meat during the Lunar New Year. Yet those workers with such high wage levels actually claimed that their income only ranked as lower-middle class back in China. It just goes to show you shouldn't entirely trust the news or television shows."