Forum: Lost Stories

Hi everyone,

I'm trying to track down a story I read on here a while back, likely published or updated between 5 and 10 years ago (roughly 2016–2021). It was a decent length—substantial and long, but not a crazy, never-ending epic.

Here are the specific plot points I remember:

The Setup: It is set in the rural US. The protagonist (a man, if I recall correctly) wins or inherits a piece of land.

The Quarry: Crucially, there is a defunct gravel pit or quarry on the property that he manages to reopen.

The Industrial/Business Arc: He acquires heavy machinery and gets to work. Because he has a direct, self-sustaining source of gravel from his own land, he is able to systematically underbid a corrupt local monopoly to secure township/county contracts to maintain the local roads.

The Conflict: A major part of the story involves the local small-town politics, bureaucracy, and the fallout from him disrupting the old-guard corrupt network with his infrastructure business.

This story has been bugging me for a long time, and standard searches aren't bringing it up. Does this specific gravel quarry and road-bidding plot ring a bell for anyone?

Thanks in advance for any help or author leads!

Except for the quarry it sounds similar to

Recluse and Ghost by Dual Writer

Some of those elements are present in https://storiesonline.net/s/73794/full-circle by happyhugo, but the chances are that this story is only similar to the one you are looking for - several core elements are missing.

I recall this one… the protagonist is a whiz at operating a bulldozer. Has to create a road over a dangerous pass in exchange for getting access to the gravel pit. The road has something to do with water in the valley beyond the pass…. Unfortunately, I can't recall the author….