Traveling back to 1977

Chapter 326 Two Conditions
Chen Fan intended to keep one of the two diesel engines for his own use, but the personal project ended up becoming a production team project.

But he couldn't be happier.

If it's for personal use, you have to pay for the water tower yourself, and you have to find the building materials and water pipes yourself.

Now things are great, the production team takes care of everything, and it doesn't affect our access to tap water. It's fantastic!

The fact that the production team was able to build a running water system was both practical and prestigious, benefiting both sides and making it a complete win-win situation.

One diesel engine was used to build a small water tower, while Chen Fan left the other one to the brigade headquarters to deal with.

Secretary Yang touched the diesel engine without any headache, "Let's turn this into a water pump, so that we can pump water for our own fields in Lujiawan!"

In the past, agricultural production water relied entirely on the commune's "irrigation team," which not only cost money but also required queuing during busy farming seasons.

If I could have my own water pump, I could pump water whenever I wanted, and as much water as I wanted. I want the freedom to pump water!
Captain Zhang and Ye Shubao both agreed with Secretary Yang's decision.

Converting a diesel engine into a water pump is the most economical and practical application...

Then Chen Fan said, "Actually, if we buy some other equipment, such as a small propeller from the shipyard of the shipping company, we can install it on the boat and use it as a fast boat, and we can also sail directly to the prefectural committee to transport things."

He remembered that when he went to the prefectural committee, the driver, Master Meng, said that the river next to Lujiawan could be connected directly to the Yangtze River, and it would take seven or eight hours to reach Yunhu by boat. Without a car, a diesel-powered boat could open up the door for Lujiawan to the outside world.

Anquan added, "If we can find a way to buy a tractor's transmission system, we can assemble the tractor ourselves."

Chen Fan said, "Any small car chassis will do, just install a diesel engine and it will work."

These days, assembling tractors is all the rage. Not only are tractors expensive, but you also need a permit from the commune or county. So many production teams try to buy second-hand tractors or buy diesel engines to assemble them themselves. Some can even assemble a vehicle by using a diesel engine and a flatbed cart.

(A tractor assembled using a Jeep chassis is considered a high-end product among assembled vehicles.)
Their words captivated everyone.

Especially Accountant Liu and his colleagues, who were still thinking about going to the prefectural committee to buy secondhand goods. If there were a boat that could take them to the prefectural committee, that would be wonderful!
However, there are still some who are clear-headed.

Xiao Liewen said with a sneer, "The idea is good, but we have to be able to get those things. Right now, a breeding farm has emptied the brigade and left us with a huge debt. Where would we get so much money to buy this and that?"
The water supply project can't be delayed, and besides, we can figure out how to make bricks and tiles ourselves. All we need to do is buy water pipes. We'll borrow money to get it done.

As for the rest, let's buy two water pumps first, one for the small water tower and the other for the water pump. Other things like propellers and tractors can be bought one step at a time; we'll talk about that later.

Secretary Yang and the others nodded slightly upon hearing this.

Captain Zhang chimed in, "You can't get fat in one bite. Let's try to get the farm on track in a year or two. Once we've made some money, we'll get all the other big equipment in order, one by one. Lujiawan should also learn from the advanced production teams and strive to achieve mechanization as soon as possible, just like the production teams in the newspaper!"

Everyone was thrilled by these words.

Ye Shubao laughed and said, "When doing things, the worst thing is not seeing hope. As long as there is a goal and hope, and we work together, even if we are tired every day, we will be willing to do it!"

These words drew another chorus of agreement.

Once they arrived, all the treasures Chen Fan had collected had a place to go, so everyone stopped staying in their rooms and rushed out one after another.

Once outside, Xiao Liewen lit a cigarette, took a deep drag, and said, "With so many books lying around, I didn't even dare to have a smoke. I almost suffocated."

Captain Zhang slowly filled his pipe with tobacco, grinning as he said, "If it could transform the production team, I'd be willing to die of suffocation."

Secretary Yang exhaled a puff of smoke, looked back at the piles of books and the two diesel engines inside the glass window, his eyes full of smiles.

After turning around and glancing at everyone, he said softly, "These two diesel engines were brought back by Xiao Chen. Now that we're all here, let's discuss how to compensate them."

Strictly speaking, both diesel engines are Chen Fan's private property. Now that he has contributed them to the production team, the production team must provide a certain value in return for this action.

Otherwise, if there are no rewards at all, who will be willing to contribute to the collective in the future?
As soon as Secretary Yang finished speaking, everyone turned their attention to Chen Fan.

Captain Zhang spoke first, "Xiao Chen, what are your requirements?"

Seeing everyone's gaze, Chen Fan rubbed his hands together, seemingly a little embarrassed.

What kind of reward do you want? I can't think of one.

Just then, he looked down at the educated youth settlement at the bottom of the slope, his eyes suddenly lit up, and he turned to Secretary Yang and Captain Zhang and said, "I have two small requests, I don't know if it's possible."

Secretary Yang pointed at him and said, "Speak."

Chen Fan suddenly walked forward, roughly crossing the reserved kitchen area, and gestured to a spot next to the kitchen facing the main building, saying, "I want to fence off an area here to build a small house for the pandas to live in, and also build an activity space. It needs to be enclosed by a wall. How about the team helps me build this panda enclosure?"

Zhang Wenliang walked over and asked, "I'm not against it, I'm just a little curious. Why do we have to build a house for the pandas? Didn't we just stuff the livestock into any place we could find at the educated youth settlement before?"

Accountant Liu chimed in, "That's right, you're being way too biased."

After a pause, he continued, "Why don't we build you a bigger livestock shed and move all your horses, sheep, dogs, and pigs over here? We'll treat them all the same." Chen Fan immediately shook his head, "No, no, no, I don't want any other livestock. Once the new house is built, I'll bring the dogs over at most, and keep the rest downstairs."

Other livestock smelled too strong, especially their manure. Now that the weather is getting warmer, there's a faint stench in the front yard of the educated youth settlement, not to mention the livestock shed. He didn't want any of that.

They're still so cute, even their poop doesn't smell bad, it has a fresh bamboo scent instead, so there's no problem keeping them near your house.

Seeing Chen Fan's favoritism, everyone laughed heartily.

Finally, Secretary Yang waved his hand and said, "Alright, since you're saving money for the production team, I'll agree to build you a panda park."

In everyone's eyes, Chen Fan's offer was practically a free gift.

He had his own bricks; the team would just need to buy some cement and provide labor to build the house for him. It wouldn't cost much at all; it was practically free!

After a pause, Secretary Yang smiled at Chen Fan and asked, "You've stated two conditions. What's the other condition?"

Chen Fan chuckled, "The other thing is whether the team can arrange for someone to deliver more than 100 kilograms of fresh bamboo to me every day."

"Oh,"

Secretary Yang nodded in realization, "For the pandas to eat?"

Captain Zhang, standing nearby, looked at him curiously, "Does a panda eat more than 100 kilograms of bamboo a day? Can it even finish it?"

Chen Fan nodded slightly. "Pandas mainly eat bamboo, but it's not easy to digest, so they need to eat all day long. More than 100 kilograms of bamboo might not be enough. They also need to eat some vegetables. However, there are vegetables available at the educated youth settlement. If that's not enough, we can feed them some fish and shrimp, and that should be about right."

In addition to bamboo and vegetables, pandas also need to be fed meat and eggs occasionally to supplement their protein intake.

He had previously asked the street performer about the panda's diet, only to find that the performer was essentially raising the panda like a pig, feeding it whatever was available, with bamboo being the main food. If there was no bamboo, they would feed it grass, the kind of pig feed, making it eat just like a pig.

Vegetables, meat, and eggs? Dream on!

It is precisely because of his extensive breeding methods that the pandas are still able to run and jump around that Chen Fan has such confidence in raising pandas.

In Lujiawan, which of the 12 production teams doesn't have several large bamboo groves?
They take turns getting bamboo from them every day, so it's no burden at all.

The only problem is that he's too lazy to do it himself. Since Secretary Yang is asking him to set his own conditions, he might as well do it.

Faced with Chen Fan's condition, Secretary Yang agreed without hesitation, "Okay, starting today, I'll have each team send over 10 jin of fresh bamboo."

Chen Fan grinned and chuckled. With the production team providing bamboo, it was as if the brigade was helping him raise pandas, which made him feel even less burdened.

With the two conditions agreed upon, the group dispersed without lingering any longer.

Before leaving, Secretary Yang said to Chen Fan, "The plum rain season is coming soon. During the plum rain season, there will be a lot of farm work to do. After the plum rain season, we will have to prepare to harvest the early rice and plant the late rice. After we finish these tasks, we will have to pick cotton in a few days. It can be said that the beginning of the plum rain season marks the busiest time of the year."

We all need to keep an eye on those few acres of land; various production tasks cannot be delayed. You and Xiao An will need to put in extra effort for the school expansion and the water tower construction.

Let's strive to build the school and water tower as soon as possible, so that the villagers will have something to look forward to.

Chen Fan nodded. "The school matter is easy to handle. I'll send the books over tomorrow. As for the part-time veterinarian teachers, I can train them for a few days first and guide them through the basics."

Then he looked at the safety, "However, I'll have to put in a lot of effort, Brother An, to find the pipes for the water tower and to hire experienced craftsmen from the county construction team."

Anquan gestured, "Sure thing, once I receive the rabbits from here, I'll get on with this."

Ye Shubao walked over and said, "Xiao Chen, when can you poop out those rabbits?"

Chen Fan said, "Now, we can find someone to take them away right now, which will free up a batch of cages so I can breed the next batch."

Ye Shubao nodded slightly, "Okay, I'll find someone to come and pick it up this afternoon."

After they left, Captain Yang came over and said, "How about this, I'll just find the toilet construction team to lay the foundation right away and get the panda enclosure built for you as soon as possible. Otherwise, it will be difficult to manage when the rainy season starts and it rains every day."

Chen Fan readily agreed and immediately nodded and smiled, "Then thank you very much, Captain."

Captain Yang patted him on the shoulder and chuckled, "We're all family, no need for such formalities."

He then waved his hand and said, "I'm leaving."

Accountant Liu then said, "You don't need to prepare any hospitality for this house construction. Since it was promised by the brigade headquarters, all hospitality expenses will be covered by the public account. Just wait for Panda to live in the new house."

After saying that, he left with Captain Yang and the others.

(End of this chapter)