Traveling back to 1977

Chapter 348 Be a Little More Sunny

The three of them strolled back, which also served as a way to digest their food.

It's rare to have such a big meal, and Captain Yang ate quite a bit earlier, so much so that his belly was now sticking out, which made Chen Fan chuckle to himself.

He quickly coughed and tried to change the subject, "Captain, how much grain did you harvest this year?"

Captain Yang raised his head and thought for a moment before saying, "The team has 350 mu of paddy fields, all of which are planted with rice. 280 mu are planted with ordinary rice. The total harvest was more than 168,000 jin. On average, each mu can yield a little over 600 jin."

Chen Fan nodded slightly. With the current grain seeds and farming techniques, a yield of 600 jin of grain per mu is already very high.

Captain Yang continued, "The remaining 70 mu, including 40 mu of educated youth fields, are all planted with new hybrid rice."

At this point, he suddenly became excited, "This hybrid rice is amazing! Do you know how much rice can be harvested from one acre?"

Chen Fan shook his head slightly, "I don't know."

He's been so busy lately that he hasn't had time to think about hybrid rice.

However, he was confident in hybrid rice. In later generations, the yield of hybrid rice had reached about 1000 kilograms per mu, and the highest could even reach more than 1200 kilograms. At this time, even if we halve it, we should be able to get 500 kilograms, right?

That said, since last year, hybrid rice has been promoted on a large scale in the south and has achieved good results. However, the lessons learned more than a decade ago are still fresh in our minds, so many commune members simply do not believe that there is a rice variety that can increase production by so much.

That's why there was so much reluctance among the people when the planting was promoted in Lujiawan this year.

At that time, the commune also used the method of forced allocation, giving Secretary Yang and Captain Zhang a strict order that they must allocate 20% of their paddy fields to grow hybrid rice, and that the paddy fields must be of the highest quality.

For the sake of the political mission, the team leaders reluctantly accepted the offer. They even prepared for reduced yields or even total crop failure in these paddy fields.

Chen Fan remembered that Captain Yang had complained to him privately a few times, saying that if the yield really decreased or there was no harvest, he must go to the commune to demand an explanation, and at the very least, reduce or exempt some of the grain tax.

It wasn't until later, when the rice seedlings bore ears and the millet grains were plump, that everyone's doubts were dispelled.

Now that the rice harvest is complete, the matter can be considered settled.

Just as he was silently speculating, Captain Yang revealed the answer, gesturing with his hands as he said, "900 jin! That's half again as much as ordinary rice! Secretary Qian said it would increase production by 50%, and it's actually true!"

"900 jin per mu?"

Chen Fan quickly came to the answer: "So the experimental field yielded 63000 jin of rice."

Captain Yang nodded vigorously, "Yes, that's over 63000 jin. Adding the ordinary rice, the total yield of this summer's harvest is over 23 jin, an unprecedented bumper harvest!"

Chen Fan's mind raced. "The total income is 232,000 jin. We have to pay 23030 jin of grain to the state and purchase 45500 jin of grain. That leaves us with just over 163,000 jin. Our team has over 340 people. On average, each person can get 480 jin of grain?"

Even if Jiang Lili said that enough should be reserved for the collective, and the remaining food should be distributed at 70% of the original amount, that should be enough to eat!

With so much food, there is virtually no risk of going hungry.

Moreover, this only includes rice, not other sideline income, such as cotton, rapeseed oil, fish from fishponds, pigs from pigsties, chickens, ducks and geese in cages, coarse grains such as corn, sweet potatoes and potatoes grown in lower-grade fields, vegetables from vegetable gardens, and so on.

From this perspective, although the income situation in Lujiawan was not as good as that of working-class families in the city, it was not much worse, and in fact, it was even slightly better in terms of food.

Just as Chen Fan was pondering silently, An Quan next to him said with a smile, "That's about right, but there's one that hasn't been deducted yet."

Chen Fan turned to look at him, "Should we leave enough for the collective?"

Anquan smiled and said, "Yes and no."

He paused for a moment, then explained, "The so-called collective is the production team, but above the production team is the commune. So the official name for this part is 'three levies and five unifications,' which first appeared in the 50s when the production teams were established."

The grain allocated for public use and grain purchases were handed over to the state, while the "three levies and five unified taxes" were paid to the collective. The "three levies" went to the production brigade, including "public reserve fund," "public welfare fund," and "management fee," which were village-level retentions.

Upon hearing this, Chen Fan realized that the commonly referred to "tiliu" was actually this.

Anquan continued, "The public housing fund is a public accumulation fund, mainly used for the maintenance and improvement of the collective assets of the production brigade, such as the maintenance of the brigade headquarters' office space and the investment in the breeding farm, all of which used the public housing fund."

The public welfare fund is mainly used for relief efforts, such as providing assistance to impoverished households. The management fee is simpler; it covers the office expenses of the brigade headquarters and the subsidies (work-point wages) for each cadre.

As he spoke, he turned to look at Chen Fan and smiled, "This also includes your work points expenses."

Chen Fan suddenly realized, "So that's where the brigade headquarters' money comes from?!"

He then recalled the relevant memories of the "Three Promotions and Five Unifications" and immediately said, "Then the 'Five Unifications' must have been handed over to the commune."

Anquan nodded and said, "The levy is called the village-level levy, and the five unified levies are called the commune unified levy. They include five items: education surcharge, family planning fee, militia training fee, civil affairs preferential treatment fee, and private transportation fee (rural road construction fee)."

Yes, there was a family planning policy in those days, and it was implemented starting in 1971, although it was written into the constitution in 82.

Even earlier, starting in the early 60s, family planning had already been advocated.

However, back then, the requirement wasn't to have one child, but rather to encourage having a maximum of two.

There was a slogan at the time: "One is not enough, two is just right, three is too many."

Besides slogans, there were also all sorts of propaganda brochures and banners that were sent to the countryside by family planning workers, who went from team to team to do ideological work with the villagers.

It did have a very good effect at the time. Whether in cities or rural areas, the number of brothers and sisters of the post-70s generation was much smaller than that of the post-50s and post-60s generations.

Even in cities, there are increasingly more single-child families, all influenced by family planning propaganda.

On the contrary, the simpler method of imposing fines later on was far less effective than the previous "propaganda team".

As for the other four items, the education surcharge is for supporting school operations. Regarding whether the village primary school received any funding from the commune, Chen Fan said he hadn't paid attention. There was a militia training fee; the militia's equipment was almost entirely provided by the commune, and there was also a food subsidy for each training session. The civil affairs preferential treatment fee covered the elderly living alone and the like, and the privately-run transportation fee was for road repairs.

Each project had a specific destination, but only the commune leaders knew the details.

Hearing Anquan's words, Chen Fan suddenly thought of a question and asked, "How much do the three levies and five unified taxes need to be paid?"

Anquan smiled and shook his head, saying, "Not much. It mainly depends on the production team's expenses last year, next year's plans, and the production team's harvest. Generally speaking, it's about half the amount of public grain."

This refers only to government grain, not grain purchased.

That is about five percent of total income.

It's only half a percent, doesn't it seem low?
At this moment, Chen Fan secretly let out a long sigh.

It's not high now, but it will be several times higher than the grain tax in the future.

The highest example is more than 15 times, isn't that terrifying?!

Unfortunately, even knowing the outcome, Chen Fan was powerless to do anything about it.

This is something he can't worry about. Forget it, he should focus on taking care of the people around him first!
……

After completing their grain delivery task, the three of them didn't rush back to their squad. Instead, they walked north along the main road of Lujiawan, neither going to Team 6 nor the brigade headquarters, but instead strolling all the way to the small water tower.

Ye Shubao was overseeing the construction progress, while Master Qiu and Master Ma were in charge of directing it.

When they saw the three approaching, they greeted them with smiles.

Master Qiu smiled at Chen Fan and said, "I heard you went to pay your grain tax today?"

If it were for any other reason, they might be a little unhappy, since they stayed to tell Chen Fan a story, but the next day no one was there. Wasn't that deliberately making fun of them?

However, upon hearing that it was for paying grain taxes, he didn't complain at all.

They also came from the countryside, so they naturally knew the importance of delivering grain to the production team. On the contrary, seeing Chen Fan, the coordinator of a brigade, going with the team to deliver grain showed that he was a man of action, which made a better impression on them.

Ye Shubao also inquired about the situation regarding the delivery of public grain.

Captain Yang immediately stepped forward and laughed, “It went very smoothly. Our team was the first to arrive today. The inspector was also very easy to talk to. After starting work, he helped with the inspection, and then the weighing and warehousing went very smoothly. We finished everything by about 11 o’clock.”

Ye Shubao was a seasoned veteran; upon hearing this, he knew there was definitely something fishy going on.

However, since there were outsiders present, he didn't say much, but simply nodded and smiled, "It's good that everything goes smoothly, it's good that everything goes smoothly."

Captain Yang looked up at the cylindrical structure that had already been built to a height of three stories, and asked with his mouth agape, "How tall will this be?"

"Almost there."

Master Qiu took a puff of his cigarette, looked at the water tower, and said, “The terrain here is uneven, and houses are usually built on hillsides. If you build multi-story buildings in the future, the water pressure requirements will be even higher. Even though the terrain here is not low, just to be on the safe side, we should build the water tower a little higher.”

As he spoke, he turned to look at Chen Fan, "Professor Chen designed a height of 15 meters, equivalent to the height of a 5-story building. The bottom is the support section, and the top is the water storage layer. Moreover, for safety and stability, the diameter of the foundation has been enlarged. In fact, with this foundation, it could easily be built to 20 meters without any problem, and the 50-cubic-meter water tank on top could also be enlarged slightly. According to this design standard, as long as you don't build a building higher than 3 stories, just a regular 3-story building, you don't need to worry about water pressure issues."

Captain Yang didn't understand the technical standards that Master Qiu mentioned. He only understood that it was possible to build a three-story building, so he laughed and said, "Why build a three-story building? Building a two-story building is already pretty good."

It's entirely foreseeable that after Chen Fan teaches everyone how to fire brick kilns, Lujiawan will definitely see a construction boom this winter. There might even be people who copy Chen Fan's house design and build two-story houses.

But a three-story building is completely unnecessary!

While they were talking about the small water tower, Anquan and Ye Shubao took the opportunity to discuss the breeding farm on the other side.

Although most of the chickens, ducks, and geese are raised by individual households, the brigade still has to worry about feed and disease prevention. In addition, the rabbits in the farm are gradually getting on track. With Chen Fan's almost meticulous guidance, everything is within expectations and control. The two veterinarians and several farm workers guarding the farm day and night are the best guarantee.

In addition, 11 more mules, horses, donkeys and cattle have been added to the brigade's livestock shed this year. Once these animals grow up, they will greatly help improve the production team's transportation capacity.

So right now, Anquan and Ye Shubao are discussing the sales channels for the next phase.

Anquan dusted off his cigarette ash and frowned as he said, "In the production team, 90% of the households are involved in raising livestock, and the remaining 10% have also increased the number of chickens they raise. There are a total of 586 households in the brigade. Each household that is involved in raising livestock has 30 chickens, 20 ducks, and 10 geese. In addition, each team has its own duck herder, and each team has about 300 ducks and geese."

That adds up to approximately 17000 chickens, 13000 ducks, and 6000 geese—far, far more than the number of rabbits. The Nanhu Commune alone certainly can't handle this much stock. We need to prepare in advance, heeding Xiao Chen's advice, and contact more distribution channels in the county to ensure all these chickens, ducks, and geese are sold.”

Ye Shubao nodded repeatedly, "The chickens we raise generally start to slow down at 6 months and are basically fully grown at 8 months. We brought back the first batch of chicks in March, and it's been more than 4 months. These chickens are fed grass and leaf feed mixed with earthworm meat, and they also eat rice bran every few days. They are almost the same size as the 6-month-old chickens we used to raise, and each one weighs more than 2 pounds. I estimate that they will be ready for market in another month or so."

He sighed softly, "If we don't sell them soon, the hens can still lay eggs, but the roosters are just a waste of feed, it's not worth it. And the ducks and geese, they're actually ready to be sold by now. We need to sell a batch as soon as possible, partly to make room for the new chicks, and partly to get some money back. We need to pay the 'Five Unified Fees' soon, and the brigade only has a little change in the account. We also have to pay back the money we owe to other production teams..."

These chickens, ducks, and geese cannot be considered the private property of the commune members, because the seedlings were provided by the brigade. They were only responsible for raising them. After the chickens, ducks, and geese grew up and were sold, the money from the sale was first deducted from the cost of the seedlings and feed, and the remainder was distributed according to a 6:2:2 ratio.

The commune members' families received 60%, while the production teams and the brigade headquarters each received 20%.

The team may seem to have invested nothing, but what they invested in was management costs. The team veterinarian was responsible for all the disease prevention of the team's poultry and livestock. In addition, the money collected by the team was ultimately used for the team's infrastructure and other expenses, and no one had any objections to this.

Ye Shubao put his hands on his hips, let out a long sigh, and said with a worried look, "The problem is we don't know anyone in the county. How are we supposed to find a way in?!"

The two looked at each other, their sorrow compounded.

Although Anquan is considered a grassroots cadre, he knows a few former educated youth comrades in the county. Those people work in several units in the county, so he can ask them for help.

However, unless a long-term sales channel can be established, such as setting up a fixed stall in a few vegetable markets in the county, it is only possible to sell a few chickens, ducks and geese by relying on a few acquaintances.
When the farm was being built a few months ago, Chen Fan did offer some sales ideas, which sounded easy at the time, but now that it's time to actually do it, he's found it to be fraught with difficulties.

Anquan turned his head and saw Chen Fan listening intently to Master Ma's story, even taking notes with a pen, occasionally letting out a gasp of surprise.

"Wow, so powerful?"

"Wow, there's such a big difference between a skilled craftsman and a junior craftsman!"

"That's why knowledge is important, but experience is also important. Didn't you just teach the provincial experts a lesson this time?"

"Master Ma, please don't be modest. How could a master craftsman be ordinary?!"

Anquan's lips twitched as he listened.

I never expected you to be like this, Teacher Chen!

He turned around and winked at Ye Shubao, who said thoughtfully, "You mean to ask Xiao Chen to come up with a solution?"

Anquan smiled slightly, leaned closer to him and whispered, "That's one aspect. Another thing, don't you think Master Ma and Master Qiu could lend a hand?!"

Ye Shubao was stunned for a moment. "What do you mean?"

Anquan laughed, "The county construction company is a large organization with seven or eight hundred permanent employees, plus another two or three hundred temporary workers. Add their employees' families, and I'm afraid it's more than three thousand people..."

Upon hearing this, Ye Shubao instantly understood, and a chilling smile appeared on his face.

On this sweltering day, Anquan couldn't help but shiver and glared at him fiercely. "It's a perfectly good business deal. Don't make it sound like you're plotting a conspiracy. Be more honest."

Ye Shubao immediately coughed, adjusted his expression and attitude, then put his hands behind his back, exchanged a glance with An Quan, and the two walked towards Chen Fan together.

Chen Fan was thoroughly enjoying the story when he saw the two of them approaching and couldn't help but ask, "Captain Ye, is something the matter?"

At this moment, Ye Shubao's expression was quite heavy.

Anquan sighed and tried to recall how his wife had kicked him out of bed the night before, then said in a low voice, "It was all because of the farm."

Chen Fan was stunned for a moment, and the wise saying flashed through his mind: "Even with a fortune, animals don't count."

No matter how much wealth a company has, a single pandemic can wipe out even a "million-dollar chicken farm"!
He immediately asked anxiously, "What happened to the farm?"

Please, please don't let anything go wrong.

Then Anquan said, "The earliest batch of chickens, ducks and geese have been raised for more than four months. The ducks and geese have a shorter time to market and can be sold a long time ago. The chickens are probably ready in the next two months, but we don't know how to sell them. You have to help us think of a way!"

(End of this chapter)