Traveling back to 1977

Chapter 366 Self-produced and Self-sold
Anquan coughed lightly and looked at Chen Fan, saying, "Your idea was to use waterways for transportation, but after we came back, we discovered a very serious practical problem."

Chen Fan blinked repeatedly. "What's the problem?"

My goodness, don't tell me that water transport is impossible, right?
There was a saying in the 80s, "To get rich, build roads first." Transportation is the biggest obstacle to economic development. If waterways cannot be opened up, with the current land transportation, even if Chen Fan has all kinds of skills, he won't have much of a chance to use them!

However, Chen Fan was truly unaware of the conditions for traveling by water in this era.

All he knew was that in later generations, whether it was flying in the sky, running on the ground, or swimming in the water, everything related to transportation was managed by regulatory departments.

Without a waterway transport permit, goods cannot be transported by ship.

Even a kayak must obtain approval from the relevant authorities to freely navigate the waters.

Otherwise, no one is allowed to go into the water!
As for whether or not a shipping certificate is needed now, he really doesn't know.

Anyway, when he was running business in the county last time, those units made all sorts of excuses and scared Chen Fan away.

What's wrong? Even on this tiny patch of land in Nanhu, boats from Lujiawan can't get navigation permits?

Under Chen Fan's tense gaze, An Quan said seriously, "The main problem is that our boat is too small."

Chen Fan was stunned. ? ? ?
Several seconds passed before he realized, "What do you mean the boat is too small?"

Anquan gestured with his hands and said, "The problem is that there are no big boats in Lujiawan, only small boats. A boat can only carry about half as much cargo as a handcart, and it can't carry any more."

Chen Fan blinked. "I know, I've been here for half a year, how could I not know this?"

After eating water chestnuts that day, Yang Ju and Huang Ying even took him boating to pick water chestnuts, and he learned how to row a boat that very day.

The others looked at each other, wondering what it meant.
Chen Fan continued, "If one boat isn't enough, we'll use three. We'll put the outboard motor on the middle boat, and attach a small boat on each side, securing it with nails and ropes. That way, we can double the cargo capacity."

If that's still not enough, add three more boats in front, making a total of six small boats. The total cargo capacity exceeds that of ten handcarts, but the speed will be a little slower.

Even at a slow speed, it can still travel ten or twenty kilometers per hour, right? Tractors use the same diesel engines, and those tractors can carry more cargo than trucks, and they still manage to move along. A boat on water is certainly better than a tractor, isn't it?
If all else fails, you can add a simple triangular sail for added assistance.

It's about 50 kilometers from Lujiawan to the prefectural committee, and another 10 kilometers to the county seat. Including unloading time, a round trip would easily take more than 5 hours. The return trip would take a maximum of 3 hours; departing at 7 am, they could be back by 3 or 4 pm at the latest. Isn't that much better than a horse-drawn carriage?

(Boat nails, also called rafting nails or rafting nails, were essential tools for rafting in the past.)

Silence fell over the office upon hearing his words.

Secretary Yang looked at Captain Zhang, Captain Zhang looked at Xiao Liewen, Xiao Liewen looked at Ye Shubao, Ye Shubao looked at Zhang Wenliang, Zhang Wenliang kept his head down and dared not look up, while Yang Xingxiu next to him curled his lips slightly, showing his contempt.

Safety blinked. So solving problems can be this simple?
Bundling cargo ships is a common technique used by shipping companies, especially when small boats are traveling on large rivers or even in coastal waters. Bundling ships is necessary to withstand stronger winds and waves.

Last year, the shipping company took on a task to run to Shanghai. When they reached the estuary, they tied six cargo ships together side by side with ropes, and successfully withstood the strong winds and waves at the seaside. After unloading the cargo at the Shanghai dock, they sailed back.

Because inland waterway boats are different from seagoing vessels, seagoing vessels have very deep bottoms and extremely low centers of gravity, with some having bottoms longer than the width of the vessel. In contrast, rivers generally do not have large waves, so a low center of gravity is not necessary. Therefore, inland waterway boats have flat bottoms.

This kind of boat is fine on rivers, but once it enters the sea, even at the seaside, it's no different from a small plank of wood, and it could capsize at any time.

In this way, it would be a remarkable feat for an inland river vessel to make a sea voyage.

Since then, the leaders of the water transport company have been bragging about this incident every time they chat, and they've been doing it for a whole year.

How could I have forgotten this?

However, An Quan knew how to save face. After regaining his composure, he immediately coughed and chuckled, saying, "Of course we know that, but that's not what I wanted to say."

Chen Fan was taken aback. "Didn't you just say the boat was too small? If it's not this one, then which one is it? Is there any other problem?"

Safety gestured and said, "That's right, the method you mentioned is indeed feasible, but it's only a temporary measure when there are no other options, isn't it?"

Chen Fan nodded, looking at him with a face full of suspicion, "What, you can bring back a big ship?"

If there's a big ship, who would want to use a small, assembled sampan? Of course, they'd go straight for the big ship!
Zhang Wenliang, standing nearby, chuckled dryly, "Hehe, we're already building the big ship."

As he spoke, he spread his arms wide, “The hull is 10 meters long and 2 meters wide. We’ve made sure to deepen the cabin a little, which makes it more stable and allows us to carry more cargo.”

Led by team leader Master Wang, the carpenter of Team 4 gathered more than a dozen carpenters to start work, and they'll be able to launch the boat in just over two months. Once they have a sail and a diesel engine, the speed will definitely be impressive.

Chen Fan blinked. The carpenters in Lujiawan actually had this skill?

Seeing that Chen Fan seemed somewhat doubtful, Secretary Yang grinned and said, "Don't you believe me? There are many waterways in the Yunhu area, and there are quite a few shipbuilding workshops of all sizes. Although most of them can only build small boats, there are also many large factories that can build riverboats."

The current ship repair factory of the water transport company is actually an old shipyard that was incorporated into the company. In its early years, that shipyard could produce large sailing ships that were more than ten feet long and three feet wide. The shipbuilders were basically carpenters from the surrounding villages.

Master Wang used to work in that shipyard, building all sorts of wooden boats. All the small boats in our production team were hand-crafted, painstakingly painstakingly. The other production teams were in similar situations. Building a wooden boat is a piece of cake.”

Chen Fan opened his mouth wide and blinked. A dozen zhang is more than 30 meters. Master Wang and his team can actually build such a large sailboat? Really?

But is this the big ship that's being talked about for safety?

Thinking of this, Chen Fan frowned slightly. "So, the question Brother An was asking is that the big ship won't be launched for another two months? Or is it something else?"

Hearing this, An Quan felt somewhat helpless. "That's not what I wanted to say. It's all their fault for interrupting."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Wenliang quickly raised his hands, "Okay, okay, I won't interrupt. Go on, go on."

Anquan glanced at him and said, "You're only not interrupting if you don't say anything."

Zhang Wenliang: "..."

Anquan looked at Chen Fan and continued, "Let me be frank. The shipping company has two broken propellers. They're not the kind of outboard motors that only have a propeller and control lever; they're complete marine propellers that include the marine engine, impeller, shaft, bearings, gearbox, support, and rudder. They're specifically designed for large ships."

The day before yesterday, you went to the prefectural committee, and we went back to Nanhu. That day, I went to see the leaders of the water transport company to discuss purchasing matching outboard motors. Then, in their warehouse, I saw those two broken machines, along with a pile of miscellaneous parts, all from the propellers.

Upon hearing this, Chen Fan understood the meaning of "safety." He immediately leaned forward, his eyes shining, and looked at him, saying, "There's room for maneuver here!"

A outboard motor is the small machine mounted at the stern of a small boat. Once it's fixed to the stern, starting the engine will propel it forward; that little thing at the back of a speedboat is it. A propeller, on the other hand, is the engine room equipment used on large ships. It can be roughly divided into three parts: the bridge, the engine room, and the underwater propeller. Its thrust is much greater than that of an outboard motor.

With propellers, who needs a strut engine?!
It's just two broken thrusters. As long as all the parts are intact, even if some parts are damaged, Chen Fan is confident he can repair the machine.

Of course, if the damage to the parts is too severe, the help of welders and forgers at the repair shop will be needed.

Seeing Chen Fan's reaction, An Quan immediately beamed with pride and said, "Great minds think alike! You and I are on the same page. I discussed it with their repair shop manager and the general manager of the shipping company. If we could help them repair those two sets of thrusters, one of them would be ours!"

As soon as he finished speaking, everyone in the office stared at Chen Fan expectantly.

Starting a decade ago, motorboats have become the mainstream of river transport. The once magnificent large sailing ships that traversed the rivers have gradually disappeared from the waterways. It's not that they've disappeared, but rather that they are becoming increasingly rare, being replaced by more and more motorboats.

If possible, Lujiawan would also like to have its own motorboat. If this can be accomplished, Lujiawan will be considered the best in the entire Nanhu Commune, and even in the entire Gufeng County.

At least until now, they haven't heard of any production team having its own motorboat!
Faced with their eager gazes, Chen Fan didn't hesitate, "Okay, when are we going?"

Anquan smiled and said, "You just got back today, so take a rest first. I'll go to the shipping company and arrange a time with them. If there are no problems, we'll go over tomorrow."

Chen Fan had no objection. In any case, the agreement with the prefectural committee was to start delivering goods from the 1st of next month, so a day or two wouldn't make a difference.

After saying that, he got up, stretched, put his backpack on, picked up the bundle of books, and said with a smile, "Then I'll go back first and come back tomorrow morning."

At this moment, Ye Shubao quickly stood up and said, "You haven't told us how to recruit people for the cooked food workshop yet. What kind of people do you need? You need to give us a plan."

Secretary Yang nodded and said, "People in the countryside all want to go to the city. Although this cooked food workshop is not a formal unit, it is still a team-owned business in the county. It's like a half-worker. These past two days, all the members of the brigade have been eyeing the workshop's worker positions. We need to come up with a fair and just set of rules so that everyone is convinced."

Chen Fan didn't sit down. He picked up his teacup, took a sip, wiped his mouth, and looked at them with a smile. "Simple, just two conditions. First, only female workers are allowed."

Ultimately, this is kitchen work. You all know what the men of Lujiawan are like, so I don't need to elaborate. To ensure quality and to allow them to learn and start working as quickly as possible, it's best to hire only female workers.

Upon hearing this, Yang Xingxiu burst out laughing. She knew without turning her head that everyone was looking at her, so she quickly covered her head, but her shoulders were still shaking.

These days, countless people have flocked to the brigade headquarters for a chance to work in the county, and the vast majority of them are men. In the end, my father got angry and sent them all back.

After she got home, she discussed with her father that a certain percentage of the spots must be reserved for women. Her father was vague and refused to give her a definite answer.

Today, Chen Fan made the decision to hire only female workers. Knowing that the men in the village would be very happy when this news was announced, she couldn't help but laugh.

Secretary Yang glanced at his daughter with a dark expression, then looked around and said, "What Xiao Chen said may not be pleasant to hear, but it's the truth. There really aren't many men in Lujiawan who can cook, and it's convenient for them to find women to stay with them, so nothing bad will happen. I agree with that."

Although Captain Zhang, Xiao Liewen, and Ye Shubao felt a little awkward, they could only nod in agreement, and the sentence was considered passed.

Chen Fan continued, "The second rule is that you must be diligent and hardworking, and your academic performance shouldn't be too outstanding."

These words left everyone stunned.

Anquan looked at him, puzzled. "Being diligent and hardworking is understandable, but why is it wrong to have good grades?"

Yang Xingxiu asked with a puzzled look, "Aren't you saying it backwards? People with good grades are more quick-witted and learn things faster, so why isn't that good?"

Chen Fan chuckled and said, "There are only a few steps to learning how to make cooked food. As long as you're not too stupid, you can learn it all in two or three days at most."

He didn't say something: the real secret to making cooked food lies entirely in the recipes for sauces and braising spices. Naturally, the workshops that make these things should be located in Lujiawan. People in the county town just need to follow the steps and don't need to be too clever.

He paused for a moment, then continued, "For such simple procedures, just find hardworking and reliable people. Shouldn't we keep the relatively smart ones for future use?"

He looked around at everyone and smiled, "Once the cooked food workshop is on track and the market share from the county and prefectural committees is consolidated, we will definitely continue to expand the scale in the next step."

As he spoke, he looked at Ye Shubao and An Quan, "You promised other brigades that once our farm makes money, we'll help them make money together, right?"

Ye Shubao and An Quan both nodded in agreement.

Although these words were just empty promises they made to others in order to get the seedlings, if they really succeeded in building the farm and had the ability, they wouldn't mind helping their fellow teams out.

After all, over the past one or two hundred years, several villages have intermarried and are related to each other. Moreover, they have been helping each other all these years. Without these relationships, even if they made a huge promise, they might not have been able to get so many seedlings on credit.

Chen Fan continued, "That's it. The production capacity of Lujiawan is ultimately limited. If we bring in four more production teams, we can expand our livestock breeding business significantly. Our cooked food shops may open in the prefectural committee, in every county, and even in the provincial capital. Our live poultry business will also grow bigger and bigger."

At that time, we will need a lot of specialized talent.

He turned to look at Yang Xingxiu and smiled, “I donated so many books to the team to build a library, which is to prepare for the future. So the main task for people with strong learning abilities right now is to study hard. When the production team needs them in the future, they can step up. And the positions at that time will definitely be better than being a cooked food worker.”

Yang Xingxiu nodded in sudden realization, "I see, I understand now!"

The others nodded in agreement.

Anquan said thoughtfully, "Xiao Chen, I feel like you're playing a big game. Expand the village school so that all the children can attend school. Those with good grades can continue their studies, and even if they don't get a spot in university, they can attend a correspondence university or find books on their favorite subjects in the library. These people will become the reserve talent for Lujiawan."

Those who didn't do well academically were assigned less complicated jobs, whether it was farming in the team or working in a workshop. Those who had gone to school and received some education generally did better than those who hadn't, since they could understand agricultural textbooks and knew how to farm scientifically.

As he spoke, he looked up at Chen Fan and said, "Cultivating talent on one hand and developing a side business on the other. When the side business grows big and needs people, those trained talents can fill in. This is like self-production and self-consumption, right?"

After he finished speaking, Chen Fan shrugged and smiled helplessly, "Our production team has neither the talent assigned by the higher authorities nor the development support from any unit. We have to rely on ourselves for everything, so we can only rely on our own efforts and produce and sell our own products."

Upon hearing this, Secretary Yang pursed his lips and slowly nodded, "I see."

He then looked up at Chen Fan and said, "I hadn't thought this much before. I thought that a side business was just a side business, and that expanding the school was about improving education. I never imagined that the two could be connected."

At this moment, Ye Shubao also said from the side, "Xiao An just forgot to mention something: expanding the school and cultivating talents can support the development of side businesses. Once these side businesses develop, the production team will have money, and we will have more money to build schools, focus on education, and cultivate more and better talents."

What is this? This is mutual encouragement, and how things can get better and better!

Xiao Liewen nodded in deep agreement, "Yes, that makes sense. This side business is like a field army, mainly responsible for fighting, while the school is like a logistics unit, providing support to the soldiers. If the battle is won, there will be more food, guns, and cannons, so things will only get better and better!"

Captain Zhang thought for a moment, feeling that they had already said all the nice things, and was racking his brains for something to say when suddenly an idea struck him. He looked up at Chen Fan and chuckled, "Little Chen, that little water tower is ready. When do you want to turn it on? Getting running water connected will be a welcome back party for you."

(End of this chapter)