Traveling back to 1977

Chapter 39 Trust Needs to Be Strengthened
After discussing the past, let's talk about the present.

Master Zhu lifted his shirt to wipe away his sweat, his double chin trembling.

This suddenly reminded Chen Fan of a saying, "A flower in the department store, a double chin in the food station"—so that's what it means!

Fat-headed Master Zhu turned to look at Captain Yang and said with a smile, "There shouldn't be any substandard pigs in the team this year, right?"

"Uh-huh."

Captain Yang swallowed the food in his mouth, nodded and smiled, "The standard of 120 jin is relatively easy to meet."

Master Zhu grinned broadly, "Easy to meet the standard? Do you know how this standard was determined?"

Captain Yang was stunned for a moment, staring intently at him. "How did you get here?"

This question really hit him hard. As the production team leader, the pig farming qualification rate is also an important indicator. If the standard is set too high, it will definitely be difficult to meet the target. If the standard is set too low, then his work will be easier to complete, and he will naturally pay more attention to it.

Not only him, but also Liu Jujiang and the other four Yang brothers stared blankly at Master Zhu.

Master Zhu held up two fingers; his hand was shiny and smooth, covered in thick grease, even thicker than the soup in the stewed pork dish.

He looked around at everyone and said mysteriously, "When the county set the standard at the meeting, the initial standard was 138 jin, which is higher than the 135 jin last year (according to the lunar calendar, 75). It can't be less than a jin, because if the pig is smaller, there definitely won't be enough fat."

As a result, all the directors of the food stations in the county's 13 communes disagreed. Why? Because the standards were set too high; what if the targets couldn't be met?
Last year, because the bonuses were canceled, we almost didn't meet our sales target. Our director came back furious and yelled at several purchasing staff, accusing them of taking bribes and favors, which nearly caused us to fall short of the target. So, we definitely can't do that this year. After some haggling, we settled on a standard of 120 jin (60 catties).

Then he turned to Chen Fan and said, "Whether the purchase standards are high or low is related to whether farmers can break even on pig farming. If they meet the standards, they can make a little money. If they don't, the extra meat can only be sold to the production team. The production team goes through one intermediary, and in the end, it still flows to the food station. Do you think the farmers will suffer a huge loss!"

Chen Fan stared wide-eyed, looking as if his eyes had been opened to a whole new world.

Holy crap, you can play like this?
……

After the drinks had flowed freely, Captain Yang finally remembered that Chen Fan still had to go to Team 5 of Lujiawan to teach how to kill turtles, and that Master Zhu also had to rush back to the commune for some business, so they finished their meal and parted ways.

As Master Zhu was leaving, he grabbed Chen Fan's arm and said, "You're a good young man. Next time you go to the commune, come find me at the food station, and I'll treat you to drinks."

It's rare to find someone willing to listen to him talk about those old things. Today he had a good talk and a good drink. This young man is worth befriending.

Of course, it would be even better if I could show off my skills again next time we meet.

That twice-cooked pork was really to my liking, the stir-fried pork liver was delicious, and the blood sausage was also very good. The food station doesn't have much else, but it has a lot of pork, especially offal; I'm tired of eating it every day. I have to find a way to learn how to make those two dishes; all that offal has been wasting!

Chen Fan readily agreed with a smile.

From Captain Yang's flattery of Master Zhu, it's clear that this pig butcher is no ordinary person.

While watching the pig slaughter, Jiang Lili secretly told him that the food station was a hurdle. When a pig was carried over by the purchasing agent, whether it weighed a few pounds more or less depended on the purchasing agent's scale. If the agent slightly lowered the scale with his little finger, the pig would pass the test. If the agent pressed down on the scale, even if it met the standard, the pig would have to be carried back.

Therefore, people working at the food station were all a generation older than the people in the production team. Ordinary commune members, regardless of age, had to call them "uncle." It shouldn't be surprising if people in their forties or fifties called young people in their twenties or thirties "uncle" or even "grandpa."

Even the production team leader or brigade leader had to call him "brother" to his face, otherwise you might offend him somewhere and he might say something mean to you, and then he would put pressure on the scales in your team. Even if you went to the commune director, it wouldn't help.

Because the food station and the commune were not on the same line, just like the director of the supply and marketing cooperative, who could be arrogant in front of the prefectural party committee leaders.

If you have no say in someone's affairs but still need their help, you have to be very attentive to them.

Although Master Zhu wasn't a purchasing agent, he was one of the veterans of the food station, and everyone respected him. For people living in the countryside, having a good relationship with someone like him was a hundred times better than getting on the good side of a county-level leader.

Chen Fan was naturally happy to befriend such a person, and immediately agreed, even saying that he would cook for him the next time: sliced ​​beef and tripe in chili sauce, stir-fried pork heart in soy sauce, stir-fried pork lung with green peppers, dry pot pork intestines, stir-fried pork kidneys...

Hearing that Master Zhu seemed hungry again, he turned to leave.

Captain Yang laughed heartily, and seeing that he was about to leave, he quickly grabbed him. He then took out four packs of cigarettes and two yuan, and took the four pig trotters and a piece of pork tied with a rope from Aunt Yang's hand, stuffing them into Master Zhu's hands. "You've worked hard today. Come back another day when you have time, and we'll have a couple of drinks." Master Zhu didn't stand on ceremony, putting the money in his pocket and the cigarettes in his pocket as well. He gave the pig trotters and pork to his apprentice, and then took Captain Yang's hand, saying, "Today was indeed too busy. I still have to slaughter pigs when I get back. I'll come again next time and try the turtle meat you mentioned earlier."

Captain Yang immediately pointed at Chen Fan, "Then you have to find him; he's the real expert when it comes to making soft-shelled turtles."

Chen Fan readily agreed, which made Master Zhu very happy.

After politely seeing off the second senior brother assassin, Chen Fan turned to Captain Yang and said, "Captain, look at me, I reek of alcohol. Should I go back and wash my face before going to Team 5?"

Captain Yang nodded. "It's only 12 o'clock. You can go back and rest for a bit. Anyway, Team 5 is nearby. It only takes about half an hour to get there. It's fine if you go at one or two o'clock."

Chen Fan waved his hand, "Well then, Captain, I'll head back now."

Captain Yang waved to Jiang Lili, "Keep an eye on her."

Jiang Lili nodded quickly, "Oh, okay."

After leaving Captain Yang's house, Chen Fan opened his cotton-padded coat and strode back. Jiang Lili followed beside him, watching him carefully, afraid that he might slip and fall.

Seeing Jiang Lili's appearance, Chen Fan chuckled and said, "Don't worry, I'm fine."

He paused for a moment, looked back, and said mysteriously, "The alcohol content of the wine would normally decrease after it was heated, but just now when they weren't looking, I poured a little wine into the hot water in the large bowl. I look like I smelled strongly of alcohol, but I didn't actually drink much."

"what?"

Jiang Lili was startled at first, then lowered her head and couldn't help but smile while pursing her lips.

She hadn't expected Chen Fan to have this trick up his sleeve, and probably no one else had either. These days, there are only people who complain about not having enough wine, not people who waste it.

Chen Fan opened his shirt, feeling a sense of relief.

I've had a pretty good day this morning.

First, I helped set up the stove and did odd jobs, which added 11 points to my housework experience. Then I watched Master Zhu slaughter pigs, which unlocked my slaughtering skills. Next, I taught them how to make blood sausage, twice-cooked pork, and stir-fried pig liver, which added 10 points to my teaching experience and 5 points to my cooking experience.

Afterwards, we ate and drank, and not only did we get a full meal, but our constitution also increased by 0.2 and our strength by 0.3.

The current attribute panel looks like this:
Physique: 8.2/10
Strength: 6.3/10
Agility: 7/10
Intelligence: 9/10
Spirit: 9/10
skill:
Household chores LV3 (20/100)

Beastly Language LV1 (4/10)

Cooking Skill LV4 (20/200)

Teaching Skills LV2 (20/50)

Butchering Skill LV2 (5/50)

Compared to the blank slate of a weakling the day before yesterday, the progress has been rapid.

Chen Fan was now filled with hope for the future.

Walking down the street, he suddenly remembered that Captain Yang had given Master Zhu two yuan and a piece of meat earlier, and couldn't help but ask, "Master Zhu and his colleagues are government employees. When they come to slaughter pigs and collect money, is it a private matter or a government matter?"

Upon hearing this question, Jiang Lili fell silent. After a long while, she whispered, "I...I don't know either."

Chen Fan understood immediately. He turned to look at her and chuckled, "Look, I've been telling you everything, and you're still trying to trick me. The trust between us still needs to be strengthened."

(End of this chapter)