Traveling back to 1977

Chapter 44 My head is spinning

Zhang Changjiang chuckled as he smoked, "I only remembered this this morning, so I went to the warehouse to see if there was anything I could give as a return gift. That's when I saw that pile of supplies. Anyway, they were all things that the educated youth didn't want. They've all left, so it doesn't matter if I give them away."

Moreover, these items are all brand new; the old ones were returned while the new ones were kept. They were less than a year old. Taking out so much stuff, along with a few new outfits and some cloth, no one could say anything wrong.

Zhang Guangwen suddenly shook his head. “What do you think those educated youth were thinking? If they were given money and receipts and told to buy things themselves at the supply and marketing cooperative, it would be understandable if they didn’t buy them to save money. The commune has already converted the funds into supplies in advance, and they can just come and collect them with their receipts. It’s such a waste that they just say they don’t want such good things.”

Xiao Liewen snorted coldly, "What else can they think? It's just that life has gotten better, so they've started to be extravagant. What we consider good things are worthless in some people's eyes. If we give them to them, they'll complain. It's good that they don't want them. They can keep them for important purposes in the team. This time, we've saved a lot of money."

He took a drag of his cigarette and continued, "Old Cao wanted to transfer me to the county to be a cadre, but I absolutely refused. I just can't stand the people there."

Ye Shubao chuckled, "Yes, yes, we should be noble and upright, and not go along with their corrupt practices."

Then he changed the subject, "Let's get down to business. The brigade only provides one set of supplies for the educated youth, plus a few sets of clothes and two pairs of shoes. How will the individual teams arrange that?"

Zhang Changjiang smoked his cigarette and thought for a moment before saying, "It's not easy for the squad either. Since the brigade has paid the majority, the squad should just do its part. As long as we show our respect, that's fine."

Zhang Guangwen laughed and said, "What does 'giving a token' mean? We can't just give him two handfuls of rice, can we?"

Zhang Changjiang glared at him and said, "Are you trying to fob me off like a beggar?"

Zhang Guangwen quickly said, "What I mean is that it can't be too little. We can't afford to produce industrial goods, so we should try to produce as much agricultural product as possible."

Xiao Liewen waved his hand, "We still need to act within our capabilities."

Zhang Guangwen clicked his tongue and said to him, "Look, Old Yang from Team 6 saved his life. It's only right that he should accept his teachings. No one would gossip if he didn't give a penny."

But Old Yang is so generous; he sent us quilts and clothes. If he's going to do that, shouldn't you let us take a look?

Xiao Liewen looked around, then considered for a moment and said, "In my opinion, let's go with a standard of 10 yuan, put together 3 yuan for meat, 5 yuan for rice, and 2 yuan for cotton. Cotton can be used to make cotton-padded jackets and quilts, which can be used in both the city and the countryside."

He paused for a moment, then added, "I was just saying, we don't necessarily have to make just these few things. Other things like rapeseed oil, soy sauce, vinegar, etc. are all fine too. Anyway, they're all products produced by the production team, so it won't cost much. I'm not afraid of people gossiping."

He then looked at Zhang Guangwen and said, “You can’t compare to Yang Chuanfu. They provided the materials themselves, and then the team gave them work points. Besides, they donated clothes, and the team also provided clothes. With so many clothes, how long can that kid wear them? That’s enough.”

When Captain Yang came last time, he only mentioned that he, Accountant Liu, and Warehouse Keeper Huang were giving things, without explaining the specifics. They assumed that those things were return gifts for Chen Fan, and unknowingly used that as a standard.

Since Captain Yang and his team mainly used homespun cloth and old cloth salvaged from their own homes, plus cotton, although it looked like they had a lot of stuff, it wasn't actually very valuable, costing only about 10 yuan.

Otherwise, the fabric needed to make just two single-layer garments would cost over ten yuan outside, and even if they were generous, they wouldn't just give away such things.

The brigade provided so many supplies, so a standard of 10 yuan for the squad should be enough.

Zhang Guangwen nodded first, "I have no objection to the standard of 10 yuan."

Then he looked at the three of them again, "The problem is whether the price is based on the purchase price or the selling price, and there's a significant difference between the two."

Zhang Changjiang and the other two immediately understood what he meant.

Take cotton as an example. The purchase price of seed cotton is 50 cents per kilogram, and the market price is 63 cents. The purchase price of ginned cotton is 70 cents, and the supply and marketing cooperative sells it for 90 cents per kilogram. Cotton coupons are also required. When this cotton is sent to the prefectural committee and the provincial capital, the price reaches 1 to 1.2 yuan. The price difference is half.

If the price is half the price, the quantity will be half the price. At the market price, 2 jin of cotton would be enough, but at the purchase price, 3 jin would be required.

There were also rice, pork... Several prices swirled before his eyes, and Xiao Liewen felt dizzy. He quickly rubbed his forehead and said, "Oh dear, you guys decide on this, my head is spinning."

Ye Shubao quickly followed suit, "Captain, you decide. I have no objection."

Zhang Changjiang squinted and thought for a moment, "How about this, let's just standardize it. Each team will get 20 jin of rice, two pieces of cured meat, two one-foot-long cured fish, 3 jin of cotton, and 1 jin of rapeseed oil. We can also just throw in some other cheap stuff. That should be enough to make it a fun event."

A piece of cured pork weighs about two pounds. This year, pork is 80 cents a pound, which is 3.2 yuan. A foot-long carp with salt costs 1 yuan, which is more than 5 yuan. 20 pounds of rice costs 2.8 yuan. Add 3 pounds of cotton and 1 pound of rapeseed oil, and it will cost more than 10 yuan.

And that hasn't even included the votes!

Zhang Guangwen slapped his thigh, "Now it's clear!"

Ye Shubao chuckled and said, "Then I'll have Sanhu send the militia to each team to inform them."

He then prepared to get up and go find someone.

Speak of the three tigers, and the three tigers arrive.

Xiao Liewen looked at a group of people walking over from not far away, "Look, isn't that Sanhu in the front? And who's that person next to him?"

A sudden thought struck him: "Could it be Chen Fan?"

Ye Shubao looked over and nodded in deep agreement, "It's possible. Judging by the time, it's about time."

Zhang Changjiang squinted at the sight, his brows furrowing as he muttered, "Old Yang said it's a baby, but this baby is way too big!"

Sanhu is the militia company commander and is considered tall in Lujiawan, but Chen Fan is half a head taller than him, probably over 1.8 meters tall.

……

Chen Fan followed Zhang Wenliang toward Team 5. After passing through the poplar grove, they could see a cluster of houses.

The houses here are different from those in Team 6.

It's not the room type, but the layout.

The houses in Team 6 are not adjacent to each other, and the households are far apart. Even those on the same roadside are staggered to ensure good ventilation.

The houses in Team 5 were similar to those in rural areas in later times, with houses lined up one after another, one household after another.

Along a dirt road, on one side is a slope covered with shrubs, and on the other side are mud-walled houses.

However, Chen Fan clearly saw a pond at the end of the earthen-walled house, and on the other side of the pond was a large area of ​​blue-brick and tile houses.

That's the Lu family's old house?

No, it should be called the brigade headquarters of Lujiawan!

(End of this chapter)