Traveling back to 1977

Chapter 599 Come back soon
When Chen Fan accompanied his uncle's family back to Lujiawan last time, he heard Zhang Wenliang and the others say that business in Lujiawan was growing bigger and bigger.

It's not that they opened more stores; the main thing is that they got in touch with the machinery factory and the cotton mill through Chen Fan's connections.

These two factories are far superior to those shipping companies, clinics, and other similar establishments that were in operation when they first started last year.

On the one hand, they have a large number of employees, all of them are large factories with tens of thousands of employees. On the other hand, it is well known that the larger the factory, the better the benefits.

Lujiawan then supplied the logistics to the two factories, providing both cooked food and live poultry. It was by opening up these two channels that they were able to successfully acquire the poultry and livestock of the four production teams, including Bailanghu.

That's why the leaders of the brigade headquarters readily agreed when they heard that Qingshan Commune's request was to help them get rich.

Chen Fan glanced at Xiao Liewen, who was all smiles, took out a cigarette he had somehow gotten from someone, handed it to him, and then lit one for himself.

He exhaled a puff of smoke before looking at Xiao Liewen with a troubled expression. "Captain, I remember Master Zhu saying that there was a time when pork rationing was abolished, but it still couldn't be sold. Is that true?"

Xiao Liewen had just picked up the cigarette and brought it close to his eyes when he discovered it was a Yunyan cigarette with a filter tip. He was about to ask where it came from.

Hearing Chen Fan's words, he was taken aback for a moment, turned to look at him, thought for a moment and said, "I remember there was such a thing. At that time, I heard that you didn't need coupons to buy pork, so I asked my son to go to the street and buy half a catty."

He tilted his head, looking at Chen Fan with a puzzled expression. "Why did you suddenly bring this up?"

Chen Fan smiled and said, "Back then, pork didn't require ration coupons, and you only bought half a jin?"

Upon hearing this, Xiao Liewen couldn't help but chuckle. "What, are you implying that half a jin isn't enough?"

He chuckled and said, "Why don't you go out and ask around? Back then, how many families ate meat every day? During festivals, it was considered good if they got two ounces of meat."

Chen Fan clicked his tongue, "That's such a waste! Pork is no longer rationed, why don't you buy more?"

Xiao Liewen rolled his eyes. "Who wouldn't want to eat meat every day? But you need to have money in your pocket first!"

He took a drag of his cigarette, then suddenly realized something and turned to look at Chen Fan. "You're implying something," he said.

Chen Fan chuckled and said, "Captain, you just said that even if we had two more communes, we could sell them all. I just want to ask, is it really possible to sell them all?"

Xiao Liewen frowned, staring intently at him. "Just say what you have to say."

Chen Fan nodded. "That's what I think. In the entire Yunhu area, there are only a few companies with good benefits: the machinery factory, including the newly established Yunhu Automobile Factory, the cotton mill, and our Lujiawan factory."

The rest aren't necessarily bad. For example, chemical factories, shipping companies, passenger transport companies, supply and marketing cooperatives, etc., all of these units can be considered to have good benefits.

But then...

Chen Fan leaned against the table and smiled at Xiao Liewen, "Just like back then when pork didn't require ration coupons, did that mean the employees of these units could eat meat every day just because it didn't require coupons?"

Xiao Liewen frowned, lowered his head in thought, and remained silent.

Chen Fan took a drag of his cigarette and continued, "Looking at it now, Luwan Delicatessen has the advantage of being near the dock and has several large clients, including the health system, cotton mills, and machinery factories. It's really making its business very successful."

But then what?

He looked at Xiao Liewen, his smile gradually fading, and said seriously, "There are only a few good companies; most are ordinary ones. Jiangnan Province is a Class 6 wage zone. Let's not even talk about senior technicians; the salary of an ordinary formal worker is just over 30. Unless it's a dual-income family, a worker has to support 3 to 5 people."

If you have a few poor relatives, they'll lend you a little here and a little there, and you can only afford to eat. If each person gets 6 or 7 yuan a month, that's considered good.

Back then, pork wasn't rationed, but not many people bought it. Why? Ordinary people couldn't afford it, and those who could didn't dare to overeat.

Is it possible to expect other workplaces to have employees like those in machine factories and cotton mills, eating chicken, duck, and meat every day?

After the reform and opening up, restrictions on livestock farming in rural areas were lifted, and indeed many farmers and growers became wealthy. The first person in Beijing to buy a private car was a professional chicken farmer. His farm produced several thousand eggs every day, and after making money, he spent more than 10,000 yuan to buy a used Toyota.

But this is, after all, a very small minority.

In rural areas, people rely heavily on the weather for their livelihood.

Is it that they don't want to raise more chickens and sell them at the market? ... Ordinary people have no connections or channels, so they can only sell them at the market.

But city dwellers don't eat meat every day. It's not uncommon for a chicken to take half a month to sell after being brought in and out of the market.

With weak demand, supply naturally shrinks.

Even the famous "vegetable basket project" was only proposed in the late 80s after urban residents' incomes had increased significantly, based on demand.

How can you talk about high consumption without a high income?!
That's the situation right now.

In Chen Fan's view, it was just right that Lujiawan led the other four production teams of Nanhu Commune to get rich together.

But if we add the neighboring Qingshan Commune, he would have reservations.

After hearing Chen Fan's words, Xiao Liewen felt a chill run down his spine, and his earlier smugness vanished completely.

He took two deep drags on his cigarette, then suddenly stood up, opened the cabinet behind him, pushed aside a few Type 56 semi-automatic pistols, and took out a walkie-talkie from the very back.

Walkie-talkie?
Chen Fan stared at the walkie-talkie, which was as big as a brick, without blinking. When did he buy this thing?
Xiao Liewen held the walkie-talkie, first checking if the channel was correct, then held it to his mouth, his face like that of a general commanding a battle, and shouted in a deep voice, "Hello, hello, hello, this is Xiao Liewen, this is Xiao Liewen, please respond if you hear me, please respond if you hear me."

A few moments later, several voices came through the walkie-talkie.

"I am Lao Yang, I am Lao Yang, I am here."

"I am Lao Zhang, I am Lao Zhang, I am here."

"I am Lao Ye, I am Lao Ye, I am here."

“I am Sanhu, I am Sanhu, Master, what’s wrong? I’m busy here. A few wild boars just ran over from Yangshan Commune. They swam over from the river. I’m busy hunting them.”

Chen Fan: One for everyone? That's extravagant!
Xiao Liewen's face darkened. "What time is it? Still hunting wild boars? I think you're the pig."

Chen Fan: Try not to laugh.

The next second, Captain Zhang's voice came out, "Ahem, Lao Xiao, it's fine to scold your apprentice, but don't broaden the scope of your attack."

Xiao Liewen rolled his eyes. "Stop talking nonsense. Xiao Chen is back, so all of you should come back right now."

Secretary Yang said, "Little Chen is back? That's great. Didn't Sanhuzi hunt a wild boar? It's a good opportunity for him to show off his skills."

Chen Fan couldn't even suppress his laughter anymore and quickly said, "My apprentice has never dealt with wild boar before. Bring it to my house and let Huang Li handle it."

Xiao Liewen was also stunned. "That girl can butcher pigs?" Chen Fan chuckled. "This is a rare opportunity. It's not like we're slaughtering a pig. Let Brother Sanhu assist her, she'll do the chopping, and I'll give her pointers. I guarantee there won't be any problems."

Xiao Liewen, his face dark, picked up the walkie-talkie and said, "Sanhuzi, take one of them to Xiao Chen's house. We'll be there right away."

He paused for a moment, then continued, “Stop looking, something’s happened. There’s a problem with the contract from Qingshan Commune. Xiao Chen just told me. Everyone come over here right away. I mean, to Xiao Chen’s house. Let’s discuss it together.”

Upon hearing this, Secretary Yang and the others stopped joking and replied, "Received."

Before Xiao Liewen could put the walkie-talkie away, Chen Fan approached him and said, "Let me see this."

Xiao Liewen was annoyed at the moment, and immediately said, "It's just a walkie-talkie, what's so interesting about it?"

Despite saying that, she still handed it to Chen Fan.

Chen Fan picked it up and weighed it in his hand. "Goodness, it's really heavy."

(Chrysanthemum brand walkie-talkie, produced by Jiangnan Electronics Factory, the same size as a mobile phone)

He examined it for a moment, then handed the walkie-talkie to Xiao Liewen, "This isn't cheap, is it?"

Xiao Liewen put the walkie-talkie away and locked the cabinet, saying, "The walkie-talkie itself isn't expensive; the expensive part is the radio. That radio can support 20 handsets and cost several thousand yuan."

He put the key in his pocket and said while packing his things, "I can't not buy this. Ever since Lujiawan became famous, people often come to visit and learn. Some give us a heads-up in advance, while others don't even give us a heads-up. But since they have letters of introduction, we can't just ignore them."

The biggest problem back then was finding people. Once Lao Yang and the others went out, no one knew which team they were in. To facilitate communication, the commune suggested we get a radio and each person carry a walkie-talkie.

He gestured to Chen Fan and walked out, chuckling, "But I must say, this thing really works. Not only in Lujiawan, but throughout the entire Nanhu Commune, including parts of Qingshan Commune to the east and Yangshan Commune to the west, you can hear it."

As you just saw, this thing only requires you to hold it and shout; it's much more convenient than before.

Chen Fan followed beside him and asked curiously, "For those visitors, are their food and lodging provided by us, or are they responsible for their own?"

Xiao Liewen's face stiffened, and he turned to look at him.

I'm talking to you about the walkie-talkie, and you're asking me who's responsible for my food and lodging?

That's completely irrelevant!
Looking at his expression, Chen Fan couldn't help but chuckle and said, "Walkie-talkies, I know what they are. The shipping company has shortwave radios on every ship. But they really work well, the money was well spent."

Xiao Liewen's lips twitched slightly. Could you be any more perfunctory with your words?

He pushed a bicycle out of the yard and was about to speak when Chen Fan suddenly whistled.

The next second, a neighing sound rang out, and the sound of a mare's hooves could be heard coming from afar.

Xiao Liewen couldn't help but chuckle again, "Your horse is quite intelligent. It's just that there's no war now, otherwise it would definitely be a good horse on the battlefield."

Chen Fan nodded first, then shook his head. "It's a good horse, but it's not suitable as a warhorse. It's too timid, and its speed isn't top-notch either."

Its son, however, is quite promising; in a few years, he'll definitely grow into a fine warhorse.

While warhorses are generally castrated, it depends on the circumstances. With Chen Fan's personal training, the foal naturally won't be as easily agitated as a wild horse. It retains its fierceness and is obedient, making it a top-tier warhorse.

But as Xiao Liewen said, there are no battles to fight now, so even the best horses can only be kept locked up and watched; they can forget about galloping across the battlefield.

When the mare came over, Chen Fan leaped up and sat on the horse.

Seeing his posture, Xiao Liewen couldn't help but nod secretly.

His skills have improved again.

Chen Fan rode a horse, and Xiao Liewen rode a bicycle, heading towards Team 6.

After the fifth team left, Xiao Liewen continued the previous topic, saying, "At the beginning, when some people came to visit and learn, we treated them to a few meals. As for accommodation, our team doesn't have a guesthouse, and staying at the brigade headquarters is even more inappropriate, so we could only go to the guesthouse in town."

Later on, more and more people came to visit, sometimes as many as four or five groups a day.

At that time, a few of us discussed it and consulted Secretary Qian of the commune. We finally decided to stop hosting these visitors who came to learn from our experience.

He turned to look at Chen Fan and laughed, "Spending money is a small matter. The money our team earns in a day is enough for these people to eat and drink well for a year. The main problem is that some of them are refusing to leave because they see free food and drink. Isn't that causing trouble?"

Upon hearing this, Chen Fan couldn't help but chuckle.

Believe it or not, there are quite a few people like that.

Take business trips, for example. Some people really dislike them, even if they receive a stipend. It's because business trips are tiring. Whether it's by train, bus, or ship, everything is slow, and the constant transfers are exhausting.

Therefore, anyone with even slightly better circumstances is unwilling to go out.

But some people really want to go on business trips.

First of all, there is a allowance for business trips, ranging from 0.5 yuan to 1.5 yuan per day depending on the company's benefits. For managers, it is even higher, with some receiving 2.5 yuan per day.

The state only stipulates the salary grade standards, but does not specify the exact amount of welfare subsidies. As long as it is not too outrageous, the competent authorities will not care how the subordinate units determine welfare.

Conversely, the relevant authorities are quite happy to set higher welfare benefits for their subordinate units. After all, this gives them room to maneuver.

In addition to travel allowances, another benefit is the ability to exchange for national food coupons.

The most crucial aspect of national grain coupons, besides their unlimited applicability, was the absence of an expiration date. Local grain coupons, on the other hand, had an expiration date, typically valid only for the current month and becoming invalid afterward.

As a result, many families began to save national grain coupons as if they were money, in case of emergencies.

So there are benefits to business trips, so some people are particularly happy to travel. If the trip is long enough, the subsidies can even be higher than their salary.

In addition, when I travel to other places for business, I can often bring back some local specialties that I can't buy locally, which is another benefit.

The same principle applies to those who come to visit Lujiawan.

Since there's good food and drinks here, and they're provided for free, of course people don't want to leave.

Just find some excuse that you haven't studied enough, and linger for three to five days. How much food and money could you save?!
Seeing that Chen Fan understood, Xiao Liewen chuckled and said, "I must say, ever since we started charging fees, most of those study groups that used to last at least 3 days or as long as a week now only stay for one or two days, which saves us a lot of trouble."

(End of this chapter)