Traveling back to 1977

Chapter 657 Earth University

He hadn't won a single hand, and when Chen Fan rode his horse to the brigade headquarters, he was still sulking.

He patted the horse's rump and told it to go play by itself, then walked into the brigade office and gave the group of people who were having a great time a disapproving look. "Is the job fair over already?"

Zhang Wenliang tossed him a cigarette and asked curiously, "Why are you acting like you've swallowed gunpowder? Who upset you?"

Chen Fan let out a long sigh and sat down on the bench by the window. "I had just sat down and was playing cards with Master Liu and the others. I was about to win when someone ran over and called me to the brigade headquarters. Master Liu and the others cheated by throwing away their cards, and I didn't win a single hand."

Upon hearing him mention playing cards, Secretary Yang and the others, who had been beaming with excitement just moments before, immediately changed their expressions and dared not utter a sound.

Zhang Wenliang lowered his head and silently smoked. It turned out he had gotten himself into trouble.

Captain Xiao, relying on his status as his master, sighed and said, "Master Lu used to dominate Shanghai with his card skills. You've inherited his true teachings, so you shouldn't be causing trouble for your fellow villagers here. Go play outside if you want to."

Captain Zhang nodded repeatedly, "Master Liu and the others are all very old, old enough to be your grandfathers. How much money would they have to lose to you?"

Chen Fan pursed his lips, "Let's play for 5 points."

Zhang Wenliang's expression changed slightly. "Last year, you played with us for a dime and still won 5 or 6, didn't you?!"

Chen Fan glanced at him. "5 or 6 scared you? Besides, that's not just yours. You're so pathetic."

After venting his frustrations, Chen Fan felt much better, then turned to Secretary Yang and asked, "How did the job fair go?"

Secretary Yang was about to say, "Isn't it stupid to play cards with you where I can only lose and never win?" But seeing that he had brought up serious business, he coughed and laughed, "It's alright. We originally planned to recruit 400 people, but today more than 600 people signed up. About half of them passed the initial screening. We told them that today was the preliminary test, and they will have a second test at the factory tomorrow."

Currently, most of the various side businesses in Lujiawan are concentrated on the slope not far from Team 5, while the others are scattered in several smaller teams, though not far apart.

For example, the pottery factory is in Team 6, the bamboo weaving and furniture factory is in Team 7, and Team 5 has a breeding farm, slaughterhouse, wool washing factory, cooked food workshop, as well as a food factory and garment factory that are under preparation, etc.

Most of these were proposed and organized by Chen Fan, while a small portion was initiated by the brigade headquarters itself.

That bamboo weaving and furniture factory in Team 7 is one of them.

It was called a factory, but it was really just a distribution center. People from various teams who knew how to weave bamboo and make furniture would send their finished products there. The center would record and sign for them, and then the products would be delivered to various delicatessens for sale by transport teams. After they were sold, the money would be split.

Well, it's really just something to make a little money; it's more of a bonus.

If Chen Fan were to take charge, he certainly would have many ways to expand the factory. However, since this kind of purely handmade product cannot be scaled up and lacks artistic value, he is too lazy to bother with it.

The main problem is that other industries, such as food and clothing, have much larger output values ​​after they grow, making them incomparable.

Given the limited resources in Lujiawan, he should naturally focus on those two main areas. Why bother diverting his energy to develop smaller industries?

That's the current situation at the factories in Lujiawan. So, those who come for the second interview tomorrow will have to go to the factories of several teams to wait for the final test.

Chen Fan wasn't interested in that, but he was somewhat surprised by the number of applicants. "How come there are only 600-plus people coming for interviews?"

In his mind, the five production brigades plus the unemployed youth in the town should easily add up to 3000 people. Are people these days so unhurried about finding work?
Secretary Yang dismissed his reaction, saying, "600 people is quite a lot. That's all. There are still dozens of experienced workers among them. As for the young people you mentioned, not many of them came, and most of them are from other production teams. Let's see if there are even 30 people from the town who came to apply."

Zhang Wenliang lit another cigarette and looked at Chen Fan, saying, "Xingxiu ran into a few people who were sent to Lujiawan to work in the countryside two years ago, and chatted with them. These young women have been out of school for two years and still haven't found jobs, so they came here to apply for jobs."

Although they didn't say it explicitly, Xingxiu, having seen many people, could easily see what they were thinking. They were planning to find a job in a factory while waiting for something better, and learn a skill along the way.

Once the town's organizations have openings, they can go there immediately.

The people in town don't even look down on the businesses run by our team.

Chen Fan grinned, "We're almost out of food, and you're still being picky?"

He clicked his tongue as he spoke, "Are these team-run enterprises really that looked down upon? The commune-run units aren't much better either; they're still part of the commune."

Ye Shubao hummed twice, "Otherwise what? Although the commune-run units are only one level higher, they are still urban households, formal units, strictly implemented in accordance with national regulations, and have all the benefits they are entitled to, and they can even be allocated housing."

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

Seeing him laugh, Ye Shubao couldn't continue speaking and burst into laughter as well.

Soon, the office was filled with laughter.

After the laughter finally subsided, Secretary Yang waved his hand, exhaled a long breath, and said with a smile, "The wages of production team units are calculated by processing basic living expenses into points. If the unit is a small team, the wages are calculated on a small team basis; if the unit is a brigade, the wages are calculated on a brigade basis."

Work points can be high or low. Anyone who has been involved in animal husbandry knows that those who are extremely wealthy and have livestock don't count.

In Lujiawan, most of our sideline businesses are based on animal husbandry. Even if we talk about a few unrelated things, we still have to link them to the team's accounting. It's understandable that the people in the town feel it's unstable.

Zhang Wenliang looked around and laughed, "If they knew that a worker could get three or four thousand this year, which is equivalent to working in a town unit for 10 years, I wonder if they would choose stability or high dividends?!"

Chen Fan squinted and thought for a moment, then suddenly asked, "Do people from other teams also get a share of the profits?"

The office fell silent instantly upon hearing this.

A few seconds later, Secretary Yang shook his head decisively, "No."

Captain Zhang said with a stern face, "This door must absolutely not be opened."

If things really go as Chen Fan said, and more and more people from outside join the side businesses in Lujiawan, will the members of Lujiawan agree to receive dividends from them?
What difference is there between them being from Lujiawan and not being from Lujiawan?!

Chen Fan wasn't surprised. He smiled and said, "That's simple. We'll use the old method for our team members and the new method for those from outside. We'll refer to the units in the town. Except for those with urban household registration, everything else can be copied. It doesn't matter if the benefits are slightly higher."

In a few years, as production teams across the country gradually complete their division of labor and contracting, we can then refer to the practices of some future collective enterprises.

The company operates as a company, and the collective operates as a collective. The company follows its internal salary management system. After deducting costs, the annual profit is handed over to the collective in proportion. The collective then distributes the profits according to household registration and per capita.

Employees can only receive wages and bonuses.

If an employee is from Lujiawan, they can receive double pay: they can receive their salary from the company and their share of the profits back in their village.

But we can't do that now. If we do, it will shake the foundation of the "cooperative" because the income of the members is linked to work points. Without "work points", what kind of cooperative is it?

Therefore, the only option now is a dual-track salary system.

At this moment, Chen Fan suddenly understood why collective enterprises in this era all employed their own people—mainly because it made accounting easier!
Zhang Wenliang glanced at the speakers, blinked slightly, and whispered, "That can save a lot of money."

Secretary Yang and the others exchanged glances and casually ignored the topic.

Isn't saving money a good thing?!
Two seconds later, Secretary Yang said, "I called you over to talk to you about the job fair. If there are no unforeseen circumstances, all those who passed the preliminary test today should be hired."

"So, we'll use our own team members to make up the difference for the rest?"

Chen Fan nodded, "Sure, the ratio isn't fixed anyway, so of course we have to adapt to the situation."

He couldn't help but find it somewhat amusing. Captain Yang had previously complained about the high percentage of workers recruited from outside, but it turned out they hadn't even filled all the positions…

Thinking of this, he rolled his eyes slightly and asked in confusion, "If people in town don't want to come, why aren't people from other production teams willing to come either?" Xiao Liewen, who hadn't spoken for a while, chuckled twice and said, "That's not surprising. If a year ago, there were factories openly recruiting workers, they would have fought tooth and nail for them."

This year we helped them set up a breeding farm. Every household is engaged in breeding. They can earn one or two thousand yuan a year by sitting at home. Why would they care about the small salary in the factory?
Unless there are too many people in the family, there is surplus labor, or some young people are just looking for something new, they will come and give it a try.

To be honest, having over 600 applicants has already exceeded our expectations.

Chen Fan scratched his forehead. So that's how it is.

Secretary Yang glanced at Chen Fan, and seeing that he didn't intend to speak, he smiled and said, "It's alright. You're worried that there won't be enough people in Lujiawan in the future, but there are enough for now. When the factory becomes prosperous and the workers have high wages and various benefits that are on par with those in the town, won't many more people come?"

Chen Fan looked up and smiled, saying, "That's not what I'm worried about. I'm thinking that Lujiawan isn't like a regular unit, much less a state-owned enterprise backed by the Industry Bureau, Commerce Bureau, or Supply and Marketing Cooperative, where they can get college and vocational school graduates every year and assign them jobs there."

We are different; we can't rely on anyone, and we don't even look down on the people in town.

Even if we develop well in the future, talented people will definitely want to go to better organizations; who would want to come to our team-run unit?

He glanced around and, seeing that everyone was staring at him, chuckled and said, “We’re not Huaxi Village, where we can ask for resources from above and have college students willing to go there. We’re just a production team that’s starting to do a little better. If we want talent, we’ll probably have to rely on ourselves.”

Upon hearing this, Secretary Yang's expression became much more serious.

Even if he's completely ignorant, there's a living example right in front of him!

No one can better demonstrate the impact of outstanding talent on the development of the production team than Chen Fan, and naturally, no one understands it better than Secretary Yang and his colleagues.

So he took a deep breath, looked at Chen Fan, and said without hesitation, "What do you suggest we do?"

Chen Fan laughed and said, "Liu Lu's clothing training class this time is the best example."

Secretary Yang was slightly taken aback, his brows furrowing slightly. "You mean, we'll train them ourselves?"

Ye Shubao's eyes widened. "Train them ourselves? We can run a training school too?"

Xiao Liewen and Captain Zhang looked at each other in bewilderment.

Even with Liu Lu's example, it was a small-scale, closed-door emergency measure where people taught and learned on their own. They never thought they would connect with professional training schools.

For decades, from the early 50s when the higher authorities sent technicians to the villages, to later when "Basic Engineering" and "Basic Agriculture" were included as regular subjects in middle school textbooks, rural areas have always been the recipients of training. When did it become our turn to run training courses and give lectures to others?

Chen Fan glanced at the group, then smiled and spread his hands, "Why not?"

He turned to look at Secretary Yang and smiled, “Isn’t this large-scale recruitment also about training them? A formal training school is simply a way to solidify and preserve this training method.”

Lujiawan needs a considerable number of workers and various types of jobs, but we can't rely on anyone else; we can only rely on ourselves. Instead of intermittently recruiting and training people, it would be better to establish a training school to continuously cultivate qualified personnel for ourselves.

After pausing for a few seconds to give them time to think, Chen Fan threw away the burnt cigarette butt, took out another cigarette, lit it, exhaled a puff of smoke, and continued, "Simple jobs are out of the question. Things like slaughtering and plucking don't even require learning; they're perfect for people who don't like studying."

However, for more complex jobs, such as design, pattern making, cutting, and sewing in garment factories, each task can be done very professionally, which requires specialized training.

The same applies to food factory inspections. While the position may not be high-ranking, the responsibility is heavy, requiring quick-witted individuals with specialized training.

Chen Fan flicked his cigarette ash and smiled, "According to the plan I mentioned last time, the side business in Lujiawan will become more formalized and its scale will continue to grow."

The 'Luwan Industrial Park' of Nanhu Commune is not our end point, but our starting point. In this development process, we need a continuous stream of professional talents.

So I've been thinking about it carefully, and I think it's really necessary to set up a professional training school.

After he finished speaking, Secretary Yang let out a long breath and was about to speak.

At this moment, Xiao Liewen, who was standing next to him, suddenly chuckled and said, "Isn't this the 'homegrown university' we set up 20 years ago?"

Upon hearing this, Secretary Yang and the others, who had been somewhat tense, relaxed and burst into laughter.

The so-called "earth university" does not refer to the professional colleges related to "civil engineering," "archaeology," or "agriculture" in later generations, but rather to a teaching method that existed in most parts of the country 20 years ago during the period of rapid development.

Local universities were typically transformed from or supported by high schools or even junior high schools. The founders were mainly communes or production teams, and the campuses were located in factory workshops or in the fields of production teams.

The curriculum is also closely linked to production.

For example, the "XX Machinery Factory University" run by the machinery factory taught subjects such as fitter, forger, and lathe operator. There were two types of teachers: one type was the former middle school teachers who mainly taught academic subjects and were known as "Professors of Literature".

Another type is the experienced craftsmen in the factory, who are responsible for teaching professional skills and are known as "local professors".

The same applies to production teams.

Back then, all sorts of "production team universities" were quite common.

"Professor Wen" refers to academic teachers in middle and primary schools, while "Professor Tu" refers to experienced farmers, or skilled farmers, livestock breeders, or planting experts.

Although it was just a passing fad, these makeshift universities, whose exact numbers are not recorded in history, still trained many "professional talents" for factories and rural areas.

Don't laugh. Before this "homegrown university" craze, many farmers across the country didn't actually know how to farm scientifically. Many of them were still using old methods, relying on "ancestral experience" to cultivate the land, resulting in pitifully low efficiency.

The simplest example is spring plowing. Before the establishment of the local university, many places did not understand the techniques and reasons for plowing. They did not know how to plow rice, wheat, or corn, and instead relied on the experience passed down from their elders.

It was thanks to the emergence of the "local university" that the "intensive farming" method, written by agricultural experts, was popularized throughout the country for the first time.

Furthermore, thanks to the promotion of local universities, there are now more and more scientific seedling cultivation methods, which have shortened the seedling period and increased the survival rate of seedlings.

Therefore, although the local university faded away just as quickly as it had appeared after only one or two years, many older farmers still remember it very clearly.

After all, those are the farming skills that farmers rely on to make a living. If they are taught them without any effort, it is hard for people not to remember them.

So much so that when Chen Fan said that, Xiao Liewen immediately thought of the old, uneducated university.

After the laughter subsided, Secretary Yang pondered for a moment, his brows furrowing slightly, and said, "The idea of ​​the 'local university' is not bad; a few 'local professors' can also emerge from the side business company."

He looked up, glanced around, and said with a troubled expression, "It's this 'local university,' which was confirmed to be a mistake back then. What if we try to reopen it?"

Chen Fan immediately said, "We're not running a small-time university, just a skills training program. We won't even mention the word 'school,' let alone 'university.'"

We'll call it a technical training course, specifically for training workers for the Lujiawan factory. We'll open the school to all, with no tuition fees, only accommodation and living expenses. Those who pass the training will be selected based on merit.

I refuse to believe anyone would associate this with a "country bumpkin university."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Changjiang, Xiao Liewen, and the others turned to look at Secretary Yang, since he was the one in charge of Lujiawan.

Secretary Yang gritted his teeth and said, "Alright, let's do it this way!"

They've even started a side business, what's missing is a "homegrown university"?
If anyone says that this school can't be set up in Lujiawan, Old Yang isn't one to back down. Fine, you can't just not set it up, but you'd better solve my manpower problem, otherwise you're sabotaging the development of rural sideline economy!
It's just labeling people, as if anyone can't do that!

(End of this chapter)