Traveling back to 1977

Chapter 68 Acquisition Station

This is a very serious problem.

It's not that electricity is expensive. I heard from Technician Huang at the post office during lunch that the current electricity price is 16.5 cents per kilowatt-hour. It's not cheap these days, but without high-power appliances, a normal family wouldn't use more than a few kilowatt-hours a year.

There are even households in the town that only use two or three kilowatt-hours of electricity a year. That means that if it's just for lighting, the annual electricity bill is less than 5 cents, which is more cost-effective than kerosene lamps.

The problem is, Chen Fan has no money!

Despite the mountain of supplies piled up in his room, he didn't have a single penny on him.

Don't even mention exchanging goods for money. He almost got into a huge mess today for no reason, so he wouldn't dare exchange goods for money again. If he accidentally makes a mistake and his things are confiscated, he'll have nowhere to turn for help.

So we have to figure this out. If the team pays for the electricity, then we can use it. But if we have to pay for it ourselves, forget about it!
Hearing Chen Fan's words, Jiang Lili was stunned for two seconds before she reacted, then smiled and said, "Of course I'll pay for it myself, but the electricity bill isn't expensive, only 16.5 cents per kilowatt-hour."

Chen Fan's face fell. "Forget it, I can't afford it."

Jiang Lili blinked her big eyes. This price isn't expensive. As long as you don't waste it, it's only a few cents a year. How could you not afford it?
Besides, with all the supplies in his house, he could easily take some to the commune's purchasing station and sell them for a few dollars. He shouldn't be so stingy, right?
Then, realizing he might have forgotten something, perhaps even the purchasing station, she chuckled softly, "Are you worried about not having enough money?"

Chen Fan didn't seem embarrassed at all. He patted his pocket with a relaxed expression and said with a proud look, "I'm a genuine proletarian. No one should be poorer than me."

Jiang Lili's eyes immediately crinkled into crescent moons with laughter. She had seen plenty of guys who tried to show off, but this was the first time she had ever seen someone so frank about not having money. Moreover, he didn't seem stingy at all; on the contrary, he was rather cute.

Following him into the room, Jiang Lili turned around and glanced at the piles of supplies, then said with a smile, "If you're poor, then there's no such thing as a poor person."

Chen Fan turned to look at her, a smile appearing in his eyes.

Not bad, he can even joke around.

Thinking back to when we first met a few days ago, this girl would lower her head and speak so softly that you couldn't hear her unless you strained your ears. She was incredibly introverted. Now, she can crack a few jokes. She's made great progress!

That's true. After all, she's a 17 or 8-year-old girl, a time when she's naturally lively. It's normal for her to show her true nature when she's relaxed.

Chen Fan picked up the thermos to pour water, but found that the teapot already contained tea, and it was still hot. He couldn't help but turn to look at her, "Did you make this tea for me?"

Jiang Lili nodded. "I calculated the time, and you should be back around this time, so I poured it for you in advance. The temperature should be just right now."

Chen Fan poured two bowls of water and said with a smile, "The temperature is just right. Here, you make me some tea, and I'll treat you to some."

Jiang Lili smiled, sat down on the other side of the table, took a sip of tea, and then looked at the supplies piled on the bamboo bed. She said, "If you can't finish eating or using all of this, you can sell some of it."

"Sell?"

Chen Fan looked at her in surprise, "How much? Who will you sell it to?"

Jiang Lili smiled and said, "There are recycling stations in the commune. They buy all kinds of things, including old clothes, old furniture, old appliances, and some rural products." "Recycling stations?"

Chen Fan blinked blankly, "Isn't that a place that collects scrap? Why are they collecting agricultural products too?"

Jiang Lili put down her teacup, looked at him and smiled, "You've either forgotten, or you've never lived in a small town. Purchasing stations, sales outlets, and supply and marketing cooperatives are three units that every member can't live without. Everyone here knows them."

He then patiently explained, "Actually, the purchasing stations and sales outlets are the same as the supply and marketing cooperative. It's just that two of them were separated to make things more convenient for the people."

In addition to selling goods, supply and marketing cooperatives also have the task of purchasing some materials, so they have an internal purchasing department, which is separate from the retail department.

On the one hand, in order to complete the procurement task, and on the other hand, to facilitate the members of the production team, the commune's supply and marketing cooperative would usually set up the procurement department in the production team to make it convenient for the people to sell their goods. This was the procurement station.

The scrap yard you mentioned is different from the recycling station. Although recycling stations also accept used goods, they must be usable. Items like waste paper, scrap iron, and scrap equipment parts are not accepted by recycling stations and can only be sold to scrap yards.

Other secondhand goods and agricultural products were the main targets of the purchasing station. For a period of time, eggs could only be sold to the food station. Later, when eggs were no longer scarce, the food station stopped managing eggs, and members could sell their eggs to the purchasing station.

Especially some precious items, such as dried locust flower buds, could sell for 21 yuan per jin (500g) for first-grade and 19 yuan per jin for second-grade. Many villagers relied on selling locust flower buds to support their children's education.

Chen Fan, who was listening intently, was surprised when he heard the price. "That's quite high."

A pound of locust flower buds is almost equivalent to a month's salary for an apprentice. If we could get a few more pounds of locust flower buds, wouldn't that be better than working a regular job?
Jiang Lili smiled reproachfully and said, "What? The high price is because it's precious. If it were like rice, it would be good if it could sell for a dime a pound."

He then explained, "Sophora japonica flowers can only be harvested once a year for a very short period of time, and they need to be dried, so the harvest is even less. In addition, there are few locust trees, so harvesting locust flowers is a matter of luck, because if you start too early, it won't work, and if you start too late, someone else will pick them."

She paused for a moment, then looked at Chen Fan and whispered, "It means that now the commune members are not prohibited from hunting, fishing, and gathering wild animals. In the first few years, these things had to be handed over to the commune, and individuals could not keep them. So back then, no one picked the locust flowers, and the purchasing stations couldn't buy them either. Later, the restrictions were lifted, and we were able to collect a little bit each year."

Chen Fan nodded in realization, "I see."

He then looked at Jiang Lili and asked, "Go on, what is a sales agent?"

Jiang Lili said, "Actually, the sales point is just a small shop. It is a cooperation between the supply and marketing cooperative and the production team. The production team provides the venue and supporting facilities, and even the sales staff. The supply and marketing cooperative provides the supplies. It is mainly to facilitate the production teams in remote areas. It sells small farm tools such as salt, soy sauce, vinegar and sickles, pruning shears and so on."

"That's it."

Chen Fan felt like he had discovered a new world, but then he was a little puzzled. "But I've been wandering around the team these past two days, and I haven't seen it."

Jiang Lili smiled slightly, "It's a coincidence that the purchasing station and sales point in Lujiawan are both in Team 10. Because this place is close to the commune, you can just go to the commune to buy or sell whatever you need. The other place is far away, so it was set up there."

Chen Fan was speechless. It was indeed a bit of a coincidence. The farthest place he had gone was Team 9, which was exactly twenty minutes away.

(End of this chapter)