Siheyuan: Starting from 1958

Seeing her husband equally at a loss, his brow furrowed in worry, Chen Jun immediately asked, "Husband..."

Did you have any success today?

“I remember you’ve been wandering around the county town for several days now. If you find any investment projects that benefit the local people, I’ll definitely be the first to support them.”

Wang Dong shook his head in agreement: "Huai County has too weak a foundation."

"Such a large county town doesn't even have a decent factory, and there are absolutely no projects with particularly high development potential."

"Even if I wanted to open a factory in the county, I might not be able to find more than a few qualified workers in the entire county."

The wife became even more anxious upon hearing this.

She couldn't think of a way to develop Huai County's economy in her office, but she also had a husband who was particularly good at making money.

Although he couldn't think of any good solutions, Chen Jun did not lose hope.

She believed that with Wang Dong's intervention, all the problems she faced would eventually be resolved.

To my utter surprise, my husband, on whom I had placed so much hope, had absolutely no clue about this problem.

He could only sigh and reply, "I've been studying the current situation in the county these past few days."

"It's worse than I imagined."

"The few state-owned factories included one brewery, one towel manufacturer, and a few small factories that processed grain and produced canned goods."

"Moreover, their products are mainly sold in the supply and marketing cooperatives in the county seat and surrounding towns. They aren't even sold in the surrounding counties and cities. Their output is pitifully low, and they'd be insolvent if they went out of business."

“If it weren’t for the county government’s continuous support, these state-owned factories would have gone out of business long ago, and hundreds of workers would have been in dire straits due to job loss.”

"Although I had a feeling that I would be taking over a mess, I didn't expect it to be this bad."

Seeing his wife getting more and more anxious, Wang Dong quickly comforted her, "Honey, don't worry."

"We living people can't be killed by holding our pee..."

"If we use our brains more and wander around the city more, we'll definitely be able to find a way to solve this mess."

While the two were talking, Aunt Zhang had already prepared dinner.

Wang Dong was already in a bad mood, and seeing the food on the table made him even worse. He frowned and asked, "Aunt Zhang, why are we having stewed chicken with potatoes again tonight...?"

"I remember that last night, our family also had stewed chicken with potatoes..."

"Aren't there any other vegetables to buy at the market if we eat potatoes every day?"

"Doesn't the processing plant have mutton? If all else fails, have them send some mutton over tomorrow... Eating mutton and radish together this season should be especially nourishing."

"I'll make it for you myself, I guarantee it'll be so delicious you'll want to swallow your tongue."

After a wry smile, Aunt Zhang replied, "Dongzi, sir... it's not that I don't want to buy other vegetables, it's just that the surrounding markets only sell potatoes right now..."

"The crown peas, cowpeas, and eggplants in the field have already been harvested, while the green vegetables and radishes have just been planted and haven't grown yet. Only the potatoes harvested in the spring are for sale."

"There are also some vegetables transported from the south in Beijing. They seem a bit expensive, but at least they are available for sale."

“The people of Huai County are definitely not as wealthy as the people of Beijing. They can’t afford the expensive vegetables transported from the south, so they can only eat potatoes.”

"Please wait a little longer..."

"In about a month, the cabbages in the field will grow, and then we'll have vegetables to eat." "In two months, the radishes in the field should also grow, and then I'll definitely make you lamb stew with radishes. Although my cooking skills are not as good as Dongzi's, the food I make is not bad either."

Wang Dong frowned after hearing this, and then replied with a hint of dissatisfaction, "No..."

"Even if the cabbages and radishes grow slowly after a month, there are still several months of winter, so we can't eat cabbages and radishes every day."

"Junzi and I can endure it, after all, we both suffered in the past, and we even lived on pickled vegetables every day."

"But the second one won't do..."

“She has started eating complementary foods now, but she eats potatoes, cabbage and radishes every meal. Her nutrition is too monotonous, and her health is prone to problems.”

"I'll let it go today..."

"I'll call the processing plant later and ask them to bring back some vegetables for us when they deliver the lamb to the restaurant."

"Bring back two or three kinds every day, enough for one meal."

If it weren't for the sake of his second son, Chen Jun would definitely have opposed Wang Dong's idea.

Having a driver bring back vegetables from Beijing every day is such a luxury.

But in order for his second child to have a very healthy body and to restructure his nutrition, Chen Jun did not refuse this luxury.

Besides, her husband, Wang Dong, is the owner of Dongjun Restaurant. He earns more money every day than an average person earns in ten years, so no one can say anything if he's a little extravagant.

Just then, Wang Dong had a flash of inspiration and suddenly thought of something.

His eyes lit up and he said to Chen Jun, "Wife..."

"I think I've come up with a way to help you clean up this mess."

“Since Huai County has a weak foundation and is not suitable for opening a factory, why should we put all our eggs in one basket and insist on opening a factory?”

"There are more ways to help ordinary people get rich than just opening a factory."

“Take Tangshan Town as an example. We didn’t open a factory, but just a mutton processing plant. The local people have become rich because of us.”

"The same goes for the entire Huai County..."

"Who says that only opening factories can increase the income of local people?"

Chen Jun, the wife, didn't react for a moment, but she could tell from Wang Dong's expression that her husband seemed to have thought of a good way to help her out of this predicament.

He quickly asked, "Then how do the people of Huai County increase their income?"

“Growing vegetables…” Wang Dong blurted out.

Chen Jun, the daughter-in-law, immediately showed a stunned expression.

She had expected her husband to come up with some profound and ingenious solution, but it turned out to be something everyone knew: growing vegetables. This was so disappointing.

Many people around the county grow vegetables at home and rush to sell them to the county town early in the morning, but those who grow vegetables have not become rich through this method; at most, they can keep themselves from going hungry.

Besides, the demand for vegetables in Huai County is not very large, especially given the small population in the county seat. If we were to encourage people in the surrounding towns to grow vegetables, there would definitely be a lot of unsold vegetables rotting in the fields.

Instead of increasing the income of the local people, he caused them heavy losses by growing vegetables, indirectly increasing their family burden and making their lives worse in the future.

Even without any accountability from higher authorities, Chen Jun himself would be too embarrassed to continue working in Huai County. (End of Chapter)