Dreaming back to 1949, the great powers were there to deceive us

Tao gives birth to one, gives birth to two, two gives birth to three, and three gives birth to all things!

Ever since Xu Youcai successfully led six villagers to obtain loans, villagers from all over the surrounding area, with Xiaowangzhuang as the center, have been ready to make a move.

Only two days had passed, and Chongming Development Bank had already loaned out more than 60 loans.

At the entrance of Friendship Store, Hu Zhenhua met Xu Youcai again.

This is not a coincidence, because Xu Youcai almost lives in Chongming and has become a full-time receptionist.

Hu Zhenhua looked around and asked,

"Where's Lulu? Has she gone home?"

When Xu Youcai heard his granddaughter's name, the wrinkles on his face completely melted away and he smiled.

"She got the snacks and toys you gave her, sir, and she refuses to come out this time no matter what."

Hu Zhenhua burst into laughter.

There is no child who doesn't like toys.

Hu Zhenhua looked at the dozen or so villagers behind Xu Youcai and asked,

"Uncle Xu, are you bringing people here to look for projects again?"

Xu Youcai proudly puffed out his chest and said proudly,

"Hey, my fellow villagers have never been far away, and they insisted on asking me for a way. I couldn't bear to refuse, so I led everyone here to look around and see if there are any suitable projects."

Hu Zhenhua turned his gaze to the group of naive villagers again and thought to himself: This Xu Youcai is really inflated. He himself is so confused, yet he dares to bring others out to look for projects.

This person always likes to mistake luck for strength.

If this continues, it will probably harm these villagers.

However, Xu Youcai came at a good time. China was in extreme shortage of supplies. Anything you could produce could be sold.

Hu Zhenhua smiled and said, since he had met someone, he should help. So he said,

"Have you found any projects?"

Xu Youcai shook his head and said helplessly,

"There are quite a few we like, but we can't do any of them!"

"What have you set your sights on? Tell me and I'll give you some advice. Everyone has to have dreams. What if they come true?"

Xu Youcai was a little speechless, so he pulled out a villager and shouted,

"Old Liao, tell me!"

Lao Liao scratched his head and said embarrassedly,

"Our village wants to produce tricycles, the pedal-powered kind!"

Hu Zhenhua was stunned.

You say that the tricycle is technically difficult and can reach the sky. To give a simple example, a good wheel must be made of carbon steel, which has high strength and good toughness.

Even Tong'an hasn't mastered the optimal material ratio for this type of steel.

If you say it's easy, it is indeed easy. If I don't have good steel, I will make the tires wider. There are many cart wheels in the countryside that use the same method.

However, this factory is still quite difficult because it involves steel and a smelting furnace must be used!

In fact, the best is the electric arc furnace, but what rural areas lack most is electricity. If you use an electric arc furnace, you have to build a power plant first, which is not something a small village can afford.

This is the difficulty of a country lacking heavy industry. If you want to use some steel, you have to find a way yourself!

Hu Zhenhua thought for a moment and said,

"It's not that this factory can't be run, but the investment is a bit large. Do you dare to take out a loan?"

When Xu Youcai heard that this project was actually feasible, he immediately poked Lao Liao and signaled him to agree quickly.

Old Liao obviously hadn't reacted yet. It wasn't until Xu Youcai kicked him in the butt that he hurriedly said,

"Can I pay the money back slowly?"

"Yes!"

After hearing this, Lao Liao made up his mind and shouted,

“No matter how much it costs, we’re willing to do it!”

"Okay! I'll help you solve the production line and funding problems!"

Funds can be obtained through loans from Chongming Development Bank, and the production line will be produced by TA Machinery Factory.

Lao Hu firmly believes that only a large demand can drive technological progress.

Therefore, he would hand over any production line tasks to the machinery factory.

Hu Zhenhua looked at the other villagers and asked,

"what about you?"

A villager was very encouraged to see Lao Liao's project approved and immediately said,

"Our village wants to produce water pumps or hand tractors!"

Another villager said,

“Our village wants to produce plows!”

Another villager said,

"Our village wants to produce light bulbs!"

“We have a lot of trees in our village, and we want to produce furniture!”

“Our village wants to produce a rice hulling machine!”

……

These villagers are all knowledgeable and want industrial products, which are exactly what the countryside lacks the most.

The boldest one even wanted to produce a strange creature.

After much deliberation, Hu Zhenhua selected three projects for the dozen or so villagers: a water pump, a pedal tricycle, and furniture.

Except for the furniture, which was operated independently by one of the villages, Hu Zhenhua split up the water pumps and pedal tricycles.

Taking the tricycle as an example, Lao Hu divided it into seven items, including bearings, chains and gears, wheels, screws, bars, boxes and frames (responsible for the assembly), springs, etc., and assigned them to seven villages.

The purpose of doing this is to reduce costs and is also a practical consideration.

There is a lack of talent in rural areas. If one village is given the responsibility of taking on too many things, they may not be able to handle it.

If they are split up, each village will be responsible for a certain field and will be able to specialize. Perhaps in a few decades, a small giant in a specific field will emerge.

Another advantage of this approach is that the products they produce can be used in other projects. For example, pumps also use bearings, so can they be purchased directly to avoid duplication of resources?

The economy is not isolated, it needs to be interconnected, and its essence lies in circulation. If it is self-sufficient, it is a small peasant economy and it is impossible to grow bigger and stronger.

Another benefit of division of labor is standardized construction.

Just imagine, if the bearings you produce don’t fit in with the bars and tires I produce, how can you make a tricycle?

China's industry was completely blank, so the cost of carrying out standardized construction at this time was extremely low.

In later generations, when China realized the importance of standardization, the national industry had already reached a considerable scale, and standardization at that time experienced unimaginable pain.

Hu Zhenhua thought about it and felt that the people should not be allowed to choose projects at will. If they were haphazardly choosing projects, it would be difficult to form economies of scale.

Those engaged in vehicles were handed over to one county, those engaged in textiles were handed over to another county, and those engaged in tractors were handed over to yet another county.

Only in this way can we bring into play the scale effect and reduce production costs.

As for activities like making sugar, which require no technical skills, there is no need to impose any restrictions.

After arranging the work, Hu Zhenhua invited the villagers to eat noodles. When they were halfway through the meal, Carter came hurriedly and pulled Hu Zhenhua out.

As Lao Hu slurped the noodles into his mouth, he said incoherently,

"Carter, the meal hasn't been paid yet. My friends will think I'm running away!"

Carter didn't have time to argue with him, so he took out a few rice dollars and put them on the table.

"Hu, I'll treat you all right!"

No matter how small a mosquito is, it is still meat. Lao Hu got a big advantage and left the restaurant happily.

Carter pulled Hu Zhenhua under a big tree and said anxiously,

"Just now, Cook told me that someone from the Red side has come and hopes to loan 3000 million yuan!"

Cook is a business manager at Chongming Development Bank.

Hu Zhenhua was stunned when he heard this.

He and Jiang Zhen agreed on 1000 million, but this guy tripled it right away.

If you don’t get it, it’s fine, but once you do, it’s amazing!

Also, for such a big matter, doesn’t he need to ask for permission?

Less than two hours had passed and he had already sent someone over?

Seeing Hu Zhenhua in a daze, Carter touched him and reminded him,

"Hu, isn't this exactly what we want? Are you so happy you're silly?"

Hu Zhenhua waved his hand.

"With such a large amount of money, I always feel uneasy!"

"You're worried you won't get the money back, right? There's nothing to worry about. If things get dark in one place, they'll always be bright in another. With this loan and the friendship of the Red Army, your industrial product sales will be more stable!"

Hu Zhenhua rolled his eyes at him and said angrily,

"I'm not worried about the safety of the funds, but I'm worried about the government. With such a large amount of money, will they suspect I'm collaborating with the Communists?"

Carter heard this, a trace of disdain appeared on his face, and he shouted,

"You are a citizen of the United States. Even if you are in communist relations, it is not their place to tell you what to do! If anyone dares to object, tell them to come to me!"

Hu Zhenhua still had some worry on his face and explained,

"You can't say that. Merchants should make money through harmony. Tong'an, after all, has a lot of business under the jurisdiction of the national government. If the authorities do something bad, I will still suffer losses. So, it's better to communicate with them!"

Hu Zhenhua looked at Carter and said,

"We must be extremely cautious when dealing with the Reds. As the saying goes, we're not afraid of godlike opponents, but we are afraid of pig-like teammates. People are treacherous. If there's a policy change, someone might accuse us of aiding the enemy. Carter, my friend, I suggest you report this matter and try to gain more support. If something uncontrollable happens in the future, we can clear ourselves of the charges. This is a form of self-protection!"

This time, Carter listened and nodded.

"Hu, you think long-term?"

"Hey, I'm really scared! At the beginning of April, I was almost arrested by the Secret Service and made to take the blame. Fortunately, I was lucky, otherwise..."

Old Hu covered his chest with his hands, looking frightened.

Carter knew everything about Hu Zhenhua's past. He calmed down and said,

"Then let's split up. I'll send a telegram back home, and you contact the authorities!"

Hu Zhenhua saw Carter was about to leave, so he grabbed him and shouted,

"What exactly is going on? You just said a 3000 million yuan loan, but nothing else!"

Carter slapped his head and smiled apologetically.

"Look at my brain..."

The person sent by Jiang Zhen was named Xu Duo, who was the head of Anlin Supply and Marketing Cooperative. The loan was also made in the name of Anlin Supply and Marketing Cooperative.

This contact is semi-official in nature, but you can't say it has anything to do with the official.

Because the supply and marketing cooperative is an economic organization, just like Tongan Company.

However, everyone knows who the shareholders behind the supply and marketing cooperatives are.

According to Carter's understanding, this contact should be a test by the Red side.

Therefore, the industrial zone must give a positive response.

The man is affectionate, and the concubine is interested.

Carter is very much looking forward to this collaboration.

Hu Zhenhua secretly praised Jiang Zhen's wit.

The supply and marketing cooperative is a very good entry point. If the money cannot be repaid in the future, the worst that can happen is that the Anlin Supply and Marketing Cooperative will go bankrupt.

After listening to Carter's story, Hu Zhenhua rolled his eyes and said,

"Carter, I must first tell you that the government will definitely strongly oppose this matter. When the time comes, you will be under tremendous pressure!"

Carter snorted coldly.

"The United States does not need to act according to the wishes of any other country!"

Hu Zhenhua laughed and said,

"Carter, I'm not in a position to clash with the government. If the pressure gets too great, I'll push the blame onto Morris. I hope you can talk to him first!"

Carter was stunned and asked,

"What does this have to do with Morris?"

"Huaqi Foreign Company is a shareholder of Chongming Development Bank. It makes sense for him to bypass me and borrow money from Xu Duo, right?"

Carter was no fool. He immediately realized that Hu Zhenhua had a grudge against Morris, so he asked,

"Hu, didn't Morris compensate you for what happened last time? There's a saying in China: It's better to resolve a feud than to create one. We'll all be working together in the future, so we need to move forward!"

Hu Zhenhua snorted coldly and shouted,

"Carter, you might not know this yet, but Morris and Charlie have come up with another project. They plan to build a small city in the suburbs! Just like last time, they've left me behind again!"

Carter opened his mouth.

What's happening here?

Last time, Morris said that if there were any projects, we would work together. But just a few days later, he changed his mind again!

This damn guy is always so troublesome!

Carter cleared his throat and said angrily,

"Hu, don't be angry, let me understand the situation first."

In fact, Carter was also speechless. Although he was a consul, he couldn't always interfere in business operations.

It’s their freedom to choose who to be their partner!

Hu Zhenhua seemed dissatisfied with Carter's attitude and said indifferently,

"Carter, I don't mean to blame Morris. It's Huaqi Foreign Trade's freedom to choose whoever he wants to work with. Our company isn't short of projects, so even if Morris hired me, I wouldn't get involved. Let's just talk about the matter at hand. You should talk to Morris about the loan and don't let him mess it up!"

Carter held Hu Zhenhua's hand and comforted him,

"Hu, I'm glad you think so. However, I still want to talk to Morris later. If there are any good projects, they must be related to Mi Zi!"

Hu Zhenhua's eyes rolled around, and he suddenly said,

"My friend, I want to open a grain store in Japan. Is there any news? The summer grain will be harvested soon, and I plan to buy a large amount of old grain from American farms. If my store can't open, how will I buy the grain?"

Carter looked at Hu Zhenhua meaningfully, knowing that the grain store was the compensation he wanted.

However, this is also a good thing for the United States, at least it can sell a large amount of agricultural products.

"I'll urge the Japanese side again. Don't worry, this matter won't be a big problem!"

Hu Zhenhua then smiled.

"Great! I'm in a good mood and I'm motivated to do things. My friend, let's split up!"

After saying that, he shook hands with Carter and said goodbye.

Carter looked at Lao Hu's back as he left, shook his head helplessly, and said to himself: What a stingy guy!

If Morris doesn't bring TA along for a project, you'll make things difficult for Huaqi.

Violence must be repaid!

His heart is smaller than the tip of a needle.

The key is that others can’t find any fault with it!

When Carter thought of Morris, he got a headache again. It would not be easy to make him take the blame. If things went wrong, the consulate would suffer heavy losses again.

After Hu Zhenhua returned to the Friendship Store, he immediately arranged for someone to send a telegram to Wang Yu.

In the telegram, Hu Zhenhua complained bitterly about the enormous risks of the loan and his absolute unwillingness to accept it. However, he also hinted to Wang Yu that Morris was determined to do the deal, and Carter had already inquired about it, leaving him under immense pressure.

Lao Hu also said that in order to ensure that the United States does not turn to the red side, he is ready to use his veto power and turn against Morris.

Lao Hu even asked Wang Yu for support, hoping that the authorities could put pressure on the US consulate to stop interfering with the autonomous operation of the industrial zone.

After doing all this, Hu Zhenhua quickly informed Xu Duo to run away.

The authorities can't do anything to Carter, so they might cause trouble for Xu Duo.