Time Travel: Volume 1! Starting from a Small Mountain Village

Xu Tiansheng hesitated for a moment, a resolute glint in his eyes, before readily replying, "Okay!" He had unwavering trust in Long Zhiqing's abilities. If it weren't for the rules, formalities like IOUs would be completely unnecessary.

Then, the conversation naturally turned to various details of the machinery factory, and Xu Tiansheng inadvertently threw out a series of questions covering multiple aspects such as production, management, and the market.

These were all child's play for Long Lifan; she could answer every question with ease, offering both pertinent and insightful advice. Their conversation was lively and efficient, and several hours passed by unnoticed. When Xu Tiansheng left with a satisfied sense of accomplishment, Long Lifan could hardly hide her joy.

The thought of Dongwan Village soon having its own mill processing plant filled her with overwhelming joy. She turned to Lin Guodong beside her, her eyes gleaming with excitement, "Captain, we need to immediately convene the village leadership team to carefully plan the next steps..."

At this meeting, the leadership team of the Dongwan Brigade still consisted of the same seven familiar faces, but this time Hu Lili was present—now Long Lifan's assistant, her attendance at the meeting was also quite necessary.

"What...Secretary Long, you said our village needs to spend money to buy rice and flour milling machinery?" Lin Guowei frowned and questioned after Long Lifan explained the purpose of the meeting. "Why waste money on this? The village already has a stone mill."

He had heard the price from Long Zhiqing, and it was over a thousand yuan! Wouldn't it be better to share that money among everyone? The other three squad leaders stood by, seemingly wanting to say something but holding back, suggesting that their thoughts were similar to Lin Guowei's.

If Lin Guodong hadn't been there the whole time, they would have even suspected that Long Zhiqing had made some kind of secret deal with Xu Changda, which was why he was willing to spend so much money.

"What are you all doing? The reason why Long Zhiqing proposed to buy it was for the development of our village." Seeing the expressions of the squad leaders, Lin Guodong knew what they were thinking and couldn't help but roar.

Long Lifan took in everyone's reactions, then smiled and said, "Captain, don't get so worked up. Now that the people are in charge, we can't have a one-man show. It's normal to have disagreements, and everyone can express their thoughts."

Upon hearing this, Lin Guohao, who was standing to the side, also spoke up, saying, "Secretary Long, Guowei and I share the same opinion. I also believe that we don't need to waste this money at all."

The other two squad leaders also spoke up, their opinions being largely the same: they didn't approve of spending huge sums of money to buy items they considered unnecessary.

At this moment, Miao Dashan and Zhou Huiji were sitting on stools without saying a word, their brows furrowed, as if they were thinking about something, and they did not express their opinions.

Lin Guodong took a deep breath, a hint of helplessness in his eyes, and slowly sighed, "You all don't know how far-sighted Long Zhiqing is. He bought this set of machinery for the future development of our village's chicken farm and pig farm..." Then, he told everyone exactly what Long Lifan had told him that morning.

After hearing this, the resistance in everyone's hearts gradually dissipated. Seeing this, Long Lifan smiled gently and said, "Captain, actually, the benefits go far beyond this. Today, with Director Xu here, there are some things I've been too embarrassed to say. Actually, I have a few more plans that I haven't told you all..."

"Oh? What other benefits are there?" Lin Guodong frowned slightly, asking with a puzzled look on his face.

A sly glint flashed in Long Lifan's eyes as she smiled and said, "Actually, I wanted to buy this mill processing equipment so that our village could have another way to make money!"

"You mean, this mill processing can actually make money?"

Upon hearing this, the others widened their eyes, staring at Long Lifan in disbelief. They had been to the commune's mill before, but it was always deserted; hardly anyone went there. Could this thing really make money?

In fact, when Long Lifan first conceived the idea of ​​purchasing mill processing equipment, she immediately inquired in detail about the mill processing plants in the commune. It was precisely because she had a thorough understanding of the situation that she was able to confidently say that it "could make money."

The current state-owned system has many drawbacks, and mill processing plants are one of them. Similar to supply and marketing cooperatives, mill processing plants are also state-owned enterprises, and their workers are all formal employees with secure jobs.

They received a fixed salary, yet their attitude was often arrogant and conceited. Whenever the commune members painstakingly carried grain to the commune, they often had to endure the disdain and cold treatment from these workers.

Think about those commune members who traveled a long way, hoping for some convenience, only to be treated poorly. Over time, they naturally became unhappy and gradually stopped patronizing the place.

For the employees, whether the villagers came or not was irrelevant; they still received their monthly salaries without any impact. It was precisely this drawback of the system that made Long Lifan see a business opportunity and strengthened her determination to buy equipment and create a profitable business for the village.

"Of course it can make money!" So, facing everyone's doubts, Long Lifan was full of confidence, "Moreover, I can guarantee that it will exceed all your expectations."

"Of course, it's also to resolve the conflicts among the members!"

"What conflict?" Everyone looked at Long Lifan with puzzled expressions, secretly wondering what she was going to say next.

Long Lifan looked around and slowly said, "I know that the villagers are somewhat dissatisfied with the fact that the chicken farm and pig farm only recruit female comrades. Some even feel that it is because I am a female educated youth that they want to take care of the female comrades, so that the good things in the village are not for the male comrades."

Upon hearing this, Lin Guodong and the other village officials lowered their heads in embarrassment. Such rumors had indeed been circulating in the village recently, but to them, who had lived in the countryside year-round, these were nothing more than trivial gossip, not worth taking seriously.

Lin Guodong gave an awkward smile, trying to ease the tension: "Long Zhiqing, don't take it to heart. Some people in the village just love to gossip. You don't need to pay attention to them; they'll naturally disappear soon enough..."

“Captain, you can’t say that.” Long Lifan’s expression was serious and her tone was firm. “Since the members have conflicts, we have to take it seriously. You know, if conflicts are not resolved, they will accumulate and eventually lead to serious problems.”

She paused for a moment, then continued, "So, Captain, this time I plan to mainly recruit men for the mill processing plant. After all, it's physical labor, and it's more suitable for men to do it. This way, we can resolve the conflicts among the commune members and also give the men a proper job—a win-win situation."

Upon hearing this, Lin Guodong and the others couldn't help but nod in approval. They could see that Long Zhiqing genuinely cared about the village and its members.