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

When Xu Tiansheng arrived at the state-run restaurant, Li Chang'an was already sitting there waiting. On the table was a steaming plate of stir-fried green peppers and pork, a plate of cucumbers, a dish of peanuts, and a bottle of Fenjiu liquor.

Fenjiu is a specialty of Shanxi Province, and it's not too expensive, costing around 3 yuan. Shanxi Province (G province) is not far from Shanxi, and Fenjiu is the most common liquor in Pingwu County.

"Here you go, sit down."

Li Chang'an also saw Xu Tiansheng and quickly greeted him, while also opening the bottle cap and pouring each other a glass.

Although both of them work in Pingwu County, these two old comrades-in-arms are usually very busy. Today is a rare occasion for them to get together. They clinked glasses with each other, and then Xu Tiansheng asked in confusion.

"Old Li, what did you mean by mentioning the provincial newspaper and the municipal party committee just now?"

"Take a look."

Li Chang'an ate several peanuts to calm the effects of the alcohol, then took a newspaper out of his pocket and slammed it on the table.

Xu Tiansheng took the newspaper, and the first thing that caught his eye was a few large characters. The headline read: "The Party's Light Shines in All Directions, Agricultural Machinery and Tools Go to Villages and Townships."

This is an article written in the form of a thank-you letter, penned by Long Lifan. The article not only describes the new farm implements that the machinery factory donated to various communes, but also introduces the benefits and conveniences of these new tools.

Xu Tiansheng carefully read the article, a look of shock appearing on his face. The article specifically mentioned the Dongwan Brigade, saying how excited they were to receive the new farm tools and how grateful they were for the machinery factory's assistance.

"This must be Long Zhiqing's doing!" Xu Tiansheng thought to himself. He then concluded that no one else could explain the benefits of the new farm tools in such detail.

Long Zhiqing's article not only praised the actions of their machinery factory, but also indirectly promoted their new agricultural tools throughout the province.

"No, we must rush back and get the production workshop to work overtime." Xu Tiansheng now understands the importance of promotion; he can imagine the sensation this article will cause. Perhaps officials from other counties will come to their machinery factory to purchase goods.

"Old Li, I have to go back now. I'll treat you another day!" Xu Tiansheng immediately stood up and said goodbye to Li Chang'an. He had to go back and arrange things. Without waiting for Li Chang'an's reaction, he quickly left, leaving Li Chang'an looking completely bewildered.

"Old Xu, you..."

When Li Chang'an came to his senses, Xu Tiansheng had already walked out of the restaurant. Helpless, he shook his head and drank his wine in silence.

"Director Qiu, inform the workers on all production lines to work overtime to ensure a large production of agricultural tools." Upon returning to the machinery factory, Xu Tiansheng went straight to the production workshop and gave the instructions to Qiu Yuansheng.

"This..." Qiu Yuansheng looked troubled. Farm tools are different from food and cannot be considered consumables. They still have a lot of stock in their warehouse. During this period, almost all the communes in Pingwu County have come to buy them, and the stock is already close to full. If they produce in large quantities, he is worried that they will not be able to sell them.

"Take a look at this!" Xu Tiansheng, knowing his concerns, quickly handed the newspaper to Qiu Yuansheng, who was standing nearby. Although Qiu Yuansheng was puzzled, he still took the newspaper and read it carefully.

“This is Long Zhiqing’s work!” Qiu Yuansheng read the article carefully and, like Xu Tiansheng, thought that the article was written by Long Zhiqing.

“That’s what I think too.” Xu Tiansheng nodded slightly.

"Great! With this newspaper promoting our farm tools, they're sure to sell like hotcakes!" Qiu Yuansheng's face lit up with joy. With this article as promotion, their farm tools wouldn't be limited to Pingwu County; they might even be promoted throughout G Province. No wonder Director Xu wanted them to increase production.

"Yes!" Xu Tiansheng nodded with a smile, thinking that Long Zhiqing not only pointed out a way out for their machinery factory, but also praised them in the newspaper.

Long Zhiqing's condition was merely to obtain a batch of farm tools for the Dongwan Brigade; she herself received no benefit whatsoever. Some remarked with a touch of melancholy, "Our machinery factory owes Long Zhiqing another favor."

That morning, Party Secretary Miao called on Long Lifan to prepare for departure. The chicken farm had been completed yesterday, and today they needed to go to the county agricultural trade station to buy chicks. Because the leaders of each brigade had been notified to attend a meeting at the commune, Lin Guodong didn't have time. So, Party Secretary Miao accompanied Long Lifan this time.

Long Lifan went there in person to screen the chickens, as most chicken farming nowadays focuses on raising hens, which can not only lay eggs but also produce meat.

When they arrived at the commune, it was only around 8 o'clock. Lin Guodong left first because the commune had a meeting, leaving only Secretary Miao and Long Lifan waiting for the bus at the bus stop.

While they were waiting for their ride, a truck pulled up on the side of the road, and a head popped out from the driver's seat.

"Comrade Long!"

The one who spoke was Xiao Wang, the driver from the machinery factory. He was the one who drove Long Lifan and the others back to the commune last time, and this time he was here to deliver goods to the supply and marketing cooperative.

Just as he was about to go back, he spotted a familiar figure. You see, the person whose name their factory director had been talking about the most these past few days was Comrade Long.

"You're Comrade Wang!" Long Lifan stared blankly for a while before realizing that the person in front of her was the driver who had taken her and the captain last time. She didn't know his full name, only that his surname was Wang, so she immediately greeted him with a smile.

"Yes, it's me!" The driver responded with a smile, and seeing them at the bus stop, he asked, "Comrade Long, are you waiting for a bus to the county town?"

"Yeah, I just don't know why the shuttle bus hasn't come yet!" Long Lifan was also a little puzzled. According to the schedule, there should be a shuttle bus at this time, so why have they been waiting for more than ten minutes?

"Why don't you ride in my car? I'm heading back to the county town anyway." The driver knew his chance to shine had come. Of course, he wanted to curry favor with the person the factory manager always talked about.

"Won't this be too much trouble for you?"

"It's alright, it's on my way. Get in!"

"Thank you so much, Comrade Wang!" Long Lifan thanked the driver as she got into the car with Secretary Miao. Having someone give her a ride was good; it would save them a lot of time and they wouldn't have to pay the fare.

Even after sitting in the car, Secretary Miao was still dizzy and felt like it wasn't real. Despite being the secretary of Dongwan Brigade, where he was practically the only one in power, he was practically nothing outside of Dongwan Brigade. Curious, he asked Long Lifan, who then explained the situation to him and also mentioned the man's identity.

"Comrade Long, you said you wanted to go to the farmers' market!" The driver, who had been listening to the two chatting in the car, knew what they wanted to do in the county town, so he said, "How about this, I'll go back to the machinery factory to report first, and then drive you there."

"Is this appropriate?"

Long Lifan was instinctively worried. The car belonged to the machinery factory. Although she knew Xu Tiansheng, she was not familiar with Comrade Wang. If he was criticized because of this, she would be in big trouble.

"There's nothing inappropriate about it?" Driver Xiao Wang said casually. He had witnessed all the changes at the machinery factory recently, and Factory Director Xu had even promised to provide welfare benefits for everyone. Factory Director Xu himself, in particular, always had a smile on his face and was constantly saying how much he wanted to thank Comrade Long and his colleagues.

He asked the two to wait in the car for a moment, then got out and went to his office.

"This is the machine factory?"

The car stopped in front of the machinery factory's office building. Secretary Miao looked around at the surrounding buildings, still feeling that it all seemed unreal.

"Long Zhiqing!"

Just as he was looking around, several men walked over hurriedly. Long Lifan looked closely at the voices and saw that it was Factory Director Xu and Qiu Yuansheng walking towards them.

"Director Xu, Uncle Qiu." Long Lifan immediately got out of the car and greeted the two.