Reborn in 1977

Chapter 248: Another Business Opportunity

Today's meal was set up at 5 tables, two tables in the "Comprehensive Room" and two in the "Storage Room."

There was also a table in the kitchen, which was used to entertain several of the cooking assistants, naturally including Jiang Lili and Yang Ju.

However, although the food was on the table and the loose liquor bought from Old Tang of Team 7 had already been poured, no one went to eat.

More than 30 people were all crowded in the kitchen, visiting the first tile-covered stove in Lujiawan.

Team Leader Yang stroked the tiles on the stove with his palm, marveling, "Oh, Xiao Chen, this is a great idea. Putting the tiles on the stove makes cleaning it as easy as washing dishes. Just use some hot water and a wet rag to wipe it clean, just like new. It can be used for many years."

Accountant Liu stared at the tiles for a while, turned to look at Chen Fan, and asked in a low voice, "How much do these tiles cost?"

Chen Fan raised his head and thought for a moment, then said softly, "These tiles are a little smaller than a bowl, and they use a little less clay than a bowl, but looking at them as square pieces, it's actually not easy to fire them flat..."

Before he could finish, the Property Manager Huang interrupted him and asked, "Just tell us how much they cost."

Chen Fan rubbed his hands and chuckled, "5 cents a piece."

Equivalent to a quarter of a bowl.

However, making these tiles is much easier than making bowls. A large wooden board is used to spread the clay, flatten it, and cut it into clay pieces of 10 by 20 centimeters. They can be dried by placing them in the wind for two days, then a layer of glaze is applied with a brush. After it dries, it is sent to the earthen kiln for firing. That small earthen kiln can fire two or three thousand pieces at a time.

Selling them for 5 cents a piece is a huge profit.

But he can't sell them too cheaply, otherwise he won't have to do anything else but fire kilns for them.

"5 cents a piece?"

An Quan muttered, then began to measure the stove, "How many pieces did you use here?"

Chen Fan casually calculated, "About 600 pieces."

Mainly because the tiles are small, but this stove is not small. Covering it all up takes quite a few.

He also wanted to fire a few large tiles, preferably one that could directly cover the entire surface of the stove, so that there would be no gaps and it would be easier to clean.

However, the larger the tiles, the easier they are to break or warp during firing. They can still be used, but you can't care about the uneven surface of the stove. But if the surface of the stove is uneven, can you still put bowls and plates on it?

So, there was no other way. He could only make the tiles smaller. The current size is the size with the highest yield after he experimented with several kilns.

Hearing Chen Fan's words, the onlookers were stunned. So many?

Then someone calculated the price, "Wouldn't that be 30 yuan?"

The crowd immediately started talking.

"So expensive."

"Can't afford it, can't afford it."

"It's only because Teacher Chen can fire them himself. How many people could afford to buy them?"

Even An Quan was a little taken aback, "That's almost half a month's salary for me."

Chen Fan smiled and said, "If you want to completely surround the entire stove like mine, it will take that many. But if you only cover the surface of the stove, about 100 pieces should be enough."

Team Leader Yang suddenly understood and nodded repeatedly, "That makes sense. The most easily soiled part of a stove is the surface. If you only put tiles on the surface, it will be clean and easy to manage, and it will also save money. That's good, that's good."

The others also nodded in agreement.

"Spending 5 yuan to tile the stove is nice and clean, and it's not particularly expensive, so it's acceptable."

"5 yuan is okay. You can earn that in ten days or so, not too expensive."

Immediately, someone wanted to place an order with Chen Fan, "Teacher Chen, do you still have these tiles? I want to buy some."

Before Chen Fan could speak, Team Leader Yang waved his hand and said loudly, "What are you buying at this time? Eat, eat! The dishes will be cold in a moment."

After a pause, he added, "Whoever wants to buy them, register with Accountant Liu later, and I will report it to Teacher Chen in a unified manner. Otherwise, if you buy them one by one, who can keep track?"

Hearing this, the crowd responded with a bang and went out happily to prepare for the meal.

From beginning to end, Chen Fan was smiling and did not say he wouldn't sell them.

If he didn't make money from business that came to his door, what else did he want?

He also didn't say he would exchange them for agricultural products. He had just taken a dozen bags of grain to the brigade headquarters. If he did it again, this place would become a grain store.

An Quan also gave him some popular science. Earning money through craftsmanship is a type of "rural sideline occupation." What he earns is labor fees. As long as the team agrees, no one can say anything, which saves him the trouble of going back and forth.

…

The lunch with liquor lasted until after 1:00 PM. After a short rest, work continued at 2:00 PM.

In the morning, the 14 hired workers responsible for transplanting the trees had already transplanted all the trees in place. At this time, they were freed up. In addition, the stove had already been built, so now only the toilet and sewer project needed to be dealt with.

Team Leader Yang was responsible for directing, dividing 20 people to go to the back, and the remaining 10 people were all assisting Chen Fan, watching him build the toilet.

Accountant Liu stood aside with his hands behind his back, a cigarette in his mouth, his eyes full of confusion, "A toilet also uses blue bricks? And no septic tank? And you've dug such a big pit. It can't be that it will fall directly into the pit, right?"

Property Manager Huang chewed on his pipe, his brow furrowed tightly. After thinking for a moment, he shook his head slightly, "It doesn't look like it. If it were to fall directly into the pit, there would be no need to build such a long sewer in the back, and build a septic tank. Just put a cover on the pit and leave an opening, wouldn't that be enough?"

Team Leader Yang looked at the gradually forming deep pit, turned to look at An Quan, and said in a low voice, "Old An, you are knowledgeable, do you know what he is going to do?"

An Quan frowned, looked at the pile of blue bricks, the soil cement being mixed next to it, as well as the lime, tiles, a water tank shaped like a quarter of a circle, and something wrapped in straw that he couldn't see the whole picture of. After pondering for a moment, his eyes suddenly lit up, and he said loudly, "Xiao Chen, did you fire a squatting pan yourself?"

Everyone looked at An Quan, their eyes full of confusion.

Squatting pan? What is that?

Chen Fan turned around, looked at An Quan, chuckled, and nodded, saying, "Yes, I ruined several things before finally firing two squatting pans. That's when I thought of renovating the toilet."

"Oh."

An Quan clenched his hands tightly, his face full of admiration, "I didn't expect it, I didn't expect it. You can even fire squatting pans. Amazing."

Team Leader Yang looked blankly, looked at Chen Fan, then looked at him, and asked, "What is a squatting pan?"

His question was also the question that Accountant Liu, Property Manager Huang, and others wanted to ask.

An Quan turned around and smiled at him, "Squatting pans are things used in city apartment toilets. After you finish using the toilet, you can flush away the dirty things with water. It's clean and there's no smell at all."

Before the rise of real estate, the city's sewer system was not very complete. For a long time, the vast majority of urban residents did not have indoor toilets where they lived, relying mainly on public toilets, and using "spittoons" at night, which they would empty the next morning.

Only those newly built "Workers' New Villages" and buildings built by various units were equipped with toilets, and many were not "one toilet per household," but "one toilet per floor."

Later, in many public housing renovation projects, the toilet floor was higher than the floor of the living room, which indicated that the toilet was installed later.

Even public housing was like this, let alone bungalows and old self-built houses.

Therefore, a squatting pan, which is very common in later generations, is also a rare thing now, especially in rural areas. Not to mention seeing one, very few people have even heard of it.

When Team Leader Yang and the others heard An Quan's words, they were stunned for a moment, followed by disbelief.

After relieving yourself, just flush with water, and there's no smell.

Is that still a toilet?