Reborn in 1977

Chapter 331: Benefits for Me, Blame for You

Chen Fan held the smooth, yellowish stone in his hand, his first reaction was that he had struck gold!

In the 2023 Xiling Seal Art Auction, 12 Tianhuang stones were put up for auction, and 11 were sold, with a success rate of about 92%.

Among them, a Baoyi seal, weighing 53 grams, was sold for 690,000 yuan, which is about 13,000 yuan per gram.

(No. 1 "Red and Yellow" Baoyi Seal)

The highest price for Tianhuang stone was a "Late Ming and Early Qing Dynasty Tianhuang Stone Carved Lion Paperweight" that collector Cao Xingcheng outbid the gambling king Ho to obtain in 2006, with a price of 200,000 yuan per gram.

Even aside from extreme cases like auctions, the unit price of top-quality Tianhuang stone has been above 10,000 yuan for many years, and it can even be said to be a rare find.

How much does gold cost per gram now?

Anyway, top-quality Tianhuang stone is dozens of times more expensive than gold, and even ordinary ones are several times more expensive.

The key is that Tianhuang stone was not only valuable later on, nor is it just valuable because of capital speculation, or rather, capital is just one of the admirers of Tianhuang stone.

This thing was already a high-end luxury item as early as the Song Dynasty, with the saying that its price was comparable to gold. By the Ming Dynasty, it had become "one tael of Tianhuang equals three taels of gold."

By the mid-Qing Dynasty, it had already risen to "one tael of Tianhuang equals ten taels of gold."

Then fifteen taels, twenty taels…

How many taels was he holding?

Chen Fan weighed it in his hand a few times, and with his subtle strength, accurately measured the weight of the stone: a little more than three taels and seven qian.

According to the standard of "one tael for material, two taels for large material", even if the loss after carving is removed, this stone is definitely above the "large material" level, and is only a little short of the "extra-large material" level of four taels.

It's not that there aren't bigger ones, but those can only be cut or used as ornaments. Instead, this kind of natural "seal material" with a suitable size is more precious.

In addition, the entire stone is a rare golden yellow, with uniform color and a smooth feel. There is no doubt that this is a top-quality Tianhuang stone material. If it encounters a famous sculptor, its future value, even if it is not comparable to Cao Xingcheng's sky-high price of 200,000 yuan per gram, the unit price can definitely reach more than 100,000.

However, Chen Fan didn't plan to sell it.

The reason is very simple, because he doesn't lack money!

The house has been built, and he can still earn some extra money. Now he needs票证 (ration coupons) to buy things, and he can't buy good things even with money. Why should he take the gift from Fourth Master Lu to exchange for money?

When the era when banknotes can show their power comes, is he still afraid of not being able to make money?

Moreover, in this era of material scarcity and fixed prices, even if Tianhuang stone is still "equal in price to gold", it is also at the lowest point in historical prices, and it will only get more expensive in the future, not lower.

So not only will he not sell it, but he also wants to buy more of this kind of top-quality goods when he has money in the future, and become a collector himself.

...

He exchanged a treasure for a lake brush given by someone else. Chen Fan smiled smugly, and smiled smugly again.

When he put the horse in the stable and entered the courtyard of the brigade headquarters, there was still an undisguised smile on his face.

Zhang Wenliang came out of the office and couldn't help but be stunned when he saw him, "Yo, did you find money?"

Chen Fan couldn't close his mouth with a smile, "How did you know?"

Seeing him so direct, Zhang Wenliang's eyes widened instantly, "How much did you find?"

Chen Fan put the stone in his pocket and smiled, "I found a house."

Zhang Wenliang's face collapsed, "I thought you really found money."

Without asking, Chen Fan was definitely talking about the Panda Garden.

But he didn't know that Chen Fan was talking about the Wudaokou school district house decades later.

He then pointed to the office, "They are having a meeting, discussing where to set up a kiln to burn bricks. You can come over and join us."

Chen Fan pointed to the backyard, "I'll put things down first, and come over immediately."

Zhang Wenliang, "Okay, I'll wait for you."

Chen Fan ran inside immediately.

Not long after, he arrived at the broadcasting room. Zhang Cuie was preparing for the start of the broadcast. When she heard the movement and turned her face, her eyes lit up immediately, and she stood up with a thud, "Teacher, you're back."

She ran to the door to greet him.

In fact, it was only a few steps away.

"I'm back, have there been any problems here?"

Chen Fan responded with a smile, took off his backpack, and took things out of it.

Zhang Cuie immediately shook her head and said, "Everything is going well here, nothing has happened."

"That's good."

Chen Fan took out a thick stack of records and handed them to her, "This is a souvenir for you."

Zhang Cuie took it with both hands, holding the stack of old records and looking through them. After a while, she raised her head, smiling happily, "Thank you, teacher."

Chen Fan looked at her and shook his head, sighing and saying, "You girl, you're really honest. You're satisfied with a stack of public old records."

Zhang Cuie looked at him in confusion, "This is very good. Many of them are not available in the broadcasting room. You can't buy them even if you want to. Even if they are old, they are already very good, as long as they can be played."

This stack of records was naturally obtained by Chen Fan from Yunhu with the help of others. He originally wanted to see if he could play them on the hand-cranked record player he picked up. After repairing the record player last night, he tried it.

Sure enough, it didn't work.

This new type of small vinyl record had no reaction at all when placed in the large old-fashioned hand-cranked record player.

There was no way to use it in his hand, so he was glad that he thought that the broadcasting station had a new record player, so he simply brought it over.

As for saying that it was a gift for Zhang Cuie, it was just to tease this straightforward little girl. He didn't expect her to take it seriously.

Chen Fan shook his head and smiled when he saw her eloquent appearance. He took out a colorful plastic hair clip from his bag, handed it to her, and smiled, "Huang Ying and the others all have this, and you have a share too. Don't say that the teacher favors one over the other."

Strictly speaking, Zhang Cuie was the first and only student he had taken in, and could barely be considered his first disciple. It was very likely that she was also the only one. Even Huang Ying and the others had gifts, so naturally he wouldn't forget her.

Seeing the beautiful hair clip, Zhang Cuie's eyes lit up, and she quickly put down the records in her arms, turned around and took it with both hands, her eyes smiling into a slit, "Thank you, teacher."

Then she held the hair clip, touching it carefully, "It's so beautiful."

Chen Fan chuckled twice, and finally took out four books from his bag and put them on the table next to him, "Did you see this?"

Zhang Cuie immediately came back to her senses, carefully put away the hair clip first, and then went to look at the four books, muttering, "Algebra, geometry, physics, chemistry?"

She turned to look at Chen Fan and asked curiously, "Is this study material?"

Chen Fan nodded, "The brigade headquarters has several major projects to do during this period. After these few days, I will gather a group of people and teach them the content of this set of materials.

Before that, you should preview it yourself. If there is anything you don't understand, you can ask me again when I have time to come over."

He paused, then put away the smile on his face and said with a serious expression, "Remember this: starting today, your main study tasks, besides the Chinese language knowledge I teach you, will be to master the contents of this set of books.

This set of 'Mathematics, Physics, and Chemistry' self-study series is divided into four categories—Algebra, Geometry, Physics, and Chemistry—totaling 17 books. You must not only study them yourself but also, like the previous study group, assist other students. So, be sure to be diligent. Do you understand?"

Zhang Cuie nodded without hesitation, "Understood."

As for why she absolutely had to study this set of materials, she didn't even ask.

Since it was a study task assigned by the teacher, was there a need to ask why?!

Just like when the teacher arranged for her to learn English, she would just study and be done with it, without asking so many questions.

… …

Coming out of the broadcasting room, Chen Fan walked to the front yard and took out a pack of Donghai cigarettes, handing out a few.

Zhang Wenliang looked at him speechlessly, "Where's your Yulan filter cigarette? You were handing them out yesterday, but today you're hiding them."

Chen Fan poured himself a cup of leftover 'One-Horse Can' tea, walked to the long bench by the wall, sat down, and took a big gulp before smiling and saying, "I'm just keeping your advice in mind, resolutely keeping a low profile."

Leaning safely against the back of the chair, he crossed his legs, "Cigarettes are just dried leaves, after all. What's the difference between Yulan and Zhonghua? They're all the same."

Just as Chen Fan was about to nod, he heard him continue, "Bring me two packs of your Yulan tree leaves tomorrow, and I'll see how they're different from other tree leaves."

Secretary Yang blew out a mouthful of smoke and coughed a few times.

He picked up his teacup, took two gulps of water, wiped his mouth, first pointed at Anquan with a wry smile, then turned to look at Chen Fan, "We were just discussing where to build the brick kiln."

He paused and added, "Also, whether we can build a brick and tile factory. If we can, you'll be the deputy director in charge of technology, and we'll give you an extra share of work points. Plus, there will be other benefits from the brick and tile factory to share.

Or you can train a few apprentices. You'll still be the deputy director of the brick and tile factory, and you'll still get the benefits. Just like the broadcaster and the veterinarian, you'll just have the title, and you won't have to manage the specific details."

Chen Fan frowned slightly and looked at the others, "Do you all want to build a brick and tile factory?"

Xiao Liewen chewed on his cigarette holder, frowning tightly, and said, "We want to build one, and we don't want to build one."

Before Chen Fan could ask, Ye Shubao next to him said, "We want to build one because a brick and tile factory can indeed make money. The commune's brick and tile factory has very good benefits, and the factory can earn a lot of money in a year. If we can build one, we'll definitely earn a lot.

We don't want to build one because the commune already has a brick and tile factory. If we engage in brick and tile sideline business, the commune might not approve it.

Another thing is that a brick and tile factory consumes a lot of clay. Our Lujiawan doesn't have high mountains or deep valleys, and we don't have much wasteland. Every inch of land is precious. If we build a brick and tile factory, it will be fine in the early stages, but what will we do when we've dug out all the wasteland?"

He took a puff of his cigarette, exhaled a cloud of smoke, and shook his head with a smile, "If we want to build a brick and tile factory, we definitely can't avoid you, so we want to hear your opinion. If you say build it, we'll overcome the difficulties and get this factory up and running. If you say don't build it, then we won't."

As soon as Chen Fan heard this, he quickly shook his head, "You can't say that. It's not up to me to make decisions about the production team's work. At most, I'm just a sideline advisor. I don't dare to make the decision."

At this time, Xiao Liewen tapped his cigarette holder and said, "Lao Ye's words are just being said in this room. Just treat it as if the brigade headquarters is holding a meeting. Just think of yourself as an observer and offer your own ideas. As for what decision to make, it has nothing to do with you."

Ye Shubao also nodded immediately, "That's right, that's what I mean."

Hearing this, Chen Fan's expression relaxed a little, "That's okay."

He was quite willing to offer suggestions and opinions because he wouldn't be responsible.

Or he was also willing to take the lead in things that would benefit everyone, such as building a water tower or expanding the village school.

However, he didn't want to get involved in the brick and tile factory sideline business at all.

Do it?

Not to mention the environmental damage, it also requires a large amount of clay to be mined from the village. Anyone in later generations knows that you shouldn't do this kind of project if you can avoid it. Chen Fan wasn't a fool, so why would he do this kind of work?

It's not like there aren't other ways to make money.

Don't do it?

But the brick and tile factory is a "high-profit" project. Digging up some soil and burning it can turn it into real money. Not to mention now, even decades later, there will still be short-sighted people.

In their eyes, only this project can make big money. Who cares about environmental pollution or the future consequences of mining the land?

If they knew that Chen Fan decided not to do this project and prevented them from "getting rich," they would definitely have opinions.

In short, Chen Fan's principle of doing things was "I'll take the benefits, you take the blame."

So, when Ye Shubao said that just now, his first reaction was to refuse.

However, since Xiao Liewen said those words and Ye Shubao quickly agreed, he might as well talk about his own opinions.

"I object!"

Chen Fan looked at them and said seriously, "Actually, you yourselves said that the commune might object. No one can find fault with digging up some soil and burning some bricks and tiles for our own use, but if we're going to build a brick and tile factory, under the principle of 'the commune's economy is like a chessboard, and all actions must follow orders,' unless we can get the commune's approval, we'll be making a mistake."

After saying these things, he shut up.

He didn't mention anything else because this one point was enough.

They didn't dwell on it too much. Secretary Yang smiled and said, "Actually, we also know this. We just can't bear to give up the money that burning bricks can make. Since Little Chen also says so, then we won't build this brick and tile factory."

He paused and turned to look at Chen Fan, saying seriously, "We discussed two places just now. One is near the mound where we're building the small water tower. We can directly take the soil from the mound, burn it, and move it up to build the tower. It's simple, convenient, and direct.

The other is in the 5th team, near the main road leading to the commune. There are also a few small mounds there. If we build the kiln there, those few small mounds can provide a lot of soil. That's also where we were planning to build the brick and tile factory."

He then shook his head and smiled, "But since we've decided not to build the brick and tile factory, there's no need to build the kiln there. We can just build it at the small water tower."

Just as the others nodded in agreement, Chen Fan raised an objection, "It's best to build the kiln in the other place."

Zhang Wenliang looked at him in confusion, "Why?"

Chen Fan spread his hands, "We can't just build one small water tower in the future, right?!"

Hearing this, everyone understood.

Team Leader Zhang nodded and said, "Now only the small water tower needs bricks. When we make money in the future, we'll definitely engage in other sideline businesses, and we'll need a lot of bricks and tiles at that time. It's a good idea to build a bigger kiln and burn bricks for our own use."