Reborn in 1977

Chapter 366: Self-Production, Self-Sales

An Quan coughed lightly and looked at Chen Fan, saying, "Your idea is to use waterways for transportation, right? After we came back, we discovered a very serious practical problem."

Chen Fan blinked repeatedly. "What problem?"

Oh my heavens, don't tell me water transport is impossible?

There's a saying from the 80s: "To get rich, build roads first." Transportation is the primary obstacle to economic development. If we can't open up the waterways, even if Chen Fan has a thousand abilities, they won't be of much use!

But Chen Fan really isn't clear about the conditions for using waterways in this era.

He only knows that in later generations, whether it flies in the sky, runs on the ground, or swims in the water, everything related to transportation is managed by regulatory departments.

If you can't obtain a waterway transportation permit, you can't transport goods by ship.

Even a kayak must obtain approval from relevant departments to freely navigate in the water.

Otherwise, it's strictly forbidden to launch!

As for whether a shipping permit is needed now, he really doesn't know.

Anyway, the last time he ran errands in the county town, those units dodged and weaved, scaring Chen Fan.

What's going on? On this small piece of land in Nanhu, can't even the boats from Lujiawan get a navigation permit?

Under Chen Fan's nervous gaze, An Quan said seriously, "The main problem is that our boats are too small."

Chen Fan was instantly stunned. "? ? ?"

After several seconds, he reacted. "What do you mean by 'boats are too small'?"

An Quan gestured with his hands, saying, "Lujiawan doesn't have big boats, only small sampans. One boat can only carry about half more cargo than a flatbed cart, and that's it."

Chen Fan blinked. "I know, I've been here for half a year, how could I not know that?"

After eating water chestnuts that day, Yang Ju and Huang Ying even took him boating to pick water chestnuts. He learned how to row that day.

The others looked at each other, wondering what he meant.

Chen Fan continued, "If one boat isn't enough, use three boats. Install the outboard motor on the middle boat, and attach a small sampan on each side, fix them with boat nails, and tie them tightly with ropes. The cargo capacity will be doubled.

If that's still not enough, add three more boats in front, for a total of six small sampans. The combined cargo capacity will exceed ten flatbed carts. The only downside is the speed will be slower.

But even if the speed is slower, it should still be ten or twenty kilometers per hour, right? Tractors use the same diesel engine. Those tractors carry more than trucks, and they still chug along. Boats on water are better than tractors, right?

If it really doesn't work, we can add a simple triangular sail for extra power.

It's about 50 kilometers from Lujiawan to the prefectural committee, and another 10 kilometers to the county town. Including the time for unloading in the middle, one trip should take no more than 5 hours. The return trip will take a maximum of 3 hours. Leaving at 7 in the morning, we can be back by 3 or 4 in the afternoon at the latest, which is much better than a horse-drawn carriage, right?"

(Boat nails, also known as cleats or saddle staples, were essential tools for raftsmen in the past)

The office was silent after hearing his words.

Secretary Yang looked at Captain Zhang, Captain Zhang looked at Xiao Liewen, Xiao Liewen looked at Ye Shubao, Ye Shubao looked at Zhang Wenliang, Zhang Wenliang kept his head down, not daring to look up. Yang Xingxiu next to him curled her lips slightly, expressing her contempt.

An Quan blinked. Could solving problems be this simple?

Binding cargo ships together is a common technique for shipping companies, especially when small boats are traveling on large rivers or even near the sea. They must be bound together to resist larger waves.

Last year, the shipping company took on a task to run to Shanghai. When they reached the estuary, they tied 6 cargo ships side by side with cables, weathered the big waves on the coast without any danger, unloaded the goods at the Shanghai pier, and then sailed back.

Because inland river boats and seagoing ships are different. Seagoing ships have a deep bottom and a very low center of gravity. Some ship bottoms are longer than the width of the ship. Rivers generally don't have big waves, so there's no need for a low center of gravity, so inland river boats have flat bottoms.

These boats are fine for running in rivers, but once they enter the sea, even the coast, they're no different from a small piece of wood, and they could capsize at any time.

Therefore, it's a remarkable feat for an inland river boat to make a sea voyage.

Since that time, the leaders of the shipping company have been bragging about this matter every time they chat, and they've been bragging for a whole year.

How could I have forgotten this?

However, An Quan knows how to save face. When he came back to his senses, he immediately coughed lightly and said with a chuckle, "Of course we know this, but what I want to say is not this."

Chen Fan was stunned. "You just said the boats were too small, and it's not this? What is it then? What other problems are there?"

An Quan gestured, saying, "It's like this, the method you said is indeed feasible, but it's just an expedient measure when there are no conditions, right?"

Chen Fan nodded, looking at him suspiciously. "What, can you get a big boat back?"

If there was a big boat, who would be willing to use assembled small sampans? Of course, they would go directly to the big boat!

Zhang Wenliang also chuckled twice next to him. "Hehe, we're already building a big boat."

Saying that, he opened his arms. "A 10-meter long, two-meter wide hull, we specially deepened the cabin a little bit, which is more stable and can carry a lot more goods.

Team Leader Wang of the 4th team's carpentry team led the team and gathered more than a dozen carpenters to start work. It will be able to launch in just over two months. When the time comes, we'll put up a sail on the boat and equip it with a diesel engine. The speed will definitely be slow."

Chen Fan blinked. The carpenters of Lujiawan actually have this ability?

Seeing that Chen Fan seemed a little suspicious, Secretary Yang grinned and smiled, "Don't you believe it, there are many waterways around Yunhu, and there are many large and small shipbuilding workshops. Although most of them can only build small sampans, there are also many large factories that can build river boats.

The current ship repair factory of the shipping company is actually an incorporation of an old shipyard. That shipyard could produce large sailing ships more than ten feet long and three feet wide in the early years. The shipbuilders basically come from carpenters in the nearby villages.

Master Wang also worked in that shipyard in his early years, and he has built all kinds of wooden boats. The small sampans in our production team were all made by them bit by bit. The situation in the other production teams is similar. Building a wooden boat is a piece of cake."

Chen Fan opened his mouth wide and blinked. Ten feet is more than 30 meters. Master Wang and the others can actually build this kind of large sailing ship, really?

However, is this what An Quan meant by a big boat?

Thinking of this, Chen Fan frowned slightly. "So, the problem An Ge is talking about is that the big boat won't be able to launch for more than two months? Or something else?"

An Quan couldn't help but feel a little helpless when he heard this. "That's not what I wanted to say. It's all their fault for interrupting."

When Zhang Wenliang heard this, he quickly raised his hands. "Okay, okay, I won't interrupt. You say, you say."

An Quan glanced at him. "You not talking is not interrupting."

Zhang Wenliang: "..."

An Quan looked at Chen Fan and continued, "I'll just say it directly. The shipping company has two sets of broken propeller propulsion units, not the kind of outboard motors that only have a propeller and a control lever, but complete marine propeller propulsion units that include a marine engine, impeller, shaft, bearings, gearbox, bracket, and rudder, which are specially used for large ships.

The day before yesterday, when you went to the prefectural committee, we returned to Nanhu. That day, I went to find the leaders of the shipping company to discuss buying matching outboard motors, and then I saw those two sets of broken machines in their warehouse, with a pile of messy parts next to them, all from the propulsion units."

Hearing this, Chen Fan already understood An Quan's meaning. He immediately leaned forward, his eyes shining, and looked at him, saying, "There's room for maneuver here!"

An outboard motor is the small machine installed behind a small boat. As long as you fix the outboard motor on the stern and start the engine, you can rush forward. That little thing behind the speedboat is it.

A thruster is a marine engine equipment used by large ships, which can be roughly divided into a cab, an engine room, and an underwater propeller. The thrust is much stronger than an outboard motor.

With a thruster, who would want an outboard motor?!

Aren't they just two sets of broken thrusters? As long as all the parts are there, even if some parts are damaged, Chen Fan is confident that he can repair the machine.

Of course, if the parts are too severely damaged, he will need the help of welders and forgers from the repair shop.

Seeing Chen Fan's reaction, An Quan's eyebrows danced with joy, and he laughed triumphantly, "As the saying goes, great minds think alike. You and I thought of the same thing. At that time, I discussed it with the manager of their repair shop and the general manager of the water transport company. If we can help them repair those two thrusters, one of them will be ours!"

As soon as he finished speaking, everyone in the office stared at Chen Fan expectantly.

Since ten years ago, motorized boats have been the mainstream of river transportation. The large sailboats that once dominated the rivers and were incredibly impressive have gradually disappeared from the river. It's not that they don't exist, but there are fewer and fewer of them, replaced by more and more motorized boats.

If possible, Lujiawan also wants its own motorized boat. If this can be done, then Lujiawan can be considered one of the best in the entire Nanhu Commune, even within the scope of Gufeng County.

At least so far, they haven't heard of any production team that has its own motorized boat!

Faced with their eager gazes, Chen Fan didn't hesitate, "Okay, when are we going?"

An Quan smiled, "You just got back today, take a rest first. I'll go to the water transport company and make an appointment with them. If there are no problems, we'll go tomorrow."

Chen Fan naturally had no objections. Anyway, the agreement with the units in the district committee was to start delivering goods from the 1st of next month, so it didn't matter if it was a day or two later.

After saying that, he got up and stretched, then put on his backpack, picked up the bundle of books, and smiled, "Then I'll go back first, and come back tomorrow morning."

At this time, Ye Shubao quickly got up and said, "You haven't said how to recruit people for the cooked food workshop yet. What kind of people do you need? You have to give us some rules."

Secretary Yang also nodded and said, "Rural people all want to run to the city. Although this cooked food workshop is not a proper unit, it is a team property opened in the county. It's still half a worker, even if it's just for show. In the past two days, the members of the entire brigade have been staring at the positions of the workshop workers. We have to come up with a fair and just set of rules to convince everyone."

Chen Fan didn't sit down either. He picked up his teacup, took a sip, wiped his mouth, and looked at them with a smile, "It's simple, just two rules. First, only female workers."

After all, this is also a job in the kitchen. You all know what the men of our Lujiawan are like, so I don't need to say more, right? In order to ensure quality and learn and start work as soon as possible, it's best to only recruit female workers."

As soon as he said this, Yang Xingxiu burst out laughing. She didn't need to turn her head to know that everyone was looking at her, so she quickly buried her head, but her shoulders were still shaking non-stop.

These days, countless people have been running to the brigade headquarters for the quota to work in the county, and most of them are men. In the end, her father got angry and drove everyone back.

After she got home, she also discussed with her father that a certain proportion of places must be reserved for women, but her father was vague and refused to give a definite answer.

Today, Chen Fan directly decided to only recruit female workers. She could imagine that when this news was announced, the faces of the men in the village would definitely be interesting, so she couldn't help but laugh.

Secretary Yang glanced at his daughter with a dark face, looked around, and said, "Although Xiao Chen's words are not pleasant to hear, they are the truth. There are indeed not many men in our Lujiawan who can cook, and it's also convenient to have women over there for accommodation, so there won't be any bad things happening. I agree with this."

Captain Zhang, Xiao Liewen, and Ye Shubao, although they felt a little awkward in their hearts, could only nod along. This point was considered passed.

Chen Fan continued, "The second point is to be diligent and down-to-earth, and not have too good academic performance."

This made everyone confused.

An Quan looked at him in confusion, "Diligence and down-to-earth can be understood, but why is it not okay to have good academic performance?"

Yang Xingxiu also asked with a strange expression, "Are you saying the opposite? People with good grades have more flexible minds and learn things faster, so why is that not okay?"

Chen Fan chuckled, "Learning to make cooked food only involves a few processes. As long as you're not too stupid, you can learn everything in at most two or three days."

He didn't say something: the real secrets of making cooked food all lie in the recipes for sauces and marinades. The workshops for making these things should naturally be located in Lujiawan. The people in the county only need to operate according to the steps, so naturally they don't need to be too smart.

After a pause, he continued, "For this kind of simple operating procedure, just find those who are diligent and hardworking. Shouldn't the relatively smarter people be kept for important use in the future?"

He looked around at everyone and smiled, "When the cooked food workshop is on the right track, and the markets in the county and district committee are consolidated, the next step will definitely be to continue expanding the scale."

He said, looking at Ye Shubao and An Quan, "When you were looking for other brigades to borrow seedlings on credit, you promised them that when our breeding farm makes money, we would pull them in to make money together, right?"

Ye Shubao and An Quan nodded together.

Although these words were a pie they drew for others in order to get the seedlings at the time, if they really built the breeding farm and had the ability, they wouldn't mind helping the brother brigades.

After all, for the past one or two hundred years, several villages have intermarried, and there are relatives between them. Moreover, they have always been helping each other in recent years. If it weren't for these relationships, even if they drew a huge pie, they might not have been able to borrow so many seedlings.

Chen Fan continued, "That's right. Lujiawan's production capacity is ultimately limited. If we pull in 4 production teams, then we can make the breeding side business very big. Maybe our cooked food stores will open in the district committee, in every county, and even in the provincial capital, and the live poultry business will also become bigger and bigger.

At that time, we will need a lot of professional talents."

He turned to look at Yang Xingxiu and smiled, "The reason I donated so many books to the team to build a library is to prepare for the future, so the main task of people with strong learning abilities is to study hard. When the production team needs them in the future, they can take over, and the positions at that time will definitely be better than being a cooked food worker."

Yang Xingxiu nodded suddenly, "I see, I understand!"

The others also nodded repeatedly.

An Quan said thoughtfully, "Xiao Chen, I feel like you're playing a big game of chess. Expanding the village school so that all the children can go to school, and those with good grades can continue to study, and even if they can't get a place to go to university, they can still study at a correspondence university, or find their favorite professional books in the library. These people will become Lujiawan's reserve talents.

Those with poor grades will be arranged for less complicated jobs. Whether they are farming in the team or working in the workshop, people who have gone to school and read books will probably do better than those who have not gone to school. After all, they can understand those 'Agricultural Basics' books and know how to farm scientifically."

He said, raising his head to look at Chen Fan, "One hand cultivates talents, and the other hand develops side businesses. When the side businesses grow and need people, those cultivated talents can take over. This is self-produced and self-sold, right!"

After he finished speaking, Chen Fan shrugged and smiled helplessly, "Our production team has neither superiors to allocate talents nor units to provide development support. We have to rely on ourselves for everything, so we can only be self-reliant and self-sufficient."

Hearing this, Secretary Yang couldn't help but slowly nod his head, "I see."

He then raised his head, looked at Chen Fan, and said, "I didn't think so much before. I thought side businesses were just side businesses, and expanding schools was just about grasping education. I didn't expect the two to be connected."

At this time, Ye Shubao also said from the side, "Just now Xiao An also missed a point. Expanding schools and cultivating talents can support the development of side businesses. After these side businesses develop, the production team has money, and we will have more money to build schools, grasp education, and cultivate more and better talents.

What is this? This is mutual promotion, which can only get better and better!"

Xiao Liewen also nodded in agreement, "Yes, that's the logic. Grasping side businesses is like a field army, mainly responsible for fighting. That school is like a logistics unit, providing support to the soldiers. If the battle is won, there will be more food and guns, in short, it will only get better and better!"

Captain Zhang thought for a while, feeling that all the good things had been said by them. He was racking his brains to say something when he suddenly had an idea. He raised his head and looked at Chen Fan with a chuckle, "Xiao Chen, that small water tower is ready. When do you think we should start it up? Turning on the tap water will also be considered a welcome home for you."