Reborn in 1977

At this moment, everyone in Lujiawan was busy, but the things they were busy with were different from before.

In the past, when farm work wasn't so busy, the members of the production team were generally doing their own things.

Some were weeding and catching insects in their own vegetable gardens, some were cutting pig grass and feeding livestock, some were tidying up their homes and hauling pig manure to the team in exchange for work points, and some were slowly spinning cotton thread on spinning wheels or sitting in front of looms, weaving cloth with a push and a pull.

The younger boys would carry battered baskets, running back and forth between the front and back of the village, using branches and bamboo as weapons, and the baskets as shields, looking for people to fight with. Only when the sky gradually darkened would they begrudgingly gather some pig grass, looking dirty and disheveled, and head home.

The girls, of course, would play hopscotch, jump rope, and kick shuttlecocks, but they would always have a small basket for cutting pig grass by their side.

The slightly older ones would take fishing rods to fish. The rods were all made of bamboo, without exception, but the fishing lines varied slightly. The children didn't understand fishing lines, so they just used whatever line they had at home. Some used nylon rope for making fishing nets, and some used cotton rope for sewing quilt covers. There was all sorts of strange things.

Of course, most of them were normal fishing lines, but the thickness was hard to say. Some used thin lines and small hooks to catch big fish, while others used thick lines and big hooks to catch small crucian carp.

As for bait, it was basically divided into two types: earthworms and maggots that crawled out of dry toilets. Anyway, they used whatever was convenient, and they didn't care about anything else. They didn't even have groundbait. At most, they would grab a handful of fine bran when the adults weren't paying attention and scatter it around.

The children were ignorant and didn't know how to find fish. People stood by the water, and wherever I was, the fish were there.

Wearing a lotus leaf as a hat, it was good if they could squat by the water for half an hour.

As these children slowly grew up, their experience became more and more profound. They could tell where the fish were with a glance, and it was nothing to catch big blackfish with a thin bamboo pole.

But why could they catch them? They didn't know. If you asked again, it was all about the feel!

If they could find a thin steel wire, preferably a spoke from a bicycle wheel, sharpen the tip and bend it into a hook, they could go to the edge of the fields to find holes and catch eels.

However, at this time, they had to pay attention to the difference between the holes. Round holes were eel holes, and if they were flat, they were likely to catch a snake or a few small crabs.

Some people also took slingshots to the woods to hunt birds. If they were lucky enough to hit a sparrow, they would secretly take it home as if they were carrying out a secret mission, then boil water to pluck its feathers, and use branches to put it into the stove to roast it while cooking dinner at night.

Generally, Yang, the team leader, would also be more idle at this time.

Few men would do the work of weeding and catching insects, and they couldn't spin thread or weave cloth. Hauling manure wasn't something they did every day either. He was no exception, so he would slowly walk from the beginning of the village to the end, chatting with people everywhere.

Occasionally, he would secretly go to someone's house and play a couple of rounds of mahjong on the sly.

Most people in later generations believe that there was no gambling in this era.

Really?

Not necessarily!

There is a writer named Ye Zhaoyan, whose grandfather was Ye Shengtao. When he wrote articles recalling his childhood days in the countryside, there were scenes of playing cards in the village during those years.

Every New Year's Day, there would be a few households in the village that would start a game, either Pai Gow or mahjong. The stakes were not small, and what was placed on the table were all small bills, and even pennies were rare.

At that time, once the game started, all slogans and studies were thrown to the back of their minds, and they only had the hard wooden tiles in their eyes. The people at the table were fighting, and the onlookers were not idle either. Some people sat next to them as bookmakers and could bet on who would win, one or two cents was fine, and they dared to accept one or two yuan.

Even children would wander around. The smart ones would help the "big winner" pick up the money that fell from the table, and if the person was happy, they would be rewarded with one or two dimes. When the children got the money, their smart IQ would immediately fade away, and the impulsive desire would reoccupy the high ground, and they would resolutely bet the reward money as gambling money.

There is no need to say much about the ups and downs in the middle, and in the end, of course, everything is clean, and there is no good result.

The situation in Lujiawan was naturally not as exaggerated as described in the article. Not only did they gamble big there, but they also didn't avoid suspicion, and they weren't afraid that the children would accidentally say it out.

Here, playing cards was generally fixed in a few people's homes without children, and they closed the door to play their own games. Moreover, they didn't gamble as big as there. They could play a couple of rounds with one or two cents in their hands, and if they lost, they would watch the game from the side.

Everyone knew that this kind of thing could not be said outside, otherwise they would not be able to please them. At the very least, they would not be able to avoid confiscating their gambling money and making a public review, so each of them was very strict with their mouths.

As a result, even Teacher Chen, who was known for his well-informedness, didn't know that there was such a thing in the village.!

Fortunately, he learned to play mahjong with Fourth Master Lu, and he was still using paper mahjong, for fear of being known. Otherwise, he would definitely go there to kill all sides and let them know what a gambling god is!

Of course, that was in the past. Now, the people in Lujiawan don't have the leisure to play mahjong.

People in every household are busy, but what they are doing is not the same as before, but under the overall arrangement of the team, they are preparing to expand breeding.

Team leader Yang sat in front of the house, with a dozen bamboos piled up on the threshing floor, one end on the ground and the other in his hand. He held a bamboo splitter in his hand and divided the bamboo into thin bamboo strips.

Which diligent rural man wouldn't know a little bit of bamboo weaving? The only difference was the level of skill. And what he was doing now was nothing amazing, just cages for holding live poultry.

It wasn't until accountant Liu came over with a notebook that he looked up and said, "Have you finished recording?"

Accountant Liu nodded, "I've finished recording this morning, and I have to record it again in the afternoon."

This kind of work is relatively scattered. Some is done for their own families, so they don't record work points. Some is done for the collective, so they have to keep good records. Although there may be an error of one or two points, the overall picture must be convincing, otherwise his part-time scorekeeper will not be qualified.

He took the chair that Yang Mei, the second daughter of the Yang family, handed over and sat down. First, he took out two self-made cigarettes from his pocket, gave one to Team Leader Yang, lit it, and exhaled a long breath with the smoke. "Every household is doing things. The men are making bamboo cages and chicken coops, and the women are also busy building earthworm ponds. They are all preparing to expand breeding, and no one is idle."

Team leader Yang put down the bamboo and bamboo splitter, picked up the cigarette and lit it, and said with a smile, "Before, each family received 30 chickens, 20 ducks, and 10 geese, and basically all of them survived. Only a few families didn't take good care of them, and a few died or were injured.

This time, the first batch of purchases will take away most of the ducks and geese, leaving only a few females for breeding. The money from the sale, after deducting the almost worthless seedling money, as well as the medicine costs previously paid by the team, and then deducting the management fees of the brigade and the team, each family can get thirty or so yuan, which is almost half of the bonus that a strong laborer received last year. What's the difference between this and picking up money?

If they earn money, they will definitely want to earn more. How can they not cooperate well?"

Speaking of this, he kicked the bamboo under his feet and laughed, "I want to too. Look, after I finish weaving the bamboo cage, I will build a bigger chicken coop and raise a few more chickens."

Although he is the team leader, he is not as good as the cadres of the brigade, who can get "full work points", which is 10 work points a day. The team's cadres only have subsidies. He gets 300 points a year, which is less than one-tenth of the brigade's unified work points. Naturally, he has to do farm work like ordinary members to get work points, but even if he adds them up, he can't compare to Master Liu, who raises livestock and drives a big cart at the entrance of the village.

But there will also be some invisible benefits. For example, the allocation of production team resources is in their hands. In addition, as long as they go to work, they will definitely record ten points.

Otherwise, if there is no convenience at all, why bother to be the team leader and accountant?

Hearing Team Leader Yang's words, Accountant Liu also laughed, "I just came here to take a break with you. After I finish smoking this cigarette, I will go back to build a chicken coop."

After the two laughed for a while, Accountant Liu suddenly sighed again, "It's a pity that Team Leader Ye and the others promised the other four brigades that when our breeding farm is set up, we will help them, so that now we can't even buy seedlings, and we have to help them sell their goods in the future."

Team leader Yang laughed and said, "Why are you thinking so far ahead? Even if their chickens, ducks, and geese are raised, it will be the twelfth lunar month at the earliest. For such a long time, can't Xiao Chen, Anquan, and the others run out to find more big customers?

Even if they don't, the brigade headquarters will definitely collect the goods from our own team first before they can take care of others.

Besides, it's not like we're doing it for nothing. Whether it's chickens, ducks, geese, or anything else, they'll give us a five-cent discount on the wholesale price and deliver it to us. This live poultry turns into cooked food, and cooked food goes to the stores, with layers of markups. It adds up! From the brigade's perspective, it's just earning one less layer of profit. We're not losing out."

After saying that, he flicked the ash from his cigarette and pointed at Accountant Liu with a smile, "You're just used to being stingy and unwilling to give others benefits. Don't forget, a production team is a small collective, and the commune is a large collective. Many hands make light work. Mutual help and assistance are the keys to longevity. That was the original intention of the old man when he started the production teams. We can't have the mindset of an old miser."

Accountant Liu wasn't angry after being lectured. He grinned and laughed, "Of course I understand that. A few months ago, Team Leader Ye asked them to buy seedlings on credit, and they helped us out. Give and take is normal."

After a pause, he added with a smile, "It's just that I saw them starting a breeding farm, which led to a shortage of seedlings, and we can't even buy them ourselves."

Secretary Yang frowned slightly and nodded slowly, "The scarcity of seedlings is indeed a problem. Even if we can hatch some ourselves, if we want to double the output, the shortfall will still be huge."

After a two-second pause, he looked up again and shook his head, saying, "Let's take it slow. I remember An Quan told me last time that the brigade is under a lot of pressure regarding feed."

"The rabbits are about to be distributed, and now we're expanding the scale of chicken farming. Plus, the brigade has added livestock and raised more pigs. Even though we opened up a lot of hillside land to grow grass during the spring plowing, I estimate there will still be a significant shortfall."

Speaking of this, he shook his head and sighed, chuckling twice, and said, "When they didn't allow us to raise them in the past few years, I was thinking that when the day comes when we can raise them, I must build a large breeding farm and raise thousands of chickens."

"Now that we've actually started a breeding farm, I've realized that this thing is really not simple."

"Seedlings, feed, breeding environment, disease prevention… one problem leads to another. After finally raising these things, we still have to worry about where to sell them."

"If it weren't for Little Chen's wide connections and ability to get things done, finding big buyers for these things, we would be worried to death."

Accountant Liu nodded, paused for two seconds, and suddenly said, "So, the five cents we earn from the other teams is not earned for nothing."

Team Leader Yang finally couldn't help but roll his eyes, "You just talk too much. This five cents is not us squeezing the price, it's that they personally saw the problems we encountered along the way in raising them, and they knew that it was not easy to find sales channels, so they took the initiative to lower the price."

"After all, there are regulations from above. How much something is worth is how much it is worth. It's okay to be slightly cheaper, otherwise they would dare to lower it by a dime."

As soon as Accountant Liu heard this, he immediately smiled sheepishly and stopped talking.

This is also where doing business between collectives now is very different from later generations. There are those who bargain, and there are also those who take the initiative to lower prices. The basic rule is to use the guiding price as the standard and speak with conscience.

Even in later generations, some old people who came from the production team era still adhere to this rule. It should be how much it is, and they will never call out a price randomly.

Unfortunately, in later generations, there are abundant materials, but it is difficult to meet good people. Farmers are severely squeezed, and over time, this situation is difficult to see again.

The brigade's Secretary Yang and the others agreed to purchase the things raised by the other four production teams under the condition that it was allowed, earning only five cents per catty. No one could say anything to criticize, and those production teams took the money with peace of mind. This is very good.

The two talked for a while at the door, and Accountant Liu was about to go back.

At this time, the telephone in the room suddenly rang. Team Leader Yang looked back, got up, and walked into the room. Accountant Liu followed him in.

This telephone is almost exclusively for the brigade headquarters. If it comes at this time, there must be something going on, so of course he has to go in and take a look.

Team Leader Yang walked quickly into the room. Yang Mei had already answered the phone. Seeing him come in, she immediately handed over the microphone, "Dad, Secretary Yang is looking for you."

"Okay,"

Team Leader Yang responded, took the microphone with a serious face, and almost instantly adjusted his posture for answering the phone.

His feet were slightly apart, a little wider than his shoulders, his left hand on his waist, his right hand holding the microphone to his ear, his forehead raised high, "Secretary, this is Yang Chuanfu. What's the matter? Tell me."

"Ah? Oh. Yes, yes, yes, okay, I'll take care of it right away."

Team Leader Yang's expression changed constantly, and he didn't say much, just kept responding.

In less than two minutes, he hung up the phone and immediately strode out.

Accountant Liu trotted beside him, anxiously asking, "What's the matter? Good news or bad news?"

Before he could step out of the door, Team Leader Yang suddenly stopped, turned his head, and laughed at him, "Good news, great news."

Accountant Liu breathed a sigh of relief. As long as it wasn't bad news, that was fine.

Then he heard him say, "Today is the opening of the cooked food store. The 300 chickens, ducks, and geese that were prepared were all sold out in just one hour. Just now, An Quan called the brigade headquarters and asked us to immediately organize another batch of goods. When the boat returns, load it onto the boat and send it over there. They plan to sell another batch in the afternoon."

Accountant Liu widened his eyes and held up three fingers, "300 chickens, ducks, and geese, all sold out?"

Team Leader Yang nodded vigorously, "More than that, even the other 200 catties of potatoes and bean curd skin, dried bean curd sticks, and dried tofu that were prepared were all sold out, and they were sold at a high price. Business is extremely good!"

After a pause, he took a breath and sighed, "We're still too timid. Yesterday, before Little Chen set off, he said that the goods we prepared were too few. If we had prepared more, we could have made a lot more money!"

Accountant Liu's eyes rolled, and he stepped out, "Then what are we waiting for? Hurry up and prepare the goods, and send them to the dock as soon as possible."

Team Leader Yang didn't delay either. He stepped out again, "You run ahead, and I'll run behind. Notify each household and let them catch all the chickens that can be sold and all the ducks and geese and send them to the dock."

Originally, the estuary leading to the Yangtze River was on Team 7's side, but considering that the water flow there was relatively rapid, and that the brigade headquarters raised the most chickens, ducks, geese, and rabbits, which might be the main source of supply for the breeding farm in the future, the brigade headquarters unanimously decided to build a small dock here in Team 6, specifically for docking cargo ships.

Speaking of the dock, it is actually very simple. It is just a staircase made of not-so-thick wood extending into the water. Because the water level is still relatively high, not even a cement pier has been built. They are thinking of building a red brick dock during the dry season in winter as a docking point for cargo ships.

So, to send goods to the county seat, the other teams must first send the corresponding goods to Team 6.

This has also become the distribution center for external goods in Lujiawan.

After Secretary Yang and Accountant Liu left, Yang Mei's eyes rolled slightly, and she shouted into the room, "Mom, I'm going to find my sister."

Without waiting for her mother to speak, she ran out in a puff of smoke, completely ignoring the shouts of her three younger siblings.

… …

At the same time, in the Luwan Cooked Food Store in Gufeng County, Chen Fan looked at Zhang Wenliang, who was holding the canvas bag tightly, and said unhappily, "I told you to go to the credit union to deposit it, but you didn't go. You just had to hold it in your arms. Aren't you hot?"

(Savings Book in 1977)

Zhang Wenliang wiped his sweat and said solemnly, "This money must be entered into the brigade headquarters' account. If it is deposited in the bank, how can it be entered into the account?"

An Quan laughed beside him, "You deposit the money into the bank, and then let him issue you a transfer check. Then you take the check back to Nanhugou and cash the check at the Nanhugou Credit Cooperative. It's not only convenient but also very safe. Why aren't you getting it?"

Zhang Wenliang glared, "What if it gets lost?"

An Quan explained, "The transfer check has the payee's unit and account number. Even if someone picks it up, it's useless. You report the loss to the bank and then reissue one, and it's done. Are you worried about it getting lost?"

(Cashier's Check in 1975)

Zhang Wenliang was still a little confused, "Really won't get lost?"

He tightened the canvas bag he was holding, "I'm still a little worried."

Chen Fan looked at him speechlessly. After two seconds, he couldn't help but laugh, "How about this? You have more than 2,400 yuan there. You first let Accountant Li from the brigade bring the official seal and information over. He definitely knows how to handle it. When the time comes, you give him the money, and that's it. Leave the rest to him, okay?"

This time, Zhang Wenliang didn't say anything else. He immediately nodded and smiled, "That's okay, that's okay!"