Reborn in 1977

Chapter 490: Queuing and Treating Guests

Today, Chen Fan wasn't wearing his flamboyant coat or his Zhongshan suit. He was just wearing long underwear under a thick cotton-padded jacket. The jacket was blue, and so were his pants. The cotton shoes he wore were also made for him by Jiang Lili last year.

Apart from his uniquely stylish face, his attire made him look exactly like a member of the production team.

At this moment, he had a cigarette in his mouth and was sitting on a stool with his legs crossed, making him look even more like one.

During the distribution of profits, the accounting was done according to each person's work points. However, when it came to distributing the money, it wasn't directly given to individuals, but rather to the head of the household or the family representative.

Team 6 originally had 46 households. Counting the educated youth spot and Chen Fan, there were a total of 48 households. So, there were more than 40 people queuing to receive money, while others craned their necks to watch from the sidelines.

Accountant Liu, referring to the ledger, first announced the work points of a certain household loudly, then the individual points, and finally the total.

In addition to Accountant Liu, who was also the scorekeeper, each member had a booklet to record their own work points. Every day after work, members would go to the scorekeeper to reconcile their accounts, so everyone's points were clearly recorded.

When Accountant Liu announced the accounts, the members checked them against their own scorebooks. If there were any objections, they could be raised on the spot.

However, after reading through a long list, there were no problems, indicating that Accountant Liu was a very meticulous worker.

After he finished reading, Supervisor Huang would count out the corresponding amount of money from the pile and hand it to Captain Yang, who was sitting next to him.

Captain Yang would count the money again, and after counting, he would check it against his own ledger, announcing the total work points and amount again.

After verifying everything repeatedly, he would hand the money to the person receiving it for that household.

The head of the household would naturally count the money first.

This wasn't about trust, but about emphasizing 'clearance upon handover,' which was good for everyone, preventing future disputes and resentment.

Many village conflicts were sown in this way. By speaking clearly face-to-face and counting the money clearly, many misunderstandings could be avoided.

After counting the money and verifying it, they would sign or make a mark on the ledger.

If they couldn't write, they would take out a seal from their pocket and carefully stamp it.

These seals were registered with the police station, and had the same effect as a personal signature. They were now a common item for almost everyone. For example, when receiving money today, more people were stamping than signing. Well, basically everyone was stamping, and there were only a few signatures.

Chen Fan looked at it with some envy. This thing was great, you didn't even need to write, just stamp it and you're done.

Unfortunately, although he had carved many seals for himself, he couldn't use them as signatures.

Such signature seals had to be carved at a designated place by the police station, and then the seal maker would send a stamped paper to the police station to be added to the individual's file for record-keeping, making it a formal and valid seal.

His kind could only be kept for personal use, and he could stamp everywhere like a stamping maniac, as long as it wasn't used for formal documents, it was fine. It just couldn't be used as a signature.

Hmm, someday I'll get Officer Zhu to stamp one for me.

Captain Yang handed out another sum of money, "Huang Laowu, ... your family's total is 7289, keep it safe."

Huang Laowu was the father of Huang Ying and Huang Li. He had separated from the family, and his family of seven had five daughters. He was the only strong laborer, and the others combined could only account for two and a half strong laborers' work points, so the total work points for his family was three and a half.

An average strong laborer could earn 3300 points a year, so his family's total work points this year would be 11500 to 12000 points.

Accountant Liu had just announced that each work point was worth 60 cents, so after calculating the odd amounts, it came to 7289 yuan.

Despite receiving so much money, Huang Laowu was still not very happy.

He had just heard that others were getting more than 10,000 yuan, and there was even a family with three brothers who hadn't separated, and their children were all boys. Including the elderly, women, and children, their total income exceeded 20,000 yuan. There were twenty bundles of 1,000 yuan bills, not counting a handful of loose change.

Looking at his own now, his face immediately turned as black as the bottom of a pot, and he muttered to himself, probably not saying anything good.

Before he could say anything, Captain Yang became unhappy, took back the money he had handed out, and pointed at him, scolding, "Your Huang Ying has been admitted to the Foreign Trade University. Teacher Chen said that she will earn foreign exchange in the future and make great contributions to the country. Her personal income will not be low either. What are you still grumbling about!"

Supervisor Huang also joined in the scolding, "You just want a son every day, you're never satisfied. Ask others, who doesn't envy your two daughters for studying with Teacher Chen? Grumble again and see if I don't smack you."

Huang Laowu wasn't afraid of Captain Yang's scolding, but he couldn't stand his cousin's scolding. That was the head of the Huang family!

He immediately ignored the laughter around him and could only shrink his neck and laugh awkwardly, "No, I'm not grumbling about anything, I'm happy to see so much money."

Glaring at him, Captain Yang handed the money back, and secretly winked at him.

Huang Laowu was stunned for a moment, then looked at his cousin, whose eyes were also twitching, and suddenly realized, couldn't help but glance to the side.

Teacher Chen was still sitting here, and behind him stood six girls, two of whom were his own daughters. Although the daughters were his own, they were Teacher Chen's students when they were with him. How would Teacher Chen think if he was ranting and raving in front of their teacher?

Teacher, teacher, the teacher comes before the father!

Although they hadn't kowtowed and formally become disciples, everyone in the team knew why. In fact, they were no different from Teacher Chen's apprentices.

Didn't you see that Teacher Chen, who was still smiling just now, no longer had a smile on his face, and even threw away his cigarette butt!

Huang Laowu quickly changed his expression, stuffed the money into his cotton jacket pocket, took out a cigarette from his outer pocket, hurried over, handed one to Chen Fan, and smiled cautiously, "Teacher Chen, have a cigarette."

This meaning was very clear.

Who didn't know that Teacher Chen was always friendly to everyone, but now he was angry.

Seeing this situation, Captain Yang even paused the distribution of profits and winked at Supervisor Huang.

Supervisor Huang thought for a moment, and was about to speak when he heard his cousin say, "Teacher Chen, my two daughters are learning skills from you, and thanks to your teaching, they have become a little promising.

Usually, you are a busy person, and I don't have much money in my pocket, so I'm embarrassed to speak up. This year, thanks to you, we've earned a lot from raising chickens, ducks, and geese, and we've also received so much from the profit distribution today. I'd like to invite you to my house for a simple meal, not as a thank you, but just to express a little gratitude. What do you think?"

As soon as these words came out, the entire field was in an uproar.

Everyone looked at Huang Laowu in surprise, as if they didn't recognize him.

Captain Yang was the same, his eyes glanced at Supervisor Huang, as if asking, is this your Huang family's fifth brother?

Supervisor Huang was also a little confused, when did our fifth brother have this change?

He didn't know that Huang Ying's mother had been talking about inviting Teacher Chen to a meal at home these past few days. Not to mention anything else, Huang Ying's admission to a key university was all thanks to Teacher Chen. If it weren't for him, she wouldn't even be able to get into elementary school.

Inviting someone to a meal was at least a gesture.

But Huang Laowu was a little hesitant. What he was thinking was that Captain Yang, as the leader of Team 6, hadn't even hosted a dinner, so what was it if he took the initiative?

Originally, he was thinking that after the profit distribution, after confirming that the money was in his pocket, he would discuss it with his third brother to see if each family should invite separately or if they should invite together.

As a result, he had inadvertently offended Teacher Chen, and he couldn't care about Captain Yang's face, so he quickly brought out his wife's words at home, which could also be considered as expressing his feelings.

Sure enough, hearing him say this, Chen Fan's expression improved a lot.

He turned his head to look at Huang Ying and Huang Li, whose eyes were still a little red, but were now smiling, turned back and said with a smile, "I appreciate the kindness, but there's no need for the meal."

He didn't say much else. Huang Ying and her five sisters, the two of them were the eldest and second, and he would definitely protect them when they were under his nose. As for the other three younger ones, they had nothing to do with him.

If Huang Ying and Huang Li had the heart, they would naturally take care of them, and there was no need for him to interfere.

At this time, Captain Yang shouted, "Little Chen, originally this meal was going to be hosted by me, Lao Liu, and Lao Huang. The children have all become promising after learning from you. If we don't show any appreciation, we'll be criticized behind our backs.

It's just that I've been busy with reinforcing the dikes, building water towers, and renovating ditches for the past period. There were so many messy things that I only had a little free time these past few days. We were planning to talk to you about this after distributing the dividends. Since Huang Laowu mentioned it, I'll bring it up.

Don't decline. In the next couple of days, whether it's tonight or tomorrow night, come to my house for a big drinking session. See which day is convenient for you?”

Chen Fan blinked, and a smile immediately returned to his face. He said, “Since the captain has spoken, how dare I disobey? Just make the arrangements.”

Captain Yang laughed heartily, “Alright, let's take advantage of the festive atmosphere of distributing money today and come to my house for a drink tonight.”

Although they hadn't discussed it beforehand, Huang the custodian and Accountant Liu wouldn't object and even somewhat agreed.

It was indeed time to treat Teacher Chen to a meal!

After the brief interlude, the dividend distribution continued.

The banknotes on the table decreased at a rate visible to the naked eye. By the end, only a pile of loose bills remained.

Captain Yang gathered the money in his hand, tapped it neatly on the table, and raised his head to say, “This is how the dividend distribution for this year is. Ah, there's not much money, ah, not much money.”

Everyone standing on the threshing ground, their back molars exposed in smiles, couldn't help but open their mouths even wider when they heard Captain Yang's words, laughing out loud.

This was considered not much money?

One work point was worth 60 cents, nearly 10 times more than last year's 6.5 cents!

Captain Yang chuckled as he said this.

However, he quickly suppressed it, coughed twice, and continued, “It's indeed not much. As everyone knows, there wasn't much output in the first half of the year. It wasn't until September that we started selling outwards. In other words, most of today's dividends come from the last four months' income.”

As his voice fell, the threshing ground became silent, except for Little Eight flying overhead, “Coo, coo…”

Chen Fan glanced at it and waved. Little Eight immediately flew down and landed on his shoulder, cocked its tail, and stopped talking. It looked left and right, hopped over, and jumped onto Huang Ying's shoulder before settling down.

Captain Yang glanced at the myna and continued, “Later, the profits were very good. Chickens, ducks, and geese were in short supply, and there weren't enough seedlings. After discussion, the brigade decided to implement batch breeding, issuing a batch of seedlings each time they were bought back.

This, in turn, had its advantages. One was that the pressure on feed was reduced, and the other was that a batch could be released every few days. Although the quantity wasn't large, it ensured a continuous supply, and the quality was even better and there was less waste.

Also, the rabbits can now be released.

I know that some of you took rabbits to raise, while others didn't because they thought the initial breeding period was too long. It doesn't matter. What I want to say is that from now on, everything you raise can generate income.

Then, in 1978, our income will definitely double again. Everyone, tell me, is it reasonable for me to say that this year's money isn't much?”

Everyone immediately shouted in unison, “Yes!”

Captain Yang waved his hand with a smile, “Disperse, go home and count your money.”

After a burst of laughter, hundreds of people dispersed along the slope towards the village in a disorganized and undisciplined manner, but some people were sighing.

“At the time, I thought I was too busy, so I didn't take any rabbits to raise. What a terrible loss! Who knew there would be so many dividends this year.”

“Me too. There are only a few people in my family, and we're already too busy with the chickens, ducks, and geese. We also have to raise two pigs, getting up early and working until late, without a day of rest.”

“Hehe, it's thanks to you guys not taking them, otherwise I wouldn't have been able to get them. Don't you think about it, Teacher Chen personally raises rabbits, so they must be profitable.”

“You're just being wise after the event. If it weren't for your large family, would you be able to handle it?”

“Oh, well, it's just getting up earlier and going to bed later. Whether we can handle it is another matter. I'll just ask you, isn't it great to make money!”

“Making money is great, but the thought of not raising rabbits makes me feel blocked up.”

“It's okay, I raised them. I'll give you a rabbit for the New Year.”

“I feel even more blocked up because I see you raised them.”

… …

When the crowd on the threshing ground had almost dispersed and the militiamen had also carried the table away, Captain Yang took the stack of loose change and walked over to hand it to Chen Fan, “Here, this is Jiang Lili's. She wasn't here for the last month or so of this year, and she didn't participate in the autumn harvest. Plus, she usually only had seven or eight work points, so she doesn't have many work points this year, only 2256 points, totaling 1353 yuan and 60 cents. Count it and sign if there are no problems.”

After Chen Fan took the money, he sat down on another bench, took out a cigarette, distributed it around, lit it, and waited for Chen Fan to count the money.

Chen Fan held the money and started counting happily. Last year, Jiang Lili's dividend was less than a hundred yuan, but this year it's more than a thousand, a windfall!

So, the question arises, this year's work point value is less than 10 times that of last year, so why does Jiang Lili have fewer work points but a dividend that is more than 10 times higher?

Because each year's dividend has to deduct pre-paid costs such as food rations, oil, and cotton. When the base is small, the costs are too large, and the balance is naturally small. When the base is large enough and the costs remain the same, the balance is naturally larger.

Behind Chen Fan, Huang Ying and the others watched Teacher Chen collect the money for Jiang Lili and couldn't help but look at each other, their expressions dim.

They originally thought that since Sister Li had left, they would have a chance, but they didn't expect that he was already collecting dividends on her behalf. They probably had already confirmed their relationship.

Chen Fan quickly finished counting, folded it twice, stuffed it into his inner pocket, and nodded, saying, “It's correct.”

Captain Yang smiled, first handed him the account book, “Sign your name and put a fingerprint on it.”

After Chen Fan signed and put his fingerprint on it, he took out a cigarette and handed it over. Just as he was about to speak, he suddenly heard the sound of bicycle bells.

Everyone looked up and saw several squad leaders riding their bikes side by side.

Captain Yang quickly stood up, walking and saying, “What wind brought you here today?”

Hou Cheng'gen, the captain of the 12th squad, squeezed the brakes tightly. The bike stopped in front of Captain Yang. On the back seat of the bike was Wan Qitang, the captain of the 11th squad.

The other bikes also stopped quickly. Su Yujun, the captain of the 10th squad, Zhong Zihong, the captain of the 9th squad, Qi Zhanzhong, the captain of the 8th squad, and Tang Xianjun, the captain of the 7th squad, several squad leaders from the eastern side of Lujiawan had all arrived!

Six people in four cars. While Hou Cheng'gen and Yang Chuanfu were exchanging pleasantries, Su Yujun jumped off the back seat of the car and walked directly towards Chen Fan, who had just stood up, waving his hand and shouting loudly, “Teacher Chen, come to our squad for dinner today, okay? I've prepared everything there, and Lao Peng is also coming to accompany us, let's get some wild game…”

Before he could finish speaking, Qi Zhanzhong shouted extremely angrily, “Su Yujun, you're not playing fair, you're actually causing internal strife! You should be pulled out for criticism!”

As soon as Yang Chuanfu heard this, he guessed what they were here for, and immediately shouted, “You're all late! Teacher Chen is having dinner at my house today. He just promised in front of everyone in our squad. If you want to treat him, you can only line up behind us.”

After a burst of laughter, Chen Fan finally understood what had happened.

The purpose of these squad leaders was the same as Yang Chuanfu's, to invite him to dinner, and the reason was the same: the families in the squad whose children had been admitted to university wanted to hold a teacher appreciation banquet.

But they all knew that Teacher Chen was busy. He had to go to work at the brigade headquarters every day, and he also had to be busy with the work at home, and he also had to go to the prefectural committee frequently.

Teacher Chen was a senior consultant for the Health Department, the Machinery Factory, and the Cotton Textile Factory, and also a leader of the Writers Association. He was a person who was going to do great things, so how could he go to banquets all day long?

So, several squad leaders discussed with those parents and decided to invite him in the name of the squad. The students and parents who had been admitted to university would accompany him, and they would also invite people who were on good terms with Teacher Chen. Each squad would only have one meal, so it wouldn't take up too much of his time.

They had originally discussed the regulations, but they hadn't set a time. Early this morning, Wan Qitang of the 11th squad saw Hou Cheng'gen of the 12th squad riding his bicycle on the river embankment. At that time, he felt that something was wrong… … Later, very naturally, several squad leaders in this row rushed over collectively.

After Chen Fan heard their words, he couldn't help but look at Captain Yang.

He had just thought that Captain Yang was deliberately saying that he wanted to invite him to dinner in order to smooth things over for Huang Laowu, and he had taken advantage of the situation and agreed.

He didn't expect that this matter had actually been discussed by their squad leaders, and even the fact that they were only coming to invite him today was because there had been too many things to do before and they couldn't spare the time.

Since that was the case, he agreed very readily.

Anyway, today was only the 17th day of the twelfth lunar month. Even if he went to each of the 12 squads, it would only take 12 days. After taking a day off, it would be the New Year, so he would just eat.