In fact, Li Jin and the team leaders went through a fierce internal struggle before agreeing to purchase large quantities of miscellaneous fish.

A few days ago, the able-bodied men of Lijiapo Brigade delivered nearly a million catties of wheatgrass seeds to the oil press of Jinniu Commune.

This matter even alarmed the head of the Golden Bull Commune!

I've never seen oil extracted like this in years!

How much land would it take to grow these nearly one million kilograms of seeds for oil extraction?

The head of the Golden Bull Commune went straight to Li Jin and insisted on drinking with him. When they were halfway through the drinks, he asked directly, "Brother, tell me, are those seeds wheatgrass seeds?"

They've studied it, and it's definitely not rapeseed. After much research, someone said, "Why does it look like wheatgrass seeds?"

This is actually a case of being blind to one's own shortcomings. Which farmer hasn't seen wheatgrass seeds? It's just that no one has ever thought that they could be pressed for oil!

Li Jin laughed heartily, "Brother, since we're pressing so much oil here, shouldn't we get a discount on the processing fee?"

"No problem, answer my questions first!" President Niu readily agreed.

Finally, Li Jin used the secret of extracting oil from wheatgrass seeds to exchange with President Niu for a 50% reduction in processing fees.

Previously, some people advocated keeping it a secret, to which Li Xiangdong replied, "There are no wheatgrass seeds this year, but as long as people have doubts, they can find out next year by harvesting some wheatgrass seeds and pressing them."

"Besides, the members of our brigade will find out sooner or later that the wheat stalks they collected have been pressed into oil. This secret can't be kept hidden!"

"Why not take advantage of this opportunity and get something practical?"

Upon closer examination, everyone realized that this was indeed the case.

So Li Jin went along with it and got half of the discount.

The labor cost for pressing one million catties of wheatgrass seeds for oil is as high as five thousand yuan!

A 50% discount means it's only 2,500 yuan!

President Niu didn't ask for cash either. Oil is a scarce commodity right now, so he asked for 2,500 yuan worth of oil.

Li Jin wasn't stingy either, calculating the price at seven cents per pound of oil. Once all the oil was pressed, he allocated 3,600 pounds of oil directly to the Golden Bull Commune!

Looking at the large iron barrels being transported back every day, the brigade cadres felt that their brigade was definitely set for the future this year.

The value of work points is likely to skyrocket, and nobody is even thinking about making an extra profit.

...

The day before the large-scale purchase of miscellaneous fish began.

Li Xiangdong asked Li Jin to invite Wang Zhenbo, the brigade accountant, Liu Changhai and Li Tang, the two production team leaders, Li Qing, the storekeeper, Liu Yuliang, the animal feeder, Li Kang, the security chief, and several other respected elders to his home, saying he wanted to treat them to a meal.

As soon as they heard that Li Xiangdong was inviting them to dinner, everyone came!

Not only did they come, but they also brought their best food from home: old hens, eggs, wheat flour, rice, canned yellow peaches...

Everyone said that Xiang Dong was a great contributor to the Lijiapo Brigade, and this meal should be treated to him by all the members of the Lijiapo Brigade!

Without Li Xiangdong, everyone would be like the other brigades, starving this year.

Li Xiangdong's house was unusually lively. Many neighboring aunties and grandmas came over to help Zhao Sufang cook. The Li family's house was bustling with activity, just like during the Chinese New Year!

After all the dishes were served, Li Xiangdong mysteriously brought out three cans of food for everyone to eat.

Canned food is a rare commodity these days; it's usually only bought when visiting relatives during the Lunar New Year.

Sometimes, a can of food might be passed around as a precious gift, passed from one year to the next, until it expires.

"Grandpas, uncles, and elders, please try this canned fish!"

Li Xiangdong enthusiastically unscrewed the yellow can lid, and a fragrant aroma of fish and oil wafted out.

"This one has fermented black bean flavor, this one has spicy flavor, and this one has original flavor."

In the outer room, three cans of fish were also placed on the table of the aunt and grandma.

Someone picked up a piece with their chopsticks and slowly chewed it, "Mmm, delicious, really delicious, even the fish bones are so fragrant!"

Upon hearing this, everyone put aside their embarrassment and began to eat the canned fish. Soon, the three cans of fish were empty.

"Is it delicious?"

"Delicious! Delicious!"

"How much did you buy it for? It must have been very expensive!"

"The county supply and marketing cooperative used to sell them for two yuan a bottle!"

"Good heavens, it's more expensive than two pounds of meat!"

After listening to everyone's chatter, Li Xiangdong took out more than a dozen cans of fish!

Everyone was dumbfounded. Was Xiang Dong showing off his wealth to us?

Li Xiangdong: ......

After Li Xiangdong finished explaining his idea of ​​making canned fish, everyone fell silent. How did he come up with this?

How come people always have a way to make money?

After the initial shock, the team leaders thought about it more deeply.

If the brigade openly engages in business, will it be punished by the county or commune?

After thinking it over and over again, I realized that the brigade now has so much oil, and there are fish everywhere in the fields and rivers. The profit margin for canned goods is so high. All we have to do is use a little more labor. It would be a fool not to make money when we can!

Dry!

I'd rather risk being punished by my superiors than worry about anything else but making enough money to eat!

Therefore, the leadership of Lijiapo Brigade hastily established the Lijiapo Cannery.

Later, many people described the history of the cannery's establishment as something incredibly tortuous and magnificent, but in reality, at the time, these people didn't think about all that. Their guiding principle was just two words: make money!

At the first meeting after the cannery was established, it was decided that the team would be divided into three groups: the first group would be responsible for negotiating cooperation with canneries; the second group would be responsible for collecting, slaughtering, frying, pickling, and canning fish; and the third group would be responsible for finding sales channels.

Huichuan County does not have any factories that specialize in producing canning jars, but Dongfang City does. Li Xiangdong had previously traveled around the city and found a state-owned glass products factory.

As for sales, the first bottle of canned food he made was delivered to President Yu's house. After President Yu and Aunt Lan tasted it, they immediately agreed to purchase 500 bottles per month!

The cans that Li Xiangdong delivered were 500 ml each, and the purchase price given by President Yu was 1.5 yuan per bottle!

A quick calculation shows that, including the cost of the canning jar, oil, fish, various seasonings, and labor, the total cost is at most 50 cents, so you can make a dollar profit on each can!

Five hundred bottles a month is five hundred yuan!

What if we sell five thousand bottles, or fifty thousand bottles?

Wang Zhenbo didn't even need to do the math; everyone could figure it out in their heads: 5,000 bottles cost 5,000 yuan, and 50,000 bottles cost 50,000 yuan!

Li Kang, Li Tang, and Liu Changhai stared wide-eyed, feeling as if countless large bills of RMB were flying before their eyes. Could this really be true?

Whether we can sell five thousand or fifty thousand bottles or not, we should at least make money from these five hundred bottles first!

Finally, it was decided that Li Xiangdong, Li Jin, Wang Zhenbo, and Liu Changhai would go to Dongfang City together, while Li Tang and Li Kang would stay at home. Li Tang would assist Zhao Sufang in production, and Li Kang would be responsible for security.

Li Kang was still unhappy, saying, "What security? They just lead people on patrols every day."

Li Xiangdong solemnly criticized Uncle Kang's lax attitude!

Now, our Lijiapo is the only one that stands out. As the saying goes, "People are afraid of becoming famous, just as pigs are afraid of getting fat." Security work is still very important, so we must do it well!