"There really is." It was Gu Chengxuan who spoke. His voice was low and clear, so pleasant that it would make any audiophile's ears pregnant.

He took the thick stack of logs from Ruan Xianxian and turned to one of the pages.

"When the factory was first established, the factory manager secured several orders from outside the province, including those from the provincial capital and even other provinces."

While you were away, the factories and military units came to pick up soybean oil and chickens and ducks according to the agreement and schedule.

The contract stipulates that the other party will provide the truck for hauling the goods, while we will be responsible for the freight and fuel costs.

We've calculated it; things are okay in the provincial capital, but in other provinces, the profits are all tied up in fuel costs—you barely make any money per truckload.

Ruan Xianxian left in a hurry and didn't really think about this. From the moment Gu Chengxuan said it, she already had a plan in mind, her fingers tapping on the table.

“You do this, and then this…”

The five people were increasingly surprised as they listened, and couldn't help but laugh, "Is it feasible?"

Ruan Xianxian was confident of victory. "Believe me, although there isn't much business experience to draw upon right now, historically, methods are definitely useful."

After whispering among themselves for a while, they discussed specific feasible solutions.

Gu Chengxuan hesitated for a moment, "If we really open up the county market as you say, will we still have to sell soybean oil to other provinces?"

Selling them won't make money, and they'll face a situation where supply can't meet demand.

"If I don't sell, I'll cut off the cooperation..." Gu Chengxuan laughed. His appearance wasn't particularly outstanding, but he had a gentle and refined air about him.

"The cooperation with other provinces is all due to Director Ruan's personal connections, right? It can't be cut off, and it can't be cut off either."

Ruan Xianxian was surprised by this person's insight. No wonder Feng Guang was so reluctant to mention him. After a moment's thought, she smiled.

"Isn't that simple?"

On that day, please ask Chief Feng to dispatch another batch of workers to work day and night, with the machines running non-stop even when people rest.”

The four of them suddenly looked at Gu Chengxuan.

After working together for a period of time, the five men developed a deep revolutionary friendship. In their casual conversations, they inevitably talked about their comrades who were also wounded and idle at home.

His words were full of regret, and he always said that if they could fight side by side again, it would be worth dying for!

Gu Chengxuan said he had a solution.

Unexpectedly, his method was to transfer his old comrade-in-arms to work in the factory, which is also a kind of fighting side by side in another sense.

In his excitement, he thought to himself that this young Gu was quite something, managing to handle the seemingly difficult Factory Director Ruan with just a few words.

The four of them looked at Gu Chengxuan in unison, which made Ruan Xianxian squint her eyes.

As she locked onto his gaze, which held a sharp, scrutinizing quality, Gu Chengxuan inwardly sighed that they were all a bunch of useless teammates, while his smile grew even more gentle.

"Factory manager, in addition to what has been mentioned above, there is also the issue of raw materials."

At first, when Director Xiang led us to stand in front of the grain station, the people, knowing our purpose and identity, became agitated and almost surrounded the grain station.

This trick works once or twice, but it stops working after a while.

and……"

He paused, looking into Ruan Xianxian's eyes, "I've calculated the county's total population demand for soybeans, and the amount of soybeans submitted annually."

The conclusion was that the grain depot was out of grain.

Besides the needs of the county's population, most of the grain stations need to deliver grain to higher levels. It's also the time when crops are growing wildly in the fields during the height of summer, and the reserves are almost depleted, so every household needs to make purchases.

No matter how much they squeezed, the grain depot couldn't extract any more surplus grain.

The needs of the people come first.

Our most pressing issue is resolving the problem of soybean raw materials.

Ruan Xianxian scratched her ear. Why did this person talk so much? He could have just said there weren't enough raw materials. He was being too nice.

She nodded. "Leave it to me."

It's time to leverage the power of your network!

Then he asked, "Is there anything else?"

"Yes!" Gu Chengxuan said without any politeness, his words clear and his tone gentle and refined. "From what I've read in books, the most important thing in raising livestock such as chickens and ducks with feathers is hygiene."

If one animal gets sick, the whole game will be lost.

Those who are extremely wealthy and have fur don't count.

He took it upon himself to have Director Xiang bring in furnace ash and dry grass to line the chickens and ducks, and cleaned up the leftovers and droppings daily, which greatly ensured the hygiene of the livestock farm.

Then, the furnace ash is running low; the factory manager needs to figure out a solution.

Gu Chengxuan glanced at Ruan Xianxian, whose head was as big as a bucket and whose almond-shaped eyes were almost spinning out of a mosquito coil, and smiled.

"Director Xiang visited several boiler factories, trying to buy their boiler ash, but they wouldn't sell it to him, so he could only buy it on credit."

Because of the excessive amount of credit they received, those factories have recently become extremely hostile.

Director Xiang is under a lot of pressure. Now that the factory manager is back, he should help share the burden.

Ruan Xianxian had barely sat down when she was given a mountain of work to do.

At eight o'clock sharp, the five people arrived at work next door on time.

The oil press started rumbling, but this guy was still sitting there, his eyes darting around like mosquito coils!

The poor thing rubbed its tummy, grabbed a pen and paper, and started listing the difficulties one by one, then figuring out how to solve them...

The most urgent task is to solve the demand for furnace ash. Ruan Xianxian chewed on her pen and scribbled on the paper.

A mature idea gradually formed in her mind, and all she needed was for her uncle to come back and help her complete it.

We waited until mid-afternoon. We ate lunch at the commune canteen, looking at the two vegetable leaves and the egg drop soup where we couldn't see any eggs in the bowl.

Holding her lunchbox, she squeezed into the table for five. "Is this all you usually eat?"

Despite losing a finger, Dong Dali held the spoon with both arms and shoveled rice into his mouth with practiced ease. He took a moment to say, "The food is already very good. People in the countryside can't even get this kind of food."

Looking at the two thin, bland vegetable leaves in the lunchbox, was Dong Dali sure that people with their own plots of land in the countryside couldn't afford to eat? He was just trying to comfort her, and himself.

Looking around, it was lunchtime, and besides them, there was practically no one else in the cafeteria. She asked:

"Where are the commune members? Did they start their own operation?"

As soon as he said this, Dong Dali suddenly felt that the food in his mouth no longer tasted good. He wanted to gloss over it, but Gu Chengxuan, who was sitting in a wheelchair with a blanket over his legs, continued the conversation.

"They look down on us because of our physical disabilities. Eating together with us inevitably affects our appetite, so everyone else takes their food back to the office to eat."

Wei Guo, Dong Dali, and Du Hongfu bowed their heads deeply.

Their injuries were all from explosives; in addition to their limbs, their faces were also mostly burned off by the high temperatures, making them unsightly.

When they were initially disliked, they wanted to get their food and go back to the breeding farm to eat, but Gu Chengxuan forbade it, saying that it was never them who should be avoided.

Ruan Xianxian laughed in anger, pressing her hand on the patina-covered wooden table. She wanted to flip it over several times, but she managed to restrain herself at the last moment, her hand veins bulging as she endured the pain.

"Everyone, put down your chopsticks. You are workers at the livestock and oil pressing plant. What are you eating in the commune? Go back to the plant."

Everyone heard a loud thud as Ruan Xianxian expressionlessly threw her chopsticks at the chef peeking in through the window, giving him a bump on the forehead.

It was her; she hadn't made proper arrangements before leaving, causing the soldiers to suffer. Ruan Xianxian stood up and said, "From today onwards, the livestock and oil pressing plant will establish its own canteen."

As Ruan Xianxian walked to the open restaurant door, she paused and turned to face the chef who was rubbing his forehead.

“Tell that guy surnamed Zheng, doesn’t he like to eat leafy greens?”

From now on, if I ever find even a trace of meat in your commune's food, don't blame me for making the entire commune uneasy.