Chapter 73 Ambitious Ambition Selling electricity is truly a first for me, electricity too...

When Zhong Ying and Yu Jing went to the commune again, they were told that the commune had reported the matter to the county, and the county committee was very optimistic about the Tonggan production team's plan to build a hydropower station. They would soon send technicians from the county's water conservancy department to conduct an on-site survey and evaluation.

People at that time were always efficient and quick to get things done. In just two days, technicians from the county town traveled a long way to the Tonggan production team.

The entire production team lined the street to welcome and warmly receive the delegation.

Production team leader Li Ming accompanied several technicians on their inspection tour. Yu Jing, the only one who could communicate with them, followed behind them, followed by a long "tail" of everyone else in the production team.

Several technicians surveyed the riverbed from the village entrance all the way down to the foot of the mountain. One of them exclaimed with obvious regret, "What a waste..."

Upon hearing this, Li Ming, who was standing right next to them, felt a sudden pang of unease, and all his joy and excitement vanished.

Waste? Are you saying that their production team's plan to build a hydroelectric power station is a waste of manpower and resources?

The technicians left in the afternoon after completing their survey and assessment.

Li Ming didn't dare tell anyone else, keeping everything bottled up inside, tossing and turning all night, unable to sleep well.

When Zhong Ying came to our house for breakfast the next morning, she noticed that Li Ming looked unwell and asked curiously, "Dad, are you feeling unwell?"

Looking at his daughter-in-law's radiant face, and thinking of Zhong Ying's busy work these past few days, as well as the joy of all the members of the production team, Li Ming couldn't bring himself to say, "The hydroelectric power station might not be able to be built." In the end, he could only shake his head, put his hands behind his back, and turn to go into the main room.

Zhong Ying was puzzled, then she understood.

“No wonder he’s been a production team leader for decades,” Zhong Ying and Li Linshi remarked. “Look at how calm and collected Dad is, he never shows his true colors. I still have a lot to learn.”

After saying that, Zhong Ying also suppressed the joy on her face and tried her best to appear calm and composed before stepping into the house to eat.

Li Linshi didn't move. He felt that his father's face didn't show any happiness at all. It wasn't like Zhong Ying said that he was inscrutable. It was more like... he was just unhappy.

Li Ming was worried. He watched as the commune members, while working in the fields, asked Yu, Han, and other educated youths about "electricity." He could almost foresee how happy they were now, and how sad they would be when they learned that the hydroelectric power station would not be built.

Having exhausted all his efforts, Li Ming sat alone on the edge of the field, lit a pipe in despair, and began to smoke, puffing away until he created a hazy, smoky atmosphere.

Suddenly, the clear sound of a bicycle bell rang out.

Li Ming quickly waved away the smoke in front of him. Five men dressed in light gray Zhongshan suits rode bicycles toward him. Judging from their appearance, they were clearly leaders of the commune.

The burning tobacco, still carrying sparks, was shaken off and fell to the ground.

Others in the field were also drawn by the sound of the bicycle bell. They turned their heads to look, some curious and some puzzled. Zhong Ying also looked into the distance, but she recognized the approaching group and immediately looked surprised. "Director Ji, Secretary Sun, Deputy Director Ding, Team Leader Yao, Secretary Cai..."

Why did the leaders of these communes come?

One by one, the people got off their bicycles at the village entrance. Li Ming and the villagers rushed to greet them. He hurriedly wiped the mud off his hands on his clothes before reaching out to shake the hand extended by the leader.

"Captain Li of the Tonggan Production Team, I saw you when you came to the commune for the meeting." Director Ji's attitude was friendly, and his tone was as approachable as a spring breeze. "We came here unexpectedly, but we are really eager to see for ourselves. The technicians went back and said that the Ganlin River here contains a lot of energy, and the amount of electricity that can be converted into far exceeds the needs of your production team..."

Li Ming understood. It turned out that Ganlin River was too efficient, so the technician meant that the "waste" he mentioned was because the hydroelectric power station only provided electricity to Tonggan Production Team, which was too wasteful. After all, how many households did Tonggan Production Team have? How could they use so much electricity?

Then, just like the technicians before them, the leaders followed the river upstream until they reached the foot of Yingshan Mountain.

The rushing river splashed water, filling the air with a cool, damp feeling. Secretary Sun took a deep breath of the fresh air and couldn't help but exclaim, "With mountains and water, this is a wonderful place!"

Following behind, Zhong Ying thought to herself, "After all, it's a 'carefully selected refuge for wealthy businessmen.'"

The leaders then followed Li Ming home.

Tian Mei, her hands still wet, brought in the washed cups. Nie Jinfeng carefully carried the kettle across the main room, and Liu Hongyan hurriedly went to take them from her. She then turned around and somewhat awkwardly poured water for the leaders.

Li Ming introduced, "These are my eldest daughter-in-law, my second daughter-in-law, and my husband."

He then looked at Zhong Ying, "This is my youngest daughter-in-law—"

The head of the agricultural group, Yao, laughed out loud, "We all know her."

Deputy Director Ding chatted with Li Ming like a fellow villager, asking, "Is your second daughter-in-law about to give birth?"

Li Ming's tense and anxious mood eased considerably during the casual conversation. "I estimate it will take another month or two."

As they were talking, the brothers Li Gangshi and Li Rongshi came in carrying several chairs. With so many guests arriving at once, there weren't enough chairs, so they had borrowed them from their neighbors.

"These are my eldest and second eldest children," Li Ming added.

Because Zhong Ying had visited the commune several times, Secretary Cai became more familiar with her and more curious about her affairs, so he asked, "Captain Li, where is your youngest son?"

"To be able to marry such a capable and talented girl as Zhong Ying, your youngest son must be quite extraordinary as well, right?" Director Ji joked.

The Li family members all froze.

Li Ming sighed, "My fourth son died last summer; he drowned in the Ganlin River."

The commune leaders' expressions froze. They tried to avoid looking at Zhong Ying. This girl was so capable, yet she was already a widow at such a young age? It was truly lamentable.

Seeing that the atmosphere was about to turn cold, Zhong Ying quickly spoke up, "Once the hydroelectric power station is built, the river that harmed people will become a river that helps people, and his spirit in heaven will feel gratified."

Li Linshi glanced at her. His spirit in heaven? He was clearly Ying's spirit, and had never left her side.

Everyone echoed in agreement.

Liu Hongyan led her two daughters-in-law out, and Li Rongshi, feeling useless, scurried out with his wife.

It was reasonable for Zhong Ying to stay, as she was the initiator of the hydropower station project and had been the one traveling back and forth between the production team and the commune to report and apply for it.

Li Gangshi also stayed behind. Although he was initially the most opposed to building the hydroelectric power station, at this moment he felt deeply that as the eldest son in the family, how could he be absent when such an important matter was being discussed?

Director Ji got back to the point, "After the technicians went back and reported, we all felt we had to come and see for ourselves. Ganlin River is indeed a very good natural resource, so I have an idea now, you all listen to it..."

Director Ji really needs to achieve something that can be publicized in order to have a chance to be promoted. That's why he is so concerned about the construction of the hydropower station by the Tonggan production team. After all, this will be his "achievement". Since that's the case, why not do his best and make a great achievement?

“If the water energy of Ganlin River can be fully utilized, the converted electricity will definitely have a surplus after supplying your production team with its own electricity,” Director Ji said slowly. “This is what I’m thinking: your production team can sell the surplus electricity from the power station to the town’s power supply bureau, and the power supply bureau can then supply it to other production teams.”

Getting several production teams under Liuzhang Commune connected to electricity was a remarkable achievement, Director Ji thought ambitiously, feeling that his time to enter the county committee was just around the corner.

For a moment, Li Ming and his son Li Gangshi showed the same look of surprise, and Zhong Ying was also astonished.

The leaders did indeed appear calm, clearly indicating that they had discussed this idea internally beforehand.

"Selling electricity?"

The members were equally surprised, and even somewhat puzzled.

Other production teams, having surplus capacity after completing their farming tasks, also engaged in sideline businesses. For example, Panpokou Production Brigade made bricks, Zhoujiawowo Production Brigade raised pigs, and Yuqianwa raised fish in the village's ponds. Farming could satisfy basic needs, but to escape poverty and become wealthy, it was necessary to flexibly develop other sideline businesses to generate income.

This is one of the reasons why the people of Tonggan Production Team responded positively and agreed to build a hydroelectric power station. Once they have electricity, they can pay off the loan for building the hydroelectric power station in two years, save money for another two years, and purchase a few flour mills and threshers. Then their production team will be able to start a side business of grain processing to make money.

People were happily imagining the good life of starting to make money four years later, but unexpectedly, a huge windfall fell from the sky. As soon as the hydroelectric power station was completed, they could start making money immediately.

I've heard of people selling bricks, pigs, and fish, but selling electricity is a first for me. Electricity can be sold?

Some people think it in their hearts, but then say it out loud.

Zhong Ying stepped forward to answer, "Yes, it can be sold. Each kilowatt-hour costs about two to five cents. According to the planning and calculations helped by the technicians from the county's water conservancy department, the water resources of the Ganlin River will be used to their fullest potential. We'll install two 100-kilowatt generators at the hydroelectric power station. After deducting the estimated electricity used by our production team, the remaining electricity that can be sold to the town's power supply bureau will generate about two to three thousand yuan in revenue per year. Of course, this is just gross income; we still need to deduct the cost of building the hydroelectric power station and the daily maintenance expenses..."

People were no longer listening. To them, Zhong Ying's words were just "Ah-ba ah-ba... two thousand to three thousand..." This was no hydroelectric power station; it was a hen that lays eggs!

Before Zhong Ying could finish speaking, she saw the words "utterly insane" appear in everyone's eyes.

Well, those were indeed passionate years.

The commune specially organized a water conservancy conference, summoning the heads and captains of the six production brigades and production teams under its jurisdiction to discuss the matter. In addition to talking about the Tonggan production team's plan to build a hydroelectric power station, they also wanted to solicit opinions and see which other production teams were willing to have electricity.

Looking at the audience below, which had doubled in number, Yu Jing, who had been pulled in to be the main speaker, felt dazed. How could her life suddenly be like a wild horse that had broken free of its reins, galloping wildly in another direction?

What was her original purpose for going to the countryside? It feels like a lifetime ago.

Yu Jing's palms were sweating, but all she had envisioned was building a small hydropower station. How did it turn into a huge project?

However... being able to preside over a water conservancy construction project so early, Yu Jing felt a surge of boundless ambition along with her nervousness.

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Author's Note: [Mini-Theater]

Years later, with her hair now white, Yu Jing, an outstanding female water conservancy engineer, returned to her alma mater to give a speech, recounting the beginning of her career: "Back then, I originally went to the countryside for a man..."

The students below: !! There's a story here!

Yu Jing then changed the subject, "Speaking of men, they were the main labor force in the Tonggan production team when they built the hydroelectric power station..."

The students below: fainted...

"Tell us, you went to the countryside for a man, and then what happened?"

Upon hearing this, the aged-looking Yu Jing blinked, a hint of mischief in her eyes. She smiled gently, "No, there's no story like you're imagining. When I was sent to the countryside, I was somehow dragged into building a small hydropower station. Then, in a completely different way, the small hydropower station became a big project. After that, my production team, Tonggan, got electricity first, followed by Lawangou and Yuqianwa..."

"It truly was like a spark that ignited a prairie fire, illuminating those small mountain villages..."