Chapter 211 Yes, I am a donkey. Let's see how efficient I am at grinding! (Two in One)
North Bay Commune.
When Su Wenchen hurried to the commune again, he found that there were a lot more people there.
However, most of them were educated youth who had gone to the countryside and were wearing faded military uniforms or floral smocks.
However, many people walked into the postal agency with anticipation, and then walked out with disappointment on their faces.
Obviously, they had just arrived in the countryside not long ago and had almost spent all the savings they brought with them. They were very much looking forward to their families mailing some of the things they needed.
But in just a short while, Su Wenchen saw several young people going in empty-handed and coming out empty-handed.
Only a very small number of educated youth would happily walk out of the commune's postal agency carrying their packages.
Su Wenchen looked at these young men and women along the way and found that the arrival of these young educated youth did bring some different atmosphere to the commune.
Especially some local young people who are just beginning to fall in love.
Looking at these young female educated youth who came from the city, they were all extremely attentive.
Su Wenchen even saw in the crowd the son of their brigade accountant Li Xiangdong, walking out of the supply and marketing cooperative with a pretty female educated youth with a very attentive look on his face.
Judging from the large pile of things the other party was carrying, most of them were used by female educated youth.
It would be fine if it was someone else's own money, but if it was that guy's money, Su Wenchen felt that this guy was definitely being taken advantage of.
Su Wenchen didn't even see any gratitude on the face of the female educated youth. He just came out, took his things and turned away.
As a result, the boy followed him happily.
See this scene.
Not only Su Wenchen, but even the old man squatting on the stone mill smoking a pipe sneered.
"He's such a loser, rushing to offer benefits to others, and then trying to fawn over them. Even the Golden Phoenix in the city wouldn't look down on him."
Su Wenchen saw clearly that even if this guy really caught the girl in the end, judging from the situation, he would probably marry a wealthy man to be worshipped.
Even if the college entrance examination is resumed seven or eight years later, people may not be able to keep it.
Anyway, Su Wenchen felt that Uncle Dong might have something to worry about in the future.
I went straight to the commune office compound, but was stopped as soon as I arrived at the door.
“What are you doing?”
But before he could finish his words, he recognized Su Wenchen.
Looking at the dirty Su Wenchen, he said hesitantly.
"Director Su? What are you doing?"
To be honest, if Su Wenchen's expression hadn't changed, he would have thought that someone from somewhere came here to beg for food.
Su Wenchen waved his hand.
"Just got back from a business trip. Is your Deputy Director Jiang here?"
Hearing Su Wenchen say this, the other party shook his head and spoke directly.
"Director Jiang has been leading people to Shuanggou Brigade these days to research the use of nitrate to make rabbit hides."
"I haven't been to the commune for several days."
Su Wenchen didn't expect that Jiang Li's progress was so fast that she even started to study nitrated leather.
After saying hello, Su Wenchen went straight to Shuanggou Brigade.
When he arrived at Shuanggou Brigade, Su Wenchen found out the place where leather was tanned without much asking. The location was even not far downstream from their Lanshui Field.
If Su Wenchen came here directly, it wouldn't even take ten minutes.
On a riverbank, three adobe houses formed a courtyard.
As soon as Su Wenchen got close, he could smell the strong smell of Glauber's salt mixed with the fishy smell of animal fur.
In the yard.
Twelve large black pottery vats were lined up along the wall, and some processed rabbit skins were being dried in the sun.
Several young men wearing sleeves were stirring the solution clockwise with a relatively thick jujube wood stick, causing the nitrate liquid in the tank to bubble up and emit bubbles like oil stars.
A slightly older master was observing the foamy state of the nitrate solution while teaching.
"Be flexible! Like stirring cornmeal!"
"Remember, if there's yellow foam, add Glauber's salt, and if there's black foam, change the water."
Seeing the master muttering, someone couldn't help but speak.
"Master Tao, you've said it a hundred times, and I can recite it by heart."
The old master said unhappily.
"It's no use memorizing it by heart. You have to remember it and observe it carefully."
"Tree roots! Didn't you see the black foam in your tank? Change the water immediately!"
But before the old master could say a few more words, he happened to see Su Wenchen walking over, and the old master waved his hand to refuse.
"I've told you countless times, we're just testing things out here and aren't hiring for now. Just go back to your team and wait for news. When we really start hiring, we'll notify your teams."
"If you can't, go a few steps upstream and ask at the state-owned farm over there."
The other party obviously thought Su Wenchen was looking for a job, and this might not be the first wave.
After all, it is still quite respectable to find a job that pays a salary at this time, so naturally many well-informed people come here in advance to try their luck.
"I'm here to see your Deputy Director Jiang Li? I heard that she..."
"Achen?"
Before he could finish his words, Jiang Li and several employees happened to come out of the house, looking at her sweetheart in the distance with some surprise.
Although Su Wenchen's hair, beard and clothes all looked like they had not been taken care of for a long time.
But Jiang Li recognized it at first sight.
The next moment.
He immediately ran towards Su Wenchen and was about to take action.
Suddenly remembering that there were other people present, Jiang Li controlled her emotions and did not rush over directly. She could only speak with concern.
"When did you come back? How come you've lost so much weight?"
Su Wenchen scratched his head.
"Have I lost weight? Why do I feel fatter?"
"But I just got back and didn't even have time to clean up before I couldn't help but go to the commune to look for you. When I heard you were here, I came here immediately."
As he spoke, he looked at Jiang Li with a look of longing.
Hearing Su Wenchen's passionate expression, Jiang Li couldn't help but feel a little homesick.
I could only try to divert my attention with work, so I introduced it directly to Su Wenchen.
"Achen, this is the rabbit skin that our commune has tanned ourselves. Come, I'll take you to the house to see the finished product."
As he said this, he took Su Wenchen into the house with some excitement.
After the two of them went in.
Several young men who were stirring the nitrate liquid with wooden sticks were whispering to each other.
"That's Director Jiang's sweetheart? I don't think she's that good! Why is she so dirty?"
"You know nothing. Didn't you hear that this person just returned from a long business trip?"
"And look at Director Jiang's feminine demeanor just now. If we weren't here, believe it or not, she would have jumped into the forest right then and there."
"Don't tell me, I really do. Director Jiang used to have a serious expression all day long, and I thought she never smiled! It seems she hasn't met the right person yet."
The few old masters who had just followed Jiang Li out were very tactful and did not follow in. Instead, they spoke directly to the young people.
"Stop talking nonsense and just get to work."
"If you don't want to do this, just leave tomorrow. There are plenty of people who want to come."
Several young people curled their lips, but did not dare to refute anything.
Su Wenchen followed Jiang Li into the small workshop and found that it was divided into several processes including saltpeter soaking, tanning, rinsing, etc.
There were even large handwritten words on the wall: "First check the water temperature, second observe the color, and third test the flexibility to pass!"
Su Wenchen looked like they had obviously been working for quite a few days, and he asked curiously.
"Ali, you're starting work right now? The leather rabbits in our farm shouldn't be ready for slaughter yet!"
Jiang Li knew what Su Wenchen meant and explained directly.
"Tanning leather requires some skill. We're not very proficient in the process yet, so I'll try using hare hide for a while."
"Currently, the more advanced technology for tanning leather is in the hands of large state-owned factories, and they are basically the main local industries. When I asked them about it, they ignored me."
"Even if I asked Uncle He to use the county's name, they still wouldn't agree."
"So we can only use this traditional method of making saltpeter, and then slowly improve it ourselves. Right now, the pass rate of our small workshop is only over 70%. I asked the state-owned factories and they can achieve a pass rate of 90%."
Su Wenchen was a little surprised.
"It's good enough for you to reach 70 right away. They've been developing for many years. If you catch up with them right away, those people in the state-owned factories will just be eating for free!"
The two of them lifted the door curtain while talking.
Walking into the room where the processed furs are stored, rows of soft and shiny furs that have been tanned are hanging on wooden sticks in the room.
Su Wenchen walked over, picked up a piece of nitrated leather and touched it.
He found that the nitrated ones were not bad. The hare skin was not a high-end fur, but it was relatively soft and smooth to the touch, and it gave him a light and fluffy feeling when he touched it.
"You guys are pretty good at making nitrate! This should be pretty warm and comfortable for making hats, scarves, and the like."
Jiang Li came over and nodded.
"The skins you just touched are all top-grade. They're specially selected, with hair over 3cm long and no defects. We supply them directly to the Foreign Trade Bureau for 1.8 yuan each. I heard our country will export them to Eastern Europe for 4 yuan each. We'll then exchange them for the technology and equipment we need."
"My friend in the Foreign Trade Bureau said that we have to use 100,000 rabbit skins to buy a set of advanced foreign equipment. Moreover, they are usually picky and sometimes even deliberately find faults and return some to us. Many of these returned items are deliberately damaged during inspection. It's simply bullying!"
Su Wenchen also knew that at this time, what could be sold domestically were basically raw materials, and people were just making sure of it. Even if the lion's mouth asked for a huge price, you had to accept it with a pinch of salt.
But he still underestimated Jiang Li.
"I didn't expect you to have friends in the Foreign Trade Bureau, male or female?"
Jiang Li blinked.
"you guess?"
Su Wenchen rolled his eyes.
"I'm just a kid! Still guessing!"
Jiang Li pouted.
"They were jealous and said they weren't just kids, but good friends from the compound. After graduating from high school, their family arranged for them to work in the Foreign Trade Bureau."
"Hehe, although her starting point is higher than mine, her current level is not as high as mine."
"She's been working here for so long, and she's still only a second-level clerk at administrative level 20, while I'm already a deputy director at administrative level 18!"
"When I wrote to her, she didn't believe me. Now she's envious of me, saying she's being treated like a grandson at the bureau."
Looking at Jiang Li with her small chest puffed out, Su Wenchen couldn't help laughing.
"Look how proud you are! How can the position of a city official in Beijing be the same as that of our commune?"
"Humph, don't worry about it. Anyway, I'm not behind them."
Su Wenchen nodded. Indeed, according to the future development trend, it would be a good idea for Jiang Li to slowly settle down for a few years.
At least it's safe.
Moreover, for someone like her who comes from a big compound, even without the help of her parents, the friends she has known since childhood are a network of contacts that most people would find difficult to access.
Just like this incident, ordinary people at that time probably didn't even know what the Foreign Trade Bureau was doing.
However, Jiang Li was able to directly contact her through her best friend and sell the goods to the Foreign Trade Bureau at a high price.
Moreover, Su Wenchen also discovered that Jiang Li had made rapid progress during this period and had already actively utilized her own resource advantages within the legal scope.
Then Su Wenchen looked at the inferior rabbit skins.
"How are you going to arrange these?"
"This type of Grade B fur has smooth markings and no obvious defects. We have negotiated a price with the county supply and marketing cooperative, and will buy it for 1.2 yuan per piece."
"The remaining C-grade ones are basically those with damaged fur, holes, or obvious defects in the fur."
"The supply and marketing cooperative only offered 60 cents, and they were even giving it to me out of respect. I decided not to sell it."
"We'll stay here and make fur hats and other leather clothing to gain experience in garment making. Like you said, we'll eventually make our own fur coats and export them to earn foreign exchange."
"In the early stages, we'll slowly get used to these lower-quality furs, and then sell them directly to our commune members at a lower price. Many of them won't mind the poor quality."
"Once the workers have become more skilled, we will gradually use better furs."
Su Wenchen nodded. He could see that Jiang Li took each step more steadily this time.
"Where did you get all these rabbit skins? Has a brigade in our commune started raising rabbits?"
Jiang Li shook her head.
"No, the commune encouraged its members to catch rabbits. It was okay at first, but now it's not easy."
As he said this, he looked at Su Wenchen with some anticipation.
"Whether this industry can be developed depends on whether you can raise the fur rabbits you mentioned."
"I've inquired with the Foreign Trade Bureau. They say top-grade Rex rabbit fur is scarce right now. The tanneries can supply it to the Foreign Trade Bureau for 15 yuan a piece after tanning it."
"If it's made into a fur coat, it's even more expensive, hundreds of dollars a piece! But I've heard people have very high standards. Very few finished fur coats are sold at the Canton Fair each year, and most of them are high-end furs like mink."
Su Wenchen saw Jiang Li looking at him expectantly.
"Don't tell me, I really did you a big favor this time. With your small workshop, I'm afraid you won't even be able to handle the Rex rabbits we raise in the future."
Jiang Li looked at Su Wenchen with some confusion.
"Didn't you say you were only planning to raise a few thousand rabbits for breeding?"
"If there are more, do you have anything to feed them?"
Su Wenchen hung the soft rabbit skin on the rack again and walked out like Jiang Li and said.
"I found a forage supplier on the way. We'll mainly purchase our forage from them in the future. We'll decide how many Rex rabbits to raise based on the amount of forage they grow."
Jiang Li opened her eyes wide, somewhat incredulous.
"ah?"
"Are there still places where there is no grain, only pasture?"
"Their local commune doesn't care?"
"Then what will we eat? We can't sell the grass at the same price as grain!"
Su Wenchen shook his head.
"Those who can grow food naturally cannot grow pasture."
"Their commune's land is mostly saline-alkali land in the Yellow River floodplain. Only a small portion has been transformed and can be used to grow crops. The remaining vast tracts are still unsuitable for growing crops. Even some of the land that can be planted is barely viable."
"So I recommended that they plant a salt-tolerant grass and sell it to us. Besides that, we can trade it directly with rabbit meat, which is a good deal for them."
"You don't know about the plant they used to grow there called Suaeda salsa."
"Use this stuff to soak into steamed bread. The first bite is okay, but when you chew it later, it tastes bitter and astringent. It's almost worse than wild vegetable steamed bread."
"If they can grow their own grass, why don't they raise it themselves?"
"They probably won't be able to grow many in a short period of time, because you haven't been to the Yellow River flood area there. Except around the improved fields, grass won't grow anywhere else. The only plants that can grow are basically salt-tolerant."
"These plants are basically the same as salt-tolerant grasses. They all contain a certain amount of salt, and feeding them alone can easily make rabbits unable to digest them."
"There's a kind of chicken there that eats this kind of salt- and alkaline-rich Suaeda grass for a long time. The eggs they lay have a light salty taste, just like sea duck eggs."
Hearing Su Wenchen's words, Jiang Li became curious.
"That's just like pickled duck eggs. It saves the trouble of pickling them."
"It's not that exaggerated, just a light salty taste. If it were really pickled into salted eggs, it would be a good idea. Maybe it would have a different flavor."
"But the yield is very low. Generally speaking, if they want to develop aquaculture there, they still need to continue to repair and improve the large areas of saline-alkali land."
"It won't be possible within three to five years at least!"
As they were talking, the two walked out of the room, and Su Wenchen looked up at the slightly slanted setting sun.
"When does Director Jiang get off work?"
"I think it's almost time, otherwise it will be dark soon."
Looking at Su Wenchen's fiery eyes, Jiang Li's heart was moved. She hadn't seen him for so long and she missed him a lot.
He glanced at his watch and turned to an old master.
"Master Tao, I have something to do today, so I'll leave early. I'll leave this to you."
Master Tao patted his chest.
"Don't worry, Director Jiang. Just leave this to me. You can take a day off tomorrow. The leather is basically tanned now anyway."
“There are basically no leathers being delivered now.”
Jiang Li pondered for a while.
"That's fine. I'll go to the commune and tell Secretary He that I won't be coming tomorrow. If there's anything urgent, just go to Pingcun Brigade and call me."
"Okay, Director Jiang, if it's urgent, I'll send someone to call you."
After leaving the workshop.
The two looked at each other, and both could read the lust in each other's eyes.
Obviously, during this period of time, not only Su Wenchen, but Jiang Li also had some suppressed emotions that needed to be released.
"I went to the commune to ask for leave, why did you drag me to your farm?"
"Why go so far to the commune? Just go back and give Secretary He a call. Why haven't we been apart for nearly two months? And you haven't even given us two days of rest?"
"If you really don't give me leave, I'll go to his office tomorrow and watch over him. How can you order someone around like that?"
"Even the donkeys in the production team are afraid of getting tired, so they still have time to rest."
Jiang Li rolled her eyes when she heard this.
"You are the donkey of the production team!"
Su Wenchen chuckled.
"Yes, yes, yes. I am the donkey of the production team. Tonight I will let you know how efficient a donkey that has been stuck for two months is at pulling the mill."
"Hmph, that's not necessarily true. I don't believe that a donkey like you can actually break the millstone."
"Student Ali, you've learned so much from the old ladies in the village! You can say anything now."
"Of course not. Besides, everyone in our commune knows that I'm your wife. Why should I be shy?"
"I'm telling you, there are quite a few young ladies in the brigade now, so please don't have any bad intentions towards me."
Obviously, Su Wenchen had just returned, and although Jiang Li was very happy, she still felt a sense of crisis.
After all, as the deputy director of the commune, she hasn't seen any shit happen during this period.
After all, the educated youth who came here were basically from big cities, ranging from fourteen or fifteen years old to those in their twenties.
There are those who want to work hard based on their own abilities, and naturally there are those who don't want to work hard and just want to enjoy the ready-made things.
Jiang Li was also afraid that Su Wenchen would lose control.
When Su Wenchen heard this, he immediately made a promise.
"There's no such thing as a pretty girl. In my eyes, you're the only pretty girl. If I really meet you, I won't even look at anyone else."
Although Jiang Li was happy to hear this, she still gave Su Wenchen a warning.
"Hmph, tell me if you can do it!"
"Don't be like your second brother and refuse anything you say."
Su Wenchen was a little stunned when he heard this.
"Is this true? My second brother cheated on his wife? He's not like that!"
"I didn't expect that a guy with thick eyebrows and big eyes could have so many tricks up his sleeve."
Jiang Li glanced at Su Wenchen.
"Who knows? Everyone is just pretending until they see something prettier."
"But your second brother hasn't reached the point of cheating. He doesn't even refuse a female educated youth when she approaches him. But if he keeps going like this, it's only a matter of time before this happens."
"Your second sister-in-law has now left all the iron heads in the house to your mother. She personally sends your second brother to work every day, guarding him like a thief."
Su Wenchen felt speechless when he heard this.
"Will this be any use just by taking precautions?"
Jiang Li glanced at Su Wenchen.
"What else? Go to the educated youth camp and have a fight with them? Whoever wins gets to fight?"
"But it's not just your second brother. Several young people in the brigade have fought several times over these female educated youth."
"Fighting with other male educated youths, fighting with the young people from my own brigade."
"Some of them are not the female educated youth, so what? It's just wishful thinking that they are attracted to them."
"Let's not talk about anything else, just look at the family of Li Xiangdong, the brigade accountant. They unilaterally called off a marriage that had been arranged. Li Xiangdong, who never beat his children, was so beaten that he broke a carrying pole."
Su Wenchen tugged at his slightly grown beard.
"So the brigade is very busy these days! It's a pity that I didn't get to eat any fresh melons."
Jiang Li rolled her eyes.
"It's lively, but it's not just in our brigade. As far as I know, all the brigades under the entire commune are lively."
"Secretary He has been dealing with so many bullshit issues lately that he can't even handle them all."
"Anyway, in the past two months, the number of people canceling their marriages in the various brigades below has increased compared to the previous two years. Some of the elderly wives in the village hate the educated youth who died."
"But not all of them were like that. Most of the educated youth went to work normally. Although they weren't very good at the work, they didn't intend to do anything messy."
"But sometimes, just a few of them would come out and make the entire educated youth center unwelcome."
Su Wenchen also knew that at this time, the girls in the team below had been working since they were young, and some even had to get up to work before dawn.
At this time, no matter her appearance, skin or temperament, she really can't compare with the girls in big cities.
In the past, the two groups had no contact at all, so naturally there weren't so many things going on.
But now that they are suddenly exposed to it, naturally some young people look down on the previous ones.
(End of this chapter)
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