After visiting Panjiatuan Village in the morning, Sun Zongyuan did not use his golden finger to point out a way to make money as others imagined. What was he thinking?
In the afternoon, I went to see several baking furnaces in Likutuo Village, and I could hear the clanging sound from a distance.
You have to say that the men and women in this village are really strong. Several men who were working as blacksmiths were so hot near the blazing torches that they took off their shirts. The tendons on their arms made the eyes of the female comrades who were watching shine. Li Jindong, the branch secretary of this village, said that the female comrades in this village can also work as blacksmiths. Immediately, several female comrades took off their coats and only wore shirts, and they also hammered the iron pieces with clinking sounds.
Sun Zongyuan discovered that the ironware they made were also different. One made crowbars and other tools for breaking stones, one made axes and hammers, and another made shears and rotary knives for chopping hay and used as gardening tools by carpenters.
Sun Zongyu asked the branch secretary Li Jindong to measure the finished products made by the three kilns in detail one by one with a ruler and then record them.
Looking at the measured dimensions, Sun Zongyuan frowned.
Find a quiet place to sit down and chat with a few oven masters.
"Masters, I would like to ask you a few questions, okay?"
"Look at what the secretary said. If you have any questions, we will definitely tell you what we know!"
A dark-faced man about fifty years old answered.
The blacksmith's face and exposed upper body are black and red from the smoke and heat every day, but his exposed muscles are still very eye-catching.
"You all come from the same village, you're all family, and your houses aren't far from each other. I see that the things you build are similar. Can you tell me what you can build?"
"I can make shovels, hoes, sickles, axes for farming, as well as scissors, fire shears, stove covers, shoulder pole hooks, door hoop hammers for household use," said another master.
"We also make chisels and crowbars for stonemasons, as well as spayers and horseshoes for livestock."
"We also make large iron nails for coffins..."
Several people said.
"Then are the things made by you ovens the same?"
"Secretary, they are basically the same in appearance, size, and weight, but none are exactly the same in length, weight, or appearance."
"We all estimate the bets, whether it's an ounce more or less, a finger longer or shorter, but few people care about it."
"Oh, I see. I have another question. If we make an axe and a hammer using the same format, can we make them?"
"It's very difficult for us blacksmiths to make irons of exactly the same size and weight, unless we pay no attention to time. But if we make one in a day, we won't make any money."
"I think everyone is very tired from working as a blacksmith. Now there are air hammers in the factory, why don't you use them?" Sun Zongyuan asked.
"Hey, basically all we need are farm tools and other things. We can easily do them ourselves. Even if we buy an air hammer, it won't do as much work. Besides, it'll cost seven or eight hundred yuan!"
…
The next day, the large conference room in Fushan Town was filled with government officials, village officials, and vermicelli processors and oven-drying masters from the two villages.
Sun Zongyu originally intended for the relevant personnel of the two villages and the personnel of the two research groups to participate. Unexpectedly, when everyone heard that Secretary Sun would personally comment on the two industries, they all came for the purpose of learning and broadening their horizons.
There’s no entrance fee anyway, right? What if it inspires me?
"To put it simply, studying the economic development of a place falls under the purview of regional economics, while studying the development of an industry falls under the purview of industrial economics. Therefore, to study the economic development of a village, we must carefully analyze the village's regional advantages and industrial strengths."
"For an industry to flourish, it must achieve scale, standardized technology, environmentally friendly products, local raw materials, and market-oriented sales. I will now explain each of these points based on my research over the past two days and the issues identified by the two previous research groups."
"Industry scale means forming a brand. For example, when people talk about vermicelli, they go to Panjiatuan. Why? Because they produce in large quantities. Word of mouth says Panjiatuan's vermicelli is high-quality and of large quantities."
"But compared to the market, Panjiatuan's vermicelli production is still too small. During peak season, we produce around 2,000 kilograms a day, which translates to only about 150,000 kilograms a year. Do you know what the national production capacity is? What is the national market demand?"
"Oh, no one knows. Then let me tell you, if one person consumes 2 kilograms of vermicelli every year, that would be 2 billion kilograms, more than 10,000 times ours. Think about how big our market is and how much potential there is."
"Last year, the national production of vermicelli was less than 500 million jin. Panjiatuan has great potential for vermicelli processing!"
The cadres from Panjiatuan were filled with excitement when they heard this, and the cadres from other villages were also making their own calculations in their minds:
Do we also need to process vermicelli when we go back?
"But I said the market prospects are good, but I am very pessimistic about Panjiatuan's vermicelli processing industry based on the current conditions!" Sun Zongyuan said loudly and firmly.
There was a loud bang in the conference room, and everyone was stunned. Didn't they just say there was great potential? Why did they say they were extremely pessimistic now?
"This is the second issue I mentioned, and it's about technical standardization. Under current conditions, alum must be added to vermicelli production, but the amount is entirely determined by the worker's spoon. Different people use different amounts, and the amount of alum added at different times is also different. Therefore, the alum content in each vat of vermicelli paste is different. Too much is harmful to the body, and too little may make the vermicelli less tough, right?"
Everyone nodded.
"We should consult experts and find out how much alum should be added to 100 kilograms of starch to ensure it is not harmful to the human body but also increases the toughness of the noodles. It would be a standard practice to add the same proportion of alum to each batch of starch."
"The third aspect is the environmental friendliness of the product. Looking at the processing process of Panjiatuan, have you noticed any problems? I think there are many problems," Sun Zongyuan continued.
"First, do the workers have infectious diseases? Have they undergone physical examinations? When were they examined? It's unlikely that someone with an infectious disease would cook food and then infect others, right?"
"Another problem is that there are no work clothes, the workers' hands are not clean, and their hair is exposed. If a few hairs fall in, how are we going to eat?"
"The processing tools we use are too outdated. The clay pots and pots, as well as the edges of the pots, have accumulated a lot of starch and changed color. If a piece of starch falls in, how can we guarantee the quality of the vermicelli we produce?"
"Furthermore, the wastewater from starch production is discharged at will, filling the streets with sewage and stinking air. If the vermicelli you're drying outside is so unhygienic, how can customers dare to buy it?"
Everyone looked serious.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
