But his wish did not come true. Just as he was about to turn around and leave, Zhang Hai caught him like an eagle catching a chicken.
"Don't go! I'm counting on you to be a dish."
Wan Feng had no choice but to stay and chat with the antiques.
In fact, there wasn't even a cup or a bowl, so he could only stare at these people.
Wan Feng sat among a group of middle-aged men like a white flower among ancient relics, with a slow and pitiful expression, as if he was a lamb to be slaughtered.
These people are all people with some prestige in Wahou. What is Zhang Hai trying to do by calling them here?
Unlike the last time Zhang Hai went to find Wan Feng and Zhu Ping was sent to the outer room, this time Zhu Ping actually got a position.
Zhang Hai began his opening speech: "I've already mentioned the reason why I called everyone here. Our Jiangwei Brigade is one of the poorest brigades in Yongshi Commune, and our Wahou Team is one of the poorest teams within the Jiangwei Brigade, only slightly better off than the Zhou family, who have the least land. I believe that if we want to live a good life, we can't rely solely on our small piece of land. We have to find ways to make a living. Now that the policies from above have loosened up a bit, there's some encouragement for rural people to find their own way out. We've decided to be the first to try this out. What should we do?"
The audience was silent and no one spoke.
It’s not that they are embarrassed, they just don’t know what’s going on.
Seeing no one speaking, Zhang Hai had to sing a solo: "A few days ago, I asked a capable person, and he gave us some advice. Today I want to discuss it with everyone."
Wan Feng was shocked. Had he successfully upgraded to a capable person? But when he thought about it, he realized that he was indeed a capable person.
"He suggested we open a brick and tile factory. I've been applying for a loan at the Rural Credit Cooperative these days. The commune is very supportive of us starting a business and has already promised us a 3,000 yuan loan. The loan will be approved in a few days, but I'm still feeling uneasy. It's 3,000 yuan! So I'm looking for everyone to brainstorm and discuss it."
With specific investment projects in place, attendees began to speak enthusiastically.
You spoke a few words and he spoke a few words, spit flying under the light, and all kinds of vague words came out.
Wan Feng was almost drowsy listening to this. Why was he called to such a meeting? Did this have anything to do with him?
Although these people were talking nonsense for half an hour, their overall attitude towards the brick factory was still very positive.
So the next step is to turn theory into practice.
"Nephew! You came up with the idea, how should we implement it in our brick and tile factory?"
Wan Feng, whose eyelids were glued together like a pair of adulterous lovers, suddenly heard these words and his eyelids reluctantly parted.
"Huh? Why are you asking me?"
"Neither of us has ever worked in a brick factory. If you came up with the idea, who else should I ask?"
This is just a chatter, as if I have done it before.
Of course, Wan Feng had never run a brick and tile factory, but in his previous life he had worked as a brick loader and a cement loader, so he was familiar with the working procedures of a brick and tile factory.
"First, we need to choose a suitable site. There aren't any special requirements for cement bricks and tiles; a windproof factory building and a flat surface are sufficient. However, there are some requirements for the red brick site. At the very least, there needs to be sufficient clay soil near the brick kiln. You can't go miles away to get soil."
"That's not a problem. I already have a venue in mind. We'll go check it out tomorrow morning."
Oh my god! And tomorrow morning? Is it easy for me to have one day off in a week? This is obviously going to be squeezed out.
"In addition to the site, the hardware also requires supporting roads. You can't have products but can't transport them out."
In the 1980s, even many provincial-level roads in rural areas were made of sand, and there were no decent roads in rural areas.
The place of Wahou is remote, with hills to the north and west, and some of the roads were only accessible by horse-drawn carriages.
There is no problem with large-scale transportation on this kind of road using horse-drawn carriages. If there are motor vehicles, it will be fine in winter but will become a problem in summer and autumn.
"We'll talk about the road when the time comes. If it doesn't work, we can repair it. You should first get the equipment the brick factory needs."
The issue of equipment is a long one.
The history of clay bricks can be traced back to the Qin Shi Huang period and has a long history in China. Its manual production method does not require much technical content, but the output is a problem.
The sintering of clay bricks is one aspect, and the pressing and drying of bricks is also an important link, which directly affects the output.
If you want to increase production, mechanization is the only way to go. Making bricks by hand is a dead end.
Beiliao was a heavy industrial province in China at that time. Almost all the mechanical equipment that could be produced in China was available in Beiliao Province, and of course there were brick-making equipment factories.
As for cement bricks and tiles, they could no longer be bought. One reason was that the budget was insufficient, and the other was that there might not be any machinery to manufacture them at that time.
It seems that it is not feasible to use the machinery for making red brick anodes to make cement bricks.
Cement bricks only came into history after clay bricks were officially banned nationwide in 2010. Who knows where those equipment are sleeping now?
Then it can only be made by hand using molds.
"First, we need equipment to press water blanks. There must be manufacturers in our province. The difficulty is to find the cities where these manufacturers are located and then buy the equipment."
Zhang Hai blinked and thought for a moment. "I remember there seemed to be such a factory in Dongdan City. I heard about it from the purchasing agent of the machinery factory."
Dongdan City is 400 meters away from Hongya, in the southeastern corner of Beiliao Province, opposite another socialist country, County C.
"Then we'll get it done as soon as possible. This is the equipment needed to sinter red bricks. For now, we'll have to rely on handmade molds to produce cement bricks and tiles. Initially, sales won't be huge, so handmade molds are enough to handle it. We'll find a solution once sales are established and demand picks up. As for the molds, either our Commune Machinery Factory or the Gushan Commune Machinery Factory can design, process, and produce them, but I guess I'll need connections."
The products of the Yongshi Commune Machinery Factory were old-style hammer crushers and three-phase asynchronous motors. At that time, a township enterprise that could produce these things was considered a relatively high-end factory. Producing a few sets of brick and tile molds should not be a problem. The key was whether others were willing to do it.
After the general guidelines and strategies are formulated, the matter is settled. What happens next depends on Zhang Hai's ability.
"Nephew! Can we open a brick and tile factory? There are several brick and tile factories in our county." Someone still seemed to lack confidence and raised questions.
At that time, there were indeed several brick factories in Hongya County, especially the Gaoyang Brick Factory to the west of Hongya County, which was the most famous. This question is not unreasonable.
"Why not? Everyone else can do it, but we can't? I just don't believe it! Bricks and tiles are essential supplies for rural areas. One or two brick factories can't meet the demand of a market as large as Hongya County. Why are Gaoyang's brick factories so prosperous? It's because there are no competitors. Therefore, as long as our product quality is guaranteed, there will be no shortage of market. Demand will definitely exceed supply. We can do it!"
Wan Feng's words were powerful.
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