The project that Li Xiangdong used to retain Niu Sixing and Bao Guinan was the expansion of the cannery, or more accurately, the expansion of the new food factory.
With the development of the cannery in the past two years, in addition to producing canned fish, braised pork, pears, peaches and oranges, it has also developed other new products such as luncheon meat and spicy dried fish.
The previous factory buildings were no longer sufficient, and now many processes are carried out in sheds built outside the cannery.
However, this was not very hygienic, so the Lijiapo Brigade planned a new food factory covering 50 acres. This food factory included the original cannery and expanded the scope and variety of products produced.
The new food factory was registered under the name of the ancient Baiyang River that flows past the village: Baiyang River Food Factory. It mainly produces various canned goods under the Meiyao brand, Baiyang River instant noodles, wild boar luncheon meat, and various snacks and candies.
In short, Baiyanghe Food Factory can produce anything related to food.
This project was no less extensive than the construction of the new residential buildings. Niu and Bao signed the contract with smiles on their faces, and everyone was happy.
The seven construction team leaders, some on bicycles and others on foot, all hurriedly rushed back.
The groundbreaking ceremony for Lijiapo is scheduled to begin the day after tomorrow. We need to hurry home, organize the team, and get the equipment ready!
Of the group, only Shen Jianye moved a little slower. He patted the dust off his clothes, straightened his hat, and declined Wang Qingxiang's offer to take him home on his bicycle. Instead, he leisurely sat down under the big locust tree at the entrance of the brigade office, lit his pipe, and started smoking.
Seeing that everyone else had left, he got up and slowly walked towards Li Jin's house.
Oh, nobody else knows, but Shen Jianye and Li Jin knew each other when they were working on a river project.
......
That afternoon, Li Xiangchao returned on a tractor, followed by a line of five tractors.
A red tractor, chugging along and belching black smoke, arrived in the village.
The young and strong men who had been waiting at the construction site rushed forward to help the driver unload the bricks.
Actually, there are techniques to unloading bricks. For example, people at brick kilns use a brick-moving tool made of steel bars and thick springs—brick clamps—to unload bricks.
Five bricks at a time, then arranged in a crisscross pattern to form a brick stack one meter wide and two meters high. This makes them convenient to use and quick to move.
However, there weren't enough brick clamps, so the young man, being young and strong, used his bare hands to carry the bricks down in groups of ten at a time.
Before long, a group of young women and wives, around seventeen or eighteen years old, arrived and joined the brick-moving team.
Liu Chunshan, a young man in his twenties, joked with them, "Oh, so you fairies are doing the rough work that we rough old men do?"
Wearing cotton gloves, Liu Lanhua handed bricks to Li Guoling under the tractor trailer, saying as she worked, "Brother Chunshan, don't look down on us women! Chairman Mao said that we women hold up half the sky! What you men can do, we women can do just as well!"
As the saying goes, men and women working together makes the work easier.
A group of young men and women, full of youthful vigor and cheerful spirit, told jokes and sang songs, getting the work done with laughter and joking. Even the drivers at the brick kiln had smiles on their faces the whole time.
Brick clamps
"Sixth Uncle, this is the first batch, 200,000 bricks. The rest of the bricks and tiles will take another seven or eight days."
Li Xiangchao sat in the brigade headquarters and reported on his work to Li Jin and others.
"Director Feng of the county brick kiln said that some people have been queuing for a month, and he has to reserve some bricks and tiles for them. But he told me to tell you that it will definitely not delay the construction progress of our brigade."
Li Jin nodded in satisfaction and handed Li Xiangchao a pack of "Golden Leaf" cigarettes. "Be smart, if you see someone working hard, offer them a cigarette. Don't be stingy!"
As for Director Feng's share, Li Jin would naturally deliver it personally.
Everything is ready; we are just waiting for the auspicious day.
March 29th, 1978 (lunar calendar) is an auspicious day for construction and groundbreaking.
This was also an auspicious day that Grandma Jiang calculated using three almanacs.
To build a new house, you have to demolish the old one. Fortunately, the walls of modern houses are made of earth and straw, so it's easy to tear them down.
Temporary tents were set up around the brigade headquarters in Lijiapo. As early as last night, people had brought out their pots, pans, wardrobes, zithers, and other household items.
Leaving the old house where they had lived for so long, the elderly people couldn't help but sigh.
However, this melancholy did not last long.
Around four in the morning, Li Chang set up a large iron pot under the big locust tree to cook mutton offal soup. As soon as the firewood was lit, the flames shot out with a "whoosh," and the white soup in the big iron pot gurgled and boiled, the aroma of mutton offal wafting for miles!
Next to him were a dozen women brushing oil on small griddles and baking white flour pancakes. Each small white flour pancake, about the size of a palm, was plump and white, with yellowish-brown bubbles of varying sizes on top. They looked incredibly delicious.
Today is the day the new residential building project starts, and we're having our first meal together today, with the production team paying for it!
The first rays of dawn peeked across the sky, the clouds were pale pink, the sky was blue, and a gentle breeze, not cold at all, caressed all living things. A peach blossom in the corner of the wall was about to bloom, its bud still closed...
People arrived one after another, carrying their own bowls, filling them with mutton offal soup, sprinkling on chopped cilantro and scallions, and adding a spoonful of mutton fat chili. They stirred the soup with their spoons, and bright red oil floated on the surface, contrasting beautifully with the emerald green cilantro and scallions, making it look incredibly appetizing.
Holding the piping hot, steaming bowl, I brought the rim of the bowl to my mouth and slurped up a mouthful of mutton soup. Delicious!
Then reach for a white flour pancake, break it into pieces, throw it into the mutton soup, let it soak for a while, and once it has a salty taste, eat it. That's the most satisfying way to fill you up!
"Honey, put a spoonful of mutton fat and chili oil into the flatbread and eat it! It's so delicious!"
The one who said this was Liu Yubin, a good-for-nothing in the village. He had already drunk several bowls and had even gained some experience from it. He quickly squeezed through the crowd and went to his wife to share his secrets.
Liu Yubin's wife was eating with a group of aunties and older women.
In this era, while people can be described as unrestrained, the overall social atmosphere remains conservative.
Most couples are careful to keep their distance in public, but Liu Yubin insisted on going into the group of women and talking to her.
This caused the women around her to burst into laughter and tease her.
"Little girl, look, Yubin always thinks of you when he has good things to do!"
"That's true! If anyone says our Eighth Brother doesn't care about his Eighth Sister-in-law, I'll tear his mouth off!"
Liu Yubin's wife blushed as everyone teased her. She felt sweet inside, but on the surface, she was both ashamed and annoyed, and she chased Liu Yubin away.
Liu Yubin, who had meant well, left completely bewildered, thinking to himself that his wife was truly ungrateful and didn't appreciate his kindness!
He took the empty bowl and filled it with mutton soup, then drank it with relish.
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