Chapter 99: The last response to wages and prices. Anyone with any doubts, please come and take a look!

I saw someone in the book review area questioning that the prices of this book have jumped a lot. Some people also said that the wages of the big vat masters in the vat factory could not be so high, and even used the example that the eighth-level fitter in the courtyard only earned more than 100 yuan a month.

Here, the author first responds to the wages of the big vat master. The author's father graduated from high school in 1979 and started working in the vat factory in 1980. At first, he carried mud from morning to night and earned 1.5 yuan a day. Then he stepped on the mud and earned 2 yuan a day.

At that time, he saw people making big vats. They only worked half a day and could easily earn a few dollars, eating meat and drinking wine every day. The ambitious him used his free time to observe the big vat masters working. After watching for a while, he took some mud and tried to make it himself.

Here, I have to say that my father's talent in this area was really blessed by God. It took him only more than a month to successfully learn the technology of making large vats. However, at that time, even if you knew how to make large vats, if you didn't have a master, no one would hire you to work there.

So, my father specially went to find a master to worship. To put it bluntly, he just wanted to be a master and didn't need to teach him anything.

From then on, my father became a big vat master. Since he was really talented and his hands and feet were much faster than other big vat masters, others could only earn six or seven yuan or at most eight yuan a day, while my father could earn eleven or twelve yuan a day, which was half more than the income of other big vat masters.

That was one of the rare highlights in my father's life, so I don't know how many times he told it to us from childhood to adulthood. When the author was writing this book, he also asked my father in detail, so those who question the wages at the tile factory can shut up.

After all, I am an experienced author who has been writing books for fifteen years. I would not write a book without doing any research and just write it based on my imagination.

There are also other things that have seen a sharp increase in prices. The author doesn't know what he specifically means, but he guesses it's seafood. The author has clearly written in the book that sandworms and squids, which are sold for more than three yuan per pound, are dried seafood. One pound of dried sandworms requires ten pounds of fresh sandworms to be dried, and one pound of dried squid requires five pounds of fresh squid to be dried. On average, one pound of fresh sandworms only costs more than 30 cents per pound. Where did the price increase? This is cheaper than eggs! Even squids are only more than 70 cents per pound on average, cheaper than pork. I really don't understand where the price increase has occurred?

These prices are calculated by the author from the prices in Bobai County Annals in 1988. At that time, the price of dried squid was 70-90 yuan per kilogram, which is an average of 40 yuan per catty. Now it is 1980, and it sells for more than three yuan per catty, which has been reduced by more than ten times. It is ridiculous to say that the author wrote about the prices in the 1990s.

In 1988, the price of dried sandworms was 50-70 yuan per kilogram, averaging 30 yuan per catty. Now it sells for 3.3 yuan. Although it has not been reduced by ten times, it has been nine times. If anyone questions this price, just show me the evidence! I don’t know what your basis is for saying that the prices in this book are very high? The author dare not say that all the prices in the book are 100% true, but even if there are differences, they are only small differences, because for each price, the author has checked countless materials to get the price, and the most important reference material is the Bobai County Chronicles, because the book is about Bobai County, so the Bobai County Chronicles is the most standard reference material.

Someone questioned the county annals before. The author just wanted to laugh after reading it. If the prices in the county annals cannot be used as a reference standard, what other information can be used as a standard? Don’t you believe the official history, but must believe the unofficial history? Also, all the big guys who came out to question, do you really understand the prices of that era? I am afraid that your doubts are just "taken for granted"?

That’s all I have to say for now. If you still have doubts, please provide evidence. Don’t just say that prices have jumped dramatically without saying why. It’s like a guessing game.

(End of this chapter)