Chapter 89
The news that Ye Manzhi wanted residents to raise pigs somehow got out.
Many neighbors came to the street office to learn about the situation.
My second sister's mother-in-law, Liu Chunhua, brought my second sister and little granddaughter and ran directly to Ye Manzhi's house.
"Niuniu's aunt, are we really going to organize everyone on our street to raise pigs together?"
"Auntie, the neighborhood committee will mobilize people to raise pigs, but they won't organize everyone to raise them together. If you want to raise pigs, just buy some piglets and raise them at home."
Ye Manzhi wanted to formally mobilize everyone to raise pigs after finding a reliable source of feed.
The food supply in the city was already limited, and people were already struggling to get enough food, so using food to feed pigs was even worse.
But I didn't expect that these aunties and grannies on the street were so enthusiastic about pig farming that they couldn't sit still as soon as they heard the rumor.
Liu Chunhua sighed and said, "Aunt Niuniu, I heard the neighborhood is organizing pig farming, and several families in our area want to sign up!"
“How many people want to raise one now?”
Ye Manzhi found the pastry box, took out two pieces of egg yolk slices for Niu Niu to chew, and pushed the fruits and melon seeds bought for the New Year to her second sister and her mother-in-law.
"There are probably seven or eight households in the two resident groups. If the neighborhood committee did a thorough count, there would definitely be more," Liu Chunhua said, crunching some sunflower seeds. "Everyone wants the street office to organize and buy the piglets collectively. That's definitely going to be cheaper."
Seeing her younger sister's hesitation, the second sister gently reminded her, "Laiya, don't get involved in buying piglets! They're living creatures, after all. If they get sick or don't gain weight, people will easily blame them. This kind of thing is a thankless task!"
Liu Chunhua glanced at her daughter-in-law with dissatisfaction.
I brought her along to visit because I wanted her to help out, but not only did she not help, she even sabotaged my efforts!
"Aunt Niuniu is already the deputy director of the neighborhood committee. Don't you know better than us what to do and what not to do?" Liu Chunhua surveyed the room with her eyes and said flatteringly, "Aunt Niuniu, not only are you the deputy director of the neighborhood committee now, you also live in such a big house. You're more promising than your two sisters! You have to help with the piglets!"
Ye Manzhi peeled an orange and gave half to her second sister. She laughed and said, "Auntie, this house was allocated to Captain Wu by the factory. It has nothing to do with me. My sister married into your family and lives in your house. If you want my sister to have a bright future in this field, then you and my brother-in-law have to work hard!"
Hearing this, the second sister pursed her lips and smiled.
Liu Chunhua spat a mouthful of melon seed shells, "..."
This girl is the deputy director now, but why is her mouth still so annoying?
"It's really not the right place for the street to get involved in buying piglets. The piglets we buy might be big or small, male or female, and they might not meet everyone's needs." Ye Manzhi said with a smile, "The street will try to help everyone with feed and pig manure disposal."
Hearing her mention the feed, Liu Chunhua perked up again. "Raising pigs in the city isn't as convenient as in the countryside. The two pig farmers near my home have to go to the market every day to pick up rotten vegetable leaves to feed their pigs. Those with connections at the brewery can even bring back distiller's grains from the brewery. Director Ye, can the subdistrict office contact the brewery and let us pig farmers do that?"
Ye Manzhi asked, "They don't charge for collecting the lees, right?"
"Of course it's free, but," Liu Chunhua emphasized again, "you have to have connections in the factory! People like us who don't have any connections can't even get into the winery!"
Ye Manzhi nodded thoughtfully, listened to Comrade Liu Chunhua's suggestions, and the next morning asked at the unit if anyone had connections to a brewery, and asked the residents to go to the brewery to get some lees.
There is no connection with the brewery, but Gao Xiaoguang said that he has an uncle who works in a liquor factory.
Just when Ye Manzhi was about to inquire about the details, Zhang Qinjian came back from a meeting in the city.
After listening to their conversation, he interrupted, wiping his sweat, and said, "Stop talking about your pig farming! Everyone, put aside your work!"
"Director, is there any important notice from the city that needs to be conveyed?" Lang Qinghong asked cheerfully.
"This is a big deal!" Zhang Qinjian pulled a document from his faux-leather briefcase and announced loudly, "The city is demanding that everyone in the city make a major leap forward this year! Rural agriculture and urban industry must reach new heights! This is the Municipal Party Committee's 'Notice on Actively Organizing Women to Participate in Social Labor and Striving to Achieve a Citywide 'Zero Idleness'."
The "Notice" was quickly circulated among the cadres.
Zhang Qinjian continued, "Our street's cottage industry has made great progress in the past year, but it's not enough! Guangming Street still has a large number of unemployed women! The city leaders have already said at the meeting that if we want to achieve a major leap forward, we must mobilize all possible resources!"
Liu Jinbao scoffed, "Director, this is totally unrealistic! The factories and handicraft workshops on our street are already saturated. Where are we going to find so many jobs? People need to be paid for their work! The street can't even pay them, right?"
"I haven't finished what I'm saying yet. From now on, comrades should not interrupt the leader when he's speaking!"
Comrade Liu Jinbao: "..."
Zhang Qinjian cleared his throat and said, "Our neighborhood cadres must do a good job of mobilization and propaganda, making everyone realize that building socialism is everyone's responsibility! Make sure every household has an idle person! Fully utilize the power of the masses and mobilize everyone to develop private industries in the neighborhood!"
Ye Manzhi was confused and couldn't help asking, "Director, what is the nature of this private industry?"
"It's a collective effort on a street level! Previously, the street office was the primary driver of industrial development, but our energy is limited, and the momentum isn't strong enough! This time, we'll use the neighborhood committees as units, mobilizing each to proactively open factories, recruiting idle workers to participate in the labor force, and contributing to the city's industrial advancement!"
Zhang Qinjian called on someone, "Director Ye, please get ready. The city is organizing a rally tomorrow, and we'll attend as representatives of Guangming Street."
Ye Manzhi nodded, and then he added, "Both the district and the city are going to hold a major competition for this work. Our Guangming Street has always been ahead of the curve, and this time is no exception! Gao Xiaoguang, immediately notify the directors and deputy directors of each neighborhood committee to hold a basic meeting tonight to assign tasks for the private factories!"
The city's sudden announcement of the Leap Forward work caught everyone off guard.
Although relevant documents were issued at the end of last year, and Ye Manzhi also used it to show the service station in front of provincial leaders, she always thought it was just slogans and there might not be any big action.
I didn’t expect that the street-run industry would be developed so vigorously at the beginning of this spring!
Ye Manzhi was elected as a people's representative before the New Year and will attend the first session of the third people's congress of Zhengyang District in the next two days.
The preparatory meeting and the formal meeting will last for ten days.
By the time she and other representatives elected a new district mayor and deputy district mayor and returned to the street office, factories organized by various neighborhood committees had sprung up like mushrooms after a rain.
She went to each neighborhood committee to check the situation and found that there were 18 paper shell factories alone!
On average, there are 3 families in each neighborhood committee!
Ye Manzhi asked, "Director, aren't our factories too scattered? If we have so many paperboard factories, who will we sell the paperboard to?"
"Since it can be opened, there must be a way out!" Zhang Qinjian said calmly, "This time it's the neighborhood committee that's taking the lead. Let's let the neighborhood committee comrades do it. The street office shouldn't interfere! They can't rely on the street office, so they'll naturally find a way out on their own!"
Ye Manzhi: “…”
It may not sound very reliable, but Lao Zhang does have some wisdom in this regard.
There are many capable people among the grassroots people. If the streets do not interfere, they may be able to become self-reliant.
Ye Manzhi decided to learn from Director Zhang and boldly let go, allowing the masses to organize private industries themselves.
However, reality is always so cruel, and the two hands-off bosses were soon slapped in the face by reality!
The sound of firecrackers at the opening of the private factories that were built with great fanfare is still ringing in our ears. Unfortunately, seven of them went bankrupt in less than half a month!
Four paper shell factories and three hardware factories.
Zhang Qinjian and Ye Manzhi, who heard the tragic news, said:::::::
Zhao Erhe stood in front of the two men and asked eagerly, "Director, what should we do with the bankrupt factory? The people are very upset. They're being rushed out of work and then out of work. This kind of thing is hard on anyone!"
"They bankrupted the factory themselves. What can the district government do?" Zhang Qinjian threw his beloved Parker pen on the table and complained. "Everyone promised solemnly that they would run the factory well, and now it's collapsed in just a few days? They're really hopeless!"
Ye Manzhi was also quite speechless about this situation, but she still reminded him: "The city requires that there be no idle people in the whole city, and our Guangming Street is a street where private factories were established relatively early. If the news of bankruptcy and unemployment spreads, the impact will not be good..."
The city leaders had just held a rally, and they knocked down seven factories on Guangming Street. Isn’t this just trying to seduce the leaders?
This work was originally led by Zhang Qinjian himself, and he felt a little embarrassed when things turned out like this.
After walking around the office for a few times with his hands behind his back, he frowned and said, "Director Ye, I think these factories need to be saved. Let's split up the responsibility of the paper shell factory and the hardware factory. Which one do you want to take charge of?"
"Then I'll be in charge of the paper shell factory."
Ye Manzhi felt that there were too many cardboard factories on the street, and there was no need to save the four factories that had gone bankrupt.
It would be better to assign the employees to work in other paper shell factories.
When Chang Yue'e heard that she would be assigned to another paper shell factory, she was like being struck by lightning.
"Does this paper shell have to be glued together?"
The street does not allow idle people to stay at home, and Chang Yue'e, who thinks she is not an idle person, was also asked to go to work by the neighborhood committee.
She went out to work for a few days and finally received the news that the paper shell factory had closed down. She happily went home and made dumplings.
I didn’t expect that my daughter actually wanted her to work in another paperboard factory!
"This is the city's policy, Mom. If you don't want to work at the paper shell factory, you can choose other factories. They're all on our street anyway," Ye Manzhi urged. "The street now supports private industry. If you can take the lead in organizing a factory, like a sausage factory, that's totally fine!"
Chang Yue'e complained: "What kind of sausage enema factory is this? The pork supply is so tight. If there's no pork, I'll just use air to make sausages!"
After being reminded by her mother, Ye Manzhi remembered to mobilize everyone to raise pigs.
As soon as she returned to the office in the afternoon, she called Gao Xiaoguang over.
"Xiaoguang, I remember you said you had a relative who worked at a liquor factory? What does he do there? Can you help the residents on our street get some distiller's grains?"
"My uncle-in-law is the production team leader in the bottling workshop. I went back and asked him. Employees at the liquor factory can take distiller's grains home to feed chickens and ducks. It's also okay to bring some for relatives to feed pigs. But for places like ours that need large quantities of distiller's grains to feed pigs, you can't just take them away."
Ye Manzhi was mentally prepared for this and nodded, asking, "If outsiders go to the liquor factory to collect distiller's grains, they must have a set of rules, right?"
"The requirement set by the liquor factory leaders is that one pound of dry corn can be exchanged for 20 pounds of distiller's grains."
“Only 20 kilograms?”
"Although distiller's grains contain water, 20 kilograms is not too little, and it's more cost-effective than feeding grain to pigs."
Ye Manzhi shook her head. "I asked those who raise pigs. Except for suckling pigs, it's normal for each pig to eat 4-7 kilograms of pig feed per day. Even if you mix 20 kilograms of distiller's grains with other things, it will be eaten in three to five days. A month requires 6-10 kilograms of coarse grains, and there are grain quotas. Who would be willing to raise pigs like this?"
Gao Xiaoguang looked embarrassed. "The liquor factory has the same requirements for outsiders who bring in distiller's grains. The liquor factory is not far from here. I even went to ask the factory guard about the situation, and he said the same thing: one kilogram of grain in exchange for 20 kilograms of distiller's grains."
Ye Manzhi stared at the cactus on the windowsill and pondered for a long time. Then he stood up and said, "Xiaoguang, come with me to the liquor factory. Let's go meet the leaders of the liquor factory."
The Tobacco, Wine and Sugar Factory was a popular unit. Even though Ye Manzhi was a deputy director of a street committee, she couldn't just meet the factory director whenever she wanted.
Fortunately, they had acquaintances at the winery, so Gao Xiaoguang called his uncle in advance and asked him to introduce him to the head of the materials supply department.
"I have no problem introducing you to the head of the supplies department, but I can't guarantee that this will be accomplished!"
After bringing the person to the door of the materials department, my uncle gave him a shot of prevention.
Ye Manzhi smiled and said, "Team Leader Liu, you've been very helpful in introducing us for Xiaoguang's sake. We'll do the rest of the work ourselves."
Team leader Liu nodded, thinking that although this deputy director of the street committee is young, he still has some methods in doing things.
If it weren't for helping his nerdy nephew, he really didn't want to get involved in such trivial matters.
I hope Deputy Director Ye can remember Xiaoguang’s favor.
Team leader Liu is an old employee of the liquor factory and still has some status in the factory. The head of the materials department was very polite to the two people he brought with him.
After the pleasantries, Ye Manzhi didn't waste too much time and asked with a smile, "Chief Wei, we came to your house today to discuss the business of supplying packaging paperboard for the liquor factory."
Gao Xiaoguang and Team Leader Liu: “::::::”
Don’t you want free lees?
How did it get to the packaging paper?
The two looked at each other and saw confusion in each other's eyes.
Section Chief Wei didn't notice the two men's abnormality and just said something in a routine manner, "Director Ye, our factory has a regular paperboard factory that supplies paperboard, and we don't plan to change the manufacturer for the time being."
He has seen many young cadres coming to the factory to solicit business every day.
If Lao Liu hadn't brought the person in, he wouldn't even have said such polite words.
Ye Manzhi asked, "The paperboard factory you're working with charges 25 cents for making 100 paperboard wrappers, right?"
Section Chief Wei picked up the teacup and said vaguely, "About the same."
"If you give this paper shell making work to our paper shell factory on Guangming Street," Ye Manzhi said shockingly, "we won't charge you a penny!"
"Pfft..." Section Chief Wei choked on his tea and asked in disbelief, "Are you going to do this for free?"
He has been working in the supply and marketing of materials for so many years, but this is the first time he has encountered free work delivered to his door!
Today was really an eye-opener!
"It's not like we're working for nothing. Our paper shell factory doesn't require cash, but we have to use distiller's grains to offset the payment for goods," Ye Manzhi said with a smile. "Many factory employees have pigs at home, and everyone wants some distiller's grains to feed them."
“This, this…”
Section Chief Wei thought about it for a long time but couldn't figure it out.
Team leader Liu took the opportunity to help out and said, "Old Wei, we can discuss this. It's a waste to just leave all that distiller's grains in our factory. We might as well exchange them for some packaging paper!"
Although the factory has clearly marked the price, 1 kilogram of corn for 20 kilograms of distiller's grains, basically no one will exchange grain for distiller's grains.
This is just an excuse to keep outsiders out of the factory.
In fact, a lot of lees are wasted, which makes them feel sad.
Section Chief Wei frowned and thought about it. Of course, it would be good to have packaging paperboard that doesn't cost money, but the paperboard factory that can supply the liquor factory must not be an ordinary paperboard factory. They all have connections and connections.
If we change the manufacturer now, it will be difficult to explain to the leader.
Ye Manzhi observed the other person's expression, then looked at the look given by Team Leader Liu, and had a vague idea in his mind.
So he tentatively said, "Section Chief Wei, now that all the factories in the city have responded to the call and increased their production tasks, I'm sure the production targets of the liquor factory will not be low either. The previous supply of paper shells will definitely not be able to meet the current production needs. I think it would be better if you can continue to cooperate with the original paper shell factory, and let Guangming Street handle the excess paper shell needs. As we agreed before, we can use the distiller's grains to pay for the goods."
Hearing this, Section Chief Wei's eyebrows moved slightly, and he leaned his back against the back of the sofa.
He took another sip of tea and asked about the situation of the Guangming Street Paper Shell Factory.
There are 14 paper shell factories on Guangming Street, and the situation of each paper shell factory is different. Ye Manzhi calmly made up a medium-sized paper shell factory and transferred the business previously done by the family handicraft cooperative to this paper shell factory.
"Chief Wei, let me be frank. Making packaging boxes is not difficult at all. Give us a sample, and we can make thousands of them in a day. As long as we're careful and keep the scrap rate to a minimum, this kind of work won't be the same in any factory."
Section Chief Wei hummed and said, "I'll have to ask the factory leaders about this!"
"Oh, our superiors are calling for a great industrial leap forward. We need to race against time in everything. How can we get our work done if we procrastinate?" Ye Manzhi stood up and said, "Section Chief Wei, which factory leader is responsible for this? I'll go with you to report the situation and strive to resolve the problem and resume production as soon as possible!"
Section Chief Wei: “…”
*
Ye Manzhi was unable to meet with other factory leaders that day. She met Deputy Director Li of the liquor factory on the third day.
After signing the supply and marketing agreement with the other party on behalf of the street factory, he hurried back to Guangming Street with the newly-issued contract.
After reporting to Zhang Qinjian, Ye Manzhi immediately organized the residents of the first to fourth neighborhood committees to hold a mass meeting.
"I've called you all together today to answer a question that's of great concern to everyone! Recently, many residents have come to the subdistrict office to inquire about raising pigs at home. However, due to the large amount of grain required to feed pigs, many comrades have been reluctant to do so."
Ye Manzhi stood on the stage and said loudly: "Let me first introduce the recent work achievements of the street. Everyone can decide whether to raise pigs at home based on their own situation!"
"First, Guangming Street has reached a cooperation agreement with Binjiang Liquor Factory. Our street provides them with liquor packaging cartons, and the factory supplies us with distiller's grains. The specific exchange terms are that for every 40 packaging cartons produced, we can exchange them for 20 kilograms of distiller's grains."
"A Guangming Paper Shell Factory will soon be established on Guangming Street, specializing in producing packaging paper shells for wineries. Comrades who want to raise pigs can come to this factory to make packaging paper shells in exchange for distiller's grains to feed the pigs."
Someone immediately asked, "Director Ye, I already work at the Second Paper Shell Factory in the Third Residential Committee. Can I be transferred to the Guangming Paper Shell Factory?"
Like Chang Yue'e, many people are unwilling to work in a paperboard factory.
The workload at this Guangming Paper Shell Factory doesn't seem to be too heavy. Everyone just needs to earn enough distiller's grains to raise their own pigs, and they don't have to work there all the time.
Assuming that a pig eats 5 kilograms of pig food every day, 20 kilograms of distiller's grains are enough to feed two pigs for two days.
Then she just needs to go to the factory and make 20 cardboard boxes every day to earn enough to feed her pigs.
Ye Manzhi nodded and said, "Comrades from other paper shell factories can be transferred to work at Guangming Paper Shell Factory."
The vacant positions are just enough to accommodate the unemployed workers from the four bankrupt factories.
There was a buzz of discussion in the audience, and many residents were thinking about changing jobs.
Ye Manzhi raised her hand to suppress the noise, then continued shouting at the top of her voice, "In addition to the Binjiang Liquor Factory, the subdistrict office has also contacted the Five-Star Oil Press, which is not far from us. They can provide us with the remaining bean dregs after pressing the oil. 1 jin of soybeans for 10 jin of dry bean dregs! Comrades who want to raise pigs can consider adding some variety to the pig feed."
The bean dregs and bean cakes from the oil mill can be used to feed pigs, horses, cows, and even humans.
The condition of exchanging 1 jin for 10 jin is within everyone's acceptable range.
Ye Manzhi continued on the stage, "In addition to the above two points, I have another piece of good news for everyone. Urban residents need to feed their pigs grain, so when the service bureau collects the pigs, there will be some compensation. You can exchange the equivalent cash for up to 10 kilograms of coarse grain coupons or 3 kilograms of meat coupons."
"Director Ye, what does this mean?"
"For example, if the purchase price of a pig is 100 yuan and the market price of coarse grain is 0.1 yuan per jin, then you can exchange it for 99 yuan in cash plus 10 jin of coarse grain coupons. The same principle applies to meat coupons."
"Director Ye, can I really exchange it for 3 jin of meat coupons?"
"Yes, we can. We raise pigs for meat. After selling the meat to the service bureau, we have to exchange it for some pork to try, right? How can we eat meat without meat coupons?"
"That's a good idea. If I can exchange it for meat coupons, I can raise two big fat pigs. At the end of the year, I can exchange it for six kilograms of meat coupons, just in time for a prosperous New Year!"
"Well, pig feed is basically free. Just mix some vegetable leaves with distiller's grains and bean dregs, and that's enough for the pigs. The key is that we can make money when we sell the pigs!"
The residents were discussing the issue heatedly, and Ye Manzhi asked those who wanted to raise pigs to go to the neighborhood committee to register.
In the end, 68 households reported the situation.
This number is not small. If every family raises two pigs, there are nearly 140 pigs on their street.
Ye Manzhi was quite satisfied with the result and returned to the street office happily.
However, after hearing the good news she brought back, Zhang Qinjian did not smile at all. He handed her a notice with a stern face.
Ye Manzhi took it and took a look. It was the "Decision on Implementing the Central Committee, Provincial Committee and Provincial People's Committee on Cadres Participating in Physical Labor" issued by the Municipal Party Committee.
The decision requires that staff members of government agencies and enterprises must participate in physical labor for at least three months each year.
"Director, what does this decision mean?"
Zhang Qinjian sighed and said, "What else could it mean? It means we must contact an agricultural cooperative as soon as possible and go there to participate in the labor!"
The street has been busy enough recently, and they are actually asked to go to the countryside to participate in labor!
Even though Zhang Qinjian always supported his superiors' decisions, he couldn't help but mutter in his heart and say some disrespectful words.
“Does everyone on our street have to go?”
"Not only the cadres from the subdistrict office have to go, but also the police station, the industrial and commercial bureau... In short, no cadres can escape!"
"Then who owns the fruits of labor?" Ye Manyi asked.
"It must belong to their agricultural cooperative. Do you expect them to share some of the grain with us after they harvest it?" Zhang Qinjian said with a bad look on his face.
Obviously he is very dissatisfied with doing the work for nothing.
Ye Manzhi read the "Decision" again, pondered for a long time, and said to himself, "It doesn't say that physical labor must be done in the countryside. In fact, it can be done on our street, right? Instead of working for someone else's agricultural cooperative for free, why not start a side business and open a farm!"
She handed over the documents she was organizing. "Look, so many residents want to raise pigs. Why don't we find a vacant lot on our street and start a farm to raise pigs and grow vegetables? Then all the cadres in our area could take shifts working on the farm, and we could even save on farm labor costs."
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