ushernet Chapter 131 The dust has settled
Chapter 131 The dust has settled
Chapter 131 The dust has settled
The group of six hurried to the "Mushanhuai" again.
As soon as the tractor entered the village, villagers gathered around and the village chief shouted, "One person from each household should go to the meeting."
There is a loudspeaker in the village, it’s in the mud house of the village committee.
It was only a dozen meters away from the village chief's house. The village chief called someone with quick feet to run over and shouted into the loudspeaker. Soon, the gate of the village committee was filled with people.
Seeing this, Qiu Huoming was about to leave, but Director Ren grabbed him and said, "Young comrade, you stay too."
"Director Ren, Huo Ming is not from our village." Ren Jiahe explained on the side.
"I know, I know! He's smart, and he'll come to explain when the time comes. I'm afraid I can't explain it clearly, so at least it's not his fault..."
"Okay, since Director Ren said so, then I'll stay." Qiu Huoming followed him into the village committee gate.
When the people gathered at the door saw them go in, they all swarmed over.
"One person from each household can come in. You and your wife can come in, and that's enough. Don't you see how small this place is? You can't squeeze in!"
The village chief started scolding everyone one by one, and the noisy scene became much better.
There are less than 100 households in 'Mushanhuai', which is slightly larger than a small village, but smaller than the average village of about 200 households.
My third uncle came in. My third aunt and her family stayed outside, and everyone was talking about it.
There were a total of four benches in the village committee. Director Ren and the village chief sat on one bench. In addition to arranging for a few elderly people to stay, Qiu Huoming also arranged a seat for the other three.
Don’t underestimate this small position, it is recognition.
Everyone in the village knew that Qiu Huoming was a relative of the Ren Jiahe family, but no one expected that he would be able to sit at the table.
"What are you looking at? He's the top scorer in the college entrance examination, why can't he sit down?" Director Ren glared at the villagers who were gossiping, and then said loudly: "Every household has come, so let's officially start the meeting. Just express your position. Can this be done..."
"I reported to my superiors that our village's fruit couldn't be sold this time. The superiors took it very seriously and gave us two solutions. One is that everyone should take the fruit to the city and sell it based on their own ability..."
As soon as these words came out, there was a loud bang from the audience. “How can that be possible? We have so many households, and the fruits are piled up like a mountain. People in the city eat fruits as if they were their meals, but they can’t finish them all!”
Director Ren reached out and pressed down, "Don't make a fuss, there is a second plan."
The audience gradually quieted down. "The second plan is to send the fruits to the county's 'canning factory' and have them canned. The shelf life of these cans can be up to 6 months..."
"This is good!"
"Sell it to the cannery, at a lower price!"
"I agree with the second option..."
……
Director Ren coughed and said, "Don't be too happy yet. The canning factory hasn't started production yet. According to the plan, they can't buy our fruit. They can only process it for us. We have to pay for it ourselves!"
"What? We still have to pay for giving them the fruit?" a villager questioned.
Qiu Huoming felt a little sad when he saw the villagers in the room whose clothes were mostly patched. Looking at those dark faces, the joy that he had thought he would get money after the harvest turned into anxiety.
"Listen to me!" Director Ren simply stood up, and the empty side of the bench lifted up, almost knocking the village chief who was sitting on the same bench with him to the ground.
Fortunately, Qiu Huoming was quick to reach out and help.
"Come on, little comrade, your name is Huo Ming, right? Come and talk to them."
Director Ren turned around and pulled Qiu Huoming up from the stool.
Qiu Huoming coughed lightly, and he finally understood why the teacher did this when speaking.
"I am just a mouthpiece. I will explain to you the conversation between Director Ren and the person in charge of the cannery..."
The villagers are simple and honest on one hand, but they can also be unreasonable on the other. Qiu Huoming can help, but he cannot drag himself into the trouble, so he has to say this in advance.
Director Ren glanced at him and thought that this student was indeed a cunning person.
Qiu Huoming had clear ideas, and in just a few words, he explained the whole situation clearly.
Director Ren shouted, "Do you understand? Now everyone vote, raise your hands if you like the second option, we will register on the spot, those who disagree don't need to raise your hands..."
"Director, wait a minute, our family can't afford so much money..." One of the villagers said timidly, "Give me a definite answer, we have made this canned food, can we sell it? If not, what shall we do then?"
"Yes, what the second brother said is what I want to say."
"You have to give me a definite answer..."
Director Ren wiped the sweat off his forehead and said, "Who can guarantee this? You guys should think about it. Do you think we should take this job or not?"
The whole conference hall was noisy again, and all kinds of voices were heard.
The third uncle dragged Qiu Huoming to a corner and asked in a low voice, "Huoming, do you think this can of food can be sold?"
Qiu Huoming nodded, "One month is a bit tight, but if we give it two more months, it will definitely be sold."
He lowered his voice and analyzed it with his third uncle. He found that the yellow peaches from 'Moshan Sophora japonica' were of good quality. In addition, this time the sugar water and empty cans were all given to them by the cannery. They were given a one-month payment period. The money that needs to be paid is the trademark and travel expenses for personnel, and the food and drink expenses for the 20 or so people in the factory. Living in the summer is very simple, just live in the factory.
Rural people also have a simple diet. If they really can't afford it, they will just eat big steamed buns these days.
The third uncle clenched his fists. He looked at Qiu Huoming and asked, "If I eat this batch of goods and settle accounts with them, do you think this can be done?"
His idea was probably to sell a batch of canned food within this month to pay back the money to the cannery, and then slowly return the money to the villagers after selling the rest.
Qiu Huoming glanced at his third uncle. This idea of getting something for nothing was indeed very bold. "It's better to make three rules and say ugly words in advance, otherwise you can't guarantee that someone will settle the score with you later, or be jealous of you. Third uncle, if you buy the peaches, you will have the final say on the price and payment period..."
"Okay, then I've got it covered."
"Hey, Third Uncle, please tell Third Aunt..."
"I'll tell her right away."
The third aunt ran out and pulled the third aunt aside and whispered something to her. The third aunt looked at Qiu Huoming a few times and saw her nod in agreement.
The third uncle then came back, wiping the sweat from his forehead, walked to Director Ren and the village chief, stretched out his hand to pull them both aside, and told them his thoughts.
Director Ren was having a headache over this matter, so he was naturally happy to see someone coming to take over. Several people immediately started whispering to each other.
After a while, the three men sorted out their ideas. The commune was responsible for allocating the tractors entering and leaving the city, and the village chief was responsible for arranging the villagers' entry into the factory, which also included three meals a day. They would first leave from the brigade and then come back to settle the bill together.
Director Ren had a clue in his mind. He straightened up and turned to look at the villagers in the meeting room.
"Everyone, be quiet. Jiahe just said that our village's account with the cannery belongs to him, but you have to cooperate throughout the process. You have to do what he says and do what needs to be done. Also, the price of your peaches has to be 8% lower than the previous price of peaches that came into the village to pick up the goods. The account period is set within six months. Now is the beginning of August, and the money must be settled before the New Year. Jiahe is taking a huge risk this time!"
"Let's talk about it in front of him. He will sell the canned goods at whatever price he wants. If he makes a profit, it's his. You can't be jealous. If he loses, it's also his. He should just consider himself unlucky."
"That's all I have to say. If you agree, please express your opinion..."
Everyone in the meeting room started discussing it immediately. It was a good deal if the price was 20% lower but all the fruits could be sold. They could provide large quantities to Ren Jiahe and bring small quantities into the city for retail sales. This way, they could make a profit and all the fruits could be sold.
"I agree."
"I agree……"
There were voices coming from the scene one after another.
"Okay then. Each household will have a representative come up and sign your name!" Director Ren took out a notebook from his bag, put it on the table, took out a pen and opened the pen cap.
The village chief laughed and slapped Director Ren on the back, "How many people in this village can write? I'll write their names and ask them to come up and put their fingerprints on them!"
Director Ren slapped his head and said, "Yes, yes, yes. Look at my brain. It's so hot that it's all confused."
It seems that the village chief has attended a private school. His handwriting with a fountain pen is as good as that with a brush, and his strokes are clearly visible.
There was a clever person nearby who went to ask for ink.
"Huoming, come with us to the cannery tomorrow. I'm unsure about what's going on, so please keep an eye on it for me." Third uncle said, pulling Qiu Huoming aside.
"Okay, I'm fine."
In this era, there are many people who have become rich by canning.
The Third Uncle still had some courage. Qiu Huoming accidentally saw the Third Uncle's hand, and his hand was shaking...
Qiu Huoming pursed his lips and smiled secretly. He was still afraid after all. That's right. He should be in awe of the unknown. Success is not so easy to achieve.
The next morning, when it was still dark, Qiu Huoming was woken up and took a tractor into the city...
The tractor made a loud "thump thump thump" sound and moved slowly. Qiu Huoming, wearing his third uncle's straw hat, sat behind the driver, holding the bracket with one hand, looking hopeless.
It hasn't rained in the countryside these days, let alone the dust. After the sky gradually brightened, the tail of the tractor swept forward with dust.
The cannery looked very different from the last time he saw it. The roads in the factory area were paved, the walls were closed, and brand-new slogans were painted.
The tractor drove in directly from the factory gate.
He met the uncle whom he met last time.
After asking carefully, it turned out that it was him who was talking to Director Ren on the phone. His surname was Wan, and other people in the factory called him Engineer Wan. He was also the person in charge of contacting "Mu Shanhuai".
The village chief of 'Mushan Huai' didn't come this time. He was the general commander of the village. Director Ren was the one who came.
Mr. Wan took them around the workshop and explained the canning process to them in detail.
Canned fruit is different from canned meat. First of all, it is in glass bottles. Secondly, its production process is simpler. The most tedious part is the manual work of the workers, which is cleaning, peeling, and cutting. It is done by machines, but manual operation is also required so that the sizes cut by the machine will be equal.
The preparation of the sugar water is the responsibility of the factory's technicians, and the disinfection after canning is also done by the factory's existing workers.
About twenty young and middle-aged men from the village are mainly responsible for washing, peeling and cutting the fruits in the front, as well as canning in the back. As for canning syrup, sealing bottle caps and sterilizing the entire can, they are handled by the workers.
We are all used to doing farm work, so we can get the hang of it quickly after a few reminders. The only thing we need to remind and supervise is hygiene habits.
These imported things cannot have impurities...
In addition, there is the trademark.
Qiu Huoming had printed tape packaging before, so he was very familiar with the process. The third aunt's family hadn't saved much money over the years, and this time because the third uncle took charge of the matter, the production team put all the initial expenses together and gave a six-month payment period.
Qiu Huoming directly took the factory's original trademark sample, changed the brand on it to "Mushanhuai", borrowed a bicycle from the factory, and went with Director Ren to the alley beside the moat to find Director Zhou of the printing factory.
He is an outsider and is a relative of his third uncle, so he should avoid suspicion. This time he just takes Director Ren to get acquainted with the route, and they can discuss the specific matters themselves.
After they had finished talking, Qiu Huoming brought him back to the factory.
It was time for lunch, and as expected, the villagers prepared steamed buns, and each family brought their own pickles. The steamed buns were easy to eat, and no bowls and chopsticks were needed.
Rural people are able to endure hardships, and this was fully demonstrated in this matter.
The workers in the factory are all locals, and the factory arranges for the foreign technical personnel to stay in the county guesthouse. In other words, there is no dormitory building in the factory at all. These farmers do not complain, but sleep directly on the floor of the workshop, using cardboard as a cushion and sleeping in their clothes.
As one of the leaders of this trip, my third uncle must stay in the factory. At night, he will have to sleep on the floor like the villagers.
Qiu Huoming waited until the lights came on before bidding farewell to his third uncle and rushing home.
Chen Suniang and Qiu Jianshe were both surprised that Qiu Huoming suddenly returned home alone.
After figuring out the whole story, he began to praise his third uncle.
"Jiahe is a man who usually looks low-key, but he actually has a lot of courage." Qiu Jianshe said, "He was able to stand up at this critical moment. This shows that he has good awareness."
"The risk is too great..." Although Chen Suniang agreed, she was more worried.
"As long as there is no problem with the product, selling it is not difficult." Qiu Huoming said.
"All the canned goods this time have been put into the account, and there are backups in the county. When this batch of canned goods is produced, we will ask the county to give some support and issue a certificate so that Third Uncle can bring the canned goods to the provincial capital and sell them directly in the non-staple food market. I can't say for sure about the orders in the future, but Third Uncle will definitely make money with this batch."
As soon as Qiu Huoming finished speaking, he saw Chen Suniang looking at him and saying, "Our ancestors were all honest people, how could we give birth to such a clever child?"
"You guys, ask yourselves. I'm so tired. I'm going to take a shower." Qiu Huoming was exhausted after a whole day and really didn't have the energy to continue chatting. He yawned and stood up.
"I've boiled some hot water. Don't take a cold shower. It's bad for your health." Chen Suniang also quickly stood up, walked out of the living room before him, took out two thermos bottles from the kitchen, and brought them directly to the bathroom.
"The furniture for your sister's room was delivered this morning. You can go and take a look. Your classmate's craftsmanship is quite good." Chen Suniang put down the water bottle and said to Qiu Huoming.
Qiu Huoming pushed open the door of his eldest sister's new room, groped for the light cord at the door, reached out and grabbed it, pulled it down, and the light came on with a "click".
The style of the furniture in the room was almost exactly the same as that in Chen Suniang's bedroom. The furniture was painted and had a certain smell. The window was open, and a rocking bed was placed near the window.
Qiu Huoming looked at the newly decorated room, the corners of his mouth curled up, "Did you tell my sister? She must be very happy."
"Your father called her this afternoon and told her that she would come over when autumn comes. It's just in time to get rid of the smell from the furniture these days."
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(Today's chapter will probably be over 4000. I think it's too late to write another chapter...)