Back to 1978

Chapter 34: The idea of ​​attacking the veterinary station

"I see that the thirty sheds in the veterinary station are all full of animals from various teams who come for medical treatment?" Xie Hushan asked.

Xie Qimao picked up a few pieces of pig blood and put them into his mother's porridge bowl:
"It's full. There's a long queue. I'm not exaggerating. Several production teams travel long distances to come to our veterinary station for treatment because the veterinarians in their commune can't treat their illnesses. There are just not enough sheds. Even if we had 30 more sheds, it would still be full."

Talking about the topic of livestock that he was interested in, Xie Qimao became more talkative:

"Moreover, many veterinary stations in various places are just doing nonsense. If there is an animal with a broken leg, they will say it cannot be cured and let the animal be taken back and killed. If they keep doing this, then the teams are not stupid and will send the animals to us. In fact, they think that treating external injuries is troublesome, tiring, requires constant monitoring, and the pay is low, so they are too lazy to treat them. You can ask around. Those who do this are all young veterinarians from the county. They cannot endure hardship, fatigue, or stench, and they don't understand the importance of large animals to the production team."

"Uncle, with so many people accompanying the animals in the hospital for treatment, why don't the veterinary station consider adding a small canteen. It will definitely be better than eating in the commune canteen, and you can also sell meals to earn some side income." Xie Hushan said as he helped Xie Qimao pour wine.

Xie Qimao was stunned for a moment, not understanding why his nephew mentioned the cafeteria:
"There are six people in our commune veterinary station. We can only eat in the commune canteen. Some commune veterinary stations have opened their own small canteens. That is... that is not doing their job properly. They don't understand the business. That's why they opened a canteen. On the surface, they eat for themselves, but in fact they do some side business to make some money. Then they say that the money they earned was from treating livestock to make it look good. Otherwise, at the end of the year, when the county asks about their business, they will find that they treated 30 animals and cured 30 of them. They didn't make a penny and even lost a lot of money. They will be ashamed!"

"I can't even take care of all the animals in our veterinary station, not counting those that come to see a doctor for minor illnesses. Just count the 30 animals in the hospital. There are six people, one office worker, and five veterinarians. Each person has to take care of six animals. Except for spring ploughing and autumn harvest, when everyone is busy farming and we can take a break, the rest of the time our sheds and pens are almost always full. Why would we do a side job? How can we have the energy?"

When the livestock of the production team got sick, they came to the veterinary station for treatment and hospitalization. Just like people going to the hospital, it cost money. Thirty animal sheds were equivalent to thirty small single rooms for thirty animals to live in. The hospitalization fees alone could cost a lot, not to mention medication or surgery.

Moreover, members of the production team may be reluctant to spend money on their own medical treatment, but even the poorest production team will not be stingy when it comes to treating livestock. After all, no matter how much money is spent on the hospitalization of livestock, it is less than the cost of buying a new animal.

Xie Qimao's veterinary skills were well-known throughout the county. Many production teams that were far away were willing to send their livestock to him for treatment. He was too busy treating the livestock to have the energy to set up a small canteen. It was a veterinary station that didn't understand its business very well. He could only make some meat dishes by opening a small canteen and sell them to rickshaw drivers or ordinary people who wanted to eat meat. He could make some money and count it as a business profit so that his performance would look good when he reported his work.

"Listen to what Hu San'er has been nagging about!" Chen Chunxiang now likes her nephew Xie Hushan very much. When she sees that her husband starts nagging a lot as soon as Xie Hushan asks a question, she immediately helps Xie Hushan by cheering him on.

Xie Qimao looked at Chen Chunxiang, lowered his head, picked up the wine cup and took a sip, then said nothing more and continued to pick up pig blood for his grandmother.

"It's like this, uncle. I'm in charge of a sideline group in our team now, selling sesame cakes and wontons. They're all vegetarian, and not many people eat them. Two people work hard all day, and at best we break even. Three people would lose money. I want to change the business and get some meat. Everyone is not so short of money now. They go to the market every five days, so they're willing to spend thirty or fifty cents to eat meat." Xie Hushan saw Xie Qimao put almost all the pig blood into grandma's bowl, so he quickly grabbed a piece and gave it to the aunt, saying:

"But you know our brigade. Secretary Han is a conservative. The brigade doesn't raise that many pigs. They are all raised for the meat for the New Year. If you want to add a canteen, you can openly ask the meat processing plant under the food company to supply you with meat. As for our sideline group, we can only buy a batch of meat from you. Otherwise, if we go to the meat processing plant, they will never pay attention to us. It's all public to public. At worst, it has to be a social enterprise to be eligible to purchase."

The meat in rural areas is mainly raised in the pig farms of each production team. Some wealthy production teams will distribute piglets to members to raise in pens. For example, if there are two piglets and they grow to 120 kilograms after a year, the team will take one back and leave the other for the members.

However, there is no such arrangement in Zhongping Village. Each team raises pigs in a farm, and the number is strictly controlled. This is related to Han Laogou's conservatism. He believes that there are too many pigs and they will inevitably snatch food from people and large livestock. He would rather save food and money to purchase donkeys and horses as labor.

To put it bluntly, Han Laogou was afraid of poverty and hunger, and thought that if the members ate less pork, no one would die, but if the grain production decreased and the harvest was poor, there would be a big problem. So he kept persuading each production team to formulate a plan every year to add donkeys and horses, which could significantly improve farming efficiency and make money during the slack season. As for raising pigs, they were just perfunctory and kept them according to the minimum number required by the county and the commune, and kept them until the end of the year to kill them and share the meat so that everyone could celebrate the New Year.

This is also the reason why Han Hongzhen's wonton stall only sells vegetarian wontons. Ma Laowu is unlikely to slaughter a pig from the pig farm just for a wonton stall. If Xie Hushan wants to increase his competitiveness with meat, he can only find another channel. The most direct relationship he can rely on is his uncle Xie Qimao.

It is reasonable for the veterinary station to add a small canteen. With a canteen, the veterinary station can sign a supply contract with the Bingyang County State-owned Food Company, and let the other party supply meat to the veterinary station canteen.

"After the canteen is approved, if you are willing to build a new canteen, I will help you find someone to build it, without any wages. As for cooking, I will help you arrange someone to cook, without any wages. As long as I can purchase more meat, I can give it to our third team's sideline group at a fair price. Is this condition okay?" Xie Hushan looked at Xie Qimao with a sparkling look.

He heard at the market that the people selling meat buns got the meat through similar relationships.

"You are asking me to be a middleman like selling livestock, selling the meat from the meat processing plant to the sideline group of Team 3... I am worse than a middleman, and I won't make anything by passing it on to the veterinary station..." Xie Qimao reached out for the wine cup and said with little interest.

Chen Chunxiang took the wine cup in front of Xie Qimao and drank it herself:
"Don't drink anymore! Xie Damao, I'm still in Team 3, my mother is still in Team 3, the second brother and his wife, Daxiu, are all in Team 3, and besides, Hu Saner said that Team 3 is for buying! It's not like we won't give you money, what's the matter, do you still want to make some money from it?"

The grandmother seemed to be deaf to her daughter-in-law's scolding of her son. She focused on taking the pig blood that her son had given her and then putting it into her grandson's bowl.

Xie Hushan advised, "Uncle, think about it, there are benefits in the veterinary station. I can arrange a laborer to cook for your canteen for free. How many work points does a laborer get in a year? If you want to hire someone and pay him a salary, at the minimum of 26.5 yuan a month, how much money will you pay in a year? And for three meals a day, you don't have to go to the commune canteen to get food. Just tell that person what you want to eat. Isn't this a benefit to the veterinary station?"

"Veterinary stations that rank lower can all have small canteens, so why can't you, who ranks first? It's not against the rules, why are you so stubborn!" Chen Chunxiang moved the dish in front of Xie Qimao to Xie Hushan:
"I'm telling you, Xie Damao, if you don't want to do it, go back to the veterinary station with the animals, and don't go home. Hu Saner wants to show off his abilities in the team. He's old enough to build a house and get married. Do you understand? We need everyone to help him find a wife!"

"I've been thinking about Hu San'er getting married. I've been planning for him. I'll prepare tomorrow..." Xie Qimao smacked his lips, looked around to see that no one was on his side, smiled awkwardly, and began to defend himself.

"What the hell are you planning with your blockhead? My father had to remind you about our marriage, otherwise I might not even wait for you to propose to me after my 80th birthday! And you're still planning?" Chen Chunxiang didn't dare to raise her voice to her mother-in-law, but she was sharp-tongued when talking to her husband.

Xie Qimao hesitated for a moment, and finally nodded: "Then...how about adding a small canteen and giving it a try? I'm worried that the country won't lose money."

The dishes were immediately brought back to him. Chen Chunxiang poured wine for her husband and said, "Eat more."

Xie Hushan said to Xie Qimao, "Uncle, don't worry. If you let me handle this, I can make your veterinary canteen more profitable than your main business."

(End of this chapter)