1968: Started from breeding

Chapter 311 Which commune is this? They actually have so many tractors?

After breakfast, Su Wenchen was taken to the test track by Li Xingguo.

As soon as we got nearby, we heard the "putt-putt-putt" sound of a diesel engine starting up coming from the test track in the distance.

After the group approached.

Fifteen brand-new Dongfeng-12 hand tractors are neatly lined up and are being preheated one by one.

There was also a warehouse keeper who was checking the parts in the truck bed of each vehicle with a list.

After confirming that everything was in order, he took the list and walked up to Li Xingguo and Su Wenchen.

"Factory manager, I've confirmed all the parts. The water pump and rotary tiller have all been loaded onto the truck, and I've also packed a small bucket of the corresponding rust-preventive oil for them."

"This is the confirmation list!"

After saying that, he immediately handed the list in his hand to Li Xingguo.

After taking it, Li Xingguo glanced at it briefly and handed it directly to Su Wenchen.

"Director Su, please check if anything is missing!"

"This rust-preventive oil is a gift for you. You can use this rotary tiller after spring plowing or after clearing land."

"It's best to have someone clean the dirt off the blade and then apply rust-preventive oil to it so that it won't rust easily."

"Otherwise, if you don't apply rust-preventive oil after plowing the land and then store it, the lifespan of the blades will definitely be greatly reduced!"

Su Wenchen took the list from the other party, glanced at it, and thanked them.

"No problem, but we still have to thank Factory Director Xingguo for thinking of us!"

Li Xingguo smiled and waved his hand.

"This is something our factory should have reminded you of, otherwise the blades would rust all the time, and people would think we were deliberately trying to fool you with defective products!"

Su Wenchen walked to the back of a tractor, pointed to the contents inside, and replied with a smile.

"No way, just by looking at these shiny blades, I can tell they're definitely new stock from your factory."

"However, it's about time. We have other things to do at the stadium, so we won't linger here any longer."

"If Director Xingguo has the chance to visit our farm in the future, I will treat you to a proper meal!"

After saying that, he shouted at Zhao Weiguo.

"Old Zhao, go get the car! Let's go back to the branch farm!"

Seeing Zhao Weiguo go to get the car, Li Xingguo smiled and nodded goodbye.

"Okay, I'll definitely visit you when I have time. I didn't let the commune's pig truck leave. After unloading the five pigs from our factory, I arranged for someone to park it at the factory gate first."

"I'll go back with you guys later!"

"As for those people, once the police have completed their registration and investigation, they will contact your site!"

Su Wenchen originally thought he would have to wait a while! He didn't expect that the pig had just been brought over that morning!
He said immediately.

"Alright, as for the pigs, our farm will shamelessly take them back first. As you know, Director Xingguo, our branch farm is a well-known poor area in this region."

"I feel terrible that we haven't had a single bite of meat during the Spring Festival!"

"Once our branch farm's breeding base is completed, I will definitely arrange for some rabbits from our farm to be raised by our colleagues at the hand-support factory."

Upon hearing this, Li Xingguo laughed heartily: "That's settled then! I heard that Director Su, you're going to set up a specialized rabbit breeding base. These rabbits grow much faster than pigs, so the good days for your farm workers are just around the corner!"

"At that time, we might be able to eat rabbit meat every day."

Su Wenchen responded with a smile.

"You can't eat this every day! Rabbit meat is low in fat, but eating it every day will cause problems!"

Li Xingguo was taken aback by these words and couldn't help but chuckle.

"Director Su, if this has a high fat content, are you really planning to feed the staff meat every day?"

"Even large factories wouldn't dare to think of something like that!"

Su Wenchen shook his head.

"What's there to be afraid of? In ten years, maybe most places will be able to eat meat every day. Even if it's not possible to eat it once every three to five days, it should be fine."

"By then, every household will have one of these hand-held tractors, and most of the farming work will be assisted by machines."

For Su Wenchen, now that they have bred white pigs ahead of schedule and introduced the fertilizer industry ahead of schedule, grain production will definitely increase significantly after ten years of development.

So he wasn't just saying that randomly.

Although Li Xingguo thought it was unlikely, there was still a hint of hope in his words.

"If only we could reach the level that Director Su described."

"To be able to eat meat every day, what kind of life is this!"

As the two were talking, Zhao Weiguo's jeep pulled up.

Su Wenchen first looked up at the rising sun, then handed over the receipt with his signature.

"Director Xingguo, it's almost time, so I won't bother you any longer."

"This is the receipt!"

Li Xingguo took the order and replied.

"Director Su, you just need to lead the way. The people I've arranged will follow behind you and help you drive the tractor back!"

After saying that, he shouted to the middle-aged employees in the distance.

"Old Zhou, how's it going! Are we ready to set off?"

Upon hearing Li Xingguo's words, the other party immediately shouted.

"Factory manager, all our bicycles have been loaded into the truck, and we're ready to leave at any time."

Seeing this, Li Xingguo finally reached out and shook hands with Su Wenchen.

"Director Su, have a safe trip!" Su Wenchen nodded in response.

"Factory Director Xingguo, then we'll meet again someday!"

After saying that, Su Wenchen got into the passenger seat of the Jeep.

The next moment, the sound of diesel engines starting up echoed across the test track.

In an instant, the loud "putt-putt-putt" sound of the engine echoed throughout the entire test track!

After the jeep slowly started moving.

A long line of hand-operated tractors, each with a red ribbon tied to its front, followed behind the jeeps.

Once the truck left the factory area, its enormous size drew curious attention from the city's residents, who craned their necks in amazement.

"Which commune is this? They've acquired so many tractors!"

"Did he become the son-in-law of the tractor factory? How many tractors is that?!"

"Looks like more than a dozen tractors have passed by! With so many tractors, the production team under this commune is really quite wealthy."

"Hey, isn't that last truck carrying pigs from Zhangji Commune? I heard they deliberately kept the pigs until after the New Year, waiting for a shortage of pigs so they could exchange them for tractors from the tractor factory!"

"Wow! How many pigs would it take to trade for so many tractors? Usually it would take several hundred!"

"What nonsense are you talking about? How could Zhangji possibly have that many pigs? If they have fifty pigs in the entire commune after handing over their pig quota to the county at the end of the year, I'd be lucky if they did."

"Fifty pigs can be exchanged for so many tractors? I'd better go back and talk to our Party Secretary. That's at least a dozen tractors."

"Even trading five pigs for one car would be a good deal!"

"What are you thinking? If we just give you a price of one yuan per kilogram of meat, a pig would only cost one or two hundred yuan, and that includes the bones. If our tractor factory really traded it like that, we'd be losing money hand over fist."

"In our factory, we need to exchange twenty pigs for one tractor, and you still have to wait in line!"

"Besides, that convoy just now belonged to Blue Water Farm, and the pigs behind it also belonged to them! All you guys do is come up with some unrealistic ideas, like five pigs in one convoy."

Upon hearing this, someone who claimed to be an employee of the tractor factory said this, someone immediately expressed surprise.

"Is that the Blue Water Farm from the newspaper? No wonder they have more than a dozen tractors all at once."

"I heard they built a branch farm in Fengxian County, and all the local commune members have become farm workers! Why didn't we get to enjoy such good fortune!"

Because it needed to keep up with the speed of the tractor behind it, Zhao Weiguo's jeep was not moving very fast along the way.

However, this long convoy attracted attention almost every time it passed through a place.

Especially after leaving the city and entering the dirt roads in the countryside.

With spring plowing underway, most members of the production teams have already started working in the fields.

Look at the old yellow oxen slowly pulling the plow in their fields, and then look at the iron oxen rushing past with a "putt-putt-putt" sound.

It's absolutely impossible not to feel envious.

When the convoy arrived at the branch site, it was almost noon.

At this moment, Cao Jiwen, who was in charge of agricultural work at the branch farm, was organizing the farm's employees to dig drainage ditches for the previously cleared land.

The next moment, the roar of tractors could be heard coming from afar.

Many farm workers at the top of the canal, responsible for transporting soil, immediately stood up and looked into the distance with curious eyes.

"Huh? Weren't the maintenance department supposed to be clearing land in the east today? Why are they here again?"

Someone placed their hand flat on their forehead to slightly block the glaring sunlight.

"It doesn't look like one of our farm's tractors. I see red ribbons on the front of the tractor!"

Upon hearing that it wasn't a tractor from their farm, someone immediately curled their lip in disapproval.

"Which commune is this? They actually dare to come and show off here on our farm? Do they think we don't have tractors?!"

“We also have large tractors! One of them is worth ten of theirs. They have the nerve to show off in front of us with a few small, beat-up hand tractors.”

"Hey, but isn't that the Jeep at the very front without the red ribbon one of ours?"

"Are these really our farm's jeeps? I think they were going to pick up the director yesterday? So these are all our farm's tractors too?"

Upon hearing that it might be a vehicle from the site, many people around immediately put down their shovels and craned their necks to look into the distance.

The team leader in charge of this section of the canal immediately shouted upon seeing this.

"Alright, stop looking! Hurry up and move the soil. If there's too much soil piled up, the people down below will start to panic."

"Besides, even if it's a tractor in the field, it has nothing to do with our canal-digging team. Everyone, let's work harder and finish digging this section today. The work points we earn every day are the real deal."

Hearing what the team leader said, everyone gradually withdrew their curiosity.

They felt that what the team leader said made sense; with so many more tractors, it would be easier for the land reclamation team to clear land.

However, the number of work points they received was definitely less. Most of the hard work was done by the tractor, so naturally, they earned far fewer work points.

In the beginning, land reclamation and ditch digging were the two most tiring jobs, and they also earned the highest work points of all the jobs.

However, as more and more tractors joined the land reclamation team, the workload for everyone except the tractor drivers in the maintenance team naturally decreased significantly.

Naturally, the work points also decreased accordingly.

The ditch-digging team is much better. Although they have two excavators, it's far from enough. Most of the work still has to be done manually.

Many people think that the work points they earn today can be exchanged for several kilograms of food for their wives and children.

He was full of energy.

Before the Lunar New Year, they could only rely on relief grain, and they would lie on the kang (a heated brick bed) every day to reduce their activities in order to save food. Even if there was some food at home, they dared not eat too much.

Now, not only can we eat our fill every day, but the work points we earn can also be exchanged for food, enough to feed the whole family, and we even have a little bit left over.

Some of the older folks, in particular, have started to consider not exchanging all their work points for grain like they did at the beginning.

Instead, they save up until the end of the year, then convert a portion into cash, which they can then use to buy themselves a new outfit in the county, and maybe even find a marriage partner!
(End of this chapter)