My 1978 Hotel

Chapter 131: The Craftsman’s Way to Wealth
"Invite you to dinner?"

Han Guofu put down his pipe and muttered, "What's this guy up to? Why is he thinking of eating us again?" These days, treating someone to a meal is no small matter. Every family is lucky enough to have enough food to eat at home. Treating everyone? What a joke.

For a poor family, it is considered good enough if they can cook a few dishes, have meat and some wine for a wedding.

"Da, what did Li Feng say? Let's talk about selling wood and bamboo."

Han Anmin pulled up a stool and sat down. "I guess they've found a way."

"Don't mention it, this guy really knows a lot of people."

The last time people from the provincial government came, Han Guofu stood up immediately. No, he had to go ask this kid. If he could really find a good way, it would be very important for the team, especially now that the drought is getting worse.

Even if the harvest didn't stop, the autumn harvest, which was almost certain to happen, would be a disaster. Even if it rained now, I'm afraid there wouldn't be much of a harvest. This winter would be a tough one. What worried Han Fuguo the most was not just Hanjiaba.

The entire commune, even the entire Dabie Mountains, was in tatters. Relief grain was likely harder to come by than in previous years. You couldn't really just go out and beg for food. Only those who had no other options left their homes to beg.

Besides, begging is not easy. No one has food to eat. Where can you go to beg? Many beggars die in a foreign land. Everyone knows that people are worthless when they leave their hometown. Han Fuguo picked up his pipe and went to find Li Feng.

"Why do you want to go out? It's almost time for dinner."

There was no big pot for dinner. Shi Chunhua saw Han Fuguo hurried out the door and could only hold her eldest son back without calling out. "Where are you going?"

"Go find that kid Li Feng."

Han Anmin said. "Mom, you guys eat first. I'll go take a look. I wonder what this kid is up to." After saying that, he hurried out the door. Shi Chunhua muttered that these two really didn't even eat.

Li Feng was pouring wine for Wu Zhenhua. "Uncle Wu, you know a lot. Can you tell me what's a good way to make money quickly?"

"Does it make money quickly?"

Wu Zhenhua smiled. "The money comes in fast. At this time of year, I'm afraid the coastal areas are the best. Smuggling home appliances, clothes, and the like, you can make a lot of money."

"Let's forget about this illegal thing."

Li Feng thought to himself, wow, Uncle Wu is not young anymore, but he is still quite wild. He is involved in smuggling. I don’t even dare to write a novel about this guy.

"It's probably going to be difficult for those who abide by the law."

Wu Zhenhua said, "You know, the reward for an atomic bomb explosion is only a few dollars. How can you possibly achieve a greater achievement than an atomic bomb explosion?"

"Unless you can catch up to Mr. Qian and his colleagues, you can still get a monthly salary of three or four hundred."

Li Feng felt that it was better not to drink the wine. What a joke. Not to mention now, how many people in the future could reach the level of Sanqian? Li Feng felt that a salary of three or four hundred was too little for them.

"Uncle Wu, do you think there are any projects that can be combined with our current situation?"

Wu Zhenhua is someone who has experienced this era, so I think he knows more than us outsiders.

"The actual situation?"

"Yes, Uncle Wu, let me talk first."

Li Feng put down the bottle and said, "Gao Ju and Gao Cheng are carpenters and barbers. I'm good at bamboo weaving, and I'm pretty good at it. Also, you can bring some things back here, but they have to be items that are relevant to the current era."

"Oh?"

Wu Zhenhua was a bit surprised. Gao Ju and Gao Cheng were carpenters and barbers, and he knew Li Feng could weave bamboo. "Carpentry is a good skill nowadays. Honey, do you remember how many pieces of furniture we bought when we got married?"

"How could I not remember?"

Wang Yin sighed. "Well, our family wasn't in financial difficulty at all. On our golden wedding anniversary, you worked from dawn to dusk to build a wooden bed. It took you ages to gather the materials. We didn't eat meat for six months to hire someone to do the work."

"what?"

Wu Tong really didn't know that his grandparents had such a hard life when they were young. They didn't eat meat for half a year just to have a bed.

"Yes, I thought at that time that after we got married, I had to make you a new bed. It would be even better if there was a new cabinet." Unfortunately, their conditions at that time were so poor that they had to beg for help from everyone to make a bed for them. They worked so hard that they even borrowed some money from others.

During the Chinese New Year that year, the couple couldn't even bear to eat meat. They just had rice and cooked rice cakes on their wedding day, which were given to them by others. Just think about what life was like back then.

"Uncle Wu, do you mean furniture is in short supply right now?"

"Yes, it's still done manually. The production capacity of the furniture stores in the city is simply not enough. If you want to buy furniture, you not only need to apply for it, but also need a furniture ticket. Except for getting married, you can apply for it to buy a cabinet. It takes a lot of effort to buy furniture normally."

"Didn't you buy it privately?"

"That must be the case."

It's hard to get a furniture ticket, but you're getting married, so you have to think of other ways, such as using connections privately. If you don't have any connections, you can ask relatives and friends which carpenter has wood and spend more money to buy it.

"That's it."

Li Feng looked at the Gao Ju brothers. They were good at carpentry. He wondered if there was anyone in the team who was good at it. There were no electric saws or anything like that now, and furniture was made by hand. No matter how capable the two of them were, they would not be able to handle all the wood cut down by the entire team.

"Dong dong dong."

"Who?"

Li Feng muttered, we were talking about serious matters, who is this person, so ignorant, visiting at dinner time, really.

"Uncle Wu, Aunt Wang, you guys eat first. I'll go see who's coming."

Li Feng waved to the brothers Gao Ju and Gao Cheng, then stood up to open the door. "Uncle Fuguo, Uncle Futian, why are you here? Come in quickly. Have you eaten yet? Daya, Erya, get a pair of chopsticks for Uncle Fuguo and Uncle Futian."

Han Fuguo had just found Han Futian, who was about to eat. But there was nothing he could do. Han Fuguo had already pulled him over, and what else could he do? He hadn't figured out what was going on. He was in such a hurry. It was dinner time. What could he do after dinner?

When I arrived at Li Feng's house, I saw quite a lot of people there, especially Wu Zhenhua and Wang Yin. You can tell from their temperament that they are not ordinary people, they are cultured people. I hope this guy is not a writer or something. It is so rude of him to come here in a hurry and disturb others' meal.

Han Fuguo knew more about this. He thought this was probably the relative Li Feng mentioned who wanted to go to the city to inquire about the policies. "Are you eating?"

"Uncle Wu, Aunt Wang, this is Han Fuguo, the leader and secretary of the Hanjiaba Production Brigade."

"Uncle Guofu, this is my Uncle Wu and Aunt Wang."

"Wu Zhenhua, Captain Han."

"Comrade Wu Zhenhua, Comrade Wang, hello. Sorry to bother you."

Han Fuguo seldom met any cultured people, so he was a little confused for a moment. Li Feng muttered that he was completely different from his usual Uncle Fuguo.

"Uncle Fuguo, Uncle Futian, please sit down."

Li Feng introduced Han Futian again, and then everyone sat down.

"I'm going to chop some vegetables."

He cut a plate of red sausage, grabbed a handful of peanuts and smashed a cucumber, and added two more dishes. He said that in this day and age, having red sausage and fried peanuts is a good enough snack to go with wine.

"Uncle Fuguo, Uncle Futian, please try this. It's a specialty sent by a reader from Shanghai."

That’s right, Shanghai and Harbin red sausage. Li Feng invited them to try it. “Not bad.”

Good stuff, this is the special offer red sausage at RT-Mart in the future for 9.9 yuan per two pieces. Perhaps it is due to the combination of technology and hard work, the taste is just great. Han Fuguo and Han Futian tried a piece and it was delicious, ten or a hundred times better than game.

As expected, people in big cities know how to eat. They know how to eat. The food they cook is much more delicious than that in the mountains. After drinking a few more cups of wine, Han Fuguo explained his purpose.

"Uncle Fuguo, before you came, I asked Uncle Wu about this. He's a man of culture and knowledge, and I wanted to ask for his advice," Li Feng said with a smile. "Our basin is suffering from a severe drought. I'm afraid the autumn harvest will be significantly reduced."

"It would be good if we could collect half of it."

Han Fuguo said with emotion, while Han Futian beside him sighed. "I'm afraid one-third would be good." Under the current circumstances, an acre of paddy field may not be able to produce 80 kilograms, and 50 to 60 kilograms is already considered good.

The drought on the hillside is even more serious. Late-maturing sorghum and corn are basically in a state of total failure. It is considered good if one can harvest more than ten to twenty kilograms per mu of land. The sweet potatoes are so dry that there are only a few leaves left. I am afraid that most of the harvest will have to be cut down.

Other grains and vegetables were basically gone. If the autumn harvest was gone, there would be no food for winter and spring. The little they could hunt could only provide food for ten days or half a month. Why cut down trees and sell bamboo? Without these, I'm afraid we wouldn't even be able to survive the winter. The wealthy families could still make it through the winter.

Families like Dahu's sister-in-law's probably struggled to even celebrate the New Year. If Li Feng hadn't built the house and made some money, they wouldn't have even made it through half the winter, let alone the New Year. It's no wonder Han Fuguo came over immediately when he heard Li Feng had connections.

Every extra penny you spend can buy more relief food, and every extra portion of relief food can help you last longer. As long as you get through the winter and wait for spring to come, you can eat wild vegetables and young leaves, which will always be easier to fill your stomach than in winter.

Of course, there is no way to deal with the spring famine. We can find a solution when the time comes. It is winter now and everyone is having a hard time.

"Let's not talk about this anymore, Comrade Wu. Look, you guys came over here and we're still bothering you."

"it's okay no problem."

Wu Zhenhua smiled. "Business is more important."

The issue of food for the brigade is a serious matter. You have to know that these days a meal may be a matter of life and death.

"Li Feng, An Min said that you wanted to discuss with us about selling wood and bamboo. What's the matter? Do you have any connections here?" Having connections means that the price may be higher than selling it outside. More money means more food.

Li Feng thought, didn't I tell An Min to invite you guys over for dinner tomorrow to discuss things? What did An Min say? Forget it, I'm already here. "This is what's going on. I heard our team is planning to go into the mountains to cut trees and bamboo."

"That's the idea."

It is difficult to go into the mountains during the day, so we have to go into the mountains to cut trees at night. We live off the mountains. Normally, there is enough food in the fields, so forget it. But now there is not enough food in the fields, so we can only cut trees and bamboo. There is no other way.

"What does the Commune say?"

"The commune can't take care of this right now, so they'll just turn a blind eye," Han Futian said. "It's not just our brigade that's doing this. Everyone near the mountains does it. As long as we don't cut down the mountains, people from above can tell at a glance whether we're good or bad."

"What about the wood and bamboo? How does the team plan to sell them?"

Li Feng said, "If the other brigades around here are all cutting down, then the price won't be that high, right?"

These woods and bamboos cannot be sold in the open market. Even if you find a furniture factory, I'm afraid they will get more benefits there. After all, these things are not produced by the forest factory, they are not formal, and the price will definitely not be as high as that of the forest factory.

"Alas, I can't be sure."

Han Futian said, "Fortunately, our brigade had some connections with the forestry factory in the past. We can ask the forestry factory to give us an 80% score when the time comes."

"Eight points?"

Seeing that Li Feng didn't move, Wu Zhenhua said with a smile, "Eighty percent is eighty percent of the Linchang price."

"Eighty percent, that's not bad."

Li Feng muttered, this guy still has a conscience.

"You are still young."

The forestry factory itself is a state-owned enterprise, and the factory workers are paid by the state. Generally, the money earned from the sale of wood and other things each year is only needed to maintain workers' wages, equipment maintenance, additions, etc. In fact, the supply price is half lower than the usual black market price.

Normally, no one would go to the forestry factory to cut down trees or bamboos. Just kidding, the price they give is less than half of the black market price.

"So that's what happened."

Li Feng muttered, "That's right, the prices paid for purchasing eggs, pig manure, live pigs, etc. are not even as good as the black market."

"Is there no other way?"

"Isn't this coming to find you?"

Han Futian glanced at Li Feng, and Li Feng thought to himself, no wonder.

"What's your idea?"

Han Fuguo stared at Li Feng, and Li Feng told Han Fuguo what he had just said to Wu Zhenhua and others.

"Is this okay?"

Not to mention, the price of furniture would definitely be much higher. The problem was that as a rural person, they had never thought about selling furniture in the city. Whether this could be successful or whether there would be any bad consequences, Han Fuguo and Han Futian were a little unsure for a while.

"I dare not say anything else."

Li Feng still has some confidence in Gao Ju and Gao Cheng's craftsmanship. Besides, relying solely on their later knowledge, the furniture they make is beyond the reach of the current state-owned furniture factories. Of course, they are definitely not as good as state-owned furniture factories in terms of equipment and manpower.

At that time, Li Feng was still very confident about the style.

"Uncle Fuguo, does our brigade have a carpenter?"

"Of course."

Han Fuguo pointed at himself. "I'm one of them. Your Uncle Futian can also play, and there are a few old guys who know some carpentry skills. After all, we used to have a forestry factory in this area, and everyone relied on it for their livelihood, so we all learned some skills."

"Really, that's great."

If you have skills, you can have wealth. This is a very simple idea. Li Feng was originally worried about the lack of manpower. Even if the furniture he made was beautiful, he could not make much money because the quantity could not keep up.

"The key is whether you can sell it after you create it."

Han Futian reminded him, and Li Feng smiled. "Uncle Futian, what you're talking about is exactly what I'm planning to do in a few days to gather writers from the county and region to read their manuscripts at my house. I'll ask around then. After all, intellectuals have a wide network of contacts, so they might need furniture."

"That's a good idea."

Han Futian looked at Han Fuguo, and Han Fuguo nodded. Li Feng's method was not bad. After all, the intellectuals in the city had some wealth. What's more, an intellectual in the city probably knew ten or eight people in the city. It would be easy to find out which family had needs.

It seems that educated people have quick minds and this idea came to them right away.

"I just don't know if people like the furniture we make. I heard the furniture our factory makes is very smooth and beautiful."

"Hahaha, Uncle Fuguo and Uncle Futian, don't worry about this." Li Feng looked confident.

"Li Feng, this is no joke. It will be difficult if you spend so much effort on furniture but still can't sell it." It's no wonder that Han Fuguo and Han Futian are worried. If you spend so much effort on making furniture but still can't sell it, it will be difficult to deal with.

It was a waste of effort. At that time, we missed other work to earn money. The whole village would really cry.

(End of this chapter)