My 1978 Hotel

"I'll go with you tomorrow." Li Feng had just heard Uncle Fu Guo's tone and figured that the commune's Secretary Gao and Secretary Wu were probably here to visit the furniture factory.

"Well, it's always good to sell more."

The power plant has just as many employees as the steel plant, with most of them earning over fifty years old. The average salary is as high as sixty or seventy, which is more than twenty yuan higher than the local average salary, making them quite wealthy.

There are even many third-tier cities or wealthy areas that collectively refer to it as "Little Shanghai".

"cousin."

Dong Qing and Wu Yu exchanged a glance, played rock-paper-scissors, and Dong Qing lost. She then said, "We'd like to go see too, okay?"

"Alright, let's go together then."

Li Feng said with a smile, "When we go to the power plant this time, Dong Qing, you know how to generate electricity, right? You can help me figure out a way to get some electricity to Hanjiaba too."

"Using diesel generators all the time is too energy-intensive."

"Then I'll try."

Dong Qing studied agriculture and water conservancy. He had actually done some research on the area around Hanjiaba. There were basic conditions for water conservancy and wind power generation in the area. Now that the drought was severe, it was actually more suitable for hydropower projects.

River dredging eliminates the need for dams, saving a lot of work. However, there's not much money here right now, and cement and steel bars are probably unavailable. As for hydroelectric generators, Dong Qing doesn't believe Hanjiaba has the necessary conditions at present.

However, with the support of power plants, there might be some possibility. As for wind power generation, Dong Qing took a look and found that there are several places that are very suitable, but power plants probably do not have the technology for it now. However, it is possible to make simple small wind turbine generators.

"If you need anything, just let me know."

Li Feng originally just wanted to make some money to change his life. Now that he has been in Hanjiaba for a long time, he has developed some feelings for it. He is willing to help if he can. In addition, Li Muxiao also said that there is great potential here, so he can consider this a way to accumulate capital.

After agreeing on the plan, Li Feng went to see Han Anmin the next day and mentioned borrowing the oxcart for publicity. "Didn't you go to the steel mill the day before yesterday? How did the publicity go?"

"It's alright, I posted some photos."

Li Feng said, “More than ten people said they would come over to take a look this weekend. I thought, instead of troubling them to make the trip, it would be more practical for us to deliver the goods to their door and let them see them. Maybe they will place an order on the spot.”

"That's true, okay, I'll get it for you."

Han Anmin readily agreed, saying he would get the car ready first thing tomorrow morning and head to the furniture factory to load the furniture directly onto the truck. As for the furniture factory, Gao Cheng had already selected the furniture long ago, without Li Feng even needing to say anything.

They were even decorated specially, and Li Feng thought they were all top-quality items. "Prepare a few more straw ropes, tie them up well, and we'll just display them upright. Then we can tell the quality at a glance."

"Okay, we'll add a few more sticks later, set it up, and give it to them when we get there."

The Gao brothers, Gao Cheng and Gao Jiu, said, "To be honest, this furniture is really impolite. It's all solid wood, and it wouldn't be cheap in today's world."

"That's true."

"What do you think? Should we bring some things over and sell them? I think the purchasing power in places like steel mills and power plants is pretty good. Clothes, shoes, soaps and the like would probably sell quite well."

“They have supply and marketing cooperatives there, so they probably have all these things.”

"Let's try something new."

After discussing it, Gao and his brother Li Feng agreed that it was worth a try. They felt that cracking down on speculation was not as strict as before, and most importantly, the crackdown on grain trafficking was now secondary to industrial products.

"Newer styles of clothing and local specialties from Shanghai should suit these people's tastes."

What Li Feng wanted to say was, "Bring some red sausage to the power plant leaders later."

"Pack up the White Rabbit too."

He brought some more this time, and also some mooncakes. He'd still need to pull some strings; Li Feng entrusted this task to the Gao brothers, Gao Jiu and Gao Cheng. Of course, he'd also have to utilize his reputation as a great writer, which could be used for furniture.

The seminar is definitely the highlight; it's about expanding the event's influence, and people will come from the region and even the provincial capital. After finishing this, Li Feng will need to prepare for the seminar. He figured that writers are cultural figures, and cultural figures like to collect antiques and such, so it would be easy to find some good items to bring back to the guesthouse.

The next day, around four o'clock, Li Feng woke everyone up and got ready to leave.

"This is a bit too early."

Dong Qing and Wu Yu rubbed their sleepy eyes, really not wanting to get out of bed. "It's not even dawn yet."

"hurry up."

"You're a college student? How come you have no sense of urgency to get up at the crack of dawn?" "Get ready, the power plant isn't close. We have to go through the county town, and if we're late, we might not get there until noon."

"It's really inconvenient right now."

If this were in the future, a pickup truck would take at most an hour to get there, but now it takes half a day to get somewhere a little further away.

"So there's a saying, 'Life is too slow; a lifetime is only enough to love one person,'" Wu Tong joked, something they were already used to.

"Haha, that's right. Not to mention the food, we work almost every day. When we finally have time off, we have to spend a lot of time on the road to go on dates. It's not that slow. It must take a lot of effort to go through a relationship."

"I thought it was because people are too innocent these days. Love is just too slow, the road is too long." Chengcheng looked heartbroken. What was originally a beautiful sentence turned out to be all about the harsh realities of love.

"Hurry up, or we'll be late."

The oxcart was already parked at the furniture factory gate, and everyone was busy tying up the furniture. When Li Feng arrived, they were almost finished. "Anmin, how's it going?"

"almost."

"Are those bamboo tubes and trinkets you made really useful?"

"Whether it works or not, we should still give it a try. It doesn't take much effort."

Li Feng made pen holders from bamboo, as well as some small trinkets, wooden toys like pandas, pigs, and dogs, and some small bamboo crafts. Most of these were things Li Feng made in his spare time, and he planned to bring them over as small gifts.

"Alright, I'll leave it to you."

Seeing that it was about time, Han Anmin handed the whip to Li Feng.

"Second brother, come here."

Gao Jiu was tasked with driving the oxcart, while Li Feng led the way with a few girls in the donkey cart. They didn't stop along the way, having only a quick breakfast of two cornbread buns each. This time, Dong Qing and the other newcomers finally got a taste of the characteristics of this era.

We arrived in the county town around 10 a.m. Without time to rest or tidy up, we quickly washed our faces in the courtyard of the county town, made some noodles, ate them, and then set off.

"Sigh, I should have known better than to come and join the fun."

Dong Qing sighed, "Riding in an oxcart or a donkey cart is really not good; it makes your butt hurt."

"If you don't come out, isn't it tiring to sand the furniture?"

Wu Yu sighed.

"Okay, you're right."

Compared to Dong Qing and Wu Yu, Cheng Cheng and Cheng Xue chatted happily, showing interest in everything along the way. Mu Yang, on the other hand, seemed a bit listless. As for Professor Wu, he was quite old and had little energy after the bumpy journey.

Fortunately, the power plant is not far from the county town, and it only takes a little over an hour to get there. It's almost midnight, which is when I'll be getting off work.

"It's so lively."

“This is a small town, and the power plant workers are paid well, so there are always some small stalls here,” Li Feng said with a smile. Before coming, he had inquired and found out that the power plants were almost all built with aid from Shanghai.

This is quite rare in the whole region; there are actually two or three small stalls right next to the power plant.

"smell good."

"It looks like a tea egg."

The group had just stopped the oxcart and donkey cart when they were overwhelmed by a delicious aroma.

"It really is."

Tea is plentiful in the mountains, but eggs are a rare commodity. After all, there are still restrictions on raising chickens. Even if a family can raise ten or so, that's considered good. Any more than that and the officials might come knocking.

"How about we buy some tea eggs to try?"

I must say, there are quite a lot. There must be at least dozens in one porcelain basin. This person is really capable of getting so many eggs.

"Then let's buy a few to try."

Li Feng led the group over. "Brother, how much are the eggs?" "Fifteen cents."

"It's not cheap."

"Good eggs, look how big they are, and the tea used is also top-quality."

The older brother is a smooth talker. "Smell it, they even added soy sauce."

"Okay, ten of them, can you give me a discount?"

"Ten?"

Goodness, this guy was quite surprised. Normally, even power plant employees would only buy two or three at most, just for one family to try.

"Yes, if it's cheap, I'll buy more."

"Brother, you really can't go for the lower price."

However, the older brother wasn't worried about not being able to sell the tea eggs, as the power plant had no shortage of buyers.

"Alright, fine, you can count to twelve."

"One dollar and eighty cents."

"Give."

Li Feng took the egg wrapped in dried lotus leaves and handed it to Dong Qing and Wu Yu beside him. "Try it, it should taste good."

"fragrant."

Not to mention Dong Qing and Wu Yu peeled one and stuffed it into their mouths without any hesitation. Goodness, Li Feng thought to himself, "It's only been a few days, and they're already starving." "Give some to Professor Wu and the others to try. I'll take a look around."

Meijie Commune was much larger than Maya Commune. Including the street in front of the power plant, Meijie had three main streets. The street in front of the power plant alone was even longer than the streets in Maya Commune.

"The Ma Ya Commune only has two rooms, but this place has five big rooms. It's practically a mini department store!"

Li Feng sighed, "Sure enough, this guy only works when he has businesses. If it weren't for the power plant, Mei Street would at most be a little better than Maya Commune, but not this good." "There are quite a lot of people here, and judging from their clothes, they're all power plant employees."

After walking around for a while, Li Feng returned to the oxcart, where quite a few people were indeed gathered around looking at the furniture.

"How about it?"

Li Feng asked.

"Quite a few people are asking about the price."

Gao said, "Especially desk sets, many young people have asked about them. Fewer people are interested in modular furniture, but I see quite a few want to buy them. Many people have asked where we are from."

"It's a pity we don't know many people here. If we had found a few to help us, we probably would have received deposits on the spot."

Just then, a middle-aged couple walked over.

"Buy it?"

Good heavens, Li Feng and the others who remained in place were all somewhat surprised and suspicious.

"Not for sale?"

"I will buy, but I came here for promotion, I'll sell now..."

"Then we'll wait a bit."

"Okay, I'll give you two a discount then."

Li Feng checked the time. "How about this, we'll deliver it to your home in two hours, what do you think?"

"alright."

The couple were really easy to talk to. Li Feng guessed they were probably power plant employees, and the two of them seemed like educated people, so they were probably power plant technicians. Sure enough, when he asked, they were indeed. They were junior cadres, and their monthly salary was probably around a hundred yuan. No wonder they bought the modular furniture without any hesitation when they learned it cost more than two hundred yuan.

Unexpectedly, a young couple came over a while later, also wanting to buy a set of furniture, but they looked disappointed when they heard that the modular furniture had already been sold. "Is this desk for sale?"

"Sure, it's sixty-one sets, but you'll have to wait until four o'clock. Is that okay? I'll give you a discount then?"

"can."

The young couple exchanged a glance and nodded. "This is a modular furniture set. Could you bring an extra set next time you come?"

"That's fine. Register it and we'll deliver it to your home."

Li Feng pulled out his notebook, and the young couple registered without much hesitation. Goodness, almost every ten minutes or so, someone came over to inquire and register. "I didn't expect modular furniture to be so popular."

"The styles are novel, the prices are not high, and the wages of the power plant workers are high. The minimum for regular employees seems to be fifty or sixty yuan, and those with more seniority can earn seventy or eighty yuan. Older employees can earn around one hundred yuan."

“There are even more cadres.”

"No wonder."

Li Feng explained to Dong Qing and the others, "After all, power plants are not like ordinary factories. They mainly employ skilled workers, and their average wages are much higher than those in textile factories. Moreover, many of them are college graduates."

"The starting salary for an internship right after leaving school is over forty yuan, over fifty yuan after a year, and over sixty yuan in two or three years."

Li Feng looked at Dong Qing and Wu Yu, and Cheng Cheng and the others laughed and said, "Back then, college students were much better off than ordinary people, especially now that they are guaranteed job placement and have high salaries, finding a wife is a piece of cake."

"Ah, really?"

Dong Qing and Wu Yu's eyes lit up. Goodness, Li Feng was speechless. He was just saying it, but the two of them shouldn't take it seriously. Do they even know their own situation? If they're not sure, why are they even here?

"It really has nothing to do with you."

"Oh."

The two sighed. "Yeah, they're not from around here, so there's no point in thinking about it." "Get to work, we'll pay you later."

"Pshaw, you only make a few dollars a day working here."

Dong Qing just suffered a setback and is feeling quite down.

"The money isn't much."

Li Feng chuckled. "However, things are cheap here these days. Forget about good cigarettes and alcohol, just the stamps and coins themselves are worth a lot when you bring them back."

"correct."

Dong Qing and Wu Yu exchanged a glance. Indeed, they hadn't thought of that before. "Hey, Mr. Li, wait, cousin, how much do you pay us?"

"According to the wages of the commune workers in Ma Ya Commune, it's 15 cents a day."

"That's barely enough to buy a tea egg."

"That's far too little."

"Young man, then tell me, what value do you create?"

Li Feng curled his lip. These two kids have only eaten and drunk all this time, without doing anything serious.

"us……."

The two wanted to say that they were college students, but they couldn't think of anything they could do right now. Wind power or hydroelectric generators were not things that could be done in a short time. As for cultivation and planting, agricultural science was also not something that could be mastered in a short period of time.

"How about this, I'll pay you a high salary once you've figured it out."

"Ok."

Take this 15 cents a day for now, maybe I can earn more and buy some good stamps to make ends meet. Just then, a group of young workers walked over.

"This is the place, look at it, it's quite nice."

"Someone, hurry up and greet them. I'm telling you, whoever closes a deal will get a one-dollar commission."

Seeing that quite a few people had arrived, Li Feng, fearing he wouldn't be able to provide adequate service, directly dismissed the one yuan commission he received per order. Sure enough, Cheng Cheng, who hadn't been very enthusiastic initially, and even Cheng Xue and Mu Yang, became interested. (End of Chapter)