What the hell is a private enterprise?

Chapter 10 Borrowing Books
After wiping the table, An Yu went into the kitchen to clean up. There was no one else in the small teahouse.

Tang Wen turned to the counter and saw Guo Panpan's head hiding behind the novel again, so he walked forward.

Guo Panpan's attention was not on the book, so she immediately put it down and said:

"You want to buy snacks again?"

Tang Wen quickly shook his head. He still had more than half of what he bought last time.

Thanks to the poor food industry of this era, the variety of snacks is really pitiful. Apart from instant noodles and sugar biscuits, there is really nothing worth eating.

What’s worse is that technology and labor were not as advanced as they are now, and the level of saccharin and additives was very low, and the taste was terrible.

Among the drinks, the cola is quite satisfactory, but the other sodas are really not that good. My tongue will change color after drinking the juice.

Although people in later generations jokingly called it technological food, it still had a safety bottom line. In today's food factories... we should be thankful that employees don't urinate or defecate in the production workshops.

After eating the snacks of this era a few times, Tang Wen lost interest. He would be bored to death in Dayawan Village all day. Now he has set his eyes on the novel in Guo Panpan's hand.

There is a bookstore in the town, but the selection is really mediocre. The picture books are printed with double images, and better quality books can only be bought in the city.

The novels Guo Panpan reads now are basically those she brought back from her studies in the city.

"Sister Panpan, can you sell me a few novels? I can't buy them in town."

Guo Panpan has already finished the college entrance examination and is one year older than Tang Wen.

As a post-00s generation, Tang Wen has not read many of Cha Liangyong's books, but now he can read even his Chinese textbooks with great interest.

"What do you want to see? I'll lend it to you."

Guo Panpan didn't intend to take his money, and Tang Wen didn't refuse:
"It's OK if you don't watch it often. I'm just killing time."

"wait."

Guo Panpan ran into the back room in sandals and soon brought out a few books covered in dust.

Tang Wen took one look at the cover and let out a soft "Huh?"

"2001: A Space Odyssey?"

Fuck, science fiction.

Shouldn’t we read Wang Xiaobo’s banned books or Mo Yan and Yu Hua’s works in the 90s, or Auntie Qiong Yao’s love books?

Although the "Space Odyssey" series was published in the late 60s, it is solid hard science fiction. Even Liu Cixin, who wrote "The Three-Body Problem", claimed that "all my creations are just poor imitations of "Space Odyssey", which shows his status in the field of science fiction.

This book was written by a former British aerospace engineer. It is full of imagination and has won many international awards. However, there are probably very few translated versions in China now, and it seems that no one reads it.

Seeing Tang Wen staring at the cover in a daze, Guo Panpan said as if she had expected it:
"This is a complete 'Space Odyssey,' science fiction. Have you seen it?"

Tang Wen nodded subconsciously:
"I've seen The Three-Body Problem and Nomadland... No, I haven't."

Almost spilled the beans.

The science fiction books that Tang Wen has read the most are those by Liu Cixin, but Liu is probably still slacking off at the Niangziguan Hydropower Station and it will take a few years before he starts publishing novels.

He took the Space Odyssey series handed to him by Guo Panpan and suddenly felt that the world was wonderful.

Girls who liked to read science fiction in the 90s might also be the first generation of Internet addicts...

"Thank you, that's all I need."

"Don't break it. I asked my teacher to buy it from Hong Kong. You can't buy it in mainland China."

Tang Wen flipped through a few pages and found that it was indeed written in traditional Chinese characters.

"No problem, I'll give it back to you when I'm done reading it."

After he finished speaking, he suddenly remembered something and asked Guo Panpan:

"Where's your dad? Why haven't I seen Uncle Chen Liang these days?"

"He was there this morning, but now I don't know which of his friends he's going to find."

Guo Panpan frowned whenever she mentioned her father, clearly unwilling to discuss him further. Tang Wen was somewhat surprised; Guo Liangchen's personality was such that he would definitely chat with her, but it was rare for him to be away from her.

He didn't think too much about it and sat back at the table with the book.

Not long after, Wu Laoer came back with a pen and paper, and wrote a simple agency contract, purchasing a 6000-horsepower tractor from Tang Wen for 25 yuan. He was the only one in the entire Goose City who could sell it.

There are no contract templates these days. This contract is actually full of loopholes, and it is hard to say whether it is legally binding.

After all, strictly speaking, Gaijin Shipyard is not a business entity, and this transaction is tax-free. Whether it is complied with depends purely on the credit of both parties.

But in the countryside, you have to believe everything written in black and white, otherwise if you tell others about it, people will criticize you and you will never be able to survive.

A copy of the handwritten contract was made on photocopied paper, and both parties signed and stamped their fingerprints, and it became effective.

Wu Lao Er was extremely excited after receiving the contract:

“Brother Tang, Dawan Town is too small, I will go to the city to sell it tomorrow, you prepare ten units first, and then spread them out.

By the way, how much inventory does the Gaijin Factory have?"

"There are still a few hundred units in stock, right?"

It was not difficult to get the low-grade stuff for 8 silver coins. Tang Wen vaguely said a number.

"Hundreds?"

Wu Laoer screamed in surprise.

What kind of factory has hundreds of units in stock? Is this still a bankrupt factory?

He thought there would be only a few dozen at most, and the nearby towns could easily absorb them.

There are hundreds of them, and they are high-horsepower diesel engines. Only Goose City can absorb them all, and it will take a lot of effort.

But when he thought of the purchase price of only 6,000 yuan, he became energetic again, and his surprise turned into excitement.

"I knew Brother Xiao Tang was capable. Like father, like son, haha...

Then, I will collect the money tomorrow and go to the city to sell it, and you just sit back and wait to get paid."

Although he was sure that he could sell it quickly, 6 yuan for ten diesel engines was an astronomical figure for Wu Laoer. It was almost all of his family assets, and this was only made up with today's large income.

After saying that, he left quickly, and his steps almost floated.

Just as Wu Laoer walked out of the store, the village chief appeared with a middle-aged man.

……

"Come, come, Township Chief Yang, this is Xiao Tang from our village, Old Tang's son."

The village chief wore a pair of thick black-framed glasses. He was quite old and already bald, with only the hair on the sides combed back, making him look more like a teacher.

Chen Yonggui warmly invited him to sit down, and then said to Tang Wen:
"This is our township head, Yang Tai. He used to be the principal of the village primary school. Your father hadn't moved here yet at that time."

After Yang Tai sat down, he looked at Tang Wen and said with a smile:

"Xiao Tang is quite young. I saw you selling diesel engines a few days ago. I heard you wanted to start a small shipyard?"

Tang Wen nodded. He didn't expect the village chief to have seen him.
“Yes, I plan to add some new equipment so that the shipyard can build steel ships of dozens of tons.

It’s too crude now, and there’s nothing we can do.”

"A few dozen tons is not small. If we work hard and can make a hundred tons, we can even go out to sea!"

Yang Taike did not look down on Tang Wen's words. As long as the fishing boat was over 20 tons, it could be built in a proper shipyard and all the necessary facilities were required.

Moreover, steel ships are not cheap. Nowadays, let alone steel ships, many people can’t even afford fishing boats and still use cement boats!

The cheapest steel ship fully loaded with dozens of tons costs just over 100,000 yuan.

(End of this chapter)