The golden age began in 1977

Chapter 137 Inspection Tour in the Countryside: Expanding the Business Scale of Production Teams
Qian Jin then called Huang Laotie aside and showed him a piece of paper: "Take your comrades and get two more stoves for our unit. Look at this design. The sooner the better."

Huang Laotie went over to take a look.

Supporting a long, open iron box on four legs, he said, "This is simple, a matter of two or three days!"

Qian Jin said, "The total cost will be based on the amount of iron used..."

"Aren't you slapping me in the face!" Old Huang interrupted him. "How much iron can these two iron frames use? Boss, you can use them without worry. Our shop has a waste quota."

“We’ve saved up every year. To be honest, we’re a family with some savings.”

Qian Jin laughed and said, "That's great! Like I said, I'll take you to the city for a stroll during the first month of the lunar year."

"That's exactly what we've been waiting for!" several blacksmiths shouted.

The surrounding commune members were extremely envious, and some even asked directly, "Boss, can I hitch a ride with you sometime?"

Qian Jin passed the fire to Huang Laotie: "You guys ask him. This time I'll drive the truck, and he'll organize the manpower."

The villagers who were there immediately surrounded him.

Old Dog laughed heartily and used a chipped enamel mug to make tea for Qian Jin.

The tea was made by mixing burnt wheat grains with a layer of rusty color typical of blacksmith shops, and some dry grass floating on top.

Qian Jin took a sip, his Adam's apple bobbing, realizing he really couldn't drink this stuff.

The old dog chuckled, "It doesn't taste good, does it?"

Qian Jin said, "Old Dog Master, I don't mean to look down on you, but drinking this stuff is no better than drinking water."

Old Dog said, "Try it first, and when you go back and hug Teacher Wei, think about whether what you said was right or wrong."

Qian Jin chuckled: "Oh, how did you know we got married?"

The old dog patted his waist and said, "Look at you! You're all drained of your strength!"

"Don't look down on this stuff. The dry grass inside is called 'immortal grass'. Legend has it that when heavenly soldiers and generals came down to exterminate monsters, they ran out of weapons, so they smeared their blood on this grass. You must know what that grass is; its leaves look like spears."

"The heavenly soldiers and generals smeared the leaves of the thatch grass with immortal blood, turning them into weapons to subdue demons and monsters. Later, this thatch grass got the name 'Immortal Thatch Grass'."

"They have a use, what for? Men who drink them feel like they have a spear inside them!"

Qian Jin chuckled: "Hey, is that even a saying?"

One look up, and... ton ton ton ton ton!

The old dog said, "This is better than any kind of Polygonatum or Astragalus. Try drinking it for two days if you don't believe me."

“I told you I’d teach you our family’s old dog kung fu after you got married. Come on, let me go inside and teach you a few moves.”

At first, Qian Jin thought that what Lao Gou and the others called "Lao Gou Kung Fu" was just nonsense and a joke.

Now that the old dog is actually teaching him, he realizes that the old dog might actually have some skills.

The so-called "Old Dog Kung Fu" consists of a number of exercise movements. After watching it, he felt that some of the movements looked quite familiar. He had seen them in short videos in his previous life. Many of them were called exercises specifically for improving male virility.

Unfortunately, he didn't have a girlfriend or be able to date girls at that time, and felt that he would never need to study it, so he didn't.

Now that Lao Gou is guiding him, he's learning more diligently than anyone else.

The old dog told him, "You have to practice every morning and evening. Start by practicing for a few minutes at first, and then gradually increase to half an hour."

"Just keep practicing. A few days won't do any good, but if you practice for a few months, Teacher Wei will definitely not dare to raise his voice in front of you."

Qian Jin was overjoyed.

This trip to the blacksmith's shop was very fruitful.

When he was about to leave, the commune members enthusiastically loaded the cart into the truck bed, so he didn't have to lift a finger.

Qian Jin was generous, taking out a plastic bag of sunflower seeds and peanuts and handing it to them: "What's the point of just sitting by the fire? Eating sunflower seeds and peanuts and drinking tea is what life is all about."

Amidst the enthusiastic waving of the commune members, he stepped on the gas and drove to the Hongxing Liujia Production Team.

This time, the children in the production team were more experienced.

Although Qian Jin changed cars, they knew who was driving and would have to climb into the car if they followed.

Qian Jin scolded them, saying that Huang Chui was a bully who relied on his master's power, and Huang Chui leaned out of the car window and barked wildly.

A pack of female dogs came running at the sound.

Yellow Hammer couldn't help but start shaking its legs and wagging its tail.

Qian Jin glanced at it. Could it be that the old dog's family secret technique was actually learned from a male dog?

What's this?

Bionic kung fu?

The loud noise of the GAZ-69 attracted an elderly person to come out and see what was going on.

Liu Youyu came out of the office, his khaki cotton sleeve waving like a yellow flag.

"Leader Qian is here again? You've really gone to a lot of trouble." Liu Youyu had lost a front tooth sometime ago, and the gap in his tooth made it hard for Qian Jin to hear what he was saying.

Liu Wangcai came running upon hearing the noise.

Sparks flew from his pipe hitting the car body: "I just had someone send you some fresh goods yesterday, and you're here today. What's wrong? Feeling bad about it?"

Qian Jin said, "Today is Sunday, and I only get a day off on Sundays."

"Are the fish, shrimp and clams you sent last time still fresh?" Wang Xiulan asked with a smile.

Qian Jin gave a thumbs up: "So delicious it'll make your eyebrows fall off!"

The children had already climbed onto the vehicle to play. Someone opened a sack and exclaimed, "They're all big soybeans!"

Qian Jin said, "The soybeans I brought you this time should be enough for you to use for a while."

Once the tofu business took off, the trade between the Liu family production team and the mobile canteen began.

Qian Jin handed the collective purchasing certificate to Zhu Tao, and they bought soybeans to deliver to the Liu family production team.

However, soybeans have always been a scarce agricultural product, and coastal areas do not produce soybeans, so they are not easy to buy, especially in bulk.

Zhu Tao had told Qian Jin about this, adding that it would be even harder to buy soybeans in the twelfth lunar month because every household would need to buy soybeans to make salted fermented soybeans.

Locally, salted fermented soybeans are made twice a year: during the hottest days of summer and in the dead of winter, but it's difficult to make them during the time in between.

So Qian Jin brought over half a cartload of soybeans this time. With the efficiency of Liu's tofu shop, this would be enough to last until after the first month of the lunar calendar.

Soybeans are a particularly beautiful grain.

Qian Jin bought another improved variety from 27. The soybeans were yellow, large, and heavy in his hand, making Liu Wangcai grin from ear to ear.
"This batch of soybeans is excellent, plentiful and of high quality!"

Qian Jin explained, "These are genuine Northeast soybeans. A few days ago, a shipment of them arrived at our port for loading and unloading. I used my collective purchasing certificate to buy some from them, and they sold them to us at cost price."

"That's great, it's really good that you're in charge at the port," several cadres exclaimed upon hearing this.

Liu Youyu asked, "Captain, what's going on? Aren't we supposed to treat the leaders to another pork dinner tonight?"

Qian Jin said, "You have no problem slaughtering pigs, but I won't be eating here tonight, there's not enough time."

"The days are too short now, and the road conditions are bad. I'm a novice driver and I don't dare to drive at night."

"Besides, we have a lot to do today!"

Liu Wangcai ignored him and laughed, "When our own leaders come to visit in winter, our team doesn't know any other way to entertain them except to slaughter a pig."

"Leader, I know you mean well, worried that we might eat the food our team gives to the members at the end of the year. It's alright, all the patriotic pigs have already been handed over, and now the pigs left are for us to eat."

“In previous years, the team slaughtered pigs and sold meat to earn money for the members’ work points. This year, we don’t need to. This year, we have a tofu shop and can make money. In addition, you have brought us grain, so we don’t have to worry about the New Year.”

Liu Youyu chimed in, "The year-end is here, but with you, our leader, this year there's no end to the year!"

Liu Wangcai waved his hand: "Regardless of the leader's orders, slaughter the pig!"

Immediately, the pig-slaughtering chants echoed throughout the threshing ground.

The butcher, Ganzi, directed several men to tie up a 200-pound black-haired pig and waved his hand, saying, "Put it on the door panel, we'll deal with it today."

"According to the old rules, 70% goes to the collective, and 30% is used to entertain guests," Liu Wangcai said.

The butcher was slaughtering the pig with great gusto. The fattest part of the pig's rump, tied with hemp rope, was to be secretly stuffed into the truck's cab.

The tea they drank was also related to pigs.

Qian Jin had never tried pork fat tea before.

He took a sip of the tea, which was greasy with lard, and couldn't help but miss the bone china tea set at the Silver Beach Park Guesthouse.

After drinking tea to warm himself up, Qian Jin wanted to go and check out the Liu family's tofu shop.

The establishment of this industry is related to him, and its application is even more related to his company; he has to check it.

The tofu shop was converted from an old warehouse. There were several multi-tiered wooden shelves outside, covered with golden-yellow frozen tofu.

This is a good product; it can absorb the broth of spicy hot pot and has a chewy texture, so it is very popular and in high demand.

Liu Wangcai pushed open the door, and steaming water vapor spread out. Qian Jin stepped over the threshold, and the water vapor mixed with the smell of beans entered his nose.

Two tofu makers were busy at work when Liu Wangcai announced, "The leader has come to visit everyone." The two quickly wiped their wet hands on their aprons and stood up straight against the wall.

Qian Jin was speechless: "Alright, Captain, don't make me feel like I'm sitting on a wax statue."

Liu Wangcai shoved him, saying, "You're the leader of our tofu shop, right? Go and shake hands with your colleagues."

The two tofu makers have already extended their hands.

Qian Jin shook hands with them helplessly and said, "Thank you for your hard work, everyone. Our mobile canteen is very grateful for your efforts. We brought you some gifts as a token of our appreciation. You can pick them up at your production team office after work."

The tofu makers immediately shook hands with him more firmly, bowing and scraping as they said, "Thank you for your guidance, leader."

Qian Jin smiled wryly: "Stop joking, stop joking. We're just ordinary people. I just came to see your tofu production process."

Liu Wangcai grabbed a gourd ladle and banged it against the wooden bucket soaking soybeans. Twenty pounds of soybeans swelled in the alkaline water, turning a beautiful, soft yellowish-white. A mule with its eyes covered started turning the millstone, the creaking sound attracting the curious gaze of a tabby cat.

"This is an old stone mill, dating back to the Guangxu era," Liu Youyu said with pride. "It has the flavor of old tofu, and the tofu ground from it tastes delicious."

A craftsman untied the hemp rope, and the coarse cloth filter bag was shaken on the wooden frame, creating a waterfall of snow-like flakes.

As the stone mill turned, the bean paste flowed into the iron pot along the groove in the bluestone, mixing with the well water and making the beany smell in the room even stronger.

The firewood in the stove crackled and popped as it burned. Liu Wangcai said with a smile, "It's the oak that your commando team cut down last time."

He then asked, "This batch of tofu still needs to be coagulated with brine in a while. Should we keep it here to watch the coagulation process?"

Qian Jin said, "No need, I'll just take a quick look and make sure there are no problems."

"Um, be careful to store the soybeans properly so they don't get chewed by mice. You have to be careful about hygiene when making tofu."

Liu Wangcai picked up his pipe and said cheerfully, "We have to pay attention to this. The warehouse where soybeans are stored has been inspected, and the rat holes have been sealed tightly with stones."

Liu Youyu presented the still-steaming tofu like a treasure: "Boss, please try this. It's fresh tofu, sweet and delicious."

Food tastes best when it's fresh out of the pot, and tofu is no exception.

Qian Jin bit through the golden-brown bean curd skin, and his tongue touched the tender, creamy tofu inside. It was indeed delicious.

The tofu shop wasn't big, and after checking it and finding no problems, he led Liu Wangcai outside.

Liu Wangcai was quite expectant: "Whether it's tofu, dried tofu, bean curd sheets, or frozen tofu, they can all fetch a good price. This is great! Boss, you've sent our team a phoenix that lays golden eggs!"

“You don’t know,” Liu Youyu said proudly, “our commune’s production teams all came to visit after they found out about this.”

"They can also make tofu, but they can't buy soybeans, so the tofu they make can only be sold cheaply in the countryside, unlike us who can sell it in the city."

Qian Jin nodded thoughtfully and asked, "You have boats and the commune has a dock, so do you have a good catch here?"

Liu Wangcai said, "Our team's catch isn't good, but the commune's dock has plenty. Our commune actually relies entirely on the sea for its livelihood."

Qian Jin asked, "Are there many small fish or small pieces of fish caught?"

Liu Wangcai immediately said, "That's a lot. Just like the day before yesterday when there was a level 10 northerly wind, the trawlers were catching mostly broken-off cargo."

One of the commune members who went to the commune today laughed and said, "There are quite a few today too, they're piled up on the dock."

Upon hearing this, Qian Jin perked up: "Let's go take a look."

Liu Wangcai was puzzled: "Why go look at that? It's just a bunch of dead fish with ripped bellies and severed heads."

Qian Jin said, "See if you can acquire it. If you can, I'll introduce you to a new business."

"A business that makes way more money than making tofu!"

Liu Wangcai and Liu Youyu got into the truck, and Qian Jin stepped on the gas, making them sway and stagger.

Even though I felt uncomfortable, I actually felt really good inside.

The car pulled up to the open space in front of the pier and stopped. As soon as we got out, the sea breeze, carrying a salty and fishy smell, made us dizzy.

The pile of broken fish gleamed in the afternoon sunlight, the mucus seeping from the gills frozen into ice crystals, like a crystal mask covering the dead fish.

Qian Jin bent down and picked up half a yellow croaker. The tail was frozen solid, but the fish meat looked very fresh from the cross-section.

An old man emerged from a nearby wooden hut: "What are you doing here?"

"Let's fight the Japanese devils," Liu Wangcai joked with him.

The old man laughed after seeing his face clearly, then turned around and went back into the small wooden house to avoid the cold.

"Uncle, in your experience, how much meat can you get from these scraps of fish?" Qian Jin asked, but Hai Feng immediately gave him a mouthful of hot air.

Liu Wangcai rummaged through the pile of frozen fish with his pipe, somewhat uncertain: "Sixty percent, no, fifty percent, there are quite a few fish heads, I estimate I can only get fifty percent meat."

He picked up a large fish head and showed it to Qian Jin.

It's the head of a mackerel, about the size of an adult country dog's head. I estimate this fish must be about 1.2 meters long.

Qian Jin asked, "Can your team buy these small pieces of fish?"

"What are you going to do with it?" Liu Wangcai asked, puzzled. "It's not very useful. It's usually sold cheaply to rural areas in the interior during the cold winter months when it's easy to preserve."

Qian Jin said, "If you can buy them, then buy them. I'll teach you how to make fish balls!"

Liu Wangcai asked, "Fish meatballs? Anyone can make that. Just cut the fish meat into small pieces, mix it with scallion and ginger water and chopped chives, then make meatballs and put them in the pot."

"This is quite laborious, and there's a problem with making fish balls with minced fish meat. They've been dead for who knows how many days, so the fish meat is no longer fresh and doesn't taste good."

"Don't even mention these small pieces of fish. You should know from your time in the city that mackerel, pomfret, and yellow croaker are sold cheaply once their bellies are ripped open. Why? Because they don't taste good anymore."

Qian Jin said, "I have a way to make them delicious. It doesn't matter if they're not fresh. Just add something and they'll be delicious. As long as the fish doesn't rot or spoil, I have a way to make them delicious."

He needs to add some shock value and technological sophistication to the lives of ordinary people in 1977.

However, he is not an unscrupulous businessman; he only uses food additives within reasonable limits, so as not to affect the health of diners.

Furthermore, the fish balls he was making were different from the fish balls Liu Wangcai had imagined.

The fish balls that the fishermen talk about are made of pure fish meat, which is difficult to shape and doesn't taste very good.

He bought a recipe and read the instructions; delicious fish balls require a lot of ingredients in the right proportions.

We'll have to try, and Qian Jin isn't entirely confident either.

Liu Wangcai then asked the old man guarding the fish for a bamboo basket, filled it with the cleaned fish, and took it back.

After soaking the fish in warm water, Wang Xiulan rolled up her sleeves and took out the fish meat.

She was an expert; with a slight flick of her wrist, she removed the main bone of a mackerel, leaving only the grayish-white fish meat in the enamel basin.

Another large yellow croaker was placed on the plate, the blade moved across the fish, and the flesh fell off again.

Qian Jin told Liu Youyu to find a small stone mill and put the fish meat on it to grind it.

Liu Wangcai took to the field himself, and the old man's arm muscles bulged, showing no less skill than that of a young man.

The pinkish-white fish paste flowed down the bluestone millstone, and the viscous liquid mixed with ice shards even shimmered with a pearly luster.

After seeing it, one of the commune members asked in confusion, "Isn't this a waste of time? Why bother with this?"

Qian Jin pretended to go back to the car to get something. After getting into the driver's seat, he took out a gold box and bought bags of sweet potato starch and MSG.

Today is just a trial run; there's no rush to use the official recipe to make fish balls, so no other food additives are needed. MSG is sufficient.

He poured all the starch into a large earthenware jar, then stuffed the packaging bags into the pot of stewed pork, causing the woman tending the fire to tremble with distress: "Plastic bags, it's all plastic bags..."

Qian Jin laughed and said, "These plastic bags are all problematic."

After giving a vague answer, he took the starch and asked Liu Youyu to find eggs and extract the egg whites, then began to mix the ingredients according to his memory.

The weighed fish paste was thrown into the wooden bucket.

Add coarse salt, egg white, MSG, and sweet potato starch in the correct proportions.

Stir in the scallion and ginger water, and the fish paste inside can be shaped into fish balls.

Fish balls are put into a pot of water, and soon oil floats to the surface, steam rises, and the fish has a strong fresh and fishy smell.

Qian Jin said, "Come on, Captain, Accountant, try the fish balls I made."

Each person has a rough porcelain bowl, and the fish ball soup and white fish balls are scooped into the bowl with a spoon.

Liu Wangcai used his broken teeth to bite through the smooth, elastic skin. The sweet and savory taste of the fish paste melting on his tongue made him nod in agreement: "Hmm, things made with egg whites are definitely different. They're even more fragrant than the fish balls we make ourselves."

Others nodded.

Qian Jin ate a fish ball, which tasted much better than the frozen fish balls he had bought in his previous life.

This business is definitely worth doing!

He told the old team leader, "I came in a hurry today and didn't bring any seasonings. Actually, you need seasonings to make fish balls."

"From now on, your team will purchase minced fish and then set up a fish ball production workshop. Our company will buy all the fish balls produced."

"As for the price, our company will buy the chopped fish, and provide the eggs, starch, and seasonings. You will provide the labor to clean the chopped fish and make fish balls."

"We'll give you the egg yolks, and in addition, we'll pay you ten times the labor cost, so that each of you can earn ten times the work points for your labor. How about we settle the accounts with this price?"

Liu Wangcai blurted out, "It'll definitely work, then we'll be the ones who benefit."

The production team doesn't need to provide the means of production; they only need to provide the land and labor. Then, they can earn ten times the work points and even get egg yolks.

Egg yolks are a good thing.

The value of the egg yolks accumulated in a day is greater than ten times the work points.

After agreeing on the new business deal, Liu Wangcai warmly invited Qian Jin to eat stewed pork on a heated kang (a traditional heated brick bed).

Qian Jin still needs a batch of kelp and radishes, which the production team can handle internally.

The soybeans were poured out, and sacks were stuffed with kelp and radishes, filling half a truckload.

Finally, as Qian Jin was about to get into the car and leave, he opened the driver's side door and found another piece of pork inside!
He tried to stall for time, saying, "Didn't you want 70% of the credit? Why are you giving me 70%?"

"Take it back, take it back and share it with your colleagues at your company. This is a token of our appreciation from our fellow villagers. We don't have anything fancy, only this pork is something we can offer." The old team leader stuffed the pork back into his hands.

Qian Jin didn't stand on ceremony and said he would send a batch of grain over later to repay the favor.

Anyway, he had planned to send a batch of grain to the production team before the Chinese New Year.

Now, with the cover of business transactions between the production team's commune and small collective enterprises, he could deliver things more openly and legitimately.

He brought back quite a lot of things from Liu's production team this time, including pork, kelp, and white radish. He also bought a batch of oden seasoning from the mall, intending to bring it back in the name of Liu's production team.

The mobile canteen for the people should start offering new services.

It's time to put a little more pressure on the people of Seaside City; their wallets need further easing.

(End of this chapter)