The golden age began in 1977

Chapter 138 Overjoyed, Small Collective Enterprises Pay High Salaries

Upon learning that Qian Jin had returned from his rural assignment, Wang Dong, Zhou Yaozu, and their group, who were resting at home on Sunday, came to visit him.

They all knew that as long as money came back from the countryside, there would be good food to eat.

Even if there's nothing, it's fine. Just pretend you're bored in the middle of winter and came over for a visit in the evening.

Wang Dong led the way, lifting the curtain made from a cotton quilt, and smelled the unique salty and fresh aroma of seafood.

The aluminum pot on the honeycomb briquette stove emitted white steam from all sides, making a pleasant bubbling sound rhythmically.

Upon seeing this, he immediately beamed with joy: "Damn, we're getting seafood again!"

Qian Jin soaked the chopped kelp in an enamel basin. The dark green seaweed stretched out in the clear water into pieces the size of mahjong tiles, bustling about, which was quite a sight to behold.

Wang Dong peeked out and his hopes turned to disappointment: "Damn, Chief Qian, this is the seafood you brought back this time?"

"Okay, tonight we'll have seaweed, white radish, and eggs." Qian Jin poured the seaweed into the aluminum pot.

Inside, snow-white eggs were bobbing and tumbling in the boiling water.

Wei Qinghuan, assessing the heat, picked up the aluminum pot and poked at the stove with tongs. The sparks from the exploding honeycomb briquettes caused the people who had just entered to press themselves against the wall.

"You have eggs? Hehe, that's too kind of you."

"Eating eggs is fine; eating seaweed and radishes is not."

"Why make such a fuss? Old Xu will give you seaweed and radish later. Your detention center's cafeteria has plenty of eggs, don't think we don't know that..."

Qian Jin said, "Don't worry, this broth is no ordinary thing. I got a secret recipe from the Liu family's production team and finally managed to buy all the seasonings to make this divine soup."

The group laughed heartily.

Even a divine soup is still soup; they want to eat something firm, not something soft.

After Qian Jin returned home in the afternoon, he put oden seasoning soup into an aluminum pot and started simmering it.

The quality of this soup is naturally inferior to the original oden broth from convenience stores 27 years ago, and even less comparable to the broth made by the Japanese using kelp, bonito flakes, and chicken bones.

But the technology and hard work were impressive, and the seasoning soup tasted great, enough to make them thrive in this era of scarcity.

He lifted the pot lid, and white steam accompanied by a delicious aroma wafted up.

The freshly brought-back dried tofu in the pot had soaked up all the broth and was floating between the boiling seaweed slices.

As usual, each person received a rough porcelain bowl. Qian Jin ladled out the soup and poured it in, along with an egg, two pieces of white radish, two slices of dried tofu, and a pile of tofu slices and frozen tofu.

Wang Dong poked at the white radish with his chopsticks and held it up.

The radish chunks, stewed until they were mushy, slid down his chopsticks and onto his fingers, making him keep shouting, "Hot! Hot!"

He handed the white radish to Xu Weidong: "Brother Dong, I heard you've been constipated lately? Here, eat more white radish to help relieve your gas."

"Get the hell out of here." Xu Weidong tried to snatch the egg from his bowl. "I heard you've been eating and drinking too much at the No. 6 State-owned Cotton Mill lately and have indigestion. You'd better not eat eggs."

Little Tangyuan handed over the enamel mug she was holding in her arms: "Uncle, give Tangyuan the radish."

Wang Dong chuckled and handed it to her.

He doesn't like to eat radishes, especially white radishes.

During those years when he was sent to the countryside, there was nothing to eat in the winter. He was so tired of eating green radishes one meal and white radishes the next.

These days, the three winter staples are cabbage, radish, and potato; nobody eats white radish anymore.

Zhou Yaozu then went to eat a radish.

He has a habit of eating the less appealing foods first, saving the best ones for last.

The radish was steaming and dripping with broth. Zhou Yaozu blew on it vigorously and took a small bite.

The expected spiciness did not appear.

The radish core is stewed long enough to fill with broth, and the juice bursts out the moment you bite into it, like the sea breeze infusing the ocean with flavor.

He chewed carefully and swallowed quickly, the soup dripping from the corner of his mouth onto the collar of his work clothes.

So, while wiping it with a handkerchief, he exclaimed with delight, "This white radish is delicious! Chief Qian, you're amazing! You've turned a white radish into a delicacy! This stuff is truly wonderful!"

The little glutinous rice ball blew on the white radish and started nibbling from the edge, squinting its eyes happily as it ate.

She has already eaten.

White radish tastes even better than eggs.

To show his toughness, Wang Dong put down his chopsticks and deliberately used the dagger he carried to stab a piece of dried tofu in preparation for eating.

He didn't believe Zhou Yaozu's words and laughed, "Oh, Captain Zhou, you've learned to lie now?"

Xu Weidong, Liu Dali, and Shi Zhentao started eating radishes. They ate them without making a sound, even stuffing radishes into their mouths while scalding hot soup.

Xu Weidong, in particular, had his cheeks puffed out as if he had a grenade in his mouth, and he kept making faces as if his skull had been blown off by a grenade.

Wang Dong was somewhat suspicious: "You're trying to fool us into eating white radishes..."

"Who would try to fool you? You're nothing." Xu Weidong swallowed and chuckled at him.

Wei Xiongtu nodded at him: "This stewed white radish is really delicious."

Well known.

Teacher Wei is the most honest person; he never lies.

Wang Dong took a bite of the bean curd skin.

It's soft, fresh, and tastes great.

He wolfed down his food, saying, "Nonsense, the bean curd skin is definitely tastier."

Xu Weidong ate a bite of bean curd skin, then switched back to eat the second piece of white radish.

Wang Dong was dumbfounded: "I...I...no, Little Tangyuan, give Uncle a piece of white radish."

Little Tangyuan, clutching an enamel mug, ran off on her short legs, shouting, "I'm going to give it to my brother!"

Qian Jin gave it a try.

This broth has catered to consumers' health-conscious lifestyle for 27 years, emphasizing umami flavor with minimal saltiness.

Most of the workers in 78 engaged in physical labor and sweated a lot, so they had a stronger palate and could eat more salt.

He grabbed a handful of coarse salt and sprinkled it into the soup.

The crystals falling into the boiling soup made a crackling sound like small firecrackers; this was because the coarse salt contained air chambers that exploded after melting.

Boiling water bubbled and steam rose, filling the building with more and more white vapor. A fishy aroma wafted into the stairwell through the cracks in the doors and windows, creating a strange and savory flavor in the tenement building.

Everyone finished the white radish and exclaimed in unison, "Delicious!"

"I should have thought of that a long time ago. White radish goes best with fishy smells."

"Indeed, stir-fried white radish with dried shrimp and white radish and shrimp paste soup are very delicious."

Wang Dong, unable to contain his curiosity, held up the rough porcelain bowl and said, "Chief Qian, give me another piece of white radish."

Qian Jin said regretfully, "I'm sorry, Brother Dong, the price of two yuan per person is already calculated. We need to leave some radishes for the people who come later. We can't let the people in front finish eating and then not be able to eat any later."

Wang Dong's eyes darted around, then he chuckled.

Xu Weidong carefully ate his egg and cursed at him, "You son of a bitch, you're up to no good again!"

He guessed correctly.

Zhao Bo and his men came in rubbing their hands and said, "Damn, it's so cold. What are you eating? Did you stew fish? I could smell the delicious aroma from the hallway."

Wang Dong quickly ladled soup and side dishes for him, saying, "Chief Qian brought back a secret seafood soup recipe and stewed some white radishes for us. Here, Captain Zhao, have two pieces."

Zhao Bo chuckled dryly, "I don't really like white radishes. My mom bought forty pounds of them from the farmers' market the other day, and we've been eating them for every meal..."

"Then I'll eat it. I've been constipated lately, and I need to eat more radishes to relieve the constipation," Wang Dong said readily.

Just as Zhao Bo was about to agree, he suddenly realized, "No, isn't this white radish delicious? You hate white radishes the most."

"Give me!"

Wang Dong cursed.

But Zhu Tao arrived later, and Wang Dong patted him on the shoulder affectionately and said, "Captain Zhu, why are you back so early today?"

Zhu Tao said cheerfully, "Didn't Captain Zhao come back earlier? Business is good today because it's a rest day. All the side dishes and base ingredients I prepared are sold out, so I came over..."

"Do you want some radishes?" Wang Dong asked him directly this time. "Chief Qian stewed something for us."

Zhu Tao shook his head: "I don't eat radishes."

Without wasting words, Wang Dong quickly blew on the air and started gnawing on it.

He took a bite, raised an eyebrow, and said, "Cough cough, this tastes really not good..."

Qian Jin exclaimed, "Brother Dong, you're such a drama queen! I never knew you had this talent before. I'll set up a film crew and cast you as the lead in a movie someday."

Zhao Bo said to Zhu Tao, "You've been fooled by him. This white radish is delicious, even better than eggs."

Zhu Tao didn't believe it: "Eggs are the best food."

Zhao Bo sneered, "You can't reason with a damned ghost."

Wang Dong licked the soup stains from the enamel mug and said, "This soup base is really delicious; it'll be perfect for mixing with cornbread."

"This is called 'fresh soup cooking,' and it's a new business I've prepared for our mobile canteen." Qian Jin took out a large glass bottle of malted milk powder, a 2L bottle filled with oden powder.

The others immediately nodded: "It will definitely work."

"This is different from mala tang. Mala tang is too spicy, and some women can't handle it. This is good, and women will definitely like it."

Wei Qinghuan put radish, bean curd sheets, dried tofu, and kelp back into the pot and started cooking.

Zhao Bo said, "Tomorrow is Monday, there will be a lot of people going to work, so business will definitely be good."

Qian Jin said, "You guys do a good job. Tomorrow night, we'll calculate last month's profits and pay everyone's wages!"

Everyone's eyes widened, and they were overjoyed.

On the second day of 1978, the sun rose and the sun shone brightly.

A new stove was added to the two tricycles, with flames roaring in the firebox and white steam slowly rising from the large pot. When the north wind blew, the umami flavor mixed with the spicy broth created an unprecedented new taste.

"Move them carefully." Zhao Bo directed several team members to load strings of dishes onto the vehicle.

The bamboo skewers that Qian Jin bought can be reused.

Their skewers cannot be taken away; you need to leave the bamboo skewers after you finish eating them for repeated use.

The diners didn't seem to care at all.

Nowadays, there are hardly any disposable items in society, and 'waste' and 'crime' can still be equated in workplaces.

Corruption and waste are both heinous crimes; this is the highest directive.

On the contrary, if the mobile canteen doesn't recycle the bamboo skewers, they will be frequently thrown on the ground, which will draw criticism.

At 7:00 AM sharp, the first wave of bicycles broke through the sea fog and rode out.

The salty, fishy smell emanating from the boiling water attracted the early shift workers whose noses were red from the cold.

Zhu Tao tasted the seafood soup and then sprinkled some coarse salt into it.

The sound of a stainless steel spoon scraping the bottom of a pot attracted the attention of some workers. The sound reminded them of the famine years when they were sent to the countryside and scraped the bottom of iron pots.

"Add some fuel!" Zhao Bo picked up a honeycomb briquette and put it into the stove. The holes of the briquettes aligned, and a bright red flame immediately shot up, making the red paint on the vehicle body that read "Serve the People" even brighter.

The two tricycles separated, with Zhao Bo's team heading specifically towards the shipyard intersection.

At 7:15, the shipyard's morning call pierced the sea fog.

Workers wearing caps rode out on bicycles, their aluminum lunchboxes rattling with a metallic, hungry sound inside their canvas bags.

Zhao Bo lifted the lid of the soup pot, and the mixed aroma exploded like a bomb, sweeping across the air at minus ten degrees Celsius.

"What's this new gadget?" Old Liao, a level 5 fitter, stopped his car, put one foot on the ground, and peered into the soup pot.

Instantly, his glasses fogged up.

Zhao Bo stirred the dried fish slices in the soup with an iron spoon and said, "This is a new type of nutritious meal cooked in fresh soup, specially designed to boost the work enthusiasm of our workers!"

The radish chunks trembled and swayed in the boiling soup, their cut cross-sections soaking up the broth and glistening with moisture in the sunlight.

Immediately, someone handed over money and tickets: "Five skewers of frozen tofu, two skewers of cabbage, two skewers of radish, and a chopstick of vermicelli. Damn, it's so cold this morning, my ears are going to fall off!"

The salespeople quickly put the side dishes into an enamel mug and added a spoonful of chili oil soup. The workers took it over and began to wolf it down, exclaiming how delicious it was.

After eating, you return the jar and bamboo skewers. The salesperson rinses them with hot water and considers them clean, so they can be used again next time.

However, most workers bring their own enamel mugs or aluminum lunch boxes, so they don't need the tableware provided by the canteen.

Some people were tempted by the aroma and the rising steam, but ultimately shook their heads: "I can't eat spicy food, my stomach hurts."

Zhao Bo quickly beckoned, "Isn't this Engineer Wang? Come, come! Today we're offering a new service: fresh soup!"

"Not spicy at all, the main selling point is fresh, delicious, and warm!"

A steaming bowl of stewed radish and kelp slices was served.

The white and green colors blend together, creating a feeling of spring even in winter.

The worker took it, and the moment he bit into the radish, the scalding hot broth mixed with sweetness, along with the tender stewed radish, created a seafood revolution on his tongue.

Their simple and monotonous taste buds were enriched once again. The new flavors and textures made the workers unable to stop eating.

"Thirty more skewers!" the young female workers at the shipyard shouted as they surrounded the food cart.

A man dressed in a cadre uniform came over to look and said with a sneer, "What's so good about radishes and seaweed? You're so ignorant."

Zhao Bo took his lunchbox, reached into the soup pot, and scooped up a piece of radish soaked in the soup with a steel spoon: "Director, try it. This is a scientifically balanced meal. Take a sip of this soup and see if it's fresh."

The cadre took a sip of the soup, and its fresh and delicious taste made him exclaim, "This is good stuff!"

Qian Jin ran into this group of people on his way to work.

The shipyard is located not far from Port Alam.

Wei Xiongtu exclaimed in admiration, "Great job, Chief Qian, it seems this deal is done again. You're really something."

Qian Jin thought to himself, "Your sister said the same thing," but said aloud, "What's this? The country is cracking down hard right now, we're just playing around. If they loosen economic controls in the future, I'll take you guys to do big business!"

Wei Xiongtu quickly advised him: "This is already a big enough business. In all four districts of Haibin City, who doesn't know about our People's Mobile Canteen?"

"That's enough. You're married to Xiaoqing now, don't overthink it, just settle down and live a peaceful life..."

Qian Jin said, "This fellow is not worth discussing anything with," and then rode off on his bicycle.

He still needs to work hard to earn money so that he can find a way to buy back his ancestral property, the villa in Yintan Park.

Fourteen more cars arrived, greatly increasing the efficiency of their team.

But no word came from above; it seems the four cars sent to the city headquarters last month fell into the sea.

Silently.

But then my older brother and sister replied.

On the 2nd, when Qian Jin got home from get off work, he found that his second sister's letter had arrived first.

The envelope was stiff and had a red stamp that read "Baishan is thriving, construction is glorious." When you opened it, a thin piece of birch bark fell out, on which a human face was carved with a knife.

It's Qian Jin.

The letter was torn from an account book, the handwriting blurred by the frostbite ointment: "Little brother, I hope this letter finds you well... Your sister is doing well with the logging team in Changbai Mountain..."

"Keep Dad's house. No promises needed. You've returned to the city and are still unmarried. Your brothers and I are all married, and you're the only one still single. This house is for you to use when you get married in the future..."

The letter was short, but every sentence revealed the sister's longing and love for her brother.

After reading it, Qian Jin handed it to Wei Qinghuan and said in a low voice, "I haven't written to my sister in the past few months. Am I being too much?"

Wei Qinghuan said, "That's really too much. How could you not write to them? They're your own sister."

Qian Jin chuckled dryly: "You're all I think about."

"Come on, that's not right of you." Wei Qinghuan glared at him. "I thought you two siblings had some kind of rift, and I didn't ask because I was afraid of upsetting you."

“But this letter shows that your sister loves you very much. She said she mailed you some special products from Changbai Mountain. They must have saved up money for you by her family while they were living frugally at the forest farm.”

“My company just gave out national grain coupons and meat coupons as New Year’s benefits. My sister will definitely need them, so I’ll mail them to her.”

"And Mom's scarf, that should have been passed down to my sister, especially since it's cold in Changbai Mountain during the winter, that scarf would be very useful for her..."

Qian Jin said, "No need for the scarf. I'll have someone bring her a fox fur scarf from the Northeast; that's warmer."

He had no emotional ties with his two older brothers and one older sister, so he didn't know how to face them.

Since his older siblings hadn't sent him any letters in the past few months, he was happy to pretend not to notice and wouldn't take the initiative to send them any.

Wei Qinghuan pondered what to mail to her second sister; wedding candy was a must.

Qian Jin went to the neighborhood committee meeting room by himself; all the veteran members of the task force were there tonight.

Pay wages.

Time flies.

The mobile canteen has been operating for 38 days, but the revenue from November was not used to pay salaries. Qian Jin said it was used for procurement funds.

Now that we've been open for the entire month of December, we have to pay salaries.

The mobile canteen was jointly managed by Liu Tao and Zhao Bo. Liu Tao collected money and receipts, while Zhao Bo kept the ledger.

Wages were paid in cash; the ration coupons were collected and given to the neighborhood committee, where they were controlled by Wei Xiangmi.

Wei Xiangmi's extra care for Qian Jin was also due to this small collective enterprise.

She saw the potential in this small business.

Qian Jin looked at the ledger.

Every day's income is clearly recorded on it, with the signatures of all employees.

In December, a small collective enterprise sold an astonishing 12 yuan worth of goods in 31 days!

Qian Jin once thought that selling three or five thousand a month would be a great achievement, since people in this era didn't have much money.

But he still underestimated the sales volume of this low-profit, high-volume strategy.

Mala Tang (a type of spicy hot pot) is very popular because the soup contains red oil. Many families are reluctant to use oil, such as Liu Youniu's family, who may not use even a pound of oil in a summer.

In this situation, buying a dime's worth of spicy hot pot will also get you two spoonfuls of soup, which has a layer of red oil floating on top.

Many people think this is a good deal, so they enjoy eating spicy hot pot every now and then to supplement their nutrition.

Qianjin's base ingredients are all purchased from the mall.

But he can't just give it away to small collective enterprises for free; that also has to be factored into the costs.

After calculating the costs of ingredients, vegetables, tofu, and coal, Qian Jin directly deducted nearly half of the 5,000 yuan.

That leaves you with 6,500 yuan.

In addition, as agreed, each person will receive a monthly income of thirty yuan.

Qian Jin distributed money to everyone one by one.

Three large banknotes have been issued; though not many, they can be held in your hand.

Liu Dali rubbed the money together and laughed at everyone around him: "Damn, this is the first time we've been paid so much money since we joined the assault team a year and a half ago!"

"The company gives us 30 yuan a month, and the labor commando team and the security commando team also give us 30 yuan a month. Now we'll have enough money for the New Year!" The others laughed excitedly.

The most excited were Wang Dong and Xu Weidong, who had already been assigned to their units. They no longer received the task force subsidy, but they could receive their unit salary and the 30 yuan monthly wage.

That's a considerable amount of money.

Wang Dong said smugly to those around him, "Before, I would get fifteen yuan a month for perfect attendance. My wife was always sarcastic and mean to me. Damn it, we couldn't even change positions when we slept together."

"Now, just you wait and see tonight. I'm going to change positions every minute tonight."

"Then you have to try three different positions?" Xu Weidong said enviously.

Wang Dong raised his foot: "Get lost!"

Lou Xiaoguang stopped him and asked, "Wait, Brother Dong, is it really okay to go see it tonight?"

Wang Dong was a little more polite to him, after all, he would occasionally go to the state-run No. 2 Restaurant, and at those times he had to rely on Lou Xiaoguang to help him show off: "Get lost!"

I got paid.

Qian Jin waved his hand, and the large basin opened, revealing chunks of fresh meat inside.
"Come on, it's time to distribute the perks."

"Each person receives two jin of pork, two jin of sausage, plus fifty jin of grain coupons, twenty jin of meat coupons, and ten jin of oil coupons."

Upon hearing this, a scream erupted in the conference room.

Benefits can be even more impressive than income!
The income was agreed upon long ago: thirty yuan per person. This was just the first time they had received the cash.

So they were happy but not surprised.

The benefits were different; they didn't expect the first time they received benefits to be so generous, even more so than at the factory.

Grain coupons, meat coupons, oil coupons—these are more than enough to live a prosperous New Year!
Qian Jin glared at them: "Shut up! Shut up, all of you! Do you want the whole neighborhood to know about our welfare benefits?"

The team members shoved each other and fell silent.

Lou Xiaoguang said in a low voice, "Chief Qian, the neighborhood committee has already closed for the day, is everything alright?"

Qian Jin said, "What if someone happens to come back? What if some citizens hear the noise and come to see what's going on?"

"Better safe than sorry!"

Everyone nodded.

This time, there was complete silence.

Qian Jin said in a low voice, "Where do you think welfare comes from? Does it fall from the sky like snow? Do you think I conjure it up with magic?"

"Let me tell you, I pocketed it from the tickets I gave to Director Wei!"

“What we did wasn’t fair, but our small collective enterprise has made a contribution, so we should definitely get some special treatment, right?”

The group nodded in agreement.

Xu Weidong came out and said in a low voice, "The meat is rotting in the pot, don't you dare tell anyone, not even your family!"

"When my family asked where the tickets came from, I said that the team had to work together on weekends and that I earned them by doing the work!"

Everyone continued to nod.

As long as the organization provides high salaries and generous benefits, I will be the organization's most loyal soldier!
(End of this chapter)