Era: Starting with the struggle to refuse being taken advantage of

Wang Chengpeng's bountiful return attracted not only the old man chatting at the village entrance, but also the children playing around.

They stood around the three people's bicycle, their eyes filled with envy as they looked at the New Year's goods in the basket.

In the end, Wang Chengpeng threw a handful of fruit candies at them, which finally made them move aside.

When I got home, Liu Chunhua, who had returned early, had already boiled water and was waiting for me.

She was both surprised and delighted to see so many things:
"Wow, you bought so much stuff! How much did it cost?"

She was just about to bring out her previous argument that her family was unworthy, but then she remembered what Wang Chengpeng had once said, and immediately changed her story:

"Are we really going to use all of these things?"

While unloading the goods, Wang Chengpeng introduced the items to Liu Chunhua:

"Cloth, clothes, shoes, candy—what of these things wouldn't be useful?"

"If I had more room, I would have bought so many more things."

"With Spring Festival couplets, firecrackers, and plenty of fish and meat, our family can finally have a good New Year this year."

"By the way, Mom, why are you back so early today? Is it work at the factory...?"

Wang Chengpeng's words undoubtedly stirred up Liu Chunhua's memories, reminding her of her miserable state during the previous Chinese New Year. She immediately stopped thinking Wang Chengpeng was wasting money and said with a smile:
"These things were definitely a good buy."

"As for the sugar factory, don't worry. The factory leaders said that anyone can take leave before the New Year if they have family matters to attend to, and their wages will not be deducted."

"This policy is so good. Back in the old days of the production team, if you missed a day of work, you would lose all your work points."

"Leave the stuff to me, you guys go eat."

After tidying up the New Year's goods, Liu Chunhua took out the bag of fruit candies from the basket. Under Wang Meiyan's expectant gaze, she hesitated for a moment before finally opening the bag:

"Here, take a handful and eat some."

"Eat slowly, don't finish it all at once, or your teeth will hurt."

Wang Meiyan smiled and accepted the candy:

"Mom, I'll eat five a day, I promise I won't eat a single one more, okay?"

Everyone was amused by her sensible appearance, and Wang Chengpeng even patted her head and said:
"Go on, go play with Xiao Hei and the others, but remember not to run around."

Wang Meiyan cheered, carefully put the candy into the pocket of her new cotton-padded jacket, and skipped out the door.

In the courtyard, the sunlight stretched her shadow long and long, just like the hope of this family, stretching further and further away.

Although the Spring Festival has not officially started yet, as time goes by, the atmosphere of the Spring Festival is already permeating Wangjia Village.

This atmosphere became even stronger, especially after the grain was distributed and work points were exchanged at the end of the year.

These days, the basic goal is to make a living, but if you have money, especially during festive times like the Lunar New Year, who wouldn't want to live a better life?
Fortunately, Wang Zidong had arranged to go to the city with Wang Chengpeng in advance, otherwise they would have been squeezed into the place where things were sold—it was packed with people.

With the Lunar New Year approaching, many workers are on holiday, but some things are still proceeding in an orderly manner, such as matters related to this year's college entrance examination.

Since Wang Chengpeng was not a member of Dapeng Sugar Factory when he applied, and he did not submit the application form as a worker, the political review notice was ultimately delivered by the commune.

Because Wang Chengpeng's exam results were so outstanding, this time, the person who came to deliver the notice was none other than Liu Guodong, the director of the commune.

As for Liu Ruizhe, he followed behind Director Liu as usual, still with that stern and unsmiling expression.

On the contrary, Liu Guodong smiled happily and even extended his right hand to Wang Chengpeng:
"Wow, I never thought that such a talented person as Comrade Wang could come from our small place."

"Fudan University, that's one of the best universities in the country. We might have to rely on Wang Chengpeng for support in the future."

Given how rare college students are, Liu Guodong's words, though exaggerated, are not entirely impossible. At least his words are much more plausible than Cao Deming's.

With a modest smile, Wang Chengpeng extended his right hand and shook hands with Liu Guodong:
"Director Liu, what are you saying? It's all thanks to you that Wangjia Village has been taken care of. How could I possibly have the ability to take care of you?"

Releasing his hand from Wang Chengpeng's, Liu Guodong patted Wang Fucheng's shoulder forcefully:

“Your Wangjia Village has accomplished a lot quietly. Not only did you produce a college student, but you also ran the Dapeng Sugar Factory quite well. We really need to take good care of you.”

At this point, Liu Guodong smiled knowingly:
"Even our family uses Dapeng white sugar, so the factories here are even more impressive than we imagined."

"Who knows, maybe one day the products from this factory will be sold in Shanghe City, or even further afield."

"But that's all for the future. The most urgent task right now is to do a good job of vetting Comrade Wang."

“Anyone who can get into university is definitely a good comrade. Fucheng, you have to help keep an eye on things. Don’t be too rigid about some things.”

Liu Guodong's words almost implied that Wang Fucheng had gone easy on him during the political vetting process. For him, having a college student from his jurisdiction was a political achievement, and as long as his political background was acceptable, he shouldn't have held him back during the political vetting.

“Comrade Wang is certainly a good comrade.” Wang Fucheng also smiled broadly. “Go to the village now and ask around; you probably won’t find a single person who says anything bad about Comrade Wang.”

"Don't worry, Director Liu, I will definitely handle this matter properly so that Comrade Wang can go to university smoothly."

"I've watched this child grow up since he was a baby. Don't I know in my heart whether he's a good person or not?"

Just as they were about to enter their familiar mutual flattery routine, Wang Chengpeng coughed lightly, interrupting their conversation, and asked Liu Guodong:

"Director Liu, may I ask you something? It's about the political background check. Am I the only one from Wangjia Village who has to participate?"

Upon hearing Wang Chengpeng's words, Liu Guodong was visibly taken aback for a moment, then seemed to realize what he meant and said meaningfully:
"Comrade Wang, it is certainly a good thing to care about the masses, but you should also pay a little more attention to reality."

"College students are a rare sight. In our small town, it's rare to see even one in ten years. How could they possibly appear in large numbers?"

"Putting everything else aside, the fact that you got into university is enough to make Wangjia Village the village of top students in the area."

"Alright, I have some things to do, so I won't stay here any longer today."

"Comrade Wang, if you have any difficulties, just come to the commune to find me. I will take good care of you, this rare college student."

It was at this moment that Wang Fucheng took over the conversation:
"Director Liu, rest assured, I will absolutely not let Comrade Wang suffer any injustice in the village."

"Wang Chengpeng's ability to get into university is a great honor for our village."

“His affairs are our village's affairs, so there’s no room for ambiguity.”

Nodding in satisfaction, Liu Guodong handed the prize he had specially brought to Wang Chengpeng, exchanged a few more pleasantries with Wang Fucheng, and then left Wangjia Village.

With the Lunar New Year approaching, there were many things to do in the commune. The only reason he was able to come here was because Wang Chengpeng's admission to university was such a big deal that he had to come.

After Liu Guodong left, Wang Fucheng said to Wang Chengpeng with a hint of disappointment:
“Nephew Cheng Peng, I know you are concerned about other people’s affairs, but you really shouldn’t have asked that question just now.”

"Come with me to the village office building. I'll make sure your political background check goes smoothly." Although he was somewhat prepared, Wang Fucheng was still incredibly shocked when the news of Wang Chengpeng's admission to university came.

She's a college student! According to Liu Guodong, their small village might not produce even one college student in ten years, yet she appeared so fresh and beautiful. How could that not be astonishing?

To everyone's surprise, Wang Chengpeng waved his hand at Wang Fucheng's invitation and said:
"Uncle, I know you mean well, but I think we should wait a little longer."

“I think several comrades in the village also did well on the exam. They might have to undergo political vetting together, so we should do it all at once.”

Hearing Wang Chengpeng's words, Wang Fucheng sighed heavily:

"Nephew Cheng Peng, what can I say about you? Why are you so honest?"

“I know you mean well, but it’s not as simple as you think.”

"It's already a blessing from God to produce even one college student; how can so many be produced at once?"

"Besides, you heard what Director Liu said. Although he didn't say it directly, he basically meant that you shouldn't overthink it. You're the only college student from the village."

I know everyone's results, how could there be any mistake?
If the message wasn't delivered, it's Song Wenxin's fault for not being helpful.

Thinking this way, Wang Chengpeng still stubbornly insisted on his opinion:

"Uncle, I understand what you're saying, but I think it's better to wait a little longer."

"You can start preparing now, at the latest within a week. If it's past that time, and you don't help with the political review meeting, I'll be urging you to hurry up and finish it."

A week? That's a time I can wait.

With more preparation time, he can make this political review meeting look great.

Thinking this through, Wang Fucheng nodded, acknowledging Wang Chengpeng's statement:

"Okay, then I'll wait a week. I'll also have time to prepare and help you put on a great political review meeting."

At this point, Wang Fucheng also stood up, turned around, and left.

The end of the year is the busiest time, and he has many things to deal with.

Just as he reached the door, he seemed to remember something and turned back, saying:

"Oh, right, there's something else I need to tell my good nephew."

"It's about what you said last time, about finding other villages to help grow sugar beets together."

"You really have a way with things. After the last meeting, I mentioned this to the neighboring villages, and three nearby villages immediately agreed."

"As for the village leaders, they said they needed to go back and calculate the transportation costs and think it over before making a decision, but they probably won't refuse."

"With their help in planting sugar beets, we shouldn't have to worry about the raw materials for sugar production."

"I've done the calculations carefully, and I'm confident that tomorrow's beet harvest will be at least twice as much as this year's."

At this point, Wang Fucheng's face showed obvious worry:

"Good nephew, please help your uncle figure out if my production plan is a bit too aggressive."

"That's twice the amount of cabbage! That can produce at least twice the amount of sugar. Can our village really sell all that sugar?"

A glint of longing flashed in Wang Fucheng's eyes. He suddenly remembered Liu Guodong's words and said with great emotion:

"If we can sell Dapeng white sugar to the neighboring city as Director Liu said, then so many sugar beets might have a chance to be used."

"Hey, if we really manage to sell Dapeng white sugar to other places, our Wangjia Village will become famous. That's something that not many villages can do."

After hearing Wang Fucheng's words, Wang Chengpeng thought for a moment and said:

"Uncle, you know I'm a conservative, so I think..."

Upon hearing this, Wang Fucheng's face darkened. He never imagined that Wang Chengpeng thought he had been too radical.

Heeding advice, he quickly followed Wang Chengpeng's suggestion and cancelled the production plans of the villages that were still observing the situation.

At the same time, he felt somewhat fortunate, thinking that he was lucky to have asked Wang Chengpeng for his opinion, otherwise he would have almost made a big mistake.

Before he could even feel relieved for three seconds, he heard Wang Chengpeng's unhurried voice:

"So I think Uncle's ideas are a bit too conservative."

Wang Fucheng: ...? ? ?
Under his astonished gaze, Wang Chengpeng continued:

"The neighboring city?"

"Let alone the neighboring city, I think it's possible to sell Dapeng white sugar throughout the province, or even the whole country."

Wang Chengpeng's words were not unfounded; he had absolute confidence that the explosive popularity of Dapeng White Sugar had not yet truly begun.

It's no exaggeration to say that the top scorer in the college entrance examination is a matter of concern for the entire province, especially for students, who often idolize them.

With Wang Chengpeng's promotion, it's only a matter of time before Dapeng white sugar becomes a hit throughout the province.

Although it was still a planned economy at that time, it did not mean that no one wanted to make money or that no supply and marketing cooperatives wanted to make money.

Once Dapeng white sugar becomes popular, people from other places will always sense the business opportunity and want to try it out.

Dapeng white sugar is of excellent quality, and with Wang Chengpeng's prestigious brand name as an advertisement, it's only a matter of time before it's sold throughout the province.

So Wang Fucheng's production plan was too conservative. Two times? Wang Chengpeng thought at least five times was needed!
With this in mind, Wang Chengpeng spoke decisively:

"Considering that our Dapeng white sugar is sold throughout the entire province, a production plan of twice the size is definitely not enough; it needs to be at least five times the size."

Seeing that Wang Fucheng was somewhat hesitant, Wang Chengpeng continued to persuade him:
"Don't be fooled by the seemingly large five-fold production plan. Judging from the sales situation of Dapeng white sugar this year, even five times the amount of white sugar won't be enough to keep much of it."

"Our factory's Dapeng white sugar has good packaging and a long shelf life. We produce and sell it simultaneously. Even if there is some left over, we only need to adjust the production plan for the following year."

"When preparing this kind of thing, the more plentiful the better, otherwise you'll be stuck like you are now, watching orders pour in but not daring to accept them."

"Once we miss this opportunity to make a fortune, we don't know how many more years we'll have to wait to sell Dapeng white sugar throughout the province again."

Considering transportation costs, it is clearly impossible to purchase sugar beets from other places, so we can only try to find a solution from the surrounding villages.

Wang Chengpeng is indeed a conservative—a conservative who thinks Wang Fucheng, this radical, is too conservative. (End of Chapter)