Reborn in 1994: Starting from the Autumn Harvest

Chen Hongguo leaned against the quilt and sighed. His son was still not giving up: "Your Uncle Guoqiang did agree, but where do we have any spare money?"

"Now that the price of lint has come down, under normal circumstances, standard grade seed cotton is only 1.62 yuan per jin (0.5 kg). How many jin of this grade of cotton can be produced from one mu (0.067 hectares)?"

"Given Guozhu's current mindset, everyone should reflect on whether he managed those 45 acres of land well before. If he did, fine; if he didn't, you can expect to lose money."

"You also need to consider whether to apply early-morning cream in the future; if you do, you'll have to reduce production."

"Do you think making money is so easy? If you calculate it this way, it's only about 400 yuan per mu. Think about how much you have to pay to lease the land. How can we compete with them?"

Chen Mian leaned against the door frame and firmly uttered two words: "Loan."

"No!"

Chen Hongguo sat up abruptly, his expression changing drastically.

"Your older brother was so strapped for cash when he built his house and got married, I didn't even think about taking out a loan. Don't even think about leasing land. Aren't you ashamed?"

"Son, what are you up to now?" Tang Xiuyun stepped forward and patted Chen Mian's arm, her heart filled with anxiety. "Go ask around the village and see if anyone has gone out to borrow money to make ends meet."

Chen Mian shook her head helplessly; these deeply ingrained traditional ideas could not be changed overnight.

The villagers believe that being debt-free is a blessing, and anyone who takes out a loan is considered to be in debt, wasteful, and living on borrowed money.

Those who are interested in taking out loans are hesitant to take that step, either because of rumors or fear of being harassed by creditors if they can't repay on time.

In my memory, the rural credit cooperative in the township had also held promotional events in the village, but every household just smiled politely and let it go in one ear and out the other, absolutely refusing to do anything that would make them a laughing stock.

Up until he went to prison, he had never heard of anyone taking out a loan.

Fortunately, I am a reborn person and have my own clever plan.

"Dad, Mom, you've miscalculated. The money earned from these 45 acres of land is definitely more than this."

Chen Hongguo and Tang Xiuyun found their son increasingly difficult to understand. His words often seemed inexplicable, but after analyzing them, they had to admit that they made sense.

Over time, the couple got used to this situation.

However, the land lease agreement was already finalized; the price of cotton was posted on the wall of the brigade headquarters, and no matter how much research was done, there was a cap on the price.

Even with such undeniable facts, Chen Mian still managed to argue.

"Come on, tell me how to calculate it?" Chen Hongguo crossed his arms and became increasingly serious.

Chen Mian didn't rush to speak, but instead went to the desk drawer and took out a pencil and paper.

随后就在桌上写下了一段话：从1994年9月1日新棉上市起……标準级皮辊棉收购价格每50公斤由330元统一提高到405元。

"Dad, Mom, you just saw this at the brigade headquarters, right?" Chen Mian pushed the white paper onto the kang (a heated brick bed).

"Yes."

"That's right."

The couple nodded in agreement, but their faces showed even more confusion, not understanding what their son meant.

"Dad, do you remember what the announcement said last year?"

Chen Hongguo scratched his head, genuinely unable to recall: "It's all in the past, why bother remembering that stuff?"

"Dad, this is a big deal, I'll remember it." Chen Mian shook her head meaningfully, then grabbed a piece of white paper and was about to write.

Chen Hongguo and his wife exchanged a glance, then quickly went to the round table and focused on their son writing, one character at a time.

Chen Mian has changed so much lately that the couple are secretly wondering if she's run into something dirty.

Now, seeing his scrawled handwriting with my own eyes, I can confirm that it is indeed my precious son.

"Starting from the 1993 cotton year (September 1st of this year)... the price will be increased from 300 yuan to 330 yuan per dan (unit of weight)..."

Upon first glance at this passage, Chen Hongguo suddenly remembered everything. It was exactly the same information as the announcement from last year, the only difference being that the cotton price was announced earlier this year.

He carefully read through it several times, becoming increasingly confused: "It really is what was said in last year's announcement, so what does it matter?"

"Dad, Mom, please read the words carefully again."

The couple read it twice more, then shook their heads in unison, completely bewildered.

Chen Mian grabbed a pencil and circled "New Year Launch" and "Annual" respectively: "Dad, Mom, do you think these two words really mean the same thing?"

The couple chewed on the two words several times, and they could indeed sense that they were extraordinary, but due to their low level of education, they found it difficult to understand.

Tang Xiuyun's face darkened: "Why are you talking so much nonsense? If you have something to say, just say it. Don't brag to your parents."

Chen Mian: "..."

"Mom and Dad, isn't the price of cotton coming up a bit too early this year?"

The two nodded in agreement.

"Has cotton production decreased in the past two years?"

The couple nodded again.

"Was there only one announcement regarding the unified purchase of cotton in 93, but was there another announcement regarding a price increase issued at the beginning of 94?"

The couple thought for a moment, then nodded solemnly.

"Does that mean 'annual' means it's only issued once a year?"

"So what does 'new cotton on the market' mean? Think about it carefully."

After thinking it over carefully, Chen Hongguo and his wife suddenly felt a buzzing in their heads.

Staring blankly at the two circled words on the white paper, his thoughts churning, he widened his eyes and couldn't speak.

Chen Mian breathed a sigh of relief; lying and covering up lies was too tiring.

One has to admire the official team's meticulous attention to detail in their use of language; if I hadn't been reborn, I really wouldn't have noticed such a detail.

These farmers with lower levels of education are even less likely to understand; it would be like reading gibberish to them, and they would only remember the price figures and the implementation date.

I was just wondering how to convince my parents to agree to the loan, and this reason couldn't be more perfect.

After a while, the couple sat quietly on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), their hearts pounding.

Tang Xiuyun asked incredulously, "Son, can we really raise the price again?"

Chen Mian could sense her parents' complicated feelings, so she poured them a glass of water to calm them down.

"The cotton selling season is in mid-to-late October. Before that, the government will likely adjust prices again. Think about how much money people have made growing cotton, corn, and grain in the past two years. How many people are still willing to grow cotton?"

"Let's prepare for the worst. Even if there's no price adjustment, what losses will we incur? At worst, we'll break even and gain some publicity."

Chen Mian really wanted to tell her parents that the official year-end settlement benchmark price would be released on September 28th.

为了刺激农民种棉花的积极性，决定把标準级皮辊棉从每50公斤/405元上调至每50公斤/500元，此外还有44元额外补贴。

Although this set of documents was released at the end of September, it requires careful digestion and customization during the process of passing it down.

The situation in each region is different, so the news didn't reach the village until mid-October, and this lag brought some unique problems.