Xu Zifan had already cut pig feed in front of the villagers, so naturally it was time for him to start working. Yang Yongqing suggested that he become a primary school teacher, but Xu Zifan refused. He didn't like being a teacher; his only passion was business and becoming the richest man. Only business could excite him. So, considering that he was still recovering, Yang Yongqing assigned him the work of herding cattle and weeding. Each cow was only two centimeters long, for a total of four centimeters—less than a half-grown child.
Xu Zifan wasn't in a hurry. Health is the foundation of everything; he needed to get his body in good shape before doing anything else. While herding cattle, he would run, do frog jumps, and push-ups nearby. Since no one else was around, he exercised comfortably. Having practiced several times before, he had gained some experience and could create a fitness plan tailored to his own body. Although it was tiring, the results were excellent. To live in the village, you had to build up your strength first.
Through recollections and casual conversations with others, he gained a basic understanding of the situation during that period. Individuals weren't allowed to run businesses, but selling small quantities of goods was generally acceptable, and hunting for food was also fine. This was why things weren't strictly enforced in their region; any hint of reform from above would deter arrests.
Xu Zifan hadn't given up on his business idea. After all, what would he do during those years if he had to wait several years? Nothing would be interesting. People can always find a solution, so he wasn't in a hurry. Right now, he just made sure he performed well while weeding, exercised while herding cattle, and after work, when everyone else went home for dinner, he would go to the back mountain to hunt.
He had seen everyone struggling and assumed that hunting was forbidden, so he secretly took a few fish and a dozen sparrows back with him. Later he learned that seasonings were limited at that time, and cooking was done with little oil; basically, as long as it was cooked through, it was fine. Of course, no one wanted to eat fish with a fishy smell or sparrows that would get stuck in their teeth. Only some teenagers who were starving would eat these things.
As for pheasants and rabbits, people would occasionally hunt them, and some even had air rifles and had shot roe deer. But one time, a hunter was killed by a wild boar, so people stopped venturing into the mountains and only hunted on the outskirts. Over time, these animals became clever and hid deep in the mountains, making it very difficult for people to catch them.
Their village has black soil, and the fields produce decent crops. Although no one in the village can afford to eat refined grains every day, they can manage with thick porridge and a flatbread, and they generally don't get too hungry. Besides, everyone is already tired enough from working, so naturally no one puts any more energy into this.
Xu Zifan, however, saw this as a business opportunity. The saying goes, "Those who live near the mountains live off the mountains, those who live near the water live off the water." How abundant are the resources in these mountains? They can all be turned into money! Like the wild boar in the deep mountains—if there's a way to get some, the meat is fresh and delicious, and it'll definitely sell well. There are also several kinds of wild fruits in the mountains. Although they're either sour or sweet and sour, and not many people eat them normally, if they could be brought to big cities and sold to people with spare money who like snacks, or made into canned goods and sold as gifts, those would be excellent sales channels.
Then there are mushrooms, black fungus, walnuts, pine nuts and the like from the mountains. The villagers have seen them so often that they don't find them strange or even delicious. But these things are quite nutritious. If they could be packaged into gift boxes, they could definitely be sold as local specialties.
And what about the fish in the river? People aren't too keen on cooking them, so what if they were made into canned fish?
Without a market, these ideas are just pipe dreams; finding a market is a chance to make a fortune. Xu Zifan wandered around the mountains, caught no wild animals, but set a trap and roasted two fish to take back. His mind was filled with ideas for making money.
After returning home and finishing his meal, he moved a small stool to sit next to Yang Yongqing and said, "Dad, how was your meeting yesterday? Did the commune give any new instructions?"
Yang Yongqing frowned and sighed, "What else could it be? The autumn harvest is just around the corner, and they say they want to hand over more grain, preferably more than other places. But honestly, what's the point of comparing? Letting our fellow villagers have a little more to eat is better than anything else. What's the use of comparing that?"
Comparisons certainly have their uses; winning one gets you praise from above, which is recorded in your personnel file and becomes an advantage for future promotions. It's just that it's tough on ordinary people; to compete like this, they have to tighten their belts. The problem is, if they pay this much this time, they can't pay less next time. If this continues, the grain distributed to ordinary people will only decrease.
Xu Zifan, however, felt that having such a commune leader was an opportunity for him. He moved closer to Yang Yongqing and whispered, "Dad, the commune leader just wants people to see our commune's achievements. The whole country needs food now, but it also needs other things. If we can get some food to sell, that will be a political achievement for the commune. Whether it's making money or exchanging for goods, it will definitely improve the situation in our village."
Yang Yongqing's expression changed, and he looked at him and said, "What do you want to do? What food do we have in our village? All that grain belongs to the state, so we definitely can't touch it. Even the pigs and chickens that every household raises, half of them have to be handed over to the state. Besides, they won't allow us to sell things."
"Private businesses won't allow it, but of course the government will. Otherwise, how would those factories have been established?" Xu Zifan said with a smile. "Dad, don't worry, I'm not talking about the government's grain. I'm talking about the mountains. I've been going to the mountains a lot these past few days, haven't I? There are so many wild fruits and mountain delicacies there that I've never seen before. They don't exist anywhere else. These are our local specialties. They're worthless here, but they're rare finds outside."
Yang Yongqing had never heard of such a thing before. He had never been outside the country and had never imagined that there were so many different things in different parts of the country. Upon hearing this, he asked in bewilderment, "That can't be right, can it? What's so delicious about those things? And can they even be sold for money?"
"Of course it needs to be packaged; it can't be sold as an ordinary product."
"It's just an ordinary thing, what else would you call it if not ordinary?"
"Nutritional supplements," Xu Zifan said, looking at him. "Malva extract is so precious because it's nutritious. Eggs are too, from our mountain…"
The ingredients inside are also nutritious, and we don't lie. We just figure out which aspects of the body they're good for, print them out, and stick them on the packaging. Surely people will buy them.
Yang Yongqing had no idea what nutritional value those things growing all over the mountains had; many fruits were rotten and no one wanted to eat them—they were so sour. But seeing how logically Xu Zifan spoke, he began to suspect that people outside might indeed be lacking these things. However, the idea of a government-run factory was still out of the question.
He shook his head and frowned, saying, "Fanzi, Dad knows what you want to do, but it has to be reliable and down-to-earth. I've never heard of any of these things you're talking about. No way, what qualifications do we have to open a factory? Look at those factories in the county, we can't even get a job as a worker. Those positions are so competitive that you have to fight for them. Opening a factory isn't as easy as you think."
Xu Zifan didn't think it would be difficult at all, and laughed, "Where there's a will, there's a way. Why don't you take me with you next time you go to the county, Dad? How will we know if we don't try? If the commune leader doesn't agree, so be it. At most, he'll scold us, but we won't lose anything. Besides, other factories are so high and mighty because they offer city jobs, city residency, and housing. Even if we open one, it'll be in this village, and the workers will be our fellow villagers. We don't need the county to allocate grain or give us residency. Our demands are so low, maybe the commune leader will agree?"
Yang Yongqing thought about it and it seemed to make sense, but what was this about opening a factory in the village? Who would do that? Why was this kid so fixated on this?
Xu Zifan then talked to him about the future development prospects, painting a rosy picture for him. As the village chief, his greatest wish was for all the villagers to have enough to eat and wear and live a good life. If what Xu Zifan said could really come true, then life in their village seemed even better than in the city!
Xu Zifan talked for two hours straight, until it was completely dark, before Yang Yongqing finally nodded in agreement. Xu Zifan happily washed up quickly and went back to his room to lie down. He was quite knowledgeable about brainwashing; if he could brainwash Yang Yongqing today, he could brainwash the commune leader tomorrow. It was all just about making empty promises; with the lure of profit, most goals could be achieved. Besides, their commune leader was someone eager for results, which was perfect.
Yang Wanyun rolled over, looked at him, and asked softly, "Is what you told Dad about the ways you're thinking of to make money? Can those things in the mountains really be sold for money?"
Xu Zifan nodded, "It's really possible, otherwise why would I bother with all this trouble?"
"So you really want to go see the president in person and tell him? Aren't you afraid?"
"I haven't done anything wrong, what's there to be afraid of? I'm an activist. Didn't the country send me to the countryside to study? So, I've learned about the beauty of this village and found food that I want to share with everyone. Isn't that the best learning outcome? Even if he doesn't praise me, he can't criticize me, otherwise he'll be discouraging the educated youth from making progress. Don't worry, I won't get scolded."
Because Xu Zifan also turned his face, the two were now only as far apart as a pillow. Lying on the kang in the dark, looking at each other so close, Yang Wanyun suddenly felt her face flush and awkwardly said, "Who was worried about you?"
After saying that, she turned over and leaned against the wall. Xu Zifan raised an eyebrow, took the pillow and put it on the stool, saying casually, "It's too cramped to put a pillow on such a small kang. Don't put it there in the future."
Yang Wanyun's face flushed instantly. Luckily, they were sharing a blanket, or she would have jumped up right now. Although they were a married couple, their relationship had always been terrible, and they had never acted like husband and wife. Now that the misunderstanding was cleared up and the pillow was gone, what should they do next?
Yang Wanyun's heart was pounding erratically, but Xu Zifan didn't actually do anything. He simply tucked her in and whispered, "It's late, go to sleep. We have to get up early to work tomorrow."
Yang Wanyun breathed a sigh of relief, quietly shrank into the quilt, closed her eyes, and fell asleep.
Xu Zifan smiled. Although dating wasn't very popular these days—many couples got married after only one meeting and didn't even remember each other's faces, and their lives went on just the same—he still felt they should date and let things develop naturally into a real marriage. Maybe he should even buy a house and make up for the dowry he'd paid for the wedding. Getting married with nothing wasn't his style.
That night, Xu Zifan dreamed all night long, almost entirely about how to open a factory and make money. In this era of constraints, there were still loopholes to exploit. If you knew how, you could seize the opportunities of this era and become one of the first to get rich! After dreaming about opening a factory, he dreamed of a Manchu Han Imperial Feast. Exercising every day and eating so little was really not enough to satisfy him; he woke up hungry in the middle of the night.
Author's Note: Lan Gui kindly reminds you: Remember to bookmark this page after reading, so you can be notified of updates as soon as they're released! (*^▽^*)
I've seen many readers want Zifan to go into politics, but that's not allowed. These days, writing isn't allowed to involve politics, nor can it depict the protagonist as a soldier or police officer. Actually, there are many taboos in writing, and stories in this era often contain sensitive topics that I'll omit. There might also be some of my own personal interpretations included. Just treat it as a fictional era!