Since Li Chunhua was in charge of raising chickens, Qian Shulan asked her to learn to raise earthworms. Qian Shulan had heard that chickens that eat earthworms lay more eggs and the egg yolks are better.
Li Chunhua thought that she had nothing to do there except feeding the chickens, so she agreed.
Qian Shulan also specifically asked Wang Shouyi to build a thatched hut on the slope that Li Chunhua was responsible for.
Earthworms prefer moist soil, so it is necessary to build a straw shed. In order to prevent chickens from coming to eat the immature earthworms, the straw shed is surrounded by a fishing net. Then, unfermented cow dung, horse dung, and pig dung are mixed together for composting, and then some earthworms are caught and put in. Cover with wheat straw, shade and moisture, and water once a day to replenish moisture in the fertilizer.
When the earthworms are big, you can pick out the big ones and feed them to the chickens.
After a period of time, there was a significant improvement. Some of the hens under Li Chunhua's care could lay one egg in a day.
You know, with the food the team gave them, the hens could only eat half full, and it would take two or three days to lay an egg. Now she has earthworms as a snack, and if she feeds the chickens well, they can lay an egg a day.
Li Chunhua was so excited that she became even more convinced of her mother-in-law's words.
When her mother-in-law asked her to boil water for the chickens to prevent chicken plague, Li Chunhua did not mind the trouble and really used a casserole to boil water and feed it to the chickens.
When the chickens started laying eggs, Qian Shulan went to find Qian Minghua.
"I want to help sell some eggs and make a contribution to our team. I have a connection." This is a hint to sell them on the black market.
Qian Minghua frowned, a little worried, "Aunt, the roads are being checked very strictly now. It would be terrible if we were caught. Let's just forget it!" Because they were afraid of people stealing food, almost every village would have militia on duty, and they would question strangers passing by. Naturally, the food would also be checked.
Qian Shulan said confidently, "Believe me, I know someone and I will definitely not be caught. I'll charge four cents for an egg, okay?" Eggs were two cents now, so double the price she gave was a very good price.
Qian Minghua was a little tempted, "But our production team has a cooperation with the supply and marketing cooperative, and the number of eggs you can sell is very limited."
Qian Shulan then mentioned that the chickens that Li Chunhua was in charge of could lay one egg a day, and also emphasized the role of earthworms.
Hearing this, Qian Minghua was stunned. He jumped up from the stool and spun around excitedly. Then he stared at Qian Shulan and asked, "Aunt, can you really lay an egg a day? Are you kidding me?"
Qian Shulan nodded confidently and replied, "Of course, do you think I'm joking?"
Qian Minghua really believed it this time and said yes repeatedly. However, after he was excited, he still did not immediately agree, "Auntie, I need to discuss this matter with Shouquan and the accountant, so I can't give you an answer right away. I will tell you the result tomorrow."
Qian Shulan also knew Qian Minghua's concerns.
After all, this was not something Qian Minghua could do alone. After all, if the higher-ups came down to check the accounts, the source of the extra money would have to be explained.
When eggs were sold to the supply and marketing cooperative, not only did they have accounts, but the supply and marketing cooperative also had accounts. If the two sides didn't match, it would be bad. These cadres would definitely suffer. She remembered that during the Four Cleanups Movement, many cadres were dismissed.
Qian Shulan naturally couldn't let anything happen to Qian Minghua, so she gave him some advice, "Use the money from the sales to make up for the shortfall in buying grain directly, and don't do any registration, so no one will find out." It is very dangerous to buy grain privately without a ticket.
Qian Minghua's eyes lit up. It was indeed against the rules for them to buy food privately. If the higher-ups came down to check the accounts, there would definitely be a deficit, and then they would be finished. The idea of the younger sister-in-law was great. She just made up for it. They didn't have to worry anymore.
"Okay, I'll talk to them."
Qian Shulan nodded and went home.
The next day, Qian Minghua gave her a reply, agreeing to let her sell the extra eggs. Qian Shulan was not surprised at all. Her idea just hit the spot, and it would be stupid to disagree.
Wang Shouquan had personally observed that the chickens in charge of Li Chunhua could indeed lay one egg a day, so he began to let others follow suit to raise earthworms and feed the chickens boiled water.
Soon, the number of eggs in Wangjia Village increased by one or two times more than usual.
The team also specially rewarded Li Chunhua with 30 eggs. Some people even praised her as a "chicken-raising expert."
However, this reward cannot be taken home. It must be placed in the cafeteria and eaten one every day for a month.
Li Chunhua wanted to give the eggs to her mother-in-law, after all, it was her mother-in-law who suggested it, but her mother-in-law didn't want to. Li Chunhua gave them to Zhuzi instead. The three children were so jealous that Li Chunhua felt bad. She changed the eggs to four per day, one for each child. Her mother-in-law seemed to have told her that girls could be filial to her as well, and that they would be grateful to her if she treated them well.
Since she was awarded the title of "chicken-raising expert", the people in the team no longer looked down on her like before, always looking at her with pity. Now they looked at her with admiration. This made her feel excited like never before. She also admired Qian Shulan, her mother-in-law, more and more.
After Qian Shulan brought the eggs back, she converted them into money and gave it to the team. She did not go to the county town to sell them, but put them directly into the space to be eaten in times of famine.
Of course, it was necessary to pretend. Every day before dawn, Qian Shulan would get up, carry a big basket and go out for more than an hour before coming back. Qian Minghua thought she was sold to the town. He was relieved. There were a lot of militia on the way to the county town, and he was really worried. It was different to go to the town, which shortened the journey by more than half. It was also relatively safer.
In Liuguan County, the atmosphere in the county party committee office was very depressing.
Since receiving the latest instructions from above - all departments and localities must give priority to steel and iron production and construction and make way for the "Steel Marshal's promotion", everyone has been silent.
Suddenly, a man in black looked at everyone and whispered, "Everyone is making steel. Didn't those talismans that caused a stir a while ago say 'Everyone is making steel, disaster will occur'? Will there really be a disaster?"
The man in blue opposite him sneered at him subconsciously and retorted, "What era is it now? You are still practicing feudal superstition. I think you should be arrested and reformed."
The man glared at him. "Then tell me, why were those seven words written on the talisman? How could the latest instructions, which we just received today, come out several months in advance? If this isn't a warning from heaven, what is it?"
The man in blue stood up and said, "Perhaps this is a strategy of the enemy. If our country wants to become a great power, its industrial level must be advanced. These enemies are just spreading some rumors to deliberately make us give up the idea of developing industry."
The man immediately retorted, "I think you are talking nonsense. What is there in Liuguan County that is worth those people going to such great lengths to deal with? Have we manufactured airplanes or tanks? They want us to give up the development of industry, not run to Beijing, and stay here to mess around. You really can think of it!"
The man in blue was also a little angry when he was pointed at and scolded, but he couldn't find any reason to refute him for a while. Indeed, if they really wanted to stop their country from developing industry, it would be useless to disturb the people of Liuguan County. Liuguan County is a small city among the four counties. There are not many factories, workers are also few and far between, and the land is barren. It is not worth their trouble at all.
Secretary Pan (Pan Dinglin) glanced at everyone and tapped the table. "Comrades, we are Communist Party members and atheists, so how can we believe in those stories about gods and ghosts? The mass steel-making campaign is the glorious mission the Party has given us. We will surpass Britain in three years and catch up with the United States in five years. The Great Leap Forward, the general line and the people's communes are the three red flags set by the Party. We must firmly support the Party's policies." He glanced at Guo Changrong, who had an expressionless face beside him, and said earnestly, "Old Guo, although we have always been at odds, this time..."
Before he could finish his words, Guo Changrong immediately took over the conversation, "Leave the steel task to me this time, and you take care of other matters."
Pan Dinglin was a little surprised, obviously not expecting him to say that.
Guo Changrong touched his head and smiled, "My son works in a steel mill. Every day when he comes home, he tells me how great and glorious steelmaking is. I have calluses on my ears from hearing him talk so much. Now that he finally has a chance to get involved in this field, I must let this kid know how powerful his father is."
When everyone heard him speak in anger, they all burst into laughter.
Pan Dinglin forced out a fake smile as if to suit the situation. He always felt that Guo Changrong had other intentions. He had dealt with Guo Changrong so many times and knew this guy well. He looked rough, but in fact he had a lot of tricks. He had suffered countless losses from him.
He took the document with both hands and said, "Old Guo, I know you want to win glory, but this time let me do it."
Guo Changrong frowned and suddenly changed the subject, asking, "Wangziwan, have all the houses you tore down in Xiaowangzhuang been rebuilt?"
Pan Dinglin's face darkened when he heard this. These two places were the production teams closest to the county town, and he ordered them to be demolished. But due to limited funds, the houses were not built at all. Now Guo Changrong brought this up, wasn't he deliberately exposing his shortcomings
Without waiting for Pan Dinglin to speak, Guo Changrong supported himself on the table with both hands, stood up and said, "Comrades, what Pan said just now is right. This is a task assigned to us by the country, a major event to win glory for the country. Let alone a small piece of talisman paper, even if there is a row of tanks in front of us shooting at us, we have to go over. There is nothing that cannot be done, only things that cannot be imagined. We must boldly liberate our minds and resolutely carry out the tasks assigned to us by the Party and the country. Please raise your hands to vote on who will carry out this task, me or Secretary Pan. Please raise your hands if you agree that I will be the Iron Marshal this time!"
When they have disagreements, they vote by raising their hands, which fully reflects democracy.
Pan Dinglin didn't expect that his usually honest and fawning partner would actually plot against him. He just scolded him and asked everyone to vote. He didn't even give him time to canvass for votes.
This is simply too much.
He wanted to object, but everyone had already raised their hands.
Eight people agreed, which is more than half.
Guo Changrong said to Pan Dinglin, "Old Pan, don't worry, I will definitely complete the task successfully this time and strive to complete the task assigned to us as soon as possible."
Pan Dinglin laughed dryly and said, "Congratulations!"
Humph! I'll let you be proud for now! Even if you become the Iron Marshal, what can you do? The higher-ups still don't like you! You still have to stay in this small place.
After returning home, Guo Changrong rubbed his brows, leaned back on the sofa tiredly, and began to close his eyes to rest. Bai Lizhu came over, sat next to him and rubbed his temples, and asked softly, "What's wrong? Your face is so dark."
Guo Changrong let out a long sigh, "There is a new policy from above, requiring the whole nation to engage in steelmaking."
Bai Lizhu didn't quite understand this. "Did you and Lao Pan quarrel again? That guy is quite cunning, you'd better not fight with him. You..."
Guo Changrong waved his hand to interrupt her, "I stole his Iron Marshal."
Bai Lizhu was a little confused, "Why? Don't you usually not have conflicts with him?"
Guo Changrong opened his eyes and whispered in her ear, "Do you remember the talisman paper? Do you remember the words on it?"
Bai Lizhu nodded heavily. Although she didn't believe in Taoism, she believed in Buddhism. She also had the attitude of "it's better to believe it than not to believe it" towards the talisman paper.
Guo Changrong reminded her quietly, "Think about what's written on it."
Bai Lizhu quickly said, "The national steelmaking disaster is coming."
After he finished speaking, he clapped his hands suddenly and stared at Guo Changrong, "You mean? There's going to be a famine?"
Guo Changrong sighed, "Who knows. That's why I took the title of Iron Marshal. If that kid Lao Pan had taken the position, I guess he wouldn't have left anyone for me. I can understand that the higher-ups want to make steel in a big way for the good of the country, but the country folk don't know anything about making iron. They haven't learned any knowledge, and we don't have any coke here, so how can we make it? What can we use to make it?" After saying that, he sighed heavily.
Guo Changrong often discussed steel knowledge with Guo Zhengliang. For example, the production of coke, the fuel for steelmaking, was very limited. How could they possibly distribute it to the people
Without coke, using only charcoal cannot reach high temperatures and molten iron cannot be melted.
That's why he followed Pan Dinglin's lead and took over the task.
Didn't Pan Dinglin become the secretary of Liuguan County just because he was good at bragging? If everything had to give way to the Iron Marshal, would the autumn harvest be ignored
If the grain cannot be harvested and if there is a real famine, what will happen to the people of Liuguan County
He couldn't gamble! So, he resolutely took over the task.
After deciding on the Iron Marshal commander-in-chief, Guo Changrong took his men to the province to attend meetings.
Following the above instructions, Liuguan County started the first round of road construction.
Guo Changrong recruited personnel from various departments to form a team of two hundred people.
Prince Bay and Xiaowangzhuang, which had been demolished by Pan Dinglin's order, were razed to the ground by Guo Changrong and his men.
Then, at these two locations, earthen blast furnaces were built using the bricks that had been removed previously.
The author has something to say: Thank you to the little angels for the landmines, muah. In order to repay everyone’s love, I will update four chapters today!
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