Fertilizer problem 127

  When Lin Zhenhua asked, Cen Youxin replied: "Needless to say. This chapter is about the past, crops are a branch of flowers, all relying on fertilizer at home. My family needs chemical fertilizers, my uncle's family also needs fertilizers. Right, Uncle?

  His next sentence was addressed to Cen Yuyong's father, who was his own uncle.

  Cen Youjun's father hastily replied: "Youxian is right, Xiao Lin, if you can help us buy some fertilizer, that would be a great help to us."

  "Doesn't your supply and marketing cooperative sell fertilizers?" Lin Zhenhua still didn't quite understand.

  Cen Youxin smiled wryly and said, "Xiaolin is really a city person, he doesn't know about our rural situation. Our supply and marketing cooperative can only distribute that little bit of fertilizer per year, and the households with connections will take away half of it. What's left is distributed to each village, and every household can't even get one bag of fertilizer, which is far from enough. In this season, if you don't put some fertilizer on the fields, the rice won't grow well, and the yield will be at least 20% lower."

  "That's right." Lin Zhenhua nodded and didn't continue speaking.

  Cen Youjun saw Lin Zhenhua's hesitant expression and quickly helped him out, saying: "Right New Brother, Dad, don't be too hard on Little Lin. Although he is a current cadre now, he is only a mid-level cadre after all. Once he leaves the factory, his words won't count for much. Let's handle this fertilizer purchase ourselves."

  Lin Zhenhua hastily explained: "Paichang, you misunderstood me. I wasn't feeling troubled just now, but was thinking about who to ask to buy fertilizer through. The people I know are all from Jiangnan Province, and I don't know if they have any connections with our Xiangping Province. Otherwise, where can we make a long-distance call? I'll make a call first to get in touch."

  Cen Youxin said, "If Xiaolin wants to make a long-distance call, I know the commune can do it. There is a phone in the commune secretary's office that can make long-distance calls, and I've seen people go there to make calls."

  "Okay, that's fine. After dinner, I'll trouble Right Xin to take me there. I'll make a few calls to ask about the situation and try to solve some fertilizer problems for Pai Zhang and Right Xin's family..."

  Chemical fertilizer is a big problem, and Lin Zhenhua doesn't have much confidence in his heart. The only person he has ever had contact with is the director of the second chemical plant, Yuan Feng, but he doesn't know if the other party still remembers him. However, since things have come to this point, he can only make do with a dead horse as if it were alive.

  After having this sumptuous lunch, Lin Zhenhua went to the commune to make a long-distance call under the accompaniment of Cen Youxin. Cen Youxin was very interested in Lin Zhenhua's current situation and asked him many questions.

  Cen Youxin is only 30 years old, an uncultured peasant. His parents passed away one after another not long after he got married, now his family has only him, his wife and two children.

  In the past two years, although the policy above has not been fully relaxed, in the grassroots rural areas, a household contract responsibility system has begun to be implemented. Chen Youxin's wife is not in good health and cannot do too much farm work, so only Chen Youxin can do the farm work, and it is quite difficult to cultivate those few mu of contracted land.

  Like all young farmers, Cen Youxin also has a heart that yearns to get rich. However, in this rural area, it's harder to get rich than to reach the sky. When Cen Youxin saw some individual vendors setting up small stalls in the county town, he had the idea of coming into the city to set up a stall, which would be better than farming at home. But doing business requires capital, and he didn't have that kind of money, nor did he dare abandon his family's land, so this idea could only remain as just an idea.

  This time Lin Zhenhua came to his home, he saw at a glance that Lin Zhenhua was a rich man, whether it was dressing up or generously letting Tian Xiaolan buy meat, all showed that he was an adult with a very considerable income. At the dinner table, Lin Zhenhua talked about his experiences in Hanhua Factory, and Xun Youxin listened most seriously. Lin Zhenhua's stories further confirmed Xun Youxin's view that Lin Zhenhua was indeed a capable person. Such a capable person, Xun Youxin had never met before.

  Lin Zhenhua was asked to help buy fertilizer, which was a sudden inspiration of Cen Youxin. He felt that if he didn't take advantage of someone like this, he would miss an opportunity himself.

  "Kobayashi, you said that Hanhua Industrial Company is your company, right?" asked Shimura Yoshizumi.

  Lin Zhenhua hastily denied: "No, it's not like that, I'm just the manager. This company is a joint venture with all parties involved, and the factory also has shares in it..."

  He and Cen Youxin are not yet familiar enough to reveal their equity relationship, so they will be vague for the time being.

  "After all, you're the leader, right?" Xun Youxin said undeterred. "How much money can your workers get per month now?"

  "Ordinary workers, their wages are around 400 yuan a month. If they work well, bonuses and overtime pay can add up to over 2000 yuan."

  "That month wouldn't have 70 blocks?!" Xun Youxin's eyes widened.

  "It's almost there." Lin Zhenhua said in a low voice.

  "We farm for a whole year and only earn 200-300 yuan. You workers, on the other hand, earn 70 yuan per month, which is equivalent to our annual income in just three or four months."

  "This might be the scissors difference between industry and agriculture." Lin Zhenhua had no choice but to use official tone to muddle through.

  "Alas, being a farmer is really tough. In the next life, I'll definitely be reborn into a worker's family." Xian Youxin complained.

  Cen Youjun's village was not far from the commune, and the two of them soon arrived at the town where the commune was located. Cen Youxin led Lin Zhenhua straight to the commune's main courtyard, and when they reached the entrance, he said to the gate guard, "We're here to make a phone call." The gate guard let them in.

  The Yonghe Commune had only one telephone that could make long-distance calls, and in order to facilitate the secretary's external communication, this phone was placed in the secretary's office. However, sometimes some individuals or units within the commune needed to use the long-distance phone, so they had to run to the secretary's office to make the call while paying for the long-distance fee.

  As time went on, this became a convention. Anyone who paid the money could come to the secretary's office to make long-distance calls, and the secretary's office directly became a long-distance telephone room.

  The secretary had no opinion on this, because in fact, people and units that can afford long-distance phone bills are very rare, so usually they don't bother him even once a month.

  But today was different, Lin Zhenhua came to the secretary's office and directly handed over 50 yuan to the secretary in charge of the phone, asking him to open a long-distance call. Lin Zhenhua knew that this phone call would cost at least 50 yuan.

  Lin Zhenhua's first call was to Yuan Feng, and the phone went straight into Yuan Feng's office. At first, Yuan Feng didn't remember who Lin Zhenhua was and had a somewhat cold attitude. When Lin Zhenhua mentioned the main issue, Yuan Feng suddenly became enthusiastic, and that bright laughter, even after being attenuated by hundreds of kilometers of telephone lines, still buzzed in Lin Zhenhua's ears.

  "Ah, Director Lin! Oh dear, I'm so sorry, I was momentarily confused and didn't expect you to be the one calling." Yuan Feng apologized over the phone.

  Lin Zhenhua said: "Don't mention it, Director Yuan, I'm afraid you'll forget about me."

  "How can I forget? Last time Secretary Xie came to inspect our work, we even talked about you. Secretary Xie has a high opinion of you."

  Lin Zhenhua nodded secretly, he knew why Yuan Feng was so enthusiastic about him, after all, it was because of Xie Chunyan's face. Lin Zhenhua had been on the rise recently and was considered a small celebrity within the Light Industry Hall system. He was just 20 years old, with boundless prospects ahead of him. Ordinary workers might not think that far ahead, but someone like Yuan Feng, who was at the level of a factory director, couldn't possibly not think about it.

  "Right, Director Lin, is this a long-distance call? Don't waste your money, what's the matter that you called me?" Yuan Feng said.

  Lin Zhenhua said, "Director Yuan, I have a small favor to ask of you. I have an old squad leader who is my benefactor and saved my life on the battlefield. He's now a disabled veteran living in the countryside and his family needs fertilizer. Can you help resolve this?"

  Yuan Feng replied without hesitation: "No problem, go ahead and tell me, which county is he from?"

  Xiangping Province, Yuefeng County.

  "Xiangping Province?" Yuan Feng curled his lips on the other end of the phone, "Director Lin, I can get you fertilizer, but it's such a long way, how are you going to transport the fertilizer over there?"

  Lin Zhenhua said, "Director Yuan, the reason I called you is to ask if you know anyone at the Hunan Ping Province fertilizer plant and can introduce me. To be honest, I've tried everything else and have no choice but to ask for your help."

  Yuan Feng thought for a moment and said, "Okay, let's do it this way. I'll call my colleagues in Hunan Province first to ask about it. If it's possible, I'll have them give you a call. Can you tell me your phone number?"

  "Yuefeng County Yonghe Commune Secretary's Office." Lin Zhenhua replied.

  "Okay, alright, wait for my news then."

  Lin Zhenhua hung up the phone and walked out of the secretary's office with Cen Youxin. They sat down on a chair outside and waited. After a while, the secretary came out and called them: "Who is Lin Zhenhua? There's a long-distance call for you."

  Lin Zhenhua and Cen Youxin returned to the house, Lin Zhenhua took over the phone and said inside: "Hello, how are you? I am Lin Zhenhua, may I ask who you are?"

  "I am Tang Zhiguo, the director of Tanzhou Fertilizer Plant. Old Yuan from Jiangnan Erhua called me and said you need to buy some fertilizer, is that true?" The person on the phone said.

  Lin Zhenhua said: "Yes, yes, this is too much trouble for you."

  "It's no trouble at all," said Tang Zhiguo. "Old Yuan is also an old friend of mine, he says you're his friend, so we're friends too. What kind of fertilizer do you want, carbon gel or urea?"

  Lin Zhenhua covered his mouth with his hand and turned to ask Xun Youxin, "Youxin, do you want carbon or urea?"

  "Is there still urea?" Xun Youxin was overjoyed: "Of course, we need urea. One kilogram of urea is equivalent to three kilograms of carbon glue."

  Lin Zhenhua then said in a humble tone: "Director Tang, if it's convenient for you, I'd still like to have the urea."

  "Urea is a bit tight now, and I don't have many indicators left in my hands." Tang Zhi Guo said with some difficulty, "Director Lin, how much do you plan to take?"

  "Can you get me eight bags if possible?" Lin Zhenhua said, he saw Xun Youxin use his fingers to draw an "eight" character for him, knowing it meant eight bags.

  Nor did he know whether it was the poor quality of the phone or Lin Zhenhua's inaccurate pronunciation, but Tang Zhiguo took over on the other end: "It's just eight tons, that's not a big deal."

  "Eight tons!" Lin Zhenhua was immediately stunned, for goodness' sake, I said eight bags, okay?!

  "How much did he say?" asked Xun Youxin in a low voice beside him.

  "He said eight tons." Lin Zhenhua also whispered, "Damn it, I said one ton, how did he hear it as eight tons. This thing can't be eaten, wait for me to clarify with him."

  "Kobayashi!" Shu Yoshin shouted urgently, "Eight tons is the ninth: provide a ton, you'd better agree quickly."

  "Huh?" Lin Zhenhua was momentarily stunned, but looking at Cen Youxin's firm attitude, he compromised and said into the phone: "Director Tang, then let's settle on eight tons. Should I come to the factory to pick up the goods or what?"

  "Don't bother, you're not in Yuefeng County, are you? I'll get the Supply and Marketing Department to call the Supply and Marketing Association in Yuefeng County and have them send the goods to you first. We can make up for it later. It's too late today, so go pick up the goods at the Supply and Marketing Association tomorrow."

  "How is the price calculated?" Lin Zhenhua continued to ask.

  Tang Zhi said: "Lao Yuan has spoken, as for the price, let's just go with the ex-factory price, 420 yuan per ton, it can't be any lower than that."

  "Then thank you, Director Tang."

  "No need to be polite, Director Lin. When you come to Tanzhou, be sure to visit our factory and have some fun." Tang Zhiguo chuckled and hung up the phone.

  "Kobayashi, what did you say?"

  "Eight tons, go to the county supply and marketing cooperative tomorrow to pick up the goods. 420 yuan per ton." Lin Zhenhua replied. "420 yuan!" Xian Youxin's eyes turned red, "We buy from the supply and marketing cooperative, one bag is 52 yuan, one ton is 12.5 bags, let me calculate..."

  "That's 650 yuan per ton." Lin Zhenhua quickly calculated it out, this multiplication was not difficult for him.

  "My goodness, just one ton is 230 yuan less, and eight tons won't be over a thousand yuan more?" Cen Youxin said with emotion, "Little Lin, you've made a fortune."

  "What's gotten into me?" Lin Zhenhua was taken aback for a moment.

  "You figure it out, take these eight tons of urea to the black market and sell them, you can make over a thousand bucks. Now the black market is in short supply of urea, your urea will be snapped up."

  "You're not asking me to resell this urea, are you?" Lin Zhenhua couldn't help but laugh and cry at the same time, also feeling a sense of the horror of power. He had only gone through Yuan Feng's connections, and was able to easily get eight tons of urea from the Hunan Fertilizer Factory. If he were to resell these eight tons of urea, without much effort, he could make over 1,000 yuan, which was an alarmingly fast way to make money.

  Why not take this path and use power to make money? A thought flashed in Lin Zhenhua's mind, but was immediately drowned out by the pride of being a scholar. With knowledge and vision, why bother making money that would bring shame to others?