Go back to the prosperous days and become a layman

Chapter 716: Vegetables on the City Wall
After hearing this, Miao Xiaoqin nodded, feeling quite embarrassed, as if she really did not trust Tang Zhitong.

"Sister Xiaoqin, I said last time that I got my inspiration from ancient paintings. I think rich people think differently from us..." Tang Zhitong repeated what he had said to Ye Zhijuan yesterday.

After saying this, he emphasized: "In the past, many wealthy people in Beijing kept cats and dogs. They held them in their hands for fear of dropping them, and held them in their mouths for fear of melting them. The living standards of cats and dogs were much higher than those of ordinary people. Even now, there are still such people. I heard a while ago that someone took his dog to a barber shop to have it shaved."

"Look at this. People don't care about spending money on cats and dogs."

"I think that pet combs are just pioneers. If the response is good, we will make other products based on animal habits."

"My cat likes to climb high and climb ladders to scratch things. Can we make a rack? Can we make a board for the cat to practice its claws?"

"And dogs always have their mouths full and like to chew on something. Can we wash and dry the horns of sheep, cattle, or even deer and use them as chew sticks?"

"If you have a cat or dog at home, it's not too much to have a nest, right? In China, corn husks are woven into mats. Can they be used as nests for cats and dogs?"

"Now that we have a nest, can we make some pet beds?"

"Do some of them like to keep dogs outside to guard the house? Then can we make small houses and sell them? Of course, we don't sell them ready-made, but cut them into prefabricated parts and transport them to let the dog owners install them themselves, which is also fun. The prefabricated parts used by the Flower Market Wood Factory since last year have not only improved efficiency, but also effectively reduced storage space."

“You see, it’s also written in the information that some residents treat cats and dogs as part of their own family and call them their children.

So can we make clothes for their children?

Embroider some words that can make people smile on the clothes, such as writing slogans such as "I am very fierce", "Don't touch me", "I am cute" on the clothes. Of course, when embroidering, you have to use the local language. "

As for pet meat, Tang Zhitong didn't even mention it. There is not enough meat for the people in China. Exporting meat for cats and dogs? You will be scolded to death!
Besides, their breeding costs are not necessarily higher than in China.

To put it bluntly, exporting those small bits and pieces is just to make a profit from the price difference, and to earn hard-earned money through creativity.

The more Miao Xiaoqin listened, the more surprised she became. Some of the ideas were even outrageous in her mind. Putting clothes on cats and dogs? It was simply a fantasy!

However, out of mysterious trust in Tang Zhitong's previous invention, Miao Xiaoqin wrote quickly and wrote down the general ideas.

"Did you figure all this out?" Miao Xiaoqin asked in disbelief after writing it down.

"Well, I've been thinking about it for some time." Tang Zhitong admitted it frankly. Of course it was because he had been thinking about pet supplies for a long time, but another reason was Ye Zhijuan's attitude.

Yesterday, Ye Zhijuan asked me to find Miao Xiaoqin for information. This was not only because she had found Miao Xiaoqin before, but also because she recognized Miao Xiaoqin and wanted to train and cultivate Miao Xiaoqin so that she could stand on her own.

So Tang Zhitong said everything he could say without hiding anything.

"Great inventors are different. Even if they put something in front of me, I still don't know what to do with it, let alone make me figure it out."

"Maybe it's because I like to think about these useless things." Tang Zhitong laughed and covered it up. This was only because he was received and recognized, otherwise these ideas would definitely be considered fantastic.

"Who said it's useless? Your previous inventions have earned a lot of foreign exchange. My old colleagues recognize you very much and even said they would like to get to know you if they have a chance." Miao Xiaoqin said seriously.

"Oh, what you said makes me feel very terrified. I'm glad they don't blame me for causing them trouble." Tang Zhitong waved his hands repeatedly, "Take what I just said for example. To put it bluntly, there is no technical content. It is easy for others to imitate, and they also have the advantage of being local. The pricing of these things is definitely not comparable to the finished medicines of Chinese medicine factories. They are priced according to their labor costs. It's hard-earned money, and it's very troublesome. Don't blame me when the time comes."

"How can I blame you? You are helping them complete the foreign exchange task. Let's put it this way, you draw a picture and I will contact the unit to make some samples and ask old colleagues to test the waters." Miao Xiaoqin said this, but she knew the resistance. The comb was easier to deal with as it was small in size, but things like pet houses that take up a lot of space will have high shipping costs and may be difficult to make.

"Okay, I'll go back and draw." Tang Zhitong readily agreed, handed the notebook to Miao Xiaoqin, and took out the receipt for Bi Bin's purchase: "Sister Xiaoqin, this is the receipt for the purchase of materials for the incubator project. What procedures should I follow?"

"Leave it to me, I'll handle it." Miao Xiaoqin was also happy to take the job.

"Oh, that helps me a lot. Thank you, Sister Xiaoqin." Tang Zhitong took advantage of the situation. Auditing methods are limited now. In order to prevent someone from taking advantage of it, the inspection before reimbursement is relatively strict. A set of standard procedures will take five or six days even if no one interferes.

"You're welcome. I was the one who gave you the procedure. Just come to me for help later." Miao Xiaoqin said with a smile as she clipped the receipt into her notebook.

"You still have to be polite, otherwise I will seem so rude. Hahaha. Now that we've finished our discussion, I won't take up any more of your time." Tang Zhitong smiled and looked at his watch. Unconsciously, an hour had passed, so he stood up and said goodbye.

"Okay, be careful on the road." Miao Xiaoqin did not try to keep him, and stood up to send Tang Zhitong out of the reception room.

Miao Xiaoqin does not have a dedicated office, so she borrowed a reception room for better communication.

After leaving the reception room, Tang Zhitong did not leave immediately, but went to say hello to Ye Zhijuan before leaving.

Coming out of Shijia Hutong, Tang Zhitong walked straight south, intending to go to the escort office via Chongwenmen. When he rode his bike to Chongwenmen, he encountered a traffic jam.

Even with license plate restrictions decades later, traffic jams were still common in the old city. But now there are not so many cars and the railway outside the city wall has been demolished, so there should be no traffic jams.

As he got closer, Tang Zhitong found that he could walk, but a group of people had formed a large circle on the west side of the city gate tower and were talking.

Nowadays, communications are not well developed and there are not many entertainment programs. Most people are unwilling to give up the opportunity to watch the fun. Tang Zhitong hesitated for a moment and joined the crowd.

Tang Zhitong held on to his bicycle and looked inside, relying on his height.

The first thing you see is the horse path leading up to the city wall on the west side of the city gate tower.

The horse path leading up to the city is very wide. It used to be a way for soldiers defending the city to go up and down, and for supplying food and weapons. Due to years of disrepair, the walls and roads are overgrown with weeds.

The weeds are from last year, swaying mechanically in the wind, lifeless.

At this time, there were several ragged people standing on the road. They were thin and had worn-out clothes hanging on their bodies, just like the dry grass next to them, as if they could be blown down by a gust of wind. There were people crying under the horse path leading to the city, but because they were standing too far outside, they could only hear the crying but could not see what was happening.

"Hey, man, what's going on?" Tang Zhitong stood on tiptoe to look inside, but still couldn't see what was below the horse path, so he patted the shoulder of the young man in front of him and asked.

"Well, I don't know when a group of people who were looking for a living came to the city gate tower, and they stayed there and refused to leave. Now a factory wants to grow vegetables on the horse trail above, but these people stopped them and the situation became deadlocked." The young man looked back at Tang Zhitong, but he was not angry. He briefly explained the whole thing politely.

"No matter who it is, no one would be happy. They have been there for several months, moving bricks non-stop. They finally turned the horse path into a field and wanted to farm it themselves. Now someone else wants to take it over. It would be strange if they are willing." Someone nearby said.

"You can't say that. This horse path is not theirs, right? Whoever occupies it can't own it, right?"

"That's right. It's good enough that you didn't blame them for damaging the city wall. Why are you still making a scene here?"

"Hey, what you said is inhumane, don't you have a conscience?

Did she throw a tantrum? Can't she just cry a little?

Didn't you hear what they said? Because my hometown was hit by a disaster, I left my hometown to come to our city to make a living. I picked up rags and begged for food, but I didn't steal or rob. I thought about planting some food on the horse road in the spring to fill my stomach. Is this against the law of heaven?

Don’t you see how hungry they are? Everyone wants to grow something on the trail, so there has to be a first come first served rule, right? "

"Hey~ Why are you mad at me? Go and drive the people out of the factory if you can!"

Some people sympathized, while others opposed, and for a moment the people watching started arguing.

Tang Zhitong didn't expect that his words would cause them to quarrel, so he immediately concealed his achievements and fame, and quietly pushed his bicycle away.

Although he felt very sympathetic towards those who made a living in rags, Tang Zhitong knew that the arm could not bend the thigh.

Even if some people support the victims, they still cannot win the fight, and the final outcome is nothing more than being repatriated or sent away.

Even if they compromised in the end, it would be impossible to give them all the land on the city wall because the residents of the city would not have enough food to eat.

Of course, ordinary residents are not qualified to occupy the horse path on the city wall. This matter must be organized by a unit, just like running a farm outside.

The land in the city of Sijiu is very limited. In previous years, the horse paths would be covered with grass more than one meter tall and no one would take care of it. But this year the situation is different.

The leading units have gone out to set up farms, and those who are not qualified to run farms can only think of horse trails.

In fact, vegetables can be grown on both sides of the moat, but it is not easy to guard that place. If one is not careful, they will be easily eaten up. It is easier to guard the city wall, which has been almost demolished. As long as the horse path to the city is guarded, basically no one goes there.

Of course the farm needs people to look after it, so there is an arrangement for taking turns to work there.

There are many types of labor. Plowing, turning the soil, weeding, and security patrols are all types of labor.

The reason why the farms are difficult to coordinate is because of the distribution method. The part of the public grain that the farmers originally handed in was moved into the pockets of various units...

Farm work is mainly done by local farmers. If we really let the farm's subordinate units do it, how many people and how much effort will it take? Will normal work still be carried out?

Furthermore, if the farm is really managed by a superior unit, what should be done with the farmers who originally owned the land?
It is certainly inappropriate to drive them away. Even if we really allocate some wasteland to them, they would not be happy about it. Who with a stutter would be willing to leave their hometown?

Therefore, even if it is just a stopgap measure, this kind of wrestling is not something that ordinary units can accomplish.

When Tang Zhitong returned to the unit, he saw Fang Yuan smoking in the field.

"The work on the farm has been arranged. The department will be in charge in the early stage, and the Municipal Bureau will get involved when the grain harvest is about to begin. The main part of this is our escort department." Fang Yuan waved at Tang Zhitong. It was relatively open here, so there was no need to worry about eavesdropping.

"Bring weapons with you when the time comes?" Tang Zhitong was a little surprised. Fang Yuan had emphasized this so much, how could he not understand? The Escort Department, the only difference from other departments is the dual management, and they have the authority to bring weapons.

"Maybe. Damn it, I never thought that one day I would have to be on guard against ordinary people." Fang Yuan took a deep puff of his cigarette and said angrily.

"Maybe it won't come to that. Farm work is tiring enough, who has the energy to steal food?" Tang Zhitong comforted him verbally, but he actually knew in his heart that if farmers were not fed enough, they would not only not work hard, but would actually steal.

Their way of stealing is very special. They don't wait until the harvest. Instead, they pinch a bud or pull a bean when weeding. They dare not put the food into their pockets, but put it directly into their mouths, chewing while they work.

By the time the work was almost done, my stomach was almost full.

As for whether there will be a harvest later, they can't care so much, because their stomachs can't bear it now. If they really wait for a good harvest, they might stretch their legs...

"You'll understand when you're hungry. This burden is not easy." Fang Yuan obviously didn't believe what Tang Zhitong said. He shook his head and started to worry about the newly added work again.

"Hasn't the bureau and higher-ups negotiated with the farm? Can they give them some food first to help them get through the current difficulties, and then deduct the money when there's a good harvest later?" Tang Zhitong scratched his head. It's just a loan. Everyone has difficulties sometimes.

"This is not easy to do, right? Where will the bureau and the department get the food?" Fang Yuan was just thinking about how to complete the task of the escort department and hadn't thought about this.

"Hey, the farm has been coordinated. It shouldn't be that difficult to withdraw some of the employees' rations in advance, right? After all, that's the rations for the employees in our system, right?" After Tang Zhitong said this, he suddenly had an idea, as if he had grasped the key to the problem, but his mind was too complicated and he had no idea for a while.

"Who knows. Our escort department also has normal work to do, and we may not be able to spare so many people by then. I'll talk to Lao Su later and ask the Municipal Bureau to think of a solution." Fang Yuan looked like he had a headache.

The department, the municipal bureau, cooperation, the farm, Lao Su, headache, quantification, saving, reduction. Tang Zhitong seemed to have grasped the key to solving the problem. He opened his mouth but said nothing. Instead, he nodded and fell silent.

(End of this chapter)