Back in the 1980s, hiking in the mountains was also a way of life

In this way, Wang An explained in detail to Sun Dafu how the village collective would contribute land as shares, then the villagers would each contribute money as shares, and finally Wang An would make up the remaining funding gap.

After discussing fundraising, Wang An went on to talk about the daily management of the vegetable greenhouses.

In essence, routine management involves hiring people to grow vegetables, weed, spray pesticides, and harvest them, as well as managing and maintaining the vegetables.

After all, building a greenhouse is simple, and growing vegetables is also simple, but the daily management and maintenance of vegetables is the most important thing in growing vegetables in a greenhouse. Without sufficient management and maintenance, you may end up with nothing at all.

However, Wang An suggested that shareholders could also be the cooperative's workers. In other words, while those who contribute funds are shareholders and can receive dividends proportionally, the workers who work in the greenhouses are still shareholders.

In this way, some people can earn two kinds of money: the profit share from the cooperative shareholders and the money they earn working in the greenhouse.

At this point, Sun Dafu seemed increasingly uneasy, and interrupted, saying:
“Xiao An, if you put it that way, wouldn’t we be going back to the old path of collective work?”

Wang An was not at all surprised that Sun Dafu would have such a question, because the essence of a cooperative is actually to operate on a collective basis, only with the addition of a shareholding system, which forms a company system.

Only a company system that prioritizes money and rules over personal relationships can directly stifle human laziness, leaving lazy and complacent people with nowhere to escape, thereby increasing their initiative.

Upon hearing this, Wang An chuckled and said:

"Grandpa Sun, although this cooperative does operate on a collective basis, it is actually more like a company or a business, and strict rules and regulations need to be established here."

"When we were in the collective village a few years ago, I saw how the people in our village worked. Oh my god, they were really lazy and would slack off whenever they could. They didn't do much work all day long."

But we can't really do anything about it. At most, we'll just lose a couple of work points. Anyway, that's about it in the end, right, Grandpa Sun?

Sun Dafu nodded in strong agreement and said:

"Yeah, back then, no matter how much work we did, everyone earned about the same number of work points, and in the end, everyone got about the same amount of grain. So people stopped wanting to work, mainly because there was no hope for the future!"

Wang An took out another cigarette and lit one for Sun Dafu, then smoked one himself before echoing, "..."

"Yeah, it's all the same whether you do a lot or a little. Even the hardworking people aren't stupid. In the end, everyone will just slack off."

"But they get paid to work in our cooperative, and their wages are all paid with everyone's money. If anyone dares to slack off and delay the vegetables from being sold and affecting the shareholders' dividends, then the shareholders won't let them off the hook!"

"You think you can get paid in the cooperative without doing any work? Ha! You're dreaming! There's no such thing as a free lunch."

As soon as Wang An finished speaking, Sun Dafu's eyes lit up, and he gave Wang An a thumbs up while saying:

"It has to be you, Xiao An! This method is absolutely brilliant! If you're going to work, you have to do it well. You have to put in the effort and work hard. Anyone who tries to slack off should just be fired. Anyway, there are plenty of people who want to earn this kind of money. Hahaha, great, great, this method is fantastic! Hahaha."

After laughing for a long time, Sun Dafu remembered that he should write down what Wang An had said, so he picked up his pen and started writing on the paper.

Wang An added with a smile:
"Don't worry, Mr. Sun, the shareholders will definitely keep a close eye on the workers to ensure their dividends aren't reduced. If anyone does a poor job, it won't make a difference." Sun Dafu's eyes lit up even more upon hearing this, and he continued with a smile:
"Yeah, yeah, damn it, I'll put all these things out in the open then, and anyone who dares to slack off will have to think twice."

Only after Sun Dafu finished recording did he look up and ask Wang An:
"Xiao An, please continue."

Wang An organized his thoughts and continued:
"As for profit sharing, it will be based on the proportion of investment. After deducting the wages of the workers, the costs of seeds, fertilizers, pesticides, tools, and other expenses needed for the next crop of vegetables from the money earned from selling vegetables, and leaving a reserve fund, the profit sharing will be distributed."

After a pause, Wang An continued:
"My suggestion is to disclose all income and expenses, so that we don't end up with a mess that we can't fix later."

Sun Dafu clearly wanted the people of Kaoshantun to live a better life, so upon hearing this, he immediately said:

"Yes, it would be best if all the accounts were made public. With everything open and transparent, no one could say anything."

As he spoke, Sun Dafu began taking notes again.

Wang An then said:
"By the way, it's not just about paying people to do the work. As the leader, you, Grandpa Sun, also need to be paid. This includes other workers as well. All of this is included in personnel expenses."

Sun Dafu was taken aback upon hearing this, but he chuckled and refused, saying:

"Why would I take a salary? I just want everyone to live a good life, so I won't take a salary."

It's clear that Sun Dafu wasn't lying; that's what he really thought.

So Wang An's gaze toward Sun Dafu changed again. Mainly because Wang An never expected that in this remote and impoverished village of Kaoshan, there could be such a selfless person as Sun Dafu.

Although he admired him in his heart, Wang An said aloud:
“Public matters are public matters, and private matters are private matters. If you don’t collect the wages you’re entitled to, I don’t think this cooperative will last long.”

Sun Dafu said, quite puzzled:

"So what? Can't I just not take the money?"

Wang An chuckled and said:

"It's fine if you don't want the money, but you have to get it in your hands. You can throw it away or give it away after you get it, that's fine too, but you can't just say you don't want this salary. If you don't take it, what about the others? Do you want everyone else to work for free? Who can stand working without earning money? Besides, what about the accounting records? Hehehehe."

Sun Dafu blinked, then picked up his pen and started writing again.

After Sun Dafu finished writing, Wang An looked at his watch and said:
"Alright, Grandpa Sun, let's leave the greenhouse matter at that for now. I'll head back first. You can discuss it with my Uncle Li and the others later. We need to figure out how many greenhouses to build initially, where to put them in our village, and how much money we'll need. Let's discuss all of that carefully."

Sun Dafu nodded and said:

"Yes, I'll discuss it with Youcai and the others this afternoon and finalize it before nightfall." (End of Chapter)