Reborn in the 1980s: I made my fortune hunting wild game in Changbai Mountain

Yue Feng glanced at the time; it was already eight o'clock. Without waiting for the villagers who hadn't arrived yet, he grabbed a notebook with a brief outline of his speech and came out of the house.

"Secretary Yue is here!"

Someone in the crowd shouted, and the previously noisy square immediately fell silent.

Yue Feng glanced at the people present today and was in a good mood.

At least 70% of the villagers were present today, which is much better than last time.

Yue Feng placed his speech outline on the small table and then cleared his throat.

"Good evening, folks of Xing'an Village! Now, please quiet down and let's begin the meeting!"

After a few greetings, the last bit of noise disappeared, and the small square fell silent.

Yue Feng continued, "I've called everyone here tonight mainly because there are a few things I need to inform and report to you!"

The first thing I did was to contract a piece of forest land of about 500 acres on the back mountain to use as an experimental base for planting Chinese medicinal herbs!

To prevent damage from livestock on the mountain, this area needs to be fenced off for protection!
At this point in time, there's not much work to do in the fields. If anyone is willing to go up the mountain to work and earn wages, they can come and sign up with me after the meeting ends.

The wage standard was roughly 1.5 yuan per day for adult men and 1.2 yuan per day for adult women.

There are limited jobs and a limited number of people needed. We will select the best candidates based on the actual situation. Wages will be settled daily. The job will end when the work is finished!
The main tasks were digging holes, burying poles, and installing wire mesh.

The work wasn't too strenuous, but it wasn't easy either. At noon, they provided a meal with meat and steamed buns on the mountain!

Before he could finish speaking, the crowd below erupted in chaos.

The job of digging holes, burying poles, and pulling nets on the mountain only pays one dollar and fifty cents per person. Isn't that money too easy to earn?
And meals were provided, including white flour steamed buns and meat and vegetables. Ordinary families couldn't eat that whenever they wanted; it was only available during holidays!

You should know that the regular workers at the forest farm now earn less than forty yuan a month, which is definitely considered a high wage in the village.

Of course, this income is not very high compared to the income from collecting wild vegetables in the mountains.

Some mountain dwellers who own their own plots of land can earn five to eight yuan or even more a day by selling mountain products.

However, such a situation is not widely applicable. Ordinary people may not find much even after a whole day of hard work in the mountains to collect wild animals, and they also face the risk of being bitten by snakes or attacked by wild animals.

At this moment, a villager from the back street who had a good relationship with Yue Feng's family asked, "Secretary Yue, what kind of Chinese medicinal herbs are you planning to plant in this area? Can't you get the villagers to plant them together?"

Yue Feng looked up at the other person and explained with a smile, "I'll talk about planting Chinese medicinal herbs later. I have plans for that, but the timing isn't right now!"
I will definitely inform the villagers when the time comes. If you are willing to work, I will still follow the same approach, pay you wages, and I will bear the risks!

"Can you tell me what you're growing? Is it ginseng grown under the forest canopy? There are villages in the east of the river that started growing ginseng a few years ago, and every household is doing quite well!"

Yue Feng smiled and shook his head: "We won't grow ginseng. The surrounding mountains and forests may not be suitable for growing ginseng!"
My first batch of experimental medicinal materials was a kind of Polygonatum!

In October, I will add the purchase of fresh Polygonatum to the sales and purchase points. Then, after scientifically processing the collected root tubers, we will plant them in designated areas to artificially expand the population!

Upon hearing the words "Polygonatum," most of the villagers fell silent.

This is a good traditional Chinese medicine, but it is widely distributed and the price of fresh produce is not high.

Seeing that no one continued to ask questions, Yue Feng glanced at the outline and continued, "Alright, now that we've finished the first thing, let's discuss the second thing!"
I plan to set up a well-drilling team to improve the daily water supply for the people of Xing'an Village!

Now, our village has one well in the front street and one well in the back street. The villagers rely entirely on carrying water on their shoulders and by hand for their daily water needs!

If we could drill wells in every villager's yard and make standardized pump heads for water pumping, we could easily pump up groundwater with just half a ladle of water!
This way, the water problem will be solved regardless of whether it's summer or winter!

When the second question turned out to be about digging a well rather than making money, the villagers below immediately became noisy again.

"If we do as you say and dig a hand pump well for our own home, how much would it cost?"

"You think you can pump water up with just a ladle of water? That's too far-fetched!"

"Where do we learn the skills to form a well-drilling team? I was the first to sign up, but I don't have the money to pay the tuition!"

In rural Northeast China, this type of hand-operated well is not yet widespread. Most people have never seen or used it, so they have absolutely no knowledge of what Yue Feng was talking about.

Yue Feng explained: "The structure of a hand pump well is quite simple. It's just a cast iron well head, a rubber raft, and an iron frame. A rigid plastic pipe is then connected to the bottom of the well, and you can pump water up!"
As for the cost, I haven't inquired about it in detail yet, but I estimate the material cost will not exceed twenty yuan! If our villagers use a lot, we can purchase in bulk and the cost can be even lower!
I promise everyone in this village that I will not earn a single penny from this matter; it is entirely for the purpose of improving the lives of the villagers!
At that time, all relevant accounts will be made public on the village bulletin board!

As for the drilling technology and personnel, I will take care of the technical issues and prepare the drilling tools! Anyone who wants to join the drilling team can sign up!
Specific details regarding compensation and benefits will be discussed later!

Promoting hand pump wells in the village is a great thing, second only to building roads.

Even though Yue Feng didn't mention it, the establishment of a well-drilling team was a tremendously good thing.

Once hand pumped water wells become widespread in Xing'an Village, other surrounding villages will surely follow suit.

However, outsiders lack the equipment and technology, so they can only rely on the people of Xing'an Village.

At that time, selling well control parts and operating well drilling teams will be good ways to make money and generate income.

After all, we can do these things at cost price for the villagers, but we still need to make a profit for outsiders!
For Yue Feng, who has been reborn, this project is definitely a win-win deal with no risk and a sure thing.

"Twenty yuan for a set? That's too expensive! We can make a living by fetching water, but we can't afford to dig a well!"

"Yes, could you make it cheaper? We don't have that much money on hand; twenty yuan is no small amount!"

"I want to sign up for the well-drilling team. Whatever the Party Secretary says, I'll do. I'll support him unconditionally!"

"I'm signing up too! Even if I don't get paid, I'm still going to participate!"

Just as there are villagers with limited vision, there are also clever people with broad vision. While many women were complaining about the high price, some clever people had already stood up and raised their hands to join the well-drilling team.

The first group of villagers who followed the Party Secretary to set up the mountain products sales point all made money, especially Li Yinhua, who is now a proper manager at the sales point, overseeing all the big and small matters. This is much better than simply running a small shop before.

Although Yue Feng, the village secretary, didn't mention the well-drilling team's compensation, he certainly wouldn't treat them unfairly.

Even if things turn out badly later, there's always time to back out. Seizing the opportunity now is better than anything else.

Faced with the disease of poverty, Yue Feng was powerless to help.

Twenty yuan is indeed a considerable sum, but this is the second year since the land was allocated.

The village set up a purchasing and sales point again, and for any family that was even slightly honest, saving twenty yuan was much easier than under the previous production team model.

Even after the ground thaws in spring, if he diligently gathers wild vegetables every day, he can still earn this money. Of course, Yue Feng didn't plan to charge for well-drilling and pumping well installation for elderly, weak, sick, or disabled families like Grandma Li's family next door.

A portion of the profits from the mountain produce purchasing and sales points can be used to subsidize these expenses.

Yue Feng let the villagers discuss for a while before stretching out his arms and pressing down a few times before continuing, "Drilling wells and installing hand pumps is voluntary. If you're undecided, you can wait until my family finishes their well first, and then you can make a decision after you've seen it!"

The third thing is that I have secured a maximum of three spots for large-scale livestock farmers for our village. Villagers who plan to raise pigs or chickens on a large scale can come to the village office to find me after the meeting to learn about the specific policies!

This is one of the first pilot programs, and it would be best if experienced villagers tried it. The policy cannot fully cover the risks, so everyone should view it rationally!
If the pilot program proves to be economically viable and yields positive results, I will report it to the township government and promote it throughout the entire village, or even the entire township!

That's about it for tonight's village meeting.

Villagers who plan to work to earn money, join the well-drilling team, or apply for the pilot program for large-scale aquaculture can come to me for statistics after the meeting!

That concludes today's meeting. Meeting adjourned!

After the meeting ended, many women and children got up and left with their stools, but many villagers couldn't wait to gather around.

"I want to sign up to go into the mountains to repair the fence!"

"I want to sign up for the well-drilling team!"

"Secretary Yue, what specific support policies are available for large-scale livestock farmers like us?"

……

Faced with the villagers' enthusiastic response, Yue Feng patiently registered and recorded everyone's information.

Overall, the villagers were quite enthusiastic about going into the mountains to repair the guardrails, with more than 30 able-bodied men and women signing up on the spot.

The well-drilling team also had a considerable number of members; even with the limit being only for men, more than 11 people signed up.

Finally, far fewer people are interested in large-scale farming operations.

Only one family surnamed Zhou in the south of the village wanted to try raising pigs.

In reality, the so-called "policy" for large-scale farmers was not something Yue Feng obtained from his superiors.

Instead, they allocated a portion of the profits from the purchasing and sales points to conduct this experiment.

Simply throwing money at villagers won't make them rich; it will only make them lazy and unwilling to work.

But with subsidies and guidance, the situation becomes completely different.

When questioned, Yue Feng offered a very generous deal.

If you raise more than 20 fattening pigs at a time, you can get half of the cost of purchasing the piglets reimbursed, and you will also receive an additional five acres of vegetable land.

After the pigs are slaughtered, the pork sales can be coordinated, and the policy guarantees that it is absolutely legal.

In addition, Yue Feng plans to use his network of contacts to spend money to invite specialized breeding technicians from outside to the village to provide "technical training" and help train them on basic breeding, disinfection, prevention and treatment of common diseases, and other professional content.

After hearing Yue Feng's policy, Zhou Xiaochen immediately realized that this was a very good opportunity.

Learning professional breeding techniques not only earns you half the money for seedlings, but also provides land for growing vegetables and feeding pigs. Once the pigs are grown, you won't have to worry about sales or legal risks. It seems like a sure-fire way to make money.

“Okay, I’ll do it! Let’s start with twenty fat pigs, just like you said! What else do you need me to prepare beforehand?” Zhou Xiaochen agreed without even discussing it with his wife.

Yue Feng roughly calculated in his mind: "To raise twenty fat pigs, my own outhouse is definitely not enough. I'll need a semi-open pen of about 40 to 50 square meters!"

"Such a large area? How much would it cost to build a pigsty? I..." Upon hearing this figure, Zhou Xiaochen's expression froze.

Yue Feng also knew that building a pigsty was a huge investment; the cost of a 50-square-meter pigsty was almost the same as building several brick houses.

Yue Feng had considered this issue before the meeting. He replied, "I can lend you this money temporarily in the name of the village committee. You can repay it in installments after your pigs are ready for market!"
The village can also approve land for building pigsties! But the smell is quite strong, so it's best not to affect the villagers' daily lives!

Upon hearing that he could borrow money from the village committee, Zhou Xiaochen's furrowed brows relaxed.

"Okay, I'll do it! Tomorrow I'll have someone calculate the approximate ingredients! The location just needs to be outside our house, where there are fewer people and the smell won't bother the neighbors!"

"it is good!"

……

Faced with the villagers' enthusiastic response and active participation in signing up, Yue Feng patiently recorded and received each of them.

By the time all the villagers had left, it was already eleven o'clock.

If a village official wants to get things done, the initial stage is really difficult!

The next morning, Yue Feng got busy.

Leverage your network of friends.

First, we contacted an old friend at the coal mine to help us find a professional welder, and then we purchased and manufactured components such as the wellhead pressure rod for the water pressure well.

Yue Feng had a clear idea of ​​the structure and appearance of these things in his mind. After drawing a rough sketch and roughly determining the dimensions, he could start small-batch sample production.

Compared to the wellhead of a hand pump well, the drill rods and other tools used for drilling small-hole wells are much more difficult to prepare and manufacture.

However, this did not deter Yue Feng, who went directly to Du Chonglai, the deputy director of the Forestry Bureau, for help.

With the forestry bureau's help in coordination, custom procurement of this stuff wasn't a problem for them.

Yue Feng simply organized the dimensions and specifications, then went through the reporting process directly, and it could be completed in as little as a week.

While waiting for the drilling rod to arrive, Yue Feng gathered the villagers who had signed up to work and divided them into groups of six. He then sent Xiao Wen, Xiao Wu, and Xiao Tao, the three brothers, into the mountains to assign them specific tasks.

Truckloads of protective netting were pulled up the mountain, then the quantity was counted, tasks were assigned, and the work of marking out the land began in a grand and efficient manner.

A week later, the two sets of drilling pipes I ordered arrived.

Yue Feng arranged for a vehicle to transport the tools back to his new house. He and several key members then assembled the tools according to their memory of drilling small wells, and immediately began practical testing. (End of Chapter)