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

Yue Feng's calm and reasonable explanation was very clear, but Old Zhang didn't accept it!
"Eight yuan isn't much? How many times have the old and young men of Xing'an Village eaten their fill? Eight yuan is nothing to you?"
According to your calculation, if four people take half a day to dig a well, each well-drilling team member should receive two yuan in wages!
Two yuan a morning, that's four yuan a day, and one hundred and twenty yuan a month! This income is much higher than the wages of coal miners and forestry workers!

You say you're solving the villagers' drinking water problem without making a single penny, but then you charge eight yuan for each well you dig. Is that what you call not making a single penny?

To be honest, although Old Zhang is getting on in years, his mind is still quite sharp.

After his calculations, it seemed as if Yue Feng's pricing was indeed a bit high.

After listening, Yue Feng didn't rush to refute. He grinned and asked, "Grandpa Zhang, according to your opinion, how much do you think is appropriate?"

"How much should we set? Now that you're the village secretary and you're in charge of organizing these things, there shouldn't be any extra costs!"

The leader said he wanted to serve the people!

Old Zhang stood on the moral high ground and spoke with righteous indignation.

Hearing this, Yue Feng nodded with a smile: "Okay, what you said makes sense!"

I'm certainly not as enlightened as you, but what you said makes sense, and I definitely support it!
Otherwise, why don't you go home and organize my Uncle Zhang and the others, and then take over the well-drilling team's work?

I'm not the only village official; my uncle is the village chief!

I've successfully conducted the technical test, and the tools and subsequent materials are all ready! It makes sense to hand over the well drilling business to Uncle Zhang and his team!

What do you think?

Yue Feng did not refute, but instead used the same tactic against him, throwing the question back at him verbatim.

"You...your uncle has work to do in the fields, how could he have time to dig a well!" Old Zhang was momentarily speechless.

"According to you, which family in the village doesn't farm? Which family doesn't have work to do in their fields?"
Isn't that a bit of a double standard? You were the one who said we shouldn't accept wages, and you were the one who said we had chores at home. You can't have all the nice things to say, can you?
"So, digging wells for the villagers means doing unpaid labor? Abandoning your work at home and in the fields, how are you supposed to make a living?" Yue Feng said calmly, but his words carried a sharp undertone.

After listening, Old Zhang paused for a second, then continued his unreasonable argument, relying on his age and seniority: "Didn't you lease out your land?"

Why don't you go to the fields and do more practical things for the villagers? You're young, in the prime of your life! What's wrong with doing more work?

"It's true I don't need to work in the fields, but I have my own job! Will you attend the township meetings for me? Will you find the materials and workers for me to make the wellhead?"
If you can handle these tasks well, I don't mind doing a little extra. Or, shall we do it your way?

"I……"

Old Zhang wanted to be stubborn, but when the words were on the tip of his tongue, he didn't dare to agree.

The work Yue Feng is currently doing, just the tasks of procuring materials and organizing personnel to weld and manufacture well heads, are not something an ordinary person could do. It requires using connections and even coordination from government agencies!
Let alone an ordinary villager like Old Zhang, even the village chief Zhang Junhong would be at a loss if he were in charge of these matters.

Seeing that Old Zhang was speechless after being silenced, Yue Feng's smile vanished instantly: "Why aren't you saying anything? Do you think what you said went too far and was a bit unreasonable?"

Waving the banner of serving the villagers, standing on a moral high ground, and spouting filthy, rotten words to incite unrest—you, Old Bi, are utterly despicable!

Hearing Yue Feng utter those curses, Old Zhang's face fell, and his beard trembled instantly: "No matter what, I'm your grandfather by seniority! How dare you talk to me like that!"

"Regarding seniority? My surname is Yue, and yours is Zhang. What kind of seniority are we talking about? I call you Grandpa because I respect your age. But do your words and actions deserve that title?"

If you can speak human language, then say a few more words. If you can't speak human language, then shut your stinking mouth!
From now on, you're not welcome in my house. Get the hell out of here!
"You always like to disagree with drilling wells, don't you? Damn it, everyone can drill wells, but we won't let yours! Go ahead and try if you can, otherwise die!"

After Yue Feng finished speaking sharply, the crowd immediately erupted in an uproar.

Normally, this young village secretary is always friendly and smiling, and many villagers have never seen Yue Feng lose his temper, let alone seen him turn his face in public.

This barrage of insults left Old Zhang completely bewildered.

Several villagers surnamed Zhang, after hearing these words, wanted to say a few words to help their relatives.

But seeing Yue Feng's narrowed eyes and unfriendly expression, she swallowed her words after a few throat movements.

In terms of status, Yue Feng is the village secretary; in terms of seniority, Yue Feng's family is isolated and has no close relatives; in terms of ability, financial resources, and connections, he has no advantage in any aspect.

Even if Zhang Junhong were right there in front of him, there was very little he could do to help his father who had been scolded. He might just end up humiliating himself.

"Hmph, that wolf cub from the Yue family has grown wings and is starting to bare his teeth and bite people now. He has no manners at all! I'll go find Yue Lei later!"

Old Zhang's face turned bright red. As he turned to leave, he muttered to himself, as if he had truly found Yue Feng's father and thus gained the upper hand in the matter.

At this moment, Xiao Tao, who had been standing next to Yue Feng, couldn't hold back any longer. He bent down, picked up a bucket, and splashed water at a spot not far from Old Zhang's feet.

"Get out! My brother said you're not welcome in our house, get the hell out of here!!"

The water didn't splash on him, but it gave Old Zhang a fright.

Xiao Tao was notorious for his bad temper on the back street, and Old Zhang dared not argue with him.

Soon, Old Zhang turned and left Yue Feng's courtyard, and the noise from the onlookers gradually subsided.

Yue Feng waved his hand: "The troublemaking idiots have been chased away. That's the situation. If any villagers have plans, go to the village office to register!"
The deadline for the first batch is the night after tomorrow! If you want to do it yourself later, the material cost may not be 17 yuan!

That's the gist of the matter, everyone can go home now!

After Secretary Yue finished speaking about the important matter, he dismissed the audience, and the villagers in the courtyard tactfully turned and left.

After most of the people had left, Xiao Tao muttered, "Damn it, we gave him too much face! That son of a bitch, Old Bi Deng!"

"Alright, stop getting worked up! You've vented your anger and said what you wanted, let's just forget about it!"

Xiao Tao leaned closer: "Brother Dong, do you think Zhang Junhong would dare to come looking for us if he knew our father had scolded us?"

Yue Feng scoffed, "Let's find someone then. At most, it'll be a little tough for Xiaowen and Xiaowu to be caught in the middle! Do we brothers have any psychological burden?"

Xiaowu pursed his lips: "I have no burden. Digging a well is a good thing in the first place. He kept babbling and talking nonsense. He deserved to be scolded!"
"So what if my uncle comes? Does his arrival mean he can be unreasonable?"

Hearing Xiaowu say this, Yuefeng nodded and said no more. Although Xiaowen and Xiaowu were also members of the Zhang family, they were already five degrees of kinship away from Zhang Junhong's generation.

Xiaowen was out working on the mountain and hadn't returned. Xiaowu's attitude reflected his family's attitude.

The brothers went inside and drank some water. It was noon, and without any formalities, they followed Yue Feng back to the old house to eat the lunch their mother had prepared for them.

After lunch, the guys did a quick discussion, loaded the well-drilling tools, a new wellhead and hard plastic pipes onto the tractor, and then drove the tractor up the mountain, heading straight for the farm.

Although Master Yuefeng, Zhao Dashan, is still quite robust, he is getting on in years.

For the past year or two, the old man had been fetching water from the mountain stream outside the farm to supply the livestock and his own daily needs. When Yue Feng came up the mountain, he would help fetch water when there was a shortage, but the old man mostly took care of it himself.

The drilling of the small well has been successfully tested. Once the breeding farm is settled, it will greatly reduce the time the old man spends fetching water.

When the tractor carrying the equipment arrived at the farm, the old man had just finished lunch and was playing with the group of one-month-old puppies in the north room while drinking tea.

Yue Feng gave his master a brief introduction to the small well. Upon hearing how convenient it was, Zhao Dashan didn't even bother with his tea and immediately set out to lend a hand and get to work.

The location of the mountain farm was chosen when it was first built, as it was a flat site close to a mountain spring.

The three brothers and the old man unloaded their equipment and got busy. They dug a water vein in the sand less than three meters down the drill rod.

This water vein is most likely connected to the spring outside the farm wall. The water quality is excellent and the flow is very strong. The well head and other components were all fixed in place before even half the morning was used up.

With the gushing clear water flowing from the pump, the old man's daily labor intensity in tending to the livestock on the mountain decreased by at least 30%.

The brothers helped the farm set up a small well, then chatted and drank tea with the old man inside for a while. As it was getting dark, they said goodbye and went home.

Yue Feng drove the tractor back to his yard, and as soon as he closed the door, he noticed that his wife's expression was a little off.

"Xiao Na, who upset you? Why are you looking so down?" Yue Feng asked softly as he leaned closer.

Wang Xiaona pouted: "Mom told me not to tell you! This afternoon, that old man Zhang Jianzhong went to the old house to look for Mom!"

Upon hearing this, Yue Feng immediately frowned: "Did he go and swear?"

"It wasn't exactly swearing, but it was really nasty. It was all about how our family used to be and how the Zhang family was! They even said that we owed them a favor since your grandfather's generation! I couldn't stand it, so I chimed in a few words, and then Mom pushed me into the inner room!"

After hearing this, Yue Feng spat and said, "Damn it! This old Bi Deng is asking for trouble!"

My grandfather's generation never benefited from his family's influence. The Zhang family used to be a prominent family in the village, and they were so arrogant that they looked down on everyone!
One year, there was a flood, and the harvest was poor. The family ran out of food as soon as spring arrived. When they went to his house to borrow grain, they were rudely turned away!

It was Grandma Li from next door who took out her pension money to buy grain at a high price, which allowed our family to survive until the autumn harvest!

Hearing that Yue Feng was in a bad mood, Wang Xiaona was also a little worried.

She knows her husband's temper. Although Yue Feng is usually quite amiable, he is not a coward who would dare to complain if he was wronged.

"Don't get upset. Mom got rid of him, and we didn't lose anything! Didn't you and Xiao Tao throw well water at him?"

Yue Feng took a deep breath and forcibly suppressed his anger.

"You're pregnant, and this son of a bitch goes to your house and causes trouble. He's got no good intentions! You see, anyone else in the village can have a small well, but we won't let him have one!"
Zhang Junhong dared to bare his teeth, so I risked everything and got someone to get him fired from the village chief position too! Let that bastard be so cocky!

"Honey, don't worry, I'm fine! He didn't dare to mess with me!"

"Go inside and stay there. You're heavy, so don't wander around!"

"Hey, good!"

……

That evening, Zhang Junhong heard from his father about what had happened at Yue Feng's house during the day.

Compared to the old man's fallacies, Zhang Junhong was at least somewhat rational.

The old man contradicted Yue Feng in front of the villagers, and Yue Feng rebuked him, so he wasn't really in the right.

There's no point in trying to settle scores with my dad over this matter.

However, Yue Feng's series of actions after the start of spring put a lot of pressure on Zhang Junhong.

After dinner, Zhang Junhong instructed his son and daughter to call all his close associates to his home.

Once the gate was closed, the village accountant, clerk, women's director, and other key figures began a small discussion.

After everyone arrived, Zhang Junhong closed the door and sat on the kang (a heated brick bed): "You all heard that the Party Secretary is arranging for the well-digging, right?"

If this is implemented, its influence among the villagers will continue to expand. Does anyone have any good suggestions or methods? I'd like to hear your opinions!

The village clerk picked up his teacup, took a sip, and said, "Drilling a well costs 25 yuan, which is definitely unaffordable for many villagers!"
This thing doesn't require much technology, so why don't we make one?

Let's find a way to get a set of tools and make them for free! Let's encourage the villagers to make them themselves, saving them this money!

Zhang Junhong shook his head: "We've saved money on drilling the well, but we can't save money on the wellhead!"

I went to the supply and marketing cooperative to ask, and the cast iron materials and plastic rigid pipes used are in short supply. You need a note from the higher-level department before you can purchase them!
Even if we manage to buy the raw materials, the cutting, welding, and processing all require professionals! This path isn't a viable option!

"What should we do then? We can't just sit here and wait to die, can we? How about we dig our own well and buy the wellhead from Yue Feng? That's a compromise, and we can still save eight yuan!"

At this point, the women's director said, "In my opinion, we can't compete with him in his area of ​​expertise! It's like throwing an egg against a rock! He has connections in the city's coal mines, forestry bureau, and other departments, so it's much easier for him to get things done!"
Old Zhang, your specialty is hunting. Why don't we recruit more villagers and organize a few more hunting teams?

Once autumn arrives and the harvest is complete, everyone will have more free time. Let's go hunting in the mountains and bring back plenty of wild game and meat! That will surely win people's hearts!

Besides, in Hedong, aren't they organizing villagers to grow ginseng? Should we give it a try too? (End of Chapter)