The Red Era: Starting from a Truck Driver

Chapter 137 Jiang Cheng watching the fun at the Supply and Marketing Cooperative
Maybe there are really too few car drivers, and everyone exaggerates the profession of driver too much.

Now, no matter what Jiang Cheng brings back, his neighbors are only envious and think that driving a car is awesome.

It's not that the things Jiang Cheng brought back were exaggerated, but that no one considered that he brought things back too frequently, which led to the neighbors in the yard thinking that the driver could bring back good things every time he drove out.

In fact, Jiang Cheng has no spatial ability. For example, he might just be delivering cigarettes when he was delivering goods. The enamel basin was given to him because he wanted to curry favor with him. If he didn't think that Zhang Yang, a factory employee, could have some connections, he would have to pay for the basin.

Theoretically, after making a transport trip, all you get for free is a few packs of cigarettes and a reed mat, which are worth about one dollar.

But now Jiang Cheng came back with a skinned lamb, fish, pig heart, bean curd skin, reed mat, and cigarettes in his pocket.

"Yingying, what's going on with that family? You threw feces at them a few days ago. How can you still chat with them?" Jiang Cheng asked with a smile.

"I haven't reconciled with that old woman. Chen Li is different from that old woman." Zhou Lingying replied.

Jiang Cheng did not return to the room after talking to Zhou Lingying, but stayed by the pool. Jiang Cheng also took out the food, and the smell of the mutton was a bit like urine.

No wonder there was a period of time in later generations when mutton skewers in some places were said to be made of duck meat, which was then soaked in urine to make it taste like mutton.

Jiang Cheng didn't know what breed the sheep was, but after putting them in a sack for a while, they did smell a bit fishy, ​​but not too strong.

"Rinse it and leave enough for us to eat. Take the rest to Sister Zhu and ask her to help deal with it. If we can't eat it, it will be wasted." Jiang Cheng said. He didn't care how much to leave or how to leave it.

This sheep can't be sold for much money, except for the front and back legs, there is not much meat in other parts. Pork bones are only 1.5 cents per pound, and you can get some bone marrow from big pork bones. There are not many sheep bones.

In addition, mutton has no fat, and the price is too high so few people buy it.

"Jiang Cheng, what is this...what is this?" Zhou Lingying asked while looking at the animal corpse in the sack.

"It's a sheep. Someone chopped off its head and hooves, so you can't tell." Seeing Zhou Lingying's puzzled look, Jiang Cheng explained.

But in this era, you can get any animal. This one has lost its head and hooves, and its skin has been peeled off. Plus, many people are not familiar with sheep, so it is normal that they didn’t recognize it.

"Oh, it's a sheep." Zhou Lingying responded. When she heard it was a sheep, she also thought it must be a sheep. If it was any other animal, her man might not be able to get it.

Jiang Cheng did not reply. He got up early this morning and planned to go back to his room to lie down. Then he would wait for dinner. After dinner, he would let Zhou Lingying massage his shoulders and back.

Jiang Cheng went back, and more people came out to the yard to watch the fun.

Zhou Lingying didn’t know what to do with the whole sheep, so she took a kitchen knife and cut the meat by the pool.

"Zhou Lingying, what did your husband bring back?" Xiao Li from the opposite side stood aside and asked.

"Sheep. My husband said it was sheep." Zhou Lingying replied with a smile. As long as there is meat to eat, no matter what it is, everyone will be happy.

"What kind of sheep is this?" Chen Li also came out and asked while watching the fun.

"This~ is about sheep. I don't understand it either, and my husband didn't tell me." Zhou Lingying answered. She also knew that Chen Li was asking about the breed.

The processed sheep weighed only about 20 kilograms. To be honest, even large dogs in later generations might be bigger than this sheep. So without the head, people couldn't tell that it was a sheep.

As for the fishy smell, many animals have it. Pork doesn't have it because it's castrated. Uncastrated pigs also have a smell, and it can even be a bit sour.

"Lingying, your family may not be able to eat much from a sheep," Xiao Li asked.

"Of course, I'll keep some for today and tomorrow. My husband told me to take the rest to Sister Zhu in the backyard and ask her to help deal with it. Sister Zhu works in the supply and marketing cooperative and can help me get a good price for it." Zhou Lingying replied.

Zhou Lingying also realized Zhu Lan's ability. Last time Jiang Cheng got some yellow eels from his hometown and asked Zhu Lan to help him process them, not only did she sell them that night, but she also sold them at a high price.

To be honest, Zhou Lingying has also been working in the countryside for a year and a half. She often sees loaches when she is plowing the fields. Many young women who have just been sent to the countryside are afraid of loaches. Some of them are very big and thick, like snakes.

Really no one caught it, there was no oil or seasoning, this thing was too fishy. Jiang Cheng took it to the city and said he could sell it for money, Zhou Lingying believed it, but she didn't think anyone would buy it, and they wouldn't pay much.

But Zhu Lan directly sold it for more than 50 cents, all of which were sold to some small leading cadres in various units.

"Lingying, can you sell some to my family so we can make some mutton soup?" Xiao Li asked what was on her mind.

Pork in the market requires meat coupons, and even if we have meat coupons at home, we can't bear to buy it, so we have to save it for festivals or something. If I can buy some mutton from Zhou Lingying, I can also have a meat dish today.

Hearing the question, Zhou Lingying hesitated for a moment and looked back at the door of her room. Jiang Cheng was resting in the room, and she had to consider whether she could make the decision on this matter.

"I don't know how much my husband spent on this sheep. I have to go and ask." Zhou Lingying thought for a while and replied.

"Then go and ask."

Hearing Zhou Lingying's answer, Xiao Li knew that she was willing to sell some mutton to her, and happily asked her to go and ask.

Just when Zhou Lingying was about to agree to go and ask, Jiang Cheng came out of the room.

Jiang Cheng thought Zhou Lingying was not very good at cooking mutton, and people of this era were not particular about some parts of meat. He came out to get the lamb chops, and then marinate them with white wine and ginger to remove the fishy smell. In the evening, he would just stew a big pot of lamb chops and eat them happily.

As for lamb legs and the like, they are actually better suited for roasting. If you don't have the conditions to make them delicious, you might as well let Zhu Lan handle it.

As soon as Jiang Cheng came out, Zhou Lingying also went up to ask how the sheep came from. It must have been bought for only ten yuan, and she didn't know how to sell some to Xiao Li.

There are a lot of sheep bones. If we follow the price of pork, the meat and bones are only one or two cents per pound. If mutton with bones is sold like this, Zhou Lingying feels that she will lose money.

Finally, Zhou Lingying had no choice but to pull Jiang Cheng aside to ask him about it. She thought it would be a good idea to sell some to the neighbors as a favor. There were only eight households in the yard, including hers. Even if each household sold half a pound or a pound, there would still be more than half left.

Since Zhou Lingying wanted to do a favor, Jiang Cheng did not stop her. He asked her to sell the middle spine of the sheep with some meat to everyone, even 20 cents per pound would not matter. That part was most suitable for stewing soup, but the ribs would definitely not be given to her, Jiang Cheng wanted to stew the lamb chops.

Before Zhou Lingying went to sell the sheep bones to her neighbors, Jiang Cheng directly used a kitchen knife to cut off all the ribs on one side of the sheep. In this era, everyone's kitchen knives are relatively heavy, which can be used to cut vegetables and chop things. If it is not sharp enough, just sharpen it with a whetstone.

Jiang Cheng cut off the ribs, separated them, and cut them into palm-length pieces. He put all of them in a basin, added some water, and returned to the side room.

It is best not to let the neighbors see it, so as not to say it is a waste. Ribs are not worth much these days, which may also be related to the fact that the butchers remove the meat from the ribs too cleanly.

The bones of spare ribs are too hard and small, so people would rather buy shanks and spine than ribs.

So Zhou Lingying couldn't understand her husband's actions, and neither could her neighbors. But everyone was willing to buy meat bones at 20 cents a pound, and the meat bones bought from Zhou Lingying were not like pork bones, with not much meat removed.

In this yard, everyone knows everything about any little thing, especially anything that is beneficial. Even if you don't know, someone will notify you.

Chen Li just watched the fun but didn't buy anything. She could chat with Zhou Lingying and become friends with her. But if she wanted to buy something from Zhou Lingying's house, she thought it was better to have less trouble than more.

Chen Li now has conflicts with her parents-in-law and husband at home. Zhou Lingying threw feces at her home. Although the matter has been resolved, it is a bit difficult to get along with each other now, especially after the Jiang family paid compensation. That afternoon, they sent pig blood to the neighbors. Everyone has it except their family. When they sold lotus root powder to neighbors, they didn't sell it to their family.

As a result, all the children in the neighboring families drank lotus root powder that day, except for Li Meihong's grandchildren. The children were ignorant and saw that everyone in the yard was drinking lotus root powder, so they naturally clamored for it.

Chen Li's husband's family was slandering the Jiang family behind their backs. In fact, when they started selling lotus root powder last time, they said behind the Jiang family's back that they were not so kind and were just trying to make money from everyone. They would not buy anything even if they were asked to do so.

They said that the Jiang family gave away pig blood at the beginning to make everyone think that they were generous, and then sold lotus root powder at 60 cents per pound to make everyone think that they were getting a bargain. They could make a lot of money just by selling it casually.

But when Zhou Lingying actually sold it, she slapped Li Meihong and the others in the face. She had a purchase receipt from the supply and marketing cooperative, and she only made 60 cents when she bought it, not a penny from everyone. And Zhu Lan worked in the supply and marketing cooperative, and she bought 10 kilograms at once. If she didn't want to leave some for the people in the yard, she would have bought more.

Zhu Lan definitely didn't buy so much just for her family. She asked her family to buy the lotus root powder, and they left the yard with a lot of lotus root powder. Everyone guessed that Zhu Lan didn't buy it as a gift, but at least sold it to some acquaintances, who owed Zhu Lan a favor.

Now Chen Li didn't buy Zhou Lingying's sheep bones, thinking that it was better to have less trouble than more. She didn't want to be criticized by her family if she bought them. If they said they couldn't eat the food, she would be in trouble.

The main reason was that Chen Li didn't have a job either. Like Liu Cui'e in the backyard, she occasionally did odd jobs at the street office. She still had to ask her husband for money to pay for the family expenses.

"Li, you are the only one who is arguing with mom. See, you are trying to please others with such a shameless face. But when others have good things, you still don't get any." Li Meihong said to her daughter-in-law Chen Li in a sarcastic tone. Zhou Lingying was selling sheep bones to the neighbors in the yard. Li Meihong could see it from the window. Just now, she saw her daughter-in-law Chen Li also joining in the fun and chatting with Zhou Lingying. She thought her daughter-in-law would also buy some sheep bones, but she came back empty-handed.

Why do people say Zhou Lingying is a vixen? Because everyone thinks that if she wasn't pretty and good-looking, with Jiang Cheng's conditions, he would never have found a sent-down youth who had gone to the countryside.

"I didn't ask for it. Zhou Lingying is not that kind of person. I was afraid that if I bought her things, you wouldn't be able to eat them, and then you would blame me." Chen Li said directly without giving any face.

"I didn't ask for it. So many people in the yard went to buy it, but they just wouldn't sell it to you." Li Meihong said in a provocative tone. In her eyes, there was no such thing as being embarrassed to eat. She thought that the more you offend someone, the more they will take advantage of you, and they will feel comfortable only when they take advantage of you.

Chen Li sat on the stool and thought for a while, looking at the two children playing at the door. She thought that since her mother-in-law said so, she should not nag her when she bought it. In order for the children to eat some meat, Chen Li stood up and walked out of the house.

When she arrived at the yard, Chen Li saw Zhou Lingying still processing the sheep, and she walked forward with a little trepidation in her heart. She felt that Zhou Lingying was not a petty person. But she was also afraid that she would have a problem with her mother-in-law and would not sell the sheep bones to her.

"Lingying, do you have any sheep bones left? I want to stew some for my child." Chen Li asked.

"Sister Chen Li, there aren't many bones and meat in a sheep. They've all been bought by others." Zhou Lingying answered a little embarrassedly.

A sheep weighs only 20 jin in total, and the spine in the middle is not very long or thick. Zhou Lingying saw Chen Li go back just now, and thought she didn't want it. The bones and meat are only a few jin in total, and a family can't buy much. And Liu Cui'e's family in the backyard may not have the courage to buy it because of Zhou Lingying's money.

You can't be so tight that you have to borrow money from your neighbors and then use the money to buy meat. You can't eat radishes and cabbages that cost about one cent per pound.

After Zhou Lingying said this, Chen Li's face turned a little ugly. She didn't think Zhou Lingying was lying to her. But she didn't buy the sheep bones, and her mother-in-law would definitely laugh at her when she went back.

"Sister Chen Li, this lamb was bought by my husband for ten yuan, it's not cheap." Zhou Lingying continued to speak, and then looked back at the door. After thinking for a while, she took the initiative and continued: "Do you want the front lamb leg? It's 80 cents per pound. Although the price is the same as fat pork, at least you don't need a ticket."

"Yes, thank you, just weigh me a leg of lamb." Chen Li smiled and said immediately after hearing Zhou Lingying's words. Even if it costs more than one yuan to buy a leg of lamb, she would buy it.

In fact, Chen Li's family was not in a difficult situation. Her father-in-law and husband both had jobs, but they were just ordinary workers and could not get much meat.

When Zhou Lingying heard that Chen Li was willing to buy the lamb leg at 80 cents per pound, she immediately weighed a leg for her. Maybe the lamb was really not big, or maybe Zhou Lingying didn't take away more meat when she cut it up. A lamb leg was only 1.5 pounds, 1.2 yuan.

After selling the front leg of lamb to Chen Li, Zhou Lingying collected the rest, cut some pure lamb meat for herself, and kept a hind leg. She would give the rest to Zhu Lan when she came back at noon.

Zhou Lingying didn't stir-fry mutton for lunch, but had pig heart and fish, which would go bad if not eaten today. Marinate the mutton and put it in a cool place, at least it won't go bad in a day.

A pig's heart is not very big, just a little over half a pound. After all, it is only a pig weighing about 180 pounds, so the pig's heart will not be too big. In later generations, a pig weighing 200 to 300 pounds would only have a little over one pound.

At noon, there were only two people eating. They fried a pig heart and grilled a fish, which was already very good. Zhou Lingying also cooked a large pot of rice. She didn't want her man to have insufficient rice at noon. But if Jiang Cheng didn't eat much, it wouldn't be her fault.

~~
The Changcheng Supply and Marketing Cooperative Headquarters is actually not far from the bus station.

Because the supply and marketing cooperatives in each city are usually built near the railway station, a large amount of materials of the supply and marketing cooperatives are still transported by water and rail. If they rely on road transportation, then materials from other provinces can basically be forgotten.

Changcheng is the capital of Jiangxi Province, so the local supply and marketing cooperative is very large, with many warehouses, which also plays a big role in transit.

For example, township supply and marketing cooperatives basically do not purchase anything, and they just wait for the county supply and marketing general cooperative to deliver supplies. The county is also divided into supply and marketing cooperatives and general cooperatives. The supply and marketing cooperatives in the county are not responsible for purchasing, only the general cooperative purchases, but the general cooperative in the county will only purchase some products from surrounding counties.

The same is true for the city level, which is responsible for purchasing only in the city within the province. Or the provincial headquarters may dispatch some cities to purchase products from surrounding cities, which can be cities in neighboring provinces.

Anyway, ordinary supply and marketing cooperatives do not have purchasing rights, but the director of a supply and marketing cooperative can ask for more popular products from the head office. It all depends on the ability of the director of the supply and marketing cooperative.

Today, the stationmaster of the bus station had a meal at the Supply and Marketing Cooperative. He had to admit that the food in the canteen here was really good. The small canteen at the bus station couldn't compare to them.

This time, the passenger station manager and freight station manager came here to discuss the issue of driver dispatch. They talked for a long time about how many drivers should be dispatched and the requirements for the drivers' abilities.

The bus station is cooperating with the order of the Highway Transportation Management Department to support several drivers of the Supply and Marketing Cooperative. But some things can be discussed privately.

We talked here for a few hours this morning, and the supply and marketing cooperative also came up with its minimum requirements.

At least three drivers had to be transferred to the Supply and Marketing Cooperative. Originally, four were required. But considering that the bus station was indeed in trouble, the drivers at the bus station were unwilling to accept apprentices unless they were their own relatives or relatives in order to make profits.

Some systems do not allow obvious detours, and are actually aimed at drivers at transport stations.

For example, factory drivers and drivers from some departments rarely drive on the road alone. For example, when the supply and marketing cooperatives go to some factories to purchase, they always bring the buyers with them on business trips.

The three requirements for a driver are the minimum, and the other requirement is that the driver must be at level 4 or above.

The fourth level is basically an experienced driver. Drivers are divided into five levels, but each level has a chief and a deputy, so it can actually be considered as ten levels.

The deputy fifth level is for new drivers who need to be accompanied by a driver. It is similar to getting a driver's license in later generations. During the internship period, you need to be accompanied by an experienced driver on the highway.

After one year, they will basically become level five, which means their internship period is complete.

Deputy Level 4 driver means that the driver is relatively skilled, but may have poor response capabilities when encountering emergencies.

When you reach level 4, you are a real veteran. You have the ability to predict various roads in advance. You can tell at a glance whether many roads are passable, without having to get off the car to measure or anything.

Jiang Cheng was able to reach the standard of level 3, above level 4. Forget about prediction, the technical level tests in the army were like performing acrobatics.

If you go to a higher level, you can really perform acrobatics while driving and operate the car with ease.

As for the top-level skills, Jiang Cheng didn't know. Anyway, people at that level were no longer considered drivers, and they went to the car factory to discuss with engineers how to build a car. After the car was built, they would test drive it and then summarize the advantages and disadvantages of the car.

Now the supply and marketing cooperatives need at least three level 4 drivers, and the bus station is nominally a unit for passenger and freight transport. In reality, each takes care of its own business. Who will give two drivers and who will give one? This is a problem.

As for who should provide one more or one less driver, the two station managers didn't argue for long. It's one thing for departments to be inconsistent, but some things have to be based on facts.

For transport drivers, it is okay to hire a new driver to drive within the city or short distances first, even if he drives slowly. But for passenger drivers, you can't joke around. Unless the weather is bad, there are basically time limits. And the bus is for people, so if there is an accident, the entire bus station may be criticized.

Therefore, the transport station has to arrange two drivers to go to the Supply and Marketing Cooperative. If no agreement can be reached on this point, the stationmaster of the bus station will go directly to the higher authorities for coordination.

At noon today, the two stationmasters will not return to the bus station immediately, but will learn about the drivers' work here. If they know more about it, they can also tell the drivers about some good things about this place.

Just like the drivers at the Housing and Construction Bureau, their treatment may be a little worse. But the distance they travel is short, they are always loading and unloading goods, and they only drive for a few hours. Moreover, although the bus station says that there are four days off, at the transportation station, unless there are special circumstances, you will be counted as overtime. If you don't apply for it, you will not have a day off.

The two stationmasters were checking the situation at the supply and marketing cooperative. Jiang Cheng was lying comfortably at home, so he drove the Yellow River heavy truck over here with a truckload of reed mats.

Jiang Cheng was driving, thinking in his mind, if he used his space ability to rob the Supply and Marketing Cooperative, he could probably lie flat. He wouldn't have to do any transportation in the future, and could lie flat until the opening.

But he can only think about it. If he really does that, how many people will be implicated.

Soon we arrived at the Supply and Marketing Cooperative, which looked a bit like an office building. There was a large room at the bottom of the building, which was similar to the Supply and Marketing Cooperative, and there was nothing special about it.

The delivery person has to go to the left side of the front of the office building, register, and then someone will take you there. Behind it are rows of classified warehouses, which is quite spectacular in that era.

However, on the road leading to the internal warehouse, Jiang Cheng saw something interesting. A car was parked on the side of the road and seemed to have broken down. Five or six people were discussing the problem next to it.

Sedans were rare in this era. You have to know that in the county town at that time, the top leader of the county could only drive a jeep, and it was not even his own. You could only arrange it in advance and make a request when you needed a car.

However, although the system is like this, except for some very poor counties, as long as there are counties with many cars, the general cars may not be exclusive, but some other people will not apply for the use of some cars.

Life is so boring these days. As a driver, checking the condition of the car is sometimes a kind of professional pleasure. Jiang Cheng drove the car to the place where the goods were stored. The reed mats were easy to unload. A large bundle could be unloaded at once. It looked like a whole car of goods was unloaded in a few seconds.

After unloading the goods, Jiang Cheng immediately drove to the place where he had seen the car just now. He found that the car was still there, and there were two more people "watching".

Jiang Cheng parked the car not far from the sedan, took out a cucumber from the space, and got out to watch the fun.

(End of this chapter)