Courtyard House: The Chef's Intelligence System

With the year-end approaching, Li Jiuzhou was very busy. With Sha Zhu taking care of the canteen and the breeding farm, he didn't need to worry too much.

Li Jiuzhou was busy with the allocation of supplies.

It is now early 1959, and the New Year is approaching. Last year, the Great Leap Forward and the People's Commune Movement were launched in full swing.

The reported grain yields from various regions are astonishing, almost unbelievable.

Moreover, during the autumn and winter seasons, the commune held large-scale collective canteens, and "eating to one's heart's content" was not just an empty phrase; it meant eating to one's heart's content.

This behavior is equivalent to overdrawing the year's grain reserves in advance, resulting in a large amount of grain being consumed in a short period of time, leaving farmers with almost no grain reserves at home.

Furthermore, a large number of young and middle-aged farmers were transferred to the Great Leap Forward for steel production and water conservancy construction, resulting in extensive farming practices and a decline in actual grain yields.

This is just a hidden danger; on the surface, the propaganda still portrays it as a bumper harvest, and ordinary people have not yet widely felt the famine.

He knew Li Jiuzhou, but there was nothing he could do. As a mere mortal, what could he do but ensure that he and his family didn't starve?

He can't control what others do; he's not a saint.

However, Li Jiuzhou still did his best to help the factory get more supplies.

We have stored up a lot of rice, flour, and cooking oil, enough for at least six months.

These are emergency supplies, basically left untouched. We'll continue purchasing as usual. Same as before.

Yang Ligong was a little unhappy that Li Jiuzhou was spending so much money.

After all, the factory manager's signature is required; he controls the purse strings.

However, Yang Ligong could not interfere too much with the work of the logistics department. As long as the money was not embezzled, Yang Ligong had to approve it.

Li Jiuzhou was so clever; he didn't take the money directly to buy supplies, but waited until the supplies arrived before asking Yang Ligong to transfer the money.

The items have all been put into storage, are we going to return them?

Don't we, Hongxing Steel Rolling Mill, have any pride?

After verifying the information, Yang Ligong had no choice but to sign it, but he definitely complained to Secretary Nie.

"You mean Comrade Jiuzhou has stockpiled rice, flour, and cooking oil for more than half a year?" Secretary Nie asked doubtfully.

Yang Ligong nodded:

"Yes, leader. We need a large quantity of supplies at the end of the year, and we also need to pay worker benefits. Comrade Jiuzhou is spending money like water!"

"There's money in the account, but it can't withstand his reckless spending!"

Upon hearing this, Secretary Nie raised an eyebrow:

"Is there a problem with the supplies? Can the accounts be reconciled?"

Did he embezzle funds?

Yang Ligong smiled:

"No, all the supplies match up. I had someone check them."

Secretary Nie also began to have doubts:

"Alright, let Jiuzhou come over for a chat, and let Huaide come along too."

Soon the uncle and nephew arrived at Secretary Nie's office.

After drinking tea and smoking, Secretary Nie began to question Li Jiuzhou:

"Jiuzhou, the factory manager said you've recently allocated a large amount of supplies. Why is that? Can you tell me?"

Li Jiuzhou knew they would ask sooner or later, so he didn't hide anything:

"Secretaries and factory director, the current situation is very complicated. Where does our city's food come from?"

"The answer comes from the countryside. You've probably heard of the commune canteens, where people ate as much as they wanted, and farmers didn't even keep any grain stored at home."

"You need to understand how terrible it is to eat your fill. What if you run out of food?"

"As the logistics manager of the factory, I have to play it safe. Half a year's worth of grain reserves is not much. It just means spending more money, but it won't be a burden on our factory."

"If the situation remains favorable, we won't need to spend money on food for the next six months."

"If the situation gets bad, the things I've stockpiled in advance could save my life."

"That's my suggestion. What do the leaders think?"

After listening to Li Jiuzhou's words, the three of them fell into deep thought.

Moreover, it has foresight; in the event of a food crisis, the factory's six-month grain reserves can solve all worries.

How can workers work if they are not well-fed?

The problem is very serious. Li Jiuzhou's move is a precautionary measure, a plan made in advance.

Even without the crisis, we wouldn't need to buy grain anymore, and the factory wouldn't suffer any losses.

If so, that would be a great achievement!

The three men hold high positions and have a broad perspective. They watch the news every day and have powerful family connections, so they have firsthand information about domestic policies and such.

"I think this is feasible. Should we store more?" Yang Ligong has changed his tune now, even feeling that half a year's worth of food is not enough.

Li Huaide echoed:

"I agree. Saving more money simply means spending more money, but it's better to be prepared."

Secretary Nie nodded as well:

"Then let's do it. Take advantage of the fact that resources are easy to allocate now, Kyushu, you should stock up on more."

"It's all about money anyway. If we buy it, we can always sell it to someone else. We're not going to do a losing business."

Li Jiuzhou smiled:

"No problem, I'll coordinate with all parties."

After the four-person meeting ended, Li Jiuzhou began a new round of material procurement.

At the same time, the scale of the farm was doubled, and more than 500 pigs were raised.

We currently have over 300 pigs ready for slaughter, which can be killed at any time.

The factory has basically achieved complete freedom in producing chicken and duck eggs, so there's no need to buy them anymore.

The eggs from the factory are mainly used for making soup, or occasionally stir-fried with vegetables.

Li Jiuzhou also told Sha Zhu to stock up on more food at home if there was nothing to do.

Sha Zhu is so smart. He doesn't ask many questions; he just listens and does what he's told.

Their family is well-off; they basically don't even eat coarse grains, only refined grains.

It's not just Shazhu; the neighbors in the courtyard don't eat much coarse grain, mainly because they're used to it, and their income isn't low either.

Coarse grains are only eaten occasionally as a treat, since they are rationed and must be consumed to avoid waste.

Sha Zhu basically gave all the coarse grains to his father-in-law's family. They didn't mind; they would take what he gave them, and they wouldn't ask their daughter and son-in-law for it if he didn't give it to them.

They are reasonable; they give one or two chickens and ducks from their family to their daughter and son-in-law every month.

A true family is one that gives and takes.

By the end of the year, the factory's expansion and recruitment were basically completed.

New factory buildings, new machines, new employees—a vibrant and energetic scene.

When it came time to distribute benefits, the new workers who joined the factory this year did not receive any benefits.

What kind of benefits are you getting? You've only been here a short time and you already want benefits? Dream on.

Li Jiuzhou decided not to pay; the full salary would suffice.

The factory leaders had no objections. Benefits are a significant expense, and it's not that they're unwilling to provide them, but rather that it would be painful to give them. They'll distribute them next year when the workers are all senior employees, and once the rules are set, they won't be changed.

Although the new workers had complaints, they had no complaints because other factories didn't give new employees any benefits.

The older workers were quite happy, as they still received benefits.

However, the factory arranged for the workers to watch a few movies. Anyway, there wasn't much work at the end of the year, so it was good to let them relax a bit.

The Spring Festival was as lively as ever, with firecrackers going off non-stop at the gate of No. 95 Nanluoguxiang.

These were all families with good living conditions; they would set off more than ten thousand firecrackers.

They can afford to spend this small amount of money.