Reborn in 1981, the first to get rich start with dairy cows.

"Tiger, get up quickly, hurry up!"

"Ha, why is there a hole in your underwear?! Your butt is showing!"

"Tiger..."

"..."

Li Hu followed behind Shen Dong resentfully, raised his foot, and kicked the air several times.

"Damn it, making such a racket so early in the morning, everyone knows now!"

He should be kicked twice, given a good beating.

After thinking for a moment, he finally asked, "Dongzi, what are you doing at the commune so early?"

"Don't ask so many questions, bro, I'll take you to get rich."

"Heh..." Li Hu rolled his eyes.

When did this guy learn to brag?!

------

The late summer sun was so intense it made people feel heavy, so the two of them deliberately slowed down as they passed the agricultural machinery station.

Across the street was Shen Dong's planned target: the Baotashan Commune Dairy Factory.

In 1975, the commune established the factory with great fanfare.

In the first few years after its establishment, the factory was bustling with activity every day, and milk was delivered to it by eight production teams from the surrounding area.

The yogurt and milk cakes they produce sell very well, and can even be sold to the county's supply and marketing cooperative.

Back then, the factory workers were the most respectable in the entire commune. They received fixed wages and were given oil and flour as a bonus during holidays. Countless people were eager to get in.

But all that remains of the scene before me is desolation.

The iron sign above the gate has rusted, and the eight characters "Baotashan Commune Dairy Factory" have become somewhat blurred by wind and rain.

The factory area was quiet, with not a sound of machinery.

Shen Dong stood on tiptoe to look inside. The factory area was not small. In addition to two factory buildings side by side, there were two large milk storage tanks standing outside. The tanks were rusty and looked like they hadn't been maintained for a long time.

Shen Dong only remembered that it went bankrupt and the factory closed down, but he hadn't paid attention to the time and how it was handled, so he couldn't recall it.

We need to hurry, the document will be released in two months, and there can't be any changes.

There was only one old man in the guardhouse, sitting at the table, squinting as he read the newspaper.

Shen Dong knocked on the glass.

"Grandpa, what's going on at this factory? Why is it so quiet?" he said, offering a local cigarette.

The old man didn't take it, giving Shen Dong a wary look and glancing at Li Hu standing to the side.

"Who are you? What are you doing here?"

Shen Dong hurriedly replied, "Grandpa, my name is Shen Dong, and his name is Li Hu. We are both from the Hongqi Production Team. We came here to see if they are hiring."

The old man then lowered his guard and took the cigarette: "Oh, don't look anymore, we're not hiring."

Shen Dong feigned surprise: "Huh? The factory looks pretty big! Why aren't you hiring? I remember it was quite popular when I was a kid!"

The old man chuckled and tucked the cigarette behind his ear.

"The past is the past, the present is the present!"

He sighed, his voice filled with nostalgia: "I think it was three years ago when sales suddenly stopped. Last year, the county only gave us some orders, which were barely enough to cover our expenses. This year, there are no orders at all."

"After that, we received less milk, and the yogurt we made couldn't be sold. After discussing it, the leaders decided to just stop for now."

Following up on his words, Shen Dong asked, "What about the employees? If we stop working, they won't get paid, right?"

"There's no one left!" she said, holding up her fingers. "There are only 12 left. Some went home to farm, and some went to other factories."

"I know that. Several people from our production team came out of the factory," Li Hu interjected, seizing the opportunity.

"It's not just your production team, it's the same in the surrounding areas!"

"And what about wages?" The old man became agitated at the mention of wages, his voice rising several decibels: "Last year's wages for the second half of the year weren't fully paid, and from the beginning of this year until now, I've only received two months' worth, and even that was paid in yogurt!"

"That stuff is terribly sour and watery, who would want it?"

"Everyone stayed because they wanted something to look forward to—what if the factory came back to life?"

The old man turned his head and looked into the factory as he spoke.

Even when life is tough, we remain full of hope.

"Yes, everyone needs something to look forward to in life," Shen Dong said with a sigh, frowning as he asked, "Don't the commune leaders care?"

The old man turned around, his face suddenly changed, and he stomped his foot on the ground: "It makes me angry just talking about this. Those leaders came several times, and they either said they didn't have the money or that they needed to hold a meeting to discuss it, but they didn't come up with anything."

"People were making a fuss before, and the commune stepped in to appease them, but gradually everyone's patience wore thin."

He patted Shen Dong on the shoulder and said, "Young man, why don't you go and check out other places?"

After some communication, Shen Dong had a basic understanding of the situation and a general idea of ​​what was going on.

He gave a greeting and left with Li Hu.

"Dongzi, what exactly do you mean?" Li Hu was full of questions and asked after walking only a few steps.

"Come on, let's go buy something here." Shen Dong didn't answer, but pulled him to a stall.

"Hey, why are you speaking in riddles? Sigh...where are you going?!"

------

Shen Dong went to the commune today for two main purposes.

One option is to visit the dairy factory in person; it would be best to get some information from there.

Another aspect is purchasing raw materials for making dairy products such as yogurt.

The dairy processing line will only start operating after he has cured the cattle; it's not time yet.

However, we need to plan ahead for future products, so we can take this opportunity to do some experimentation.

The main dairy products currently on the market are: fresh milk, traditional yogurt, milk skin, and malted milk powder.

Fresh milk and malted milk powder were not in the plan; Shen Dong only had one thing to do: standardize yogurt.

The current problems with homemade yogurt are obvious: it is difficult to control the sweetness and sourness, the fermentation flavor is too strong, and it is too thin or not thick enough.

However, these were all child's play for Shen Dong.

Having access to a library, he had already prepared the materials.

"Tiger, do you have a thermometer at home? If not, go to the brigade and find one for me."

Seeing Li Hu turn to leave, he hurriedly called out, "Right, there are also pots, find me two more."

One of the core elements of yogurt is sterilization and fermentation.

Without proper equipment, we could only use traditional methods to make a simple constant-temperature fermentation box.

Another one is thickeners, which are food additives, but they don't exist currently.

Fortunately, starch or similar materials can be used as substitutes to achieve the same thickening and stabilizing effect.

The remaining tasks, such as strain screening and purification, should also be carried out simultaneously.

After working for most of the day, when Shen Min got home from school, her two older brothers were still busy.

"Little Tiger, why do you look so disheveled?"

Li Hu flashed his white teeth and said, "I was ordered by your brother to watch the stove fire, and I got smoked from it."

Shen Min covered her mouth and chuckled. "Is there anything I can help with?"

Shen Dong patted the crumbs off his hands, straightened up, and rubbed his lower back.

For the sake of this great cause, I have to do everything myself, which is exhausting!

"You've come home at just the right time. Here, have some freshly made yogurt."

After saying that, he scooped some into a small bowl.

Li Hu happily grabbed a bowl and, without waiting to be asked, filled it to the brim.

This is my wages after a day's work.

The two of them couldn't wait to start eating.

The moment it entered my mouth, I could feel the difference.

It has no fermented taste, the sweetness is just right, and it's thicker!

"Great job, Dongzi. With your skills, you could work as a technician in a factory."

Li Hu was so dense that he only thought about going to the factory to provide guidance, and he didn't connect Shen Dong with the dairy factory he visited this morning.

He finished a bowl of yogurt in just a few bites, and even licked his face clean.

Still undecided, I had another bowl.

Shen Dong also had some for himself.

Hmm, it's still a bit lacking. It should be perfect once the inoculum is produced.

The group was happily eating when Tang Yue's voice came from the courtyard.