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

The wall that used to surround the factory on the north side was knocked down, extending from the open space in the factory area all the way to the northernmost point.

The new fence has been extended to nearly 70 meters in length and about 20 meters in width.

For a small factory in a commune, this was already quite large.

The new warehouse was built next to the old wall, which was a way of fulfilling Lao Liu's promise to reduce the distance everyone had to travel.

The warehouse is a simple adobe house, about 60 square meters, which is enough to store various fresh milk and finished products.

In front of the warehouse is a reserved area for storing milk storage tanks, and next to it is the new factory building.

It's called a factory, but it's really more like a large kitchen.

It includes four large rural stoves, with four big iron pots placed on them, and various worktables on the side, making it quite a proper setup.

"There are four pots! That means we can make so much more milk skin every day!" Mao Dongmei exclaimed excitedly. "Factory manager, shall we make milk skin and milk tofu here from now on?"

"And milk cookies!" Shen Dong added.

Just as the topic of cookies came up, Shen Dong suddenly remembered that he still had things to do, so he asked, "What are your thoughts on the small cookies?"

Qiu Xiaoqin and the others exchanged glances and shook their heads.

"So what kind of cookies do you want to make, and what shape?"

Mao Dongmei hesitated before speaking, "Aren't cookies just... cookies? What shape do they have?"

It's not their fault; the cookies they had were just long strips, and they couldn't think of any other shapes.

"Alright, you guys clean this place up first. You'll be working here tomorrow; this will be your base camp."

After giving his instructions, he went to the commune's carpentry shop and found a carpenter to draw out the wooden mold he wanted.

The old carpenter had never done this before, but he had the carving skills, and he quickly carved out molds of various shapes.

Shen Dong was very satisfied.

"Come, take a look at this."

While Qiu Xiaoqin and the others were still cleaning, Shen Dong went over and gathered them together, taking out the molds he had just made.

The group's attention was immediately drawn to it.

"What is this? It's so cute!"

"Is this a puppy, and a bird too?"

"That's right! That's what I came up with. Regular long cookies aren't very original. If we make them into animal-shaped cookies, don't you think kids would love them?"

The group nodded in unison: "Of course! I think it's cute, and kids certainly won't refuse it."

"Alright, you can keep them and study them carefully. I have to go now."

As he spoke, Shen Dong arrived at his office.

When he came back, Lao Huang told him that someone was looking for him and was waiting in the office.

"Oh, Dongzi's back! I just came looking for you, but the old man at the gate said you went out. We thought he was lying to us..."

There were three people in the office. The one who spoke was a middle-aged man, whose face looked familiar to Shen Dong.

I think it was during a Chinese New Year meal, with some distant uncle.

Shen Dong immediately understood why they had come.

"Uncle, what brings you here? I remember you live quite far from here."

"Hehe, it's alright, it's not far, we came by donkey cart. It's because your two older brothers are useless, just staying at home doing nothing. We were saying you were hiring for the New Year, so we brought them over to show you."

As he spoke, the middle-aged man suddenly kicked both of them.

The two older brothers immediately stood up straight, looking like they were usually beaten quite badly.

Shen Dong gave the group an awkward smile.

They said they needed to hire people, but these two older brothers in front of them didn't seem to be very bright. No wonder they could only stay at home.

"Brothers, do you have any experience working in a factory? Do you know how?"

I may think about it, but I still need to ask the questions I should ask.

Sure enough, after Shen Dong asked his question, the two brothers looked at each other and shook their heads together.

He asked a few more questions, which neither of them could answer. Their voices were soft, suggesting they had been forced to answer by their fathers.

Shen Dong had a headache.

What to do? The two of them seem quite honest, but they don't know anything.

He thought for a moment, then pulled his uncle outside for a private chat.

"Dongzi, just say what's on your mind, I'm all set."

"Uncle, to be honest, our factory has requirements for hiring people. I mentioned it during the New Year. Each group will have an assessment. If I bring someone there who doesn't know anything, the others may not say anything, but they will definitely resent me in their hearts. Do you understand what I'm saying?"

The uncle's dark face showed worry. He shakily took out a cigarette from his pocket and was about to light it.

"Oh dear, the kid is so disappointing, Dongzi, I'm so sorry to have troubled you."

After saying that, he went inside and called the two men to prepare to leave.

Seeing the three people's desolate figures, Shen Dong felt a pang of pity and said, "Wait a moment."

He quickened his pace to catch up and asked, "Uncle, besides the work in the workshop, are there any other jobs you can do?"

The three were overjoyed and quickly nodded, saying, "Anything is fine, anything is fine!"

"How about watching the warehouse? We just built a new warehouse, and we'll be carrying a lot of stuff. It would be perfect for the two of you to take turns working the night shift. The pay won't be very high, though. Is that okay with you?"

"Okay! They're honest, they'll definitely keep a close eye on the warehouse for you."

As the uncle spoke, his two sons just grinned sheepishly, and the uncle kicked him, saying, "How did I teach you at home? Talk to me!"

The eldest brother, Tong Dashan, hurriedly stammered, "Dongzi, thank...thank you."

The uncle raised his foot and kicked again: "You call him 'Dongzi'? Call him 'Factory Manager'!"

Shen Dong watched as he had kicked the two brothers several times in just a few minutes, wondering if their buttocks and legs could take it. He raised his hand to try and stop them.

Fortunately, the two brothers were often beaten, but they never uttered a sound.

Shen Dong called Li Meiyu over and first inquired about the recruitment situation in administration and human resources. Upon learning that it was underway, he told her to hurry up and get things done.

Then, the brothers Dashan and Xiaoshan were hired to guard the warehouse, working day and night shifts in rotation, with a salary of 18 yuan per person.

Upon hearing about this income, the uncle smiled.

In the countryside, you can't earn 200 yuan a year just by farming, and the factory even provides lunch. I couldn't be more satisfied.

After her uncle left, Tang Yue came to find him.

Seeing that no one was around, she said, "Dongzi, you can't just pity others because they're having a hard time. Look, your uncle is going to go back and start telling everyone about you. In a couple of days, a bunch of relatives will definitely come over. I wonder what you'll do then."

"You can't accept everything, can you? If you don't, people will have complaints about you. You haven't handled this matter well."

Shen Dong was well aware of all this.

The most troublesome thing in the countryside is the relationship between relatives. In Pengcheng, it is not common to hold banquets. In later generations, people would hold banquets when a sow gave birth. If you don't go, they will get angry. How can you deal with such a relationship?

But he's not a cold-blooded animal; how could he choose to stand idly by when he could help?

All I can say is, try to avoid what comes next.

With that in mind, he quickly went through the things he needed to do and made sure he left by the day after tomorrow at the latest.