Forced to marry a disabled man in the countryside? I'll repay you tenfold!

"What? Your family gets soap and toothpaste for Chinese New Year? Mine got soybean oil."

"The canned food and snacks that my family provided."

In short, if they could beat other factories at a similar price and buy some rare items, the workers would feel proud, and the factory leaders would also gain face.

The two nodded and immediately gave the numbers: "Our factory has several thousand workers, so we need to order at least several thousand planting boxes, or tens of thousands of kilograms of oyster mushrooms. Giving each person about ten kilograms would be about right."

Another said, "We're about the same."

Back then, when state-owned factories distributed welfare benefits during the Spring Festival, five or six catties of meat or five or six catties of apples was considered a slightly above-average standard. Ten catties of oyster mushrooms per person was just right in that range and was considered very good.

Chen Xiuer quickly made a mental estimate.

Including other supply and marketing cooperatives, the output needs to reach at least 100,000 jin by next month. It's a bit urgent, but there's enough mycelium. It's just a matter of working overtime. So I immediately said, "Okay, no problem. We can go to the planting base to sign the contract now. After I finish here, I can take you on a tour."

The two nodded in agreement.

Su Wanqing was still counting on her fingers—this batch of mushrooms had only been out for one day and she had already received such a large order. Nearly 100,000 catties of the goods had already been sold, and this order alone brought in more than 30,000 yuan.

Before the Lunar New Year, the income from oyster mushrooms alone must have been at least 100,000 yuan, which is incredibly profitable! Decades later, oyster mushrooms would only cost one or two yuan per kilogram, but in the early 1980s, they were selling for just a few cents per kilogram... It's an outrageous profit!

Su Wanqing is still unaware of the exhausting work that awaits her, wishing she could increase the mushroom production tenfold, and is currently basking in her own smugness.

On the first day, a lot of goods were sold out quickly, and by noon the number of people gradually decreased.

Chen Xiuer immediately did the math, beaming from ear to ear: "Dr. Su, we sold a total of 800 jin of oyster mushrooms and over 200 cultivation boxes this morning. So far, we've earned over 1200 yuan. The main reason is that the cultivation boxes are profitable; everyone is willing to buy them to give as gifts when visiting relatives during the Lunar New Year. These are rare. This whole room full of oyster mushrooms will be sold out by tomorrow at most, and we'll be able to get a second batch the day after tomorrow."

Su Wanqing raised an eyebrow: "So much money?"

She always knew that selling vegetables could make money, but she never expected that selling oyster mushrooms could be so profitable.

Fortunately, it was oyster mushrooms that were being sold, costing only 30 cents a pound. If you were selling cabbage, it would only cost a few cents a pound, making it incomparable. Oyster mushrooms were quite ahead of their time, but compared to cucumbers costing nine or ten yuan a pound a few years later in winter, they weren't that remarkable.

Moreover, this is before the Lunar New Year, so people will grit their teeth and buy some rare items. They probably won't be this crazy after the New Year.

Unfortunately, she could return ten times the amount of mushrooms at any time, but she couldn't explain their origin.

"Sigh, I guess I'll just have to stick to growing oyster mushrooms. If I want to get rich quick, I'll have to pay back the rest tenfold. I wonder if Old Shen is done with his work yet?" Su Wanqing had gone to see Old Shen a few days ago, but he had gone to another city to give a lecture and wouldn't be back for a few more days. She could only wait anxiously. There were still a few things in her space that she planned to hand over to Old Shen.

At noon, Chen Xiuer returned to the planting base during lunch and immediately recruited three more people, asking Wang Da Niang to train them quickly. She also signed the contract with Guo Mingyuan.

On the day of the Little New Year, everyone celebrated the festival happily, and the remaining oyster mushrooms were sold out in one morning.

The main reason is that one company directly bought over a thousand kilograms of mushrooms to give to its employees in the canteen. When the aunties around saw this, they immediately went into a buying frenzy – three kilograms here, five kilograms there, afraid they wouldn't be able to get any before the Lunar New Year. In the end, even the oyster mushrooms in the cultivation boxes were bought out.

When Chen Xiuer moved in the afternoon, Aunt Wang didn't have time to cook, so she simply went to a state-run restaurant and packed more than a dozen dishes. Su Wanqing and the others went to the new house together for a housewarming meal, which was considered to be the Little New Year.

I thought the matter would be over after the Lunar New Year, but the next day when the vegetable store received the second batch of new oyster mushrooms, many people from various companies heard that a factory had used oyster mushrooms to give out employee benefits the day before, and they immediately came to place orders—one company had three thousand catties, another had five thousand catties, and they started placing orders again.

In 1980, people were able to eat their fill and had some spare money, but they couldn't buy many things. Therefore, when this rare vegetable appeared in winter, state-owned enterprises were happy to buy it.

In just two days, another 50,000 jin of mushrooms were ordered, and the orders completely exploded.

We need to produce at least 150,000 jin (75,000 kg) before the Lunar New Year, and also reserve some for retail sales on that day...

Guo Mingyuan purchased additional auxiliary materials from the Academy of Agricultural Sciences, and the large warehouse, which was originally less than half full, is now completely filled.

He asked a carpenter to build three more layers of mushroom racks overnight, turning the original open space into a dense, three-dimensional planting area. He also hired five more workers to be responsible for turning the mushrooms over, watering, and harvesting.

Aunt Wang was so busy that she developed dark circles under her eyes. Not only did she have to train new people, but she also had to keep expanding the mycelium, and she couldn't stop growing shiitake mushrooms and white fungus either.

Now there are seven or eight workers every day just preparing the auxiliary materials, they are so busy they can't even stand still.

Su Wanqing now has to help out at the vegetable shop every day during the morning rush hour and the two peak periods before getting off work. She only regrets that she has a cheat code but can't openly and legitimately use ten times the amount of oyster mushrooms, otherwise she can get the money for free.

"I finally understand what it means to find money lying around in this day and age." Su Wan was so tired that she just wanted to lie down. There were too many people and not enough goods. You had to fight to buy anything. There was no worry about selling anything.

Fortunately, Lao Zheng had already sent four people – three disabled veterans had been assigned to the breeding farm, and one was a descendant of a disabled veteran who had been assigned to the vegetable shop.

Now, half of the city knows that the "Gu Xiang Yuan" stall at the entrance of the vegetable market sells mushrooms in winter, with unlimited supply, and it's open every day.

You just have to go early to queue, otherwise they might be sold out.

The vegetable store now sells a stable amount of over 1,000 jin (500 kg) of vegetables daily, generating over 300 yuan in daily retail revenue. Adding the more than 100 planting boxes, the daily sales reach nearly 1,000 yuan. Retail prices are higher, and profits are also higher, but it's a bit more troublesome.

Although the supply and marketing cooperative and the restaurant are relatively stable, and Guo Mingyuan delivers goods there every day, there have also been many scattered orders recently, ranging from tens of kilograms to hundreds of kilograms. The distances vary, and Guo Mingyuan has to deliver them all at once. He works from dawn till dusk every day and is rarely seen, so he has to hire two more deliverymen.

So, as soon as Su Wanqing finished removing the stitches from Grandpa Chen, she went straight to find Lao Zheng.

She has a strict rule when it comes to hiring: "better to have none than to have bad ones." The candidates must be trustworthy; otherwise, what if some people slip through the cracks or others try to cheat? That's why the process is slow.

Once enough people are recruited and the mushroom base can get running, Su Wanqing will be able to take a break and focus on her farm.