NFBE Chapter 125: Settlement of an Account
Chapter 125: Settlement of an Account
Regarding the construction of the cowshed, Gu Zhan drew a sketch and after discussing it with Zhao Baogen, it was finalized.
In general, it is similar to the construction method of cow sheds in later generations, except that improvements have been made in places where current conditions cannot meet the requirements.
At the same time, changes were made in the materials. Later standardized cow sheds were all reinforced concrete. Now the conditions are difficult, and the standards of reinforced concrete are obviously not met, so they can only be replaced with adobe walls.
After everything was discussed, Zhao Baogen and other cadres in the brigade also communicated with each other, and finally decided that on the morning of November 10, each family in the Shanghe Village Production Brigade would send a representative to attend the production brigade meeting.
It is the slack season for farmers now, and the food distributed this year is also sufficient, enough for everyone to survive until next year's harvest. Everyone coming here now has happy faces.
After a few brief prelude remarks, Zhao Baogen jumped straight to the point. "As you all heard a few days ago, leaders from the Provincial Academy of Agricultural Sciences and the municipal and county agricultural bureaus visited our Shanghe Village production brigade. Finally, thanks to the active efforts of our villager, Gu Zhan, the Provincial Academy of Agricultural Sciences agreed to cooperate with us to promote the breeding of the 'Anhe No. 1' yellow cattle breed in our brigade."
"Captain, do you mean that our production team plans to raise cattle?" someone asked.
Zhao Baogen laughed and said, "That's true. It was not easy to win this time."
"Captain, how many cattle should we raise?"
Zhao Baogen smiled mysteriously and said, "Fifty!"
"Fifty?" Everyone was stunned. Fifty cows? They couldn't even imagine that there were so many cows.
"Captain, we have so many cows that we can't use them all!"
"Hahahaha..." There were boos from the crowd below.
Zhao Baogen coughed heavily and said, "Don't make a fuss. These fifty cows of ours are not for plowing the land, but for breeding calves. When the time comes, we can exchange the calves for money and live a good life."
"Ah? Like that?"
When everyone heard this, they instantly became interested, especially when they heard that they could exchange cattle for money.
"But we didn't get these fifty cows for free. To support us, the county is expected to allocate half of the money, which is 15,000 yuan. The rest is considered as the team's debt to the Provincial Academy of Agricultural Sciences, which will be paid off in three years, which works out to 5,000 yuan per year."
Originally, after hearing about Zhao Baogen's team raising cattle, everyone was eager to try it out. But now they heard that they owed money to the Academy of Agricultural Sciences, especially the huge sum of 5,000 yuan that had to be repaid every year. The atmosphere suddenly became as if it was poured with cold water, half silent and half whispering.
Zhao Baogen knew everyone's concerns. To be honest, he was also worried at the beginning, thinking that the cattle farm was too risky.
"I understand everyone's concerns, and I share the same sentiment. However, if we continue as we are, Shanghe Village will forever be starving. Rather than let this happen, we might as well fight to the bitter end."
As soon as Zhao Baogen said this, the worries in everyone's hearts began to waver. It is true that the current poor life makes people feel depressed. If they have the opportunity to live a life with enough food and warm clothes, why don't they work hard?
One of the team members who usually earned the most work points walked up to the front and shouted, "Captain, I agree. We'll do whatever you need us to do, as long as we can live a good life."
For a moment, everyone applauded.
"Okay, then we'll invite Comrade Gu Zhan..."
Before Zhao Baogen could finish his words, someone interrupted him. Zhao Baogen looked closely and found that the person was Gu Jun, the son of Gu Mancang.
Gu Mancang has been secretly having an affair with Widow Zhao these days and has not been paying much attention to the team's affairs. When the team notified him to come for a meeting, they asked Gu Jun, who was sleeping at home, to come. After all, each family sent a representative, so there was no problem for Gu Jun to go.
Gu Jun also didn't have any feelings about raising cattle, but when he heard the people standing around him whispering that the cattle farm was coordinated by Gu Zhan, he suddenly felt an inexplicable anger in his heart. Why was everything Gu Zhan did successful, but he was arrested just for reselling a few bills?
Gu Jun felt that it was unfair. There wasn't much in his mind at this moment. There was only one voice: he couldn't let Gu Zhan accomplish this, otherwise Shanghe Village would become his, Gu Zhan's, world.
As soon as Gu Jun said this, everyone's eyes immediately fell on him. Zhao Baogen saw that it was Gu Jun who was speaking, and thought that he was just simply raising a question, so he smiled and asked, "Gu Jun, you also went to high school, you are knowledgeable and cultured. Tell us what you think?"
Having said that, Gu Jun had no choice but to bite the bullet and say, "Repaying the Academy of Agricultural Sciences 5,000 yuan every year is not a small amount in itself. Can we afford it?"
As soon as Gu Jun said this, everyone looked at Zhao Baogen and Gu Zhan with the same puzzled look in their eyes.
Gu Zhan stood there, listening to Gu Jun's speech, his heart calm without a single ripple.
He thought that it was probably his growth in this life that gave Gu Jun a sense of crisis, so Gu Jun in this life was not as idle as in the previous life.
On the contrary, other thoughts have increased.
After Gu Jun finished speaking righteously, Gu Zhan stood up and walked in front of the crowd. He looked at Gu Jun calmly, but only for a moment. Then he calmly withdrew his gaze and said in a resounding voice:
"Fellow villagers of Shanghe Village, our original intention in establishing the cattle farm was to enable everyone to live a good life. To this end, we have done a lot of preparatory work, including applying for funding from higher authorities.
Running a cattle farm is inherently risky, but my point is that everything we do carries risks, even growing crops. When faced with potential risks, we need to learn how to withstand them, not how to avoid them.
Gu Zhan's words were suggestive. Gu Jun, who was standing in the crowd, felt extremely uncomfortable when he saw the vague glances from the people around him.
Gu Zhan then did some calculations with everyone: "According to our goal, we will purchase about fifty cattle, including forty-five cows. Assuming that they produce at least twenty-five calves each year, and the normal price of a calf is over three hundred yuan, our first-year income should be over seven thousand five hundred yuan. However, considering our initial investment, the remaining more than two thousand five hundred yuan can be used as costs for this year. Our first-year income will be considered as investment, and in the second year we will continue to expand the scale of breeding..."
After Gu Zhan did the math, it was like a reassurance to everyone. The voices of opposition became much smaller, but some people still had doubts.
In the end, it was Zhao Baogen who made the final decision: "We will start building the cattle shed the day after tomorrow. When the time comes, we will record the work points and distribute the profits according to the work points. Please let each other know."