Chapter Thirty-Three: The Countryside Offers Boundless Opportunities (Please Keep Reading)

Yu Aiguo sighed. Things were truly different now compared to before. In the past, people lived for ideals; now, they lived for a salary. A salary meant money, but where would that money come from? If not for this necessity, how could a brigade-run factory have been established so smoothly? Unfortunately, Qin Zheng did not understand his train of thought.

However, while Qin Zheng remained oblivious, Qin Jun’s perspective was quite different.

"Director Yu, ours is only a small lime kiln; we cannot accommodate many people."

Yu Aiguo had been on the verge of backing out, but he hadn't expected Qin Jun to offer him an opening. In this era, could someone who had managed to become a deputy director of a commune at such a young age be simple? Based on that single sentence from Qin Jun, Yu Aiguo sensed an opportunity.

"What do you mean by that?" Yu Aiguo looked at Qin Jun.

Although this kid, Qin Jun, was quite thin, the complexion on his face was much better than that of the other villagers. He looked robust and full of vitality; he was certainly no longer the walking skeleton he used to be. Yu Aiguo had long known that Qin Jun was only fourteen this year and that he could learn anything just by watching it once. Most importantly, the boy had managed to successfully burn lime on a whim. He definitely needed to listen to what a youth like this had to say.

Qin Jun did not beat around the bush. He said straightforwardly, "Our lime kiln can only accommodate three more people for now."

"You can still take on three more?" Yu Aiguo asked in surprise. "With such a makeshift operation, you can actually add three more people? Would the villagers be willing?"

"Yes. Since we are running a factory—even if it is a brigade-run enterprise—there must be rules." Qin Jun glanced at Qin Zheng. Seeing that he didn't object, Qin Jun continued, "The kiln needs an accountant, a purchasing agent to handle weighing, and a warehouse clerk. It’s best not to use villagers for these three positions."

"Haha! You’re a smart kid. That’s correct; mutual supervision makes everyone feel at ease!" Qin Zheng laughed heartily upon hearing Qin Jun's suggestion. "Good lad! If your small kiln can already accommodate three more people, how many could you take if we expanded? Do you have any difficulties? If you do, speak up—we want to grow bigger and stronger!"

Seeing how excited Yu Aiguo had become, Qin Jun was very satisfied. This was a good leader! He made a request, and they agreed, but in return, the leader had to provide something in exchange. This Yu Aiguo was definitely a clever man; he understood the subtext of every word.

Facing a sharp mind, Qin Jun no longer held back. "Coal. As long as we have coal, we can grow big, become strong, and reach new heights!"

"Ah? That’s well said! Reach new heights? The countryside is a vast world where much can be accomplished; we should indeed reach new heights!" Yu Aiguo mused. "Our commune does have coal, but the two existing mines are state-run, so we can’t touch them. However, we are planning to build a new small coal mine next year. By then, coal will no longer be a problem."

Qin Jun shook his head directly. Distant water could not quench a near thirst. Besides, that planned coal mine had reportedly been dug for four or five years without even reaching a coal seam; it was impossible to rely on it.

"Seize the day, for ten thousand years is too long!" Qin Jun was not one to be modest.

Yu Aiguo didn't mind. "Fine. How much do you intend to take?"

Qin Jun shook his head again. "It’s not a matter of how much I intend to take, but how much the commune can provide!" As he spoke, Qin Jun gestured to the surroundings. The area was desolate; besides piles of iron ore and slag, there was nothing but barren hills. Aside from steel smelting and lime burning, the land seemed to have no other use. Since that was the case, they might as well grow, get stronger, and reach new heights.

"There is space for me to build more kilns, and there is limestone right here. The only thing missing is coal. If we have enough coal, how many kilns couldn't we build?" Seeing Yu Aiguo lost in thought, Qin Jun continued, "If you're worried that the lime won't sell after we expand, you can conduct a survey."

Yu Aiguo waved a hand. "That won't be necessary. Why do you think Accountant Feng got beaten three times in one day? Isn't it because too many people can't buy lime?"

Qin Jun smiled. "Since there is demand, can’t our lime kiln expand? And if we do, how many people can we employ?"

Qin Jun’s words had stirred his interest, but being a leader, he still maintained his composure. "You are producing two kiln-loads of lime a day? How many workers does that take, and what is your monthly profit?"

This time, Qin Jun stayed silent and looked at Qin Zheng, who was, after all, the factory director and couldn't just stand by as a bystander.

Qin Zheng answered readily, "Currently, we have ten manual laborers, one factory director, one accountant, and one technician."

"Thirteen?" Yu Aiguo glanced at the people weighing the material in the distance. It was heavy labor, and it did indeed require a fair number of strong men. "One kiln is five tons of lime, right? It has to be weighed upon arrival, then crushed, loaded into the kiln, and finally unloaded!" Calculating the workload, Yu Aiguo frowned. Initially, he thought ten people sounded like a lot, but looking at the number of times the material had to be moved, he realized the sheer volume of work.

There were four stages, each requiring every stone to be handled. That was five tons per stage. A full cycle meant moving twenty tons of rock. Two kilns a day meant forty tons. Distributed among ten people, each person had to move four tons a day. By that calculation, ten workers were just right. Of course, for farmers, the workload wasn't excessive. However, you couldn't work farmers like oxen; after all, burning a kiln involved not just limestone but coal as well! If the coal for each kiln had to be moved twice, that was another ton of work.

If they increased the number of daily burns, the workload would skyrocket. Every additional kiln added three tons to each worker's daily load—a 75% increase, which was definitely too high. Thus, they would have to increase the number of workers, and that was the opportunity.

Glancing at the confident Qin Jun, Yu Aiguo asked, "Have you calculated the cost of burning a kiln of lime?"

"Qin Shi, come over here!" Qin Zheng did not elaborate further but called out to Qin Shi. Since Qin Shi was the accountant, he needed to show his worth, or the leader might think his presence was redundant.

"Cost? It consists of two parts: raw materials and labor," Qin Shi began. "The raw material costs are clear: coal and limestone. Coal is twenty-five yuan per ton, and limestone is three yuan per ton. Excluding labor, burning one kiln of lime costs thirty yuan in coal and limestone, and we clear thirty yuan in profit. That’s our daily gross profit."

Yu Aiguo was very satisfied; a 50% profit margin was quite high. "So, two kilns a day means sixty yuan in profit? What about labor costs?"

Qin Shi glanced at Qin Zheng and Qin Jun. Seeing they remained silent, he reported truthfully, "By the day, an ordinary worker’s wage is one yuan, totaling thirty yuan a month. That’s not as high as a first-grade industrial worker's salary."

Yu Aiguo looked at the workers hauling stones again. This wage was truly not high. He was not a farmer; although he often visited the countryside, he had never truly experienced the hardships of rural life. Naturally, he didn't realize that a thirty-yuan monthly salary was an astronomical figure in the current countryside. Since he didn't grasp this, Qin Shi didn't bother to explain.

"What about the three of you?" Yu Aiguo asked curiously.

Qin Shi replied helplessly, "Two yuan a day. All three of us are the same."

Yu Aiguo calculated: two yuan a day meant sixty yuan a month. Good heavens, that was higher than his own salary, and even higher than the salary of the head of the commune! At present, their wages had been adjusted slightly upward; for instance, the head of the commune, an official at the 23rd administrative rank, had a monthly salary of 45.5 yuan. As a top official, the 23rd rank was clearly on the lower side, but this was tied to the cadre grading system. And he, Yu Aiguo? He was at the 24th rank, with a monthly salary of 42 yuan.

Now, he found that a factory director and an accountant in a village were earning sixty yuan! He suddenly realized that even the wages of the manual laborers weren't low either. After all, this wasn't a city factory; one couldn't judge wage levels by the standards of ordinary industrial zones!

"That includes the position allowance," Qin Jun interjected.

"Haha! A director having a position allowance is understandable, but it doesn't need to be this high. Besides, the accountant's salary is very clearly defined." Seeing Qin Jun about to speak again, Yu Aiguo waved his hand. "Do you know how much a monthly salary is for a student who just graduated from a technical secondary school and returned to the village to be an accountant? Twenty-four yuan! Accountant Qin Shi, would you feel aggrieved if your monthly salary were twenty-four yuan?"

Turning to Qin Zheng, Yu Aiguo added, "Wages are determined by the state. Since you are an enterprise, you must follow state regulations; you cannot act recklessly!"

"Then how should my salary as factory director be set?" Qin Zheng asked, feeling a bit uneasy.