Chapter Thirty-Four: The Heavens Are Truly About to Change

Yu Aiguo felt a bit of a headache regarding the salary levels for Qin Jun and his team. After all, they had never operated a brigade-run enterprise in this area before.

As for the managers of commune-run enterprises, they held official administrative ranks, but Qin Zheng—what kind of administrative rank did he have? He was at the twenty-third grade, and that was only after a recent raise, bringing him to forty-two yuan a month. By comparison, Qin Zheng’s salary was clearly on the higher side. Yet, there was no arguing it; when adding up his position subsidies and various benefits, many managers of small factories made far more than sixty. If you wanted the ox to work, you couldn't expect it to go without grass—that clearly wouldn't work, so he didn't dwell on it.

"What about me?" Qin Jun asked, genuinely curious as he didn't really understand the current salary grades.

Yu Aiguo looked at him with amusement. Qin Jun was a technician, but he lacked a formal technician’s certificate. "I can only say that according to state regulations, a twelfth-grade technician’s monthly salary is sixty-two yuan, which is two yuan more than yours. However, an eleventh-grade technician, who is a university graduate turned regular employee, earns fifty-five yuan a month—their salary is actually five yuan less than yours."

After Yu Aiguo finished speaking, the three men looked at each other in bewilderment.

"Actually, there’s no need to agonize over the exact salary. After all, you are the ones running the factory, so you call the shots; just make sure the books are clear," Yu Aiguo said, looking at Qin Shi. "Accountant Qin is a smart man. Even when his own salary was reduced to twenty-four, he didn't say a word."

Yu Aiguo fell into deep thought. It didn't take long for him to figure it out; the math was simple. "Following your current labor costs, if you increase production by two more kilns of lime per day, you can add thirteen more workers. However, among those thirteen, apart from ten general staff, three must be in cadre positions. The quotas for the cadres will certainly come from the commune, but for the ten general staff, we can allocate five to your village. Is that acceptable?"

Qin Zheng was no fool. He immediately replied, "That works. In that case, our village will consume two and a half tons of coal every day. That won't be a problem, will it?"

Yu Aiguo was no idiot either. Previously, he had only approved ten tons of coal per month—which was only about three hundred kilograms a day. With that meager amount, they were still managing to burn two kilns of lime daily! Now that they were increasing to four kilns, they suddenly needed two and a half tons? Still, he didn't say much. The eight job quotas in his hands were precious. Using one or two of them could yield sufficient resources. After all, the resources didn't belong to him personally—they belonged to the state—but the jobs created were personal.

"Get the factory formalized as soon as possible. At the very least, put up some fencing so it looks like something. And, if conditions allow, you should build a few offices!" Yu Aiguo trailed off, knowing full well the economic state of the village.

Qin Zheng, however, was full of confidence. According to Yu Aiguo’s plan, even though they were adding workers, the number of kilns would double, and their profit margin wouldn't drop. If they burned four kilns of lime a day, the daily profit would be one hundred and twenty yuan! With a day’s profit equal to an eighth-grade worker’s monthly salary, what couldn't they do?

"If we can buy bricks and tiles, we'll build those offices right now," Qin Zheng declared firmly.

Yu Aiguo was taken aback, then quickly realized that while this kiln factory looked shabby, it was truly profitable.

Once he understood, Yu Aiguo burst into laughter. Yes, as long as there was money, what couldn't be accomplished? He had been limited by his own perspective and experience, blinded by a leaf. He began to admire the older generation even more; the economy was the foundation of a strong nation. A strong economy meant a strong country, which in turn meant the peasants would be fed and the state would have funds for construction. These things were mutually reinforcing. Therefore, the higher-ups were paying more attention to the economy—the times were truly beginning to change.

"Alright, I’ll write you a permit. You can go pick up bricks today!"

A single brick cost only three cents. The makeshift factory was already earning at least sixty yuan a day. That was two thousand bricks! They could earn two thousand bricks every single day they fired the kiln.

"Good! As long as you, Director, give the word, we’ll do it!" Qin Zheng said excitedly.

But at this moment, Qin Shi hurriedly pulled him back. "Captain, don't just get carried away. Think about it—are we really going to buy bricks from outside?"

"Huh?" Qin Zheng looked at the anxious Qin Shi, confused.

Yu Aiguo became curious. "What do you mean by buying from outside? Can you burn bricks, too?"

Qin Shi replied directly, "Director Yu, our team has its own brick kiln."

"Oh, I remember now. It’s been about ten years, hasn't it?" Yu Aiguo said.

Qin Zheng added, "We built it six or seven years ago, but after we finished it, we only fired three kilns before that youth, Liao, left."

"Who in your team knows how to fire bricks now? Don't tell me it’s you again?" Yu Aiguo joked, looking at Qin Jun.

Qin Jun smiled and said, "It is me. I really do know how!"

He didn't mention that if he were given free rein, he could build the mixers, crushers, and brick-making machines himself. Not to mention those machines, if he had the right materials, he could even hand-wind the most critical internal motors for them.

"You really know how? Then there’s no need to buy bricks. If you have a kiln, just burn your own!" It was better to avoid unnecessary trouble. Did they really think it was easy to get a quota for thousands of bricks? Most importantly, if they were to fence in the lime kiln, a few thousand bricks wouldn't be enough. If they built offices, they’d need even more. The current situation with brick factories was just like the lime kiln—even more severe—and the average person couldn't buy them. Even if he issued a permit, he would still have to negotiate with the brick factory. If he could save the trouble, why wouldn't he?

Wait, he thought, something didn't seem right. Bricks were in such short supply, yet Qin Jun actually knew how to fire them? And the most important thing was that the Xiaohe team already had a kiln! Although the kiln was a bit small, firing three to five thousand bricks at a time shouldn't be a problem. That might seem like a small number, but it was continuous.

"Little Jun, let me ask you something. How many days does it usually take to fire bricks?" Yu Aiguo asked after a moment.

"Usually three to five days," Qin Jun replied without hesitation. "I imagine our local earthen brick kiln would take about four or five days per batch."

"Hmm, that sounds about right. Can it be done in three?" Yu Aiguo continued.

"Some take seven days; three to five is standard. The larger the kiln and the more bricks, the longer it takes," Qin Jun replied. Of course, with technological progress, if they could build a simple rotary kiln, the speed would increase, allowing for tens of thousands of bricks a day. However, they lacked the conditions and the necessity for such a kiln right now. Furthermore, Qin Jun knew he couldn't keep running these highly polluting factories like brick and lime kilns for long. The village kiln was just a simple earthen structure. It could only fire five thousand bricks at most, and it was built quite crudely; he wasn't even sure if it was still usable.

"It seems you really know your stuff. That puts my mind at ease." Yu Aiguo stopped talking about the matter and turned to Qin Zheng. "Focus on the lime kiln first. Once that stabilizes, we’ll talk about the rest!"

Qin Jun knew there was nothing else to do, so he found an excuse to leave. He had plenty to do every day; once he was done here, he still had to go home to smelt steel.

The next few days were calm. As for the leader’s words, it was best to just listen. Compared to Qin Zhihe, the leaders were the type who wouldn't release the hawk until they saw the rabbit. No matter how well you spoke, if they didn't see results, they wouldn't fulfill their promises.

Four days later, early in the morning, when Qin Jun woke up, he saw his second brother pushing the door open again.

"Sleep a bit longer. I’ve already checked those traps for you; there wasn't a single catch."

"It’s too cold to stay in bed. Besides, the kiln factory is producing two batches of lime today!" Since he was awake, he started getting dressed. He knew that in this cold, under these conditions, sleeping in was not an option.

After getting up and washing, Qin Jun felt energized. It was still early to eat, and being too eager to get to work wasn't necessary. It was too cold outside, so he ran to his workshop. This time, he didn't light the crucible; instead, he started a fire to keep warm. He called his second brother over, and the two sat by the stove, warming themselves while they worked. He hadn't been idle these past few days.