Chapter 400: Opening a supply and marketing cooperative

Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation

Jiang Chuan was surprised yet moved upon hearing Xiao Li’s thoughts, and said, “As long as our intentions are good and aimed at helping the villagers, there’s nothing to apologize for. I didn’t expect you to endure so much, even falling seriously ill, just to earn some money to help the villagers. Xiao Li, your spirit is something we should all learn from.”

Having a good idea is one thing, but now they faced a bigger problem: a shortage of labour.

They wanted to start a fish pond and a supply and marketing cooperative, but they needed helpers for these endeavors. With only a few people available, they were stretched thin. What should they do?

Jiang Chuan pondered and suggested, “How about this, let’s go to the commune and seek help from Captain Tian. She’s full of ideas and will surely find a solution for us.”

The three agreed and went to the commune to find Tian Zao.

Tian Zao was reviewing the personnel registration list and grain production of Pushan Village. In a couple of days, the corn would be ripe for harvesting, and she needed to allocate people for the task.

This year’s corn had grown exceptionally well, and she had a feeling it would far exceed their expectations. She estimated about a ton of yield from the one thousand kilos of corn seeds planted. After setting aside seeds for the next planting, there would still be plenty to distribute to the villagers. It seemed they wouldn’t have to worry about food come spring.

After listening to their plans, Tian Zao agreed, “It’s great that you’re thinking of the villagers in addition to yourselves. However, if you’re short-staffed, I can’t help much either. The commune is also understaffed at the moment. You’ll have to wait until after the corn harvest and then ask villagers for help.”

Jiang Chuan responded, “Captain Tian, if we want to drive the villagers’ development, we can’t expect them to help out for free. My idea is to have the commune issue a notice, hiring villagers to work at the fish pond and the supply and marketing cooperative. This would create job opportunities in our village and benefit the villagers’ development.”

This was a novel concept at the time as there were no hired workers, and everyone helped each other out of goodwill. So, when Jiang Chuan proposed this idea, the other three were surprised and couldn’t help but praise him, “Brother Jiang, how come none of us thought of this? You always come up with unique and beneficial ideas for the villagers.”

Jiang Chuan simply smiled and waved his hand.

Tian Zao decisively said, “Jiang Chuan, I think your idea is excellent. I’ll draft a notice immediately to recruit villagers. Once the hiring is settled, we can start gathering the grain.”

Jiang Chuan had another request for Tian Zao, “Captain Tian, for this to succeed, we have the people and resources, but our land is limited.”

Tian Zao asked, “What do you suggest?”

Jiang Chuan replied, “This year, heavy rains and a snowstorm have raised the water levels in the ditches, making it impossible to plant rice. My idea is to convert one ditch into a fish pond and transfer the water from other ditches to it. This way, we can achieve two goals at once: grow rice and raise fish.”

Tian Zao thought the idea was very feasible, “Then let’s do it your way! I remember there’s a ditch near Xiao Wu’s house. Let’s allocate that ditch to him. I’ll also notify the villagers to help, hoping to get the fish pond up and running soon.”

After agreeing, the three left Tian Zao’s office to discuss details in Jiang Chuan’s office. Jiang Chuan said to Xiao Wu, “We’ll need people to help divert the water for the ditch. We can’t expect the villagers to work for free. They should be compensated. I know you’re short on funds initially,” I’ll cover the cost as an investment.

Xiao Wu nervously rubbed his hands, somewhat awkwardly saying, “Brother Jiang, I really thank you. I don’t know how this fish pond would have started without you. In fact, you are the real owner of the fish pond; I’m just managing it on your behalf.”

Jiang Chuan said, “Xiao Wu, don’t think like that. I just came up with the plan. The hard and tedious work is all done by you. You are the one who deserves the credit.”

With Xiao Wu’s problem solved, it was time to address Xiao Li’s supply and marketing cooperative..