Chapter 91: Approval for Factory Construction

Chapter 91: Approval for Factory Construction

Ivan was a man who could be both particular and adaptable. He did not complain about the rough and simple meals at the Forward Brigade or the less than comfortable living conditions.

He savored the home-cooked dishes like pickled cabbage stewed with pork and vermicelli, spicy and sour Chinese cabbage stir-fried with smoked meat slices, chicken stewed with mushrooms, mushrooms and black fungus stir-fried with meat, garlic sprouts stir-fried with meat, and cold mixed silver ear fungus and vermicelli, asking earnestly about the names and cooking methods of each dish, which he noted down in his notebook. He also took photos of the full table of dishes and those dining around it.

They also visited the chicken and pig farms in the mountains, personally experiencing the comfort of the nests in the trees and taking photos as souvenirs.

The medicinal fields were not much to see now; the winter crops were buried underground and out of sight, while most of the harvested crops had already been transported to the County Hospital and the municipal hospital procurement departments.

The fish pond was still worth a visit, although the surrounding flowers and fruit trees had all shed their leaves, leaving only some orange-red persimmons hanging on the branches.

On this early winter day, the sky was clear and blue, the view wide open. The bright persimmons hanging from the bare branches gave off a unique sense of solitude, earning Ivan's praise and more photos.

Lin Fulong, however, focused on the farmland, cultural aspects, and the pig and chicken farms here.

They watched Tang Bingde lead people to drive pigs to the Provincial Cannery for shipment.

This batch of canned goods required about fifty pigs, with a few extra for backup.

After three days of inspection, Lin Fulong had a good grasp of the situation. On this day, he said to Tang Yuan, "The pig farm can be expanded."

Tang Yuan smiled, "Certainly, if there are stable orders for canned goods, the other two brigades will merge. Then we'll have members specifically responsible for agricultural production and others for the pig farm, making the division of labor clearer and reducing a lot of redundant and ineffective work."

Lin Fulong was actually very tempted. He wanted to invest in the pig and chicken farms and the cannery, but... China's policies over the past twenty years made him hesitant, so he had to suppress his impulse.

It wasn't just him; most foreign investors were also cautious, fearing that joint ventures would eventually become state-owned.

After all, in the 1950s, after the founding of the People's Republic of China, capitalists were first united and cooperated with, then public-private partnerships were formed, and finally, everything became state-owned, with capitalists being sent to labor camps or relocated.

Lin Fulong himself was a capitalist and naturally dared not be careless.

Of course, placing orders was still possible.

What he wanted most was fresh meat, but the current transportation conditions made it impractical. However, he didn't want just canned goods, so in addition to various canned goods, he also ordered sausages, smoked chickens, smoked ducks, and cured meats, specifying both smoked and non-smoked varieties.

Tang Yuan's family had a type of cured meat he found tastier than bacon.

Although later it was confirmed that cured meat was not healthy and contained carcinogens, food lovers wouldn't care too much about that for the sake of taste.

Even in 2024, everyone knew that high-sugar, high-fat, and high-salt diets were unhealthy, but how many could stick to a bland diet every day?

Tang Yuan showed him the records of the piglets at the pig farm, "All the pigs ready for slaughter will be used for Mr. Ivan's canned goods. The next batch of pigs will be perfect for your cured meats."

Cured meats are best made when it's cold, around the Winter Solstice, when another batch of pigs will be ready for slaughter.

Smoked chickens are fine; they can be slaughtered and prepared now, slowly smoked, and shipped together with the other products.

She hadn't considered buying ordinary pigs from other brigades for Lin Fulong's cured meats. Although most pigs in the countryside were raised naturally, eating coarse grains and plant stems without chemical fertilizers, pesticides, hormones, or antibiotics, why would Lin Fulong buy from them instead of directly from Fujian or Guangdong provinces?

What made the Forward Brigade different was its concept of an ecological farm.

This way, Lin Fulong could market his products as eco-friendly in Hong Kong.

Lin Fulong thought exactly the same.

As a businessman, he had a keen sense of business. Although China's agriculture was previously backward, since establishing diplomatic relations with Japan in 1972, imports of chemical fertilizers and pesticides had increased. According to his understanding, China's own fertilizer and pesticide factories were also springing up everywhere.

In a few years, the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides would likely spread throughout rural areas.

This was the development pattern of agricultural production, common to all countries, including Europe and America.

Without chemical fertilizers and pesticides, yields were too low to feed the population, let alone talk about organic and green environmental protection.

Only after ensuring enough food and prosperity would people start caring about other things.

If the Forward Brigade's ecological farm could persist, it would stand out.

It could even gain international recognition.

At that time, many food companies would come to inspect and place orders, especially those emphasizing environmental protection and natural ecology.

Then he would lose his advantage.

By placing orders now and maintaining a long-term relationship, even if the Forward Brigade's ecological farm went global, he would still be an old customer.

A brigade that could steadfastly pursue ecological farming in an era where even having enough to eat was a challenge must be reliable and trustworthy. Key was, he trusted Tang Yuan and Feng Chen.

These two gave him a sense of being ahead of their time, though he couldn't quite explain why, he just... trusted them.

"Agreed, this arrangement is excellent. Additionally, I will prepay 80% of the deposit to support your expansion of the pig farm," Lin Fulong smiled.

That was wonderful, truly a conscientious businessman.

Tang Yuan's eyes sparkled, "Thank you, Mr. Lin. With your support, our pig farm will soon reach a scale of a thousand pigs."

The pig farm had been steadily increasing its number of piglets, and with each batch of pigs ready for slaughter, they would purchase more piglets from neighboring brigades to replenish the stock.

Ma Huiyou and Zheng Yingju were envious beyond measure. Long-term orders, what a blissful thing?

With foreign orders and military orders, the cannery could operate sustainably.

Moreover, one foreign investor would bring more, leading to even more orders.

Perhaps one day, the Provincial Cannery would need to rely on the brigade's cannery to fulfill orders.

It wasn't that Ma Huiyou was undervaluing himself, but Tang Yuan and Feng Chen were just lucky and capable.

Factory Manager Lu had gone through great lengths to invite Mr. Yamaguchi, traveling south to Guangzhou, owing favors, and serving diligently, only to secure an order for ten thousand cans, with the fruit order negotiated by Tang Yuan.

Yamaguchi seemed kind and approachable, but he wouldn't budge an inch on the price, clearly someone who talks nicely but stands firm when it comes to money.

Relying on him? Not likely.

Guo Yan from the Municipal Committee and the leaders of the Commerce Bureau and Industry Bureau were also very pleased.

Setting up a cannery involved various aspects of commerce, industry, and agriculture. Besides establishing the factory and purchasing machinery, it also entailed issues such as the brigade's food supply, task pigs, and the purchase of surplus grain, which required coordination among different departments of the Municipal Committee.

If they didn't see any hope, even with Shen Jiaming's support, they wouldn't agree, and the farm would have no chance of setting up a proper cannery, at most a small, semi-handmade workshop through connections in the commune or county.

Such a workshop could handle cured meat, but not canned goods.

Seeing Lin Fulong's attitude, the leaders felt reassured. They sensed that Lin Fulong was very interested in the farm and expected significant actions to follow.

The people from the county, including Ji Hongyue, were even more delighted.

Although Gao Sheng and Liu Guangming couldn't claim the ecological farm's achievements as their own, it was still a political accomplishment during their tenure, and they could benefit from it.

Seven days later, Lin Fulong and Ivan took their leave, planning to visit Lin Fulong's father's hometown, and then wait for Ivan to finish his canned goods before heading to the Provincial Cannery.

Tang Yuan and Feng Chen accompanied them to the city. After Tan Feng and another person drove Lin Fulong and Ivan away, they returned to the Municipal Committee with Ma Huiyou for a meeting.

Tang Yuan and Feng Chen first submitted the application for the brigade to set up a factory, with an initial plan to install a meat canning line and add a cured meat and smoked meat workshop.

She emphasized that the brigade's factory would focus on developing cold smoking technology to differentiate it from traditional smoking methods.

"Comrade Tang Yuan, could you explain the difference between cold smoking and traditional smoking, and why we should choose cold smoking?" someone asked in the meeting, not quite understanding.

In this era, there was no mention of nitrites, benzopyrene, or other carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in China, as the country had just solved the problem of having enough food, let alone eating well, so such concerns were not yet on the agenda.

Feng Chen: "This is an issue we need to address for exporting processed meats. Some Western countries have already proposed the concept of healthy meat, requiring less frying, less smoking, and roasting to reduce the attachment of carcinogens."

He attributed this idea to Ivan and Lin Fulong.

Based on Tang Yuan's speculation, given America's usual behavior, once China started exporting certain products, they would start nitpicking, and accusations of carcinogenic smoked meat leading to rejections at customs were inevitable.

However, they themselves couldn't do without smoked meat, so they would eventually push for cold smoking technology.

This technology wasn't difficult, and Tang Yuan believed it was feasible now.

She discussed this with Feng Chen, who quickly grasped the concept and expanded on it, making it convenient for him to explain to everyone.

Feng Chen was calm and composed, his gaze heavy and imposing, ensuring that no one would daydream during his explanations; everyone listened attentively.

Guo Yan: "Understood, this technology is indeed necessary."

In this era, the concept of dietary health hadn't been raised in China because the country hadn't reached that developmental stage, but it was highly valued abroad where the economy had reached that level.

To expand our export business, we must think like our customers.

In the planned economy market within the country, everything was planned, giving the seller the upper hand, and some service staff looked down on customers.

But in the international market, the country needed foreign exchange and had to increase its export volume, putting the buyer in the dominant position.

The country was still under a planned economy, but it could only plan the products and quantities for export, not the sales prices or quantities as in the domestic market; everything depended on the buyer's decision.

Many leaders found it hard to shift their mindset and attitude, accustomed to being high and mighty when dealing with the public, suddenly having to cater to customers in export business was a challenge many couldn't accept or adapt to in the commercial environment of exports.

Some chose to outright ban exports, while others, knowing the necessity, pretended not to understand and simply ignored the export business, contentedly living off state subsidies, allowing many factories to go bankrupt.

For example, Han Shourong, being older and preferring stability over change, disapproved of young cadres' attempts to innovate, seeing them as unnecessary trouble.

His previous agreement was merely a delaying tactic, finding excuses to continue stalling.

Now, he still wanted to delay, setting up obstacles to prevent the brigade from setting up a factory.

He believed the Forward Brigade didn't need a factory; they could send their pigs to the Provincial Cannery for processing, no need to monopolize the business.

Unfortunately, this time, most cadres sided with Guo Yan, agreeing to the brigade setting up a factory.

The Provincial Cannery belonged to the province, but the brigade's factory would be unique to their city, how could they be the same?

Would it be too much for the vast Yusan City to have one cannery?

Finally, they voted and approved Tang Yuan and Feng Chen's initial plan for the Forward Brigade to set up a factory, installing a meat canning line and adding a cured meat and smoked meat workshop.

Correspondingly, reforms were also made to the Forward Brigade's food supply, surplus grain, and economic tasks involving pigs, chickens, and eggs.

The Forward Brigade's public grain and surplus grain, along with other economic tasks, were canceled, replaced with a foreign exchange task, retaining the medicinal herbs task.

They also allowed the Xiangyang Brigade and the Leapforward Brigade to assist the Forward Brigade, meeting its production needs.

The Forward Brigade was permitted to purchase coarse grains from their commune and other communes for pig feed, with priority buying rights, and no commune or brigade could obstruct or refuse for any reason.

The Municipal Committee arranged for interest-free loans for three years, with the municipal construction company leading the construction efforts, supported by Binxian County and neighboring counties' construction companies, to build the factory and cold storage facilities for the Forward Brigade, as well as expand the pig farm and medicinal herb warehouse, aiming for a comprehensive setup.

The Municipal Committee also applied to the Provincial Committee, requesting them to negotiate with the provincial military district to sell used military trucks, jeeps, and sidecars at a low price to the brigade, as they couldn't keep using tractors and hand-guided tractors to deliver goods to the city.

The corresponding diesel quota was also applied for.

With the national power shortage, only important factories had continuous power, while most residential areas, even in cities, experienced power outages for several hours each day.

The Forward Brigade pledged to rely on biogas power generation, conserving electricity for the nation.

Machinery in the factory could be powered by biogas, with diesel reserved for vehicle operations.

Of course, they needed to construct larger biogas tanks, requiring support from the provincial machinery factory to provide custom-made equipment.

Winter had arrived, and soon the ground would freeze, making it unsuitable for excavation and construction. They planned to wait until spring thaw to proceed with the new biogas tanks and factory construction.

Before the New Year, the main focus was on increasing the breeding of sows, raising more chickens and pigs, preparing feed, making cured meats, while also confirming with the machinery factory the quantities, sizes, and types of required parts, and reserving a new high-power generator from the agricultural machinery factory.

The Provincial Cannery was busy but happy during these three months before the New Year, running at full capacity to fulfill meat canning orders. To focus on the rush order, Secretary Wen and Factory Director Lu approved the recruitment of temporary workers for the New Year, to assist with cleaning and other preparatory work in the factory.

The Forward Brigade also brought in external help, inviting skilled pork processors from nearby brigades to assist with making cured meats, smoked chicken, and sausages.

The prepared meats were hung in large pieces on wooden racks, with pine branches and herbs used to create a smoky aroma that could spread for miles.

Although there were some minor setbacks and conflicts, they were all smoothly resolved, and the delivery was successfully completed.

On the 15th day of the twelfth lunar month, Tang Yuan and Feng Chen drove a very eye-catching and unconventional jeep loaded with New Year's goods to the provincial capital again.

They first went to the Provincial Cannery.

The Provincial Cannery mainly produces meat products, and Tang Yuan didn't bring any brigade specialties; this was primarily for Professor Cheng and his wife.

Ma Huiyou said sourly, "Wow, Director Tang, you've brought so much. Can Professor Cheng eat it all? Don't let him overeat."

Tang Yuan smiled, "Aren't Professor Cheng's children in the countryside? They can't get good food there. If he can't finish it, he can send it to them."

Although postage is expensive, often money can't buy meat. If their children can have something good to eat, the professor and his wife would surely be happy.

Ma Huiyou, though jealous, helped move the items.

He looked enviously at the modified jeep, "You two are really capable!"

After the last meeting in the city, the province indeed applied to the military district, and the army happened to be replacing a batch of military trucks, jeeps, and sidecars.

The cannery already had two trucks and didn't want the military trucks, but applied to purchase a jeep and a sidecar.

The Forward Brigade applied for one truck and one jeep.

However, their jeep was quite old. When Ma Huiyou and Secretary Wen went to see it, the jeep was in a pitiful state, with half of the body missing. Neither of them wanted it.

They called Tang Yuan and Feng Chen, offering to get them a newer one in the next batch, but the two insisted on taking the old one, saying as long as the engine and frame were intact, everything else was fine.

Secretary Wen helped them buy it at a very low price, almost for free.

Tang Yuan and Feng Chen took the old jeep to the agricultural machinery factory, where they discussed with Wei Mingqi and several technicians. They used surplus materials from tractors to weld a simple body, blue and brick red, very eye-catching, and also welded a very sturdy steel frame.

Those who knew it was a jeep might think it was a new model of tractor.

Thanks to the sturdy roof rack they welded, they could load a lot of cured meats, chickens, ducks, and even two jars of pickled duck eggs from their own brigade.

Ma Huiyou said, "Director Tang, the market sells pickled duck eggs, and everyone gets eight at the end of the year. Your Professor Cheng won't eat that many, and you can't mail this stuff."

He always felt he knew Tang Yuan and Feng Chen first and hoped to have the closest relationship with them.

Tang Yuan smiled, "These are our brigade's specialty pickled duck eggs, with a special recipe. They are sandy, oily, and very fragrant. Try them, and you'll see. I've brought some for you, Factory Director Lu, and Secretary Wen."

Ma Huiyou, seeing his share, immediately became reserved and smiled, "That's too much trouble. Your brigade is just starting, we don't want to take advantage. We'll pay for them."

Tang Yuan laughed and said it was no big deal.

At noon, Tang Yuan and Feng Chen ate at the factory canteen, specifically asking the kitchen to boil 30 pickled duck eggs for everyone to taste.

Secretary Wen was at a meeting at the Municipal Committee, but left a meal for them. Factory Director Lu and Xu Gaoshan were there, and they all ate together in a private room on the second floor.

Everyone tasted the sandy yellow pickled duck eggs and praised them highly.

Zheng Yingju was very accommodating this time, after all, Tang Yuan and Feng Chen were now directors, and even Factory Directors Lu and Ma addressed them as such. He couldn't call them "Little Tang" anymore.

He said with a slightly ingratiating tone, "These pickled duck eggs are very similar to those from Gaoyou, even with double yolks. They are sandy and red, truly sweet and fragrant."

He had the fortune to travel south with Factory Director Lu and had tasted them.

Gaoyou duck eggs are world-renowned because the ducks eat well, naturally producing fragrant eggs.

Of course, the recipe for pickling the duck eggs is also important.

Factory Director Lu was about to say this, but since Zheng Yingju had mentioned it, he didn't mind. He smiled, "Indeed, your duck eggs are excellent. Are they not from your own brigade?"

The Forward Brigade had fish ponds, but they were small, unable to support many ducks, and land ducks fed only on feed or wild vegetables wouldn't lay such fragrant eggs.

Ma Huiyou guessed, "From Xiangyang Brigade?"

They had visited Xiangyang Brigade before, where the waterlogged areas were impressive, surrounded by wetlands with spontaneously growing water plants like calamus and reeds, even water lilies and lotuses, and flocks of ducks and geese on the water.

Tang Yuan proudly said, "Yes, Xiangyang Brigade is part of our ecological farm and is our main aquaculture base."

Everyone couldn't stop tasting the pickled duck egg yolks. Factory Director Lu ate four and a half yolks and said, "I think these pickled duck eggs can be exported; they will definitely be popular."

He had attended a trade fair in Guangzhou before, dining with acquaintances and foreign businessmen, and found that overseas Chinese particularly enjoyed fried eggs and pickled duck eggs.

There would certainly be a market in Southeast Asia and Hong Kong.

He turned to Ma Huiyou, "Has Mr. Lin returned to Hong Kong?"

Ma Huiyou looked at Zheng Yingju, who immediately said, "No, Mr. Lin seems to have encountered some difficulties visiting his hometown. After the shipment of cured meats from Director Tang and Feng Chen, he and Ivan went back. They should be leaving in a few days and might come to the provincial capital to catch a train."

Sure enough, Lin Fulong and Ivan returned a few days later.

Ivan called the factory to inquire about Tang Yuan and Feng Chen, and upon hearing they were there, immediately arranged to meet and have a meal.

Hearing they were without bodyguards, Factory Director Lu immediately sent a car to pick them up for dinner, rather than letting them spend at Jufenglong.

Feng Chen went to the agricultural machinery factory and the machinery factory to check on the production progress of the generator and parts they had ordered, while Tang Yuan stayed behind with Factory Director Lu to discuss the production plan for the coming year.

Upon hearing that Lin Fulong and Ivan had arrived, Tang Yuan and Factory Director Lu personally went downstairs to greet them.

Ivan had the look of someone who was about to burst with excitement. Seeing that Feng Chen wasn't around, he grabbed Tang Yuan's hand and shook it vigorously, "Oh, my dear friend, I've missed you so much! Have you missed us?"

Tang Yuan smiled and shook his hand, then greeted Lin Fulong.

"I thought you had already returned to Hong Kong after distributing the canned food and cured meat."

Ivan glanced at Lin Fulong, "Mr. Lin's uncle is unwell, so he stayed behind to keep him company for a while. Now we're planning to take his cousins back to Hong Kong to visit Mr. Lin's father."

Lin Fulong's father had suffered too much in his early years and was now often hospitalized. The doctor advised against long trips, so he couldn't return to his hometown.

But he still yearned for it.

Lin Fulong's uncle, who had a disability and was in poor health, asked his unmarried children to visit his elder brother in Hong Kong on his behalf.

Noticing that Lin Fulong didn't seem particularly cheerful after recognizing his relatives, Tang Yuan didn't press further. One shouldn't pry into others' privacy unless they want to share.

Ivan excitedly brought up the canned food again. Oh, forgive him; Mr. Lin has been in low spirits lately and doesn't talk much, leaving Ivan with no one to converse with, making him feel quite stifled.

"The canned food you sent has all been received, and I've also distributed some to my friends, who all love them."

After getting to know each other better, Tang Yuan could guess what Ivan meant in English and translated it for Factory Director Lu and the others.

Factory Director Lu smiled, "That's great. If they like it, they can buy more often."

Ivan immediately said, "My dad said he wants to buy ten thousand more."

He pulled out a card from his notebook listing the types of canned food.

His father said that heating the canned food provided a nutritious and delicious quick meal, and it was cheaper than buying from supermarkets in their country. Buying in bulk as employee benefits was very cost-effective.

He also planned to add it to the factory lunch menu.

Factory Director Lu, not understanding the rest, saw Ivan discussing something with Tang Yuan and asked anxiously, "What's going on?"

Tang Yuan smiled, "Old Mr. Ivan wants ten thousand more."

Oh, it should be Old Mr. Feng, right?

Who cares.

Factory Director Lu was overjoyed. Another ten thousand? How many relatives and friends does the Ivan family have? This must cover an entire district!

He mentioned that they have an estate, which means an entire village would receive the canned food?

Factory Director Lu laughed heartily, "Sure, sure, as long as you send us live pigs, we'll process them for you during the New Year!"

The factory isn't afraid of being busy; it's afraid of having nothing to do.

When Ma Huiyou and Zheng Yingju heard that Lin Fulong and Ivan had arrived, they also came to greet them.

At noon, Ivan originally wanted to treat his friends at Jufenglong, but Factory Director Lu insisted they stay at the factory.

Factory Director Lu said, "Mr. Ivan, our canteen chef is a fifth-level chef with exceptional skills. You've tasted his dishes before, so there's no need to spend money at Jufenglong."

Ivan agreed readily, "Thank you."

Factory Director Lu had ulterior motives.

Besides the chef's signature dishes, of course, there were also the Xiangyang Brigade's sandy yellow salted duck eggs.

Lin Fulong and Ivan were indeed impressed.

Both were used to fine dining, and this recent period in Lin Fulong's hometown had been tough, with simple meals being the best they could get.

Now, tasting the sandy yellow, crispy, and fragrant salted duck eggs, they couldn't resist taking two more bites.

Following Tang Yuan's advice, Factory Director Lu used serving chopsticks when dining with clients. He also served them a few more egg yolks, "This is the best salted duck egg I've ever had. It's crispy and fragrant but not overly salty, very satisfying."

Lin Fulong nodded, "Indeed, it's as good as those from Gaoyou."

Ivan started thinking about buying more.

Lin Fulong seriously considered it and thought it would be a good idea to include some salted duck eggs with the canned food and cured meat.

Many people in Hong Kong enjoy eating salted duck eggs daily.

Once they eat a lot, they become picky about the taste, and these certainly wouldn't disappoint.

Tang Yuan was a bit hesitant, "We don't have automatic vacuum packaging machines domestically yet, so we can't quickly vacuum-pack them, making transportation a bit tricky."

Currently, there are no vacuum packaging machines in the country, and they won't be developed until the early 1980s in Shanghai.

The late development is partly due to technological backwardness, but more importantly, because manufacturers don't see the need for vacuum packaging in the food industry.

Why would any food need to last so long without being consumed?

Another inconvenience is that plastic packaging bags are not widely available in the country, making it difficult to find convenient packaging for duck eggs and preserved eggs.

Sometimes industrialization is a chain reaction, where one industry drives another. If one link is missing, everything falls apart.

Subjectively, Tang Yuan didn't want plastic bags to develop too quickly in the country, as widespread use would lead to severe pollution.

Lin Fulong also thought about this and didn't offer to help import a vacuum packaging machine. Instead, he proposed an alternative solution.

"That's fine. The salted duck eggs can be stored in jars, which can be secured in simple wooden frames. When loading onto the ship, straw can be stuffed between the jars, just like transporting wine jars. As long as we don't encounter extreme weather, they won't break."

At least getting them to Japan and Hong Kong shouldn't be a problem.

He suggested trying two hundred jars.

There were about seventy to eighty jars.

Although Guangdong and Fujian provinces had plenty of duck eggs and salted duck eggs, he wanted to maintain a long-term relationship with the Forward Brigade's ecological farm. With the advantage of shipping, bringing a hundred jars along was like asking a car to carry some local specialties—it was a small favor.

Tang Yuan was naturally delighted.

However, this would have to wait until next year, as the pickling process required one and a half to two months.

The brigade used natural pickling methods for their salted duck eggs, with no external catalysts or additives, emphasizing an organic approach.

Factory Director Lu also ordered salted duck eggs for the factory and arranged for regular supplies. He even took the initiative to visit friends at several brother factories with salted duck eggs, which led to more long-term orders for Tang Yuan.

The brother factories were happy too, as the limited vegetables and meat they could buy from the market couldn't meet the daily needs of the factory. As factory leaders, they had to find ways to improve the workers' diet.

They often bought pig offal from the cannery, so buying some duck eggs now seemed quite normal.

It was a win-win situation.

Of course, the price they paid was higher than that of the supply cooperative, ensuring the brigade made a profit. Otherwise, why would they deliver all the way to the provincial capital?

After just a few days, Lin Fulong and Ivan returned to Hong Kong for the New Year.

When parting, they exchanged New Year's greetings. Lin Fulong and Ivan wished the farm prosperity, while Tang Yuan and Feng Chen wished them a thriving business.

They agreed to meet again next year.

Tang Yuan and Feng Chen unexpectedly ran into Tan Zhiyuan and Tan Feng in the provincial capital.

Tan Zhiyuan and Tang Yuan had maintained contact through letters and phone calls. This time, he came to the provincial military district for a meeting and specifically arranged to meet the two.

He also placed an order for a batch of cured meat and salted duck eggs, requesting twenty thousand salted duck eggs, which could be delivered in batches.

Most of the military supplies were distributed uniformly by the military district's logistics department. Each unit needed to submit requests to the logistics department for what they needed. Of course, if their regiment had funds, they could purchase some food items independently, but it had to be confirmed by the logistics department for safety and hygiene.

Tan Zhiyuan had already spoken with his comrades at the provincial military district's logistics department and arranged for the salted duck eggs, with the regiment paying for them.

He offered a price that was fifteen cents per pound higher than what the supply cooperative paid for fresh duck eggs, covering processing and transportation costs.

Although Tan Feng said the Forward Brigade's ecological meat cans were delicious, Tan Zhiyuan didn't order any. It wasn't that he didn't want to provide good things for the troops; it was because the Forward Brigade's scale was still limited, and the military supplies were task-allocated, much cheaper than selling to foreign merchants. He felt it was better to contribute to the country's foreign exchange earnings first.

Eating pork from other brigades was just as good.

Tang Yuan and Feng Chen returned to the brigade after the Minor New Year. Upon arriving home, they immediately convened a meeting with the brigade captains and production team leaders.

"We will provide the duck eggs? Really!" Brigade Captain Shan was immediately excited upon hearing that they would regularly supply duck eggs.

Our Xiangyang Brigade is also a part of the farm!

Brigade Captain Chen looked at him with envy and jealousy, wondering why they hadn't been assigned tasks yet.

It took a month and a half for the pickling to be complete. When delivering the cured meat to Lin Fulong, Tang Yuan also sent a jar of salted duck eggs. After tasting them, Lin Fulong immediately ordered a hundred jars and expressed his intention to continue purchasing them.

Currently, there were no vacuum packaging machines in the country, so the duck eggs were transported immersed in brine, which could last one to two years without spoiling. The transportation process was similar to that of wine jars, placed on wooden racks with straw between the jars to prevent damage. They couldn't be separated from the brine.

The salted duck eggs from the Forward Brigade and Xiangyang Brigade were of the same quality, as the ducks and geese grew up eating fish, shrimp, clams, and snails from the river, producing duck eggs with rich, oily yolks that were sandy and fragrant, with an excellent texture.

Tang Yuan did not increase the number of ducks at the Forward Brigade but instead purchased from the Xiangyang Brigade, encouraging them to expand their duck farming. In the future, the ecological farm would include the Xiangyang Brigade and the Leap Forward Brigade, encompassing fish ponds, wetlands, and duck farms.

This news brought tears to the eyes of Brigade Captains Shan and Chen, who pledged to work hard with the Forward Brigade, ready to follow wherever they were led.