Chapter 175 – Exchange

After that, Zhou Dachun went gloomily to find the old Party secretary and the brigade leader.

Once the old Party secretary and brigade leader heard what he had to say, they immediately understood that Zhou Yimin didn’t want to take advantage of the village. They directed around ten people to go with Dachun to the cave and carry out the timber stored inside.

The two of them then brought the village carpenter over to Zhou Yimin’s home to discuss the batch of huanghuali wood.

“Technically speaking, timber like that isn’t really worth much anymore these days,” the carpenter said.

Back in the day, it was indeed valuable wood. But nowadays, even antiques are worthless, let alone timber.

“Then let’s just go with the market price. Once everything’s brought back, you can appraise it. I’ll be heading back to the city tomorrow and can take it along to look for a buyer,” Zhou Yimin replied.

It just so happened that he had driven a cargo truck back to the village.

It didn’t take long for them to finalize the matter. It wasn’t a big deal to begin with—both sides were inclined to be courteous and reasonable, with no haggling or nitpicking, so naturally, the decision came easily.

Only after lunch did the people from the plastic film factory arrive.

They came with three trucks, all loaded with polyethylene film. The plan was to trade these three trucks of plastic film for one truckload of corn.

Truth be told, Yue Xiu was still a bit anxious.

Grain was in such short supply! Would their three truckloads of plastic really be worth a truckload of food? When Old Zhang contacted him, he immediately reported it to the factory director.

The leadership barely hesitated before approving the deal.

Of course they were happy to trade their own products for grain! These days, factories weren’t short on money—they were short on food. The rations allocated to them from above weren’t enough to feed everyone. The higher-ups had also told them to find their own solutions.

“Is Comrade Zhou Yimin here?” Yue Xiu asked as soon as he stepped off the truck.

Zhou Yimin came forward and greeted him warmly, “Uncle Yue, hello! Uncle Zhang often talks about you.”

Hearing Zhou Yimin call him “Uncle Yue” made Yue Xiu instantly pleased, and their rapport improved significantly.

He had heard a bit about Zhou Yimin from Old Zhang—how he’d invented the water pump well, the solar stove, and other such things. The young man was a standout among his peers and had even been in the papers. He was something of a local celebrity.

But despite all that, the young man still showed him plenty of respect.

Yue Xiu laughed, “As if he talks about me all the time. He only remembers me when he needs a favor.”

Then he went on to praise Zhou Yimin, saying how capable he was, and that if his own good-for-nothing son were even half as good, he could die happy.

After the pleasantries, they got down to business.

Zhou Yimin looked over the plastic film and was surprised by its thickness. However, the transparency wasn’t as good as what would be seen in future generations.

All in all, the plastic film had its pros and cons.

Still, being able to make it at all in these times was already impressive.

Yue Xiu and his team inspected the corn. They didn’t open every bag but randomly checked a few. What they found was high-quality corn—no one was trying to pass off substandard goods.

The actual exchange was handled by the brigade leader.

Officially, the deal was a trade between Zhoujiazhuang and the plastic film factory. Yue Xiu approved of this arrangement—it prevented gossip, which was good for both parties.

With help from the villagers, the three truckloads of plastic film were unloaded, and the corn was loaded onto the factory trucks.

To be honest, even though the corn wasn’t technically from their village, the villagers still felt pained watching it go.

Zhou Yimin didn’t hold back either. He gave each of the factory people a pack of Zhonghua cigarettes, and gave Yue Xiu an extra bottle of Lafite red wine—not that he was short on such things.

The drivers from the plastic film factory were delighted.

Although being a driver was an enviable job with a decent salary, even they rarely smoked Zhonghua. Partly because it was expensive, and partly because it was hard to get.

Zhonghua, at one yuan a pack, was the most expensive cigarette in the country.

“You don’t need to be so polite with Uncle Yue! Next time you need plastic film, just come find me,” Yue Xiu said to Zhou Yimin.

He too wanted to build a relationship—anyone could see that this young man had a bright future ahead.

“Absolutely. Our village is planning to start greenhouse farming, so there’s going to be a big demand for plastic film.”

Yue Xiu had guessed correctly that Zhoujiazhuang needed the plastic film for greenhouses.

Plastic greenhouse farming wasn’t common yet, and it wasn’t easy to promote. Most villages, brigades, farms, and communes didn’t have the nerve for it.

They were afraid the investment would go to waste, or that it would drain manpower and yield little return.

But Zhoujiazhuang gave him a different impression from the moment he entered.

The most obvious sign was the village road.

It was smoother and better maintained than the main roads of some communes. Many places didn’t prioritize infrastructure, thinking it only needed to be passable. They saw no point in making it wide or nice.

But from that road alone, you could tell that Zhoujiazhuang had more ambition than other villages.

“You folks in Zhoujiazhuang really have vision,” Yue Xiu praised.

The old Party secretary chuckled, “It’s not our village—it’s Yimin. What do we know about building plastic greenhouses?”

Yue Xiu was taken aback. So it turned out Zhoujiazhuang really revolved around Zhou Yimin.

After some more idle chatter, Yue Xiu took his leave, taking the corn back to the plastic film factory.

“What a shame we don’t have bamboo here,” Zhou Yimin said with regret.

The best material for building a greenhouse would be steel pipes. But given the current conditions in Zhoujiazhuang, that was a bit too ambitious—and way too expensive.

If they used bamboo instead, the cost could be much lower.

It wasn’t that there was no bamboo in the capital at all, but it wasn’t commonly grown. Most of it had been brought in from elsewhere, and a lot of it was ornamental.

Zhou Yimin then explained to the old Party secretary and the others how to construct a greenhouse.

“So what do we do then?” someone asked.

After all, the plastic film had already arrived.

But the old Party secretary and brigade leader weren’t worried at all. They understood Zhou Yimin—if he said they could do it, that meant the village had the means.

Sure enough, Zhou Yimin continued, “We can make use of the riverbed. Isn’t it already sunken? We just need to build across from both banks.”

This way, they could save a lot of labor and materials.

“When do we start?” someone else asked.

“Whenever you’re free! Even in hot weather it’s fine—it’ll speed up plant growth. Just try it and see. Plus, using plastic film can reduce pest infestations.”

With the plastic covering, outside bugs couldn’t get in to wreak havoc. Of course, pests that were already inside couldn’t be helped.

After a brief discussion, the old Party secretary and brigade leader said, “Let’s start tomorrow.”

They were eager to see how well it would work.

The old Party secretary sent people to make wooden frames. They didn’t have steel or bamboo, but they did have wood. To reinforce the greenhouses, they planned to build some wooden frameworks.

The rest didn’t need Zhou Yimin to worry about.

(End of chapter)