Chapter 358 – You Have to Call Me Director at the Commune

Zhou Yimin smiled and said, “Old Party Secretary, judging from your expressions, is it because you’re worried the temperature-maintaining equipment will be too expensive?”

“That’s right! Although the village earned quite a bit last year, we distributed a good portion of it among the villagers, and only set aside a small amount for emergencies.”

After saying that, he couldn’t help but shake his head—if only they hadn’t distributed so much.

Zhou Yimin then spoke up, “Don’t worry, Old Party Secretary. The temperature-maintaining equipment isn’t expensive at all, and we’ve been using it in our village all along.”

“Yimin, stop keeping us in suspense. You’re killing me here.”

Seeing how anxious the two of them were, Zhou Yimin knew he couldn’t drag it out any longer.

“It’s just heating with firewood.”

Zhou Yimin’s words shocked both the Old Party Secretary and Zhou Zhiming. With a name that sounded so advanced, who would’ve thought it was just burning firewood?

“Temperature-maintaining equipment is just for raising the temperature in the greenhouse when it’s not warm enough. You can use firewood, or electricity—anything that can heat the place up,” Zhou Yimin explained the purpose of the equipment in simple terms.

After hearing this straightforward explanation, both the Old Party Secretary and Zhou Zhiming finally understood what the so-called temperature-maintaining equipment really was.

With that issue settled, the next question was what to grow.

Zhou Yimin said, “You can grow things like peppers, eggplants, lettuce, bok choy, tomatoes, cucumbers, etc. These vegetables can be planted early or late in greenhouses. By adjusting the temperature and humidity, we can meet their growth needs and achieve off-season supply.”

At first, he’d considered planting fruit, but after thinking it over, it didn’t seem worth it—the time and effort needed didn’t match the returns. In the end, he decided on vegetables.

That way, with a shorter growing period, they could get an extra harvest. Fresh vegetables are in high demand these days—most people can’t get them unless they belong to special supply units.

“Alright, we’ll go with Yimin’s suggestion,” the Old Party Secretary decided firmly after hearing the plan.

The biggest advantage of greenhouses is that they allow for off-season production of agricultural products by regulating temperature and humidity, enabling earlier or later harvests to meet market demand.

Additionally, by controlling environmental conditions, they can reduce pests and diseases, minimize pesticide use, and improve the quality of the crops.

That day, Lin Guohuai returned to the commune for work. He hadn’t even sat down before Director Huang summoned him to the office.

There was no need to guess—they obviously wanted an update.

He went into the office, closed the door, and sat straight down in the chair.

Looking at Lin Guohuai’s utterly unprofessional posture, Director Huang couldn’t help but feel annoyed. If he weren’t his nephew, he’d have been reassigned long ago. But since he was family, he had no choice but to indulge him.

“Guohuai, have you uncovered the secret behind Zhoujiazhuang’s poultry farming?”

This matter was important enough to warrant urgency.

“No, I haven’t found anything particularly different in the way Zhoujiazhuang raises chickens compared to other villages,” Lin Guohuai answered directly.

Upon hearing that, Director Huang felt a wave of disappointment. It seemed Zhoujiazhuang had simply gotten lucky and bought a batch of good chicks, which is why their chickens turned out so well.

Just then, Lin Guohuai added, “Although I didn’t find anything special about their farming methods, I did discover something else.”

His words lifted Director Huang’s spirits.

“What did you find? Don’t just pause like that—spit it out!”

Why hadn’t he realized earlier that this nephew was so good at getting under his skin?

“I found out about Zhou Yimin from Zhoujiazhuang. Uncle, you’ve probably heard of him, right?”

“How many times do I have to tell you—call me Director at the commune.”

“Anyway, I have heard of Zhou Yimin. So your discovery is related to him?”

Lin Guohuai finally got to the point: “That’s right. Zhou Yimin invented a chick incubation room that raises the hatching success rate to 90%.”

“And I think the reason Zhoujiazhuang can raise such good chickens is likely related to this chick incubation room.”

Director Huang was stunned by the idea of a 90% hatch rate. “You’re not exaggerating, are you, Guohuai?”

“I’m not. Look—these are my notes,” he said, pulling out the records he’d made while at Zhoujiazhuang.

Director Huang took them immediately and began examining them closely. He was impressed by how detailed and carefully recorded the notes were. Clearly, Lin Guohuai had taken the task seriously.

After a few minutes of review, he didn’t find anything wrong.

“Good, very good. Guohuai, you did excellent work this time.”

“I believe that once this chick incubation room is promoted, it’ll definitely help the people.”

“Alright, leave these materials with me. I’ll report to the higher-ups. In a bit, you’re coming with me to Zhoujiazhuang.”

They definitely couldn’t let Zhoujiazhuang’s contributions go unrewarded. A banner was a must, and some other form of reward too. Money probably wasn’t needed—Zhoujiazhuang didn’t seem to lack that. But then what should the reward be? That stumped Director Huang.

Lin Guohuai didn’t say anything. He just sat there quietly, somewhat bored, and picked up a pen, spinning it absentmindedly.

Pen spinning is a niche hobby involving various tricks and techniques performed using fingers to spin a pen. It can be combined into a wide range of moves.

In later generations, more than 30 countries had their own pen spinning organizations. Under globalization, pen spinning developed a large action repertoire and stylistic system.

Sometimes, it’s even categorized as a kind of training-based acrobatic sport. Many students around the world love pen spinning.

According to brain science education consultant Zhou Jiayi, the cerebellum is responsible for body balance and sensory coordination. Frequent pen spinning can train the hands, eyes, and cerebellum. Activating the cerebellum also stimulates neurons in the brain, and long-term practice can enhance focus, memory, and learning ability.

After thinking for a long time, Director Huang still couldn’t come up with a good reward.

Unable to watch any longer, Lin Guohuai finally spoke up: “Director Huang, I think you’re too close to the situation to see it clearly. Right now, food is in short supply, and aren’t we working on building irrigation channels? You could give Zhoujiazhuang a few more slots—problem solved.”

Right now, many people didn’t even have enough to eat. Working on the irrigation project at the commune at least meant they got fed, even if they couldn’t take anything home.

“No wonder you’re my nephew—young people really do have quicker minds!” Director Huang was delighted and even gave Lin Guohuai’s shoulder a pat.

Lin Guohuai was speechless. Now he was “nephew”? Just moments ago, it was all “call me Director.”

Of course, he couldn’t say that aloud—or he’d be getting another lecture from his uncle.

“Director Huang, as long as you’re happy.”

When it’s convenient, he’s the nephew. When it’s not, he’s just “Little Lin.” That’s what reality looks like, huh?

(End of Chapter)