Chapter 380: Support from the Commune

While asking about the effects of the feed and whether large-scale production would be difficult, Director Huang needed to understand everything clearly. If the challenges were too great, promoting the feed could face significant obstacles.

Zhou Yimin replied, “The difficulty of producing feed is not that high, the only issue is solving the raw material problem.”

“And our village plans to set up a feed processing workshop, and the commune can send people over to learn.”

He said this intentionally, aiming to involve Director Huang. As long as the leader was ambitious, and given that this was something beneficial for both the country and the people, with minimal investment required, even if it wasn’t successful, the loss wouldn’t be much.

Director Huang, being a smart person, immediately understood Zhou Yimin’s underlying message and fell into deep thought.

Everyone watched this without interrupting, quietly sitting aside, waiting for Director Huang to finish his contemplation.

Lin Guohui, holding a cup of honey water, took a sip now and then, with a satisfied smile on his face.

After all, honey water was something rarely drunk at his home, and it was a rare treat to get it for free, so he made sure to drink his fill.

Seeing this, Zhou Yimin didn’t hold back. When he noticed Lin Guohui’s cup was empty, he quickly refilled it, even scooping a large spoonful of honey into the cup and stirring it until dissolved.

Lin Guohui felt a pang of regret. Though the honey wasn’t his, seeing Zhou Yimin waste it like this made him feel a bit heartbroken.

After taking a sip, it was even sweeter than before, and he couldn’t help but exclaim, “Really delicious!”

The village chief, seeing this, was quite tempted but refrained from showing it due to his status.

Zhou Yimin didn’t treat anyone differently. He refilled everyone’s cups generously, without the shaky-handed mistakes that some cafeteria ladies might make, giving a full scoop each time.

After a few minutes of deep thought, Director Huang spoke up, “Yimin, your village’s feed processing workshop, the commune will fully support it.”

Upon hearing this, both the village chief and Zhou Yimin felt a weight lift from their hearts. With the commune’s support, the raw material issue would no longer be a problem.

Director Huang continued, “What specific raw materials do you need? It shouldn’t require grain, right?”

If grain was needed, it would be problematic. Grain was in short supply, and people could barely afford enough to eat. If the quantity required was large, it would be difficult.

“Uncle, under normal circumstances, grain is needed, but Yimin has modified it. He switched corn to corn cob, adding mulberry leaves, soybean meal, and…” Lin Guohui immediately spoke up.

The village chief and Zhou Yimin hadn’t expected that Lin Guohui and Director Huang were related.

Especially the village chief, who was relieved he hadn’t offended Lin Guohui earlier. Otherwise, Zhou Yimin’s future dealings with the commune, like paying taxes or making requests, would have been difficult.

“I’ve told you so many times, when we’re at work, call me Director Huang,” Director Huang said with exasperation.

“Alright, Uncle,” Lin Guohui replied.

Director Huang spoke again, “Since that’s the case, the raw materials won’t be an issue. Is your village short of people for the feed processing workshop? If so, I can send some personnel from the commune to help.”

“You don’t have to worry about the grain; the commune will cover that.”

If it wasn’t for the desire to quickly build the feed processing workshop and test the feed, Director Huang wouldn’t have committed so heavily.

The village chief answered from the side, “Director, as for manpower, our village is sufficient. We’ve even borrowed fifty people from Shuangtian Village.”

This statement stunned Director Huang. He had overestimated Zhou Yimin’s village, but it turned out he had underestimated it. After all, feeding fifty people was no small task.

“Good.”

If the commune didn’t need to supply manpower, that was even better, and saved another expense.

Just as everyone was having a pleasant conversation, Zhou Yimin’s grandmother finally finished preparing the meal.

Zhou Yimin quickly went in to help serve the dishes.

Since this was the first time that commune leaders had come to their house for a meal, Zhou Yimin made sure to bring out all the best food.

There were four or five meat dishes, along with vegetables and soup.

Director Huang was stunned at the spread. Even during the New Year, a meal wasn’t this lavish, was it?

“Yimin, isn’t this too wasteful? There are only a few of us. We can’t finish all this.”

“It’s alright, Director. If we can’t finish it, we can save it for the next meal. It’s cold now, so it won’t spoil,” the old man replied before Zhou Yimin could speak.

He quickly took responsibility for this, not wanting to leave a bad impression on the commune leaders by being wasteful.

Seeing this, Director Huang didn’t say much but sat down to eat.

Lin Guohui looked at the table full of dishes, nearly drooling. There was pork, lamb, beef, and rabbit meat. It was as if they had put all the common meats on the table.

This spread was better than half of a typical New Year’s dinner, and he could imagine just how lavish the meal was.

The village chief swallowed hard, tempted by the food but holding back.

Everyone focused on eating, with no time for chatting.

Apart from Zhou Yimin’s family, who ate normally, Director Huang was slightly more restrained, having had his share of good food. Lin Guohui, on the other hand, lost all semblance of dignity, eating like a starved person who had just found a feast.

Though eating heartily was a sign of respect for the chef, Lin Guohui’s behavior might have been a bit excessive.

After more than half an hour of “battle,” Lin Guohui finally felt full.

He collapsed into his chair, his stomach swollen as if he were pregnant.

“Ugh, I ate too much,” Lin Guohui groaned.

“Why did you eat so greedily? No one was fighting you for it,” Director Huang scolded, disappointed.

This time, he had embarrassed himself terribly.

The table was a mess, and despite Lin Guohui’s best efforts, half the food remained untouched.

Director Huang continued discussing with Zhou Yimin and the village chief, refining the feed processing workshop plan.

“Yimin, does your village have any extra feed that we can take back for testing?” Director Huang asked.

If they could take back a sample, it would save a lot of trouble.

“Director, there isn’t any extra feed at the moment. We don’t have much left,” the village chief replied helplessly.

Though he wanted to help, there was nothing he could do.

“We do have some feed, though. I can go and get more in a few days,” Zhou Yimin said.

Director Huang smiled, relieved. He hadn’t expected the situation to take a positive turn.

(End of Chapter)