Siheyuan: Big City, Small Love

The second half of 1960 was destined to be the most tragic time for China. As relations with the Soviet Union deteriorated, the Soviet Union completely turned its back on China and withdrew all its experts from China, causing all related projects to come to a standstill and become unfinished projects, leaving China with a huge mess.

After that, the Soviet Union began to demand repayment from China, a total of 8.6 billion! This huge economic debt crushed China in an instant!

Damn Soviet Union, we clearly fought together in the CX War, China provided the men and they provided the weapons, which they then sold to us at half the price.

All weapons and equipment left in China must be paid for with China.

Now, this has made things even worse for China, which has already suffered from natural disasters.

At that time, China had only been established for more than 10 years and its industry was still in its infancy, so the only way to repay the debt was with agricultural and sideline products such as pork, eggs, and apples.

For example, Henan Province has always been a major province in the country in terms of grain and pig production, but it was also one of the five provinces with the most difficult economy from 1960 to 1962. At that time, the Zhengzhou Meat Processing Plant slaughtered more than 5000 high-quality fat pigs every day for several consecutive years in the six months before and after winter every year and shipped them to the Soviet Union to repay debts. The Soviets had very high requirements for products to repay debts. They made an iron ring and refused to accept any apples that could pass through the iron ring.

Hey, bastard! It's really too cruel, but there's nothing we can do. It's only natural to pay back debts! Huaguo is so tough that he returns all his wealth to him!

Fortunately, a large amount of rare minerals were discovered in Koktokay soon after, which delayed the debt crisis.

Poor Keketuohai workers, working overtime day and night in an environment where the temperature is basically below -40°C, many of them have frostbitten hands and feet, but the severe cold has not wiped out their will to repay the debt for the country. They lit fires to melt ice and snow, used pneumatic drills to drill holes and blast, and they selected ores by hand and carried the ore above the ground in sheepskin backpacks.

The Koktokay Mine took on 35% of China’s debt, which is really a great number.

This huge and heavy number is a reflection of the hard work of the people of Koktogay day and night for three consecutive months, and it is a reflection of their sincere love for their country and their people.

……

Soon the Red Star Steel Rolling Mill also fell into a situation of pork shortage. After all, the Meat Processing Plant had no pork to supply, and people across the country really had to tighten their belts to make ends meet.

Li Huaide's Office

"Uncle Li, forget it. Do you think there are endless wild boars? They have been caught almost all of them. Unless you ask me to go somewhere farther away, there are almost none near Sijiu City."

He Lai directly rejected Li Huaide's request.

After all, if He Lai took out the meat at this time, people from above would definitely come to investigate. If they knew that it was He Lai who got the meat, He Lai would probably be invited to have tea. At the very least, he would have to lead the country's people into the mountains to hunt! Otherwise, where did you get so many big wild boars!

"Why don't you go there? I heard that the Yanshan Mountains are very large..."

"Stop, Uncle Li, you don't think I'm a professional mountain climber, do you? That's a mountain range! Endless mountains, you don't want me to die there, do you?"

He Lai quickly interrupted Li Huaide's unrealistic fantasy.

"How can that be possible? Uncle Li knows this too. There is nothing we can do. Without meat, the workers will work on an empty stomach. Something bad will happen. You have seen several industrial accidents this month. If this continues, I am afraid someone will die!"

Li Huaide sighed.

"Uncle Li, you should hold a meeting to discuss asking the workers to stop working so hard. Also, ask the team leaders and managers in the workshop to observe more and remove those who are not in the right spirit. Working while exhausted can lead to serious consequences!"

He Lai suggested.

"Well, everyone understands this, but we dare not stop. We have production targets. If we stop production, we will be held accountable for not meeting the targets."

Li Huaide explained.

"Then you decide for yourselves, which is more important, production quota or human life."

He Lai said helplessly.

"Okay, let's not talk about this anymore. We can discuss this issue when we have a meeting."

Li Huaide didn't want to dwell on this issue anymore, so he turned to the plastic lighter.

"He Lai, the higher-ups have decided to put the plastic lighters in our lighter factory. We will expand it to include several workshops. You should come and take a look."

"Okay, I'll go. This is good. However, this plastic lighter still needs further improvement. After all, it uses flammable and explosive butane gas, which requires a very high degree of sealing. Smoking must be prohibited in the factory area, and open flames must be kept away, otherwise accidents are likely to occur."

He Lai reminded.

"Well, we will emphasize these issues, but how much do you plan to sell this plastic lighter for? We haven't discussed it yet."

Li Huaide asked.

"Well... I think we should ask the foreign investors for their opinions on this issue. After all, this lighter is not sold to ordinary people in China, so it cannot be priced the same as matches. It must be relatively high, but also acceptable to foreign investors, so the opinions of foreign investors are very important."

He Lai thought that when plastic lighters came out, they were only sold for one or two dollars, which was too low. It should be more expensive now.

After all, the disposable lighter invented by Xiao Rizi was sold to China for hundreds of dollars!

The cost of plastic lighters is quite low. The main costs are labor cost and time cost. What China lacks the least is labor. After all, the wages of workers in this era are almost negligible compared to the price of lighters, so China has a great advantage in this regard.

"Okay, I'll try to ask. This lighter is very profitable. The superiors attach great importance to this industry. Now is a difficult time for the country's economy. I hope we can generate more foreign exchange! I guess we'll have to ask you to go to the Autumn Canton Fair. We won't feel at ease without you."

Li Huaide said.

"Uh...Uncle Li, don't talk nonsense. I didn't take care of it last time. It was all my brother Zhiwen who was in charge!"

He Lai replied quickly.

"Okay, don't try to be lazy, kid. The Canton Fair is such a great opportunity. Your superiors value you by letting you go, so don't make excuses. Also, I'm going to lead the team this time, so you have to watch over me."

Li Huaide replied with a smile.

"Okay, I don't care. I'm just going there to have some fun and buy some fruit, which is good."

He Lai still looked indifferent. He couldn't reveal that he wanted to go to Hong Kong City.

"Okay, okay, I won't chat with you any more. I have to go to a meeting later. You should think of a way to deal with the wild boar. It doesn't need to be a lot, just one or two will be good enough to show the workers that our factory still has meat."

Li Huaide finally shifted the topic to wild boars.

"I'll try my best. If there's no wild boar, I can get you some rabbit or pheasant."

He Lai replied.

"Okay, as long as it's meat."

"I'm leaving."

"Let's go."