Reborn in 1977

Chen Fan picked up his teacup, blew away the steam, and took a careful sip. The four female comrades had already skillfully pulled up chairs and sat down in front of him.

He put down his teacup, glanced at them, and said solemnly, "You all heard today's broadcast announcement, right?"

Seeing everyone nod, Chen Fan continued, "There's a market in three days. Do you have any ideas?"

The four looked at each other. Huang Ying was the first to speak, "I'll listen to Teacher Chen."

Yang Ju and Liu Dan followed, "We'll listen to Teacher Chen too."

Jiang Lili's eyes darted around, and finally, she weakly said, "I'll listen to Teacher Chen too."

Chen Fan glanced at her, unable to stop his mouth from twitching slightly. This girl was really wary of outsiders. It had been almost half a month, and she was still tight-lipped in front of the other three.

But it was a good thing. If she didn't have some brains, she'd probably be sold off without even knowing it.

He retracted his gaze, cleared his throat, and said, "Here's the thing. The market mainly sells agricultural products, like grains, beans, chickens, ducks, fish, eggs, livestock, bamboo woven goods, wooden tables and chairs, and things like that. There are only five of us in this educated youth spot, and we don't have much to offer."

Hearing this, Huang Ying, Yang Ju, and Liu Dan stared at Chen Fan expectantly. If Teacher Chen hadn't been speaking, they would have asked if the Lu Family Village's unique pottery wasn't good enough.

Besides, weren't the dozens of bags of grain, dozens of cured meats, and dozens of cured fish piled up within three meters of him good enough?

Jiang Lili had already lowered her head, pursing her lips to suppress a laugh.

Based on her understanding of Chen Fan, he was probably going to sell pottery this time.

Chen Fan glanced at the four of them and said without changing his expression, "After thinking about it, only pottery is barely presentable. So, if you don't have other plans, I was thinking, why don't we temporarily form a 'production cooperative' and fire a batch of pottery to sell? We'll divide the profits equally per capita."

As soon as he finished speaking, Huang Ying said, "Teacher Chen, I have no objection to joining the production cooperative to fire pottery, but I don't agree with dividing it equally per capita. None of us know how to fire pottery, only you do. How can we take the same amount as you?"

Yang Ju immediately nodded, "That's right, you're a skilled worker. We can only be considered helpers. The work points in the team aren't calculated the same way."

Liu Dan quickly agreed, "It's just like my great-uncle. He manages the livestock and gets more than 5,000 work points a year, more than the cadres. Skilled workers are definitely different."

Jiang Lili pursed her lips, blinked her eyes, and nodded, "Yes."

Last time she went to sell soft-shelled turtles with Chen Fan, although she didn't take a penny, it was because she insisted on not taking it.

However, Chen Fan shared all the things he bought with her. They ate eggs and sugar together, and raised the chicks together, so she also got some benefits.

If it were money, she definitely wouldn't want it.

It's the same now.

Faced with the collective opposition from the women, Chen Fan nodded in satisfaction. That was perfect, he hadn't thought about dividing it per capita anyway, or wouldn't he be a fool?

That was just a polite remark.

But not giving them anything at all wouldn't work either.

So he came up with his second plan, "Since you all disagree, then let's do this. I'll take 60%, and each of you will get 10%."

Before they could object, Chen Fan raised his hand and continued, "If it's any lower, we won't do this 'temporary cooperative'. Otherwise, wouldn't I become a capitalist, exploiting your labor value? Are you trying to trap me in injustice? If that's the case, I'd rather do it myself. At worst, I'll fire a little less, which is better than taking the risk."

During this time, they helped make pottery blanks, which could be considered "apprenticeships". It would be good enough not to charge them tuition, so naturally, they wouldn't get paid. But now it's different. Chen Fan was planning to fire more kilns to sell at the market. Not only was the quantity larger, but he was also going to sell them for money. Selling for money and exchanging for goods were different. If he didn't calculate "work points" for them, it really wouldn't be justified.

Hearing his words, Huang Ying and the others looked at each other before nodding hesitantly, "Alright."

Chen Fan clapped his hands and grinned, "Okay, now we'll start the first meeting of our 'Educated Youth Spot Temporary Production Cooperative'. The theme of the meeting is preparing for the market in three days."

Huang Ying immediately clapped her hands, her eyes shining, "Teacher Chen is so amazing. You speak just like a leader. I could never come up with that."

Yang Ju nodded in agreement, "My dad wouldn't say that either."

Liu Dan thought for a while and squeezed out a sentence, "My uncle too."

Jiang Lili looked up at them, then at Chen Fan. What should I say?

Chen Fan's mouth twitched slightly. They were praising him so hard!

He immediately cleared his throat and waved his hand, saying, "Let's not talk about this, let's talk about serious matters."

The three women quickly sat up straight. Jiang Lili turned her head to look and immediately followed suit.

Chen Fan couldn't help but sigh, feeling really tired in his heart.

If it were just him and Little Jiang, there wouldn't be so much fuss.

He picked up his teacup, took a sip, and continued, "Although firing pottery is our unique skill, there is also pottery in the commune's supply and marketing cooperative, and their quality is even better. In addition, there is also a potter in Victory Brigade who can fire pottery. Speaking of which, I learned to fire pottery from them in the beginning.

So, when we go to the market, how can we improve the competitiveness of our products and get everyone to buy our pottery? We need to think carefully about this."

He looked at the few people and asked with a smile, "Do you have any good suggestions?"

The four women looked at each other, then looked at Chen Fan, and shook their heads together.

Chen Fan's mouth twitched. Okay, I'll just say it directly.

Then he said solemnly, "Since you don't have any, then listen to me."

Saying that, he took out his pen and notebook and handed them to Jiang Lili, "Little Jiang, you're in charge of recording."

"Oh, oh."

Jiang Lili immediately took it and sat down on the other side of the table.

Looking at her skilled appearance, it was obviously not the first time she had done this job.

After she was ready, Chen Fan continued, "First, let's talk about the types of pottery. I plan to fire a kiln of charcoal stoves, tentatively 30 sets, and then fire a kiln of tableware, including bowls, plates, cups, pots, and vases, 36 pieces per set, and prepare to fire 30 sets. In addition, for the loose bowls and plates, let's not talk about the quantity. We'll make as many as we can in these three days."

After speaking, he looked at Jiang Lili, "Did you write it down?"

Jiang Lili quickly nodded, "I wrote it down."

Huang Ying asked curiously from the side, "Teacher Chen, can this improve that competitiveness or whatever?"

"Of course not."

Chen Fan smiled confidently and said, "If it's just like this, then our products won't have much advantage compared to other people's. Even if the combination tableware has some selling points, it's not enough to make everyone actively spend money."

Yang Ju was a good straight man, "Then what else do we need to do?"

Chen Fan reached out and took his enamel mug in his hand, looking at her and asking, "What's on this?"

Yang Ju hesitated for a moment, "There's a red star, and the words 'Serve the People'."

Chen Fan put down the teacup and pointed to the washbasin stand he made next to the door, "What's in that basin?"

Yang Ju had poured water for him a lot these days, so of course she knew what was in it, "A peony flower."

It wasn't that Chen Fan liked peony flowers, this basin was a gift from the brigade, and only this style was available. He had to use it even if he didn't want to.

At this time, Jiang Lili had already reacted, "You mean, draw flowers and write words on the pottery?"

The other three girls also suddenly understood. This was indeed a good idea.

Chen Fan nodded in satisfaction, "That's right."

Then Huang Ying asked curiously, "Teacher Chen, then what words should we write? Should we also draw peonies and write 'Serve the People'?"

Chen Fan's mouth twitched slightly, "Who writes that on their rice bowl? If we write that, there are plenty of enamel basins and enamel bowls in the supply and marketing cooperative, why would they come to buy our pottery?"

Yang Ju asked, "Then what should we write?"

Chen Fan smiled slightly, "Of course, we'll write auspicious words!"