Besides, Yao Nian would definitely lie low for a while after this. Catching a cold was very serious in this era.
After Jiang Chun heard this, she really wanted to find Yao Nian to kick him a few more times. At the same time, she thought of Fu Qi asking her to make shoe soles today.
Yu Bing smiled and said, “If you go to him, won’t he know that I saw through his scheme and kicked him into the ditch? It would be better for him to suspect me without any concrete evidence. It’s more torturous.”
Jiang Chun thought about it and agreed, so she instructed Yu Bing to close the courtyard door the next time she was alone at home.
However, when she thought of Fu Qi’s actions, she decided to go to the Fu family. It wasn’t that she didn’t trust Fu Qi, but she wanted to help Yu Bing find the other person, so she went out again without eating.
When Jiang Chun returned, she told Yu Bing that Fu Qi had looked for her today because Li Ping had gone to ask her mother for shoe samples. That was why she had thought of this matter.
Jiang Chun suspected that Li Ping had found out about this when she was talking to Fu Qi at work. That was why Li Ping had used this matter to lure her out of the house and create an opportunity for Yao Nian.
Li Ping did have a motive, but just because she went to the Fu family’s to ask for a shoe sample didn’t mean she was guilty. The two of them could only put this matter aside for now, but they were much more wary of Li Ping.
After lunch, the two of them left the mountain one after another. When they arrived, Xiao Sheng and Xiao Lin were already digging for purple sweet potatoes and yams.
Yu Bing steamed the peeled purple sweet potatoes and yam in the pot. After adding white sugar, she squeezed them into paste and kneaded them into balls. She placed a purple sweet potato pill and a yam pill in a specially made plum mold. After pressing and forming, the final shape was a purple and white plum-shaped pastry. Every pastry was brushed with a thin layer of golden osmanthus wine.
Yams and purple sweet potatoes were common ingredients, and the cooking method was simple. Although there was white sugar and honey, it couldn’t be too expensive, so purple potato yam cake could only be priced at 0.22 yuan per catty. Fortunately, the raw materials were free, and the profit was 0.1 yuan per catty.
It had been a long time since everyone made a product with such low profits. They could only comfort themselves that even if there was little profit, it was still profit.
The village’s developments were all on track, and they were continuing to open up land with the tractor. As planned, the opening up of two hillsides and fishponds would be completed by early January next year.
**The Village Council Office**
Yu Bing took the time to sort out the future plans of the industrial chain and came to report the work arrangements to Wu Jin.
As Yu Bing looked at her notebook, she said, “Mr. Wu, after the reclamation work is completed at the beginning of next year, we’ll maintain the status quo in the industrial chain first. We’ll start after February next year. After the reclamation, we’ll plant pears first, then plant kiwis and persimmons in March.”
“April will be busier. The cherry trees will start to ripen in April. There won’t be too many produce in the first year. There will be enough people after transfering the apple tree group over to help pick them. Therefore, I’ve arranged for all the preparations for the construction of the factory to be completed between February and March, including the purchase of the disinfectant equipment and the recruitment of people. The fish pond is planned to be filled with fish seedlings at the end of April.”
“I’m going to put the duck seedlings in later, at the end of June, or they’ll eat the fish. Those are my work arrangements for the industrial chain.”
When Wu Jin heard how much money needed to be invested, he felt his temples throb. He closed his eyes and raised his hand to massage his temples.
“Yu Bing, you’ve given me such a big problem! It’s almost the end of December. The village is going to start distributing the money and food. Just now, the accountant Mr. Wei gave me this year’s account book. After distributing it, there’s only 1,200 yuan left in the account book. The Agriculture Bureau hasn’t settled the previous accounts. I’m afraid I won’t be able to get the loan. The same goes for the fertilizer and pesticide. We still have to go to the machinery factory in the city. This is the main difficulty. They don’t know us, and it’s a state-owned factory. They definitely won’t give us money!”
Wu Jin saw that Yu Bing was thinking about something. He paused for a moment before continuing to say with distress “I’ve asked around. The simplest high-temperature disinfectant equipment costs about a thousand yuan!”
Yu Bing suddenly looked up and said excitedly, “Mr. Wu, there’s a way to deal with the machine. I suddenly remembered the information sheet from my previous investigation. Feng Cai is a disciple of the city’s machinery factory, and his father is the human resources department chief!”
Wu Jin slapped the table excitedly. “That’s great! Then tell him that the village will give him a leave slip to go home for the New Year and communicate with his family about this matter to get us one. We’re all on the same side, so they don’t have to worry about us reneging on our promise.”