Chapter 576: A Large Order

He Yuzhu walked home from Shichahai.

Walking along the way, he saw that the sallow complexions of the neighbors had deepened. Thinking of his friends, who had all come to his door recently to borrow grain, he felt a weight in his heart.

He knew in his heart that in this lifetime, he would likely be unable to avoid the famine that was about to sweep across the land.

Fortunately, the oilfield had been discovered ahead of schedule. By next year, oil would be extracted in large quantities.

When the most difficult years of '59 and '60 arrived, this oil would not only be able to power agricultural water pumps but could also be exported in exchange for grain, perhaps greatly alleviating the disaster.

He calculated rapidly in his mind, and his feet had already turned the corner, heading straight for Liushi Trading Company.

Shen Yan received him warmly and brewed a cup of Pre-Rain Longjing tea.

He Yuzhu took a sip and laughed, "Cousin, why didn't you send me this year's new tea?"

Shen Yan was startled and shook his head, "I sent you over twenty catties; after your father accepted it, he must not have told you!"

He Yuzhu shook his head helplessly; his old man must have given it all away while he was not at home.

He did not dwell on this matter, set down his teacup, and said seriously, "I want to provide you with a batch of gold to purchase a large quantity of diesel engines and pumping equipment from the Red Star Rolling Mill. Tell the outside world it is for export to Southeast Asia, but in reality, you are to store it all in the warehouse."

Shen Yan was stunned, his face full of confusion: "But the Tractor Factory under the Red Star Rolling Mill couldn't possibly sell me so much equipment, right? Export quotas require approval!"

"The country is currently short of foreign exchange and gold; they will definitely do this business." He Yuzhu was not worried at all that the state would not approve.

"I must ship the goods out after buying them, otherwise there will be trouble!" Shen Yan hesitated.

He Yuzhu thought for a moment and said, "Pay the factory in full, and after you receive the goods, store them in the port warehouse first."

Shen Yan pondered for a moment and nodded: "I understand what you mean, but isn't the investment for us to do this too high?"

He Yuzhu laughed: "I'm not really asking you to spend money to hoard these devices; I want these factories to expand production quickly after receiving large foreign trade orders so that next year, if our country really faces a drought, we can mass-produce these things."

Shen Yan immediately gave a thumbs up.

He Yuzhu urged: "However, you must coordinate with Liu Rusi and use her name. You should also ask other factories if they can take orders; I don't want only one factory to expand production."

Shen Yan agreed immediately.

When He Yuzhu returned home, He Daqing immediately cried poverty: "Zhuzi, when can the grain from your farm be shipped over? The whole factory is starting to gnaw on corn buns now..."

"The earliest will be October, that's still four months away." He Yuzhu looked at his father, "Can't you get Li Huaide to ask his father-in-law to solve it?"

He Daqing sighed deeply: "He tried his best, ran several trips, and only managed to get 100,000 catties of grain in the end. For a large factory of 10,000 people, what good is this little bit of stuff?"

He Yuzhu was silent for a moment, then suddenly spoke: "Dad, Liushi Trading Company has received a large order for 30,000 diesel engines and 30,000 sets of pumping equipment. If our Tractor Factory can produce them, they can help us transport some grain."

"Are you playing dumb with me? You are the Factory Director of the Tractor Factory; don't you know that after we finish the tasks assigned from above, it would be good if we could produce at most 2,000 sets of diesel engines and pumping equipment? How could we produce 30,000?" He Daqing shook his head repeatedly.

"Expand production capacity! Wasn't a large iron mine discovered in Shandong last year? There shouldn't be a shortage of iron ore... If there is demand, why can't we expand production?" He Yuzhu said.

He Daqing's eyes lit up: "Then why don't you go find Lao Yang?"

He Yuzhu smiled slightly: "If I go to say it, where would your credit be?"

He Daqing finally realized and slapped his thigh: "Good! I'll go right now!"

He Yuzhu stayed in Beijing for another five days before returning to the farm with Man Yatou and the three hundred-plus people from Wang Xia's side.

As soon as he returned to the base, he immediately divided the four thousand-plus people into several specialized groups: those responsible for raising pigs, sheep, chickens, ducks, and geese, and those specializing in aquaculture.

The remaining personnel quickly threw themselves into emergency planting work, sowing soybeans on the already reclaimed land.

He was absolutely unwilling to let this hard-won arable land lie idle for a whole year.

Not many days after He Yuzhu returned, Secretary Liu came to visit him specifically.

He Yuzhu brewed him a cup of Longjing tea brought back from Shen Yan.

Secretary Liu took a sip of tea and asked urgently: "With Liu Rusi ordering such a large quantity of diesel engines and pumping equipment, what is she trying to do?"

He Yuzhu said frankly: "I won't hide it from you; I predict that many regions in Asia may face severe drought in the next three or four years. By then, these diesel engines and pumping equipment will likely become the most sought-after supplies. I suggest the trading company hoard a batch appropriately; by then, they might make a huge profit."

"But if you take so many devices for export, what if our country also encounters a severe drought?" Secretary Liu's tone revealed some anxiety.

"I have already thought about it; let Liushi Trading Company put this batch of goods in the port warehouse first, and the state can supervise it throughout the process. If a disaster really occurs in the country, I will have Liushi Trading Company prioritize domestic use," He Yuzhu said.

Secretary Liu looked at him thoughtfully: "You kid, did you discover that our country's climate has become somewhat abnormal?"

He Yuzhu nodded: "You don't know, this time when I returned to Beijing, many people came to me to borrow grain..."

Secretary Liu sighed and said: "Now many places have started a trend of exaggerating production figures. Even at the Oilfield, Deputy Director Zhang and the others are urging for rapid production increases every day. This makes me feel very uneasy."

He Yuzhu found it inconvenient to comment further and only suggested: "You had better change Deputy Director Zhang's position and let him go to the surrounding areas to reclaim wasteland. With his drive, he might be able to achieve results."

Secretary Liu laughed: "The comrade Lv Hong you recommended last time is very good. This female Cadre has extremely strong execution, and I plan to promote her to Deputy Director."

He Yuzhu nodded in agreement.

Secretary Liu said with some embarrassment: "Little He, I know you don't want to get involved in those internal struggles, but you must help me build a few small Refineries. In the few months since you left, nearly 50,000 more people have come to the base. Now living supplies are extremely tight, and there is a large shortage of fuel."

He Yuzhu nodded: "You have also seen that my farm suddenly received over 4,000 refugees; I must straighten things out here first before I can free up my hands to go to the Oilfield."

Secretary Liu said: "Then lend me Man Ya first. The person in charge of overall coordination and dispatching on my side is not very sharp, and I know she is an expert in this area."

He Yuzhu immediately called Man Yatou over: "Man Yatou, Secretary Liu wants to borrow you to be a special assistant, responsible for coordination, calculation, and logistics work. Are you willing?"

Man Yatou was a bit troubled: "But... I haven't finished learning my Computer knowledge yet."

He Yuzhu said gently: "It doesn't matter; I will also go over in a month or two, and you can continue to learn from me. It's just that Secretary Liu's side is really short of people right now."

Man Yatou then nodded and agreed.