Chapter 645: The Wind Has Risen

He Yuzhu took a dozen or so people from the factory administration and office and set foot on the first stop of their research trip—Red Star Farm.

The vehicle traveled on the road for four days before the group arrived at Red Star Farm.

Standing in front of the rows of newly built brick houses on the farm, everyone could not help but feel moved.

"This place is simply like a paradise."

The neat ridges of fields stretched as far as the eye could see, filled with green wheat seedlings; as the wind blew across, it looked like a green ocean.

He Yuzhu patted Erkui on the shoulder: "Give us an introduction!"

Erkui smiled honestly, took out a small notebook, and began to report: "Currently, the base has a total population of 10,000, with 4,000 formal employees and 6,000 temporary workers. The cultivated land covers 150,000 mu... there are 17 factories, though three are under the management of the Street Office."

As soon as he finished speaking, the group from the factory behind him began to applaud.

To tell the truth, they had only known before that this farm could supply the factory with pork and white flour, but they had never known what it actually looked like.

But once they arrived, they realized that this was no mere farm; it was practically an independent kingdom.

The blueprint that He Yuzhu had drawn for Erkui back then had been turned into reality by this kid, stroke by stroke.

"Zhuzi, what should we do next?" Erkui leaned in and asked.

He Yuzhu took two steps to the side and lowered his voice: "If you want to be rich, first build roads; have fewer children and plant more trees. You should start building roads next, and finish the road from here to the county seat."

Erkui felt a tightness in his heart: "That will cost a lot of money."

He Yuzhu nodded gently: "Don't be afraid to spend money."

Erkui took out his notebook and recorded it earnestly.

"How many workers from the city are left?" He Yuzhu asked.

"There are about three hundred left, basically all Cadres," Erkui replied.

He Yuzhu lowered his voice: "You must manage this group of Cadres well. Those who only know how to shout slogans and love to report others—not a single one can be kept."

Erkui grinned: "That's the kind of person I hate the most. The Cadres we have here are all steady and willing to work."

After giving his instructions, He Yuzhu headed straight for the farm machinery in the fields.

He stopped a Tractor that was in operation and shouted to the driver: "Master, is this thing made by our Rolling Mill easy to use?"

The driver jumped down from the vehicle and wiped his sweat: "To be honest, those big Soviet Union machines have plenty of power and are good for large-scale land reclamation. For daily use, though, our factory's ones are handier, and we aren't short on spare parts."

He Yuzhu listened while taking notes. After questioning more than a dozen people in succession, he felt more confident—after returning, he would redesign these agricultural machines.

In the evening, Erkui led the dozen or so people directly to his own home.

Erkui's home had a large courtyard, and the perimeter wall was built with wooden planks.

Erkui's two sons were running wild in the courtyard with two dogs; it was clear they lived very comfortably here.

Erkui's wife was a capable person and prepared a large table of dishes: chicken stewed with mushrooms, Northeast-style mixed stew, large starch noodles, and a big plate of roe deer meat.

Erkui filled He Yuzhu's glass with wine and said with a grin: "Zhuzi, give me some praise."

He Yuzhu had just picked up a piece of chicken and almost spat it out.

He pointed his chopsticks at Erkui: "You kid has done a good job these past two years, keep it up!"

Erkui smiled like a child, his eyes squinting into slits: "If only Siqiang could come and see this..."

"Erkui, be more low-key from now on, and treat the workers below you even better than before," He Yuzhu exhorted.

Erkui nodded vigorously.

He Yuzhu stayed at the farm for five days before rushing to the Songliao Oilfield.

Lv Hong was already waiting at the entrance of the base. Seeing He Yuzhu again, she actually shed tears.

"Little Factory Director He, I thought I wouldn't be able to see you again."

"How could that be? Didn't I tell you to come to Si Jiu Cheng to find me?" He Yuzhu said.

"I've been truly too busy these past two years; I'll come find you in a couple of years," Lv Hong said.

Over the next few days, Lv Hong led them around the oilfield and the farm.

He Yuzhu and the others conducted a detailed investigation of the agricultural machinery used there.

At the dinner table where the oilfield leadership hosted He Yuzhu, several of He Yuzhu's old colleagues had reddened eyes.

Executive Deputy Director Dang Kaiquan said: "Little Factory Director He, our oilfield now has an annual output of four million tons! It's all thanks to the well locations you and Man Yatou gave us back then. The wells that girl marked out are all high-yielding! When you see her next time, you must thank her properly on my behalf."

He Yuzhu nodded: "Rest assured, I will definitely pass the message on."

By the time they returned to Si Jiu Cheng, it was already July, and the heat was suffocating.

In the days that followed, He Yuzhu buried himself in the research and development of agricultural machinery modification.

If they weren't allowed to build big vehicles, then they would build small ones.

With the designs of later generations in his mind, He Yuzhu tinkered with several models of small agricultural vehicles—low fuel consumption, simple structure, and cheap to manufacture.

They could plow fields and haul grain in the countryside, and handle short-distance transport when entering the city.

As soon as the prototypes were displayed, people from various communes, factories, and mines swarmed in, scrambling to pay and place orders.

Not only the domestic market, but even those brother countries in Asia, Africa, and Latin America took a liking to them, and orders flew in like snowflakes.

Days passed one by one, and in the blink of an eye, it was November 1965.

This year, He Yuzhu was already thirty years old.

Early in the morning, his office door was knocked on, and several stern-looking security personnel brought him an old acquaintance.

It was the former Factory Director Lao Yang, who had been dismissed from his position and was to be sent to the factory to undergo reform.

After those people left, He Yuzhu brewed a cup of high-quality Longjing tea for Lao Yang.

Lao Yang's hair had turned white, and his mental state was also very poor.

He Yuzhu joked with a smile: "Through several springs, watching flowers wither and bloom... speaking of the boldness of life, at worst, we start all over again. Comrade Lao Yang, you must take care of your health."

Only then did Lao Yang reveal a smile: "You kid still hasn't grown up! Tell me, are you going to make me sweep the toilets or sweep the streets?"

"How about I let you go to Red Star Farm to enjoy yourself?" He Yuzhu said with a smile.

Lao Yang's eyes lit up: "Is it that good there?"

"Remove the 'is it', for you right now, it is a Taoyuan," He Yuzhu said with a smile.

"Then send me away!" Lao Yang requested.

"That won't do yet, the two of us have to put on a show first," He Yuzhu sighed and said.

After hearing He Yuzhu's words, Lao Yang nodded immediately: "I will follow your arrangements!"

In these past two years, there have been quite a few personnel changes in the factory.

Li Huaide has become the Executive Deputy Factory Director; with someone backing him, he walks with a swagger these days.

It is only because He Yuzhu is still holding his ground in this position; if it were anyone else, they would likely have been squeezed out by him long ago.

The Siheyuan has also started to become lively.

Xu Damao and Liu Guangtian were released one after the other.

Liu Guangtian still has some savings in his hands, and he spends his days wandering outside, hanging out with a group of friends he met in prison.

This has infuriated Second Uncle Liu Haizhong, who has become a Workshop Director. Want to beat him? He can't anymore; that kid is big and tall now.

Xu Damao is different; as soon as he got out, he sniffed out the wind, and carrying two boxes of Daoxiangcun pastries and a mesh bag of fruit, he went to visit his old leader in the Propaganda Section, Li Xing.

He used to often bring local specialties to Li Xing, and their friendship still remains.

Seeing him, Li Xing sighed: "Damao, it's a pity. If you hadn't gone in these past few years, the position of Section Chief of Projection would have been yours long ago."

Xu Damao sighed along with him: "Isn't it all because of He Yuzhu..."

Li Xing hurriedly waved his hand: "Don't, don't discuss Factory Director He behind his back."

Xu Damao took two Small Yellow Fish out of his pocket: "Old leader, you can't just ignore me. Please help me pull some strings."

Li Xing pushed the gold bars back: "Damao, it's not that I don't want to help you. There are eight people in the Projection Section now, and only two machines; there really is no room to squeeze anyone else in."

Xu Damao took out two more.

Li Xing stared at the four golden-yellow Small Yellow Fish, gritted his teeth, and shoved them into his pocket: "How about this, you come back to work at the factory tomorrow. First... first go to the Broadcasting Section to do some odd jobs."

Xu Damao still wanted to argue: "Leader, I still want to show movies; I've studied it for over ten years, it's the only thing I know how to do..."

Li Xing's face darkened, and he took out the four gold bars and slapped them back onto the table with a "Clap!": "Then I can't handle this matter, you should go back."

Xu Damao was stunned, but in the end, he swallowed his pride, pushed the gold bars back over: "Fine... the Broadcasting Section it is, I will listen to you."