Chapter 217: Another Business Trip 2.0

Zhang Ping'an ladled a bowl for each of the children and divided the chicken among them as well; he poured a bit of Space Water for Nan Yi, and Nan Yi's eyes immediately cleared up a little.

"Brother Zhang, that mouthful of liquor just now was pure."

"Mm, drink some chicken soup first."

After finishing the chicken soup, Zhang Ping'an did not continue drinking, and Laidi cleaned up the kitchen.

"Sister-in-law, lead the way." Zhang Ping'an helped the bleary-eyed, drunken Nan Yi up, and Damao also helped from the side.

"Oh, oh, okay."

"Alright, I'm heading back; I'll leave the rest to you all."

"Thank you, Brother Zhang, and for the grain last time too. I will pay you back when I have money in the future."

"Hehe, that's fine, Nan Yi, you keep an eye on things." Zhang Ping'an didn't argue with her and turned to head back.

"Mm, okay."

Nan Yi was already lying on the kang by this time; Laidi first settled the children, then returned to help Nan Yi wash up. When she wiped his face, Nan Yi sobered up a bit more.

"I'm back?"

"Mm, don't move, let me wipe you off."

"Oh, okay, hehe." Nan Yi's hands also started getting restless.

"Don't mess around, I'm still washing up, and the children aren't asleep yet."

"Then you go wash up quickly, I'll go coax the children to sleep."

"..."

Zhang Ping'an also washed up simply after returning, read some medical books for a while, and then lay on the bed to prepare for sleep, but who would have thought that muffled, heavy panting and the sounds of Yellow Plum Opera would drift over from next door.

"This Nan Yi, looks like he's sobered up." Zhang Ping'an was helpless; sometimes having hearing that is too good really isn't a good thing.

Zhang Ping'an had no choice but to slip into the space, play around with Erhu and the others for a while, and then crawl into the Thatched Cottage to sleep.

The next morning, Zhang Ping'an still got up early to exercise and stretch; after breaking a slight sweat, he slipped into the space to take a shower.

After eating a little something, Zhang Ping'an rode his bike to yesterday's construction site. The wasteland had indeed been completely reclaimed, and the outer walls of the pigsty were also a section higher than yesterday.

"Factory Director Zhang, you've arrived so early?" The one speaking was one of the few people who had come with Zhang Ping'an to stake out the land, named Liu Meng.

"Why? You all are at work, can I be an exception?"

"No, no, it's just that I feel you are different from other leaders, hehe."

Liu Meng scratched his head with a foolish grin. One had to know that people on business trips had come before, but they all just took a look after the work was finished; how could anyone be like Zhang Ping'an, coming over first thing in the morning.

"Hehe, what's different? Don't we all have one nose and two eyes? Alright, find a few people who are good at farm work; we'll sow the pasture seeds today."

"Alright, Factory Director Zhang, I'll go find people right away."

"Mm."

Zhang Ping'an then took out the grass seeds. The seeds brought this time totaled fifty jin; normally, ten mu of land wouldn't even use them all up, and the Rolling Mill only had eight mu here, which was more than enough.

"Factory Director Zhang, the people are here." Not long after, Liu Meng brought five people over; they were all men in their fifties or sixties.

"Good. Sowing these grass seeds is the same principle as sowing wheat seeds. For these eight mu of land, per mu, just follow..."

"Alright, Leader, just watch us. Back at the Commune, we were all experts at farm work."

"Mm, good. There's no rush; as long as it's finished today, but it must be sown evenly."

"Will do."

Experienced farmers nowadays have eyes that are almost like rulers; every time they grab and sow, the distance isn't exactly the same, but it's close enough.

Zhang Ping'an nodded inwardly as he watched; even if he were to do it himself, he wouldn't be able to do it any better.

By the time Liu Feng came over, the grass seeds had already been sown and they had started covering them with soil. Finishing in the morning and watering in the afternoon would be fine.

"Factory Director Zhang, how is it?"

"Mm, very good. Sowing can be finished today. From now on, just maintain the soil moisture every day; there needs to be someone specifically responsible for the watering work."

"Done. The pig farm can also be finished in half a month. By then, the piglets..."

"I'll write you a note; you take the money and go get them directly."

The Rolling Mill's current pig farm was already fully self-sufficient; the litters of piglets born before the New Year had just grown to eight or nine jin.

Keeping them at their own pig farm would be fine, but the pigsty would be a bit crowded after they grew up. It would be better to wait for the next litter, which could just happen to replace the batch ready for market.

"Hehe, done, many thanks, Factory Director Zhang."

"You're welcome. Factory Director Liu, the fermentation vats must also be prepared in advance. Also, the temperature is relatively low right now, so it will take about a month for this pasture to grow."

"Ah? Then this..."

"Our pig farm had a batch of hay left over from the winter that wasn't used up. Although the nutrition and taste might be a bit worse, it's cheap. It should be enough to tide you over for half a month."

What Zhang Ping'an said was the truth, and he didn't plan on keeping the hay as inventory anyway. If there was fresh grass to eat, the hay naturally wouldn't be needed, so it was better to dispose of it at a low price.

"Done, then what about the price?" Liu Feng gritted his teeth and agreed; it was nothing more than an extra half-month of expenses.

"Ten yuan per ton."

"Good, good, good." Liu Feng had originally prepared for a major bleeding, who would have thought it would be so cheap.

"Also, the piglets have all been castrated. If you want sows and breeding boars, I'll have them find two for you, but the price might be much higher. I suggest you raise them from a young age; that way the cost is lower."

"Good, I'll listen to everything Factory Director Zhang says."

"That's settled. We had some sows and breeding boars we planned to raise ourselves; I'll spare you four sows and two breeding boars."

"Good, good, good, many thanks, Factory Director Zhang." Liu Feng shook Zhang Ping'an's hand incessantly.

"It's nothing, when it comes down to it, we are still from the same factory."

"Right, right, right, we are all one family."

Liu Feng was filled with deep emotion. It was fortunate that it was Zhang Ping'an who came; such a responsible person was rarely seen, and he even considered his costs. He must write a letter of commendation and praise him heavily.

After lunch, Zhang Ping'an stood guard by the river. For every bucket of water that passed, Zhang Ping'an would drip a drop of Space Water until mid-afternoon when all the watering was finished. During this time, Zhang Ping'an also harvested twelve large fish weighing about two jin each.

"Here, I'm keeping two, the rest of you can split the others, one each."

The ten water carriers looked at each other; although they all wanted them in their hearts, none of them had the nerve to step forward and take them.

"What, do you think it's too little? I caught them all, it's not excessive for me to take the lion's share, right?"

"No, no, that's not what we meant. Then, then thank you, leader."

If Zhang Ping'an hadn't said it like that, these honest, simple farmers really would have been too embarrassed to take them.

"That's more like it. We are a small collective, so naturally everyone should have a share. Alright, pack up and go home. You all come back tomorrow at noon."

"Yes, yes, thank you, leader." One by one, they kept thanking Zhang Ping'an as they left.

"Mm, go on back."

After Zhang Ping'an went back, he cleaned the fish and hauled over Nan Yi, who was passing by after work.

"This is the harvest from the water carriers this afternoon. Nan Yi, you cook them, one for each person."

"You got it, Brother Zhang."

Nan Yi naturally wouldn't miss this opportunity to practice; he didn't have that many ingredients to practice with at the steel mill cafeteria.

"Nan Yi, you're also skilled at Sichuan Cuisine?" Before long, a pungent, spicy smell wafted out of the kitchen.

"Look at you saying that. I'm a descendant of an Imperial Chef; what cuisine don't I know?" Whenever Nan Yi mentioned his culinary skills, he would be full of himself, just like Shazhu.

"Oh? So you mean you know all the major cuisines?"

"Ahem, just about. But currently, I'm most skilled at Lu Cuisine and Sichuan Cuisine. After all, these two are very practical for home use, and besides, I like to tinker with them myself."

"Mm, not bad, not bad." Judging from this alone, Nan Yi's culinary skills should be better than Shazhu's.