Chapter 113: So Where Did the Mistake Happen?

The village head spoke again, “It’s true that setting up the factory requires some initial investment, but to address that problem, we’ve already secured two orders. That means, in the short term, we’ll temporarily use the old village elementary school. We’ll get the equipment in place and complete these two orders first. The profit we earn from them will be used to build the factory.”

“This way, we won’t have to touch anyone’s personal money, and we’ll be creating a new opportunity for the village.”

“Once the canning factory is up and running, we’ll start hiring. Any woman between the ages of eighteen and fifty, who’s healthy and hardworking, can come to the village to register. As for the men, no need to join in; we still need you for the fields.”

The crowd looked at each other in surprise. “This is the first time I’ve heard of a factory that hasn’t even been built already having two orders.”

“Am I dreaming or what?”

“But what kind of canned goods will we be making? I’ve seen the hawthorn and apple cans sold outside, and they taste really good.”

At this point, it seemed like everyone was more relaxed and started discussing the matter. As long as their own money wasn’t involved, everything seemed fine.

Someone shouted, “Village head, don’t tell me it’s just an order for ten or eight jars. That’s hardly worth starting a whole factory!”

At the mention of the orders, the village head excitedly responded, “One order is for two hundred jars, and the other is for five hundred. Do you think that’s worth it or not?”

A wave of gasps echoed through the crowd. Almost everyone stared at the village head in disbelief.

This was no small quantity—people couldn’t believe it. Even Cheng Hongying was a bit dazed. She had heard from her daughter and the village head before, but she had never imagined that before the factory was even built, several hundred jars of canned peaches had already been sold.

“What did you say?”

“Seven hundred jars in total? Did I hear that right?”

“Village Head, is there really no issue with this order?”

“Two hundred jars were ordered by the county chief. Since the Dragon Boat Festival is approaching, the county chief added peach preserves to the festival gift list.”

People in the village, who had only ever dealt with their village head, were now hearing that the county chief was ordering canned goods. They immediately started to believe there might be something to this.

“So, who ordered the other five hundred jars?”

“The provincial supply and marketing cooperative.”

The village head’s words set the whole Ping’an Village buzzing.

“Any women who meet the requirements, hurry up and sign up with Accountant Xu. Tomorrow, we’ll send people to clean up the old elementary school and make sure we have a clean working space. If you don’t act now, when the year-end bonuses come, and some families get less than others, don’t come complaining to me.”

Lin Caiyue’s eyes sparkled as she looked at Village Head Sun. “Can we young educated women sign up too?”

“Of course! As long as you meet the requirements, you can join.”

Several of the young educated women, who were already too tired to work in the fields, immediately became excited upon hearing that they could work in the factory and quickly joined the line.

While things were going smoothly in Ping’an Village, there was a small hiccup in Taolin Village.

Although they supported the idea of opening a factory and were in favor of it, once they learned the factory would be built in Ping’an Village, they immediately opposed it.

Village Head Lin, with a long face, said, “Do you think I want this? If we could follow the old methods, I would never agree to have the factory built in Ping’an Village.”

“Also, another important factor is that Ping’an Village is closer to the town than our village. That’s something I had to consider.”

“That doesn’t mean they get all the benefits. They must assign some of the positions to our people.”

Village Head Lin made a stopping gesture. “I’ve already raised this with them. The village head of Ping’an Village agreed. We’re sending twenty female workers over first. As for the job positions, that’s up to Village Head Sun to decide. You all need to go and help out, but don’t cause any conflicts.”

“What kind of good positions can they arrange?”

“Yeah, exactly. It seems like our village is the one getting the short end of the stick. We’re providing the peaches, and we’re still the ones who have to figure out how to sell them!”

“Yeah, it’s unfair. If it’s like that, we can just stop working with them.”

One person stirred up the crowd, and others started to join in. Seeing that the situation was getting out of hand, Village Head Lin raised the loudspeaker and shouted, “Shut up! What are you making so much noise about? Is your vision really so narrow? If we don’t cooperate, our village’s peaches will end up dried out like they always have. Ping’an Village has mastered the ancient method of canning. Do you think they can’t find anyone else to collaborate with and open a factory? Once they surpass us, we’ll see if you’re still jumping around like you are today!”

“Besides, the county chief ordered two hundred jars, but Ping’an Village secured five hundred jars. What if they sell well? Have you considered how much the provincial supply and marketing cooperative could handle?”

At this point, Village Head Lin took a deep breath. “If you disagree, I’ll go tell Village Head Sun in Ping’an Village that we’re not cooperating anymore. If we sell all the peaches to them, at least we’ll make a little money. In a few years, if Ping’an Village grows, they might even remember our good intentions.”

Village Head Lin’s words were deafening. Their protests had only been about fairness, but ultimately, the technical knowledge was in the hands of Ping’an Village. Even if they were unwilling, there was nothing they could do.

“Village head, how come you’re still speaking up for Ping’an Village?”

“Am I speaking up for them? I’m the village head of Taolin Village, and my first priority is always Taolin Village’s interests. Although the factory is being built in Ping’an Village, they’ve signed an agreement with us. We’ll always be in a cooperative relationship, and that’s the biggest benefit I’ve fought for on your behalf.”

“Is anyone else still dissatisfied? If so, speak up now, so I don’t have to deal with any trouble later.”

Seeing that no one spoke, Village Head Lin continued, “Alright, since no one has any objections, I hope everyone will work peacefully. If there are any issues, communicate well. Once the factory is profitable, won’t you all be happy when the money is distributed?”

“Right!” the crowd responded in unison.

Seeing that no one opposed, Village Head Lin finally allowed a slight smile to appear on his lips.

Comrade Xiao Qiu was truly insightful. With orders in place as a guarantee, the opposing voices were indeed much weaker.

With the two villages settled, Village Head Sun led a team to clean up the old elementary school. The walls were smoothed with putty, and even the dust in the yard was thoroughly cleaned. They also set up several large pots and managed to bring back a thousand jars from the men in Taolin Village.

And just like that, the Jinxiu Canning Factory was up and running.

To prevent their technique from being copied, Village Head Sun followed Qiu Yinuo’s advice and divided the factory into multiple workshops, each with a different set of responsibilities. The final step was reserved for their own villagers.

So, while the people from Taolin Village were employed in the factory, they were only assigned tasks like washing peaches, removing pits, and even stoking the fire and steaming the peaches.

A few people were called by Village Head Lin for a discussion, all with confused looks on their faces. “It seems like what we’re doing isn’t really much different from what they’re doing. So, where did things go wrong?”