Chapter 266: The Clan's Grand Development Plan [6000 Words]

Chapter 266: The Clan's Grand Development Plan [6000 Words]



Growing fruits has always been easier than selling them.

Even with the advanced sales networks of the future, news of fruit farmers struggling to sell their produce and tons of fruit rotting in the fields is not uncommon.

Despite the scarcity of fruits in this era, which should theoretically make them easy to sell, the entire Naye Deng clan, comprising hundreds of households, has planted watermelons. This is a significant scale of cultivation, and it would be wise to secure a purchase contract with the supply and marketing cooperative in advance to avoid the nightmare scenario of ripe watermelons with no buyers.

Therefore, after seeing the clan members plant their watermelons, Deng Shirong took the time to visit the Shuangwang Supply and Marketing Cooperative and sought out Guan Yongying's uncle, Guan Dewu.

After exchanging pleasantries, Deng Shirong got straight to the point, "Relative, I'm here today to discuss the purchase of watermelons."

Ideally, such arrangements should be made before planting, with purchase prices agreed upon and contracts signed. However, the clan members had followed the trend without much foresight.

Guan Dewu smiled and said, "Uncle Jiushu, that's no problem. The price will be the same as last year, and we can sign the contract anytime."

Deng Shirong replied, "Relative, this year it's not just my family planting watermelons. Our Bangjie Brigade has hundreds of households following suit. If everything goes well, we're looking at a conservative estimate of over ten thousand tons of watermelons. Could you please consult your superiors to see if your cooperative can handle such a large quantity?"

Guan Dewu was taken aback. A hundred or a few hundred tons of watermelons would be manageable, but ten thousand tons was a substantial amount that required approval from higher-ups.

Guan Dewu nodded, "That's quite a lot. Uncle Jiushu, please wait a moment while I consult my superiors."

Deng Shirong acknowledged, "Sure, I appreciate your help!"

Guan Dewu smiled, "No need to be so formal, Uncle Jiushu. Our cooperative has an obligation to purchase agricultural products from farmers. Although the quantity is large, watermelons have a relatively long shelf life, so I believe we can handle it."

With that, Guan Dewu went to consult his superiors.

A few minutes later, Guan Dewu returned with a beaming face and said, "Uncle Jiushu, our leaders have agreed. Regardless of the quantity, our cooperative will purchase all the watermelons. We can sign an unlimited purchase contract, with the price remaining the same as last year."

Deng Shirong was not surprised. The supply and marketing cooperative was a massive organization with a nationwide reach and unmatched distribution channels. For them, even a hundred thousand or a million tons of watermelons would be manageable.

However, this situation would change in the late 1980s when fruit production across the country increased, and the cooperative began to decline. By then, selling fruits directly to the cooperative might no longer be an option.

Of course, by that time, more individuals would be involved in the fruit business, and if the cooperative didn't purchase the fruits, other merchants would. If the prices offered by merchants were unsatisfactory, one could always seek other sales channels.

In short, as long as one was resourceful, selling produce would not be a problem in any era.

Deng Shirong smiled, "That's great to hear. I can rest easy now."

With the contract signed, the clan members could be assured that their watermelons would find a buyer this year.

---

Beijing.

In a state-owned restaurant near Peking University, Deng Yunheng was having a meal with his five dorm mates.

Deng Yunheng's five roommates came from different parts of the country. Tang Mingjie, from Beijing, had family members in government positions, though he modestly referred to them as minor officials. However, a "minor official" in Beijing could easily become a significant figure when posted elsewhere.

Moreover, Tang Mingjie was the only one in the dorm who could match Deng Yunheng in wealth, indicating that his family was far from simple.

Zheng Shifeng, from Heilongjiang, came from an ordinary rural family. He was tall and robust, standing over 1.88 meters, and was the dorm's physical powerhouse.

Chu Zhenyu, from Hubei, also came from an ordinary rural family. He had a rugged and masculine appearance, making him the dorm's handsome guy.

He Yong, from Zhejiang, had a comfortable family background, second only to Deng Yunheng and Tang Mingjie in wealth. He was a very shrewd individual.

Cui Wenguang, from Henan, came from a working-class family. He was somewhat introverted and usually listened quietly during dorm conversations, only speaking up when directly addressed.

After nearly two years of living together, the six of them had developed a strong bond, often meeting for meals once a month.

During the meal, they chatted about various topics, and somehow the conversation turned to fruits.

Tang Mingjie looked at Deng Yunheng and said, "Speaking of fruits, the south is the place to be. Yunheng, your hometown is in Guangxi, so there must be a lot of fruits there, right?"

Deng Yunheng smiled, "Indeed, my hometown has a wide variety of fruits that are available year-round. There's even a local folk song about the fruits of each month. It goes like this: Baise County is a treasure land, suitable for growing all kinds of fruits. In March, we have strawberries; in April, plums; in May, peaches and lychees; in June, pineapples and yellow plums; in July, longans and pears; in August, bananas; in September, tangerines and persimmons; in October, pomelos. And there are always rambutans available.

In addition, there are sugarcane, loquats, mangoes, papayas, guavas, myrtle berries, black olives, yellow olives, oil olives, lemons, oranges, pineapples, grapes, and monk fruit. In short, there are fruits to enjoy all year round. Right now, it's the season for strawberries."

His roommates were taken aback. Many of these fruits were not only unfamiliar to them but unheard of.

Tang Mingjie's mouth watered, "That sounds amazing. I love fruits, especially lychees and longans, which are famous in the south. I've always craved them, but they were never available in Beijing until last year when someone managed to bring longans here. It was the first time I tried them, and the taste was incredible."

He Yong added, "I've also tried longans, and they are indeed delicious and very sweet."

Zheng Shifeng sighed, "I've never even seen lychees or longans, let alone tasted them."

"Looking back at Chang'an, the mountains are covered with palaces. A rider brings red dust, and the concubine smiles, but no one knows it's lychees that have arrived."

Chu Zhenyu recited a poem and said, "I've heard a lot about lychees, but I've never had the chance to taste them. It's a real pity!"

Deng Yunheng shrugged, "We have a thousand lychee trees at home, and they are of the best variety, Guimi. Unfortunately, by the time we go on break, the lychee season will be almost over. Plus, they don't keep as well as apples, so it's impossible to bring them for you to try."

Tang Mingjie was taken aback. "Yunheng, your family has planted over a thousand lychee trees?"

Deng Yunheng blinked. "Brother Mingjie, it's just a thousand lychee trees. What’s so strange about that?"

Tang Mingjie put an arm around Deng Yunheng's shoulder and asked, "Yunheng, you’re going home this summer, right?"

Deng Yunheng nodded. "I didn’t go back for the Spring Festival last year, so I definitely will this summer."

Tang Mingjie chuckled. "Can I come visit your place?"

If it were any other classmate, Tang Mingjie wouldn’t have asked, but Deng Yunheng was outgoing, generous, and clearly from a well-off family. Plus, they had a great relationship, so he felt comfortable asking.

"Of course! Brother Mingjie, if you don’t mind the long journey, I’d be thrilled to have you as a guest!"

Without hesitation, Deng Yunheng turned to the other roommates. "And Brother Feng, Brother Yu, Brother Yong, Brother Guang, you’re all welcome too. If you don’t mind the distance, I’d love for you to come visit during the summer."

Zheng Shifeng was intrigued. "Yunheng, would that be convenient?"

Deng Yunheng laughed. "What’s inconvenient about it? Don’t worry about food or lodging; I’ll make sure everything is taken care of."

Chu Zhenyu was also interested. "Yunheng, with so many of us, are you sure it won’t be a problem?"

Deng Yunheng smiled. "Not at all. My dad is very hospitable. He’ll be thrilled to meet my classmates. He’s also a great cook and can prepare a variety of dishes. You’ll be well-fed and happy.

"Most importantly, during the summer, we’ll have an abundance of lychees, jackfruits, yellow plums, longans, and other fruits. You can eat as much as you want. I promise you won’t regret the trip."

Even the usually quiet Cui Wenguang couldn’t resist. "Yunheng, you’re really tempting us!"

Tang Mingjie was excited. "It’s settled then. When summer break starts, we’ll all go to Yunheng’s place."

Zheng Shifeng nodded with a smile. "Sure, we’ll all go together. I’m curious to see the place that produced such an outstanding person like Yunheng."

Chu Zhenyu, He Yong, and Cui Wenguang all agreed.

The idea of a summer trip to Guangxi filled them with anticipation.

...

Naye Village.

Deng Shirong sat under his wooden shack, smoking and pondering the affairs of his clan.

Responsibility grows with one’s role. As a parent, you have the duty to educate your children and hope they succeed. As a teacher, you are responsible for nurturing students and hoping they become pillars of society. As the head of a county, you must look after the entire county’s development.

Now that Deng Shirong had become the patriarch of the Naye Deng clan, he was respected and beloved by all. He naturally had to think of ways to lead the clan to prosperity.

Previously, he had set up scholarships and grants to encourage education, which would help cultivate talent for the clan. However, this would take decades to show results and wouldn’t help with immediate poverty alleviation.

This year, the entire clan had planted watermelons, which could bring in a good profit if successful. But this was a short-term gain. In a few years, when fruit production increased across the region, it would be harder to make such profits.

Therefore, Deng Shirong needed a long-term plan to truly lift the clan out of poverty.

The solution came to him easily. When he was trying to find a way for his second nephew to earn a living, he had considered a high-earning option: transportation.

Transportation could be divided into passenger and freight services. At the time, Deng Shirong thought passenger services were too competitive for his nephew, so he opted for the less risky freight service.

Now, he realized that passenger services were a perfect fit for the Naye Deng clan.

Operating passenger services individually was too competitive, as those in the business were often aggressive and could rally large groups. Honest people couldn’t survive in that environment.

However, a clan of over three thousand people was a different story. Who would dare to use force against such a large group?

The more he thought about it, the more viable the plan seemed. Deng Shirong decided to hold a clan meeting during the watermelon harvest to discuss the idea. If the clan agreed, they would proceed; if not, they would abandon it.

He also needed to start preparing, like arranging for clan members to learn how to drive. This was something to be done as early as possible, as driving was easy to learn, but repairing vehicles took time.

They didn’t need professional mechanics, just people who could handle basic repairs.

As for who should learn to drive, Deng Shirong thought for a moment and looked toward the neighboring village of Hengmenkou.

Among all the villages in Bangjie, there was debate over which was the wealthiest, but there was no dispute over which was the poorest: Hengmenkou.

To illustrate how poor Hengmenkou was, consider this: after electricity was introduced to Bangjie, Deng Shirong’s family used more electricity in the first few years than the entire Hengmenkou village combined. This shows how frugal they were.

Such frugality revealed the village’s extreme poverty.

Deng Shirong’s grandfather and the patriarch of Hengmenkou were brothers, so the blood ties were close. It was only right to help his cousins’ descendants with this opportunity.

With that in mind, Deng Shirong put down his pipe and walked with his hands behind his back toward Hengmen Village.

...

Hengmen Village was one of the smaller villages in Bangjie Brigade, with only twenty-six households and over a hundred people. Because of its small population, the village’s layout was different from others. All the houses were connected, forming a shape resembling the letter "H," with a road running through the middle and rows of houses on either side.

One of the households in the first row was owned by Deng Changwen, who was a well-known strongman in his youth. He used to carry loads of over two hundred pounds to other communes for sale, without even stopping to rest. He was a formidable figure.

Unfortunately, one day, while carrying a heavy load to a neighboring commune, he collapsed from exhaustion. He fell asleep without even wiping the sweat from his brow, and the consequences were severe. When he woke up, he started coughing up blood.

From then on, Deng Changwen’s health deteriorated. If he had been able to seek treatment at a major hospital, perhaps it wouldn’t have been so bad, but in those times, his family was too poor to afford such luxuries. They could only get some medicine from the village’s barefoot doctor and tough it out.

Naturally, his condition only worsened over time. He struggled for over a decade before passing away.

His family’s financial situation had already been dire, and with the main breadwinner sick for so long, things only got worse. It wasn’t until their children grew up and the village began to allocate land to households that the family’s basic needs were met.

However, while their basic needs were taken care of, the issue of their children’s marriages became a major concern for Changwen’s wife.

Deng Changwen had six children: four sons and two daughters. The sons were named Deng Silong, Deng Sitiger, Deng Silie, and Deng Silang, with names that grew more intimidating with each one.

The eldest son, Deng Silong, was already 28 and still unmarried, firmly holding the top spot on the village’s list of bachelors.

Even in modern times, parents would start pushing for marriage once their children turned 28. In those days, a 28-year-old bachelor was a source of great anxiety for parents.

But worry alone couldn’t solve the problem. The family only had two rooms: one for Changwen’s wife and the two daughters, and one for the four sons. If the eldest son got married, where would the other three sons live?

Without a place to live, the idea of getting married was nothing more than a dream.

Changwen’s wife had almost given up hope until last year, when the news spread that Old Nine from Yayecun had earned several thousand yuan from growing watermelons. This rekindled her hope, and she encouraged her children to cultivate the family’s hills, planting watermelons this year.

If the watermelons had a good harvest, they could build a new house, and her sons would have a chance to get married.

With this hope, Changwen’s wife’s spirits had lifted significantly over the past few months.

...

"Changwen’s wife, are you sewing clothes?" Deng Shirong called out as he approached, seeing her sitting at the door, sewing.

Changwen’s wife looked up and quickly stood to greet him. "Old Nine, what brings you here?"

Deng Shirong smiled. "I came to talk to you about something. Are your sons, Silong, Sitiger, and Silie, not at home?"

"They’re all at the orchard!"

Changwen’s wife picked up the pipe beside her and asked, "Old Nine, would you like to smoke?"

Deng Shirong waved his hand. "No, thank you. I just smoked at home. I came here to tell you that I want your sons to learn how to drive."

Changwen’s wife was surprised. "You want my sons to learn how to drive?"

Deng Shirong didn’t beat around the bush. "Yes, to learn how to drive. Once they’ve learned, I plan to have them drive the bus."

Changwen’s wife’s eyes widened in excitement. "Old Nine, I didn’t hear wrong, did I? My sons can drive the bus after they learn how to drive?"

Being a bus driver was one of the most prestigious jobs in those times, and it was a dream for many villagers.

If anyone else had said this, she would have laughed in their face, but coming from Old Nine, it was highly credible. After all, who was Old Nine? He wouldn’t joke about such a serious matter. This was why Changwen’s wife was so excited.

Deng Shirong nodded. "Yes, as long as they learn how to drive, they can be arranged to drive the bus. Ask them if they’re interested in becoming drivers. If they are, have them come to my place this afternoon, and I’ll arrange for them to learn how to drive in the county."

Changwen’s wife, unable to contain her excitement, said, "Old Nine, how could they not be interested in such a good opportunity? I’ll make the decision for them right now."

"Alright, I’ll count them in. Have them come to my place this afternoon, and I’ll discuss the driving lessons with them."

"Sure, thank you, Old Nine."

...

After leaving Changwen’s wife’s house, Deng Shirong visited several more households in Hengmen Village. He specifically looked for families that were poor and had multiple sons.

While forming a clan-operated passenger transport team would reduce the risk of danger compared to individual operations, it was still better to be safe than sorry. By choosing families with multiple sons, even if something unfortunate happened, it would only affect one son, ensuring the family line would continue.

It was clear that being a driver in those times was a highly sought-after profession. Whenever Deng Shirong mentioned it, the families he approached agreed immediately and were grateful.

Deng Shirong found twenty people in total. Since the clan was setting up the passenger transport team, it wouldn’t start with just one or two buses. According to his plan, they would start with at least ten buses. Once they had a better grasp of the business, they could expand and aim to dominate at least half of the county’s long-distance bus routes, ensuring they could capitalize on the lucrative early opportunities in the upcoming wave of migrant workers.

That afternoon, the twenty driver candidates all came to Deng Shirong’s house.

Among them were men ranging from 20 to 35 years old, including both married men with children and unmarried young men. They all shared one common trait: they were bold and fearless.

In that special era, it was crucial to choose drivers who were not only skilled but also brave and unafraid of challenges.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end