Chapter 123: The Red Flower Society

Regarding this type of private market that had arisen due to Lingao’s industrialization, not many Yuanlao had yet paid attention to how to deal with it, but letting it develop unchecked would always lead to problems. There would have to be a regulation in the future.

Chinese peasants really don’t lack a sense of business, Yang Yun thought with a wry smile. This scene really reminds me of when I was an HR for a foreign company in a certain town in Jiangnan and walked down the street. With this thought, he led his entourage through the bustling little market. His destination was the branch line commuter station under construction, where a large residential area was being built.

Train stations bring business opportunities, and this was still true in the time and space of the Great Ming. Of course, since the land around the station had already been occupied by the Yuanlao Senate in advance, the business opportunities here were also firmly in the hands of the Yuanlao. The cooperative had set up a branch here early on, and the Red Flower Society of the Agricultural Committee had also gotten a piece of the action, opening an Arctic Ocean Ice House. The goods of the enterprises under the Yuanlao Senate were always of high quality, but the prices were naturally not as competitive as those of inferior goods, and the types of services were also limited, so it was not surprising that the private market not far away was so prosperous.

From the road extending from the commuter station under construction, small vendors carrying large-mouthed thermoses and wearing white vests emerged in twos and threes. They gathered here from various nearby places and then dispersed. The back of the white vests they wore were all painted with a huge red flower, and under the red flower, a four-digit number was written in black font. On the left chest of the vest was a smaller red flower and number of the same style, and below it was a covered pocket. The right pocket, however, was a large pocket that extended to the right chest.

These vendors were the ice sellers of the Red Flower Society, specializing in selling all kinds of popsicles in the city. Most of these people were not strong laborers; some were children who had not yet entered school, and there were also elderly people and women. Although many of them were not naturalized citizens, for hygiene reasons, they had to be purified before they could get this job, so both men and women had “short-haired” hair.

It was now approaching noon, and the vendors were gradually gathering at the ice house here to restock. They sold only one product: popsicles, at two prices, 2 cents and 3 cents. The latter had more green beans or red beans than the former. The former was just an ordinary popsicle, divided into five or six flavors according to the added flavoring, but the best-selling one was still the ordinary saltwater popsicle. The thermoses that the vendors carried were specially made non-tipping flasks. The so-called non-tipping flask was actually just a round cast iron base added to the bottom of a rattan-cased thermos, similar to the principle of a roly-poly toy. The outside was covered with a thickened rattan casing.

“A popsicle. Green bean,” Yang Yun casually stopped a boy with the number 0043 and asked for a saltwater popsicle. The boy skillfully took the five-cent paper money that Yang Yun handed over, found two one-cent paper notes from his left pocket and gave them to Yang Yun, but he didn’t seem to have any intention of opening the thermos to get the ice. Instead, he reached out and whispered something in the ear of a boy with the number 0081 next to him. The boy with number 81 happily opened his thermos, used the long bamboo tongs inside to clamp a popsicle, and carefully handed it over.

“My share for today is already enough. My brother just started and is not very skilled yet. Otherwise, he wouldn’t even be able to pay his share,” the boy said, seeing Yang Yun’s puzzled look.

The price of the thermoses was something the small vendors could not afford. Therefore, most of the thermoses used by these boys were rented. Many of the children who joined the Red Flower Society were from poor local families and had to have a guarantor to get this job. The rental fee for the thermos was ten cents a day, which required selling 50 popsicles to earn.

Yang Yun took a bite of the popsicle and tasted it. Then he said, “Hmm, it’s well-insulated. What’s your name? Where do your parents work?”

“My name is Chen Si, and this is my younger brother Chen Jialuo. Our parents are both farm workers at the No. 17 farm of the Maniao Commune of the Agricultural Committee,” the boy with the number 0043 replied cheerfully. “Our sales area is on this road.”

“You are the children of naturalized citizens, why don’t you go to school?” Yang Yun asked strangely. The parents of these two brothers were both farm workers, so they should be naturalized citizens. But the enrollment of the children of naturalized citizens was compulsory. Even if they were not material for studying, they would be sent to the apprentice team. They would not be allowed to be vendors on the street.

“Our parents don’t have a place to live, so we can’t get a formal household registration. We can only be counted as a collective household. We can’t go to school either.”

Yang Yun nodded and asked about their current housing situation.

Chen Si said embarrassedly, “We just came from Guangdong a few months ago and have just settled down to work in the commune. The people in the commune said that the quotas are tight now and we have to wait in line for a house. Our family will have to wait until the year after next.”

“Then where do you live now?”

“We don’t have a house to live in…” Chen Si spread his hands. “My parents both live in the collective dormitory of the farm. My brother and I live in the dormitory of the Red Flower Society. We share a bed with three shifts of people. At least we have a place to sleep.”

“Then isn’t your family separated?”

“That’s still better than begging for food and sleeping under the eaves of a broken temple. At least it’s a proper house and a proper bed,” Chen Si smiled. “Besides, the cadres in the commune said that we will have a house when our turn comes. We just have to endure it for a while.” The boy said with a tone of envy, “I saw the houses on the farm. They are so bright and clean, and they don’t have thatched roofs. It would be great if we could live in one sooner.”

Looking at the boy who was gradually walking away, Yang Yun raised his hand to confirm the time, 7:11 PM. He thought to himself, If I have diarrhea within two hours, I will tell Nanhai to have the new naturalized citizen factory manager of the popsicle factory go to Fu Youdi’s place and become a miner with the old factory manager. In the 18th century, millions of British people contracted tuberculosis because of shared ice cream cups. Therefore, only popsicles were allowed to be sold on the street now, and all thermoses were standard with 50 popsicles. Vendors were strictly forbidden to touch the popsicles with their hands. Anyone caught would be sent to labor reform for three months, and their parents who had jobs would also have their wages deducted. This was to ensure hygiene.

Due to lax management, large-scale food poisoning caused by contamination during popsicle production and sales had occurred several times. Although diarrhea was not fatal in the current Lingao, the loss of hundreds of people unable to work normally was still a bit large. After the last outbreak of food poisoning caused by popsicles, some Yuanlao even proposed at the Standing Committee meeting to close the popsicle factory and suspend the sale of this easily contaminated food. However, it was successfully blocked by the Ministry of Light Industry, the Ministry of Commerce, and the Agricultural Committee.

Passing through the platform, they soon arrived outside the construction site. It was now lunchtime. The workers of the Yuanlao Senate had no concept of a lunch break. In order to squeeze out manpower, except for jobs that required high physical strength or skill, most jobs were only divided into day and night shifts. A meal was provided at a certain time, and they would go back to work after eating. It was the same here. The workers all ate on the construction site. The canteen had already prepared the food, which was carried to the construction site by workers with shoulder poles. Groups of workers were queuing up to get their food.

Yang Yun went directly to the construction command post. The two guards at the door quickly saluted when they saw the Chief.

“Old Yang, what are you doing here?” Zhang Xingpei sat on a recliner, gnawing on a chicken leg, with a look of surprise on his face.

“I’m just not at ease with your progress.”

“Let’s talk about business after we finish eating. I don’t want to get indigestion. Have you eaten?”

“Not yet. You’re having a private meal, you little rascal,” Yang Yun noticed the coal stove and pots and pans on the side.

“The canteen chef’s skills are not good. Come on, let’s eat together,” Zhang Xingpei was quite enthusiastic. He was supervising the work here alone, and not many Yuanlao paid attention to civil construction. It was rare for a leader-level person to come and show concern.

Zhang Xingpei’s secretary and Dai Xiu went to get the food together. Yang Yun also sat down on the side. The two guards, under his command, took the food brought by Zhang Xingpei’s apprentice and ate carefully in turns.

“You’re eating luxuriously, you little rascal. Hibiscus chicken slices, pickled fish slices, twice-cooked pork slices… and even stewed soft-shelled turtle!”

“Absolutely wild.”

“It would be a rare thing if you could find me a farmed one,” Yang Yun laughed. He had no interest in this stuff; he was more interested in the meat and chicken.

Yang Yun picked up a slice of twice-cooked pork with his chopsticks, washed it down with kvass, and it tasted really good. Only the restaurant at the commercial guild could make such authentic Sichuan cuisine. Although the culinary level of the Yuanlao’s special supply canteen in Bairen City was very high, he always felt a bit tired of eating it, and the food in the big pot could not be made too detailed. It was completely different from the dishes in this restaurant.

“A gift from the local foreman. It would be a waste not to eat it.”

In order to use more non-system manpower, the model of local foremen organizing odd-job workers was very common in Lingao now. Naturally, the local foremen would take the initiative to establish a good relationship with the direct supervising Chief.

“You’re quite corrupt, you little rascal.”

“Hehe, what’s the point of me being here if I’m not corrupt?”

“You’ve taken from this person, so you’re in their debt. What if they play some tricks on you and cut corners?”

Zhang Xingpei just chuckled and didn’t answer, just kept urging Yang Yun to eat more.

Zhang Xingpei quickly finished his meal. Seeing that Yang Yun was still eating heartily, his desire to talk suddenly arose. Of course, the main topic of conversation between Yuanlao was to complain about the Executive Committee, the Standing Committee, and the various ministries and offices. In short, it was just black-hearted complaining.

“Damn, our civil construction is a tragedy. No one pays attention to us. We have no people, no equipment, and no materials!”

“Before Qian Shuiting from the Zhai Party came to power, he made all sorts of grand promises, talking about forming a grand cabinet and sorting out the operation of the government. Now he’s in his own cabinet, and we on the fringe continue to wash their feet for them, the TOPs!

“Damn, they don’t even look at history. In the history of the People’s Republic of China, when those large state-owned enterprises built residential buildings, for example, the Anyang Iron and Steel Plant, from 1958 to 1961, in three years, they only built 36 apartment buildings with the Anyang Construction General Company, of which 25 actually belonged to them, and 40 bungalows. Anyang Iron and Steel had more than 30,000 employees and more than 1,000 families. In three years, they only arranged housing for 16,000 single people and more than 500 families. The rest were still in work sheds!”