Reborn in the ’80s as a Group Favorite Bigshot – Chapter 37

Chapter 37: They Regretted It So Much!

At the oil pressing workshop, Tang Min asked the accountant and the work point recorder to come over. In a while, each household would exchange their work points for oil, and they needed to record everything.

A large group of people poured into the oil pressing workshop. Song Chu clapped her hands and said, “Line up according to the order of arrival, don’t push.”

If someone else had said this, these people would definitely not have listened. But when it came to Song Chu, they could only line up, fearing that she would start a fight if they disagreed.

Satisfied to see them lining up, Song Chu asked Tang Qing to lead two others to distribute oil to those in line.

Naturally, households that were usually diligent, earned more work points, and had more people could exchange more oil with their work points.

For example, Song Chu’s eldest uncle’s family, he and his two sons earned full work points, and his wife and two daughters-in-law were also capable, earning eight or nine work points a day without a problem.

One tael of oil was worth twenty work points. Each adult was allowed to exchange up to three taels of oil per month. Their family could exchange nearly one jin and eight taels, which only required 360 work points. This was very cost-effective.

In the village, as long as the household wasn’t extremely lazy and had some work points, they basically exchanged oil at the maximum limit per person.

This was a visible benefit. After all, at the end of the year, apart from the grain exchanged with work points, the remaining work points couldn’t be exchanged for much money. Exchanging for oil was more practical.

When the oil was poured into the oil bottles and barrels they brought, everyone in the village was relieved and happy.

Looking at Song Chu standing in the center of the courtyard, they couldn’t help but praise her, which was rare.

“You know, I used to think that girl from the Song family was unreliable, copying the boys in fighting and being the village bully, and usually lazy and not working. But once she got her act together, she became smart and capable.”

“That’s right, we’re all benefiting from Song Chu this time. I think she will be successful in the future.”

“A few days ago, when she said she would distribute oil, we were skeptical and thought she was just messing around. Who knew she was serious? She’s really capable.”

“Tang Feng, your Chu Chu is promising now. You can enjoy a carefree life in the future.”

“That’s right, your daughter is the most capable in the village now.”

Mainly because the things Song Chu did, other women in the village simply couldn’t do, such as hunting snakes, hunting wild boars, and leading people up the mountain.

Although they praised Song Chu, no family wanted to marry such a capable girl into their home.

Now, everyone subconsciously believed that Song Chu was more fierce than a man and didn’t consider her a normal woman.

Tang Feng held her head high, full of pride. “Of course, my Chu Chu was just held back by school before. Now that she’s not in school, she’s using her knowledge for the village, letting you all benefit too.”

Hearing her say this, and combined with Song Chu’s recent performance, the villagers thought there was some truth to it.

Of course, there were also people who didn’t believe it at all. Whether Song, the Village Bully, had really changed for the better remained to be seen.

Those who had finished getting their oil didn’t go home immediately but stood aside to chat and watch.

After everyone in the village had gotten their oil, Song Chu looked at everyone and said, “I said before that those who followed me up the mountain to press oil and those who helped would be rewarded.”

“The nine people who went up the mountain and helped with the oil pressing will each be rewarded with two jin of oil. The three women who helped will each be rewarded with one jin of oil. In the future, as long as they continue to work at the oil pressing factory, each month, in addition to the original work points exchange, they will be rewarded with oil like this.”

“When we exchange for goods, there will be other rewards, which will be distributed according to the usual work performance records.”

As soon as she finished speaking, the people standing in the courtyard and outside were stunned.

A reward of two jin of oil a month? And if they exchanged for goods in the future, there would be other rewards? The benefits were too good to be true.

They couldn’t possibly finish two jin of oil, and if they sold it, it would be more profitable than working, and not as tiring.

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Moreover, they heard that when Song Chu took those nine people up the mountain to pick fruit, they sometimes hunted wild game and had meat. The three women who helped even got half a pheasant each the other day.

Some people were already envious, and now, hearing about this reward system, they couldn’t help but turn red with envy.

There were even more people who regretted it. Why did they hesitate and watch back then? If they had directly signed up, wouldn’t their family have gotten an extra two jin of oil today?

Even if they took time to help at the oil pressing workshop, they could still get one jin of oil!

If they couldn’t finish the rewarded oil, they could give it to others or secretly take it to the black market in the city to exchange for something. How great would that be?

They regretted it so much!

In contrast to these people, the families of those nine people and three women felt like they had won the lottery.

These twelve people were also stunned, obviously not expecting to receive so much oil as a reward. They were all beaming.

Especially Song Chu’s two cousins and three cousins. The reason they signed up to go up the mountain was entirely because their fathers asked them to take care of and support their cousin.

They didn’t take it seriously at the time and just thought they were playing along with her. Who would have thought that this would actually work out, and the benefits she promised were real?

They couldn’t help but be grateful for their fathers’ wise decision.

“Song Chu, does your oil pressing workshop need more people?” an envious old lady couldn’t help but ask.

She had three diligent sons. If any one of them was chosen, she could get an extra two jin of oil a month.

Many other families had the same idea and looked at Song Chu together. “Yes, do you need more people?”

The reason why Song Chu gave such rewards was, firstly, she really wanted to improve the benefits of the oil pressing workshop, and secondly, she wanted to attract the villagers.

She smiled and said, “We have enough people for going up the mountain and helping out. If we need more people in the future, I will continue to select from the whole village.”

Hearing this, everyone was disappointed and continued to regret not being decisive earlier.

Song Chu then changed the subject, “The village has already distributed this month’s oil. I went up the mountain and saw that the tea oil fruits will continue to ripen for more than two months, so I plan to have people take the extra oil to other villages to exchange for soybeans and grain.”

“This task will not be given to the young people but to the elderly in the village who can still work. Carrying a few barrels of oil to other villages every day is not very tiring, and they will also be rewarded with oil and other things.”

There were many elderly people in the village who only earned a few work points a day and couldn’t exchange for much grain. These elderly people had considerable influence in the village.

Song Chu, on the one hand, really wanted to find them a job to let them contribute, and on the other hand, she wanted to win them over so that they would stand on her side in future matters, giving her more say in decision-making.

The elderly people in the village were all happy to hear this. Someone asked curiously, “Xiao Chu, what do you want to exchange soybeans and grain for?”

“The grain will be used as a benefit in the future. I plan to use the soybeans to press oil and make tofu.”

“In the future, the soybean oil residue and tofu residue can be used to raise pigs, chickens, and ducks. The tofu can be exchanged by the villagers themselves with work points or other things. It can also be taken to other villages to exchange for things, or to factories in the county town. It’s a win-win-win situation.”