Chapter 18: Wheels Turning North, the Wind Sweeping into Central Hebei (Please Vote)

The meat factory’s contract stirred a small wave within the procurement department.

The steady year-round supply of fresh meat strips, supplemented by additional offal scraps, made the cafeteria foremen look at He Yuzhu with noticeably warmer eyes.

Deputy Section Chief Sun Jianguo emphasized this order—“doing something practical for the worker brothers”—during the department meeting.

There was no news from Deputy Director Li’s side for the time being. The suspension and investigation of Xu Damao was like a thorn, deterring certain people from making rash moves.

He Yuzhu enjoyed the quiet, his thoughts focused further afield—the joint poultry procurement for the five factories had yet to be secured.

“Master, I’ve scouted several suburban commune chicken farms; the scale is too small to support the volume we need for the five factories,” Ma Hua spread out his notebook on the table, frowning. “The largest, Nankou Commune, can only produce about 500 chickens a month.”

He Yuzhu’s finger traced the map, pausing on the Beijing North railway line. “We can’t rely on the area around Forty-Nine City; we need to go further out. The central Hebei plain is a traditional poultry and egg-producing region.”

“Central Hebei?” Ma Hua’s eyes lit up. “Around Baoding Prefecture?”

“Exactly. Tomorrow morning, you’ll go with me to Baoding,” He Yuzhu folded the map. “Get an introduction letter, bring enough national grain coupons and cash. This trip, we need to crack a tough nut.”

———

At dawn, the liberation truck rolled out of the steel rolling mill.

Ma Hua drove while He Yuzhu, wrapped in a military greatcoat, sat in the passenger seat. Besides empty burlap sacks, the truck bed was filled with two packs of “Da Qianmen” cigarettes and five bottles of Erguotou liquor—in these times, hard currency was sometimes more effective than an introduction letter.

The wheels rumbled over the pothole-ridden national highway, kicking up clouds of yellow dust.

Endless winter wheat fields stretched on either side, covered with a thin frost. Villages occasionally flashed by, their earthen roofs topped with tall loudspeakers broadcasting stirring songs.

“Master, look!” Ma Hua pointed ahead at a fork in the road. Several young people carrying bedding rolls and mesh bags were signaling for a ride; they looked like educated youth.

The truck stopped. The leader leaned to the window, speaking with a Central Hebei accent: “Comrade, could you give us a lift to Gaobeidian train station? We’re heading back to the corps, but the shuttle bus is delayed!”

He Yuzhu nodded. “Climb into the truck bed, squeeze in.”

“Thanks, comrade!” The youths nimbly jumped into the truck bed. As the truck restarted, their excited chatter, wrapped in the wind, floated into the cab.

“…The corps is reclaiming three thousand acres of virgin land this year! The company commander said if we don’t meet the quota, we won’t be allowed to return to the city for the New Year!”

“What’s there to fear? We have ‘Dongfanghong’! It’s way faster than an ox!”

“Come on! Yesterday plowing, we got stuck in the mud all afternoon pushing…”

He Yuzhu listened quietly. These were the voices of the 1970s, a rough mix of passion and reality.

———

At noon, the truck entered Baoding’s jurisdiction.

The air was thick with the mixed scent of livestock manure and firewood smoke. He Yuzhu instructed Ma Hua to drive straight to the regional agricultural and sideline products company.

The company’s facade was modest, the yard piled high with burlap sacks and baskets.

A middle-aged man in a four-pocket cadre uniform came out, glanced over the introduction letter: “From the Red Star Steel Rolling Mill? Procuring poultry? Do you have the planned quota slips?”

“The planned quota isn’t enough; we want to supplement outside the plan,” He Yuzhu handed over a “Da Qianmen” cigarette.

The cadre took it, his tone softening. “It’s tough, comrade! At year-end, the tasks are heavy! Don’t mention outside the plan; even the planned chickens and ducks are tight!” He lowered his voice. “But… your demand is really large?”

“The five factories combined require at least five thousand chickens monthly, or an equivalent amount of ducks and geese,” He Yuzhu gestured the number.

The cadre sucked in a breath, pulling He Yuzhu aside. “Can you really take that much?”

“Cash and goods on hand.”

The cadre rubbed his hands, his eyes brightening. “There is a channel… Several communes under Qingyuan County raise many chickens and ducks. But recently there’s been chicken plague, a batch died, and the remaining communes are hiding it, afraid of criticism for failing their tasks. If you dare to take them, the price can be negotiated down!”

Chicken plague? Ma Hua’s face changed. He Yuzhu pressed further: “Are you sure it’s chicken plague? What symptoms?”

“I heard the combs turn purple, they have green diarrhea, and are listless. I don’t know specifics; the commune veterinary station is swamped.”

Fragments of knowledge from the “Poultry Disease Prevention and Control Essentials” He Yuzhu had acquired flickered in his mind.

Purple combs and green droppings… it sounded more like avian cholera, not acute chicken plague! And it was treatable!

“Let’s go! To Qingyuan!” He Yuzhu decided on the spot.

———

The courtyard of Hongqi Commune, Qingyuan County.

Secretary Wang of the commune frowned, holding the “Da Qianmen” cigarette He Yuzhu offered. “Team Leader He, it’s not that we don’t support industrial construction, but… sigh! The chicken farms suffered a disaster! Many birds are sick! The vet station’s medicine is all gone, waiting on county resupply! Who would dare sell you these sick chickens?”

“Secretary Wang, can you take us to the chicken farms? Maybe we can help,” He Yuzhu said earnestly.

Wang led them to a chicken farm by the riverside outside the village.

A strong stench hit them from afar. The rudimentary chicken coops held many chickens huddled in corners, their combs dull, spirits low, with sparse yellow-green droppings on the ground.

He Yuzhu squatted down, carefully examining the droppings, then had Ma Hua catch a sick chicken. He opened its eyelids and pressed its crop.

“It’s not chicken plague,” He Yuzhu stood, voice certain. “It’s avian cholera. With the right sulfonamide or oxytetracycline, and sufficient dosage, they can be saved.”

“Really?!” Secretary Wang and the veteran vet who had arrived with them widened their eyes.

“Chicken plague spreads fast and kills faster, with blackened combs. Cholera is slower, with purple combs, yellow-green diarrhea, and fluid in the crop.” He Yuzhu pointed out the key differences. “Crush sulfonamide tablets to mix with water, or mix oxytetracycline powder with feed, feed for five consecutive days. Disinfect the coop daily with slaked lime.”

The old vet slapped his thigh: “Right, right! The symptoms do look like cholera! But we have no medicine!”

He Yuzhu looked at Secretary Wang. “We’ll find a way to get the medicine. But the recovered chickens and ducks must be prioritized for our five-factory joint procurement at the lowest out-of-plan price. Secretary Wang, this saves collective assets and also provides the commune with a chance for increased income.”

Secretary Wang looked at the drooping chickens and then at He Yuzhu’s calm face, biting his lip. “Deal! As long as the medicine arrives and the chickens recover, I guarantee it!”

He Yuzhu immediately had Ma Hua drive to the Baoding regional livestock station.

Thanks to the steel mill and five-factory joint procurement’s official letters, combined with He Yuzhu’s precise description of the symptoms, they managed to “coordinate” an emergency allocation of sulfonamide tablets and oxytetracycline powder.

Three days later, at Hongqi Commune’s chicken farm, the medicated sick chickens showed clear signs of recovery. The coop smelled faintly of slaked lime.

Secretary Wang shook He Yuzhu’s hand vigorously. “Team Leader He! It’s miraculous! Lifesaving medicine! No ifs or buts! From now on, our commune’s chickens, ducks, and eggs will be reserved for you first! Prices as you said!”

That afternoon, the truck left Qingyuan fully loaded with the first batch—three hundred live chickens pulled back from the brink of death and two hundred pounds of fresh eggs.

In the truck bed were also two burlap sacks of dried daylilies and sweet potato noodles, pressed into their hands by Secretary Wang.

Ma Hua drove, unable to resist remarking, “Master, you even know how to diagnose chicken diseases?”

He Yuzhu leaned against the window, watching the vast farmland and distant brick kilns puffing white smoke. “Run more, see more, remember more. These days, if you want good things for the factory, words and quota slips aren’t enough. You need insight, and…” He patted the box of medicine beside him. “…something solid that can really make a difference when it counts.”

The wheels rolled on, crushing the yellow earth road of the central Hebei plain. Faintly, the loudspeakers carried a song: “…the members are all sunflowers…”

He Yuzhu closed his eyes. The system’s prompt sounded in his mind: [Ding! Suitable location detected: Central Hebei Plain National Highway. Sign in?]

“Sign in.”

[Sign-in successful! Acquired: Basic Field Orientation. Knowledge has been infused.]

A slight smile touched his lips. Next stop—under which “sunflower” patch should he settle?