During times of famine: I have a spiritual spring space

Chapter 14 Custom-made Oil Pressing Equipment

They didn't dare eat the five ears of corn we gave them last time, and there are still two left! Now, the children have brought back ten ears, which will last for many days.

"I'll make corn porridge for you and your siblings today," the woman said.

Previously, they had shredded the corn cobs as well, which was filling but the texture certainly wouldn't be very good. Surprisingly, it wasn't bad at all, and tasted much better than they had imagined.

Today, her child brought home 10 ears of corn, so she decided to splurge and treat her child to a nice meal.

As for herself, it doesn't matter.

The rest must be properly preserved and hidden away.

……

Zhuang Lihui and Chen Jianan arrived at the street of Baishi Commune. The street was very short and could be seen at a glance. The street surface was paved with long stone slabs. It was not very smooth, but it was clean enough. There were one- or two-story shops on both sides, some of which were old.

"Jian'an, are you staying here to guard the oxcart?"

The oxcart is an important asset of the production team. If it gets lost, the two of them won't need to go back; they can just grab the buckets and run away!

Chen Jianan nodded: "Brother Hui, you can go do whatever you want. I'll stay here and keep watch."

Zhuang Lihui stopped talking and got off the oxcart and walked forward.

The purpose of coming to the commune today is very clear: to get a set of equipment for pressing peanut oil using the traditional method, which does not use machinery and is almost entirely made of wood.

Go to a furniture store; they should be able to order a small set.

For Zhuang Lihui, as long as it works, that's fine. He doesn't have high requirements. Even if the oil yield is not high, it doesn't matter. With the spiritual spring space, he doesn't have to worry about peanuts at all. What's there to be afraid of wasting?

Alternatively, if convenient, you can also buy a set of furniture, such as a bed, to put in the space.

Finally, he wanted to get some cement and lime to renovate the house.

Nowadays, cement is a controlled resource, and ordinary people cannot buy it. If their production team needs it, they can only apply to the commune, which will then distribute it to them.

But no matter what kind of supplies they are, a small portion will always end up on the market.

He found a secluded corner, observed for a week, and when he found no one, he quickly took out a bag of corn cobs from his spatial storage, carried it on his back, and headed towards the furniture store.

The furniture shop is located near the end of the street. Whether at the entrance or inside the shop, there is a large selection of ready-made furniture for you to choose from.

Behind the shop is a processing workshop, which is a combined manufacturing and sales store.

As soon as you get close, a strong smell of paint hits you.

"Comrade, is there anything you need?"

Zhuang Lihui slammed the sack on his shoulder onto the ground and said, "I've come to pick out a few pieces of furniture. By the way, can you customize peanut oil pressing equipment? A small one will do, I'll ask for the production team."

If I come to your furniture store, what else would I be looking for if not furniture?

"Frying peanut oil? I'll have to ask. Comrade, please wait a moment."

This employee was fairly polite, unlike some salespeople who are arrogant and indifferent to customers. If you dare to rush them, they might even give you the cold shoulder.

The saying "the customer is king" no longer applies today.

"Okay! Thank you for your help."

Zhuang Lihui wasn't kept waiting long. Soon, an experienced craftsman with sawdust still on his head came out. He first looked Zhuang Lihui up and down, then asked, "You want that thing for frying peanut oil? How big do you want it?"

"Is it possible to do something that only one or two people can do?" Zhuang Lihui asked.

"But it's possible..."

Seeing that there was no one else in the furniture shop, Zhuang Lihui opened the sack: "Our production team doesn't have any ration coupons, so we'll use this as a substitute. Is that alright?"

The experienced craftsman's eyes widened slightly upon seeing this.

Okay, that's great!

In those days, food was so scarce that everyone was starving. He never imagined that some production teams would use food to barter for furniture and the like.

"Comrade, let's go inside and talk." The old master gave the shop assistant, Xiao Li, a look.

Upon receiving the package, Xiao Li immediately went over to help, carrying the sack of corn inside, his face also beaming with joy.

"Comrade, what is your surname? My surname is Zhou."

Zhuang Lihui followed him inside and said with a smile, "Hello, Master Zhou, my surname is Zhuang."

He knew that as long as he had grain, he could exchange it for almost anything; why would he need coupons? Right now, grain was the hard currency, even more useful than gold.

"Comrade Zhuang, I'll be frank. We can trade corn for furniture, or even the oil pressing equipment you mentioned. But isn't this bag of corn a bit too little?" Master Zhou poured Zhuang Lihui a glass of water from the thermos.

"This is just a deposit; there's more to come," Zhuang Lihui said.

Upon hearing this, Master Zhou thought, "That makes things much easier."

"What kind of furniture do you want? No need for a receipt, we'll treat it as a defective item and even issue a certificate, ensuring no one can cause you any trouble." Master Zhou resolved all of Zhuang Lihui's worries.

Whether a product is defective or not is up to the furniture store to decide.

No matter what they produce, there will always be some "defective products" that appear out of nowhere, which they then consume internally; furniture workshops are no exception.

That's something that can't be investigated; the higher-ups just turn a blind eye to it.

Zhuang Lihui had a sudden thought: Why not just let them build everything the space needs? How long would it take to build it myself?

It's better to leave professional matters to professionals.

"Our production team needs quite a lot, Master Zhou, please write it down. In addition to the oil pressing equipment I just mentioned, we also need 5 grain storage bins, 3 beds..."

After reporting it, Master Zhou could confirm that the production team definitely wanted it. Otherwise, who would want so many grain bins?

Their grain storage bins are as big as half a room, and can hold a lot of grain. The bins can be disassembled and reassembled, and their height can be continuously increased.

"The bed, table, and wardrobe can be picked up immediately. The oil pressing equipment and grain storage will take a few days, but I'll get them made for you as soon as possible," Master Zhou said.

"Can you deliver it to the designated place for us? I can give you more corn," Zhuang Lihui asked again.

Mr. Zhou thought for a moment. Their store didn't offer home delivery, but if you could give them more corn, then everything was negotiable and it wasn't impossible.

"OK!"

The principle is not to send supplies, but now food is the principle.

Next, we discussed compensation, with payment in corn, which was a result both parties desired.

After some haggling, the payment was finally agreed upon.

The bag of corn in front of me is a deposit. The payment for each batch of goods will be settled in person upon delivery.

"Okay, it's settled then."

Taking the opportunity, Zhuang Lihui asked, "Master Zhou, our team still needs cement and lime. Do you know any ways to get them? Or can we trade them for corn?"

Although Master Zhou found it a bit strange—why couldn't the production team apply to the commune for cement?—he didn't want to inquire since they hadn't mentioned it.

"Then you'll have to find Master Wang; he might have some."