Even though it seemed troublesome, and he was reluctant, since he had agreed, Wu Liguo was determined to do a good job, worried about letting the young ones down. He was busy holding short meetings for his six subordinates, figuring out how to better carry out the new year’s teaching work. After mastering the specific method of processing goose feathers and successfully making a down cushion that amazed her brother and sister-in-law, Shuzhen found no leisure. To avoid frequently appearing at various duck and goose slaughter sites, she taught how to steam ducks and geese for easier plucking, how to disinfect, and how to wash, and then had to use all her brainpower and energy to refuse upcoming invitations for meat stew meals. Following "The Earthworm Cultivation Handbook," the booklet "Duck and Goose Down Processing" was also published. As the name suggests, it mainly talks about how to collect and process duck and goose down more efficiently and with higher quality. Along with the rise of this booklet came the Liu family village production brigade’s bold move of buying duck and goose feathers for one yuan per feather. As soon as the news broke, didn’t all the villages around them with ducks and geese, and those with large-scale duck and goose farming, become excited? Don’t underestimate one yuan. In those days, workers’ salaries were only about thirty to forty yuan a month. Originally a pile of waste, a worthless thing that people wouldn’t even use for firewood due to the smell, suddenly became money. It was turning waste into treasure. These were not just petty amounts like three or five mao either. After all, leaning against mountains and waters and having Shuzhen’s "Earthworm Cultivation Handbook," any household without a dozen of ducks or a dozen geese couldn’t claim to be living a proper life! Imagine junk that was once thrown away turning into thirty or forty, even fifty yuan in the blink of an eye. How could anyone raising ducks and geese not feel hopeful? With insufficient capability and unwilling to hold back the development of a town, Liu Shouyi, hoping to spur the entire Liu family village production brigade members on, sought to contribute to the Republic’s construction. He brought the down quilt rushed out by Shuzhen to the town and then hurried to the city with the new town mayor. Once the fluffy, soft, and extremely cold-resistant down quilts and the thousands of words feasibility report drafted by Dong Shu were presented, the mayor, who already had utmost faith in Liu Shouren’s abilities, agreed to the proposal of setting up a feather products processing factory in Liu family village without any hesitation. Of course, the city had tight funds, so actual support was non-existent. But then, Liu Shouren didn’t care about this. What he wanted was merely the legal procedures to set up a factory. With this, he could boldly acquire duck and goose feathers. He wouldn’t be afraid to put good ideas into practice, worrying about someone maliciously accusing him of speculative activities or following the capitalist road behind his back. Moreover, with formal factory setup procedures, he could get the related approval slips. He could buy sewing machines, disinfectants, negotiate supplies with fabric manufacturers. He could also proceed smoothly with building workshops, recruiting workers, and a series of such tasks. There were certainly many trivial matters involved, and both he and his younger sister and brother-in-law were novices. However, this didn’t matter. With Old Yang, Yang Fugui, who called himself a capitalist, involved, setting up a small village-level factory was as simple as children playing house. Is it hard to build a workshop in cold weather? That’s not even a problem! They tidied up what used to be the educated youth dormitory, which was the three simple rooms belonging to the original team leader, Lin Yuanzhi. Stove and kangs and the like were all taken out. For heating, they made a ground kang, placing the fire place directly outside the house. Large pots and stoves were built on the fire, directly solving water and heat supply for washing and steaming feathers. As long as the firewood and coal kept burning, there would be no such thing as freezing too much to work. The three rooms, over a hundred square meters, would have one room split in two as a warehouse, half to store processed raw materials, and the other half for finished products. One room would have ten sewing machines, hiring ten skilled seamstresses. Two edging machines for professional edging, the rest being flat sewing machines. First, assemble the inner liner fabric with a sewing machine into shape, then move it to another room to fill it with processed duck and goose down. After layer upon layer of sewing, it becomes a light, attractive, and warm down quilt. Because both the liner and the fabric used anti-penetration nylon fabric, and only the finest, softest down was selected for filling. The down quilts produced by the Liu family village feather products factory were superior both in appearance, weight, and warmth. As Old Yang put it, among hundreds and thousands of similar products, we were confident we could stand out. Furthermore, the market was almost a blank slate with no strong competitors, right? It’s practically an undisguised monopoly! Old Yang whetted his appetite and thought about striving for more benefits for the village and the factory. It wouldn’t do for everyone to use their talents while he just stood by, right? Even if his job was teaching a literacy class. When it came time for him to showcase his skills, he must perform brilliantly! But in reality, he didn’t get much of a chance to flourish. Because the down quilts from the Liu family village feather products factory were of high quality and had excellent warmth, they were all purchased by the city at one hundred and twenty yuan each. The scale of their factory was small, and the output was low, unable to meet the standards for exporting for foreign exchange. Otherwise, the small down quilt from Liu family village could make a significant statement. Earning foreign exchange through exports means bringing glory to the country and earning foreign money! To this, Old Yang just pressed his lips and smiled lightly. Take it slow; don’t rush; hastiness won’t cook hot tofu. Development must proceed step by step. The urgent matter now is for everyone to sit down and discuss how to expand and increase the acquisition station’s size, and to enhance both the scale and price of duck and goose meat purchases. Only by solving the members’ worries can everyone invest in duck and goose farming with more enthusiasm and vigor, right? Down feathers were made into down quilts; next year, they’ll look into down jackets. The long tail feathers and wing feathers can also be turned into feather fans. What about those that can’t be made into garments or quilts and aren’t sufficient for fans? Although a down quilt costs one hundred and twenty yuan, with thirty to forty yuan spent on down and not even twenty spent on fabric, after all the miscellaneous costs are deducted, a quilt can still yield around forty-five yuan, even if the stray feathers are discarded. But wasting money on things isn’t in his capitalist nature, is it? He must rack his brains to ensure everything exceeds its value, right! With Shouren, Shuzhen, and Lianshan trusting him so much and giving him a chance to prove himself, as the deputy factory director of Liu family village feather products factory, Old Yang felt he must bring out his expertise, even if it meant working tirelessly. He needed to let everyone know that Shouren, Shuzhen, and Lianshan trusted him and put him in such a position for no other reason than he, Yang Fugui, was born for this. He could use the least cost to reap the greatest benefits—no, no, he was adept at synthesis and discovery, capable of creating more value with generally recognized waste, adding bricks to socialist construction!