Volume One, Chapter Nine: The Reputation Is Too Great

What caught him off guard was that his lack of approachability was almost preferable.

Once he showed warmth, those who had originally seemed skeptical immediately sat up straight.

It was as if they were saying, “Look at how kind our young village chief is; he surely wouldn’t cheat us.”

Lu Yang had to admit that the original owner’s prestige was far greater than he had initially understood.

Not only in the third team, but the first and second teams held him in equally high regard.

The only difference was that the third team had three big fools, whereas the first and second did not.

“Good! Then it’s settled. In the next few days, I’ll bring people to personally measure and plan.”

“Except for those in the cooperative, other members may go home and rest.”

When Lu Yang finished speaking, everyone remained seated, motionless.

Thinking something might be amiss, Lu Yang glanced back at Lu Yongguo.

Lu Yongguo stepped forward: “Young village chief, these folks say they have nothing to do at night and just like listening to you. If you have anything to say, just go ahead.”

No way, such a preference actually existed?

Am I a celebrity or a village chief?

Or rather, a celebrity village chief?

Seeing their fascinated expressions, Lu Yang felt that if he raised his arm, these people would follow him across the country without hesitation.

“Alright then. I’ll say this: if anyone has any opinions or ideas, feel free to raise your hand and ask.”

The cooperative’s establishment was simple, but running it smoothly involved many matters.

First was the issue of work points—essentially, assessments.

Next were related rules, such as early leave, tardiness, absenteeism, and so forth, all requiring clear standards.

This isn’t capitalist behavior; it’s the necessary path of industrialization.

Otherwise, everyone would work the fields as they pleased—sometimes hoeing more when in a good mood, sometimes less when not.

Such inconsistency would seriously affect schedules, plans, personnel, and ultimately cause the products to lose competitiveness.

Yet, everyone was truly cooperative, applauding and cheering from start to finish.

For a moment, Lu Yang felt as if he were performing a model play.

Not only did everything follow the script, even the applause was perfectly synchronized.

Only when he spoke about product quality control did a member raise his hand.

“Young village chief, if we follow your plan, one mat might use an extra bamboo stick.”

The moment he spoke, the others shot him warning looks—almost as if saying, “How dare you question the young village chief?”

Lu Yang quickly encouraged: “Good! Excellent! We must dare to ask questions because I always believe the wisdom of the people is boundless.”

Hearing this, everyone finally applauded enthusiastically.

Lu Yang cleared his throat, and the crowd immediately fell silent.

“But I must clarify something here. Our cooperative’s mats will eventually go beyond our county, even our city and province.”

“So let’s not worry about that extra stick or half a stick of bamboo, because only this way can we make our brand known.”

During the early days of reform and opening up, everything was scarce domestically.

Frankly, even if you just made a simple clay bowl, people in the city would buy it.

Because of this, countless small workshops and companies sprang up nationwide every year.

But within less than ten years, ninety-nine percent of these small workshops and companies would fail.

The reason was that many failed to seize the opportunity to establish their own brand.

Conversely, those companies that valued quality and branding during this entrepreneurial boom often grew into major domestic or even international business giants.

However, this was the first time many had heard that mats could have a brand, and they were somewhat surprised.

Lu Yongguo stepped forward: “Young village chief, do our mats really need a brand?”

Lu Yang affirmed: “Yes! I’ve already thought of a name—Dayang Brand.”

“Not only the mats, but anything our cooperative produces in the future will bear this name.”

“Therefore, the mats, as our village’s first product, must be strictly quality-controlled to stand out among countless others.”

“As long as the mat’s reputation grows, whatever we do next will have an advantage over others—that’s the so-called brand effect…”

Although most didn’t fully understand concepts like the brand effect or village image, they could tell the young village chief had grand plans.

What did this mean?

It meant the young village chief might not go to university after all, but instead do exactly as he said.

If he couldn’t bring everyone to live every day like a New Year’s celebration, he wouldn’t leave Dayang Village!

As for Lu Yang?

Seeing the villagers so earnest, the more he spoke, the more passionate and carried away he became.

He spoke from mats to wild game, from wild game to the distillery, from the distillery to the processing plant, from five-year plans to ten, even fifteen-year plans…

It was only with great effort that he finally returned to the present topic.

“So branding is very important.”

Applause erupted warmly and continuously.

Lu Yang coughed three times, and only then did the crowd come back to their senses from the intoxicating atmosphere.

“Now, I’ll mention two more things.”

“First, among our three teams, does anyone know how to engrave characters? Preferably in running script, something with personality.”

After a brief silence, an elderly man with glasses at the back stood up.

“Young village chief, my name is Lu Youcai. I used to be a teacher and studied stele engraving for two years.”

Lu Yang noticed he was about fifty, wearing a long gown from the late Qing or early Republic era, which seemed somewhat strange; the others also looked at him oddly.

Lu Yongguo stepped forward: “Young village chief, his family used to be small landlords, so people don’t think highly of him.”

Reform and opening up meant embracing all.

Lu Yang raised his voice: “Can you engrave bamboo?”

“Young village chief, bamboo is even easier than stone.”

“All right, then from now on, on each mat in our village, you’ll engrave the characters ‘Dayang’ in three designated spots. I’ll count that as work points.”

Everything in the village was a blank slate now; there were no machines for marking, so this was the best they could do for the time being.

Lu Youcai felt his talents finally recognized, and a gleam appeared in his cloudy eyes.

“Thank you, young village chief! Thank you!”

Lu Yang smiled and nodded, signaling him to sit down.

“Lastly, I originally planned to figure this out in the next day or two, but since everyone is here, I’ll bring it up now.”

“This cooperative is not a collective for all, so according to regulations, we need to report to the collective, apply for funds, and register a leader.”

“The leader is me for now. Whatever problems arise, I’ll bear them. If there’s compensation or deductions, I’ll handle it.”

Upon hearing this, everyone became excited.

“Young village chief, we trust you!”

“Since it’s business, profit and loss are normal; no compensation needed!”

“You’re leading us, young village chief; how could we let you suffer?”

“…”

Since this is a collective enterprise, it’s not the matter of one person alone.

If he sets a precedent now, others might recklessly start businesses without considering the consequences.

Lu Yang raised his hand to stop them: “Dear villagers, without rules, there is no order. Since this rule exists, no one is exempt.”

Lu Yongguo stepped forward: “Young village chief, according to the rules, ten percent of the cooperative’s profits belong to you.”