After the frail beauty went to the countryside, she went crazy with scientific research.

Chapter 253, Episode 0266: The Captain Asks for Help

"Sir, this matter can't be resolved here anytime soon. Comrade Wang Xiaoxiang's clothes are still wet; it wouldn't be good if she got sick," Lin Yuexi reminded him.

The brigade leader also realized what was happening. "Right, right, let's go back to the village first. Ah Feng, take Xiao Xiang back to change into dry clothes. If she's alright, bring her to the village committee building after she's changed. Er Gou, go and call Captain Wang to the village committee building. San Maozi, go and call Xiao Ni's parents..."

The captain gave instructions one by one, including having someone keep Wang Xiaoni under the guise of taking care of her so she wouldn't run away, and also calling on several of Wang's uncles.

After making the arrangements, the brigade leader invited Lin Yuexi and the others to come to their village with a slightly apologetic tone.

Lin Yuexi did not postpone it, partly because she wanted to see the drama unfold, and partly because Xiao Ye was the only eyewitness.

Along the way, the brigade leader was very enthusiastic and kept introducing their village to Lin Yuexi.

From when they moved here from Fujian Province, to the difficulties they faced in building the village, and the efforts they made to survive, and so on.

Interspersed throughout were expressions of respect and gratitude for the country and the Party.

It took Lin Yuexi a while to understand the captain's true purpose.

It has to be said that people from Fujian province are very resourceful wherever they go; they always find ways to make life better.

When the people of Hongliu Brigade first arrived in the Northwest, they were clearing land, which was normal. To survive, they had to grow grain. Unfortunately, the soil here was not good. It wasn't that they couldn't grow grain, but no matter what they did, the yield was very low.

This won't work.

They started planting different things, trying anything that was drought-resistant.

Ultimately, they decided to grow black grapes.

It's not that black grapes have a high yield, but rather that the yields are generally not very high, but growing black grapes is more cost-effective.

Because the black grapes grown in their semi-arid loess soil are particularly sweet, they fetch a higher price than regular grapes. It's more profitable to sell the grapes and use the money to buy grain than to grow grain.

Previously, exchanging black grapes for grain was no problem at all, but after the provincial supply and marketing cooperative changed its head last year, this path has become difficult.

Ren Yan didn't quite understand, so she whispered to Xu Shan next to her, "The provincial supply and marketing cooperative has changed its head, how could that affect this place?"

Didn't they all take them to the commune's supply and marketing cooperative to exchange for them?

Before Xu Shan could even look down on her, the brigade leader in front of him began to complain in frustration: "The supply and marketing cooperative in the province has given word that the supply and marketing cooperative in the commune doesn't dare to accept our grapes."

"It was the soldiers from the village who joined the army who helped out; the army canteen ordered several hundred kilograms."

The problem is that their brigade produces at least 100,000 jin of grapes a year, so a few hundred jin is nothing compared to that.

Ren Yan still didn't quite understand, but she didn't dare to ask anymore. The content involved was something that ordinary people couldn't solve.

Lin Yuexi couldn't ignore the voices of the people. Even if she couldn't solve the problem, she couldn't turn a deaf ear at this time.

So Lin Yuexi asked the captain about the situation.

No one who can be a captain is stupid. Lin Yuexi's attitude immediately signaled to him, and he hurriedly told her the whole story without hiding anything.

"Our production brigade has been growing grapes for eleven years now..."

Although grapes were grown before, no one dared to use all the land for grape cultivation, as the risk was too great. For the sake of safety, most of the land was still used for growing grain. Until eleven years ago, Captain Wang's father had a good relationship with the director of the provincial department store at the time. Through his connections, the director acted as an intermediary and contracted to grow black grapes in the Hongliu Brigade.

It's somewhat similar to how Lin Yuexing introduced Haishi's department stores to Hongxing Brigade to collect mountain products. The black grapes grown in the village were promoted to major cities. The difference is that there was an extra middleman, the director of the provincial department store.

Their black grapes are not only large and plump but also very sweet, so they have always sold very well. In some places, black grapes have even become a symbol of how presentable a gift is when they are in season.

If it sells well, the purchase price will gradually increase. Considering the cost-effectiveness, growing grapes is much more nutritious than growing grains.

So, eleven years ago, the village decided to use all its land to grow grapes.

Although it was risky, things have gone relatively smoothly so far.

Until last year, the middleman director of the provincial department store retired, and he handed over the middleman position to the director of the provincial supply and marketing cooperative.

The director's surname was You. I heard he came from Shanghai. After taking over the middleman's position, he directly cut the purchase price in half.

The brigade leader was so worried that his hair was almost white, and he was rubbing his hands and his eyes were red. "He cut too much. Half of us will starve."

Xu Shan: "Have you never asked where the grapes are sold?"

Although transportation is inconvenient now, it doesn't mean we can't go anywhere. Judging from what the brigade leader said, their village's black grapes have already made a name for themselves in major cities. If middlemen are making things difficult for them, they can easily find their own sales channels!
Now the team leader was in an awkward position: "We tried, but it didn't work."

Lin Yuexi and the others: "???"

Only after listening to the captain's stammering explanation did I understand what he meant by 'tried it, but it didn't work out'.

It turns out that after being restrained by Director You, they did consider selling the grapes on their own.

They split into two teams, with the brigade leader and the party secretary each leading one team. One team went south and the other went east. Just like Xu Shan's idea, they initially thought that their grapes had already made a name for themselves. As long as they told department stores or supply and marketing cooperatives in various cities that the black grapes were grown by their brigade, they wouldn't have to worry about selling them.

Who knew that while the idea was wonderful, reality was far from what it seemed?

First, the grapes are still about a month away from ripening, and they can't produce any samples to prove that the grapes were indeed grown by them, so nobody believes them.

Secondly, even if the grapes are ripe now, they cannot guarantee that they can be delivered intact to their destination.

As for the other party coming to their village to pick up the goods, they might not even believe you. How could they possibly spend a little money first?
In other words, Director You has grasped the two most crucial steps of sales and transportation. Unless the Hongliu Brigade can solve these problems on its own, it will be constrained by him.

Both teams went out full of enthusiasm, only to return looking dejected.

With the grapes almost ripe, Director You remained calm and unhurried, but the brigade leader was anxious.

At the previous prices, we could only guarantee that everyone would not go hungry. If we really compromise with Director You and have half of the money deducted, it's no exaggeration to say that we could cause several people to starve to death this year.

The brigade leader had considered seeking help from the commune, but the problem was that the commune didn't handle such matters.

This was originally considered speculation and profiteering, but it was Captain Wang's father who came up with a way to make their brigade handle it as a special case. And it was precisely because of this special handling, with the relevant documents in place, that the commune couldn't interfere.

The old man looked like he was about to break.

Lin Yuexi wouldn't let her compassion overwhelm her, but the matter he mentioned...
Her dad seems to be quite poor lately. Should we ask him to increase the revenue of the Production and Construction Corps?
Incidentally, there might be some unexpected surprises.