1968: Started from breeding

Chapter 222 At this stage, this is definitely a unique fur!
After the Moonlight-colored Rex Rabbit appeared, Su Wenchen did not publicize it in a big way.

Instead, he stayed in the rabbit house until the offspring of this Rex rabbit was confirmed to be able to inherit this color stably. Only then did Su Wenchen completely leave the experimental area of the rabbit house.

The time has changed from the beginning of winter to the coldest month of winter.

The entire rabbit house is also wrapped with a thick layer of straw mats for warmth because there is no boiler or flue installed here.

Although a certain degree of cold is conducive to the development of high-quality fur, too much cold is not good either.

Therefore, a layer of warm and windproof straw mat was added outside, so that the temperature in the house can be basically maintained at around ten degrees.

Even if the temperature is high during the day, it can reach around fifteen degrees.

After Su Wenchen walked out of the experimental area.

Looking at the rabbit breeding area, workers in thick clothes were deftly moving cages of Rex rabbits out.

After half a year of breeding, the Rex rabbits raised earlier are now ready for slaughter.

Winter is the best time to get skin.

If you miss this time and wait until the weather warms up and the Rex rabbits enter the spring molting period, the skins you take at that time will almost all be inferior skins with sparse hair, thin and brittle skin, and easy to break.

After seeing Su Wenchen coming over, many employees greeted Su Wenchen.

"director!"

"Hello, director!"

Su Wenchen responded with a smile, then asked.

"Everyone has worked hard, but if we slaughter them all before the New Year, we will have enough money to distribute New Year's goods to everyone."

Upon hearing this, a porter immediately spoke up.

"Director, this is not that hard, we are just moving the cages outside onto the tractor!"

"That's right, but what will the director give out this year? We gave out eggs last year, can you give out a few pounds of rabbit meat this year? The rabbit meat made by our canteen chef is really good, and the ingredients are very rich. I want to go back and make it myself for my family to try!"

Su Wenchen said with a smile.

"We should have rabbit meat. We raise our own rabbits, so we have to let the families of our workers have a taste of it. But the exact amount needs to be discussed with the farm."

In fact, although this kind of Rex rabbit is used for leather, Su Wenchen thinks the taste of its meat is okay.

And the taste is completely different from pork and chicken. However, although they are farmed on a large scale, the activity of the Rex rabbits is reduced.

However, since the feed is relatively simple, relying mainly on alfalfa and straw, the faint earthy smell cannot be completely avoided.

If you don't use heavy ingredients, you can still taste it. The reason why the food they cook is delicious is simply because they are rich and have no shortage of spices.

With the willingness to use rich ingredients and a master chef at the helm, nothing can be bad under such circumstances. Of course, most people eat less meat at this time, so they are definitely not as picky about taste as Su Wenchen.

Su Wenchen left the rabbit house.

Looking at the tractor parked outside, there were already iron cages filled with Rex rabbits stacked in the back cargo box.

Watching the last cage being loaded onto the truck bed, the tractor driver immediately started the tractor.

"Thud! Thud! Thud!"

Accompanied by the sound of the engine.

Su Wenchen walked straight over.

"To the slaughterhouse? Give me a ride!"

Hearing Su Wenchen's words, the transporter immediately moved his butt to make room for Su Wenchen.

Su Wenchen waved his hand.

"No need to make room for me, I'll just go to the back and join them."

As he said this, he walked to the back of the truck bed and sat on the side of the truck bed like the other two workers who were loading and unloading.

"Thud! Thud! Thud!"

Facing the fierce cold wind, the tractor slowly drove out of the site.

Driving along a repaired cinder road directly downstream, Su Wenchen stood in the back of the truck.

Looking at the living area in the field passing by, after a year of development this place is now more lively than the commune.

Especially in the second half of the year, as housing distribution began, employees began to set up their own families, and some who were quick to act have even become pregnant.

Even for those families where both spouses are working, Su Wenchen has built a number of single-room dormitories for them as they have not yet been allocated housing.

Therefore, with the arrival of more employees' families in the living area, it is obvious that it feels more lively.

The county post office and supply and marketing cooperative also opened agencies here.

In addition, the cross-river bridge connecting to the city to the south has been repaired, and there are drivers passing by who stop by to repair their cars along the way, so their canteen is even able to make a small profit now.

After passing the rest area, we drove eastward downstream for a while.

We came to the new factory area established by the commune. Based on Su Wenchen's suggestion, Jiang Li also established a place similar to a development zone here.

Tanneries, sewing factories, handicraft factories, slaughterhouses, and canneries are all here.

Because now there are hundreds of Rex rabbits slaughtered almost every day, but the slaughterhouses for skinning and the rabbit meat canning factories are all county industries.

The city paid for the introduction of the equipment and production lines, because every time He Zhenbang went to the city for a meeting, he said that the previous profits of the Blue Water Field were given to them.

Either we wait until next year to return the profits from the Blue Water Field to them, or we find them two new industries.

Although Secretary Zhou was unwilling to deal with the problems left over by his predecessor, he would definitely not give the profits of the Blue Water Field to the county.

In the end, they were so annoyed that they had no choice but to ask the city to help purchase slaughtering equipment and canning production lines.

So now here, there is a slaughterhouse and a cannery in the county, a tannery and a sewing factory in the commune, and a handicraft factory.

It can be said that all these industries now rely on their farms for their survival.

When the Rex rabbits come out of the breeding farm, their skins are directly taken at the slaughterhouse. The meat is then sent to the cannery and the skins are sent to the tannery. After the skins are nitrated, the special grade ones are sent to the import and export companies under the Foreign Trade Bureau, and the first grade ones are sent to the supply and marketing cooperatives.

The remaining outer leather is sent to the sewing factory to be sewn into leather hats and leather gloves. Although these are made of defective leather and are not so beautiful.

However, it is very popular because the price is not that high, because leather products are relatively scarce cold-resistant products at this time.

Since the price is too high, many urban families are reluctant to buy it, and defective products become more popular at this time.

After all, many people still focus on practicality at this time.

And it's not just Rex rabbits. Their farm has now expanded to more than 70,000 laying hens, and a large number of older chickens are culled almost every year.

These discarded chickens can now be sent to designated state-owned factories or canteens of government agencies after being slaughtered.

A large amount of chicken feathers were accumulated, and the handicraft factories used them to make handicrafts such as feather dusters and shuttlecocks, and then sold them to supply and marketing cooperatives, which also brought in a considerable income.

It can be said that in the second half of this year, after Su Wenchen's guidance, Beiwan Commune has developed extremely rapidly under Jiang Li's operation.

The tractor stopped behind the slaughterhouse.

After hearing the noise inside, several employees came out immediately.

The person in the front was stunned for a moment after seeing Su Wenchen jump down first.

"Director Su? Why are you here to deliver the rabbit? Is there something wrong?"

Su Wenchen waved his hand.

"I'm hitchhiking here to see Director Jiang from your commune. Just check your scales and don't worry about me!"

As he spoke, he rubbed his cheeks which were a little stiff from the cold wind, and walked straight towards a row of newly built small bungalows not far from the side of the road.

Walking to the outermost room, Su Wenchen first knocked on the door, then pushed it open and walked in.

In the room, Jiang Li was sitting in front of a table, speaking seriously to the girl named Xiao Paner who had once come to find him.

"Pan'er, go talk to the director of the slaughterhouse again. The tannery has complained several times that the furs they recently sent over have too many defects. If they continue to reduce the quality of the furs for the sake of speed, we don't mind finding someone to slaughter and skin them ourselves."

Just after she finished speaking, she saw someone knocking on the door and then pushing it open. Jiang Li immediately looked towards the door with a frown on her face.

Only after seeing that it was Su Wenchen did he relax his brows.

Then he turned his head and nodded.

"That's it. Go and inform them! Tell them not to think that they are the county's property and I can't do anything to them."

"If they continue like this, we'll talk about it later."

Xiao Paner nodded.

"Okay Director, I'll go inform them right away."

He turned around and greeted Su Wenchen.

"Director Su!"

Then he walked out of the office.

Su Wenchen took off his hat and coat and hung them on the clothes rack in the room, while Jiang Li stood up and walked to the stove, picking up the kettle that was boiling water on it.

He walked over to the enamel basin, pouring water while showing some concern.

"I heard that you have been living in the farm for a while. I haven't seen you for a long time. You look thinner."

Then he looked at Su Wenchen's cheek and said with some heartache.

"And I think we don't have to pursue the Canton Fair. Although the prices are lower now, they are already good compared to other places."

"Now that the industry here in the commune has developed, you shouldn't be too stressed out."

Su Wenchen tested the water temperature in the enamel basin, washed his face with warm water, and then said with a smile.

"Don't worry, I'm not under much pressure. Besides, going to the Canton Fair is not just about making money. If it succeeds, it can be regarded as showing the development achievements of our socialism to the outside world. This is a thick layer of life-saving gold."

Because at this time, the Canton Fair not only has a trade function, but is also a platform to showcase their achievements in socialist development.

Other countries will also judge how you are developing based on what you exhibit.

After all, no matter how nicely you say things, in the end, you are just selling raw materials. At this time, no one will believe you when you say how well you are doing.

This is also the case in their country. Basically every year, they exhibit various newly developed machine tools and equipment at the Canton Fair.

Jiang Li was a little curious when she heard what Su Wenchen said.

"Look at how confident you are. There has been progress."

Su Wenchen wiped his face and said proudly at last.

"Look at who I am. I am better than anyone else in breeding local varieties."

"And this one will definitely surprise you."

Hearing Su Wenchen say this, Jiang Li became even more curious.

"Are you serious? You really figured it out?"

Su Wenchen nodded.

"It was a success, and it's very impressive. When the scale gets bigger, I'll send a few over for you to nitrate."

"Well, don't let the tannery down, or I'll have to carry the rabbit to the Canton Fair."

Hearing this, Jiang Li immediately covered her mouth and chuckled.

"They only display agricultural and industrial products, not living things."

"Don't worry, there will be no problem at our tannery."

Then he said angrily.

"But the situation at the slaughterhouse is not certain. The recent cold weather is the best time to take the skins. Maybe there are too many cows to be slaughtered every day, so they have started to be perfunctory to our tannery. Many of the skins sent to us have defects."

"I have communicated with them several times, but they always give us a perfunctory response by relying on their county background."

Su Wenchen smiled.

"It's okay. If it keeps going like this, just replace them. At worst, your commune can set up its own slaughterhouse."

Jiang Li nodded.

"Yeah, that's what I plan to do too."

"Oh, wait a minute. I asked my friend for a detailed process for the exhibition requirements. I'll give it to you!"

After saying that, he walked to the drawer beside the table and started rummaging through it. After a moment, he found a piece of paper with the Foreign Trade Department marked on the beginning and handed it over.

"According to what is said here, currently only representatives of state-owned foreign trade companies and local state-owned factories can participate."

"Our commune industry is collective in nature, so we cannot participate. We can only participate in the exhibition under your own name."

"After approval from local leaders, you can submit an application to the provincial foreign trade bureau to participate in the exhibition. It must be accompanied by the background of the exhibitors, a list of samples and introductions, and a publicity plan that conforms to current thinking."

"After the provincial foreign trade bureau has reviewed the background of the exhibitors and ensured that the exhibits meet our exhibition requirements, they will be reported to the Ministry of Foreign Trade for approval. If the Ministry of Foreign Trade approves it, it will issue a special letter of introduction to the Canton Fair."

Jiang Li pointed to the exhibit requirements listed above.

“These are the main types of exhibitors and export locations at the moment!”

"The first category is agricultural and sideline products, mainly tea and silk, which are mainly exported to Eastern and Western Europe."

"The second category is handicrafts, mainly cloisonné and embroidery, which are mainly purchased by overseas Chinese in Hong Kong and Macau."

"The third category is mainly light industrial products such as bicycles and sewing machines, which are exported to developing countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America."

Su Wenchen looked at the exhibit requirements and the several options listed at the back. "So there are no leather products on display right now?"

Jiang Li nodded.

"Well, I asked my friend, and she said that as for rare fur, only the Northeast and the Altai Mountains in the border areas can produce a small amount of high-quality sable fur, but the quantity is too small."

"With such unstable production, it is impossible to reach a stable purchasing contract, because even you don't know your own production capacity, so others can't place orders at all."

"So if we want to participate in the exhibition, we must first prove that this can earn a lot of foreign exchange for the country, and prove that we can produce this kind of fur stably."

"Whether we can participate in the exhibition depends on how the Ministry of Foreign Trade defines it. After all, this is the first time that leather products have been exhibited at the exhibition. In the past, state-owned local product import and export companies purchased certain products."

"We will directly connect with foreign trading companies and enterprises. Our Rex Rabbit skins are supplied to them."

“So it’s hard to say whether these fur products can be exhibited in the end.”

Hearing Jiang Li's words, Su Wenchen touched his chin. He didn't expect that it was the first time that leather products were exhibited at the Canton Fair.

But think about it, at this time the domestic breeding industry is still in the exploratory stage.

Most of the focus is on the main livestock and poultry such as pigs, cattle, sheep and chickens.

In terms of fur animals, it will still take a long time of accumulation in China before there can be any breakthroughs.

Of course, his appearance naturally accelerated this process.

After thinking for a moment, Su Wenchen spoke directly.

“It seems that if you want to participate in the exhibition, you have to work hard on your uniqueness.”

"Okay, I'll go back and prepare a promotional plan and product introduction, and we'll start when the samples come out."

Jiang Li nodded.

"I'm sure there will be no problem on my end. As for applying for the exhibition, you still have to figure it out on your own. My friend also said that she can't help with this kind of thing, and the final list of exhibitors has to be submitted to the Prime Minister for approval."

He spread his hands and said this.

"It's not something that a worker like her can decide."

Su Wenchen also knew that foreign affairs were a big deal at this time, and both diplomacy and foreign trade were very strict.

He didn't expect the other party, a mere worker, to be of any help, and the other party had saved him a lot of effort by telling him the entire process.

Since information flow was not smooth at that time, if an ordinary factory wanted to participate in the Canton Fair, it probably wouldn't know how to prepare.

"By the way, your friend helped us a lot this time. You should also send him some things from our side from time to time to thank him."

"If we can't have a good relationship, then we should just take it as a given. We still have to express what we should express."

Hearing Su Wenchen's words, Jiang Li rolled her eyes and said unhappily.

"Do I need you to remind me? By the time you think of this kind of thing, it will be too late."

"Don't worry! I've been maintaining it, and from time to time I mail her some of our dried chickens and ducks, especially those raised by our brigade and smoked everywhere. The meat is firmer and the flavor is richer."

"She kept writing to me and told me that she had never eaten such delicious cured chicken in her life."

Hearing Jiang Li say this, and hearing the series of process charts for the exhibition that she had prepared in advance, Su Wenchen was moved and pulled her into his arms.

"Ali, thank you."

"You can say that I have good taste. I chose a good wife like you from the beginning!"

Jiang Li struggled symbolically for a while, and then let the other party do it.

Just a reminder.

"This is my office, don't mess around!"

Su Wenchen nodded.

"Don't worry, I'll just give you a hug and not do anything else. Besides, there's someone else in your office, how dare you come in without knocking!"

After exchanging letters with Jiang Li, Su Wenchen took advantage of the tannery's tanning of the first sample.

Come directly to the county.

The first step to participating in the exhibition is to get the approval of local leaders.

Otherwise, let alone saving money, you will get stuck at the first step.

So Su Wenchen came to He Zhenbang to see how to communicate this matter with the city.

Because the city is different now than it was before.

Although Secretary Zhou and Mayor Zhai have reached a tacit understanding now, it is still different from when Secretary Li was here.

Secretary Zhou nominally holds the highest power, but since he was parachuted in, even if someone comes to him, their foundation is not deep.

Mayor Zhai has the support of the military, and he has been operating in Lan City for so many years that his subordinates are deeply rooted.

So now both sides have reached a balance.

Strictly speaking, Su Wenchen is not from Mayor Zhai's faction, because he is not a leader from the military.

Moreover, it was basically Secretary Li who arranged and promoted me along the way.

So to be precise, he should be considered to be from Secretary Li's faction.

Of course, the division of this kind of thing is not very clear, especially in the previous Lan City.

And because of the relationship between Jiang Li and He Zhenbang, he is actually not very close to Mayor Zhai.

So I'm doing pretty well in this environment.

Now that a new secretary has taken office, and the issue of earning foreign exchange is a big deal no matter where it is, the two chief officials definitely hope that their words will have the final say.

So he wanted to hear He Zhenbang's opinion.

County government compound.

He Zhenbang looked at Su Wenchen who came in with some surprise, and joked in his loud voice that could kill people.

"Hey, isn't this Director Su from the city? How come you have time to come to our county?"

"I heard that some time ago, your company held a meeting and planned to spend 100,000 yuan to build ten tube buildings next spring."

"Tsk, tsk, the industry in this city is really different! I'm really willing to give it up."

Su Wenchen listened to He Zhenbang's sarcastic words and just smiled along.

"Uncle He, what are you talking about?"

"It's not my decision. The workers in the field are too vocal about this. There's nothing we can do about it!"

"Besides, we will have to hand over the profits from our chicken farm next year. If we don't do a surprise move at the end of the year, we may not even know if the money will be ours next year."

However, He Zhenbang did not give him face.

"Don't talk nonsense. You told me that building a farm would be good for the county's development. But now the county is only exporting grain from the grain depot. You haven't seen any benefits."

"All the eggs were given to the city, and you kept the money. So we in the county are doing the work for your farm, right?"

"Then you have to feed the tens of thousands of people in Lanshui County!"

Su Wenchen felt a little embarrassed because the subsequent developments in the matter were indeed a little beyond his expectations.

But Secretary Li was so generous at the time. Could he still refuse and insist on giving the money to the county?

Then he would be a fool.

So Su Wenchen said directly.

"Uncle He, it's not our county's fault! Secretary Li insisted that we keep the money for ourselves."

"He'll find a way around this in your county."

"What can we do? Do I dare to contradict Secretary Li in person?"

When He Zhenbang heard this, he slapped the table.

"I get angry when you mention this. He originally said that he would relocate two industries to us."

"The results of it!"

He Zhenbang clapped his hands.

"I didn't even see a hair, and he left."

"Before leaving, he told me that he would tell the new secretary, but Secretary Zhou refused to admit it and insisted that I go to the province to find Secretary Li."

"So you guys are the ones who are taking advantage! It's our county that's suffering."

When Su Wenchen saw the excited He Zhenbang, he hurried over to help him calm down.

"Uncle He, why are you so excited?"

"Didn't Secretary Zhou finally move two industries here for you?"

"And now the slaughterhouse and canning factory over there are also mainly dependent on the Rex rabbits in our farm for operation."

"I'm helping in disguise, right?"

Hearing Su Wenchen say this, He Zhenbang also nodded.

"The Rex rabbit industry you developed is really good. It has directly driven the development of four or five factories. I heard that some people in the commune have begun to propose moving the commune headquarters there."

"If your Rex rabbit breeding scale expands in the future, Beiwan Commune can indeed move its base there."

"By the way, what do you want from me? Don't tell me you're asking the county for money like Li Yatou!"

"I'm telling you, you're a city industry. Even if you can't pay your salaries, you still have to ask the city to help you with the advance payment."

"Our county won't pay a penny."

For He Zhenbang, although Su Wenchen is a younger generation that he is more optimistic about, as the current director of the county revolutionary committee, he naturally puts the interests of the county first on major issues.

The Blue Water Field didn't pay any of its profits to the county, so naturally they couldn't help but advance the money for the other party.

Su Wenchen shook his head.

"Uncle He, what are you thinking about? This is not about money. Even if we really need money, we can't find it from you."

Hearing that it had nothing to do with money, He Zhenbang immediately felt relieved.

"It's fine as long as it has nothing to do with money, so what's the matter?"

Su Wenchen thought about how to say this, and after thinking for a long time, he finally said it directly.

"It's like this. We have bred a localized Rex rabbit in our farm. The fur is of very good quality. I plan to exhibit it at the Canton Fair. What do you think, Uncle He?"

Hearing this, He Zhenbang was stunned for a moment, then touched Su Wenchen's head.

"You don't have a fever! Why are you talking nonsense?"

uh~
Looking at He Zhenbang's actions, Su Wenchen paused and said with a smile.

"Uncle He, I'm not talking nonsense. I'm serious. The quality of the fur of the Rex rabbits in our farm is extremely high."

"I even think it can be compared to the sable."

"If we can get it at the Canton Fair, it will definitely bring a lot of foreign exchange to the country."

"Most importantly, this Rex rabbit is bred by us, and at this stage, this fur is absolutely unique."

“It is still able to stably produce high-quality fur.”

"Uncle He, I am discussing this matter with you very seriously. I promise that I have not exaggerated what I said above."

"If you don't believe me, just go to our field and you'll know."

"If you put this locally bred moon-colored Rex rabbit among those imported blue-purple Rex rabbits from other countries, you can tell the difference at a glance."

He Zhenbang looked at Su Wenchen with a serious expression.

"Are you serious?"

“Is there really a high-quality fur that can rival the quality of sable, or can it be raised stably?”

"Or did you breed it yourself?"

Su Wenchen nodded seriously.

“I’m dead serious!”

He Zhenbang swallowed subconsciously.

He understood that if what Su Wenchen said was true, it would definitely cause a huge sensation in their city, no, it should cause a huge sensation in the province.

After all, although private contact with foreign countries is prohibited, the government has never stopped introducing foreign technology and equipment.

All of this requires the use of precious foreign exchange. After all, at this time the international community does not recognize the money they print themselves.

Therefore, anything that can be exported will be given special priority at this time.

If there really was a foreign exchange earning industry in their county, He Zhenbang couldn't even imagine how rich it would be.

However, after being immersed in the beautiful world for a while, he realized that something was wrong. The Blue Water Field was a city-owned property.

It seems to have nothing to do with their county!

(End of this chapter)