1968: Started from breeding

Chapter 242 Welcome the Triumphant Return of the Pioneers of Foreign Exchange Earnings!

Guangshi.

As the Canton Fair gradually comes to a close.

One by one, delegations from all over the country that had been working to earn foreign exchange began to return home.

In the hotel.

Jiang Li and Su Wenchen were packing up the things they had bought, because they were going back with the provincial foreign exchange earning delegation today.

"Ah Chen, why did we buy so much stuff?!"

"This box can't hold it all!"

Looking at the pile of children's products he had bought in the past two days, Su Wenchen realized that he had unknowingly bought a bit too much.

So he scratched his head.

"Why don't you send back some clothes that aren't easily broken?"

"This isn't the first time I've always wanted to give my child the best, and before I knew it, I'd bought too much!"

Jiang Li nodded as well.

"Yes, I didn't even notice at the time, and before I knew it, I had accumulated so much."

"Mom is probably going to say we're wasting money when we get back, since we bought some things in the provincial capital."

Su Wenchen shook his head.

"No, I know my mom best. She definitely won't say a word if the money is spent on her grandson."

"But she'll definitely nag about the coat you bought her, saying she doesn't need it."

"Then, she turned around and proudly wore it to her old friends to show off, saying that her daughter-in-law had bought her the clothes in the big city."

Hearing Su Wenchen say that, Jiang Li covered her mouth and chuckled.

"You think you're so good at making things up!"

"Is there anything we're missing? How about we bring some ready-made clothes for the older brothers as well?"

Su Wenchen waved his hand.

"No need, this kind of Dacron fabric is enough. Ready-made garments are too expensive, and they are under too much pressure to buy them."

"This way, they can bring the fabric back and let them cut it themselves. It's cheaper, and they can use the leftover scraps from sewing clothes to make a handkerchief or a purse."

"The ready-made clothes made in this big city are fashionable, but they don't really suit our local style. For the same amount of money, we could buy fabric and make two more clothes ourselves."

Jiang Li echoed in agreement.

"Yes, the Dacron suit you bought me from Shanghai, I only wore it once. It's so different from what we wear back home, it's a bit out of touch with the crowd."

Su Wenchen also felt that at this time, if they had money, they could eat and drink at home without anyone knowing.

But if you insist on wearing clothes that are very different from those around you and showing them off in front of others every day, you will get into trouble sooner or later.

The two then chatted casually while packing up the items they wanted to mail.

I'm planning to move it downstairs, so I'll mail it back first.

As soon as they stepped into the corridor, they saw Lei Bailiang and the old man walk past.

"Hey, Xiao Su, are you moving?"

Su Wenchen said somewhat embarrassedly.

"Minister, this isn't the first time you've had a child!"

"I accidentally bought a little too much, so I thought I'd mail the things back first."

Upon hearing Su Wenchen's words, the old man immediately smiled.

"Haha, it's my first time being a father!"

"I can understand!"

"Let's go! My car is right down there, I'll give you a ride!"

Su Wenchen hesitated for a moment.

"Boss, isn't this a bit inappropriate?"

The other party waved their hand.

"What do you mean by good or bad? I just wanted to talk to you."

Then he turned to look at Jiang Li.

"Girl from the Jiang family, why are you being so polite with me!"

"When I first visited your neighborhood, a whole bunch of you kids insisted on getting into my car and coming with me when I was leaving."

"I remember you and that girl from the Song family were always at the forefront, why are you embarrassed now?"

Hearing the old man say that, Jiang Li immediately felt embarrassed.

"Uncle Chen, I was just young and didn't know any better back then!"

Then he turned to Su Wenchen and said.

“Ah Chen, since Uncle Chen is willing to give you a ride in his car, I won’t go with you.”

Jiang Li could tell that the old man had something to talk to Su Wenchen about.

Su Wenchen naturally understood as well and nodded in agreement.

"Then, sir, I'll shamelessly hitch a ride with your car."

The old man waved his hand.

"Let's go!"

In front of the Guangzhou Hotel, there was a black Shanghai-plated SH760 sedan.

Su Wenchen put his things in the trunk and got into the official vehicle, which at that time was only available to high-ranking leaders.

The interior features leather seats, which Su Wenchen found much more comfortable than the Jeep 212 that He Zhenbang had previously ridden in, and the shock absorption system was also very good.

Su Wenchen thought that now that they had money, maybe they could buy a few cars.

Of course, Su Wenchen wouldn't really consider this kind of sedan, because although it's comfortable to sit in, it doesn't meet their needs for vehicles.

Their subsequent branch farms will definitely be built in the Yellow River floodplains, which have not been developed much.

In such a dilapidated place, even the dirt roads would have to be repaired on the spot. A small car like this would probably fall apart after driving there for two days.

From this perspective, it's actually not as good as the Jeep 212 with four-wheel drive and off-road capabilities.

As Lei Bailiang got into the driver's seat, the car slowly started moving.

The old man said directly.

"Xiao Su, I heard you volunteered to go and manage the Yellow River flood area?"

Upon hearing this, Su Wenchen knew why the old man had come.

"Yes, sir, I volunteered! I've given this matter considerable thought!"

The old man reached out to stop him.

"I'm not here to stop you! As long as you volunteer, I will support you in this matter."

"Xiao Su, you are very young. Actually, it might not be a good thing for you to be transferred to the ministry at this time."

"You're riding too high right now, but there are plenty of people waiting to see you make a fool of yourself!"

"After a few years of settling down in the Yellow River flood zone, there will be far fewer eyes on you."

Su Wenchen hesitated for a moment upon hearing this.

"Boss, aren't you afraid I'll cause some more trouble?"

"Ha ha!"

The old man laughed upon hearing this.

"Isn't that even better? You managed to achieve something in such a difficult place. I'll see what other people say about you getting lucky."

"If anyone says that again, we'll send them to the Xinjiang region and let them try their luck there, see if they can strike it rich!"

Upon hearing this, Su Wenchen knew that the higher-ups might have reservations about his promotion.

So he asked hesitantly.

"Boss, is there anyone who has a different opinion?"

The old man waved his hand.

"You don't need to overthink it. The higher-ups just had a meeting the day before yesterday, and they all expressed their support for your department."

"As for the people below you, you don't need to worry too much. Only mediocre people are not envied."

"I came here on behalf of your Minister Sha. To be honest, he is a little reluctant to let you go to the Yellow River flood area."

"That's why I came here to try and persuade you."

"However, I have a different opinion from him, so you should decide for yourself! Ultimately, the path you choose to take is up to you!"

"However, their department did not directly assign this task to you. After you go back and finish hanging the plaque for your Blue Water Farm, you can set off for the Yellow River flood area for on-site research."

“If you still decide to go there after the research is completed, then bring your governance plan to Beijing.”

"Present a governance plan in front of the committee members of the institute."

"The more feasible your plan, the stronger the support you'll receive! This will also benefit you."

"If your investigation reveals any problems, then this matter can be dropped!"

"Since nothing was downloaded from the document above, it won't affect you in any way."

Upon hearing this, Su Wenchen felt a strange, indescribable feeling.

Because Minister Sha clearly considered this matter personally, and the other party may even have been hoping that he would give up after personally conducting research in the Yellow River flood area.

Of course, if you don't give up, as long as the proposed plan is feasible, then the presentation you make to the National Committee members will be successful in the end.

That enormous achievement is something no one can take away from it.

Thinking of this, Su Wenchen clenched his fist.

"Boss, I will do my best to come up with a highly feasible governance plan."

"We must turn the Yellow River flood plain into a shining pearl of our Central Plains region."

The old man waved his hand.

"You don't need to put so much pressure on yourself. Don't even mention Mingzhu or anything like that. As long as you can enable the people there to be self-sufficient, your mission is accomplished."

As for whether it will actually develop, the old man didn't really have much hope.

After packing and mailing the items back at the post office, Su Wenchen...

He went straight back to his room.

Seeing Su Wenchen looking preoccupied, Jiang Li asked him with concern.

"What's wrong? Is something wrong?"

Seeing Jiang Li's concerned gaze, Su Wenchen walked over and took her hand.

"Ah Li, do you think I should build a new farm in the Yellow River flood area?"

Jiang Li looked at Su Wenchen with some confusion.

"Why do you say that? Has something happened?"

Jiang Li was aware that Su Wenchen wanted to build a branch farm in the Yellow River flood area.

For the past few days, Su Wenchen had been writing and drawing on the map of the Yellow River flood zone in his room.

The two even discussed where to establish the headquarters, what the advantages and disadvantages would be.

Seeing the confusion in Jiang Li's eyes, Su Wenchen shook his head.

"It's not a sudden change, it's just that if I focus my attention on the Yellow River flood area, I won't be able to spend as much time with you as I used to."

"Especially now that you're pregnant."

Upon hearing Su Wenchen's words, Jiang Li felt as if something had touched her heart.

However, he still said it casually.

"I thought something had happened!"

"Dongfeng Commune delivered hay to us; it only took three days to drive there in a truck."

"You can get there by train in about the same day. If you save up your vacation days, you can come back once a month, right?"

"It's not like we're in some remote border region. We're not far apart. I can come see you when I have some free time!"

"What's there to apologize for!"

Because the couple was separated by work, Jiang Li didn't really think there was a problem.

Su Wenchen gently put his arm around his wife's waist.

"I still feel that I've wronged you."

Jiang Li squeezed Su Wenchen's large hand and shook her head.

"No, compared to others, I already feel very happy." A week later.

Provincial capital railway station.

As the train's brake pads pressed tightly against the wheels, a sharp metallic scraping sound continued to ring out.

squeak--!
As braking inertia caused the buffers between the carriages to collide, occasional "bang! bang!" sounds rang out.

After the special train came to a complete stop, the doors slowly opened.

"They're out! They're out!" The platform attendant waved a green flag and ran towards the crowd.

The bluish-gray platform instantly erupted in cheers.

A group of Young Pioneers wearing red scarves waved colorful flags in unison.

The crowd joined in, chanting welcome slogans.

"Welcome back, pioneers of foreign exchange earnings!"

Su Wenchen and his large group had just come down.

Several little girls with pigtails stood on tiptoe and held up bouquets of flowers.

There were provincial newspaper reporters holding flashlights and microphones nearby, their excited voices also coming through the loudspeakers set up next to them.

"Our province's foreign trade has achieved another triumphant victory!"

"At this autumn Canton Fair, the precious fur breed bred independently by our province's Lanshui Livestock Farm, Moonflower Treasure, generated US$43.54 million in foreign exchange, setting a new record for the highest export price of a single commodity!"

"This great feat is not only a victory for Lanshui Livestock Farm, but also a victory for all the people of our province."

"It is also a great victory of the wisdom of our people in the fight against capital blockade."

"Let us sing praises and together welcome a new high tide in socialist construction!"

As soon as the voice from the loudspeaker finished speaking.

On the other side, the artists from the provincial cultural troupe immediately launched into a rousing tribute song.

"Earning foreign exchange for the nation, we are full of fighting spirit! Self-reliance and responsibility! We exchange for machinery to build factories! Socialism shines brightly!"

"Hey!"

Su Wenchen listened to the songs that carried a strong sense of the times, and saw the little girl standing on tiptoe holding up a bouquet of flowers beside him.

A tremendous sense of accomplishment rose in Su Wenchen's heart in an instant.

Su Wenchen took the bouquet of flowers from the little girl and looked at her flushed face, which was red with excitement.

At that moment, he felt that his efforts had not been in vain.

He really changed something.

This further solidified his determination to conduct research in the Yellow River flood area.

It would be comfortable to just sit back and live off my past achievements while I still have so many resources at my disposal, but that would be a huge waste of them.

He also felt that simply generating foreign exchange could bring him this sense of accomplishment.

What if he really used his abilities to gradually develop the Yellow River flood plain, a region that is still so backward and often suffers from food shortages?

How many people's fates would that change!

Su Wenchen felt that this was the only way to make the most of his time-traveling experience, because it would be a waste of his cheat ability to just laze around and wait to die in this era.

The event quickly ended with the performance of a celebratory song.

Li Mingyuan, as the deputy director of the Provincial Revolutionary Committee, personally came over and shook hands with each of the group members.

When it was Su Wenchen's turn...

"Thanks for your hard work!"

"You've really made headlines in our province this time!"

Su Wenchen felt a little embarrassed when he heard this, since the area behind their field was no longer under the jurisdiction of the provincial government.

He always felt somewhat guilty towards his former boss.

"Boss, I'm not working hard, it's just our job!"

The other party stopped Su Wenchen from speaking further.

"We'll talk about this later!"

Then he spoke directly to the others.

"Welcome back in triumph! The provincial guesthouse has prepared a celebratory banquet for you."

"The director will be there too, let's all go together!"

He then led the way out of the train.

When it was time to board the bus, Li Mingyuan didn't let Su Wenchen ride with him, but instead pulled Su Wenchen directly into his car.

On the road.

Li Mingyuan looked at Su Wenchen, who was heading to Guangshi and seemed to have gotten a slightly tanned look.

"You guys worked hard this time, and you've gotten a bit tanned!"

Su Wenchen immediately burst into laughter.

"Boss, the weather over there is much hotter than here. Even in October, it's still very hot!"

"I'm actually okay, but those workers who are setting up scaffolding under the scorching sun are the ones who are having the hardest time!"

Although the auction venue was built very quickly, it was still the result of hundreds of workers working day and night.

As the head of the special foreign exchange earning team at the time, Su Wenchen naturally had to keep a close eye on things throughout the entire process.

Before the final topping-out, it was still unavoidable to work under the blazing sun.

"However, your efforts have finally paid off handsomely."

"Xiao Su, to be honest, I really didn't expect you to generate more than 40 million in foreign exchange this time. And that's only half of it. The value of the remaining furs used to import equipment is immeasurable."

"So you don't need to feel guilty. It's normal for the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry to bring your farm under central management."

"Our province doesn't have any objections either, after all, the higher-ups can't just take our children away out of thin air."

"Our province accounts for the largest share of this equipment import!"

Upon hearing his former leader's analogy, Su Wenchen immediately laughed.

"Boss, the way you're saying that makes it sound like the higher-ups are kidnapping a child."

The other party also laughed and joked.

"Is not it?"

"And I heard that our provincial director went to a meeting in Beijing a few days ago, and that the higher-ups are going to send you to the Yellow River flood area?"

"I'm here to speak up for you. You're complaining to me that not only are people not given important positions after being transferred there, but they're also being sent to places like the Yellow River floodplains. Isn't this blatant bullying?"

"I could tell right away that you had volunteered!"

"Otherwise, why would the higher-ups have transferred you there?"

Su Wenchen didn't hide anything and spoke directly.

"My old leader knows me best; it was indeed me who volunteered."

"Because I think that place can bring greater development to our farm, otherwise the subsequent development of our farm will still be affected to some extent."

"Currently, our country's grain production is just enough to feed ourselves, and it's already difficult enough to squeeze out even a little to supply the cities."

"Just like in our Lan City, 70,000 chickens is the limit for our farm."

"It's not that our technology can't support more grain; it's that the county grain depot can't supply more grain."

"If there are too many, there will be people in the county who will not have enough to eat."

Li Mingyuan sighed.

"Yes, it's because our grain production is too low. You can go over there to open up new battlefields and grow pasture, which is also a way to be self-sufficient."

"Otherwise, relying solely on local promotion efforts may not yield any results even after several years."

Li Mingyuan, who rose through the ranks from the local level, knew that many people at the bottom wouldn't move an inch unless they were starving.

Some people want to do something, but due to limited vision, they don't know how to do it. In this case, a coordinating department must be arranged from above to direct them.

Otherwise, the constant wrangling and buck-passing between different places would waste a lot of time.

Su Wenchen also agreed with Li Mingyuan's words.

"That's why I plan to go there. To be honest, I do have some talent in aquaculture."

"I plan to start with pasture grass as the first batch, but I don't have a clue what to feed the main animals yet."

"Although the alkali-tolerant alfalfa can be grown there, we still have to mix it with other grasses to feed the rabbits."

"Otherwise, indigestion will occur."

"Therefore, we still need to develop a variety that is sufficiently tolerant of roughage, which will require on-site experiments."

"As long as a type of livestock can be bred that can consume large quantities of this alkali-tolerant forage, then at least simple self-sufficiency can be achieved."

"At that time, these grown livestock will be sent south to Shanghai and Nanjing, or north to Tianjin and Beijing."

"They can all be exchanged for enough food, at least enough to fill our stomachs, and even if things don't go well, we can use the livestock we raise to eat!"

Upon hearing Su Wenchen's words, Li Mingyuan immediately laughed.

"Haha, no grain to eat, so you're only eating meat, huh!"

"If that's really the case, then the workers over there are probably living better than the workers in our provincial capital."

"Workers in the province can only eat meat once a month at most, and sometimes the meat coupons issued by their work units are basically not enough to go around."

"The pigs raised by the various communes and brigades below are basically slaughtered at the end of the year. Most of the time, they rely on a few large farms to supply their pigs."

"But that's not enough at all. All the factories, supply and marketing cooperatives, and a whole bunch of government canteens and guesthouses are starving for food!"

“If you can really raise them on a large scale, you won’t even need to transport them to Beijing; you can just ship them directly to the province and they’ll be taken care of.”

"And thanks to you, our province allocated a large urea production line to us this year."

"If we can produce large quantities of fertilizer ourselves in the future, grain production will be much easier."

Upon hearing this, Su Wenchen replied seriously.

"Old boss, I've got it all figured out. When I bring the team, you can't make excuses to skip it!"

Li Mingyuan responded directly.

"Don't worry, why would I refuse? I'm eager for you to get the farm up and running and bring over truckloads of live pigs."

"Otherwise, why do you think I wanted you to come here and build a large chicken farm near the provincial capital?"

"There's nothing we can do, the pigs are growing too slowly, so we have to supply more eggs as a substitute."

"By the way, how's the breeding of white pigs going at your farm?"

"I'm still waiting for your good news. If the time to market can really be doubled, then the pork supply will be greatly relieved."

Su Wenchen shook his head.

"I really don't know, but the third generation of piglets will be coming out soon before I come out."

"It should be about time."

"I'll go back and check. I'll let you know if there's any good news."

The other party waved their hand.

"Now that you're directly under the ministry, you can just call your ministry directly."

"There's no need for me to forward this as a notification."

"But when we go to borrow seeds, you'll have to take care of the farms in the province."

Su Wenchen responded directly.

"Don't worry about that, old leader. Although our farm is now directly under the ministry, my heart has always been with our province."

"If we achieve good results, I will definitely give it to our province first without hesitation."

After all, for Su Wenchen, while he develops the Yellow River floodplain, the Blue Water Field will remain in Lan City.

There's no way he could possibly have a falling out with the provincial authorities.

Regardless of whether you actually do it or not, you have to verbally agree first.

Upon hearing this, Li Mingyuan smiled and pointed at Su Wenchen.

"You!"

"I see that not only have your breeding techniques improved, but your verbal skills have also improved just as much!"

Although Li Mingyuan said that, he still had a very happy smile on his face.

After all, Su Wenchen is no longer the livestock farm comrade he could order around at will.

Although he may still be a young comrade, he is no longer under his command.

(End of this chapter)