1968: Started from breeding

Chapter 245: Which chessboard will I eventually end up playing on?

Blue Water Farm.

The farm gate was bathed in a soft golden glow under the setting sun, making the busy crowd seem as if they were also draped in a golden coat.

"Hurry, hurry, the manager's car is back."

Come in and listen to my drumming later!

As soon as Su Wenchen's car entered the gate of the venue, a deafening sound of gongs and drums rushed towards him.

Hundreds of employees stood on both sides of the road.

The female workers waved colored paper with a simple rabbit drawn on it, while some employees held up signs welcoming "Heroes of Foreign Exchange Earnings Home".

No one knows who started singing "We Workers Have Strength," but after many employees joined in, the deafening singing startled the sparrows that were resting on the roof of the chicken coop.

Su Wenchen opened the passenger window.

Listening to the unaccompanied singing, it was simple and rough compared to the welcoming ceremony held in the province.

However, Su Wenchen could feel a sincere emotion in the song.

Because these employees truly consider Lanshuichang their home, and they are genuinely proud of Lanshuichang's achievements.

Su Wenchen turned his head and looked at Zhao Weiguo.

"Stop the car!"

As the engine gradually shut off.

Su Wenchen jumped out of the passenger seat.

As Su Wenchen came down, the singing gradually stopped, and many people looked at Su Wenchen with excited eyes.

The room fell silent instantly, waiting for Su Wenchen to speak.

Just then, a female worker was holding a baby who was stretching out its little hand from inside the swaddling clothes.

Ah! Oh! Oh!

Using a level 10 infant language, it was shouting something, seemingly wondering why the lively scene had suddenly become so quiet!

Upon seeing this, Su Wenchen immediately smiled and walked over to say something.

"It seems our young comrade is welcoming me home!"

Upon hearing this, the room erupted in enthusiastic laughter.

Su Wenchen asked the young female employee directly.

Can I have a hug?

Since Jiang Li is also pregnant, Su Wenchen really has little resistance to babies now.

Hearing this, the female worker nodded happily.

"Yes, manager!"

He then handed the little guy to Su Wenchen.

Su Wenchen looked into the other person's bright eyes, which held a hint of doubt, as if he was wondering who this person was.

After a moment, the little guy seemed to realize that this was indeed a stranger.

"Wow!"

He immediately let out a loud howl.

Upon seeing this, Su Wenchen smiled and said...

"Wow, young comrade, you're really shouting with great enthusiasm!"

As he handed the child back to the female worker, he also asked her directly.

How old is the child?

The female worker took it and immediately said happily.

"Director, my farm just turned one year old. My wife and I got married when the farm was first established two years ago."

Upon hearing the name, Su Wenchen immediately spoke up.

"Is the name Weichang? That's a good name. These are the first batch of farm children from our farm."

Do you usually encounter any difficulties?

Upon hearing Su Wenchen's question, the other party shook his head.

"Manager, how could this be a problem? Everyone knows our farm now; our benefits are the best in Lan City."

"Which other factory can provide eggs every day, or even meat dishes like stewed chicken frames with potatoes or spicy rabbit heads from time to time?"

"Our factory never has any leftover meal tickets, unlike some factories in the city that claim to provide meal tickets, but the subsidies only cover stewed cabbage, and even buying cornbread is rationed."

"If you want to eat something even slightly nice, you have to pay for it yourself!"

Su Wenchen smiled but didn't comment on the other factories, because each factory's economic situation was different.

Although they are all state-owned, the benefits and treatment are actually different. Generally speaking, the benefits in large factories are better than those in small factories.

The wages and benefits in small factories are generally better than those in the handicraft workshops run by communes and brigades.

So Su Wenchen said directly.

"Only when everyone is well-fed can they have the energy to work!"

"However, with the increasing number of farm children in the area, it's time for us to consider setting up a youth development program."

"That way, everyone can take some time to breastfeed, otherwise it's inconvenient to carry it around all the time."

Upon hearing this, many of the female employees around immediately brightened up.

"Manager, are we really going to start a training class for young children?"

Obviously, the reason why female employees pay more attention to this is because a breastfeeding team will basically select female employees, otherwise it would be inconvenient for them to breastfeed.

Secondly, nowadays, if there are no parents at home to help take care of the children, it is usually the mother who brings the children to work.

During this time, most workplaces allow employees to bring their children to work while they are breastfeeding.

They even arrange separate breastfeeding time for employees.

Moreover, when there are many children of factory workers, educational facilities such as preschool classes and primary schools are usually arranged in a unified manner.

It can be said that the factory basically covers everything from the child's birth to school age.

The factory also took care of all aspects of the employees' lives, from birth to old age, illness, and death.

Material conditions were incomparable to later times, but anxieties about children's education and the future were virtually nonexistent at this point.

So when the female employees confirmed, Su Wenchen nodded.

"It definitely needs to be done."

"I'll have the field management do a count of the children born in the field now, and then see how many people we need to recruit to be in charge of the first batch of nursery classes."

"Alright, everyone, let's go back now!"

"Two pigs will be slaughtered at the canteen tonight for a celebration banquet. The commendation meeting for the rabbit farm employees will also be held there. Otherwise, you'll be bored sitting down there all alone."

After Su Wenchen finished speaking, the crowd gradually dispersed.

However, they've already started discussing the celebration banquet and awards ceremony that evening.

The employees at the rabbit farm, in particular, are very much looking forward to it, since the farm has always been quite generous in terms of benefits.

After the employees gradually returned home, Su Wenchen looked at the field manager who had been standing on the sidelines.

Clearly, no one made a sound when Su Wenchen was talking to the ordinary employees.

When a leader is talking to a grassroots employee, if you keep interrupting to show that you know them, you will almost always get a bad attitude.

Su Wenchen looked at Zhang Zhenhua, who was sitting quietly to the side.

"Comrade Zhenhua, you've worked hard these past few days. The team has benefited greatly from your efforts."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Zhenhua quickly replied.

"Director, it's all thanks to your solid foundation. I've been managing the chicken farm using your old methods."

Su Wenchen blinked, glanced at Han Yang behind him, and then at Zhang Zhenhua.

I didn't hallucinate.

If Han Yang had said those words, Su Wenchen wouldn't have been surprised at all.

But what Zhang Zhenhua said surprised him greatly.

Could it be that Comrade Han Yang possessed him?
Meanwhile, Han Yang was also looking at the other party with a blank expression. Was Zhang Zhenhua, that bastard, planning to steal his position?
For an instant.

Han Yang felt as if a huge "danger" character had appeared above his head.

Is Zhang Zhenhua envious of his easy wins and planning to take his place?
As Director Su's number one follower, Han Yang said that this absolutely could not be allowed.

Seemingly sensing the surprised looks from Su Wenchen and Han Yang, Zhang Zhenhua felt a little embarrassed.

But there is no way.

His second uncle called him from the provincial capital, telling him to work hard here, stick close to Su Wenchen, and not to think about returning to Longshan Farm in the province, because there was a better future at Lanshui Farm.

Moreover, according to his second uncle, the higher-ups have made great arrangements for Lanshui Farm, and now no one else in the province is able to send people over no matter how hard they try.

He absolutely must seize this opportunity.

Su Wenchen didn't quite understand why Zhang Zhenhua changed so quickly.

But he didn't dwell on it too much, because he didn't need to care much about Zhang Zhenhua's powerful connections in the province anymore.

So I asked directly.

Who organized this welcoming ceremony?

"With Lao Han not here, to be honest, I really can't think of anyone else who would like to do this."

Zhang Zhenhua was a little embarrassed.

"Director, this was organized by me. It was rushed and a bit rudimentary, mainly because we hadn't done this before, so some things weren't considered thoroughly."

"It was mainly the people from the commune primary school who went to welcome the people from the commune."

Su Wenchen was somewhat surprised; he hadn't expected it to be Zhang Zhenhua who was behind it, but he still spoke up.

"No, I think that's normal. After all, they are originally from the commune, so even if they go, they should go to the commune."

"By the way, Comrade Zhenhua, have you prepared the receipts and certificates for the commendation in advance?"

Zhang Zhenhua immediately responded.

"We're all set. A few days ago, the ministry issued a document stating that from now on, our farm's tickets will be issued by the ministry. Not only will the number of industrial tickets double each month, but we'll also be allocated two extra precious TV tickets and other tickets."

Su Wenchen wasn't too surprised.

After all, they earn so much foreign exchange every year, it's unlikely that the higher-ups would allocate foreign exchange to them, but they would definitely give them more of these notes.

"So, this time we'll give one reward to the rabbit hutch, and the farm will use the remaining one to buy a television set."

"Let me think about where to put it, I'll just put it in the cafeteria!"

Zhang Zhenhua was taken aback and hesitated.

"Director, should we just put it in the cafeteria? The staff will probably have to stay there after they finish eating!"

"How about we set up a TV room in the staff club?"

Su Wenchen waved his hand.

"Doesn't the staff club have recreational activities like a movie theater and a table tennis room?"

"Even if we squeeze out a TV room, it can only accommodate a few people, at most a few dozen."

"So let's just put it in the cafeteria. After all, our cafeteria was built big enough to accommodate passing drivers, at least several hundred people at the same time."

"However, our site is indeed a bit too small, especially now that several tenement buildings are being built."

"Some family members have also moved here, and the living area has become lively, but it looks a bit too crowded."

"Old Han, take some time to communicate with the tannery in the commune."

"Let them expand downstream, not towards our area, otherwise we won't have any room to expand in our residential area."

Upon hearing this, Han Yang immediately agreed.

"Okay, Director, I'll communicate with the tannery later."

"Alright, by the way, Comrade Zhenhua, where is Comrade Zheng Xianghong? I haven't seen her."

After all, Su Wenchen felt that Zheng Xianghong, with her keen senses, couldn't possibly be sitting in her office waiting for him to come and see her at this time!
Zhang Zhenhua remained silent for a moment before slowly speaking.

"Director, Deputy Director Zheng is currently in charge of business in Shiquanchang, so he's probably too busy to come over."

Su Wenchen glanced at Zhang Zhenhua, who was whispering sweet nothings in his ear, with surprise.

He never expected that Zhang Zhenhua, with his thick eyebrows and big eyes, would actually know this trick.

It seems they really hate Zheng Xianghong!

However, Su Wenchen simply nodded and didn't say anything more, because he wouldn't help Zheng Xianghong.

However, they will not directly help Zhang Zhenhua suppress Zheng Xianghong.

Since it was only 1970, his direct suppression of Zheng Xianghong might provoke the hostility of Secretary Zhou from the city. Although their farm was no longer under the city's jurisdiction, it was still within the city's control, and the transfer and procurement of various supplies still required contact with the city.

They also need to inform the city about any land they need for expansion.

Su Wenchen wouldn't risk offending the city's top official over something so trivial; he wouldn't do something so unprofitable!
Moreover, at this moment, the situation at their Blue Water Field is actually quite different from before.

In Su Wenchen's view, Zhang Zhenhua represents the support of some people in the province, while Zheng Xianghong will undoubtedly regain the support of the city.

Since the city couldn't assign anyone to their field, Zheng Xianghong was Secretary Zhou's only protégé, and this pawn would definitely be picked up and reused.

Han Yang is actually a manifestation of his own will. After all, if Su Wenchen is not comfortable with something himself, he can have Han Yang bring it up.

Therefore, Su Wenchen felt that the Blue Water Field was relatively stable at present, and if he needed to deal with the provincial authorities, he could ask Zhang Zhenhua to handle it.

If you want benefits from the city, send Zheng Xianghong to handle it.

Therefore, Su Wenchen felt that none of them could be lost for the time being, and he believed that rather than eliminating them directly, the most useful thing was to make the enemy willingly serve him.

In fact, Su Wenchen knew that Zheng Xianghong's situation would not be particularly good in the future.

This person took a very difficult path in the past, so it's unlikely she'll have a good ending, unless she eventually finds a reason that forces Su Wenchen or someone of a higher rank to protect her.

Otherwise, she, Zhang Zhenhua, and Han Yang are all pawns on the chessboard of Blue Water Field.

Each of them has a different player who plays the game.

But in the end, Zheng Xianghong will probably be the first piece to be eliminated.

Because they both came from the same background as Han Yang, with no special connections, they took completely different paths.

One option is to bend down a little and help others to move upwards.

One is to pull others down and climb over them to get ahead.

While the former might invite ridicule, the latter would undoubtedly offend countless people.

This ability to offend people makes those who want to protect her think twice about whether it's worth it.

Because most of life involves weighing the pros and cons.

Even Su Wenchen himself is actually a piece in another, higher-level game of chess.

He is both a piece on the upper level of the chessboard and a player on the lower level.

Even Su Wenchen himself didn't know which chessboard he would ultimately end up on.

Pig farm.

When Su Wenchen arrived at the pigsty, dusk had already fallen, and the pigsty was already lit up with bright yellow lights.

Su Wenchen specially changed into rubber boots and climbed into the pigsty.

Xiao Zhou just poured the evening's pig feed into the trough.

In a pigpen, five second-generation hybrid white pigs were grunting and munching on their food from their troughs.

"Snapped!"

Su Wenchen slapped the back of a white pig with black stripes, feeling the thick back of the pig, and asked Xiao Zhou next to him.

"Wow, this pig kidney is amazing!"

"And it looks like it has a lot of fat! It's just as fat as those big black pigs that have been around for a year."

"Xiao Zhou, how many kilograms do these second-generation hybrid white pigs weigh?"

Seeing Su Wenchen's satisfied look, Xiao Zhou excitedly introduced the product.

"Director, it was weighed a few days ago, it's 367.2 jin."

"It must weigh 368 jin now."

"However, we've been raising this pig for over a year. If it weren't kept as a breeding pig, it would have been ready for market long ago."

"At that time, I weighed about 250 or 260 pounds in about six months. Even if I was fed and cared for just as well for the next six months, I still grew much slower."

"So according to our records, if we extend the time before slaughter, the weight difference between white pigs and black pigs is not that significant."

"But in the six-month period, the white pigs are far superior to the black pigs."

Su Wenchen nodded.

"That's good. Reaching the slaughter standard in six months is much better than the current ten months or more."

"Moreover, there is no need to raise ordinary pigs to be too fat. If they are raised to adulthood, the meat yield will not be as good."

"Over 200 pounds in six months is more than enough."

"Come on, take me to see the third-generation pigs."

Looking at the long row of pigsties, with four or five pigs in each pen, Su Wenchen asked directly.

How many pigs do you have at your pig farm right now?

Upon hearing this, Xiao Zhou, who was leading the way, turned around and replied.

"The first generation of pigs that were bred are still being bred, and the white boar that was introduced is still being bred, while the number of piglets born to the sows has decreased after their third litter."

"So the last two sows from the first generation were also taken away by the canteen this morning."

"As for the second generation, there are now a total of 47 pigs, including 22 boars and 25 sows."

"However, regarding the boars, Master Fan thinks that selecting the ten best ones is enough, and the rest can be arranged for slaughter. But this matter hasn't been decided since you weren't here."

"The third generation of piglets has only been born for a short time, with only four litters totaling 28 piglets. However, compared to the second generation, the mortality rate of the piglets in the third generation has decreased significantly."

"So far, the mortality rate of the second-generation selected pigs bred on our farm is as high as 27 percent."

"Most of these deaths were caused by parasitic infections, especially roundworm infections, and the majority of them occurred in piglets under two months old."

"So for this third generation of piglets, Section Chief Tan led us to build a new piglet shed, and everyone who enters must undergo strict disinfection measures."

"So far, the mortality rate of our third-generation piglets is only nine percent, and several of them are weak piglets that were actively killed by their mothers."

"Master Fan said that this is a sow selectively culling weak piglets, and this method has a clear genetic tendency in Taihu pigs in Hangzhou."

"So now we have someone specifically watching over each birth. If we encounter a weak piglet, we will take it out in advance and hand-feed it."

Su Wenchen nodded.

"These white pigs originally came from the Hangzhou Breeding Pig Experiment Farm, so it's normal that they have inherited traits from Taihu pigs."

As they spoke, the two walked over to the piglet pens.

Just then, I saw Van der Fu, who was changing clothes, come out from inside.

"Hey, Director, you're here! I was just thinking of changing my clothes to attend the commendation meeting at the rabbit shed!"

Upon seeing Su Wenchen, Fan Defu immediately stopped changing his clothes and revealed a happy expression.

Su Wenchen nodded.

"The rabbit farm has achieved good results, but our pig farm can't fall behind!"

"While earning foreign exchange is important, the white pigs we breed are of paramount importance, concerning the meat consumption of the entire nation."

"You should not underestimate yourselves."

"As long as these third-generation piglets grow up safely and prove the stability of their genetics, we will hold a bigger commendation ceremony for you."

"Our entire team might have to go to the ministry for an awards ceremony!"

Upon hearing Su Wenchen's words, Fan Defu grinned widely, revealing a row of neat, yellow teeth.

"Director, we wouldn't dare to dream of going to the ministry, but I've remembered what you said about holding a separate commendation meeting for our pig farm."

Van der Fu, who had been taking meticulous care of these piglets during this period, knew very well that, in terms of health, these third-generation piglets were even healthier than the second generation.

As long as they grow up steadily, they should all reach the slaughter standard for meat pigs within six months.

Then it will be proven that the black-striped piglets they bred have stably inherited the ability of white pigs to reach market weight quickly.

They would be just as successful as the rabbit farm workers today. Thinking of this, Van der Fu's mouth involuntarily grinned again.

"Director, would you like to go in and take a look?"

Su Wenchen nodded.

"Since we're here, a few more minutes won't hurt. I'll change my clothes and go in for a look."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Zhou immediately took out a brand new set of work clothes from the changing room.

"Director, this set is all brand new and no one has used it!"

After changing his clothes, Su Wenchen went into the piglet pens.

The grunting sounds here were noticeably better than those over in the pigsty, although a bunch of piglets were still grunting incessantly.

But its voice is definitely not comparable to that of an adult pig.

What surprised Su Wenchen the most was that he could actually see the attributes of these newborn piglets.

Earlier, when they were in the pigpen, Su Wenchen could see the second-generation pigs, but that was because he had personally fed them when they were born.

However, the third-generation pig was born when Su Wenchen was in Guangshi, and he had never encountered it before.

I glanced at the other person's attributes.

[Third-generation hybrid spotted pig LV1]

Current stage: Infancy
Current breeding direction: LV2 fattening pigs. After successful breeding, growth rate will increase by 20%, meat quality and taste will increase by 20%, disease resistance will increase by 20%, and feed intake will increase by 20%.

[Feeding formula for fattening pigs: 5% yam, 2% codonopsis, 0.1% astragalus, 0.015% wolfberry.]

Introduction: This pig breed is a third-generation high-quality pig breed that has been crossbred and selected. It inherits the excellent characteristics of both the paternal and maternal lines and has the advantages of strong adaptability, strong disease resistance, strong digestive ability, and fast growth rate.

This pig inherited the maternal 'survival' attribute, enabling it to quickly adapt to various extreme environments and prolong the treatment time for rapidly fatal diseases.

After discovering that it had directly entered the cultivation stage, Su Wenchen understood a bit.

"Old Fan, you've already fed the piglets the feed for fattening pigs!"

Fan Defu looked at Su Wenchen with some surprise.

"Director, you could even tell that!"

“We are indeed going to use the sow’s milk mixed with the fattening feed that you brought back from Shanghai in thirty days to make a transitional feed.”

"Because after the experiment, we found that the piglets absorbed this mixed fattening feed much better than expected."

"Moreover, piglets grow much faster at this stage. When they are fed fattening feed in 30 days, they will adapt much more easily than when they are weaned directly. Judging from their current size, the time to market can be shortened by at least 30 days."

"Director, look over there, those are piglets that are weaned at sixty days old."

"Do you see that its size is significantly smaller?"

Su Wenchen looked toward the circle that Fan Defu pointed to and noticed that the pig there was significantly smaller.

"Are they all born in the same batch? Then they are indeed much younger."

"It seems your idea is indeed very good."

Moreover, Su Wenchen felt that this way, he wouldn't need to feed them himself, and he could still see that the attributes were quite good.

Upon hearing Su Wenchen's praise, Fan Defu waved his hand.

"This is not something I came up with myself. It was something Xiao Zhou learned from chatting with the zookeepers at Qianjin Farm in Shanghai."

"They say that over there, piglets are fed using a three-three system: thirty days of breast milk, thirty days of transitional feed, and thirty days of fattening feed. This effectively shortens the time to market and allows the piglets to grow up faster."

Upon hearing this, Su Wenchen gave Xiao Zhou an approving look.

“Well done. I think this method is very good, at least it can be promoted in our venue.”

"Work hard, and when this batch of piglets reaches the slaughter standard, we will commend and reward you all."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Zhou tugged at his clothes, feeling embarrassed.

"Director, I just overheard someone say something casually, how can I be singled out for commendation!"

Su Wenchen waved his hand.

"You've made contributions to the farm, and the farm should reward you. Well done, your pig farm has done a good job lately."

"However, the last leg of a journey is the hardest. The final stretch is the most crucial, and we can't afford to let our guard down at the last minute and fail at the last hurdle!"

"Let's go to the cafeteria first; the awards ceremony there should be all set up."

Xiao Zhou waved his hand.

"Director, I'm here to relieve Master Fan from his shift. You can go ahead!"

Su Wenchen looked around.

"Why are there only two of you in the pigsty?"

Xiao Zhou shook his head.

"No, the night shift can only come after dinner!"

"If there are piglets, we usually only have two shifts at our pig farm. We need to keep people on duty. Usually, nothing much happens, but the main thing is to prevent any accidents!"

Su Wenchen nodded seriously.

"If you're careful, that's certainly possible."

"Okay, we'll have the cafeteria set aside a separate area for those of you on duty later."

(End of this chapter)