1968: Started from breeding

Chapter 254 Let him come over and give a face-to-face report, so that everyone can ask questions in person!
After meal.

Inside a rammed earth house, a dim kerosene lamp was burning on the kang table.

Su Wenchen, wearing a cotton coat, sat cross-legged on the kang table, holding a fountain pen in his hand, deep in thought.

After conducting research in the vicinity these past few days.

Su Wenchen felt that if they wanted to develop this area vigorously, they would have to mobilize resources.

So at this moment he was racking his brains to figure out how to write this letter, because this letter had to make him sound pitiful, but also show the leader a bright future.

Otherwise, there would be many other places in the country facing difficulties at this time, and the central government might not immediately allocate resources to these areas; otherwise, it would have done so long ago.

Su Wenchen chewed on his pen and pondered for a long time before slowly putting pen to paper.

"Dear Minister Sha:"

As soon as he finished writing, Su Wenchen frowned. Was this a bit too distant?

Uncles?

Wouldn't that be a bit too inappropriate?
After hesitating for a while, Su Wenchen still didn't change his mind. After all, it was better to keep a little distance the first time than to be seen as inappropriate.

Then he continued writing.

"Greetings! How is your health, sir? I hope you take good care of yourself amidst your hard work for the country."

"It has been nearly three months since we last parted ways in Guangzhou. I have missed your teachings very much."

"I am writing this letter for two reasons: first, to report on my recent research, and second, to ask for your review and guidance on my development plan for saline-alkali areas."

"I led a team to conduct research along the old course of the Yellow River, and what I saw and heard was truly awe-inspiring."

"Today I went to Huanglou Commune and Yangzhuang Brigade in Xuzhou for on-site investigation. The local conditions were the most challenging I encountered during my research trip."

“The commune members here are extremely poor, with an average annual food ration of around 100 catties per person. Most of the time, they rely on relief food to survive. During spring plowing, people often die from exhaustion. In winter, even plain water and cabbage must be shared among the commune.”

"Moreover, the treatment of saline-alkali soil in this area is also difficult. The yield of a thousand acres of farmland is only a hundred catties per mu. The salinity keeps returning. The commune has no spare capacity to support agricultural machinery. The county's three agricultural machines are not enough to meet the needs of the core area. This area is located on the edge of the county and has even less spare capacity."

Putting down his pen, Su Wenchen read it aloud softly.

That's bad enough, isn't it!

I'll have to ask for more later, otherwise it would be a waste of my brain cells, and I'll have to translate my thoughts into the written language of this era.

Now that the market is sold out, we need to give the higher-ups some hope. Otherwise, just complaining about being poor won't get us anywhere and will be of no use.

As Su Wenchen picked up the pen, the letter paper gradually thickened.

"Our team is now determined to take root here."

"The following are my initial ideas for the development of this area. I hope you can take some time out of your busy schedule to give me your guidance."

"Based on the advantages of our farm's breeding technology, I plan to proceed in the following three steps."

"The first step is to provide relief through living allowances."

"I plan to establish a branch farm in Yangzhuang, initially raising fast-growing meat rabbits, using alkali-tolerant alfalfa as feed. The alkali-tolerant alfalfa will help the young rabbits gain weight, and they can be ready for market in three to five months. The rabbit meat can serve as a protein supplement, and we can also take advantage of Xuzhou's transportation hub to exchange for grain elsewhere, thus relieving the immediate problem of insufficient food for the commune members."

"The second step is to address both the symptoms and the root cause."

"Furthermore, Comrade Cao Jiwen was tasked with cultivating new types of forage grass to lay the foundation for pig farming."

"Our farm's white pig breeding technology is now close to maturity, and the pigs that can be slaughtered in six months can also solve the major problem of meat shortage in our country."

"Once the rabbit farming has yielded some success, we will organize educated youth and commune members to dig deep drainage ditches, transport soil to build terraced fields, and curb the spread of saline-alkali soil. With the help of organic fertilizer produced by the breeding farm, we will strive to achieve a yield of 200 to 300 catties per mu within two years, and self-sufficiency will not be far away."

"The third step is to build up momentum and plan for the future."

"If the above development goes smoothly, our farm can expand rapidly and merge with nearby communes."

"We can then begin to cultivate high-quality local beef and dairy cattle breeds."

"Now that I am about to become a father, I am aware that there is still a huge shortage of infant formula in the country. Putting myself in others' shoes, I feel even more strongly that the children of workers and farmers especially need dairy products to nourish them. Increasing the supply of dairy products is now an urgent matter."

"In addition, the Western world currently consumes mainly beef. If needed, we can also export high-quality beef cattle to earn a large amount of foreign exchange to supplement our national needs."

"Chen knew that this plan would cost a great deal, but in the long run, it was worthwhile."

"If we can get support from the ministry for three to five thousand educated youth, three to five hundred tons of emergency rations and more than twenty agricultural machines, we can make this place self-sufficient in rations within three years, and it can become a meat and milk supply base in the Central Plains within five years."

"After the land was transferred to the farm, the Xuzhou area saved more than 100,000 catties of relief grain every year. I hope the ministry will give this win-win situation a serious consideration."

"If convenient, I plan to travel to Beijing later this month to give a report in person."

Sincerely yours

"Revolutionary Salute!"

"Respectfully submitted by your junior, Wen Chen."

After finishing writing, Su Wenchen blew on the ink stains, read it through once, and muttered to himself.

"Three to five thousand educated youth, three to five hundred tons of grain rations, who knows how much the higher-ups will actually allocate!"

"But trading this little cost for a meat and milk supply base in three to five years is a huge win!"

However, Su Wenchen also understood that the national treasury was very poor at this time, and he had no idea how much could be allocated.

However, in general, if the above-mentioned funds are allocated according to the amount proposed in the previous document...

Then their development will be much slower.

To be honest, the food rations were actually not too bad. For Su Wenchen, the most important thing was agricultural machinery. Whether it was spring plowing and opening up the fields or digging ditches and transporting soil, machines were far superior to manual labor using carrying poles and baskets.

Just as Su Wenchen was muttering to himself, there was a knock on the wooden door.

Su Wenchen closed the letter and shouted.

"Come in."

Zhao Weiguo pushed open the door and found that only Su Wenchen was inside. He scratched his head.

"Director, what are our plans for tomorrow? Should we stick to the original plan and go to Xuzhou, then continue south, or what?"

Su Wenchen thought for a moment.

"First go to Fengxian, then follow the local roads to conduct research in nearby Dangshan County, Xiaoxian County, and Peixian County."

Su Wenchen planned to conduct a survey first to see how much saline-alkali land these counties had in total. However, judging from Feng County alone, he felt that it was enough for their development for the time being.

Zhao Weiguo immediately responded upon hearing this.

"Alright, Director, you should get some rest."

He closed the door as he spoke, but his face was full of doubt as he muttered to himself.

"Nobody's here? Did I hear wrong? Wasn't there a constant whispering going on in the director's office?"

Beijing.

In the office of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry.

An elderly man with a strong voice looked at a thick letter in his hand. At first, his brows furrowed, but as he put the letters back one by one, his expression relaxed.

In the end, it turned into a soft laugh.

"This kid really dares to dream big! To build a meat and dairy supply base in the Central Plains."

After repeatedly stroking the edge of the letter, the old man took off his glasses, got up, and walked to the window.

Looking at the bare branches of the sycamore trees outside the window, I was pondering the contents of the letter I had just received.

He muttered to himself.

"It neither avoids the real difficulties, nor does it conceal the sharpness to break the deadlock."

After a moment, he turned back to the table and picked up a phone.

"You should notify the leaders of the Agriculture Bureau, the State Farms Bureau, and the Agricultural Machinery Bureau to come to the meeting room. Also..."

The old man paused for a moment, then continued.

"Have the Ministry's Agricultural Machinery Bureau compile a list of how many agricultural machines the Ministry currently has that can be mobilized."

"Yes, Minister, I'll inform them right away!"

Ministry meeting room.

The key points of Su Wenchen's letter have been copied onto the center of the blackboard, the old man said, tapping the table.

How many places like Yanglou Production Team are there in the Huang-Huai-Hai region? Are we only capable of providing passive relief?

“Now, tens of millions of kilograms of relief grain are allocated to these places every year. This Central Plains region used to be a major grain-producing area, but now it is a place that needs to be supported.”

"We have also been asked by the higher authorities to come up with a suitable governance plan to turn these tens of millions of acres of saline-alkali land back into our country's new granary."

"This way, we can not only save a large portion of relief grain, but also support other places."

"This is the plan that Bluewater Farm has put forward so far. Please take a look and see if it is feasible."

After saying that, he passed the letter in his hand down.

Upon hearing this, the leader from the State Farms Bureau sitting to the side immediately stood up and accepted it.

The letter was passed from hand to hand among the people below.

a long time.

After reading through them all, I frowned slightly, somewhat unsure of what to say.

"Tell me your opinions!"

Upon hearing this, the leader of the Agriculture Bureau was the first to stand up and speak.

"Minister, how should I put it, the first part of this plan is quite impressive, especially the part about planting alkali-tolerant forage grass and raising meat rabbits to supplement the food supply. I think it is a highly feasible plan."

"Bluewater Farm's experience in rabbit breeding is top-notch in China. I have no objection to their ability to breed high-quality meat rabbits." "Furthermore, the saline-alkali land in Xuzhou is not among the first batch of areas we plan to address. I think we can appropriately support Bluewater Farm in establishing a branch there, which would at least alleviate the survival pressure there."

"Moreover, it has reached the point where everyone has to cook cabbage together. To be honest, if this is true, it is even more difficult than in eastern Henan. It shows that there is indeed very little arable land, and not even much land can be allocated to grow vegetables."

"But I think the latter part is a bit far-fetched. The introduction of Changbai pigs was a policy that was planned before our Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry were merged."

"The goal is to improve the problem of slow growth of pigs in our country."

"However, starting with the first Soviet White pig imported from the Soviet Union in the early days of the People's Republic of China, including those imported from Britain and Denmark, three batches have been imported so far."

"It's not that there are no achievements, but the current news from various core breeding pig farms still indicates that the genetic makeup is unstable."

"I find it hard to believe the contents of the letter until a detailed report on the breeding of the pigs and genetic data are submitted."

"As for the breeding of beef and dairy cattle, I won't say much since Bluewater Farm hasn't even started breeding them yet. But I still feel that Bluewater Farm seems a bit arrogant now because of the success of the Moonflower Rabbit."

"As pigs are the most important source of meat in our country, I know better than anyone how difficult it is to breed this white pig."

"If it were that easy, we wouldn't have been stuck in the pig breeding farm for so many years."

Hearing this, the old man nodded.

"What about the State Farms Bureau? What's their opinion?"

Upon hearing this, Lu Anguo from the State Farms Bureau immediately stood up.

"Minister, our State Farms Bureau will definitely give it our full support!"

"As for what Lao Yu said earlier, in my opinion this is normal. If someone wanted to try not saying anything and just complaining to the ministry, would the ministry approve it?"

"Even when setting a trap for hunting, you know to put a little something sweet on it! You don't put any sweetness on it, so how can you expect to catch any prey!"

"So it's perfectly fine for me to dream about the future, and besides, it's not like they're just making things up. I remember Old Lei from the Ministry of Foreign Trade went down there and said that the white pigs they were raising were doing quite well!"

"Even if we don't meet the conditions to promote it to the production teams below, at least we can raise it stably in the farm. We'll take it slowly!"

"Old Yu, do you expect to get rich overnight?"

"Furthermore, Minister, our State Farms Bureau is currently in contact with the Ministry of Water Resources, and both agree to start from Lankao to carry out river dredging and dike reinforcement, construct control and guidance projects, and at the same time, start from Lankao to build a main canal to divert the Yellow River into the old course of the Yellow River and gradually advance southward to treat the plant."

"To be honest, it would take a long time to advance such a large project to the Xuzhou area, so I think it's a good choice to let Blue Water Plant take root there in advance."

After listening, the old man didn't say much, just waved his hand to indicate that he should sit down, and then asked.

"Old Zhao, how many agricultural machines does your agricultural machinery bureau still have available?"

"The ministry approved this year's tractors a long time ago, but only two of them were originally intended for Lanshui Farm and are still sitting at the Changzhou Tractor Factory."

"However, if necessary, we can also discuss it with Jiangsu Province. After all, it's all their land. Our ministry is taking the lead in providing manpower and grain for them to manage, so they can't just not show any appreciation!"

Hearing this, the old man nodded.

"Alright, you can communicate with the agricultural machinery department in Jiangsu Province. Our ministry will provide the labor and food, but we can't also provide the agricultural machinery so that the province can just benefit."

"After all, if we take on this burden, they can save a lot of relief grain every year."

"Minister, should we allocate the materials that Blue Water Farm requested?"

The old man remained silent for a moment.

"The funds allocated to Blue Water Field have already been prepared, so just allocate them! As for any more..."

"The National State Farms Work Conference is about to be held at the end of the year, and representatives from state farms bureaus of various provinces and key state farms will be coming."

“Have him come over and give a face-to-face report. Everyone can ask questions in person if they have any problems! If Blue Water Farm can provide detailed information at that time, we can then discuss whether we need to increase the allocation.”

After the old man finished speaking, the others immediately understood what the leader meant.

After all, this matter is not even worth discussing at the National Agricultural Reclamation Work Conference, because the conference discusses national-level projects involving hundreds of thousands of people, large-scale land reclamation, dam construction, and land reclamation.

So, calling someone over is probably just to introduce them and let them get to know you.

As for producing detailed information, none of the three paid it any mind.

At this point, the three of them realized that the leaders seemed to have high hopes for the development of Blue Water Farm.

苏北。

After sending the letter, Su Wenchen took advantage of the time to drive around and investigate the four surrounding counties of Pei County, Feng County, Dangshan County, and Xiao County, and even learned about most of the situation in each county.

In the end, it was discovered that none of the four counties were doing very well.

It can be said that they are all very similar. Almost every county has tens or hundreds of thousands of acres of saline-alkali land, and the average yield per acre is generally around 100 jin.

It's basically the same as the southwestern mountainous area.

Moreover, grazing is possible in mountainous areas, while here we can only watch as vast stretches of saline-alkali land lie barren.

Only those communes that received preferential treatment from the county government fared slightly better, while those communes located on the outskirts of the county faced much greater difficulties.

They were basically just barely surviving.

The large areas of the Yellow River floodplain that have not yet been treated are mostly concentrated on the outskirts of the four counties.

Su Wenchen understood that the limited resources in each county should definitely be prioritized for the development of the surrounding counties.

Of course, there weren't actually many resources, because after Su Wenchen surveyed the area, he found that the four counties combined only had a total of thirty tractors.

Because half of them are owned by Huxi Farm in Pei County, and in the remaining three counties, each farm has about four or five vehicles, which are mainly concentrated in the hands of farms in the county and a few advanced brigades.

Since Huxi Farm is a provincial farm of Jiangsu Province, Su Wenchen felt that the mechanization of these four counties was practically nonexistent.

As for industry, it can be said that there is practically none. After conducting a round of research, Su Wenchen found that only Pei County and Xiao County had a small amount of coal mining. The only other industry that could be considered was a factory that made farm tools such as hoes.

So after completing his survey, Su Wenchen returned to Huanglou Commune.

Because he knew that the only way to break this deadlock was to bring in external resources. If the local area relied solely on its own slow development, it would probably always lag behind other places by several versions and would never be able to develop.

Huanglou Commune.

A cold wind swept across the fields of Huanglou Commune, carrying fine crumbs of saline-alkali soil. Hundreds of commune members were rolling the wheat fields back and forth with stone rollers—the winter wheat fields, which should have been green, were instead covered with a layer of white frost-like salt stains.

After squatting down, Su Wenchen grabbed a handful of soil and rubbed the hardened clods apart with his hands. There were still some salt grains on it, which shimmered in the sunlight.

"Professor Cao, it seems that if we don't raise the fields and dig drainage ditches, even if the problem is solved, the salinity will just rise up again like this."

Hearing Su Wenchen's words, Cao Jiwen nodded.

"Yes, but the local villagers have no choice. Whether they dig soil from elsewhere or dig a lot of drainage ditches near these fields, it's no small project."

"The only way is to plant wheat first, and then use a stone roller to compact the soil during winter. This will reduce the amount of salt and alkali rising upwards."

"However, only winter wheat is suitable; other crops won't work, so many fields here are mostly planted with wheat!"

Su Wenchen laughed when he heard this.

"Indeed, I remember that every year in our brigade, we would roll down the winter wheat with a stone roller in winter, saying that it would increase the yield. Sometimes, when there weren't enough stone rollers, we would have a group of people step on them!"

Cao Jiwen nodded.

"This method is indeed useful in the north. Rolling before winter can effectively conserve moisture and prevent frost damage. Rolling during the greening period can temporarily inhibit the growth of the above-ground parts, promote the transfer of nutrients to the root system, effectively increase the number of wheat ears and promote vigorous growth in wheat fields, and also greatly reduce the risk of lodging later."

"But after crossing the Huai River, it's unnecessary. The further south you go, the wetter the winter becomes, and the more clayey the soil becomes. At this point, pressing down on the soil can easily cause it to compact, which is counterproductive."

Just as the two were talking, a bicycle bell rang urgently, accompanied by an excited shout.

"Director Su! Director Su! There's an urgent letter for you!"

Looking around, Su Wenchen saw a middle-aged man with a dark complexion, wearing a faded navy blue cadre uniform, riding a bicycle quickly toward them.

After riding to the ridge where Su Wenchen and Cao Jiwen were, he tilted his bicycle and stumbled down the ridge.

The bicycle, which would normally be wiped clean even if it got a little dusty, was completely ignored by the other party at this moment.

Seeing the other party's excited expression, Su Wenchen seemed thoughtful, but still joked.

"Secretary Yang, is it true that even the secretary of your commune has to double as a mailman?"

Upon hearing this, Yang Zhenye waved his hand.

"Director Su, please stop teasing me. Hurry up and check if it's been approved from above."

As he spoke, he stared intently at the letter handed to Su Wenchen.

He had been very uneasy ever since the news broke; he wouldn't have been so anxious if things hadn't been so uneventful.

But ever since he learned that Bluewater Farm intended to establish a branch here, he hasn't had a good night's sleep for several days.

Unlike the relatively closed-off Yangzhuang brigade, as the commune secretary, he had to keep up with all kinds of newspapers and news.

The most sensational news recently reported in the newspapers is that Bluewater Farm generated nearly $100 million in revenue in a single operation.

When the brigade leader of Yangzhuang Village came to inform him the next day, he thought Yang Jingfu had gone hysterical.

After all, Blue Water Farm has earned so much foreign exchange, and there are so many good plots of land all over the country for them to choose from. Why would they come to this shabby place to establish a branch farm?

Even if Yang Jingfu swore an oath, he was still skeptical, wondering if someone was using the name of Blue Water Farm to swindle and deceive people.

It wasn't until I went to the county to confirm that I learned that the region had indeed issued a document to cooperate with and assist Lanshui Farm in conducting research.

It was at this moment that he realized that it seemed like a windfall had indeed fallen from the sky. If you were to ask who they envied the most in their area, it would definitely be the Huxi Farm in Pei County next door.

After being designated as a provincial farm, several tractors were allocated to the commune members, who became farm workers and received a fixed amount of grain and wages each month.

Those communes that were lucky enough to be included in the program were also reorganized into production department leaders of farm branches.

So after confirming the news, he was in a state of anxiety and uncertainty.

On the one hand, they hope that Blue Water Farm will establish a branch here, because their situation here is too harsh and they urgently need external help to break this vicious cycle.

On the other hand, they were also hesitant, wondering what would happen if their commune wasn't included.
The most painful thing in the world is watching others enjoy a life of luxury, especially when you were once poor brothers, but now you've suddenly become rich and can leisurely enjoy your life.

For many people, it would be better to be poor together!
So when he saw Su Wenchen tear open the seal, he felt that even Director Su was more uneasy.

(End of this chapter)