1968: Started from breeding

Chapter 301 Being a leader is too difficult!

Since the total amount of money is limited, if more is given to the rabbit farm, naturally other places will receive less.

Although it's all for the good of the field.

But the rabbit hutch wasn't under his jurisdiction, so he would definitely do his best to protect the interests of the chicken farm.

So he said it directly.

"Director, I think our chicken farm also needs to expand its scale, especially our Bluewater rooster, which is very popular in the market."

"And the most common complaint is that the price is too high."

"I think we can appropriately expand the breeding scale of Bluewater Roosters. As for the feed issue, we can completely adopt a free-range model."

"Director, I've looked at quite a few places recently. There's a small hill on the other side of the river near Nanwan Commune. The wild animals there have been almost completely hunted away by the nearby commune members."

“We can definitely negotiate with the city to get that small hill.”

"Our farm will fund the construction of a free-range breeding base for Bluewater Roosters over there."

"Although the wild animals in that place have long been caught by the commune members, there must be quite a few insects and other creatures among the various bushes."

"After all, it's not like ten years ago, when we needed to resort to picking leaves and bark to eat."

“I think we only need to invest a sum of money upfront, and then we can get a considerable return. I even took some time before the Lunar New Year to go there and take a look.”

"Although the hill is not big, only about three to five hundred acres, we can definitely raise twenty to thirty thousand Bluewater roosters if we fence it off."

"Even if there isn't enough feed, we'll just supplement it a little more during the winter."

"It's definitely a good deal when you calculate it all!"

After hearing Zhang Zhenhua's plan, Su Wenchen thought about it and decided that if he really followed what the other party said...

It seems that we could indeed take down that small hill and use it to raise some Bluewater Roosters.

After all, Director Lu from their agricultural reclamation bureau came to their farm this time and purchased a batch of Blue Water Roosters, and the feedback was generally very good.

Especially in units like theirs, where resources are plentiful, such good things are naturally even more popular.

So Su Wenchen nodded slightly.

"From this perspective, it is indeed possible to expand Bluewater Rooster's market share."

"Letting them find their own food in the mountains and forests, and then supplementing them with feed as needed, is really not a burden for our farm right now."

Seeing that Su Wenchen agreed, Zhang Zhenhua was about to say something when Tan Liwei, who was in charge of the pig farm, took over the conversation.

Tan Liwei was clearly anxious, because there was only so much money in total, and the rabbit shed needed to be expanded, and the chicken farm also needed to be expanded.

If they don't fight for this, their pig farm will be left with nothing but empty eyes.

So Tan Liwei had no time to think about the training base at this point.

After all, he was in charge of the pig farm, and its development was closely related to his progress.

So he quickly tried to persuade them.

"Director, you can't forget about our pig farm!"

"The standards set for our promotion tasks this year are quite demanding, and our pig farm also needs to expand its pigsties."

"Otherwise, there won't be a place for the piglets to live when they are born."

Upon hearing that Tan Liwei also wanted to grab funds, Zhang Zhenhua spoke up directly.

"Old Tan, what are you pig farm doing getting involved in this? Anyway, the piglets will be taken away by the promotion unit soon after they are born."

“Once the piglets are born, you can just squeeze them a little. I think your pig farm doesn’t need to rush.”

"Director, I still think that spending this money on our chicken farm will yield the best results. Once our third chicken farm is built, the remaining funds can naturally be invested in the pig farm."

"Moreover, our chicken farm is the main source of income for the wages and benefits of our employees. I think we should prioritize the development of the chicken farm."

Tan Liwei rolled his eyes after hearing Zhang Zhenhua's words.

"Deputy Director Zhang, I think you're wrong. In terms of importance, we should be given priority over our pig farm!"

"Our situation concerns the supply of live pigs for the entire nation. Deputy Director Zhang, which one do you think is more important?"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Zhenhua felt a little helpless, because it was a difficult question to answer.

Although he felt that this was indeed a major event for the entire nation, for their farm, the timing—a day earlier or later—didn't really make a difference.

Of course, this kind of thing can't be said openly, otherwise it would be a clear mistake.

At this moment, Zheng Xianghong, who had been silent all along, spoke up to defend Zhang Zhenhua.

"Section Chief Tan, what you're saying is ridiculous. If people all over the country can't afford meat, how can you blame our farm?"

"If that's the case, then if your pig farm expands, everyone in the country will immediately have meat to eat?"

"If you dare to make this pledge, I'll be the first to stand up and support you."

Clearly, in the struggle for the right to speak, Zheng Xianghong has never lost, except for the initial loss to Su Wenchen.

Although she and Zhang Zhenhua do not get along, she will definitely speak up for Zhang Zhenhua in this situation, because it is all to help them secure development funds for their chicken farm.

When faced with Zheng Xianghong's words, Tan Liwei opened his mouth, but in the end, he didn't say anything.

As a former soldier, he wouldn't dare to make a pledge lightly; in his view, once a pledge is made, it must be kept.

At least he was only thinking about securing development funds for the pig farm. He was well aware that promoting white pigs was a long-term process.

It's impossible to see immediate results in a day or a year.

If he were to actually make such a promise, it would only be empty talk. He felt that he might be able to achieve the goal of supplying pork to an entire county if he worked hard enough.

But if everyone in the country can eat meat, how many pigs would we have to raise!

Even if it's just one or two ounces of meat per person, that's still an astronomical figure.

Meanwhile, Miao Yuan saw that Zheng Xianghong, who usually didn't get along with Zhang Zhenhua, had also joined in, so he spoke up directly.

"If that's what you all say, then our rabbit farm is earning foreign exchange!"

"Our country is so short of foreign exchange right now!"

"So I think our rabbit shed is the most important, what do you guys think!" Seeing Miao Yuan get involved again, the other departments that were also trying to get some funding for themselves started to chime in.

They were all speechless for a moment.

Because how do I explain this?
Can they still say that earning foreign exchange is not important?

At this point, other departments such as the aircraft maintenance department, the publicity department, and the airport operations office also understood.

They probably have no hope of getting this money.

Because look at the excuses they came up with, one of them first tied it to the welfare benefits of all employees.

The other two are even more outrageous: one directly affects the meat consumption of the entire nation, and the other directly affects the nation's foreign exchange earnings.

Good heavens, it's like without you two, the whole country wouldn't be able to afford meat or earn foreign exchange.

Although I know these two are just using this as an excuse to intimidate others and make a big show of things.

But at least they have something to rely on; at least it's not something made up out of thin air.

After all, one is indeed related to the promotion of white pigs, and the other is indeed related to foreign exchange earnings.

The two of them simply exaggerated part of the facts.

Sitting at the head of the table, Su Wenchen rubbed his head in exasperation as he watched the room fall silent.

To be honest, he now understands the difficulty of leaders dividing the pie.

Being a leader is so difficult!

There's only a little rice in my hand, but there are mouths everywhere below!
Moreover, everyone's arguments are reasonable, and if you really want to prove it, each department can find a hundred reasons why it urgently needs money.

As for asking them to consider the bigger picture, I'm sorry, but the bigger picture is something to consider once you're in a higher position. After all, different positions have different considerations.

Just like when Su Wenchen faced ministries, he would also fight for the interests of their farms.

Doesn't he know that the country doesn't have many resources?
But Su Wenchen felt that if they could win back the resources, their farm could be used to play a greater role.

Now it's his turn to get the resources, and the others are doing the same thing, all feeling that they can play a greater role once they get the resources.

Naturally, everyone wants a bigger share, since money makes things easier. If you don't have a penny and rely solely on your connections, most people can't get things done.

Su Wenchen was naturally well aware of this, so after looking at the gazes of the group of people below, he pondered for a moment before slowly speaking.

"I've listened to them all too."

“What you’re saying all makes sense, and they’re all important when you hear them together.”

"But the amount of money allocated from above is limited. So, the three of you should each tell me how much funding gap your plans require and how much output value they can bring to the farm after completion."

After Su Wenchen finished speaking, the people below looked at each other and remained silent.

Everyone is considering how much is appropriate, or how much the director can directly approve.

Seeing that no one spoke up, Su Wenchen called out names directly.

"Comrade Zhenhua, didn't you say you started planning before the new year? Let's start with you!"

Seeing that Su Wenchen had said so, Zhang Zhenhua did some mental calculations before speaking.

"Alright, Director, let me tell you my general thoughts!"

"We've already negotiated with the city to get the land, but it's unlikely we'll get it without paying a single penny."

"The second is the construction cost. I went to take a look around, and the whole area is fenced off with a circumference of more than 3,000 meters."

"If you were to build a wall with red bricks, cement, and sand, it would probably cost close to 100,000 yuan, including labor."

"In addition, there are various renovations needed inside the branch farm, such as windproof nesting boxes, overwintering chicken houses, rainwater collection ditches, and water storage cellars."

"Director, I think 500,000 is definitely enough."

"Currently, we plan to put in 30,000 Bluewater roosters in the first batch. However, this free-range model is obviously much slower to reach market weight compared to our cage-raising. It will take about six months to reach the standard of four pounds for slaughter."

"At the current price of 12 yuan per bird, the farm can generate 360,000 yuan in output value per year."

Upon hearing this, Su Wenchen immediately responded.

"Do you think that if we suddenly increase the number of animals we raise by 30,000, the market price can still reach the current price of three yuan per kilogram?"

Zhang Zhenhua simply nodded.

"Director, I've investigated, there's absolutely no problem with 30,000!"

"We don't even need to go to the south. Our production volume can be completely absorbed by the two major cities of Beijing and Tianjin in the north."

“Even within our city alone, we can consume all the thousands of Bluewater Roosters from our neighboring brigade and our farm every year.”

“I even heard from my wife that on the black market in the provincial capital, the price of our blue-water chickens had risen to more than 30 yuan apiece during the Chinese New Year.”

"Even so, people are still scrambling to buy them as gifts. There's even been a group of people who specifically raise roosters and then sell them directly under the name of our Blue Water Chicken."

Then Zhang Zhenhua said, somewhat amused and exasperated.

"This matter was exposed at the end of the year because we tricked someone who had actually eaten our Blue Water Chicken."

"Then, they were so angry that they went back to their unit and brought people to raid the black market. That's how they caught these people, and in the end, they were all dealt with for speculation and profiteering."

"So, Director, the price of our genuine Bluewater Chicken will definitely not drop significantly in the short term."

"Because anyone who has eaten it can tell the difference very clearly."

Su Wenchen nodded upon hearing this, but he was quite speechless that someone was already using a deck of cards.

It's true that as long as there's money to be made, there will always be people doing it!

However, they've managed to fool someone who's really tough!
Otherwise, Su Wenchen felt that this group of people could probably really scam a lot of people, and if they were to trade on the black market at this time, it would be difficult to find someone if they were scammed.

That's true at least for ordinary people.

However, Su Wenchen reconsidered.

At this point, someone willing to spend tens of yuan to eat a chicken must be from a family that isn't ordinary!

So it seems like it was only a matter of time before he got arrested.

(End of this chapter)