1968: Started from breeding

Chapter 345 It seems his special zone is rather poor!

meeting room.

Upon seeing Su Wenchen return, the group stood up once more.

Su Wenchen immediately reached out to suppress his laughter.

"No need for that, we're old friends."

"And I haven't received the official appointment document yet, so we're still from the same unit."

However, Su Wenchen also knew that documents of this level were usually sent through the postal system to provincial and military units across the country, and the chances of them being changed were very low.

The reason their farm received the goods late is probably because the postal system had not previously covered their branch farms.

Previously, only the postman from Feng County would come to collect mail regularly, and even Su Wenchen's own letters would take more than ten days to arrive.

However, although Su Wenchen said that, the other four were all veteran cadres, so they naturally didn't take it seriously.

Li Kun from Pei County immediately spoke.

"Hey, Director, from now on we're really brother units with the farm."

However, he then revealed a smile.

"From now on, we'll all be working under your command, so you can't show favoritism to any of us!"

Su Wenchen simply smiled and waved his hand.

"Don't worry, I will definitely treat everyone equally and won't favor one side."

"Let's leave it at that for today. We'll leave some of the details for now and talk about the rest when the documents come through."

"Just tell me about the main industries, population, and grain output of each county."

"Let me see how much of our special economic zone's resources we can actually utilize."

Upon hearing this, the group felt awkward and, after exchanging glances, no one dared to speak first.

Su Wenchen frowned upon seeing this.

"You don't need to do this. I know you are all impoverished counties. Don't worry, I just want to know a rough estimate so that I can plead poverty when the leaders come down."

"What? Do we have to wait for the official documents to come before we can talk?"

"It seems that all four of our counties are doing quite well!"

Seeing this, Su Wenchen immediately closed the notebook he had just opened to take notes.

"Alright, let's wait until the special economic zone is officially established before we talk about it."

To be honest, he wasn't really in a hurry about this. The reason he said that today was because all four of them came together.

In his view, having known the information, one should be somewhat prepared and not be completely ignorant of it.

He really needs to communicate with his superiors about the actual difficulties he faces. Even if he can't get much support, he needs to let his superiors know about his difficulties!
Seeing that Su Wenchen was about to get up, the others immediately became a little anxious.

Finally, it was Wang Rongshan from Dangshan County who spoke directly.

"Director, since none of them want to speak first, I'll report first!"

Upon hearing this, the other three looked at Wang Rongshan with displeasure. Why did they start putting each other down?
Isn't it just that we didn't keep our promise to stand together through thick and thin?

Is it really necessary to be so stingy?
Su Wenchen didn't care about anything else and directly opened the notebook.

"Since Comrade Rongshan wants to say it, then just say it!"

Wang Rongshan also opened his meeting minutes notebook, flipped through a few pages, and said directly.

"Director, our main industry in Dangshan County is Dangshan pears. We currently have more than 80,000 mu of orchards."

"Our annual output of Dangshan pears is basically around 20,000 tons. Now, most of them are purchased by the supply and marketing cooperative and then transported to major cities across the country."

“Our supply and marketing cooperative’s purchase price is one cent per kilogram, which brings in about four million yuan in revenue for our county every year.”

Upon hearing this, Su Wenchen nodded repeatedly.

"It's clear that life is quite good in Dangshan County. I didn't expect your annual net income to be four million."

Wang Rongshan smiled wryly.

"Director, our county can only get about 20% of the agricultural tax revenue at most, and even that depends on how much we can get from higher authorities!"

"However, there is a state-owned cannery in our county, so life in our county is not too bad."

“We recently introduced grape varieties from Xiaoxian County and are preparing to open another winery.”

Su Wenchen nodded repeatedly upon hearing this, surprised that Wang Rongshan was actually quite a thoughtful person.

Although they may be limited by their own resources, they can only look for target industries in the surrounding area.

However, whether it's developing Dangshan crisp pears or introducing grape varieties from Xiaoxian County to open their own wineries, these are all relatively high-yield cash crops.

It's no wonder that among these four counties, only Dangshan County has the strongest foundation.

So Su Wenchen praised him directly.

"Comrade Rongshan, your idea is indeed very good. On the one hand, you can expand the scale of the orchard, and on the other hand, you can process the fruit yourself."

"Large fruits that can fetch a good price can be sold directly, while smaller fruits with blemishes or wormholes can be peeled and made into canned fruit."

"It's clear, Comrade Rongshan, that you have ideas about the development of your county."

Keep it up from now on!

Upon hearing Su Wenchen's words, Wang Rongshan's lips curled up slightly.

Even if you try your best to suppress it, you can't help but reveal a hint of excitement.

"Director, this is our county's main industry. The remaining grain output is basically maintained at around 120,000 tons per year."

"Currently, the total population of all the communes in our county is about 500,000. After paying the grain tax, most commune members can meet the national standard of 300 jin of grain per capita."

"In addition, the portion of our orchard's income that is retained is mainly used to take care of the elderly living alone, run a nursery, and a small amount is used for education subsidies."

Upon hearing Wang Rongshan's introduction, Su Wenchen looked at the various information he had written down in his notebook.

This is clearly a typical agricultural county. After paying the grain tax, the county is barely self-sufficient. Without these tens of thousands of acres of orchards, life would be very difficult.

But we can still manage to get by.

He felt that at this time, most agricultural counties were basically following this standard.

In general, Su Wenchen believes that if Wang Rongshan did not falsify data, then he thinks the other party did a pretty good job.

At the very least, they will proactively seek out industries and solutions for their county.

After reading it, Su Wenchen nodded directly.

"Comrade Rongshan, it's clear that you've made good progress in the early stages, and Dangshan pears have gained a certain market share in China."

"We need to maintain this level of performance."

"You can consider developing a certain scale of understory farming in the orchard later."

"As long as the density is controlled, this manure can offset a considerable portion of the chemical fertilizer input, and the poultry raised can also bring in some additional income."

Upon hearing this, Wang Rongshan immediately became excited.

"Director, do you think we can raise the Bluewater Chickens from our main farm here in the orchard?"

"I've heard a lot about this kind of chicken! It's said that it sells for twenty yuan apiece on the black market in Shanghai."

Upon hearing Wang Rongshan's direct address to our headquarters, Su Wenchen immediately waved his hand.

"We'll talk about this later. I'll have someone from the main farm send someone to your orchard to take a look."

"We still need to control the density of trees in this understory farming, otherwise too many trees will be burned to death by chicken manure."

Wang Rongshan nodded repeatedly upon hearing this.

"Yes, Director. I'll go back and make preparations. I'll definitely make sure to take good care of our colleagues from the main camp."

Seeing that Wang Rongshan actually acquired an industry, specifically a blue-water chicken breeding industry, is quite surprising.

The other three couldn't sit still any longer.

"Director, we are all part of the special economic zone, you can't show favoritism!"

"Yes, Director, our situation is much more difficult than in Dangshan County, so why is industry being tilted towards their county?"

Su Wenchen waved his hand.

"I'm just making a suggestion, not encouraging them to develop large-scale animal husbandry. Forest-based animal husbandry can only be used as a supplementary means at most."

"As I mentioned before, if the density is too high, the amount of manure will burn the trees!"

"Alright, tell me about the situation in your counties!"

As soon as Su Wenchen said this, Li Kun from Pei County spoke first.

"Director, let me do it!"

"Our main industry in Peixian is coal, with an annual output of about 1.25 million tons. However, coal is a national project."

“Our county can’t really control it, but we can still use a portion of it each year, about tens of thousands of tons.”

Upon hearing Li Kun's words, Shi Yingduan from Feng County immediately spoke up.

"Didn't you say you only have a few thousand tons available each year?"

Li Kun rolled his eyes. How can reporting to superiors be the same as reporting to someone like you who needs support every day?

Thinking of this, I couldn't help but say it.

"To be honest, your county will definitely ask us for more aid then!"

"We rely on this little bit of coal to get by every year!"

"Director, in terms of industry, we only have a cotton mill that produces 10,000 spindles of cotton yarn per year and a farm implement factory. However, the farm implements we produce are all small farm tools such as sickles and shovels."

"The farm tools were mainly supplied to the surrounding production teams, and they hardly made any money."

"In terms of grain production, our county produced about 140,000 tons last year."

"However, all the communes in our county together have a population of over 800,000, so the grain production is just enough for our own consumption. Basically, after handing over the annual grain to the state, we have to pay the taxes."

"There will also be 10,000 tons of state-returned grain coming down from above, plus some fishing teams in our county, and production teams near the lake will also raise ducks as a sideline."

"Therefore, with the availability of grain resold to other areas, Peixian County is currently able to achieve self-sufficiency."

"The county's major expenditures each year are basically covered by this unplanned coal!"

After speaking, she looked intently at Su Wenchen.

"Director, what industries do you think we should develop in the future? I feel that we definitely have a huge advantage in the aquaculture industry."

Li Kun understood perfectly well that since the higher authorities had ordered the establishment of a special zone to promote the development of the aquaculture industry, they would definitely provide strong support for its development.

Whichever county is selected at this time will be the first to receive resources for vigorous development. Their county has the most abundant water resources, so naturally they will have to do their best to win them over.

Su Wenchen coughed lightly a few times.

"We'll talk about this later, but your county does have a great advantage in terms of development because it's near Weishan Lake."

Looking at the data recorded in the notebook, Su Wenchen felt that the situation wasn't too bad.

Dangshan County is doing well and doesn't need any support. With just a little investment, it can produce stable output.

Peixian County has a relatively low grain yield, and if it has to pay grain taxes later, there will indeed be a shortage of grain.

However, this is under the current circumstances where the level of saline-alkali land management is low.

In the following years, as the saline-alkali land is properly managed, there will definitely be enough food.

However, both counties have nearly a million mu of arable land, but their grain output is only so much, basically around 120 jin per mu. Su Wenchen felt that there was still a lot of room for improvement in grain output.

Judging from the current data, Su Wenchen is in a good mood. He feels confident that he can exceed the task assigned by his superiors within five years based on this data.

After speaking, he looked at the other two in a good mood.

"what about you!"

Seeing Su Wenchen looking at the two of them, Zhao Guohua from Xiao County braced himself and spoke first.

"Director, our main industry in Xiaoxian County is 40,000 mu of vineyards, which can produce about 300 tons of wine every year."

"Although most of it is used for export, we also receive a portion of the funds back from above."

"As for grain production, we only produced about 130,000 tons last year, but the total population of all the communes in our county is over one million."

"The average person only has about 240 jin of grain per year."

"However, some communes around our county can basically guarantee a supply of 300 catties of grain per year."

“In the Yellow River flood area to the north, the annual grain ration is only about 200 jin, and we basically have to rely on more than 20,000 tons of grain resold from above to make ends meet.”

This is also why Zhao Guohua had been trying to get rid of the burden in the north.

If you don't count the saline-alkali area to the north, their county actually does quite well, relying on wine exports that earn foreign exchange and a small amount of livestock farming.

Su Wenchen looked at the various pieces of information Zhao Guohua had just mentioned recorded in his notebook, and his teeth ached a little.

Xiaoxian County faces an annual shortage of 20,000 tons of basic staple food, which is more than 40 million jin.

No wonder that neither Liu Guangde nor Liang Huashu felt particularly distressed about having four counties transferred away at once.

This is equivalent to saving nearly 20,000 tons of grain every year!
As for Fengxian County, which hasn't been mentioned yet, Su Wenchen felt that the food shortage must be even greater!

After all, as far as he knew, Fengxian County had the largest amount of saline-alkali land and the worst living conditions.

Seeing Su Wenchen's expression, Zhao Guohua tentatively asked.

"Director, the regions behind definitely won't receive any more grain. What will we do about the shortfall then?"

"Even if our county doesn't have to pay grain taxes, this shortfall still won't be enough!"

Su Wenchen took a deep breath and waved his right hand, which was holding the pen.

"I'll check with my superiors and see if I can get you some reinforcements!"

After speaking, he looked at the leaders of Feng County.

"Old Shi, we've known each other for a long time, so tell me about you guys!"

Hearing this, Shi Yingduan said somewhat awkwardly.

"Director, in terms of industry, our county mainly has flour mills."

No sooner had he finished speaking than Li Kun said something directly.

"Pull him down!"

"A mill can be called an industry!"

"According to your old Shi's calculations, every commune in our area has its own flour mill! We even have tofu factories!"

Upon hearing this, Shi Yingduan glared at Li Kun. Su Wenchen waved his hand in response.

“You don’t need to do that. I know your county doesn’t have any major industries. Just tell the truth.”

“After all, your county is indeed the most difficult.”

Su Wenchen wanted to know if it was still a major industry in the county. As for mills that were still powered by animal power, they were essentially industries that provided services to the commune members.

It also doesn't bring much profit.

It's not a flour mill with a mechanized assembly line, after all.

Seeing that Su Wenchen had already said so, Shi Yingduan still spoke directly.

"Director, Fengxian County is currently preparing to build a cotton mill."

"This year, our cotton production has reached 5,000 tons. Once the cotton mill is built, it will be able to produce more than 3,500 tons of cotton yarn and cotton cloth every year."

"It can bring at least 1.8 million yuan in profit to our county every year."

Clearly, Shi Yingduan had no choice but to reveal the details of the factories that were not yet built.

After all, several counties have their own industries, and if they are the only ones without them, it would make him seem too incompetent.

He was actually suffering inside. Their county had the weakest foundation, and the little they had saved up was only after the farm was transferred from the most difficult communes at the end of last year.

If we continue to provide relief to these communes this year, we probably won't save much money, and the establishment of the cotton mill might be delayed even further.

Su Wenchen didn't say much about the cotton mill that hadn't even been established yet.

Although he mainly promoted the development of the aquaculture industry later on, Su Wenchen felt that basic light industries such as cotton spinning were still very necessary.

After all, cloth was in short supply at that time.

So Su Wenchen directly asked him what he was most concerned about right now.

"How much food rations does your county currently face? Not counting the communes in the farms."

Upon hearing Su Wenchen's question, the other party could only sigh.

"Director, we still have a shortage. If the autumn harvest of grain this year is not reduced, the grain output is expected to reach about 90,000 tons. The county currently has a total population of about 800,000."

"If we replace all wheat planting with tuber cultivation, the total shortage should be only about 30,000 tons."

These words gave Su Wenchen a sudden headache.

Even if all the grains were replaced with sweet potatoes, there would still be a shortage of 30,000 tons. As far as he knew, the ratio of fine grains to potatoes was one to five for such difficult areas.

When switching to cornmeal with the corn cob, the ratio is 1:2.

In other words, including Xiao County, which is in the same boat, the combined output of the two counties is about 50,000 tons.

No wonder Liu Guangde and his group didn't react much when the special economic zone was established.

The two provinces even provide five million yuan in construction funds every year, which he previously thought was quite good.

It seems he was too happy too soon; there really is no such thing as a free lunch.

While other provinces only have one, he got two at once.

The other two, while self-sufficient, certainly couldn't offer much to support the other two.

So he felt he had to think of a solution from above.

His special economic zone's resources are indeed a bit too meager.

However, these four counties are not involved in foreign affairs receptions, so it would be difficult to obtain support from them.

The supplies provided to this branch are now required by higher authorities to be used for foreign affairs receptions.

All supplies need to be registered and managed; it's not like Su Wenchen can just open his mouth and ask for more things.

Unless he's willing to risk misappropriating it, but he certainly won't do that.

Su Wenchen roughly calculated that at least for the first two years, the food shortage would have to be covered by the higher authorities.

Two years from now, most of the saline-alkali land should be greatly improved.

By then, self-sufficiency should not be difficult, as the four counties have a considerable amount of land, totaling over five million mu of arable land.

It is much more than many other counties.

However, due to the influence of saline-alkali land, the yield per mu is too low, and the level of mechanization and the popularization rate of chemical fertilizers are also low.

Therefore, all things considered, Su Wenchen believes that the future potential is huge, it's just that there are some difficulties at present.

Think of this.

Su Wenchen closed his notebook.

"Alright, I have a general understanding of your situation."

"You should go back first. The Special Economic Zone Management Committee has not been formally established yet."

"Therefore, it is not appropriate for me to interfere in the affairs of your respective counties in advance."

"Regarding the future industrial development, we'll discuss it again once the Special Economic Zone Management Committee is established."

Upon hearing Su Wenchen's words, Shi Yingduan hesitated.

"Director, what should we do about the grain that our county is reselling afterwards?"

"Previously, the region was responsible for a portion, and the province was responsible for another portion. Will our county still be able to buy them in the future?"

"Don't worry, I'll talk to the leaders about this later. How come Feng County is already facing food shortages right after the summer grain harvest?"

Upon hearing this, the other party quickly shook their head.

"That's definitely not the case. Our county's grain depot has replaced all the grain with coarse grains, so there shouldn't be any problem eating until the end of the year."

"Actually, the spring season is usually the most difficult time of the year."

Su Wenchen stood up and tapped his notebook on the table.

"That's all for today!"

"You just need to continue with your previous work in the county. If the management committee has any plans for the future, I will talk to you separately."

Seeing that Su Wenchen had seen the guests off, the four of them had no choice but to prepare to leave together.

Upon reaching the main gate, Shi Yingduan from Feng County suddenly said quietly.

"Old Li, you're not being fair today!"

"If you want to impress the new boss, you can't just take advantage of your brothers!"

Li Kun felt a little embarrassed upon hearing this, but he replied directly.

"What are you saying? I'm only doing this for your own good. Don't you know Director Su?"

"To rise so quickly at such a young age, can he be someone to be trifled with?"

"Haven't you seen how fast the farm has developed during this period? Some farms have even obtained the qualification to receive foreign affairs."

"You think people won't see through your little tricks?"

"When things get serious, and you're really asked to produce a flour processing plant, can you actually do it?"

"Don't actually put a processing plant sign on a mill that uses donkeys and call it a processing plant."

"You'll be the one who suffers in the end."

Upon hearing Li Kun's words, Shi Yingduan thought about it and realized that there seemed to be some truth to it.

However, he remained suspicious.

"So I have to thank you?"

"No way, I feel that just saying thank you doesn't express how much I've helped you. You have to treat me to a meal at your state-run restaurant."

"Get out of here. You want to eat at a state-run restaurant? I'll treat you to a meal at the canteen. I haven't eaten at a state-run restaurant in ages."

"Hmph, Old Shi, you're just being stingy!"

"I'd only consider going to that shabby canteen in Feng County if you paid me to go. They eat potatoes and sweet potatoes every day."

"Even the canteens in our communes are better than yours."

"That's not true. At least you guys have some small fish and shrimp to improve your meals, unlike us who have to control our intake of potatoes and sweet potatoes."

"And this is only a few thousand tons of coal that can be mobilized each year!"

Upon hearing this, Li Kun's expression immediately became somewhat unnatural.

"Well, those are the livelihoods of hundreds of thousands of people in our county. How can we just give you more support like that!"

Then he immediately changed the subject.

"Let's get down to business. Do you think things will change after Director Su takes office?"

"And this special economic zone, can it really be successfully established?"

Upon hearing Li Kun's words, the other three also became serious.

Zhao Guohua from Xiao County shook his head.

"To be honest, I think it's pretty risky. What if only the two of you didn't drag the county down?"

“I think it should be fine, but now our county and Feng County have a lot of land and a lot of people, but the grain output is very low.”

"I really can't say what will happen next."

Then, a hint of envy appeared in his eyes as he spoke to Wang Rongshan.

"Your Dangshan is lucky. You have a small population and little saline-alkali land. You already had orchards, and now you've added forest-based animal husbandry."

"Don't forget to help out your old buddy when you become successful!"

"When you guys were planning to build a vineyard, I didn't say a word!"

It is clear that Zhao Guohua is also very interested in the Bluewater Chicken.

Their county has many hilly areas, and he naturally wanted to introduce this breed of chicken, which had already gained fame in big cities.

Previously, as a poor county, they naturally lacked the resources and capabilities to attract investment, but now it's much simpler.

Upon hearing this, Wang Rongshan couldn't help but smile.

"Haha, no problem, no problem. When the director talks with our Dangshan County, I'll definitely invite you."

"However, whether it will work out or not depends on your own efforts."

Since both counties were poor brothers in northern Anhui, they used to support each other.

Li Kun felt a little jealous upon hearing this.

"I wonder if they have blue ducks!"

"Or we could ask the director and his farm to help us breed a Peixian duck."

Upon hearing Li Kun's words, Shi Yingduan snorted coldly.

"Alright, stop daydreaming. What good things are you thinking about all day long!"

"I'm not going to argue with you guys anymore, I'm leaving!"

Looking at Shi Yingduan's retreating figure, Li Kun asked with some confusion.

"What's wrong with Old Shi?"

"Why do you still look so angry!"

Only Zhao Guohua roughly understood the reason, and said helplessly.

"What else could it be? It's just unfair!"

After all, he wasn't really at peace with himself.

Although Xiao County was poor, at least it wasn't at the bottom, which made them feel a little better.

In Fengxian County, there is no water, no orchards, no hills, and no industry.

Yes, like them, there are many people who only have mouths to eat.

Now that a special economic zone has been established, it seems that Fengxian County does not have the conditions to develop the aquaculture industry.

Especially after what the three of them just said, if he were in their shoes and Xiao County was at the bottom of the rankings, he wouldn't feel comfortable either.

With one person gone, the remaining three lost interest in continuing their conversation.

After all, they didn't know whether joining the special economic zone was a good thing or a bad thing.

Although we were at the bottom of the province before, at least the province provided a safety net so we wouldn't starve.

Now that their own counties have been separated, they are skeptical about whether they can live a better life.

Meanwhile, Su Wenchen was already making follow-up plans for the four counties.

The sheets of paper were filled with densely packed information about various industries.

Su Wenchen wrote down agriculture, industry, animal husbandry, and even tourism.

Information comes in various forms, some from the present moment, some from the future; some can be realized now, while others cannot be realized at the moment.

All sorts of information were scattered across it.

Su Wenchen even wrote a lot about how things should develop in the future.

This has also been Su Wenchen's work habit over the past two years. On the one hand, he treats it as a way to recall later knowledge, because he feels it is a very valuable asset.

Regardless of its feasibility, let's list out what we know first.

Then, based on the resources he currently has and the actual situation, he decides which resources are available for use at this stage and which will be useful in the future.

After crossing out all the infeasible ones one by one.

Such a plan, which was initially feasible for this era but also incorporated a series of subsequent development directions, was thus created.

For Su Wenchen, as the executive deputy director of the special economic zone, his job was also to present a strategic plan for the special economic zone to the higher authorities.

Regardless of what happens later, at least we can intimidate people for now.

We need to show the higher-ups a promising future so that they will be willing to invest in it.

Otherwise, if your special economic zone develops and has no impact on the country, why would anyone invest in it?

Fortunately, after several years of training, Su Wenchen is no longer in a bad position in this regard.

After finishing writing, Su Wenchen looked at the first draft of the plan with satisfaction.

After finalizing the plan, he picked up a match from the table and slowly lit the draft filled with various information.

Just like his golden finger, Su Wenchen never leaves any written trace of his biggest secret.

(End of this chapter)