1968: Started from breeding

Chapter 347 Xiao Su, do you know that you have to take responsibility for some of the things you say?

The next day, in the morning.

The rain gradually subsided, and the air was filled with the damp smell of mud and coal ash after the rain.

On the platform of Xuzhou Railway Station, there were not many passengers, and the atmosphere was unusually quiet.

By the time Su Wenchen and Shi Yingduan's car arrived, Zhao Guohua and Wang Rongshan had already been waiting for more than four hours.

On the other side, Li Kun also waited for more than two hours.

After getting off the bus, Su Wenchen looked at the three people beside him who were covered in dust, with mud stains on their clothes and even their shoes. He felt a little helpless and also a little amused.

"You guys arrived so early!"

"Didn't I say that coming around 10 o'clock would be enough? Why come so early for a noon train?"

The other three looked at Su Wenchen in surprise.

"Director, wasn't the train supposed to be in the morning?"

Su Wenchen looked at Shi Yingduan with surprise.

"Didn't I say ten o'clock? Director Shi, how did you notify them?"

Upon hearing this, Shi Yingduan, who had just gotten off the bus, felt somewhat embarrassed.

"Director, I was just thinking of having them come over in advance to prepare, so I added an hour and said nine o'clock."

"I didn't expect that Li Kun and the others would add some time later on."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Guohua, recalling that he had arrived earliest but waited for a full hour before Wang Rongshan finally arrived, was speechless.

"So, the person in front of me added an hour to my schedule?!"

"I was wondering why the leader arrived at the station so early. He has to take the train in the middle of the night. He's in such a hurry!"

Su Wenchen was speechless.

He had indeed heard of the practice of adding layers of extra charges, but he never expected to actually encounter it himself.

So he said it directly.

"Alright, this time it was my fault. In the future, I will personally inform you about these kinds of things."

"Let's leave this matter alone, but in the future, when I send you any messages, please relay and carry them out directly, and don't add any extra burdens to yourselves."

However, although Su Wenchen said that, he also knew that such things could not be completely avoided.

The leader told him that he would arrive at the station around noon, and he himself also increased the time to some extent.

Upon hearing Su Wenchen's words, the others quickly responded.

"Director, how can this be your fault! This is Director Shi's problem."

"Exactly, I think this old guy is deliberately trying to make us look foolish."

Su Wenchen waved his hand, stopping the argument.

"Let's go! Let's go to the platform and ask when we'll arrive."

"I reckon Director Li and Director Liang should be here soon."

The waiting time felt exceptionally long.

The group stood on the wet platform, listening to the faint sound of a ship's horn in the distance and the dripping of water from the eaves nearby, chatting idly about the situation in the county and the possible rain that was coming.

Su Wenchen's thoughts drifted to the development plan he had been working on these past few days, especially the "fast-growing blue water chicken" project.

Two pounds of grain for one pound of chicken... I hope I can get a chance to sound out the leaders of the State Planning Commission today.

Su Wenchen knew very well that their special zone was too poorly equipped. The food shortage in the four counties, the lack of industrial base, the roads that needed repair... they all had to ask for resources.

We must first find a breakthrough in one direction.

Only an industry that can quickly generate revenue can provide the special economic zone with sufficient development resources.

Otherwise, constantly asking for resources from above won't work.

Finally, a loud whistle sounded from afar, and a dark green train slowly pulled into the station.

Upon hearing this, everyone on the platform perked up, including Liu Guangde and Liang Huashu, who arrived later. They all straightened their backs and fixed their eyes on the slowly coming to a stop.

The carriage door opened, and the first to step off were two accompanying security guards, who first scanned the platform with sharp eyes.

Immediately afterwards, Su Wenchen's familiar leader accompanied an elderly man with wide-rimmed black glasses, who appeared quite refined, out of the train carriage.

Upon seeing this, Su Wenchen immediately went to greet them with the two regional directors.

"Good leadership!"

The four county directors behind him quickly followed, some of them reserved but all trying to stand up straight, and greeted in unison: "Hello, leaders!"

Upon seeing the group of people approaching, the accompanying leader from the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry said with a smile.

"See? I don't need to introduce you, do I?"

Upon hearing this, the old man's gentle gaze swept over everyone, lingering especially on Su Wenchen's face.

Then he reached out his hand to Su Wenchen.

"Haha, I can recognize you without your introduction, Comrade Su Wenchen! You must have been waiting long, right? I'm Li Zhenlin from the State Planning Commission."

"How could I possibly admit my mistake in taking on such a responsibility for the special economic zone at such a young age!"

The old man's voice was usually not loud, but every word was clear and forceful.

Su Wenchen quickly stepped forward and reached out his hand.

"I am grateful for the organization's trust. Although the task of the Special Economic Zone put a lot of pressure on me, it also filled me with fighting spirit."

"I will definitely do my best to develop the special economic zone as soon as possible and help the people of the special economic zone get out of poverty as soon as possible."

The old man nodded with satisfaction.

"Who are these?"

Su Wenchen immediately stepped aside and introduced.

"Sir, this is Director Liu Guangde from Xuzhou, who is also one of the deputy directors assigned by Jiangsu Province to the special economic zone to coordinate."

"Hello, Comrade Guangde, thank you for your hard work. Your region's industrial development is quite good. I hope you will continue to work hard and cooperate with the special economic zone to form complementary industries."

Liu Guangde immediately stepped forward excitedly and shook hands with him.

"Thank you for your guidance, leaders. We will definitely do our best to help the special economic zone develop and create complementary industries."

Then Su Wenchen introduced Liang Huashu, who looked nervous to the side.

"Sir, this is Director Liang from Suxian County."

"He was also the deputy director from Anhui Province who was responsible for coordinating with our special economic zone."

The old man also reached out his hand and smiled gently.

"Hello, Comrade Hua Shu, your Suxian County is one of our country's important commodity grain supply bases and cotton producing areas. You should make good use of your industrial advantages. I believe you still have great development prospects in the textile industry!"

Upon hearing the old man's comments, Liang Huashu responded excitedly.

"Thank you very much for your guidance. We will definitely leverage our local industrial advantages and increase investment in the textile industry in the future."

The old man nodded, then looked at the four most nervous people behind Su Wenchen: "Who are these people?"

Upon hearing this, Su Wenchen immediately stepped aside to make room for him and spoke from the side.

"Leader, these four are Comrade Li Kun, Director of Pei County; Comrade Wang Rongshan, Director of Dangshan County; Comrade Zhao Guohua, Director of Xiao County; and Comrade Shi Yingduan, Director of Feng County, all under the jurisdiction of our special zone."

Upon hearing Su Wenchen's introduction, the four of them immediately asked again with excited expressions.

"Good leadership!"

After all, given their normal level, they shouldn't even be able to get close enough to join the ranks.

"Okay, I'm quite familiar with these places."

"Peixian has coal, your Dangshan pears are quite famous, and Xiaoxian's grape industry is also developing well. As for your Fengxian..."

The old man paused for a moment, then smiled.

"What impressed me the most was your saline-alkali land."

"However, this is also the foundation for the establishment of the special economic zone. I hope that under the leadership of Comrade Su Wenchen, you will roll up your sleeves and work hard!"

"Strive to transform this saline-alkali land into fertile soil that benefits the country and the people as soon as possible."

Hearing this, the four county directors were both surprised and excited, and couldn't help but make a promise.

"Rest assured, leader, we will definitely work hard under Director Su's leadership! We will transform all the saline-alkali land into fertile soil that benefits the country and the people as soon as possible." The old man nodded, just about to say something more.

Just then, an untimely drizzle began to fall from the sky.

The old man smiled upon seeing this.

"Looks like even God is fed up with me. Let's go then!"

Upon seeing this, Li Guangde asked directly.

"Boss, it looks like it's going to rain again. Why don't we take a break here for a bit?"

"Should we go to the farm this afternoon or tomorrow?"

The old man waved his hand.

"No need, let's just take the bus to the branch farm!"

"Who knows when this rain will stop? Besides, the meetings are all indoors, so it doesn't make much difference whether it rains or not."

However, after saying that, he looked at Su Wenchen and said...

"Comrade Wenchen, you didn't make the masses prepare any welcoming ceremony in the rain, did you?"

"If you've made plans, call me as soon as possible to cancel."

Su Wenchen immediately shook his head.

"Leader, the organization has repeatedly issued orders, how could we possibly defy them?"

Hearing this, the old man nodded.

"That's good. Otherwise, even if you were Old Sha's darling, I would still have to criticize you a bit."

The old man on the other side laughed.

"What you're saying is ridiculous. If someone makes a mistake, no matter who it is, they should be criticized and dealt with accordingly."

"Come on! Get in the car first. If you don't move, we'll all have to get soaked in the rain with you."

"You say you won't protect them, but you get upset if they get a little rain. Back in our day, we used to wade through muddy rivers every day in the rain."

However, after saying that, he still walked towards the exit of the platform.

"Let's go!"

"Stop crowding around, get in the car!"

As soon as the group stepped off the platform, a jeep that had been arranged was already waiting outside the station.

Su Wenchen led the two leaders into the jeep at the front of the car.

After getting into the car, Su Wenchen sat sideways in the passenger seat and explained.

"Please forgive us, leaders, but the road to our branch farm is still under construction, so the road conditions are a bit poor. We can only arrange jeeps."

Liu Guangde had originally planned to use their car for the reception, but Su Wenchen really didn't dare to use it on the muddy road in the rain.

Compared to military jeeps with off-road capabilities, cars would be far more likely to get stuck on such muddy roads.

If things get stuck halfway through, even a good impression will gradually fade away.

Upon hearing Su Wenchen's words, the leaders of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry simply waved their hands.

"Alright, stop talking nonsense in the car."

“I know that saline-alkali land management, aquaculture development, cooperation among the four counties, and meat supply tasks are not easy tasks.”

"Director Li, the purpose of this visit is twofold: firstly, to support your special economic zone, and secondly, to see your zone's future development plans, which will require you to align with national plans."

"If you have any ideas or difficulties, you can bring them up now, otherwise don't say we didn't provide support later!"

Upon hearing this, the old man beside him sighed helplessly.

"Okay!"

"I haven't even stepped inside yet! And you're already starting to bring up difficulties!"

However, he wasn't too surprised, since he had indeed come here with the intention of helping to solve the problem.

Therefore, the direct approach is as follows.

"Alright, Comrade Wenchen, just give me a brief explanation!"

"To be honest, I find your idea of ​​establishing a special economic zone quite interesting."

It's not just me; several of our comrades above us also find your idea quite interesting.

There's even something I'd really like to talk to you about: the idea of ​​establishing a special zone for industry and exports!

Unfortunately, he's not very available to appear in public lately.

Su Wenchen swallowed hard upon hearing this, wondering if it was the person he was thinking of, but he still had to face the current situation.

He paused for a moment, organizing his thoughts, before taking a deep breath.

"Leader, if we're talking about difficulties, the most pressing issue is still food. The per capita food ration in the four counties of the special economic zone is still insufficient, especially in Feng County and Xiao County, where the current food shortage is quite significant!"

"My initial idea is that the most suitable industry for development right now is broiler chicken farming, especially the kind that is quick to produce results and can provide a large supply of meat. However, the feed shortage is a major problem."

The old man nodded, saying neither confirming nor denying.

"So what's your idea? Do you need the higher-ups to provide you with food to feed your chickens?"

Su Wenchen shook his head.

"Boss, short-term support won't solve our problem, so we don't need it. We'll just exchange meat with the higher-ups."

As he spoke, Su Wenchen held up two fingers.

“In our special economic zone, we can exchange meat for grain with the higher authorities; two pounds of grain can be exchanged for one pound of chicken.”

Upon hearing this, a hint of surprise flashed in the old man's eyes.

"One pound of meat for two pounds of grain?"

Upon hearing this, another leader from the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry sitting next to him coughed lightly a few times.

"Hey! Xiao Su, have you caught a cold from being caught in the rain these past few days? Think it over before you speak!"

The old man glanced at his colleague beside him.

"Shut up, or I'll turn around and go back!"

Seeing this, Su Wenchen spoke directly.

"Leaders, I'm serious. We've already bred a fast-growing breed of broiler chicken at our branch farm."

"Its feed conversion ratio is extremely low, about 1.6 jin of feed is enough to grow 1 jin of meat, and it only takes about 40 to 50 days to reach market weight."

"When they are ready for slaughter, each animal can generally reach a weight of over three jin (1.5 kg)."

Hearing this, the old man was truly stunned.

With such a low feed conversion ratio, to be honest, if it weren't for Su Wenchen sitting in front of him having already proven himself with breeding projects such as Blue Water Chicken, Moonflower Rabbit, and White Pig, it would be hard to believe.

He wouldn't believe it was true.

The main problem is that the feed conversion ratio has been shortened too much. As far as he knows, the highest yield ratio in the past was also the record set by Blue Water Farm.

It is approximately a 2:1 feed conversion ratio for bluewater laying hens.

Unexpectedly, it was brought forward again in just a few years. Although it was only 0.4 points less, the old man knew very well that this was a huge improvement.

With this ratio, it means that their people will truly be able to eat their fill of meat in the future.

They could even consider exporting broiler chickens and importing grain.

After all, the ratio of meat to ingredients is too good to pass up.

Thinking of this, the old man's voice trembled slightly, but considering some past issues, he still spoke directly.

"Xiao Su, do you know that you have to take responsibility for some of the things you say?"

Su Wenchen was naturally certain about this, and responded firmly.

"Reporting to the leader, I take full responsibility for what I said!"

"This fast-growing chicken is based on our carefully designed feed formula and high-quality breeding chickens selected over multiple generations. We have conducted a certain range of empirical tests at our branch farms, and the results are absolutely stable and reliable."

"If the leader is not at ease, we can visit the breeding base when we get to the branch farm later."

(End of this chapter)