1968: Started from breeding

Chapter 350 So you're here to cause trouble! Then I won't entertain you.

The cold wind of the twelfth lunar month, carrying frost, swept across the land of the Yellow River, Huai River, and Hai River basins.

However, within the special zone for saline-alkali land management and aquaculture development in northern Jiangsu and Anhui, an unprecedentedly enthusiastic atmosphere prevails.

Time flies by and it's almost New Year's Day. More than half a year has passed since the special economic zone was officially established and Su Wenchen made plans for each county.

In the past six months, the special economic zone seems to have been put on the fast track.

Large-scale chicken coops have sprung up and cement roads have been built connecting them.

The scale of the saline-alkali land treatment rabbit base is even larger, and the rabbit manure is continuously transported to various saline-alkali land treatment sites according to plan.

The white frost has been removed from the saline-alkali land, and in the winter wheat planting area, the once barren land has been transformed into a vibrant green.

The Special Economic Zone Management Committee Building.

This three-story office-style building is located opposite the farm headquarters.

Office workers were constantly coming and going throughout the building.

After six months of development, there are clearly quite a few staff members.

In an office on the third floor.

Su Wenchen looked at a photograph with a longing expression.

His expression softened.

The photo shows a baby being held by Jiang Li, with a pair of curious little eyes staring intently at the camera.

They seemed to be wondering what this thing was.

Su Wenchen looked at the baby in the photo, whose features vaguely resembled his own.

The longing in her eyes was even stronger.

Just then, there was a knock on the office door, and then Guo Xiangyang's voice came from outside.

"Old Su, the food's here!"

"I guessed you hadn't gone there first, so I made a copy for you, otherwise there definitely wouldn't be any left when you got there."

"Let's go! Let's go out for dinner!"

Seeing that Su Wenchen didn't reply, Guo Xiangyang walked in curiously and looked at the photo in Su Wenchen's hand.

They started making fun of each other.

"Alright, stop looking. No matter how much you look, your precious son won't be able to escape the picture."

Upon hearing this, Su Wenchen rolled his eyes.

"Get out of the way so your son can stand out from the photo!"

Guo Xiangyang pursed his lips.

"I wish my son could come out of the photo, but unfortunately I only have one daughter."

After saying that, something came to mind.

"Hey, by the way, my daughter is about the same age as our son. What do you think about arranging a marriage between them?"

After saying that, he took out a photo from his pocket, and it was a color photo.

He excitedly said to Su Wenchen.

"Old Su, let me tell you, my daughter is destined to be a beauty when she grows up. What do you think of your daughter-in-law?"

Su Wenchen was speechless upon hearing this, and cursed as he put the letter he had written on the table into the drawer.

"roll!"

“What era are we living in? Still talking about arranged marriages? Aren’t you afraid she’ll resent you when she grows up?”

However, Su Wenchen glanced at the little girl in the photo and realized she was probably a few years older than his son.

In particular, the photography technology in Beijing is significantly better than that in Lanshui County.

Looking at the smiling little girl in the photo, Su Wenchen didn't rule out the possibility of anything.

"Let's wait until the child grows up and let things happen naturally. Otherwise, it will only cause more trouble."

Upon hearing this, Guo Xiangyang nodded and put away the photos.

"What you said makes sense. What if we really can't get along? Let's not end up never speaking to each other again."

"I still want to keep clinging to your leg!"

Su Wenchen also discovered that once he got to know Guo Xiangyang, he had a somewhat goofy personality.

"Alright, this is getting more and more absurd."

After saying that, Su Wenchen got up and walked with Guo Xiangyang to the tea room outside.

I saw Chen Guodong and Ren Dachuan from the Protocol Department, along with several other officials, eating around the stove.

"Hey, what are you all doing eating here now?"

Hearing Su Wenchen's words, Chen Guodong said helplessly.

"Director Su, your cafeteria is getting more and more crowded. If you go late, there won't be any seats left."

"If we don't come here, where else would we come from!"

Su Wenchen smiled and looked at Ren Dachuan.

"How come you, the logistics director, can't even find a seat in the cafeteria?!"

Ren Dachuan looked at Su Wenchen helplessly.

"Director, at your request, the main canteen was converted into a public canteen in the past six months. We built it to accommodate 3,000 people at the same time."

"But there are so many people! Especially since you also requested that the chefs be sent to various units to learn some local specialties."

"The quality of this dish has indeed improved several levels."

"Now, various research institutes, agricultural academies, and soldiers from engineering corps often come to our canteen to improve their meals."

"They're all going together, so if you arrive late, you won't even get a seat!"

Upon hearing this, Su Wenchen understood the canteen's predicament. After all, the construction team and other groups were going to leave, so further expansion wouldn't be appropriate.

Moreover, at this time, many people don't actually have a high demand for seats.

As long as the food is good, you can eat standing up, squatting down, or even take it back to eat.

For employees, there is not much difference.

Walking over, Su Wenchen opened his aluminum lunchbox. The first thing that caught his eye was a golden-brown chicken leg, along with a stir-fried dish of fresh mushrooms and a mixed noodle dish.

Su Wenchen said with some surprise.

"They actually have chicken drumsticks today!"

"Were these mushrooms sent from Feng County?"

"Are their mushroom greenhouses producing anything?"

Ren Dachuan nodded.

"Director, it was delivered this morning. They said it was for us to try something new, since New Year's Day is just around the corner!"

"Harvesting at this time will allow us to harvest until the Chinese New Year."

Guo Xiangyang then walked over and sat down opposite Su Wenchen, and immediately began to complain.

"I heard from people at the research institute that Director Shi is very cunning. He even deliberately discussed with the researchers and decided to wait until now to launch the product."

"It's said that in the Xuzhou market, they sell out as soon as they're put on display at the supply and marketing cooperative; demand far exceeds supply!"

Su Wenchen glanced at Guo Xiangyang.

"It was I who suggested that he control the timing of the launch!"

Hearing Su Wenchen say that, Guo Xiangyang blinked.

"Haha, it's you, Director!"

"I knew it! Why did Director Shi suddenly become so cunning?"

"That makes sense."

However, then he noticed Su Wenchen's narrowed eyes.

Quickly change the subject, pointing to the chicken leg in the lunchbox.

"Director, try this chicken leg. I went out of my way to get it for you!"

"Director, you know what, the method you suggested, which allows us to butcher and butcher the animals ourselves, is actually quite good."

"Many of the commune members felt that a whole chicken was a bit expensive and were reluctant to buy it."

"Our chickens are cut into drumsticks, wings, and breasts, so buying them individually is much cheaper!"

"Many members couldn't afford a whole chicken, but they could still enjoy the taste of meat by buying a chicken leg or a chicken breast."

"At worst, you can buy the cheapest chicken wings or chicken feet, cook them, and eat them to satisfy your cravings."

As soon as Guo Xiangyang finished speaking, Ren Dachuan sighed.

"Deputy Director Guo, I hope it's really as you say."

“Right now, our slaughterhouse has a huge backlog of chicken wings and chicken feet.”

"The cold storage is almost full. Even if we sell to the supply and marketing cooperatives, they don't want it. We have to sell it to them with chicken breasts and chicken legs, and give it away for free, in order to get some goods out."

"Especially since many supply and marketing cooperatives don't have freezers, and chicken feet aren't as popular as chicken legs, which can be bought up as soon as they arrive, so this inventory is very difficult to handle."

"It's only now that winter is here that we can still sell a little bit of stock. After winter is over, I'm really worried about what to do with all these chicken wings, chicken feet, chicken necks and other scraps."

Upon hearing Ren Dachuan's words, Guo Xiangyang hesitated.

"So, if we slaughter and process the chickens ourselves, we'll lose money. Why not just sell whole chickens?"

Ren Dachuan put down his chopsticks and shook his head.

"That depends on how you calculate it. If you're just looking at the farm's books, selling whole chickens is definitely more suitable, as it's more convenient and less troublesome."

"But when it comes to the overall account of the special zone, it's still more appropriate for them to slaughter and divide the meat themselves."

"After all, one can provide a lot of jobs, while the other, whether it's chicken feathers or chicken offal, is just extra stuff."

"Apart from the chicken gizzards and hearts that are edible, the rest are all sent to the Peixian feed mill for cleaning and drying, and then they will be turned into high-quality pig feed."

"In general, if we handle it ourselves, the profit margin per chicken can be increased by at least 50 percent."

"However, the downside is that chicken wings, chicken feet, chicken heads, and chicken necks are a bit difficult to handle because they have less meat and more bones."

"The supply and marketing cooperatives are telling us that the market generally prefers meatier cuts, and even chicken gizzards and hearts sell much better."

"However, chicken skeletons are an exception. Because our chicken skeletons are not cleaned as thoroughly as possible, many villagers in rural areas would buy chicken skeletons instead of whole chickens to make soup."

Upon hearing this, Su Wenchen thought about it and agreed that it made sense.

This is not the future. Even urban workers don't consume enough meat. People in urban areas will definitely choose to buy chicken breasts and drumsticks, which have more meat.

As for rural areas, people are even less willing to buy chicken wings or similar items that are all bones because they are short of money.

However, Su Wenchen felt that if the right market was found, these products would sell well.

Thinking of this, Su Wenchen said while eating.

"I think we can make these chicken wings and feet into ready-to-eat meals and sell them, just like we do at our main farm."

"As long as it tastes good, there will definitely be a lot of people who buy it as a snack with drinks."

Upon hearing Su Wenchen's words, Guo Xiangyang hesitated.

"Director, shall we make our own cooked food in the special economic zone?"

"Isn't this a bit inappropriate?"

After all, in Guo Xiangyang's mind, their Special Economic Zone Management Committee, although not yet the Special Economic Zone government, would eventually be transformed into one.

Where would you find someone selling this kind of cooked food on their own?
Su Wenchen could tell what Guo Xiangyang was thinking just by looking at his expression.

“I didn’t ask you to sell it. This kind of prepared food business doesn’t have the conditions for large-scale external sales right now.”

"Let's leave this to those in the production teams who are willing to do it!"

Upon hearing this, Guo Xiangyang frowned immediately.

"Director, isn't this private operation inappropriate?"

"After all, this..."

Su Wenchen put down his chopsticks and looked at the other person speechlessly.

"Can't you use your brain a little more? How do roadside breakfast shops in Beijing operate?"

"Don't tell me it's all managed by government personnel!"

Guo Xiangyang immediately shook his head.

"That's definitely not the case. How could they possibly manage everything? Apart from state-run restaurants and small breakfast shops on the street, they are basically managed by each subdistrict office itself."

Guo Xiangyang immediately understood.

"So that's what you meant, Director!"

"Let the production team set up a commune-run cooked food shop, and then send someone to liaise with the slaughterhouse in our special zone!"

Su Wenchen picked up his chopsticks and said as he ate.

"They are all small businesses. They come to our slaughterhouse early every morning to pick up the goods. After braising them in the morning, they can be delivered to the surrounding XZ city or sold in various mining areas. The wages of the workers in these places are quite good."

"Especially for the workers who come back from the mine at night when they are tired, as long as the braised food is flavorful enough, some of them will definitely be willing to buy it as a snack with their drinks!"

Su Wenchen knew very well that ordinary people would definitely not be willing to spend money on chicken wings and chicken feet at this time.

As for rural areas, they are even more reluctant to give them up.

No matter how good the taste is, it's not suitable in their eyes.

On the contrary, the miners, because of the high intensity of their work, often drink something to relieve their fatigue after get off work in the evening.

Because of their profession, these people have access to more meat and therefore tend to have higher standards for taste.

Upon hearing Su Wenchen's words, Ren Dachuan thought for a moment and nodded in agreement.

"Director, your method is good."

"However, we'll need your help to send a letter of negotiation to the mining area."

"Otherwise, the people from our production teams below probably won't be able to get in."

After all, at that time, such matters were still strictly regulated. Without Su Wenchen's special zone issuing a letter, they wouldn't have been allowed to sell anything.

They'll probably have to catch them on the spot and send them over.

Su Wenchen understood Ren Dachuan's meaning and made the arrangements directly.

"Old Guo, I'm going to visit various counties this afternoon. Could you take some time to visit a few of the nearby mining areas?"

"Bring me a few things; I trust you completely when it comes to building relationships!"

Su Wenchen knew very well that if Guo Xiangyang or he himself were to step in, this kind of thing would be much better.

So those production teams that used to sell braised food will have relatively fewer problems later on.

Within his capabilities, Su Wenchen would still try his best to remove most of the obstacles for his subordinates.

Hearing Su Wenchen say this, Guo Xiangyang nodded.

"Alright, I'll just call all the mine managers together and arrange a meal for them!"

"They'll definitely give us that much face, after all, they've already been talking to our farm about buying live chickens to give to our employees as New Year's gifts." "This will definitely help us clear out our surplus feed inventory!"

Seeing this, Su Wenchen also spoke directly to Ren Dachuan.

"Old Guo has taken care of the negotiations for you; the rest is up to you!"

“Establish a non-staple food management team, and send people from each commune to participate in training if they want to do something.”

“Using the name of the special economic zone, we can go to various cities to find a few well-known braised food chefs and recruit them directly.”

"As long as the food tastes good enough, the Special Economic Zone can immediately provide stable jobs and even provide housing for families to come over."

"I have only one request: no underhanded dealings, and no shoddy workmanship on things that bear the special economic zone label."

"Your food management team needs to take good care of this."

"We need to send people to conduct spot checks from time to time. I sometimes arrange for people to do spot checks in this regard!"

Ren Dachuan saw hope in dealing with the backlog of inventory, and he also made a promise.

"Director, I will definitely handle this well and ensure that our special economic zone's reputation is not tarnished."

Su Wenchen nodded.

"As for the profit, you can discuss it with the production team."

"It's mainly about helping slaughterhouses clear their inventory."

"Even if there is unsold braised food, we can bring it back in the evening and our special zone canteen can handle it ourselves."

“Our farm workers, especially those at the livestock farms, have started receiving their wages now, so they still have some spending power.”

"Not to mention the soldiers in these engineering corps."

Su Wenchen's words were not an exaggeration. In just over half a year, with the establishment of research stations in the special economic zone by the Academy of Agricultural Sciences and the Institute of Microbiology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the situation has improved.

Furthermore, news came from above that the president would be arriving by special plane, so an additional airport was to be built to receive him, as requested by higher authorities.

Jiangsu and Anhui provinces each dispatched an engineering team to the site to build a temporary airport for reception purposes.

So in the past six months, their farm has already achieved the scale of a small city.

Various supply and marketing cooperatives and direct sales outlets have opened several branches in different regions.

Su Wenchen believes that given a few more years, the Special Economic Zone will truly become a city with strong consumption potential.

After lunch, Su Wenchen didn't stay in the field for long.

With New Year's Day approaching, he also plans to personally visit the various counties below.

Last year, around the end of the year, Su Wenchen conducted a thorough survey of the area for the selection of a branch site.

He still vividly remembers some of the events that occurred at that time.

This time, he also wanted to see whether the four counties were developing for the better or for the worse after a year of development.

After all, Su Wenchen honestly admitted that his various policies in the second half of the year had not really involved much manpower.

Military engineering regiments are the main force in various infrastructure projects.

However, Su Wenchen still needs to personally check how well the specific policies are implemented and whether they have been distorted.

afternoon.

The west bank of Weishan Lake was bitterly cold, and a thin layer of ice had formed on the edge of the water. However, there were still many fishermen wearing thick coats, traveling on the water in their fishing boats.

A production team located on the west side of the lake.

Village entrance.

"A car is coming!"

"The car is here!"

Through the passenger window, Su Wenchen watched as a group of snotty-nosed teenagers excitedly surrounded the car, running and shouting around it.

Obviously, seeing a car is a very rare thing for these children.

Upon seeing this, Su Wenchen spoke directly to Zhou Qiang, who was driving.

"Stop the car!"

"I'll go down and take a look."

Zhou Qiang glanced around.

"Director, why don't we wait for their production team leader to come over?"

Su Wenchen smiled and waved his hand.

"It's alright, they're just a bunch of kids, what are you afraid of?"

Seeing Su Wenchen say this, Zhou Qiang had no choice but to stop the car.

Upon seeing Su Wenchen get out of the car, a group of curious children in the distance, including a little girl with pigtails, excitedly pointed at Su Wenchen and shouted.

"It's Uncle Canned Food."

“I remember you; you came to our village last year.”

Hearing the little girl's words, a slightly older boy next to her asked a question.

"Grass Sprout, do you know this uncle? Is he a relative of yours?"

"No, have you forgotten the canned meat we ate last year? It was given to us by Uncle Cannery!"

"Uncle, are you here to bring us canned food again?"

As she spoke, she stared at Su Wenchen with wide, expectant eyes.

Upon hearing this, Su Wenchen immediately replied with a smile.

"There's no canned food today, but there's candy to eat!"

"Two pieces of candy for each person."

As he spoke, Su Wenchen took out a handful of candy and divided it among himself.

"Why don't I see any adults from your village? When I came here last year, didn't I see quite a few people sunbathing at the village entrance?"

It's clear that Su Wenchen also came here last year, when many people gathered at the village entrance to bask in the afternoon winter sun.

It left a deep impression on Su Wenchen.

Upon hearing Su Wenchen's question, a little boy immediately raised his hand.

"I know, I know. My family and the others catch fish in the lake area. They can buy a new dress this year with the money they make."

Su Wenchen seemed to be deep in thought upon hearing this.

Then they gave the little boy who had spoken earlier an extra piece of candy.

"Here, have an extra piece."

How is life in your village this year?

The little boy was puzzled when he heard this.

"day?"

Seeing this, Su Wenchen knew that the other party probably didn't quite understand.

Just wave your hand.

"Alright, I'm fine now, go have some fun!"

Seeing Su Wenchen say that, the group of children were not disappointed. They grabbed their candy and ran off into the distance.

Only the little girl in front stayed behind and spoke to Su Wenchen.

"Uncle, I'll tell you a secret, we're doing really well this year. Even the small fish that we used to only feed to ducks can now be sold for money."

"You can also secretly catch fish and sell them."

"Not only can you sell it for money, but you can also exchange it for grain!"

Upon hearing this, Su Wenchen smiled and patted the other person's little pigtails.

"Why sell it secretly? Can't you sell it openly and honestly?"

The little girl shook her head.

"My father said that wealth should not be flaunted. Only by secretly going to bad people will they not know whether our family has money or not."

“I don’t tell anyone else, but Uncle Canned Food, you used to give me canned food, you must be a good person.”

Su Wenchen, who had just been given a "good guy" card, burst into laughter.

"Haha, I didn't realize you were so cautious!"

As he spoke, he pulled a small handful of candy from his pocket.

"Here, consider this a reward for telling me this news."

"However, not everyone who is willing to give you food is a good person; they could be human traffickers."

Su Wenchen didn't know how useful his reminder would be, but he still gave it a heads-up.

After saying goodbye to the little girl, Su Wenchen stepped into the village and found that it was not much different from when he came last year.

However, the only difference this time was the absence of many middle-aged or older people.

The village wasn't deserted; there were quite a few elderly people sitting at the gate with small stools.

While basking in the sun, they were busy with their own work, some weaving baskets, others repairing fishing nets.

After seeing Su Wenchen and the jeep behind him enter the village, he merely glanced at them curiously.

Obviously, quite a few people must have driven here in the last six months.

Su Wenchen walked to the house he had visited last year.

I saw an old man sitting by the door frame, deftly weaving a basket.

Su Wenchen walked over.

"Grandpa, you're still weaving!"

"Still remember me?"

After hearing the noise, the old man looked closely at Su Wenchen.

He slapped his thigh immediately.

"Young man, it's you!"

What kind of research have you come here for this time?

As he spoke, he stood up, holding onto the door frame.

"Come, come in, young man, come in and sit down!"

"Thanks to you last year, we were able to have a delicious meat meal during the Spring Festival. You wait and see tonight!"

“Just eat at my house. I’m telling you, I’ll have the eldest brother go to the market and buy a chicken to treat you.”

As he spoke, he threw the half-finished basket into the yard and pulled Su Wenchen along.

And they even shouted inside.

"My dear wife! My dear wife!"

"Hurry up and brew my tea; the young man from the last survey is here again."

Su Wenchen, who had been pulled into the courtyard by the old man, shook his head upon hearing this.

"Grandpa, I won't eat here. I didn't bring any canned food today."

"I can't just eat your food for free."

The old man waved his hand.

"What do you mean 'free food'? Last time you came, we ate several cans of your meat!"

"This is a return invitation to you."

"Let me tell you, things are much better for us this year."

"And we are now citizens of the Special Administrative Region."

"Young man, do you know about special economic zones? Special economic zones are special areas. Now, those little things that we used to look down on can be sold for money."

This was the first time Su Wenchen had ever heard of a special economic zone being explained this way!
As they spoke, the two went inside.

The old woman poured a bowl of water for Su Wenchen and complained immediately upon hearing the old man's words.

"What nonsense are you talking about!"

"That young man is from Hebei Province. He's the kind of person who can go to the capital. How could he not know what a special economic zone is!"

The old man pursed his lips.

"We just started this business; what if he doesn't know about it?"

"Young man, don't you agree?"

"Let me tell you, we can not only sell it for money, but also exchange it directly for grain."

"They can even substitute chicken!"

After saying that, he looked at Su Wenchen with a proud expression.

"Let me tell you, in our special economic zone, even production teams can buy chicken in rations."

"Although the monthly ration is only one or two ounces, you can save up enough to buy half a chicken by the end of the year."

Upon hearing this, Su Wenchen smiled and said.

"I know about the special economic zone for the elderly, but I just want to ask how you are doing these days!"

"Is there anything you're dissatisfied with, or any opinions you have about the Special Administrative Region?"

The old man stared blankly at Su Wenchen with suspicion.

"Opinion?"

"So, you're also an inspector sent down from above?"

Su Wenchen thought for a moment.

"That's a fair way to put it!"

"If there's anything wrong in the special economic zone, or if there's any problem in your county, you can tell me."

"Based on what you've said, I can see if I can help you resolve this."

Upon hearing this, the old man immediately became displeased.

"So you're here to cause trouble!"

"We finally have a capable leader, but why are there always people like you who keep finding fault?"

"Then I won't entertain you."

"You go!"

As he spoke, the old man even took away the bowl of tea with tea leaves floating in front of Su Wenchen.

Su Wenchen was stunned when he heard this; he really hadn't expected things to turn out this way.

Especially seeing the old man being so stingy at the end, even taking away the tea that had been poured, made him feel both amused and exasperated.

(End of this chapter)