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Everything seems to be moving in a positive direction, but human greed is insatiable.

Not everyone understands the exorbitant profits of the Water Splash Group; a large number of farmers still cannot accept it.

They believed that the purchase price offered by Shuihua Group was too low, so many radical farmers reported Shuihua Group and Suning.

They believed that as the director of the poverty alleviation office, Su Ning's immediate family members were not allowed to engage in business, let alone harm the interests of the farmers.

The whistleblower letter was sent to the county discipline inspection commission in an anonymous envelope.

A thick stack of documents detailed the "ten major crimes" committed by Su Ning as director of the poverty alleviation office and his wife Li Shuihua: abusing their power to obtain subsidies for Shuihua Group, forcing farmers to sign unequal contracts, monopolizing mushroom strains and driving up prices...

Finally, a blurry photo was attached...

The image shows Suning talking with Li Shuihua at a mushroom purchasing station.

"This is tantamount to putting someone to death." Secretary Wang of the county discipline inspection commission pushed up his reading glasses, the smell of ink on the paper making his nose itch.

He clearly remembered that on the day the photo was taken, Suning came to mediate the acquisition dispute.

However, some things are hard to explain, and this matter cannot be ignored.

Three days later, the disciplinary inspection team entered Minning Village.

When the black official car stopped in front of the village committee, Ma Debao, who was busy in the greenhouse, saw Li Dayou and Ma Shuan sneaking over.

"Comrade, we'd like to report something!" Li Dayou rubbed his hands together and pulled out a stack of crumpled papers from his pocket. "The Shuihua Group is exploiting our farmers' hard-earned money!"

The young cadres in the investigation team were taking careful notes, unaware of Ma Shuan's sinister smile hidden behind them.

Ma Debao rushed over to explain, but Ma Shuan pushed him away: "Debao, tell me, how much of a benefit did you receive from the Shuihua Group?"

"Cousin, what nonsense are you talking about?"

"Hmph! If you don't want people to know, then don't do it in the first place. You've really disappointed us."

"..."

Rumors spread like a plague.

The next morning, Ma Debao discovered that his greenhouse had been splashed with red paint, and the four characters "unscrupulous merchant and lackey" were written crookedly.

Even more frightening, rumors began to circulate in the village that "the mushrooms from Shuihua Group were treated with chemical agents" and "eating them will cause cancer."

"Bullshit!" Ma Debao slammed his fist on the table at the village committee and roared, "Professor Ling taught us organic farming step by step, where would we get any chemical pesticides?"

Unfortunately, no one listened to his explanation.

At the market, Li Dayou would show everyone he met a blurry photo on his phone: "Look at my niece, she ate mushrooms and ended up in the hospital!"

The girl in the hospital bed in the photo is actually his daughter, who works in Lanzhou and had surgery for acute appendicitis.

Panic spread like wildfire.

Wholesalers in the Yinchuan market called one after another to cancel their orders: "Debao, it's not that I'm dishonest, but who would dare to sell mushrooms from Ningxia now?"

Ma Debao held the phone, his knuckles turning white.

Within a week, mushroom prices plummeted.

From five yuan to three yuan, from three yuan to one yuan, and finally it dropped to three mao per jin and nobody wanted it.

Ma Debao watched helplessly as the fourth batch of fresh mushrooms rotted on the ground, their white caps turning black and sticky, emitting a nauseating stench.

On the darkest morning, Ma Debao caught his cousin Ma Shuan sneaking off to the mushroom spawn storage at the Shuihua base.

"What are you doing?" Ma Debao grabbed him.

Ma Shuan's eyes gleamed with madness: "Why can they monopolize the bacterial strains? What's wrong with me taking some?"

"That's Professor Ling's patented strain!" Ma Debao gripped Ma Shuan's collar tightly. "Do you know you're breaking the law?"

"Get out of my way!" Ma Shuan shoved him away abruptly. "Without the Water Splash Group, we would have been rich long ago!"

The two men wrestled in the mud until Ma Defu and the village officials pulled them apart.

Ma Debao, with blood trickling from the corner of his mouth, laughed: "Ma Shuan, from now on, I don't have a cousin like you."

On the day the investigation team left, Suning was suspended from his duties pending investigation.

Li Shuihua stood in the office at the Shuihua base, silently watching the workers dismantle the equipment.

The assistant, his eyes red, handed him a report: "Mr. Li, three supermarkets in Yinchuan have terminated their cooperation, and the export orders from Xiamen have also been..."

"Understood." Li Shuihua's voice was eerily calm. "Notify the finance department to purchase mushrooms from trustworthy farmers at the minimum contract price, and suspend all other investments."

"That strain research and development center"

"It's over." Li Shuihua took off her glasses and wiped them. "Tell Professor Ling I'm very sorry."

When the news spread, Li Dayou was worrying in his own greenhouse...

The fifth batch of mushrooms has matured, but there are no buyers to be found.

He rushed to the Shuihua mushroom purchasing station in a panic, but was stopped at the outside by the security guard: "Li Dayou, right? The purchasing department said they don't want your mushrooms."

"Why should I?" Li Dayou shouted, jumping up and down. "This is retaliation!"

The security guard sneered and pointed to the "List of Honest Farmers" posted on the wall...

There were fewer than ten households on that list, and Ma Debao's name was listed first.

Ma Shuan was in an even worse situation.

The five greenhouses he expanded by borrowing money at high interest rates are now piled high with mushrooms that no one wants.

The debt collectors blocked the doorway and beat him until his face was bruised and swollen.

Finally, Ma Defu stepped in and temporarily calmed the situation using the village committee's poverty alleviation funds.

……

In the late autumn twilight, Ma Debao squatted alone in front of his greenhouse.

Of the four greenhouses, only one is still in operation; the other three have been emptied.

Before leaving, Ling Yinong left him a packet of experimental bacteria: "Debao, this is a more disease-resistant variety. Take care of yourself."

The roar of a tractor could be heard in the distance.

Li Dayou and his son hauled their last cart of mushrooms to the county town to try their luck; the price had already dropped to two cents a pound.

Ma Debao took out his phone, found Li Shuihua's number, and hovered his finger over the dial button for a long time before finally not pressing it.

He knew that once some trust was broken, it was like a rotten mushroom, impossible to repair.

As night fell, Minning Village was shrouded in an eerie silence.

Those once bustling greenhouses are now dark and deserted, resembling abandoned tombs.

Ma Debao lit the lantern and walked into the only greenhouse that was still in operation.

The white button mushrooms glistened under the light, like unpolluted consciences.

Meanwhile, in a hotel in the county town, Secretary Wang of the investigation team was repeatedly reviewing the materials submitted with the report.

He noticed a detail: all the accusations revolved around the Shuihua Group, but made no mention of the changes the mushroom industry had brought to Minning Village...

Per capita income rose from 800 yuan to 4500 yuan, the enrollment rate of school-age children reached 100%, and the completion rate of dilapidated housing renovation reached 90%...

"Secretary Wang, these are supplementary materials." The young cadre handed over a stack of papers. "We found that most of the 'victim farmers' mentioned in the complaint letter had broken their contracts and were illegally reselling mushrooms."

Secretary Wang sighed deeply and looked out at the moonlight.

The same moon shone on the empty corridor of the Shuihua Group headquarters, and on Li Shuihua's half-finished office desk, where a photo of her and Su Ning at the groundbreaking ceremony of Minning Village Primary School was displayed.

……

The next morning, as the first rays of sunlight shone on the Loess Plateau, Ma Debao had already finished picking a basket of mushrooms.

He carefully packed the boxes and labeled them "Exclusively for Honest Growers".

This is the last procurement channel left by the Water Flower Group, and the price has been restored to the original 2.3 yuan.

At the village entrance, Li Dayou returned dejectedly, his tractor loaded with unsold mushrooms.

He saw Ma Debao's packing box, and a hint of regret flashed in his eyes, but it was quickly replaced by resentment: "Hmph! What's so great about him? He's just someone's dog." Ma Debao ignored him and silently carried the box onto the tricycle.

He knew that in this village corrupted by greed, upholding integrity was like growing mushrooms in a dung heap—difficult, but not impossible.

The wheels rolled over the dirt road, raising fine dust.

In the distance, several farmers who had insisted on fulfilling their contracts were waiting for Ma Debao to deliver the goods together.

Their figures, bathed in the morning sun, resembled rays of dawn piercing the darkness.

……

On the seventh day of the disciplinary committee's investigation, Li Shuihua met Su Ning at the deserted headquarters of Shuihua Group.

He was wearing a faded navy blue jacket and carrying a bulging briefcase, looking like he had just returned from the countryside.

"Why are you here?" Li Shuihua hurriedly drew the office curtains. "So many people are watching us."

Su Ning smiled and took out a lunchbox from her briefcase: "I brought you some liangpi from Zhangzhuang. I remember you like it."

The print on the lunchbox was faded; it was a gift they bought when they got married.

Li Shuihua's nose tingled, but she forced herself not to let the tears fall.

These days, she has dismantled the microbial culture center, stopped the refrigerated truck fleet, and even prepared for a complete withdrawal of investment...

But she forgot that her husband knew best what she needed at that moment.

"Su Ning, how many times has the investigation team spoken to you?" she asked in a low voice.

“Three times.” Su Ning broke open a disposable chopstick and handed it to her. “I’ve given them all the materials. Go check them out if you want.”

The liangpi (cold skin noodles) still tastes just like I remember, with a little mustard mixed in with the chili sauce, making my eyes sting.

Li Shuihua chewed on some gluten and suddenly pushed her lunchbox away: "I'm going to stop all the projects in Minning Village."

"Because of those few who reported it?" Su Ning shook his head. "Shuihua, when you traded a donkey for a water cellar back then, why didn't you hold a grudge against the whole village?"

"That's different!" Li Shuihua's voice suddenly rose. "They said I used your connections to get subsidies, and they said our mushrooms are poisonous."

Her fingers dug into her palm, leaving four crescent-shaped red marks.

Outside the window, the last refrigerated truck was slowly driving away from the factory area.

As Su Ning watched the car disappear into the distance, she suddenly asked, "Do you remember what your father said about you the year we got married?"

"They said I'd squander my family's wealth sooner or later," Li Shuihua sneered. "And now it's come true."

“No! He said you have ‘ambitions that are higher than the sky’,” Su Ning gently corrected. “At the time, I thought it was an insult, but now that I think about it, it was a compliment.”

He pulled a document from the bottom of his briefcase; the cover read "Planning for the Grape Industry Belt on the Eastern Foothills of Helan Mountain".

Li Shuihua turned to the first page, which contained an aerial photograph...

The continuous barren mountains and the Yellow River complement each other, and several areas are circled in red on the topographic map.

"This is."

“I’ve been working with experts from the Academy of Agricultural Sciences for two years now,” Su Ning said, pointing to the blueprints. “The sandy soil at the foot of the Helan Mountains is more suitable for growing grapes than mushrooms. Bordeaux in France is at a similar latitude to this place.”

Li Shuihua stared blankly at her husband.

She suddenly realized that the man being investigated had never been concerned about his own career.

“The mushroom industry is too fragmented, which can easily lead to chaos,” Su Ning continued. “But vineyards are suitable for large-scale operations. Shuihua, instead of competing with those individual farmers, should focus its energy on this.”

"But your investigation..."

“Don’t interfere in my affairs,” Suning interrupted decisively. “Business operations should follow market rules, and no political factors should be involved.”

He paused, his voice softening, "Even if I end up in jail one day, you should still grow grapes and make wine."

Li Shuihua grabbed the document and threw it at his chest: "Nonsense!"

The documents were scattered on the ground, revealing soil testing reports and climate data analyses inside.

She squatted down to pick it up, her shoulders shaking uncontrollably.

Su Ning also squatted down and took her hand: "Professor Ling, don't stop there. The research on Juncao grass is a long-term plan. As for those who reported us..."

He smiled and said, "They'll understand when the mushrooms they grow rot in the ground."

Suning has never been a moral hypocrite, nor will it throw the baby out with the bathwater, nor will it be affected by a single whistleblower letter.

Three days later, the investigation team withdrew from Minning Village.

Although no definitive conclusion has been reached, Suning has resumed operations.

Some people said they saw him talking with Secretary Wang of the Discipline Inspection Commission for more than an hour at the entrance of the county party committee compound, and the two shook hands before he left.

On the same day, Shuihua Group quietly updated its official website with a message: "Announcement on the Bidding for the Helan Mountain Grape Planting Demonstration Base".

In an inconspicuous corner, the job posting for the Juncao Research Center is still hanging.

Ma Debao was the first person to notice the changes.

When he delivered the goods to the Shuihua base, he found that the previously empty laboratory had its lights on again.

Ling Yinong's assistant, Xiao Zhang, poked his head out: "Bravo! The new strain has arrived! Disease resistance has increased by 30%!"

"I didn't expect that Splash Group didn't withdraw its investment."

"Li Shuihua is more powerful than we imagined! She can't be influenced by those petty people."

On his way back to the village, Ma Debao made a special detour to the fenced-off wasteland.

Several excavators were at work, and the red Shuihua Group flag fluttered in the wind.

An engineer-looking man stood on the earthen slope, holding in his hand the blueprints he had seen in Suning's briefcase.

Li Dayou crept over furtively: "Debao, I heard that Shuihua Group is going to grow grapes and make wine again?"

“Hmm.” Ma Debao said loudly on purpose, “I heard that if it’s made into wine, a bottle can sell for several hundred.”

Li Dayou's eyes lit up immediately, but quickly dimmed again: "How much money would that require?"

“Uncle Dayou,” Ma Debao pointed to the water splash flags in the distance, “why do you think they always walk in front?”

"This……"

"Uncle Dayou, you are a well-known smart man in our village, but sometimes being too smart can backfire."

"What...what nonsense are you talking about?"

"Just take it as me talking nonsense! Anyway, you and Ma Shuan missed the chance to defy fate."

"..."

As the sun set, the two men felt completely different; Li Da was more filled with a sense of loss.

Further away, the mushroom greenhouses in Minning Village are scattered, some abandoned, while others still stubbornly grow small white umbrellas.

At the edge of the horizon, the majestic outline of the Helan Mountains was tinged with a wine-red hue by the sunset.

At the headquarters of Shuihua Group, Li Shuihua stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, holding a glass of red wine in her hand...

These are samples she brought back from her research trip to France.

Two documents were spread out on the table: one was the "Honest Farmer Support Plan," and the other was the "Notice on Terminating Cooperation with Some Farmers."

My phone lit up with a text message from Suning: "Work overtime tonight, don't wait up. You have full authority over the vineyard matter."

Li Shuihua took a sip of wine, the taste bittersweet.

She picked up a pen and signed her name on both documents simultaneously.

Outside the window, the city lights gradually came on.

In the far darkness, on the Loess Plateau, Juncao (a type of grass) is quietly growing, its roots penetrating three meters underground, firmly grasping the barren soil.

No one saw it, but the change had already happened.

...(End of chapter)