Era: I was a farmer at the foot of Yaoling Mountain

A week later, things changed.

First, our major customer from Zhejiang arrived. This time, they purchased 20 million catties of "Nanguang No. 3" rice seeds and claimed that they would increase their purchase volume next season.

With the arrival of this customer, the sales department's work began to show results. One customer after another came to the store and swept up all the remaining "Nanguang No. 3" rice seeds in the cooperative.

With another hundred million yuan coming in, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

“Secretary Fang, actually, many people still miss the Nanguang No. 2 rice variety. After all, this variety can produce a second-grade rice variety, which is something that no other hybrid rice on the market can do.”

The head of the sales department remarked with great emotion that when the department staff were out promoting the product, people would often ask about the "Nanguang No. 2" rice variety.

Although the yield of the Nanguang No. 3 rice variety is higher, it can only be planted for one season, which cannot offset the cost of purchasing seeds.

But rice varieties are always evolving, and cooperatives can't keep clinging to an outdated variety forever.

Besides, second-grade rice varieties are a substitute when yields are insufficient, but now that various rice varieties are emerging one after another, there is no need to stick to outdated products.

"The production of the 'Nanguang No. 2' rice variety cannot be resumed. Times are progressing, and our breeding work is also progressing."

Fang Wei didn't say much, offered a few words of encouragement to the head of the sales department, and then sent him away.

He has many things to consider now, such as the oversupply of high-yield rapeseed, which is mainly due to the excessive production.

This crop has many sub-varieties, each adapted to different regions.

The cooperative's high-yield rapeseed seeds cannot be adapted to all regions, and it cannot develop many varieties, which is very troublesome.

Fang Wei plans to cultivate another season of rapeseed seeds, and implement fallow land next winter to control the yield.

In fact, he dislikes the practice of seizing the market with low prices the most, because in the end, all the breeding units suffer losses.

Fortunately, there is a comparison here. The various indicators of these rice varieties are very different. It depends on whether the customer chooses cost-effectiveness or high quality.

The biggest problem with low-priced rice varieties is their poor taste and texture.

This problem will eventually be reflected in rice prices, because poor quality will keep prices down, and farmers won't be able to profit from it.

But this process needs time to prove itself, so Fang Wei is not in a hurry.

Zhao Jinsheng and the heads of each brigade organized and implemented rapeseed planting. That afternoon, Tian Bingyi brought a bottle of good wine to find Fang Wei, his joy evident in his words.

“Starting next year, I plan to specialize in cultivating vegetable seeds. I didn’t know that before, but I found out after I got involved that the income is actually quite considerable.”

Having tasted success in cultivating vegetable seeds, Tian Bingyi decided to pursue this path exclusively.

Her mutual aid group has expanded to 112 households, and she plans to go all out next year. She has also reached an agreement with neighboring vegetable growers to provide them with high-quality, high-yield seeds.

Although the mutual aid group is not large, "small" means flexible.

Unlike Fang Wei, he doesn't have the same worries about sales. Their production volume is easily sold out, and there's no possibility of stockpiling.

"That's great! If you encounter any difficulties, just let me know, and I'll come and check on you."

Fang Wei felt that Tian Bingyi's choice was not wrong. If there wasn't enough land, the profit from cultivating rice seeds was actually not as high as that from cultivating vegetable seeds.

The mutual aid group grows some staple food and task food, and also cultivates some high-yield vegetable seeds. The income at the end of the year is still quite good.

In addition, some suburban areas have started to specialize in growing vegetables to supply the city market, and the income is quite good. This complements Tian Bingyi and his group, allowing them to develop together.

"Third brother, the Wu brothers are much more obedient now. Nobody tolerates them anymore. After being taught a lesson a few times, they are no longer as arrogant as they used to be."

Tian Bingyi drank until his face was flushed, and then he brought up the Wu family brothers.

Those guys were able to act so arrogantly because they had a lot of brothers and could fight together when trouble arose. As a result, they got into a conflict with a few members of the mutual aid group, and dozens of people came to their aid, beating the Wu brothers so badly that they cried for their parents and could no longer act so arrogantly.

Tian Bingyi regained his prestige, and more and more people gathered around him.

"Brother-in-law, you need to be careful of the Wu brothers' schemes. Those guys are typical thugs. They don't dare to target you openly now, but you have to be wary of them using dirty tricks."

Fang Wei was happy for his brother-in-law, but he still kindly reminded him not to let his guard down.

People who dare to poison fishponds are exceptionally wicked; we should be wary of them.

“I know everyone is watching them closely, so they don’t dare to make any moves. Recently, they went to the county town to sell vegetables and fish at the market, and they rarely come back.”

Tian Bingyi had learned his lesson, so he kept a close eye on those guys.

Fang Wei nodded. He hadn't found an opportunity to deal with the Wu brothers yet, so he could only wait until later.

The next day.

After having breakfast, Tian Bingyi rushed home, while Fang Wei and Pan Lianhua rode their bicycles to the county.

As the weather gradually turns cooler, everyone in the family needs to buy some new clothes. Some individual vendors in the county have already started selling cloth; no cloth coupons are required, and the prices are a bit higher, but the convenience is a major advantage.

The two strolled around the market, which was quite popular, with a constant stream of people coming to buy fabric.

Pan Lianhua wasn't used to haggling yet; she immediately tried to pay after asking the price. Fang Wei quickly stopped her and negotiated with the stall owner, ultimately getting the fabric for a much lower price.

"Third Brother, you can even bargain? I learned a trick today. Humph! These vendors were asking for such high prices, I almost fell for it."

Pan Lianhua broadened her horizons and learned that she needs to bargain when buying things from individual vendors, otherwise she will definitely be ripped off.

Fang Wei smiled without saying anything, then pulled the other person to a restaurant for a meal.

It was nearing noon, and the restaurant was still quite busy. The two found an empty table, ordered two dishes and a soup. The food was pretty good, and importantly, it didn't require food coupons, though the prices were a little higher than at other eateries.

The two enjoyed a delicious meal before riding their bikes home.

night.

Pan Lianhua and her sister started taking measurements and making clothes for everyone. Today, they saw some people selling ready-made clothes in the county town, but Pan Lianhua thought the prices were too high and said it would be more cost-effective to make them herself.

Fang Wei doesn't care much about such things. He will make fewer and fewer clothes himself in the future, and buying ready-made clothes will be the trend. But he won't argue with his wife about this.

the next day.

The various production brigades began repairing farmland irrigation facilities. This work requires a lot of manpower, which is why it was scheduled during the off-season.

Fang Wei and others also participated in collective labor, even if it was just symbolic work, they still worked for a few days so that people wouldn't feel that the cooperative's leaders were detached from the masses.

The cooperative now has complete water conservancy facilities, including a large number of deep wells. They may not seem like much under normal circumstances, but they become invaluable when water resources are insufficient.

After finishing this task, the pig farm finally notified the customer that they could sell a batch of high-quality pigs. After such a long period of breeding, both pig farms were operating at full capacity. The high-quality pigs produced today are a significant improvement over those produced before, selected from the best of the best among a large number of pigs.

Even the slightest flaw means they cannot be sold as high-quality pigs; they can only be sold as meat pigs.

This time, a total of 5000 high-quality pigs were sold, generating 600 million yuan in revenue. The price of each high-quality pig increased by 200 yuan to 1200 yuan, but sales were still very good.

Pig farms have also begun to resume the supply of live pigs. After slaughtering the pigs, they are sold in the vegetable markets of each brigade at the same price as the supply price, with limited supply per person.

Nowadays, buying vegetables, meat, chickens, and ducks is all done in cash. Only when slaughtering pigs for the Lunar New Year will pork be distributed to everyone for free. At other times, the free distribution of supplies has basically been eliminated.

The cooperative's finance staff has begun the year-end settlement work. This year is the first dividend distribution since the cooperative was established, which concerns more than 30,000 members. Accountant Liu and others will be busy for more than half a month.

Fang Wei has had some free time now. Sometimes he looks at documents in the office, and sometimes he wanders around the various teams.

What puzzled him was that he managed to retain his representative status; otherwise, he wouldn't even have had the right to view the documents.

This morning.

Fang Wei had just come out of his house when he saw a large number of people rushing in one direction.

"What's happening here?"

Thinking something had happened, he quickly stopped a member of the commune and asked him a question.

"Yu Hao bought a television set and everyone went to see it, as it was a novelty."

After saying that, the commune member took off running.

Fang Wei couldn't help but smile, but he could understand. This was probably the first television set in the entire cooperative; even his family hadn't bought one yet.

So he went to Yu Hao's house, and good heavens, the yard and the area outside the yard were packed with people, there wasn't even a place to put his feet.

"Secretary Fang is here, everyone please make way."

When everyone saw Fang Wei walking over, they made way for him.

He went inside and couldn't help but laugh.

Yu Hao bought a nine-inch black and white television. The screen was so small that the image was barely visible from a distance. The screen already had static, and since it was using an outdoor antenna, the signal was already weak.

Fang Wei glanced at it twice and lost interest. Seeing that Yu Hao was busy, she turned and left.

Yu Hao was a high-income earner not only in the bamboo ware factory but also in the entire cooperative, so it's not surprising that he could afford a television.

night.

During dinner, Pan Lianhua mentioned that Yu Hao had bought a television, and the two children looked on with envy.

"Lotus, if you want to watch TV, then we can buy one for our family. With our combined income, buying a TV shouldn't be a problem, what do you say?"

Fang Wei didn't think buying a TV was a luxury; since his wife and kids liked it, he figured he might as well buy it.

"Is it really possible?"

"Of course."

Pan Lianhua laughed, and the two children also seemed very excited.

Fang Wei then asked someone to inquire, and found that a domestically produced 9-inch black and white television set cost about 200 to 300 yuan, while a 12-inch domestically produced black and white television set cost 420 yuan.

Television sets are now supplied by ration coupons, meaning that money alone is not enough.

Fang Wei remembered that he was actually provided with ration coupons; after all, he was a national representative and received all the benefits he was entitled to. So he found the issued coupons in his office cabinet, and sure enough, they included TV tickets.

Since there were no 12-inch televisions available in the county town, Fang Wei took some time to go to Chenzhou with Pan Lianhua.

"Secretary Fang, how do you two maintain your youthful appearance? You haven't changed at all over the years. Come on, let's go eat first, and then I'll take you to buy a TV."

Wu Di was still the factory manager of the textile factory. The other party was very happy to see Fang Wei and took the couple to a restaurant for dinner.

It's noticeable that Wu Di has more wrinkles on his forehead and more gray hair at his temples.

Fang Wei and Pan Lianhua have hardly changed from a few years ago; they look healthy and energetic, which makes Wu Di very envious.

“We don’t have to worry about it, unlike you who manages such a big factory, with endless things to do.”

Fang Wei chuckled and then clinked glasses with Wu Di.

He called the other party before he came, mainly because he was worried that Chenzhou would not have any goods and he would have made a wasted trip.

Wu Di, with his many connections, helped them order a 12-inch black-and-white television in advance and even picked them up from the bus station. Aside from their personal relationship, the two are now largely uninvolved, but they still get along well.

"Are you lying? Your cooperative has nearly 40,000 people, which is more than our factory. Never mind, let's not talk about that. I should thank you on Xiaoxia's behalf."

Wu Di rolled his eyes, then clinked glasses with Fang Wei.

Jiang Xia and her husband eventually helped her brother-in-law open a furniture store, specializing in selling products from the bamboo ware factory. Business is booming now, and her brother-in-law, who used to have nothing to do, has gradually become a "small business owner." The whole family is very grateful to Fang Wei.

"That's their own skill. I didn't offer them any special treatment, so there's no need to thank me."

Fang Wei was telling the truth. Others paid for the goods and opened up sales channels themselves; it really had nothing to do with him.

However, Fang Wei later provided assistance to the other party regarding the unsold goods.

Since they were going to buy a TV later, neither of them drank much and quickly finished lunch. Then Wu Di took them to the department store, where they easily bought a 12-inch black and white TV.

Fang Wei and Pan Lianhua didn't want to delay, so they took a car and went straight home.

After arriving home, Fang Wei climbed onto the roof and set up the outdoor antenna himself, and then the TV in the house could be watched. There aren't many channels now, and the program content is limited, but the children still watch with great interest.

Grandpa's eyesight wasn't good, but he still moved his chair closer to take a look.

Sun Daoren was also there; although he was a cultivator, he also wanted to see something unusual.

Pan Lianhua and her older sister chattered away, and Fang Wei, seeing this scene, felt that the TV set was a worthwhile purchase.

A few days passed quickly.

The cooperative's year-end settlement is complete; next, it's time to distribute dividends to the members. (End of Chapter)