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

Because Chenzhou Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital needed a large quantity of rare herbs, Fang Wei asked Wang Songlin to bring 10 reliable young men from the Yao village to help collect the herbs.

In just a few days, they gathered all the herbs needed by the Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital.

Fang Wei treated the young men to a meal and then gave each of them a reward of 100 yuan. The young men were naturally very happy, and afterwards they even helped him process the herbs before returning to the village.

Section Chief Jia came personally to purchase medicinal herbs; this might be his last visit to Xiatang Brigade.

"I'll be leaving the purchasing department after the new year and going to work at the hospital's labor union to coast through retirement. Secretary Fang, I'd like to raise a glass to you. Thanks to your support over the years, our department has been recognized as an advanced department every year."

Fang Wei invited Section Chief Jia to dinner at his home, and Section Chief Jia was deeply moved.

If Fang Wei had been around all these years, where would he have gone to acquire so many rare wild herbs? Wild herbs and cultivated herbs are different in their effects. Even the best doctor is no better than a soldier without weapons if he doesn't have the best herbs.
Over the years, Fang Wei has gone into the mountains almost every year to pick wild herbs, which has greatly supported Section Chief Jia's work.

"Section Chief Jia, we're old friends, let's not talk about this. It's good that you're going to work in the trade union in the future. As the chairman of the trade union, you're practically a leader in the institute. Congratulations!"

Fang Wei then returned the toast, and the two chatted more and more congenially, without any estrangement arising from Lao Jia's change in position.

Section Chief Jia stayed in the village for one night before returning to Chenzhou by car the next day.

Fang Wei earned over 11000 yuan from this transaction. After deducting the rewards for the brothers, he still had over 9000 yuan left. In reality, he could have developed many more clients, as the herb cultivation base had far more rare herbs than that.

However, he was too lazy to make a big fuss, and it was better to keep things low-key, besides, he wasn't short of money.

Anyway, anyone can pick the herbs in the mountains if they want, but ordinary people don't dare to go to that area. The brothers in the village would never act on their own, and they will almost always maintain the original appearance.

"Third brother, our nephew is in the newspaper!"

This evening.

Pan Lianhua entered the room making a lot of noise, waving a newspaper around in her hand.

Fang Wei had spent the entire day inspecting the growth of rice seeds in various production brigades and hadn't had a chance to read the newspaper. So he picked up the newspaper and glanced at it. Sure enough, the provincial newspaper had published the story of Fang Tao's team cultivating the "Xinxiang No. 1" hybrid rice on its front page.

The yield of the hybrid rice variety 【Xinxiang No. 1】has exceeded 1,000 jin per mu, and its taste is quite good, with excellent quality. Crucially, this hybrid rice variety is relatively easy to cultivate, with fewer restrictions, and can be promoted in all suitable areas.

That's right. Although this rice variety is inferior to the Nanguang series of hybrid rice in all aspects, it surpasses Fang Wei's Nanguang series in terms of the conditions for rice cultivation.

Although the rice varieties cultivated by Fang Wei are of superior quality, they cannot be cultivated anywhere other than the designated planting areas.

In a sense, the more universally applicable [Xinxiang No. 1] is the variety that is valued more by the authorities.

"Good lad, you've really made a name for yourself in one battle!"

Fang Wei put down the newspaper and couldn't help but burst into laughter.

He was happy for his nephew's achievements and also for the future increase in rice production and income across the country.

As for the rice varieties cultivated by the cooperative, there is no worry about finding a market for them. Moreover, he has already begun to diversify the risks and has proactively reduced the production of the "Nanguang No. 3" variety.

Everyone has their own preferences, but only if both vegetables and radishes are available can others make a choice.

the next day.

Fang Wei was still leisurely drinking tea at home when Zhao Jinsheng came over and asked him to preside over the council meeting.

This meeting was initiated by all the directors except him, and he was quite puzzled, not understanding what these people were up to.

“Secretary Fang, the situation is very unfavorable for us now. Did you read yesterday’s newspaper? We are now facing not only the ‘Xinxiang No. 1’ rice variety developed by your nephew, but also several other rice varieties developed by other units.”

As is customary, Fang Wei convened a meeting, and Zhao Jinsheng spoke first, expressing his concerns about the fierce competition.

Previously, the Nanguang series was the only dominant hybrid rice variety in the market, but now a wide variety of new rice varieties are emerging.

The board members were somewhat worried and urgently needed to come up with a corresponding strategy.

"Comrades, competition is a good thing. Although competition may cause us to lose some of the market, it will also completely free us from the constraints we have been placed on."

I've never been afraid of competition. As long as our breeding technology and products remain at the forefront, we can never be defeated.

Fang Wei listened attentively to the speeches of the council members before sharing her own thoughts.

He believes the cooperative's breeding efforts should be strengthened, and its business strategy should be adjusted to diversify risks. In fact, he had already begun this work in advance, a strategy commonly known as "not putting all your eggs in one basket."

"I believe our next strategy is to expand the planting area of ​​[Nongyou 76] and give full play to its potential in this unparalleled market. In addition, we cannot give up on [Nanguang No. 3]; we must actively seize the mid-to-high-end market and establish a well-known brand."

Next, Fang Wei discussed the importance of building a brand.

Rice can also be branded, just like chili peppers, electric fans, and furniture. If people subconsciously think of "Nanguang No. 3" as a mid-to-high-end brand, then its strategy has succeeded.

Therefore, while others were busy competing on price, Fang Wei kept raising the price of [Nanguang No. 3].

"The methodology described makes a lot of sense, but the question is, what's the next step? Should we launch a massive advertising campaign or try another approach?"

The board members weren't very familiar with marketing, so they had to ask Fang Wei for advice.

"We don't need to invest heavily in advertising; the best approach is through word-of-mouth. Next, we need to register a brand, such as [Yaoling Rice], which directly targets consumers."

Next, I will talk to the county government to determine the origin of Yaoling rice, covering the entire county. Of course, the quality of [Nanguang No. 3] rice grown in other places is the same; how they market it is up to them.

Fang Wei began to consider the issue of geographical indication protection, but the current laws and regulations are not yet perfect. However, it is better to do this sooner rather than later.

Once the brand becomes well-known and people accept it, they will subconsciously believe that this rice is the best.

With the assistance of the terminal brand, the sales of [Nanguang No. 3] will definitely not be a problem. Moreover, Fang Wei will continue to adjust product output in the future; in short, they will not allow any unsold stock to occur.

"This Party branch secretary seems a bit complicated."

Everyone was struggling to keep up with Fang Wei's pace, but fortunately, Fang Wei had absolute prestige and could forcefully carry out the plan.

Without hesitation, the cooperative registered the brand "Yaoling Rice" and joined forces with other communes to establish the "Yaoling Rice" Geographical Indication Protection Association.

Only association members have the right to use this brand, and the brand usage fee is very low. Fang Wei never intended to make money from it.

Now, in addition to paying grain taxes, the sale of grain in rural areas is gradually being liberalized, which provides the necessary environment for brand building. Initially, consumers may not care much about this, but once word-of-mouth spreads, the brand will bring many unexpected benefits.

This is not something to be rushed or sought after quickly; rather, it is a strategy that requires long-term commitment.

Unconsciously, the cooperative has united a large number of people.
Many farmers have signed contracts with the cooperative to sell their rice to the cooperative at the pre-agreed price.

The cooperative established a dedicated rice mill to process the paddy rice, which is then packaged and labeled "Yaoling Rice." This distinguishes it from bulk rice and makes it a truly branded product. The cooperative's actions are legal and compliant because they involve a processing step, rather than simply buying and selling.

"Old Zhao, you guys are pretty good, starting construction so quickly. How long will it take to finish?"

The cooperative was very efficient. After the meeting reached a resolution, Zhao Jinsheng took charge of the construction of the rice mill.

The rice mill was located in the commune, and Fang Wei also came to the site on the day construction began.

"The rice mill is quite simple, including processes such as milling, washing, selecting, and packaging rice. It will definitely be operational before the autumn harvest."

Zhao Jinsheng smiled dismissively. The rice mill wasn't exactly a modern enterprise, so its construction was very fast.

The cooperative has changed a lot and is now developing into a large agricultural group, no longer limited to breeding.

For example, in addition to breeding and agricultural and sideline product production, the business scope may also include the purchase and sale of agricultural and sideline products, and the fine processing of agricultural and sideline products.

Therefore, at Fang Wei's suggestion, the name of the cooperation was changed to "Yaoling Agricultural Cooperative", removing the words "seed industry".

The expansion of the cooperative's business scope is also a good thing for farmers in each commune. The rice purchase price set by the cooperative is reasonable, and farmers do not need to bear the risk of grain price fluctuations, thus locking in their income in advance.

Of course, after processing and brand premium, Yaoling Rice is slightly more expensive than ordinary rice.

The cooperative's sales staff have already left to prepare for sales after the autumn harvest.

“Secretary, you must have thought of these things a long time ago, right? Otherwise, how could you come up with a complete set of solutions before any problems even arise?”

Zhao Jinsheng was extremely impressed with Fang Wei, and the other directors were similarly impressed, all wondering how Fang Wei could have so many ingenious ideas.

Fang Wei smiled and shook his head, not taking it seriously at all.

These are all basic marketing techniques, hardly "ingenious ideas." And now, only the preliminary work has been completed; whether this approach will work or not remains to be seen and will only be determined after testing it in the market.

Fang Wei took a stroll around the commune, visiting the hardware factory and the bamboo ware factory, and then chatted with Zheng Xianfa and Zheng Hu for a while.

noon.

He and Pan Lianhua went to a small restaurant outside for lunch before returning to the commune.

Not long after Fang Wei sat down in the office, he received a phone call saying that Yu Hao had been arrested in Qinghe County.

"Brother Leopard, get two people to come with me to Qinghe County."

Fang Wei's face darkened. Yu Hao had taken on a job in Qinghe County, helping someone examine a burial site. But somehow, someone reported him during the process, and he was arrested by the local police station.

Yu Hao gave the company's phone number, which is why everyone called to inform Fang Wei.

Fang Wei quickly led Zheng Bao and the others to Qinghe County. They estimated that they wouldn't be able to return tonight, but they hoped to get Yu Hao out.

This kind of thing isn't a big deal these days; it all depends on how the local authorities define it.

"Secretary, don't worry, I don't think it'll be anything serious."

Seeing that Fang Weiyi had remained silent the whole way, Zheng Bao made a point of comforting him.

Fang Wei waved his hand, thinking to himself, "Isn't Yu Hao usually quite cautious? Why did he have to go all the way to the neighboring county?"

By the time they arrived in Qinghe County, it was almost time to get off work.

"We are from Yaoling Commune, Xinlin County. My surname is Fang. Is your director here?"

The only police officer who was supposed to be receiving Fang Wei was evasive, so Fang Wei gave up and decided to go find her superior.

At this moment, an older police officer entered, called Fang Wei to another office, and gestured for him to sit down and talk.

“This is a mess, and we don’t want to get involved. But we have no choice; someone reported it to the station, so we have to deal with it.”

The other party was quite nice and explained the whole story to Fang Wei in detail.

Fang Wei understood. The matter wasn't complicated; Yu Hao had overstepped his bounds and was tricked by his local counterparts in Qinghe County.

"So what are your plans to do?"

Fang Wei felt the situation wasn't too bad; at least the institute's attitude was acceptable.

So he asked a question directly.

"Your company will protect him, and we'll just impose a token fine on our side."

The man readily agreed, telling Fang Wei to pay a 100 yuan fine so he could take her away.

Fang Wei didn't argue anymore, paid the fine directly, and took Yu Hao away.

"Third brother, I'm sorry for causing you trouble."

As I walked down the street, it was already getting dark.

It was already too late to catch the last bus, but Fang Wei didn't plan to stay in Qinghe County.

"Shut up! This isn't the time to talk about this. Let's get out of here first."

Fang Wei glared fiercely at Yu Hao; this guy was no pushover.

The other party hasn't been working independently for very long, so how did they manage to cause such a mess? Wasn't he supposed to be a smart person? It turns out he lost his vigilance as soon as he was faced with a profit.

Since those people dared to put Yu Hao in jail, they naturally wouldn't let it go.

"Secretary, let's leave the city first. If we can hitchhike, we will. If not, we'll stay in the countryside and catch a bus back on the way tomorrow."

Zheng Bao had figured this out and was worried about retaliation from the local bullies, so he planned to go into hiding for the time being.

Fang Wei was very observant and alert. Before he had gone far, he realized that his group had been watched.

"It's too late, everyone be quick-witted."

Fang Wei gave everyone a wink, and then suddenly turned and ran. (End of Chapter)