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

"It's not easy. Getting Secretary Fang to admit his mistake won't be that simple. Enough with the nonsense. You really took too much of a risk this time. In the future, if you encounter something like this, you must first communicate with the county. You're not allowed to intervene directly, understand?"

"I heard you, Director Huang. I was indeed careless this time. I will definitely be more careful next time and will never act blindly again."

Fang Wei finally made her statement, and that was the end of it.

Huang Zhigang told the other party to go home and rest early, and also to keep a close eye on his people to prevent similar incidents from happening again.

Fang Wei couldn't handle the rest, so he returned home with Zheng Bao, Yu Hao, and the others. It was easy to imagine that the two counties would continue to argue about this matter, but the final outcome would be that the person would be handed over to Qinghe County, and the matter would be considered closed.

Fang Wei returned home and was startled as soon as she entered the door.

There were too many people at home. Not only Fang Mei and Tian Bingyi came, but even Zheng Xianfa and Zheng Hu came. In addition, there was Sun Daoren, Zhang Chu, and several directors. The room was full of people.

When he returned, everyone asked him how he was doing, and the news spread like wildfire.

Fang Wei kept saying that she was fine, that she had slept well last night, and that she was unharmed.

After chatting for a while, everyone left one after another, leaving only Fang Mei, Tian Bingyi, and Sun Daoren at home.

Sister and Pan Lianhua went to cook, and Master Sun said with some dissatisfaction:

"Yu Hao is simply ignorant of his own limitations. Does he think that just because he studied Yin-Yang Feng Shui for a few years, he has become a master? Third brother, if this bastard continues to mess around like this, just leave him to his fate."

The old Taoist was truly angry this time. He used to think that Yu Hao was a good kid, diligent and inquisitive, and good at handling things. Now he realized that the other party was not only not very bright, but also a troublemaker.

"Old Sun, I believe he will learn his lesson from this incident. If he continues to act recklessly, I will no longer interfere."

Fang Wei spoke up for Yu Hao. Actually, Yu Hao can't be entirely blamed for this. Who knew that the people in Qinghe County would be so unscrupulous?

Honestly, this incident really broadened his horizons and reminded him to be more careful when going out in the future.

Big cities don't have many problems, but all sorts of bizarre things happen in some small places.

Fang Mei remained silent for a while, but after listening for a few minutes, she relaxed and got up to go to the kitchen.

Tian Bingyi admired Fang Wei's courage. He himself couldn't even handle the Wu brothers, yet Fang Wei managed to escape unscathed from the neighboring county. This showed that people are different. If it were him, the county probably wouldn't even bother sending a car or people, let alone bother with him.

After dinner, Tian Bingyi and Fang Mei insisted on going back, as they were both quite busy.

As they were going to bed that night, Pan Lianhua suddenly pinched the man and complained, "You can't be a hero next time. There are a lot of bad people out there. What will we, the mother and the three of us, do if something happens to you?"

"No, it won't happen again. Director Huang criticized me today, and I've already promised him that nothing like that will ever happen again."

Fang Wei quickly put on a fawning smile, realizing that he hadn't considered things carefully and had put himself in danger.

He understood his wife's feelings, so it was only right for him to say a few kind words to comfort her.

Sure enough, after hearing what he said, the other party's resentment dissipated by more than half.

Time flies.

It's harvest time again.

Pan Lianhua felt that the man should have something to do, so she accompanied him into the mountains to pick loquats, wild chestnuts, and camellia seeds. They didn't lack these things at home, but the ones they picked themselves tasted especially sweet.

Of course, the two of them only did a token amount, mainly to enjoy the fun of going into the mountains, and the amount they picked was not large.

Everyone knew that Fang Wei's loquat syrup was the best, so besides trying it, they gave him most of the loquats. So he led people to boil the loquat syrup in the open space. After it was finished, everyone could get a little, and the rest was mostly given to the infirmary.

He didn't participate in the team's harvesting activities anymore. Now, without a full mobilization, the forestry brigade can complete the harvesting of economic forests. Chestnuts, camellia seeds, and some fruits have all been harvested one after another.

The most demanding task was harvesting the medicinal herbs grown under the trees, because the quantity was so large that it was supplied not only to Chenzhou Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital but also to Hengzhou Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital, the Provincial Capital Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital, and many other institutions.

The medicinal herbs produced by Yaoling Cooperative are also well-known far and wide, making it a famous medicinal herb planting base in the province.

In fact, the cooperative will have more and more titles, such as Yaoling Chili Town, breeding professional unit, afforestation pioneer, etc., which the people of the county have long been used to.

"Old Zhao, we need to buy a few trucks and two jeeps. It's really inconvenient to go out and run errands without a vehicle."

The cooperative has money, but it never spends it recklessly.

However, as the economy develops to its current scale, some mindsets need to change; things that were previously unattainable now become essential purchases.

Fang Wei discussed it with everyone and decided to buy a batch of trucks and two jeeps at the same time.

“Secretary, why don’t we set up a transportation team? We can use it to transport our own products, and we can also make money by transporting other people’s products.”

The current theme is "opening up and invigorating the economy," and the rapid economic development in various regions has led to a rapid increase in the demand for transportation.

Specifically, within cooperatives, bamboo ware factories handle a large volume of transportation tasks annually, as do chili sauce factories, rice mills, hardware factories, and so on. In the future, various seeds within the cooperative will also be self-managed, further increasing the demand for transportation.

Several board members strongly suggested that Fang Wei establish his own transportation brigade.

“I think it’s a good idea! Old Zhao, you take charge of this. First, ask about the price. If the price is right, we’ll buy 20 large trucks at once. Two jeeps will be enough. If not, we can talk about it later.”

Fang Wei made up his mind and decided to buy trucks to establish a transportation brigade.

Funding isn't an issue for the company, but there's no need to buy too many trucks at once. We can add more later as the transportation brigade grows.

A resolution was reached on this matter, and Zhao Jinsheng was put in charge of its implementation.

"Next, let's talk about the timber harvesting quota. Recently, our quota has been a bit tight, and the growth rate of trees can't keep up with the rate of harvesting. So I plan to close the mountains for reforestation and let the furniture companies purchase timber themselves."

After discussing the purchase of the vehicle, Fang Wei brought up the issue of raw material supply for the furniture company.

Previously, the company had been supplying precious wood for the production of high-end furniture, but due to the high sales volume, the supply of raw materials is currently in trouble.

To protect the overall ecological environment, Fang Wei has decided to close the mountains for reforestation starting January 1st of next year, prohibiting all logging activities. Before that, furniture companies and bamboo ware factories need to find new suppliers; otherwise, high-end furniture production will have to cease.

"That's right, we can't damage the entire mountain forest environment just to make money."

“Yes, the furniture company has already reached a certain scale, so it should be able to solve the problem of raw material supply.” Everyone agreed to close the mountains for reforestation, and this proposal was passed as a resolution.

After the meeting, the company passed on the resolution to the furniture company, and Fang Ping and Lin Hanyang had no choice but to comply and start looking for new suppliers. Fortunately, there are many substitutes for wood nowadays; even if they couldn't find some precious woods, they could find other alternative raw materials.

Lin Hanyang suggested raising the price of the high-end furniture in stock, and Fang Ping agreed, subsequently increasing the price of this portion of high-end furniture by 100%.

It's okay if it sells a little slower. Basically, every item sold is one less available. Wouldn't it be foolish not to raise the price?

This evening.

Yu Hao brought a bottle of good wine to Fang Wei's house, intending to have a few drinks with her.

Fang Wei naturally wouldn't refuse. The matter from last time was in the past, and he also wanted to find out what the other party had been busy with lately.

"Third Brother, I've thought it through. I still want to go back to the bamboo ware factory. I heard the cooperative is planning to close the mountains for reforestation? When I was out doing sales, I happened to know some powerful timber suppliers."

Through his experience in Qinghe County, Yu Hao realized his shortcomings; without the cooperative and Xinlin County, he was nothing.

Being called a master is just empty talk; I was really too arrogant before.

After much painful reflection, Yu Hao decided to return to the bamboo ware factory to find raw materials for the factory, hoping that Fang Wei could give him a chance.

"Haozi, it's true that you like feng shui, but the timing is wrong. Think about it, how many years have we opened our doors to the world, and how many people actually agree with this theory?"
I don't object to you occasionally helping people with feng shui, such as checking the ancestral graves or houses. Feng shui is a discipline that requires long-term accumulation of knowledge. I'm happy you're willing to return to the bamboo ware factory, but you must promise not to let anything else interfere with your work.

Fang Wei said these words because she considered Yu Hao as one of her own, and she was willing to give him a chance.

Yu Hao was very touched and repeatedly promised that he would prioritize his work and give up his so-called "master dream." He would occasionally earn some extra money as a hobby, as long as it didn't interfere with his work.

the next day.

Yu Hao returned to the bamboo ware factory and took on the role of head of the purchasing department.

In the bamboo furniture industry, the other party indeed had extensive connections and quickly found new suppliers. After the company verified the qualifications of three suppliers, it began to try purchasing wood from these companies.

This time, Yu Hao took his work very seriously. He stayed at the other party's location during the shipment process, only feeling at ease after seeing the timber being shipped with his own eyes.

With his abilities and work ethic, he changed people's perception of him and quickly established himself in the purchasing department, earning the respect of his colleagues.

Fang Wei was relieved. Yu Hao's abilities were beyond doubt; the key issue was his mindset. Once that mindset problem was resolved, he believed Yu Hao would do an excellent job.

in the afternoon.

Zhang Chu went to Fang Wei's office and talked about the sales of the chili sauce.

Since its launch, Yaoling Chili Sauce has received widespread praise, and in some places, it has even been in short supply.

"The sales of chili sauce are soaring, but our production can't keep up, mainly because of the limited supply of raw materials. Secretary, could you find a way to expand the scale of chili sauce cultivation?"

Zhang Chu came here specifically for the raw material supply, but the current situation has exceeded everyone's expectations. [Yaoling Chili Sauce] has become an instant hit without any large-scale advertising investment.

As sales increased, he discovered an embarrassing fact: insufficient supply of raw materials led to insufficient production of chili sauce.

This is really infuriating. It's heartbreaking to see money that you could have earned but can't.

"Old Zhang, it's difficult to expand the planting area of ​​chili peppers in the short term. After all, everyone needs to pay grain taxes and ensure their own food supply. Each household only has so much land; it's impossible for everyone to grow chili peppers, right?"

Fang Wei was also helpless when it came to this matter.

Although chili sauce factories can cooperate with farmers from other regions, the quality is difficult to guarantee, and it violates the promises made by the place of origin, so it cannot be considered.

The primary task of farmers in this county is still grain production, and this situation is unlikely to change fundamentally until the unified purchase and sale system is completely abolished.

Although some policies have been relaxed now, the grain tax still needs to be paid, right? And enough food rations still need to be kept.
Therefore, Zhang Chu's suggestion is correct, but difficult to implement.

"Then what should we do? Should we stop selling the raw chili peppers?"

Zhang Chu got a little anxious and then set his sights on selling fresh chili peppers.

"That's something we can consider. I'll discuss it with them later."

This time, Fang Wei did not refuse. He turned around and spoke with Zhao Jinsheng, saying that fresh chilies would be given priority to the chili sauce factory in the future.

Zhao Jinsheng was in a dilemma. Back when there was no chili sauce factory, the sales department of the cooperative had finally managed to open up sales channels for fresh chilies. Now, however, they were about to close those channels again.

However, he still prioritized the overall situation and agreed to the plan: "Alright, then we'll temporarily stop supplying goods to other places. Party Secretary, I'll go back to the various communes and try to sign contracts with more farmers."

Undeterred, Zhao Jinsheng went to other communes and explained the benefits of growing chili peppers to the members.

He did manage to persuade a new group of farmers to grow Yaoling chili peppers, which increased production somewhat, but it was better than nothing.

this day.

Fang Wei was handling some business in his office when the director of Xiangyang Commune suddenly came to visit.

"Secretary Fang, I'm only coming to you because I'm desperate. A relative of mine distributes your chili sauce in another city, but the supply has suddenly become tight. Could you do me a favor and send him a batch?"

"Really? Chili sauce is in such high demand. Come on, let's go to the factory and see if they can send a batch to your relative first."

Fang Wei did not refuse the other party. They had always gotten along well, and he couldn't afford to offend the other party over such a small matter.

However, the chili sauce factory is indeed facing a shortage of supplies, and Zhang Chu has been hiding recently because too many people are trying to get his help through connections.

So the two of them rode their bikes to the chili sauce factory. When they arrived at the factory gate, they saw a large group of people waiting. After asking around, they learned that these were all out-of-town customers waiting to pick up their orders.

The director of Xiangyang Commune was embarrassed. How could he possibly speak to Zhang Chu now?
"Well, Secretary Fang, I suddenly remembered I have some urgent business at the commune, so I'll have to go now. I'll treat you to a drink later."

He was a man of principle; after greeting Fang Wei, he turned and left. (End of Chapter)