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

"Two of the Wu brothers were eventually sentenced, the eldest and the fourth. The remaining three were released long ago. If you have any evidence of their illegal activities, keep it for now; you'll definitely need it later."

"I understand, I will keep it safe. Director Huang, I have a feeling that with so many security problems these days, the higher-ups will definitely take action to rectify them. Once this trend takes hold, none of the Wu brothers will be able to escape."

The two men were talking about the Wu brothers, but they weren't actually referring to them entirely.

After finishing the spring planting, Huang Zhigang will gradually adjust some personnel. Anyone involved in the five brothers' case will be transferred from key positions one by one.

Once the personnel adjustments are complete, it will be time to settle accounts with them.

Fang Wei and Huang Zhigang went for a walk outside. After returning, Huang Zhigang and his group left the cooperative.

Ensuring that grain production does not decrease is the foundation of all Huang Zhigang's work. If he cannot do this, he will not be able to do anything and may even be forced to pack his bags and leave.

Some things seem preordained; the vast majority of farmers in Xinlin County have long developed a blind trust in the Nanguang series of rice varieties. Over the years, they have become accustomed to choosing rice varieties and almost never choose other types.

It doesn't matter if the rice seeds are a little expensive; the key is high yield and good taste, so that the rice can fetch a good price.

Now we must add another point: the 【Nanguang No. 3】 rice variety has extremely high resistance, and can ensure a stable germination rate and healthy growth of rice even in harsh climates.

Although everyone missed some planting time this season, it doesn't matter. Judging from the current situation, we should be able to catch up with summer planting.

"Old Zhao, have you signed the contracts with the rice farmers?"

"All have been signed. According to the contract, we will purchase all the Nanguang No. 3 grapes grown in the county after the summer harvest."

The cooperative has registered the brand "Yaoling Rice", with the place of origin limited to Xinlin County. Most farmers are willing to sell their harvest to the cooperative.

There are several reasons for this. One is that the cooperative's purchase price is very fair, higher than that of the purchasing station channel.

Secondly, with the cooperative as a safety net, if there is no one to buy the rice, there will be no problem selling it for money.

Nowadays, Yaoling Rice is sold in many major cities. Although the price is slightly higher, it has won over many consumers with its excellent quality and great taste.

This is what Fang Wei calls "brand strategy." Good products need to be marketed and packaged well, and their value immediately changes after being given exquisite packaging.

Of course, this is on the premise that it is indeed a good quality rice, since people are discerning about what they eat.

Fang Wei nodded. This year's spring planting was full of twists and turns, but in the end, they managed to overcome the difficulties without any major incidents.

After Zhao Jinsheng left, Fang Wei also left the office and drove to the breeding center.

The breeding center built a centralized seedling raising base last year, so this year's extreme weather had no impact on it at all. Now that Fang Wei is in charge of the center, everyone is highly motivated after their salaries have been improved.

Fang Wei took a tour of the breeding center and then went directly to the commune.

He mainly came to visit the hardware factory, which has been supplying parts to the electric fan factory since last year with great success. Zhang Wenyuan suggested relocating the hardware factory to Xiangshan as well, but he's still a bit hesitant.

In fact, the hardware factory makes a lot of hardware parts and has a high reputation in the province. If it moves to Xiangshan, it will lose this market.

"Secretary Fang, are you here to inspect our work?"

The person in charge of the hardware factory was Fan Zhipeng, who was also one of the people who went to Guangzhou with Zhang Wenyuan to learn the technology.

After the electric fan factory moved to Xiangshan, he took charge of the hardware factory and became its factory manager.

"Hmm. Come and take a look."

Fang Wei nodded to the other party, and then took a walk around the factory area.

"Director Fan, what do you think about moving the factory to Xiangshan to provide supporting services specifically for the electric fan factory?"

Back in the factory manager's office, Fang Wei planned to have a good talk with Fan Zhipeng.

"I don't think it's necessary. Our hardware is also very good, so there's no need to place an order. In addition, we have recently developed various types of locks, and they are doing well."

Fan Zhipeng was clearly against relocation, believing that it was better to develop on his own rather than to provide supporting services for others.

He wasn't saying that Xiangshan was bad, but that after the hardware factory moved there, it lost its traditional market and instead became an appendage of the electric fan factory.

In fact, coastal areas have relatively complete supporting facilities, so there is really no need to make a big fuss.

"Yes, I will carefully consider everyone's opinions. Come on, take a look at your new products."

Fang Wei did not express his opinion, and then followed Fan Zhipeng to see the lock samples.

These locks come in various shapes and sizes, and in his opinion, there should be a large market for them. They may look unremarkable, but the profit margin is quite good, and sales volume is high.

“The company’s sales department has already taken our product catalog and samples, and the lock orders that have come back so far exceed 100 million yuan. I think there’s potential.”

Fan Zhipeng had been observing Fang Wei's expression, but unfortunately, the other party's face remained calm and unreadable.

He bluntly stated his plan: the factory would make locks its flagship product and strive to grow and strengthen it, rather than simply being a supplier for others.

Fang Wei found it quite interesting. The electric fan factory was separated from the hardware factory. Ever since Zhang Wenyuan led his people to Xiangshan, the two factories have gradually drifted apart.

Although Fan Zhipeng used to be Zhang Wenyuan's subordinate, he is now unwilling to work as a subordinate to him.

"Yes, we will consider these things."

Fang Wei felt that this matter could not be delayed any longer, so he returned to the club and met with the directors.

The board members were remarkably united, all saying they were willing to give the hardware factory a chance to see if they could make locks successful. If they did, they would be happy whether the factory stayed where it was or moved to Xiangshan.

However, there is one condition: the hardware factory cannot be absorbed or merged with the electric fan factory.

"In the future, electric fan factories will definitely enter the home appliance industry. We can't put all our eggs in one basket, so it's better for hardware factories to operate independently."

The board members made suggestions, and Fang Wei agreed after considering them for five minutes.

The electric fan factory has no shortage of supporting components; the industrial chain in Xiangshan is becoming increasingly complete, and the supply price can be reduced further. The hardware factory, on the other hand, has its own unique characteristics, so it's better to let them develop on their own.

After the resolution was reached within the organization, Fang Wei personally notified Zhang Wenyuan and Fan Zhipeng.

Zhang Wenyuan didn't have any particular thoughts. His initial suggestion to relocate the hardware factory to Xiangshan was simply to help the other party. Since they didn't need it, he had nothing more to say. Fan Zhipeng, of course, was very happy; his unwillingness to be someone else's appendage showed he was an ambitious person.

The company now supports his idea; it remains to be seen whether he can successfully build the business.

Over the years, Fang Wei has generally refrained from interfering in the day-to-day operations of various companies, consistently letting them handle their tasks independently. However, Fang Wei places great importance on oversight; even furniture companies are subject to various audits and verifications.

He won't give anyone a chance to make mistakes, and strengthening supervision is actually for their own good.

A few days passed quickly.

As the weather gradually warms up, the rice seeds in the cooperative, breeding center, and Yao village are growing well. According to the current trend, the summer harvest will be one to ten days earlier than in previous years, and it will not delay the summer planting.

Even Wang Songlin found it incredible. Ever since the rice seedlings were planted, they had grown wildly and only returned to normal during the heading stage.

At this stage, the progress is similar to that of previous years, and there is even a possibility that the rice will be harvested ahead of schedule.

News also came from other communes that the situation was better than expected. The summer harvest would be delayed by at most ten days to half a month. If preparations were made early, the summer planting could be completed in time and the autumn harvest would not be delayed.

But Linxian County was lucky. The low-priced rice varieties they planted previously had low resistance and basically did not grow when the temperature was unsuitable, so this year's summer harvest was destined to be reduced.

This morning.

Fang Wei was sitting in his office reading documents when a staff member told him that some customers from other counties had come to order the "Nanguang No. 3" rice seeds.

The Nanguang No. 3 rice variety is now well-known. Given its excellent performance in this extreme weather, it doesn't need advertising; customers are coming to it on their own initiative.

Fang Wei nodded and continued reading the document.

He's going to Beijing for a meeting in a few days, and Zhao Jinsheng and others will handle the specific matters, so he doesn't need to worry about them.

In the afternoon, Zhao Jinsheng walked in beaming and said, "Secretary, today's harvest was great! I signed a supply and sales contract for 20 million catties of [Nanguang No. 3] in one go."

"So many? That's a really big order. Why don't you treat them to a meal? They're all guests, you can't neglect them."

Fang Wei was also a little surprised. He only knew that a few contracts would be signed today, but he did not expect the number to be so large.

"How could that be? Someone has already taken them to the canteen. A pig has been slaughtered at the pig farm, and some chickens, ducks, and live fish have been brought over to ensure that the guests eat and drink well."

Zhao Jinsheng came specifically to report the good news to Fang Wei and invited him to dinner.

Fang Wei shook his head and said that he was going to the capital in the next couple of days and was very busy, so he wouldn't be able to have dinner with the guests.

He initially said that gold always shines, and many people thought it was just a platitude. But the facts are undeniable, and everyone is convinced, saying that Secretary Fang's judgment is simply outrageously strong.

After seeing Zhao Jinsheng off, Fang Wei tidied up and left the office.

He first drove to the commune to pick up Pan Lianhua, and then they went home together. This car was a special vehicle assigned to him by a resolution of the council, and he could use it however he wanted; he wouldn't care about such a small matter.

Fang Wei never considered himself a selfless person, but in fact he gave away most of the benefits. Otherwise, with the technology in his hands, he would have been a billionaire long ago.

It's not difficult to contract land now; rice can be grown in many places from south to north. Why does he insist on putting all his eggs in one basket? To put it bluntly, he still wants to lead everyone to prosperity.

A person's material needs for food, clothing, and daily necessities are limited, but their spiritual needs are limitless.

a few days later.

Fang Wei arrived in the capital and attended the meeting.

During the group discussion, no one attacked him, but many people ignored him. This was because the theme of the meeting was "opening up and revitalizing the economy," and most people were discussing the impact of the household responsibility system on agricultural production.

After all, distributing land to individual households would stimulate farmers' enthusiasm for labor, and it seemed that increasing production and income would become a matter of course.

When it was Fang Wei's turn to speak, he only talked about the important role of breeding work in agricultural production, avoiding any other topics. After all, none of the 17 production brigades of Yaoling Commune had distributed land to individual households; instead, they had established cooperatives and continued down the path of collective economy.

Therefore, his sitting here is actually an anomaly.

“Secretary Fang, you have been working in rural areas for a long time and you are the most qualified to speak on this matter. Please talk about the reasons for the bumper harvests in recent years.”

He didn't want to cause trouble, but trouble found him anyway.

The representative's words were loaded with meaning; he was actually quite opposed to the path that Fang Wei and the cooperative had taken, but he put it in a rather tactful way.

"Yes, Secretary Fang, we all know you are a breeding expert. Let's not talk about breeding anymore, let's talk about deeper issues."

When someone takes the lead, others will naturally follow.

Another representative also started to criticize Fang Wei, which, to put it bluntly, was hoping that Fang Wei would contradict him.

"Then let me say a few words. As we all know, there are several key factors that determine grain yield. The first is the widespread use of chemical fertilizers. We have a local saying, 'A crop is like a flower, and it all depends on fertilizer.' Without enough fertilizer, crops will not grow well."

Secondly, there is the quality of the soil, that is, how fertile is the land? The yield difference between fertile land and barren land is huge, and this cannot be made up for later.

Finally, there's the seed. The seed determines the upper limit of yield; without good seeds, you can't grow high-quality, high-yield crops. As for field management and meticulous cultivation, these are details that do affect yield, but not as much as you might imagine.

Fang Wei stopped there, but what he said was actually quite objective.

Throughout history, most farmers have worked very hard to cultivate the land. Could their yields exceed the productivity levels of the time? The answer is no.

As for intensive farming, that's nonsense. In China, intensive farming in the strictest sense is almost impossible because the cost-effectiveness ratio is very low. As for work enthusiasm, while it does have some impact on work results, the impact isn't that significant.

However, he spoke very tactfully, and no one could find fault with him.

"Secretary Fang truly lives up to his reputation as a professional; his analysis is spot on. Alright, next person, please speak."

The moderator of the group discussion tried to smooth things over, expressing some dissatisfaction with the two people who had stirred up trouble earlier.

Everyone has their own thoughts and stance. From Fang Wei's perspective, if the cooperative is doing so well, why would he need to advocate for the land distribution to individual households?
No one has ever said that distributing land to individual households is bad; these two are just being nosy.

The meeting continued, and Fang Wei remained as calm as ever.

He didn't choose the collective economy path to prove that distributing land to individual households was bad; rather, it was the path best suited to the actual conditions of each brigade in Yaoling Commune. (End of Chapter)