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

"Third brother, you've worked hard these past few days too."

After seeing the guests off, Pan Lianhua felt much more relaxed. Her main concern was whether there had been any shortcomings in the hospitality. She remembered very clearly that when her family visited Guangzhou before, the locals had been very attentive and hospitable.

Fang Wei couldn't help but smile. Friends should just be sincere with each other; there's no need to worry too much.

It's currently the off-season for farming, and Wu Tianming specifically chose this time to come, as he hasn't been very busy lately.

"By the way, Lotus, are you going to a company meeting these days?"

Fang Wei suddenly remembered something and asked about it.

"Yes, I'm leaving the day after tomorrow. What, are you going to the provincial capital too?"

"I don't have anything to do. If you're going to a meeting, I'll take this opportunity to check on the construction progress of the Yaoling Building."

Pan Lianhua said she was going to the company to get hot water the day after tomorrow, so Fang Wei decided to go with her.

Taking advantage of the free time until the end of the year, he plans to make an inspection tour of the provincial capital and Xiangshan. It's easier to manage businesses located in other places; not only him, but all the board members also have inspection duties.

The day has arrived.

Fang Wei and Pan Lianhua then drove to the provincial capital.

Since both of them can drive, they can take turns driving on the road, so it's not too tiring.

On the day of their arrival, the two had a meal with Fang Ping, Tian Guihua, and others. Xiao Ya also brought her child. She had recently transferred to the Agricultural College and wasn't too busy. She looked a little heavier than before.

During the meal, Xiaoya mentioned that Fang Tao wanted to be transferred to Guangdong.

“Manman, I don’t mean to stop Tao Tao from pursuing his career, but if we go there and he’s unfamiliar with the place, there will be no one to help take care of the two children. I’m very conflicted right now and I don’t know what to do.”

"You two need to discuss this carefully; outsiders can't give you advice. Of course, you can still make a name for yourself even without going to Guangdong. No one can control everything forever."

Fang Wei didn't offer any advice to Xiao Ya. Every family has its own problems, and it's something they have to decide for themselves.

Actually, it didn't matter whether he went to the Guangdong Academy of Agricultural Sciences or not. He had even talked about this with Wu Tianming that day, and Wu Tianming planned to contact some people to report Fang Tao's wrong behavior to the province.

Previously, the Academy of Agricultural Sciences was a subordinate unit of the Department of Agriculture, but now it is preparing to merge with several other research units, and after the merger, it will be directly under the jurisdiction of the province.

Therefore, reporting the problems of certain individuals at the Academy of Agricultural Sciences to the Department of Agriculture is useless; we must report them directly to the provincial level.

As long as the higher authorities take this issue seriously, Fang Tao's days of suppression will come to an end, and he doesn't necessarily need to be transferred to find a way out.

After dinner, Fang Wei and Pan Lianhua went straight to the hotel. They were both on business, so there was no need for them to squeeze in with their older brother.

The next day.

Pan Lianhua went to the company to attend a meeting, while Fang Wei went to the construction site of Yaoling Building.

The main structure of the building is now complete, and interior decoration is currently underway. It is expected to be completed before June next year.

At that time, a building integrating accommodation, catering and office space will be put into operation. When cooperative members come to the provincial capital for business trips, they will no longer need to stay anywhere else; they can stay in the building.

Of course, these are all still plans, and the specific operation will have to wait until the building is completed.

“Secretary Fang, we have been monitoring the quality of the project, and so far, we have not found anything wrong.”

The personnel stationed in the provincial capital worked diligently, participating in almost the entire construction process. With their supervision and coordination, the project's progress significantly accelerated, and the quality was guaranteed.

As for whether you understand it or not, you'll become almost an expert after participating in a project. Besides, aren't there supervision units?
"Very good! Your work involves quality issues, so you must not let your guard down. Everyone has been working hard all this time. I'll treat you to dinner on behalf of the company tonight."

Fang Wei was very satisfied and decided to take everyone out for a nice meal that evening.

The construction company manager also offered to treat everyone, but he declined. He didn't want to get too close to the construction company; as long as they did a good job on the project, that was more important than anything else.

night.

Fang Wei booked a hotel and invited all the people stationed in the provincial capital to have a meal together.

This is an affirmation of their hard work and an encouragement to them.

the next day.

Fang Wei toured the furniture company, listened to the work report from the company's management, and inspected various departments and specialty stores.

He is always very meticulous in his work, never just skimming the surface. In addition to reviewing various accounts, he also talks with frontline employees to listen to their suggestions and demands.

Furniture companies are currently facing a bottleneck in their development, and should therefore pool their wisdom and efforts.

“Secretary, your transfer of Yu Hao is a great loss to us. However, the company’s sales team has been trained, and we will actively expand our sales channels and no longer rely too much on the franchise store model.”

Before leaving, Fang Wei sat down with Fang Ping, Lin Hanyang, and others, and they all shared their solutions.

Fang Wei did not express his opinion; whether the measures they proposed would work or not would only be known after being tested in practice.

The next day.

At one o'clock early, Fang Wei and Pan Lianhua checked out of their hotel room and drove back to the cooperative.

"Third Brother, do you think the suggestions everyone has made can help the company take the next step?"

On the way, Pan Lianhua asked about this matter.

Fang Wei shook his head, indicating he wasn't very optimistic. The furniture industry has a low floor, and correspondingly, a low ceiling. One problem is fierce competition, and another is that once something reaches a certain stage of development, it's difficult to break through bottlenecks.

However, with proper management, maintaining the current scale is achievable.

After returning home, Fang Wei rested for a week before going to Fragrant Hills. This was his first visit since the Electrical Appliances Group accepted investment from Zhenglong Holdings.

“Secretary, our current production line is already too busy. Chairman Jiang has helped us contact the introduction of a new production line and related technologies. I will submit the application report to the cooperative after New Year’s Day.”

Zhang Wenyuan remains ambitious. With the company's air conditioners in high demand, he plans to launch a second production line.

The introduction of this production line is in conjunction with the introduction of technology. Jiang Shiyue has obtained relatively advanced equipment and technology through his own channels, which will provide strong support for the company's technological upgrade.

"There's no problem with this, since it's part of the plan. Besides, we can't just rely on importing technology to run a business; what's more important is to digest, absorb, and innovate. So we should increase investment in R&D; only when we have it ourselves can we truly have it."

Fang Wei talked a lot with the company's management, and specifically emphasized that the key is to introduce, digest, and absorb the new technologies.

He also demanded that the company increase its R&D funding and establish its own R&D team. "Secretary Fang is right, and we are indeed strengthening our efforts in this area."

Zhang Wenyuan also recognized the importance of R&D. He said that the company will increase the proportion of R&D expenditure to revenue year by year, and must turn the introduced technology into its own and innovate on the basis of that.

Fang Wei nodded, and then went to inspect the various factories.

In fact, not many people know that Yaoling Electric Group is actually a township enterprise; instead, many people mistake it for a Hong Kong-funded enterprise.

Fang Wei didn't care about these things. What others thought didn't matter. The key was to let the product speak for itself.

These days, it's not about venturing into high-tech fields; being able to master traditional manufacturing is a real skill. You have to take things one step at a time; taking too big a step can lead to disaster.

There's nothing wrong with traditional industries; the home appliance industry was the first to break through in China's manufacturing sector.

In recent years, China has introduced numerous production lines for televisions, refrigerators, washing machines, and other products. Although Japanese home appliances still dominate the high-end market, domestic brands have begun to take root and flourish.

Fang Wei spent a week in Xiangshan, gaining a comprehensive understanding of the electric fan factory and the refrigeration equipment factory.

As the ultimate decision-maker of a company, he must have a clear understanding of the company's actual situation, the more detailed the better, so that he is less likely to make mistakes when making decisions.

Upon returning to the company, he rested for only one day before convening a council meeting.

The topic of this meeting is the production plan for next year. Making a plan is very important, and this is also a common practice of the cooperative.

"Based on the current situation, planting 10 mu of [Nongyou 82] rice should be appropriate, since Wuling Agriculture alone has purchased one-third of the output."

Therefore, the remaining 20,000 mu of [Nanguang No. 4] rice seedlings are sufficient to meet the sales needs of [Yaoling Rice]. Thus, this ratio is reasonable.

Fang Wei felt that the rice planting ratio did not need to be adjusted next year and that the status quo should be maintained.

This ratio has actually been adjusted repeatedly before, and there doesn't seem to be any problem so far.

“I agree with Secretary Fang’s opinion, but next year, the dry land side suggests planting one season of chili peppers, otherwise the chili sauce factory will not have enough raw materials.”

The rice production plan doesn't need much discussion; let's move on to the planting plan for dryland slopes.

Some council members suggested planting a season of chili peppers, while others suggested cultivating a season of high-yield soybean seeds. However, Fang Wei presented detailed data, indicating that soybean and peanut seeds would be in short supply next year.

"Therefore, it seems inappropriate to take up another season's production of chili peppers. It would be better to cooperate with neighboring counties and sign purchase and sales contracts with local farmers. We will sell them chili pepper seeds, and we will be responsible for purchasing the chili peppers they produce."

The cooperative has no shortage of labor or capital, but it lacks land.

Including the breeding center, the cooperative owns a total of 12 mu of paddy fields and 3.5 mu of dry sloping land. It is estimated that the market will be good next year, and the seeds of various crop varieties will perform well; however, there simply isn't enough land to go around.

Therefore, Fang Wei suggested outsourcing the production of ordinary chili peppers.

This involves providing chili seeds, which growers then cultivate. At harvest time, the cooperative purchases all the chilies. Of course, the chilies must meet quality standards, so he felt he needed to first investigate other regions.

“I think what Secretary Fang said makes sense, and I agree with his opinion.”

"I agree."

"I agree."

The meeting finalized the production plan for the coming year, and Zhao Jinsheng led a team to conduct on-site inspections the next day. After the inspections, contracts would be signed with the selected farmers.

Zhao Jinsheng is very experienced in this kind of thing.

Next year, in addition to cultivating rice seeds, the commune will also cultivate soybean, corn, and soybean seeds. This plan was decided after repeated deliberation; it was actually a choice made out of necessity.

It's not that peanut seeds are hard to sell, it's just that there's no land left.

As for fruits and vegetables like chestnut pumpkin and honeydew melon, since their production is limited, they can be grown in vegetable greenhouses.

For example, although the greenhouses mainly grow off-season vegetables, both greenhouses also grow some honeydew melons. The honeydew melons will be available between New Year's Day and the Spring Festival, and sales are expected to be good.

The cooperative has not yet supplied large quantities of seeds to the market; the seeds for these minor crop varieties are still in the exploratory stage.

Time flies.

It's that time of year again for year-end settlements.

The finance department staff were extremely busy, while Fang Wei discussed with the board members the issue of raising salaries and benefits, which had been proposed by someone.

However, the proposal was rejected due to strong opposition, even from Fang Wei.

"Firstly, the members' wages and bonuses are already quite high, and secondly, there are year-end dividends. Which member's annual income is not enviable?"
Therefore, there's no need to raise wages. Don't forget, it's easy to raise wages, but extremely difficult to lower them later.

Fang Wei made the final decision, and everyone stopped discussing pointless matters.

The person who started this incident was a director in the company. He was clearly getting a bit arrogant, thinking that since the company was so rich, what was wrong with giving everyone a raise?
But Fang Wei doesn't think so. He would rather focus on profit sharing than easily increase salaries.

The situation is complicated. For the long-term development of the cooperative, he has to play the villain.

"Third Brother, why don't you agree to a pay raise?"

night.

The couple lay down, and Pan Lianhua suddenly asked about this matter.

There's nothing new under the sun; the moment the council meeting ended, the news spread like wildfire. It was Fang Wei who stood up and rejected the salary increase proposal; if it had been anyone else, they would have been condemned and driven to despair.

"If the wage cost is too high, it's fair to the members who receive dividends. Let me give you an analogy: the land that the members invest in the community is like shares, while the members who do the work are like employees."

Employee salaries are based on the current average wage level, not the cooperative's annual profit. Profits have already been distributed as bonuses; asking for more would be excessive.

Members often have dual identities, being both shareholders and employees.

Therefore, that director failed to recognize his proper role, and the proposed solution caused trouble for many people.

Since every member has the right to dividends, there's no point in rushing to raise wages. Since the breeding cooperative doesn't pay income tax, it should try to take care of the elderly, weak, sick, and disabled members.

"I knew it! How could my man suppress everyone's income? Ignore them, you're doing a great job."

Pan Lianhua thought the man was right. Their current wages were already higher than most city dwellers', not to mention the year-end bonuses; there was no need to rush to raise wages again. (End of Chapter)