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

"Okay! As long as you agree to supply the goods, I'll talk to them about the rest."

Zhao Yong was very happy. If Fang Wei had refused outright, he would have lost face.

It's impossible for the region to take advantage of us. We've already done more than enough by agreeing to supply goods, so why would we want them to give us more money?

Fang Wei then left Zhao Yong's office and went to check out the industrial park. The oil mill's production workshop was currently undergoing renovations, and once the renovations were basically completed, the equipment would be installed and tested.

Because the project was scheduled for a very short time, the whole process was very tightly organized, with each step closely linked to the next.

"Secretary Fang, please rest assured, the factory will definitely be operational before the rapeseed harvest."

Zhang Chu and the factory manager repeatedly assured Fang Wei that they would absolutely not cause any problems.

Fang Wei nodded, and then left the construction site with Zhang Chu.

Zhang Chu is now the general manager of the grain and oil food company, and the director of the chili sauce factory has been replaced by the former deputy director. This guy is very arrogant wherever he goes now, after all, he has several factories under his control, and even the township head has to give him face.

"Old Zhang, you need to keep a close eye on things from now on and make sure the oil mill is up and running on time. You've really hit the jackpot this time; you're probably going to make a fortune."

Fang Wei went to the company with Zhang Chu, then returned to the office. Before parting ways with Zhang Chu, he specifically emphasized the importance of the matter.

Now, the processing of agricultural and sideline products in the cooperative is gradually getting on the right track, and the variety of products involved is also increasing.

The raw materials are not solely provided by the cooperative; a significant portion is purchased from growers in other townships or even other counties.

However, there is one condition: the agricultural products purchased must be from seeds provided by the cooperative; other varieties from outside the cooperative will not be accepted.

The purpose of doing this is twofold: firstly, to protect the cooperative's own interests, and secondly, to strictly control quality, ensuring that only crop varieties cultivated by themselves can be trusted.

Unbeknownst to many, a huge chain of interests has formed around the cooperative, which is definitely a good thing.

Over the next period of time, Fang Wei continued to refine the production plan for the following year, and then convened a council meeting.

"The situation will be more challenging for the cooperative next spring. My plan is to proactively reduce the planting area rather than allow rice seeds to accumulate."

At that time, we can cultivate 20,000 mu of [Nongyou 82] rice seeds and 20,000 mu of [Nanguang No. 4] rice seeds at the breeding center. After our new hybrid rice is successfully developed, we will readjust according to the actual situation.

Fang Wei reduced the rice seed cultivation area by more than half in one go, which will inevitably lead to a decline in profits.

This can offset some of the losses in other ways, but there will still be some overall losses. However, compared to the stockpiling of rice seeds, these losses are still acceptable.

"Yangshan Farm's 8 mu of land is all used to cultivate [Yuxiang 083] corn seeds. We need to impact Xinkaiqi in the opponent's main variety."

Xinlin Farm's 40,000 mu of farmland is used to grow the "Nanguang No. 4" peanut variety. The farmland is divided into two parts: 80,000 mu of large fields are used to cultivate peanut seeds, and 35,000 mu of dry, sloping land are used entirely for cultivating vegetable seeds.

After many days of revisions, Fang Wei finally finalized the production plan for next year.

Zhao Jinsheng and others began to discuss the matter, feeling that the plan was a bit too radical.

“Secretary, since rapeseed oil is in such high demand, why don’t we plant another season of rapeseed?”

Some people raised questions, believing that planting rapeseed would definitely be profitable.

"The end of this year and the beginning of next year will be the time when rapeseed oil is in the most shortage, so we can make a lot of money from the rapeseed that has overwintered. Because of this profit-making effect, many places will rush to plant rapeseed next spring. When it comes to harvest, supply will exceed demand and prices will plummet."

Fang Wei explained that this kind of thing requires foresight. When everyone rushes to plant a certain type of crop, a price crash is not far off.

Therefore, his choice to cultivate peanut seeds should yield good returns.

“Secretary, is it really necessary to plant 40,000 mu of ‘Nanguang No. 4’ rice? The price of rice is too low, less than two cents per jin, and the yield per mu is only about 300 yuan. It’s better to cultivate soybean seeds.”

Zhao Jinsheng didn't quite understand why they had to grow rice. After all the hard work of growing a season of "Nanguang No. 4" rice, the total output value was only a little over 10 million yuan.

Conversely, if soybean seeds are cultivated, the yield will increase many times over.

"Old Zhao, are you really planning to use our 4 mu of high-quality paddy fields in Xinlin Farm as dry land?"

Using paddy fields as dry land is not impossible, but it would change the soil composition, and provincial policies do not allow it.

Since cultivating rice varieties doesn't require that much land, after reaping the benefits, we should still restore paddy field rice cultivation. If no one investigates, it's fine; but if they do, they'll be caught red-handed.

Therefore, Fang Wei was somewhat radical when formulating the spring planting plan, but he would change all the paddy fields when it came to the summer planting season.

The commune has 8 mu of paddy fields and 3.5 mu of dry land, Xinlin Farm has 4 mu of paddy fields, and Yangshan Farm has 6 mu of paddy fields and 2 mu of dry land. The current situation is that a large amount of paddy fields are being occupied due to the cultivation of high-yield cash crop seeds, which is unsustainable.

Make a quick profit while the market is good, but then you still have to follow the regulations for production.

"Haha, I was too greedy."

Zhao Jinsheng was a little embarrassed. He understood the policies, but he chose to ignore them when faced with the prospect of profit.

Only after hearing Fang Wei's reminder did he realize the seriousness of the problem; continuing to do this would lead to trouble.

Fang Wei waved his hand, and the conference room immediately fell silent.

"The paddy fields in Yangshan Farm and the commune will be temporarily converted into dry fields. I will report this to Yangshan County and Xinlin County later. If it is not approved, then we will have to change the production plan."

In the first year after Xinlin Farm and Yangshan Farm were acquired, no reporting was required for how the farmland was used.

However, starting next year, the second year, paddy fields cannot be converted to dry fields without special reasons. If it is absolutely necessary to do so, it must be reported and approved by the local agricultural authorities.

Otherwise, once verified, there will be severe penalties.

Now everyone fell silent. It was definitely not appropriate to continue cultivating rice seeds now. The annual demand for rice seeds was only so large. With so many people sharing the profits, the cooperative couldn't possibly dominate the entire market.

The production plan was approved, and Fang Wei went to Yangshan Farm the next day.

“This reporting is easy for you, since it’s been less than a year since you bought the farm until the beginning of next year.”

The reporting process in Yangshan went very smoothly; Fang Wei got it done without any effort at all.

But when he returned to Xinlin County to report to the relevant departments, he encountered trouble.

“Secretary Fang, it’s not that we don’t want to help you, it’s just that the regional agricultural bureau is keeping a close eye on things. The cooperative’s paddy fields have been there for many years, and we can’t explain why they’re suddenly being converted into dry land.”

However, at Xinlin Farm, the land can be used as dry land for another season of spring planting next year, but it must be converted back to dry land for summer planting.

The cooperative's application to temporarily convert 8 mu of paddy fields into dry land was rejected. There was no room for negotiation; he then went to see Cui Yiming, but the result remained unchanged. "Secretary Cui," he said, "there's a nationwide shortage of peanut seeds right now. Can't we plant one season temporarily?"

"This really won't do. If the higher-ups come to inspect, neither of us will be in good shape. Take my advice: there are countless people looking for something to criticize you for right now. Be careful and don't cause trouble for yourself."

Fang Wei returned to the company with a sense of helplessness, and after discussing it with everyone, they changed the production plan again.

The cooperative cultivates 80,000 mu of "Nanguang No. 4" rice, while Xinlin Farm uses 40,000 mu of farmland to cultivate high-yield peanut seeds.

That was settled. Fang Wei felt that they should develop the new rice variety as soon as possible.

morning.

Fang Wei went to the office briefly, and then went to the experimental field.

He provided on-site guidance, resolved some of the breeders' difficulties, and urged them to expedite the trials. However, pairing trials require a degree of luck, and there is no timetable for when success will be achieved.

Fang Wei worked at the experimental field until noon before going home for lunch.

After the meal, he drove to the Yao village to discuss next year's production plan with Wang Songlin and others.

"Songlin, are there any problems with the sales of your rice seeds?"

"It's not a big problem, but our major client also said that the market for [Nongyou 82] rice seeds may be saturated, and next year they may only purchase rice seeds for one season, so we should prepare in advance."

The sluggish sales of rice seeds were not only due to fierce competition, but mainly because the cooperatives had produced too much in the previous two years, and gradually accumulated a surplus until it reached saturation.

That's why Fang Wei took the initiative to reduce production, but what should the Yao village do?
"How about this: you plant one season of [Nanguang No. 4] rice, and then continue to cultivate the [Nongyou 82] rice variety next summer. There will be some economic losses, but it shouldn't be a big problem."

Fang Wei then made a decision: the Yao village would also stop breeding rice next year. The rice produced could be used to distribute food rations and pay public taxes, and the rest could be sold.

For example, for cooperatives, the tax exemption for the next season will only apply to the 4 mu of farmland within the breeding center. Other areas, including rice cultivation, will not be exempt from tax exemption.

This required the payment of agricultural taxes, which can also be understood as paying public grain.

"That's settled then. Although there will be some losses, we can absorb them."

Wang Songlin didn't care. Tourism in the village was booming, so even if he lost some income, it wouldn't have a big impact.

Fang Wei didn't have dinner in the village and rushed home before dark.

He wasn't unhappy at all. In fact, he had long known the characteristics of breeding: the market capacity was limited, and adjustments had to be made in a timely manner according to market changes.

Once the transition period is over, the rice seed cultivation in the cooperative can resume normal operations.

"Third Brother, do you think the cooperative is expanding too fast? Rice production can't be expanded indefinitely, but the two new farms can bring in some profit, so isn't that just extra money?"

Pan Lianhua knew what the man had been busy with these days, so she offered him some advice.

Fang Wei nodded; he didn't really care.

The cooperative's development has entered a fast track, with the deep processing of agricultural and sideline products alone bringing substantial profits to the cooperative. This doesn't even include the accumulated profits from the electrical appliance group, hardware factory, and furniture company.

"You're right. This matter is in the past, there's nothing to think about."

At this time, the older sister prepared dinner, and the family sat down together to eat.

After dinner, Fang Wei and his wife went for a walk along the river. They felt there were still too few recreational activities available; they could think of ways to add more facilities later.

"Third Brother, I've noticed that Grandpa's health has been declining lately. Could there be something wrong?"

“Grandpa is old, so it’s not surprising that he’s like this. Master Sun left a prescription before he left. I’ll prepare the medicine tomorrow, and Grandpa will feel better after drinking Chinese medicine for a while.”

Speaking of her grandfather, Fang Wei couldn't help but sigh in her heart.

Birth, aging, illness, and death are all natural laws that no one can escape. Grandpa's health is already quite good; to be in this state at 90 years old is something many people would envy.

Over the years, Grandpa consumed many tonics to replenish his vital energy, and with the added benefit of the "Main House" attribute, he still couldn't escape his ultimate fate.

He actually had a bad feeling, but he didn't say it out loud for fear of worrying Pan Lianhua.

The next day.

Fang Wei made a special trip to the clinic because she didn't have all the medicinal herbs at home and was missing a few, so she had to come here to get them all.

After receiving the medicine, he went home and divided the daily dose according to the prescription, then handed it to his older sister.

In reality, he knew very well that these medicines wouldn't be very effective for his grandfather; he was just doing his part to help him.

Afterwards, he drove to the Sanqing Temple, intending to ask Master Sun to come back and take a look at his grandfather. He reasoned that going to the hospital would be useless for his grandfather's condition; he had no illness and it was simply due to natural aging.

Hearing that Grandpa hadn't been feeling well these past few days, Sun Daoren followed Fang Wei back to the village without saying a word.

As I walked into the house, I saw Grandpa dozing off in his recliner.

“He’s been like this lately, taking naps here and there, and then he can’t sleep well at night.”

Fang explained the situation to Master Sun, who then went over to take the old man's pulse, and the old man immediately woke up.

"Old Taoist, you're back?"

"Yes, I'm back. Don't move yet, let me take your pulse."

After a while, Master Sun said, "Grandpa is fine. Just rest well recently. I'll prescribe a few more doses of calming and qi-tonifying medicine."

"Master Sun, I've already prepared the medicine for Grandpa according to the prescription you gave me before. Do you need a different prescription?"

"No need, the old recipe will do."

Then, Master Sun got up to take his leave, and Fang Wei escorted him back.

"Third brother, I don't know how to say this. Grandpa is almost out of breath, and no amount of supplements will help. During this time, we've been getting him whatever he wants to eat, and we've tried our best to accommodate his wish to go back to the Yao village."

Master Sun sighed and told Fang Wei his judgment: Grandpa probably doesn't have much time left.

Fang Wei felt deeply saddened by the news, but she had to force herself to hold back her tears so her family wouldn't see. She would definitely tell her good sister Pan Lianhua after this, but the later the better. (End of Chapter)