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

"Nanguang No. 5 will definitely not be exported. For the domestic sales, Nanguang No. 5 can replace Nanguang No. 4. We'll see about these things after the autumn harvest; I can't say for sure right now."

Fang Wei plans to promote the "Nanguang No. 5" rice variety in China. The raw materials for Yaoling rice will not be changed for the time being, so "Nanguang No. 4" will still have a small market.

Yaoling rice focuses on high-quality products, not on quantity, and its current scale will be maintained for a long time.

Why not use [Nanguang No. 5] as a raw material?

He estimated that the yield of this type of rice would be very high in the future, making it difficult to develop a premium product. Also, the two types of rice have different tastes and flavors; [Nanguang No. 4] is more suitable for packaging and marketing.

Zhao Jinsheng and the others nodded in agreement, agreeing that what the Party Secretary said made a lot of sense.

However, now is not the time to discuss next year's production plan. After chatting for a few minutes, everyone went back to their own work.

Zhao Jinsheng stayed behind to listen to Fang Wei explain the arrangements for the harvest season.

"Old Zhao, picking wild fruits in the mountains should be voluntary, not forced. As for the chestnut processing plant needing wild chestnuts as raw materials, that's unrealistic to begin with, so don't worry about it too much."

"OK, I see."

Zhao Jinsheng then made arrangements. This year, very few members signed up to go into the mountains. Most people were unwilling to take risks for a small profit.

The mountains are covered with lush vegetation, and even with the community's security personnel providing full protection, there are always areas that cannot be covered.

The changes in the mountain environment have reshaped the entire ecosystem, and dangers are everywhere.

Fang Wei planned to go into the mountains to pick some wild loquats for his wife, since she liked them, so he didn't need too many, just a taste would be enough.

In addition, he felt it would be a waste not to pick the wild fruits in the mountains, so he called Wang Songlin.

The Yao people used to live a semi-farming, semi-hunting life, and even now, they haven't completely lost their ancestral skills. Gathering wild fruits in the mountains is no problem for them; they have ways to protect themselves.

"Third brother, I thought you didn't want us to go picking. Now that the older brothers and sisters are all very free, it's good for them to go out and earn some income."

Wang Songlin was very pleased and immediately sent a team of 300 people to the First Brigade.

Although those wild forests can be reached from deep in the mountains, the mountain paths there are much steeper, so it's more convenient to enter the mountains from this side of the team.

Transportation has improved a lot now; the winding mountain road leads directly to the village, so there's no need to worry about the distance.

When the appointed day arrived, the large group of people entered the deep mountains.

Fang Wei and Wang Songlin led the young people from the security department to clear the way, and so many people painstakingly carved out a mountain path.

Insect repellent and snake repellent are available for sale at the market. They may not be as effective as the ones Fang Wei makes himself, but they will definitely be somewhat useful.

Moreover, the collective action of so many people can also cause most animals to avoid the area in advance.

Every year during the harvest season, Zheng Bao and his team are on tenterhooks. This time, Zheng Bao was in charge of security again, and they were on high alert the whole way, not daring to relax for a moment.

Fortunately, nothing has gone wrong over the years, and this harvest went smoothly as well.

Wang Songlin led his group of brothers and sisters to become the main force in this picking operation. Although they were few in number, they were very efficient in picking and each person carried an average weight of over 100 kilograms.

In the following days, fewer and fewer people went into the mountains, only Wang Songlin and his group persisted.

A week later.

The cooperative announced the end of the harvesting operation and stated that it would no longer provide safety protection, hoping that its members would not go into the mountains again.

Everyone was very obedient and joking, but this involved their own lives and safety, so they couldn't be careless!
Wang Songlin and others also stopped picking. They had a good harvest this time, mainly picking wild chestnuts, which they then sold to a chestnut processing plant.

The price is much higher than selling it to other buyers.

Fang Wei made some loquat syrup, kept a few jars at home, and gave the rest to Daoist Sun.

The forestry brigade harvested the chestnuts and camellia seeds grown in the village, which were then purchased by the chestnut processing plant and the oil pressing plant.

The chestnut products produced by the cooperative and the tea oil produced by the oil press are selling very well.

Selling chestnuts and camellia seeds directly doesn't bring in much money. After processing, the profit increases dramatically, which is definitely better than selling primary products.

"Secretary, I'm leading a team to the countryside to buy chili peppers these next couple of days. Do you have any instructions for me?"

In the morning, Zhao Jinsheng came to find Fang Wei and said that he was going to lead a team to the countryside.

He always personally oversaw the purchase of chili peppers, and he also personally handled the purchase of rice.

These are two major events for the commune. The chili sauce factory and the rice mill bring in substantial profits for the commune every year.

"Go ahead, Zheng Bao will take care of this for now. Anyway, there's nothing major going on in the organization lately."

Fang Wei nodded and then made arrangements.

After a period of adjustment, the cooperative has begun a new round of development. Once the "Nanguang No. 5" rice seeds are on the market, the cooperative's various economic indicators will reach a new level.

Zhao Jinsheng then led a team to various townships and counties. As the chili sauce factory's revenue continued to expand, the demand for raw materials also gradually increased.

The chili seeds cultivated by the cooperative are only provided to contracted growers to ensure the supply of Yaoling chili peppers.

Fang Wei stayed at the cooperative, and when he had time, he would visit the two farms and the breeding center. He also visited the Tian Bingyi Cooperative and the Yao village.

The agricultural company has begun operations. On the surface, it is a company jointly established by three entities, but at its core, it still follows the cooperative model and distributes resources according to the number of people.

Each member represents land, which, when concretized at the company level, is represented by registered capital.

Companies nowadays are not very standardized, and this situation will only change after the Company Law is introduced in the 1990s.

In reality, the Yao village, including Tian Bingyi's cooperative, only has about a thousand people, so the impact on the distribution results is minimal. He needs to have enough patience to overcome everyone's xenophobic feelings and ultimately integrate them completely into the cooperative system.

This was part of his long-term plan, starting with forming an alliance, then establishing an agricultural company, and finally, complete integration.

“Brother-in-law, you should gradually transform your business, moving from cultivating conventional vegetable seeds to specializing in cultivating high-value vegetable and fruit seeds, in order to maximize profits.”

That day, after handling several official matters in his office, Fang Wei arrived at Tian Bingyi Cooperative.

During lunch, he chatted with the other party about future developments.

“What you said makes sense, third brother. Could you help me pick out some varieties later? My taste isn’t as good as yours.”

Tian Bingyi had always trusted Fang Wei, so he adopted her suggestion without hesitation.

Fang Wei hopes that Tian Bingyi Cooperative can enhance its own value, so that he can then promote some things.

There's no need to worry about the Yao village; its economy is doing quite well and won't hold it back.

"Then I'll just say this for your reference. The final choice is up to you."

Fang Wei then listed some high-value vegetable and fruit varieties, which Tian Bingyi carefully noted down.

After lunch, he drove off and went straight to the Yao village. When he arrived at the mountain, he found that there were many tourists in the village today, and it was as lively as if it were a festival.

"Songlin, what's going on?"

"There are events going on in the village these days, so we gave advance notice, which is why there are so many tourists."

Fang Wei asked Wang Songlin about it and learned that Wang Songlin and his group had come up with many creative ways to promote tourism in the Yao village.

These activities are actually more of a performance, but tourists love them, and this guy really knows exactly what they're looking for.

"You can leave this to someone else. Now come with me to the fields."

Fang Wei wasn't there for the tourism projects, so he directly took Wang Songlin to the terraced fields.

The rice in the field is growing well, and the cash crop is peanuts. It would be perfectly normal for people to raise pigs and ducks as well.

“Songlin, starting next year I plan to have you cultivate the ‘Nanguang No. 4’ rice variety. This hybrid rice variety has a yield of nearly 2000 jin per mu and is of very good quality. It will become a highly sought-after variety in the future.”

With her grandfather gone, Fang Wei felt even more inclined to side with the Yao village.

If it weren't for the stringent qualification requirements for breeding units, he would actually prefer to let the Yao villages develop on their own.

"The yield is nearly 2000 jin per mu, that's incredible! Third Brother, whatever you say, we'll do it, absolutely no problem."

The matter of the Yao village is easy to handle; Fang Wei can make a decision with a single word.

Wang Songlin had no psychological barriers to changing the breed; on the contrary, he was somewhat looking forward to it.

If the Nanguang No. 5 rice variety truly performs this well, its price will definitely increase, which will undoubtedly boost the income of breeding units.

After saying this, Wang Songlin hesitated for a moment, but ultimately did not speak.

“Speak your mind. What kind of behavior is this, hesitating like this?”

Fang Wei rolled her eyes at the other person, letting them speak freely.

"Then I'll say it, Third Brother. There are too many people in the cooperative, and everyone has different ideas, so some things can be really difficult to handle."

I know you mean well and want to include the village and Tian Bingyi Cooperative into the cooperative system, but you can't please everyone, and there will always be some people who will object.

My suggestion is that the village remain de facto independently accounted for, but essentially affiliated with the agricultural company, even if it only pays a small management fee annually.

Wang Songlin had already heard a lot of gossip. A small part of the cooperative was very dissatisfied with the fact that the other party wanted to include Yao Village and Tian Bingyi Cooperative, saying that he was seeking benefits for his relatives.

Although only a very small number of people said these things, it made Wang Songlin very angry.

To avoid putting Fang Wei in a difficult position, he discussed the matter with everyone for a long time and finally came up with a "affiliation" solution.

"There's no need for that. I can still make decisions about the cooperative. Although a few individuals are spreading rumors, the vast majority of members are willing to accept you."

Fang Wei was actually quite unhappy, but she didn't show it.

After calming Wang Songlin down, he returned to the commune and summoned Zheng Bao to his office, ordering them to investigate who was spreading rumors.

This kind of thing is easy to investigate. There are only a few people who love to spread gossip, so you can find out the truth by asking around.

Fang Wei then took serious action against these individuals, deducting their wages and bonuses, but not their profit sharing.

Now that everyone knows his stance, no one dares to say anything against it.

After some time, Zhao Jinsheng and the others returned to the cooperative, having successfully completed the task of purchasing chili peppers. There were no breaches of contract this season, which made everyone very satisfied.

This morning.

Fang Wei convened a meeting of all the directors to review several recent proposals.

"What are your thoughts on the proposal to build a large auditorium?"

Some council members suggested building a large auditorium in the community, which could be used for large meetings, movies, plays, cultural performances, and so on, with the aim of enriching everyone's leisure and cultural life.

Otherwise, it would be difficult to even watch a movie, since the effects of open-air cinemas are relatively poor.

"agree!"

"agree."

Building a large auditorium wouldn't cost too much money, so it's very cost-effective, and everyone agreed.

Once the auditorium is completed, it can be used to show movies and organize cultural performances, without being affected by weather or other factors.

However, in order to maintain order, tickets are required to watch movies (or performances), but the price will definitely be very cheap, and the company will not make money from it.

"Furthermore, our film projection team should also be put into operation to show movies to everyone in the villages."

Zhao Jinsheng proposed restoring the film projection team system, as the company had been too busy with production and hadn't paid enough attention to this aspect before; now it should be given more importance.

Otherwise, everyone's leisure time will be very boring, and some bad habits will also develop.

For example, some members, after enjoying a few good days, start gambling, and rumors spread like wildfire, which is often the root of the conflict.

"Okay! Comrade Zheng Bao will be in charge of this matter. No matter which village the movie is shown in, the safety of the people must be guaranteed."

"The community is building a basketball court."

"Build table tennis rooms in each village."

The issues proceeded one by one, and all of them were eventually passed.

These matters are all handled by designated personnel. The construction of the auditorium will go through design and construction processes, and it is estimated that it will be put into use next summer.

In addition to the auditorium and the film projection team, the organization will also build a number of basketball courts, purchase a number of ping-pong tables, and provide dedicated spaces for everyone to participate in activities.

With everything resolved, Fang Wei prepared to adjourn the meeting.

"Secretary, there's one more thing. Someone is secretly showing videos in each brigade, and it's said that there's a lot of unhealthy content."

In the past two years, imported color TVs and VCRs have begun to appear on the market. Some business-minded individuals can make money by playing videos after buying a color TV, a VCR, and some pirated videotapes.

These people are highly mobile and difficult to regulate; they'll show any kind of content just to make money.

This is exactly what the board member was talking about.

"This won't do! Zheng Bao, you have to take responsibility and make sure all the brigades pay attention to this phenomenon and prohibit outsiders from showing videos on our territory."

Furthermore, this matter should be reported to the village and township authorities, since they should be responsible for handling it.

Fang Wei knew how harmful certain content could be to teenagers; other places might turn a blind eye, but it was absolutely unacceptable within the society. (End of Chapter)