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

"Things can't always go smoothly, but there's no need to be afraid. So what if they're international giants? I don't care what they do elsewhere, but when they come to China, we won't tolerate them causing trouble."

Fang Wei also had worries, but she was not afraid.

Because fear is useless, these international giants who are stirring up trouble in the agricultural sector are, strictly speaking, no good at all. They are not benevolent people, but greedy wolves.

Fortunately, he has the confidence that the country will not allow him to entrust his food security to others.

His words instilled confidence in everyone present. To be honest, his aura was simply too dazzling. Even with the underhanded actions of international giants, the so-called second-generation genetically modified corn seeds were still inferior to [Yu Xiang 183].

"Then let's proceed at our own pace, ensuring the supply of [Yuxiang 183] seeds while trying to maintain our current market share. Alright, let's start discussing the autumn harvest now."

Cai Tong then changed the subject and began discussing the arrangements for the autumn harvest.

Fang Wei then got up and left the meeting room. These matters did not require his involvement, so there was no need for him to stay any longer.

Two days passed.

The autumn harvest has officially begun, and the machinery of all the teams has started roaring almost simultaneously.

This year's focus includes several varieties, including the [Nanguang No. 5] rice seed, the [Yuxiang 183] corn seed, and the [Nandou 333] soybean seed.

The harvest times for these varieties are all different, and the focus of the autumn harvest is naturally on rice seeds.

The varieties of rice include Nanguang No. 5, Nanguang No. 4, and Nongyou 82, as well as Nanguang No. 5 rice, which is planted on a large scale.

The profits from rice cultivation are naturally far less than those from breeding, but rice seeds, including seeds of other crops, have a limited market capacity, while the market capacity for paddy rice or rice grains is many times greater.

When the company proactively adjusts rice production, the extra paddy fields will naturally not be left idle; it is only natural to use them for rice cultivation.

Food is the most important thing for people. What people eat is rice and flour, not seeds.

Yaoling Agriculture's performance fluctuates with the changes in government regulations, which is normal. However, with an additional 6 mu of soybean seeds this year, the overall performance is still acceptable.

This season, only 30,000 mu of "Nanguang No. 4" rice seeds, 30,000 mu of "Nongyou 82" rice seeds, and 20,000 mu of "Nanguang No. 5" rice seeds were sown.

The total yield of the Nanguang No. 4 rice variety was 48 million jin, the yield of Nongyou 82 was 42 million jin, and the total yield of Nanguang No. 5 rice variety was 42 million jin.

This season's rice yield is among the lowest in recent years, especially for the "Nanguang No. 5" rice variety, which has been reduced to a very low level.

However, the current market saturation is still very high, and it will only drop sharply after it spreads next year.

Therefore, Fang Wei's production control target has been achieved, and another peak production season will begin next year.

The busy autumn harvest work has ended, almost a month earlier than in other towns.

Subsequently, Yaoling Agriculture announced the start of rice seed sales. Although market demand had decreased significantly, rice seed production had also decreased considerably.

Therefore, the sales work went smoothly and there was no backlog.

As for rice, there's no need to worry. Internal consumption alone reaches 1500 million jin, but the price is the same as the market purchase price.

This year, the purchase price rose to 0.26 yuan per kilogram. The total amount of rice, which reached 29400 million kilograms, only brought in less than 8000 million yuan. To be honest, growing grain is really not profitable.

"It doesn't matter to the company; we can just consider it a contribution to food production."

After the autumn harvest, the company held a summary meeting at the cooperative, where someone joked that growing rice was a bad investment.

Fang Wei responded with a smile, "If everyone stops growing rice and instead rushes to grow high-value cash crops, how can we guarantee food security?"

As a leading enterprise in the province's agricultural sector, Yaoling Agriculture cannot focus solely on immediate economic benefits.

In fact, the company does make money growing rice because it has mechanized the operation, which reduces the need for pesticides and fertilizers, so there is still a profit, albeit a relatively small one.

Next, Cai Tong summarized this year's autumn harvest work at the meeting.

The company's various production units are very standardized in agricultural production, which is the result of many years of experience, and generally no problems will occur.

However, there is still a lack in refined management, mainly because the company focuses on breeding, and its approach to rice cultivation is somewhat rough.

"President Cai, let's not be too demanding. Some minor flaws are tolerable. Why do I say this? Mainly because our human resources are limited, so we have to find a balance between cost and refinement."

Seeing that Cai Tong intended to hold the production unit responsible, Fang Wei quickly waved his hand and spoke up for the production unit.

Some issues need to be traced back to their root cause, which isn't actually the fault of the individual units, but rather that each production unit simply doesn't have enough manpower. Adding manpower for low-value rice production is completely unnecessary.

For example, if the area for rice cultivation increases again next year, what should be done with the extra manpower?
Therefore, balance is very important, and there is really no need to be too strict about it.

"Since the chairman has pleaded for you, the punishment will be waived. But you must seriously reflect on your actions when you get back, and you cannot relax your standards because of some objective reasons."

Cai Tong ultimately did not travel to the various production units, which was considered a way of giving Fang Wei face.

His prestige in the company is certainly far less than Fang Wei's, but most employees are afraid of him because he is very strict and does not hesitate to deal with people who violate company rules and regulations.

As people often say, one plays the good cop and the other the bad cop, and they work together very well.

After the debriefing meeting, those who deserved rewards were rewarded, and those who deserved criticism were criticized, and then everyone dispersed.

This winter, no rapeseed will be planted, and all paddy fields will be left fallow. Therefore, pasture grass will be planted in the paddy fields, which can be used as fertilizer after plowing.

Shortly after the summary meeting, the hybrid maize project team brought good news: the final stage of inbred line breeding was successful. The next step is to conduct tests and find suitable maize varieties for hybridization.

“Secretary Fang, the inbred line we cultivated seems to be a bit too powerful, with all the data exceeding expectations. We even suspected that there might be an error in the measurement. However, after re-measurement, the data are completely correct.”

The technicians from the Crop Research Institute and the Institute of Agricultural Sciences worked day and night to complete the measurement work.

The test results were unusually good, which ironically made everyone feel less confident.

"Show me the measurement data."

Fang Wei was very curious, and then discovered that the data was indeed somewhat abnormal, mainly because it was too perfect.

He knew what was going on. With the added attribute bonuses, some superior characteristics had been incorporated into the crop's genes, making its outward appearance naturally very powerful.

"It's not a big problem. This only shows that the breeding of the inbred line has been very successful, and there's no need to doubt it. The key is to find hybrid corn next, and everyone should focus their main efforts on that." Fang Wei's guidance ended everyone's differences, and the breeding work of hybrid corn took another big step forward.

However, the subsequent research will take a considerable amount of time.

Just like the pairing experiment in hybrid rice breeding, it's almost like finding a needle in a haystack; whether it succeeds or not depends on a bit of luck.

According to Fang Wei's estimate, this stage will take about a year.

With the arrival of the off-season for farming, the investigation team launched the second phase of the investigation in a timely manner.

This morning.

Fang Wei was looking at documents in his office when Cui Yiming accompanied the investigation team to the cooperative.

"Secretary Fang, we hope you can cooperate with the investigation team. After the second phase of the investigation is completed, the investigation conclusions can be released, and then this matter can be completely closed."

The investigation team was the same as before, and even the opening remarks were almost identical.

Fang Wei felt exhausted. It was such a beneficial matter for all parties, yet they were still investigating it endlessly.

This time, he won't cooperate obediently. Once the top leadership issues its No. 1 document next year, this so-called investigation will immediately become a joke.

According to his memory and Wu Yaoyang's guidance, the policy will undergo a fundamental change, allowing the transfer of privately contracted land.

At that time, Yaoling Agriculture can lease land according to its own needs without even needing to use the guise of a "cooperative project".

"How would you like me to cooperate?"

Fang Wei asked a question in a calm and collected manner, his tone revealing no emotion whatsoever.

"Of course, we should tell the truth. You knowingly committed the crime before, but during the first phase of the investigation, you tried every means to deny it and put all the blame on that document."

We all know what really happened. You were simply using your technical resources to blackmail others, then feigning innocence and shifting all the blame to your superiors.

The head of the investigation team spoke very rudely this time, and there was nothing he could do; the second phase of the investigation had to reach a conclusion.

The scapegoat for this conclusion is undoubtedly Yaoling Agriculture, as they were the driving force behind Xiangling City issuing the document. Some have demanded that Yaoling Agriculture and Fang Wei not be punished, but that responsibility be clearly defined and the cooperative project be cancelled.

Under immense pressure, the investigation team was baffled as to how they could pin the blame on Fang Wei and Yaoling Agriculture.

Fang Wei knew he wasn't wronged; he had intended to circumvent the core issue of prohibiting the transfer of land through private contracting, which was indeed a deliberate violation.

But he absolutely cannot admit it, because if he does, even if the policy changes, he and his company will be implicated, and that will become a black mark on their history.

"That's not the point of you saying that. I've said everything I needed to say. I only asked my superiors for help in order to complete the mission. Now you want to pin this blame on me and the company? I will never agree to that."

Fang Wei immediately made his stance clear: he had nothing to be afraid of, and the other party was also afraid that he couldn't do anything.

Whether he knowingly committed the crime or not, his initial intention was good, and he genuinely made a contribution to food security.

He then refused to answer any further questions from the investigation team.

Not only did he refuse to answer questions, but from that day on, he refused to answer any questions asked by the investigation team, making the team members want to curse.

The matter itself is serious in some ways, but not so serious in others. However, getting Fang Wei and the relevant personnel to voluntarily admit their mistakes is harder than climbing to heaven.

The investigation team failed to complete its first task, so they had to take a roundabout approach and send all their personnel to Qianjin Township.

Since they couldn't get anything out of Fang Wei and the others, they decided to try to find a breakthrough from Qianjin Township. Once they had solid evidence, they would see how Fang Wei and the others would deny it.

evening.

Fang Wei and Pan Lianhua returned home one after the other.

They lived in the Yao village for a while, but recently moved back to the village, mainly to deal with the investigation team.

"Lotus, I want to go away for a while. The investigation team has been so annoying since they came; they're determined to pin the blame on me."

After the meal, the couple first took Sun Daoren back home, and then strolled slowly along the village roads.

Fang Wei explained his plan to go into hiding, which was actually a way to buy time. It was already the end of the year, and the deadline for the release of the No. 1 document from higher authorities was fast approaching; there was no need to clash with the investigation team.

The best strategy is to stall for time. Let them terminate the cooperation project if they want. They won't be afraid of not having land to cultivate soybean seeds after the new policy is implemented.

"The problem is, if you just leave, will they stop accusing you? If this problem isn't solved, there will always be a sword hanging over your head, which will be really uncomfortable."

Pan Lianhua seemed a little worried. She felt that running away was not the solution and that she needed to use her brain to eliminate this hidden danger from the root.

She preferred to go to Wu Yaoyang and try to resolve the matter by making it a small issue and then letting it go.

"Secretary Wu means that the policy will change drastically by the beginning of next year. Currently, the transfer of privately contracted land is not allowed, but it will be changed from a prohibition to a permission."

Wu Yaoyang hadn't told anyone before, but now he had to reveal it to Pan Lianhua.

Fang Wei didn't want his wife to worry about him. He knew she was tight-lipped and wouldn't make any mistakes.

"Oh, how about we go to Guangzhou? Winter vacation is coming soon, and I want to buy some new clothes for everyone in the family, but the clothes in the county aren't very nice."

Pan Lianhua didn't know where to go either, so she came up with a very lame excuse.

Fang Wei didn't point it out, and just smiled and nodded.

His main purpose was to find peace and quiet, and he was also intentionally stalling for time, so it didn't matter where he went, as long as he left the county.

So the two of them packed up, handed over their work matters, and drove to Guangzhou.

Xinlin County is located in the southern part of the province, bordering Guangdong Province. In fact, it is not far from Guangzhou.

Wu Tianming received them, and on their first night in Guangzhou, he hosted a banquet for Fang Wei and the Pan Lianhua couple at the Guangzhou Restaurant. (End of Chapter)