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

Dragon Boat Festival.

Fang Wei took his family to the Yao village. As the headman, he couldn't always remain out of the public eye; he had to participate in group activities when the time was right.

In addition, we need to stay in the houses on the mountain occasionally, so that they don't deteriorate naturally if they are left uninhabited for a long time.

Over the years, the Yao village has developed and the environment in the village has become better and better, so the number of tourists coming to visit is increasing day by day.

After discussing it with Wang Songlin, they applied for funds from the company to build a sizable bamboo building complex near the back of the mountain.

The bamboo houses are specifically designed to accommodate tourists and are equipped with running water and sewage systems. The village has even expanded its sewage treatment facilities for this purpose.

There are activities tonight, and many tourists have chosen to stay on the mountain, so the village is very lively with people coming and going. Some small shops selling handicrafts and local specialties are doing very well.

Once home, my older sister started preparing dinner.

They plan to celebrate the holiday at home today and avoid competing with tourists for a spot. Everyone enjoys a lively atmosphere, but they don't like overcrowded scenes.

Upon learning that Fang Wei's family had returned to the mountain, Wang Songlin made a brief visit before leaving in a hurry.

He gets very busy around this time of year, especially ensuring safety and preventing any mishaps, leaving him with virtually no time to spend with his family.

To make money from tourism, everyone in the village, young and old, has to make some sacrifices, prioritizing the needs of tourists.

The ingredients were prepared in advance, and Sister and Pan Lianhua quickly prepared a table of dishes.

"Old Master Sun, Sister, Lotus, come on, let's drink!"

Fang Wei brought some mellow and sweet rice wine today; he'll drink it with his meal.

This type of rice wine is not distilled, has a low alcohol content, and is suitable for most people to drink.

The group ate, drank, and chatted. Although the two children were not at home, the holiday did not feel lonely with Sun Daoren and his elder sister there.

"Third brother, with so many tourists on the mountain, won't it affect agricultural production?"

Sun Daoren drank a few bowls of rice wine and then stopped. He doesn't usually drink alcohol, and even when he does, he doesn't overindulge.

These days, nowhere is peaceful; the Sanqing Temple is like that, and so is the Yao village.

"No! The terraced fields and experimental fields are not open to the public and tourists are prohibited from entering. In addition, there aren't that many people on the mountain unless it's a holiday or a special day, so it won't affect production."

Faced with the experienced question, Fang Wei responded with a smile.

After the meal, Fang Wei took Sun Daoren to the experimental field.

As the two approached, they saw that the experimental field was brightly lit, with people on duty at the intersection and inside the field.

The experimental fields are large, interconnected greenhouses, allowing for agricultural production year-round without interrupting experimental activities due to seasonal changes.

"Are you two on duty today?"

Upon entering the experimental field, Fang Wei greeted the two members of the breeding team.

"Yes, it's our turn to be on duty today. Third Brother, why aren't you at home celebrating the holiday? What brings you here?"

"Just finished eating, came out for a walk."

Fang Wei chatted with the two for a few minutes, then led Sun Daoren on a tour of the experimental field.

He introduced the breeding situation of the new generation of soybeans to the other party, and also introduced the breeding process of [Nongyou Boutique 016].

"The experimental fields are really advanced now. The yield of rice per mu is often around 2000 jin, which was unthinkable before. You have led everyone to cultivate so many high-quality varieties. Your merits are immeasurable!"

Sun Daoren was filled with emotion. He had also been a farmer. Back then, the yield of rice in a season was only about 100 catties. After a year of hard work, even food was a problem.

While seeds are not the only factor limiting yield—the widespread use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides can significantly increase yields—the quality of the seeds determines the upper limit of yield. If the variety is poor, no amount of pesticides and fertilizers can break through that yield ceiling.

"It's not about accumulating merit; times are progressing, technology is advancing, and life is ultimately getting better and better."

Fang Wei smiled and continued to accompany Sun Daoren on the tour.

The old Taoist practiced his cultivation in the mortal world. If he had any questions, he would try to understand them. The principles of all things are interconnected.

The two spent more than an hour in the experimental field before returning home.

As soon as they sat down inside, Wang Songlin rushed in and said, "Third Brother, Taoist Master, a tourist has suddenly fallen ill. Could you please take a look?"

"I can take a look and it's fine, but you should still prepare a vehicle to take the patient to the county hospital as soon as possible. There are no medical facilities on the mountain, not even herbal medicine. This is just playing the fool."

Fang Wei muttered something to himself, and then followed Wang Songlin to the bamboo house with Sun Daoren.

When they arrived at the scene, they found the patient lying on the ground convulsing, with several people around taking care of him, but none of them knew what to do.

"Everyone, disperse and stop surrounding him."

Master Sun walked up to them in a few steps and then told everyone to spread out to ensure ventilation.

He first checked the patient's physical signs, then quickly took his pulse, concluding that the patient was having an epileptic seizure. "Third brother, bring me my silver needles."

Sun Daoren had a plan in mind, and then took the silver needles from Fang Wei's hands.

He carries this bag of silver needles with him wherever he goes, and he made sure Fang Wei took it with her when he left.

Next, the old Taoist priest began to perform acupuncture on the patient. After a while, the patient indeed calmed down. The patient's companion stepped forward and thanked the priest profusely, insisting on giving him 50 yuan as a consultation fee.

Sun Daoren didn't care; he took the money as it was, as it wasn't much.

"However, I have only temporarily stabilized the patient's condition. Further treatment will require a visit to the hospital."

He didn't take on too much responsibility, but instead explained the truth to them.

Acupuncture alone cannot completely cure patients; it is only an auxiliary method and must be combined with medication.

After the patient calmed down a bit, the group accompanied him to the hospital. There are special vehicles on the mountain to serve tourists, roughly equivalent to taxis, which is quite convenient.

Fang Wei and Sun Daoren returned home. At this time, a full moon hung in the sky. Pan Lianhua and her sister had prepared mooncakes, and everyone was enjoying mooncakes, tea, and moon-viewing.

the next day.

Fang Weiyi had already arrived at the office.

Later, the heads of several production bases all arrived, and he went to the conference room for a meeting.

He usually doesn't interfere with normal production activities, but today he's here to listen to their work reports, since some things still need to be discussed and can't be explained clearly over the phone.

Agricultural production at all production bases is proceeding normally. This season's focus is on cultivating rice seeds, and it is now almost certain that there will be a bumper harvest.

"Secretary, here's the situation. The Yangshan base is experiencing a labor shortage. I've done the math, and this year alone, at least 60 farm workers have resigned."

These people are mostly young people who have gone to work in coastal areas, where the wages are reportedly much higher. While this won't affect production in the short term, this trend is worth noting.

After the normal work report was over, Zhao Jinsheng suddenly mentioned a new situation.

His words resonated with other managers, as this problem had occurred to varying degrees at different production bases.

After listening, Fang Wei pondered for a moment before saying, "Then what suggestions do you have for solving this problem?"

Then everyone started discussing it, and actually, there wasn't much of a good solution besides raising wages and improving benefits.

“You should report this matter directly to the company. I believe that President Cai and the others will have a solution.”

Fang Wei did not overstep his bounds and therefore did not express his opinion.

In fact, the migrant worker group began to emerge after the reform and opening up, but its scale has been growing larger and larger in the last two years.

Therefore, the migration of rural laborers to developed cities is a trend that is unlikely to change for at least another one or two decades.

"Okay, Party Secretary."

The responsible persons nodded and then left the meeting room.

night.

Fang Wei received a call from Cai Tong after returning from her walk following dinner.

"Secretary, I'm aware of the labor shortage problem, but there's not much I can do. The company can appropriately increase wages and benefits, but it still won't be as good as the income they earn working in the city."

In reality, let alone working in big cities, even the income of rural laborers is less than that of workers in the company's subsidiaries. Many people want to work for the electrical appliance group in Xiangshan precisely because the pay is much higher there.

Cai Tong couldn't offer farm workers high wages, as the wage levels for agricultural and industrial workers were inherently different.

After receiving the report, he discussed the issue with the company's management and ultimately decided to appropriately increase everyone's salaries and bonuses, with the increase not exceeding 20%.

“You’re right, we can’t stop this trend. However, we can set up a seniority allowance, where the longer you work, the higher your income, which would help retain some people.”

In addition, our various production bases should continue to increase the proportion of mechanized operations, using more machines and fewer people as much as possible, which can also offset the impact of labor loss on us.

Fang Wei affirmed Cai Tong's approach, but also offered two additional suggestions.

First, establish a seniority allowance, making this a significant part of wages. Second, continue to increase mechanization rates and reduce reliance on manual labor.

Yaoling Agriculture's goal is to achieve intensive production, and the company has the necessary conditions to do so.

First, the company and its production base occupy contiguous plots of land, and the terrain is very flat. Second, the company already owns a large quantity of agricultural machinery, so adding more machinery now would not be a heavy burden.

“Secretary, you have a long-term vision. I think these methods are all excellent, and we'll implement them soon. I estimate that this way, the problem of labor loss won't have a significant impact on us.”

Cai Tong was immediately excited after hearing this.

When it comes to strategic vision, he admits he is far inferior to Secretary Fang. For example, in this matter, he and the company's management did not think that far ahead.

The two then chatted about other things before ending the call. (End of Chapter)