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

Mr. Wu spoke with the three companies separately. Since it was their first meeting, they couldn't reach any conclusions, so the meeting was quick and ended in half an hour.

When Lu Zhiwen came out, the people from the other two families had already left.

"Secretary, today two companies went to talk to Mr. Wu about the acquisition. I saw Fan Zhipeng."

After returning, Lu Zhiwen immediately reported to Fang Wei.

To be honest, he was quite surprised to see Fan Zhipeng today. How long had the man been gone from the hardware factory? And he was already representing the company to negotiate an acquisition; he must at least be a senior executive of the other company.

"Old Fan is quite capable. You should find out about his current situation. It's never a bad thing to know your enemy and yourself."

Fang Wei wasn't surprised. He knew that Fan Zhipeng must have had an opportunity when he returned to his hometown for the holidays and paid off part of his debts.

He acknowledges the other person's abilities, but that doesn't mean he will re-approve of that person.

"Okay, I understand. It seems the acquisition won't go smoothly. I'll do my best."

After Lu Zhiwen finished speaking, he hung up the phone. He needed to learn more about his two competitors.

Fang Wei had no intention of getting involved. This was not a big deal for him. His core business was in agricultural production, and the secondary enterprises he invested in and built were mainly managed by themselves.

He then called Cai Tong and asked her to continue following up on the matter.

Fang Wei stayed in Fragrant Hills for a few days before returning home.

A few days later, Lu Zhiwen called him and introduced the basic information about Pioneer Locks and Mingguang Locks.

"Xianfeng Locks is not a star company in the industry. It has always sought stability in its operations, and its performance is quite good. Fan Zhipeng is now a minor shareholder and general manager of the company, and I heard that he is deeply trusted by the company's boss."

Mingguang Locks is a rather strange company; it's newly established and its strength is unclear. Perhaps due to our involvement in the acquisition, there are indications that these two companies intend to jointly acquire Mr. Wu's business.

Fang Wei sensed something unusual from Lu Zhiwen's explanation.

To be honest, ever since the incident at the hardware factory, he no longer trusted Fan Zhipeng's character. So regardless of whether Fan Zhipeng was genuinely repentant, he wouldn't give him any more chances.

"You can handle the acquisition as you see fit. If the conditions are right, then acquire it; if not, then abandon it. As for export channels, we can build them up gradually; there's no need to rush."

Fang Wei's attitude was very clear: he would resolutely refuse to make a premium acquisition; if it didn't work out, so be it.

Lu Zhiwen shared the same sentiment; he didn't want to end up harming himself by helping others.

The two then ended the call, and Fang Wei put the matter aside.

morning.

Fang Wei went to the research institute and talked with the institute's technicians and colleagues from the Crop Research Institute.

The progress of the new generation of rapeseed is going smoothly. So far, they have completed the variety selection work and can now enter the first stage of cultivation.

The breeding work was handed over to the breeding team of the brigade. The facilities here are complete, with modern agricultural greenhouses as support, so that experimental work can be carried out all year round.

As a rapeseed variety that is highly anticipated, the two most important indicators are yield and oil extraction rate.

Resistance can be compensated for through subsequent planting processes and attribute bonuses.

Of course, if you can cultivate a high-yield, high-oil-yield, high-quality, and resistant variety all at once, that would be incredibly lucky, and you would have created a perfect new generation of rapeseed.

At this stage, there is no need for him to intervene. After understanding the details, he made further arrangements.

These researchers have become accustomed to following Fang Wei's line of thinking. Originally, all breeding projects were personally led by him, and the success rate in the past was 100%. Who else should they listen to if not him?

After leaving the research institute, he visited the experimental fields of a large team before going to his office.

During the off-season, he was too lazy to sit in the office every day, so he would wander around when he had nothing to do, which was quite leisurely.

"Secretary, I've been looking for you everywhere."

Fang Wei didn't go to the office in the afternoon. After waking up, she stayed home and read books. One of the directors from the company walked in.

"What's wrong? Is something the matter?"

He asked the other person to sit down, and the older sister then brought over some tea.

"Actually, it's nothing serious. I'm just upset and want to talk to someone. You might not know, but those who left the cooperative had a good harvest this season. Although the yield of the rice they cultivated themselves was slightly lower, they still made a lot of money."

This director wasn't such a petty person. Although he disapproved of those who left the cooperative showing off everywhere, he wouldn't go to such lengths to come to Fang Wei over something like this.

He was worried that this would become a trend where people could earn more by working independently, so why should they continue to stay in the company?
"Don't worry about that. Apart from our technicians, researchers, and members of the breeding team, no one else has mastered the core breeding technology."

Fang Wei remained calm. All those who withdrew from the cooperative had already returned their land, and he had long ago removed that portion of the land from the [planting area].

The autumn harvest did not decline significantly because this event occurred between summer planting and autumn harvest, and the attribute bonus still had a certain inertial effect.

By next spring's planting season, let alone the issue of reduced yields, these people simply can't cultivate all sorts of seeds. "I understand now. Let's wait and see next year."

The director got up and left after sitting for half an hour, feeling relieved.

Fang Wei is the soul of the cooperative and the soul of Yaoling Agriculture. Everyone believes his words without reservation.

night.

He told Pan Lianhua about this during dinner, and Pan Lianhua showed a disdainful expression.

“These people are quite interesting. They have enjoyed all kinds of benefits in the cooperative over the years, but now they just feel that they can make more money by working alone, so they have abandoned the collective without hesitation.”

She doesn't think those who quit will get rich; on the contrary, she feels they will definitely regret it one day.

However, it will be too late to regret it by then. It's easy to quit, but it will be extremely difficult to rejoin the cooperative.

"People's thoughts are changeable, which is good. It's okay for these people to leave, since most of the members have stayed."

Fang Wei actually wanted to see how many more people would want to leave the cooperative.

However, even he didn't expect that, despite those people boasting about how much more they were earning, not a single person was clamoring to quit.

The concerns of the board members were completely unfounded; the unstable factors had already been eliminated.

A week later.

Cai Tong called to say that Lu Zhiwen had officially given up on the acquisition.

When Mr. Wu saw that three companies wanted to acquire his company, he started to raise the price. However, Lu Zhiwen didn't fall for it at all, and when the price exceeded his expectations, he decisively gave up.

The consortium formed by Pioneer Locks and Mingguang Locks successfully completed the acquisition, exceeding Lu Zhiwen's expectations by 12%.

Following the acquisition, Mingguang Locks became the largest shareholder of the company, while Xianfeng Locks became the second largest. From that moment on, Mingguang Locks and Xianfeng Locks formed a strategic alliance to jointly resist Xiangyang Locks' aggressive entry into the market.

“Secretary, this Fan Zhipeng is quite capable. He will definitely become a major threat to Xiangyang Locksmith in the future.”

Cai Tong deeply resented Fan Zhipeng. If it weren't for Fan's machinations, which united the two companies to counter Lu Zhiwen, the chances of Xiangyang Locks successfully acquiring the company would have been much higher.

It can be said that Fan Zhipeng single-handedly halted the rapid expansion of Xiangyang Locks.

Of course, this obstruction is only temporary. Lu Zhiwen has added another production line, which will be put into production in the first half of next year.

"Whether Fan Zhipeng will become a major threat to us or not is another matter, but he has already become a major threat to the owner of Xianfeng Locks. Mr. Cai, haven't you realized yet? The other party is using this trick of borrowing a chicken to lay eggs again."

Having come this far, Fang Wei had basically figured out Fan Zhipeng's actions.

The so-called strategic cooperation agreement was just a smokescreen; Mingguang Locks was merely Fan Zhipeng's front. He didn't know where the other party's money came from, but his boss, who trusted Fan Zhipeng implicitly, was about to be in trouble.

"Holy crap, Fan Zhipeng is playing such a dirty trick? Isn't he afraid of going to jail?"

Cai Tong was startled and couldn't help but swear.

"Going to jail is unlikely. This guy has become shrewd and has definitely planned his escape route. I guess he might use a slow and steady approach, gradually eroding Pioneer Locks until his boss relinquishes controlling stake in the company."

Fang Wei could guess the general idea, but he didn't know the specific details.

But one thing he was very clear about was that once Fan Zhipeng had completely swallowed up Xianfeng Locks, he would turn around and target Xiangyang Locks with his bare hands.

The other party is ambitious and treacherous. After his attempt to escape from the hardware factory failed, he was kicked out. He will definitely hold a grudge.

“I understand his mindset; Lu Zhiwen will soon be accepting the challenge.”

After a little thought, Cai Tong figured out what Fan Zhipeng would do next.

He planned to personally visit Fragrant Hills to discuss things thoroughly with Lu Zhiwen, and he was determined not to let his guard down.

Even if Fan Zhipeng is a scoundrel, he still has ability. The key is that he has worked in the hardware factory for many years, so he knows his enemy well. The competition between the two sides will definitely be fierce in the future.

Fang Wei didn't stop Cai Tong; let her go.

But one question kept bothering him: where did Fan Zhipeng's funds come from? Or rather, what means did he use to obtain such a large sum of money?

They might have achieved their goal through underhanded means.

After Cai Tong went to Fragrant Hills, Fang Wei and Pan Lianhua took his elder sister to the provincial capital. He needed to stay in the provincial capital for a while until Cai Tong and Lu Zhiwen finished dealing with matters concerning Fan Zhipeng.

The houses in the provincial capital are very well maintained. Once you enter, you don't need to clean. The house is spotless inside and out.

This is all thanks to Lin Hanyang; after Fang Ping returned to the village, he was responsible for arranging for people to maintain Fang Wei's house. (End of Chapter)