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

“Secretary Fang, the institute has an experimental base in the Central Plains region. The base has 2 mu of dry land and complete facilities. If you agree, we can conduct joint research and development at the Central Plains experimental base.”

Sun Shili firmly relied on Fang Wei, offering not only the Central Plains Experimental Base as a platform for cooperation but also promising to help Yaoling Agriculture contract land in the north.

In his words, Yaoling Agriculture would get involved in wheat farming sooner or later, so it's better to act quickly.

Fang Wei seemed a little conflicted. As one of the staple foods, the importance of wheat is self-evident, but he had only thought about this issue before and had not put the cultivation of improved wheat varieties on the agenda.

However, now he has to seriously consider this matter.

This isn't just about Sun Shili's pride; it's a task assigned by his superiors, and whether it can be completed successfully will affect his future.

He and Sun Shili cooperated very well. Last year alone, the Crop Research Institute invested more than 30 pieces of equipment in the Yaoling Agricultural Research Institute, all under the guise of cooperative projects.

This is a reward from the Crop Research Institute for previous scientific research achievements. They also took care of all the issues related to the application, promotion, review, and awards of the achievements, which was of great help to the company.

The key point is that the two have a very good personal relationship, and it would be difficult for him to stand idly by.

"Director Sun, I agree to cooperate with you in principle, but this matter needs to be discussed at a company meeting. Please give me some time."

Fang Wei eventually agreed, but made it clear that the matter still needed to go through the proper procedures.

As for the matter of contracting land in the north to grow wheat, he didn't even bother to respond.

"Thank you so much, Secretary Fang! I feel much more at ease knowing you said that. Come on, I'll treat you to lunch, and we can chat while we eat."

Sun Shili was overjoyed. He had thought Fang Wei would not agree and was prepared to plead with her.

The other party agreed after only a short hesitation, which touched him somewhat.

He knew very well that Fang Wei had never been exposed to wheat before. The area was a major rice-producing region and did not grow wheat at all. It was indeed a bit of a stretch to invite him to study new wheat varieties.

But he had no choice; the country's top breeding experts were the only ones he could turn to for help when the crop research institute couldn't handle the problem.

noon.

Fang Wei and Sun Shili went to the county town for a meal.

During the meal, the two finalized some details, and then Fang Wei returned to the village. Sun Shili, on the other hand, left Xinlin County directly; he still had many things to prepare in advance. The two agreed to call each other again later.

I went into the office, called Cai Tong, and told him about the wheat breeding collaboration with the Institute of Crop Sciences.

"Secretary, you can make the decision on this. Haven't you always been in charge of scientific research?"

Cai Tong clearly didn't understand Fang Wei's meaning and seemed a little confused.

"This is not just about scientific research; in the future, we may very well contract land in the Central Plains to grow wheat. Therefore, this time, the company and the Institute of Pharmaceutical Research will each send some people to the Institute of Crop Sciences' Central Plains experimental base to take a look."

Fang Wei said that the company needed to hold a meeting to discuss it, and he wasn't lying.

Ultimately, collaborative projects must go through the company; even if it's just for show, a decision still needs to be reached. And when it comes to signing agreements, the company must be involved.

"Okay, I'll call a meeting right away and then send someone to the Central Plains."

Cai Tong then understood Fang Wei's intention and said he would implement it immediately.

Fang Wei hung up the phone and went to the research institute again, asking them to arrange manpower and wait for the company's notification. After the notification came, they would go to the provincial capital, meet up with the other personnel, and then go to the Central Plains together.

He himself does not plan to go there now. The others going is to pave the way, partly to sign the agreement and partly to investigate the basic situation of the test base to facilitate subsequent work.

The formal research activities will likely begin around April or May.

the next day.

Sun Shili called, and Fang Wei told him about the company's decision and arrangements.

"Alright, alright, I'll have the testing base prepare to welcome the inspection team. Secretary Fang, if there are no problems, let's sign the cooperation agreement first?"

"Okay! Let's do it this way."

Neither of them were the type to be long-winded, and after reaching an agreement in a few words, they hung up.

Fang Wei sighed. The new year was full of tasks. In addition to collaborating with the Institute of Crop Sciences to study two types of wheat, he also had the third-generation soybean project underway. Furthermore, he needed to consider variety iteration for rice seeds, corn seeds, vegetable seeds, and so on.

Therefore, we need to send a strong R&D manager from Zhongyuan to first understand the situation regarding wheat. After all, the company has an advantage in rice, but it's not very familiar with wheat.

A few days passed quickly.

The company's year-end financial statements were successfully completed, and the finance department transferred the previous year's dividends to the accounts of each cooperative. After deducting their share, the cooperatives distributed the cash to each member.

The company has always been very reliable when it comes to dividends, and has never been late in paying them.

Just as the children were about to start their winter vacation, Pan Lianhua, concerned about Binbin's marriage prospects, suggested a trip to Guangzhou.

It's not surprising that she keeps focusing on this matter. Binbin has been studying for his undergraduate degree for five years and is now pursuing his master's degree. He will be quite old when he graduates.

"Third Brother, let's buy a house in Guangzhou in advance. It will be easier for the child to find a partner if he has a house."

Hearing his wife's words, Fang Wei couldn't help but think of the bride price in later generations, where the amount was even outrageous in some places. The situation is much better now. Although there was a saying a few years ago about "three turns, one sound, and one click," it later evolved to how many legs the wedding furniture should have, and then to all the home appliances in the house, and so on.

But overall, the trend of keeping up with the Joneses isn't that strong, and many young people get married in the dormitories assigned by their workplaces.

Of course, better material conditions are a plus for both men and women, there's no doubt about that.

“Binbin will definitely have no trouble finding someone; it’s just a matter of when he’s willing to. But I agree with you about buying a house first. Let’s take a good look at it this time.”

Binbin is quite good-looking, basically inheriting the best features from his parents.

The young man is not only handsome and exudes masculinity, but also highly educated, so he certainly shouldn't have trouble finding a partner. It's just that finding someone he's satisfied with won't be easy, and no one can help him with that.

the next day.

Fang Wei, Pan Lianhua, and their older sister then drove straight to Guangzhou.

Traffic conditions have improved significantly in the past two years; driving is much more convenient than taking the train. The key issue is that they still need to look at houses in Guangzhou, and it would be very inconvenient without a car.

Before setting off, Pan Lianhua called her daughter and asked her to book a flight directly to Guangzhou to meet up.

On the night Fang Wei and his group arrived in Guangzhou, Wu Tianming treated them to a seafood feast.

"Old Wu, you're familiar with Guangzhou, do you know where there are suitable houses for sale? I'd like to buy one."

Binbin was also there during the meal, and Pan Lianhua had endless things to talk about with her son.

Fang Wei and Wu Tianming had a few drinks, and then Fang Wei inquired about buying a house. Guangzhou's real estate market had been booming since the mid-to-late 1980s and had now reached a considerable scale.

"It depends on your needs. If money isn't an issue, you can even buy a villa."

Wu Tianming laughed and made a casual joke.

Then he introduced Fang Wei to a few properties, saying that he was quite busy lately and asked her to take a look first.

After the meal, Wu Tianming took his leave, and Binbin took his parents and Wang Zhuyun back to the hotel.

Once inside, he couldn't contain his curiosity and asked, "Dad, Mom, are you planning to buy a house in Guangzhou?"

"How dare you ask? You're so old and you still don't know how to find a partner, making your family worry about you. Your dad and I have discussed it and will buy you a house in Guangzhou first. You should hurry up and find a partner."

Pan Lianhua rolled her eyes at her son, and then launched into a tirade.

Binbin was a little confused. How did his parents' house-buying spree involve him again? When he came to his senses, he tried to decline, probably thinking that his workplace would provide housing for him after he started working.

Fang Wei glared at her son, and Binbin immediately swallowed back what he was about to say.

"Well, Dad, Mom, I already have a girlfriend, and we're dating."

Binbin quickly changed his tune and subconsciously admitted to his problem.

"Really? When did you start talking about it? When do you plan to bring him over so my parents can meet him?"

When Pan Lianhua heard that her son was dating someone, a barrage of questions came out of her mouth, as if she couldn't wait to meet him in person.

Binbin scratched the back of his head and said, "We only started dating this semester. She's not from our school; she's a junior from Sun Yat-sen University. Let's postpone meeting her parents until after graduation."

He's fine with it, the main problem is that he's afraid his girlfriend will feel embarrassed.

The two of them haven't been in a relationship for very long, so meeting each other's parents now is indeed a bit early.

"Humph!"

Pan Lianhua snorted coldly, but did not continue to pressure her son.

Binbin sat for a while and then went back to school. He had something to do tomorrow morning and wouldn't be able to come out all day.

The next day.

Fang Wei and his group then drove to look at properties. Several properties recommended by Wu Tianming were quite good. After looking around for a day, he took a liking to a villa project on Ersha Island.

The average house price in Guangzhou is less than 2000 yuan per square meter, while a villa here (300 square meters) costs more than one million yuan.

In those days, millions of yuan was a huge sum of money, something ordinary people couldn't even imagine.

"Third Brother, this position is really good! I'm tempted by it."

This location is excellent; you can see the river view right outside the window. Even decades later, property prices here remain high.

Pan Lianhua looked at the location and couldn't help but have an idea.

“If you really like it, let’s buy two sets. It’ll be more convenient to see our son in the future.”

Fang Wei had no problem with it. To be honest, with an annual income of over one million yuan and internal employee shares worth 3000 million yuan, such spending was not a problem for him.

The key point is that he and Pan Lianhua don't usually spend a lot of money; how much would it cost to eat and drink well? (End of Chapter)