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

The next day.

Pan Lianhua dragged her son out of the house, determined to complete the purchase procedures today.

Yesterday, she and Fang Wei finalized the purchase of two villas. The two villas are not adjacent; they are quite far apart, requiring a 10-20 minute walk.

It's not that there's any inconvenience, it's just that after looking around, we really liked the location of these two villas. Being a little far apart doesn't matter; who knows how long they'll actually stay here throughout the year?
The house won't be ready for handover until the second half of this year. Fang Wei called Wu Tianming to ask if the developer's promised renovation was reliable.
"Wait over there for a moment. I know their leader. I'll go over and speak to them for you."

Wu Tianming rushed over and found the real estate company's boss. He didn't ask for much of a discount, but insisted that the quality of the renovation be guaranteed.

The boss gave Wu Tianming a lot of face, gave Fang Wei a 10% discount, and promised to maintain the quality standards of the renovation.

Fang Wei then paid the money, totaling nearly 400 million yuan, almost emptying his family's cash reserves. However, his commission due from the company this year hadn't arrived yet, but it was estimated to be no less than 200 million yuan, so he would soon have money again.

To be honest, he received very little commission from the breeding results. Although the commissions were often in the millions of yuan, he actually only received a tiny fraction of it.

If he had gone out on his own, he would have been a billionaire by now.

However, he doesn't value money too much. There are basically no major expenses at home. He has bought a house for his son and plans to buy a house for his daughter later. He doesn't have to worry about his children's affairs.

Both children are college graduates and can find good jobs these days.

"Binbin, if you have time, come and check on the renovation. If you don't have time, that's fine."

The main structure of the villa is complete; all that remains is the interior decoration. The developer doesn't handle the decoration, but after the homeowner pays the decoration fee, they will handle the decoration for them, saving the homeowner time, effort, and money.

Fang Wei gave her son some instructions, then took Pan Lianhua and her older sister to travel around.

Binbin still has some things to do at school, so he hasn't had a holiday yet.

A week later.

Xiao Jie also arrived in Guangzhou, just as Binbin was leaving school.

The family then began a large-scale shopping spree. Since they had brought two cars, they weren't worried about not being able to fit everything.

Then the family returned to the village to prepare for the New Year.

Xiaojie learned that her parents had bought a villa in Guangzhou and another one for her brother, but she didn't think much of it. The young girl was still too naive to understand how important a house was.
However, only family members knew about this, and Pan Lianhua repeatedly told everyone to keep it a secret.

"Dad, I want to go see Grandpa Sun."

Binbin and Sun Daoren had a deep bond, and just two days after returning, Binbin was already clamoring to go to the Sanqing Temple.

Fang Wei felt that his son should get a driver's license, so that it would be more convenient for him to do things normally, unlike now, when he still had to drive his son to go somewhere.

So, after visiting Master Sun and returning, he started teaching his son to drive. He could drive freely on the village roads, but not on the main roads; that was considered driving without a license.

Binbin is learning quite quickly, and Fang Wei plans to get her son's driver's license after the New Year.

Year before.

The technicians who went to the Central Plains experimental base for inspection have returned. They said that the conditions there are good and suitable for researching improved wheat varieties.

The cooperation agreement was also signed, and it's just waiting to be implemented after the spring.

Fang Wei wasn't in a hurry, since there were still several months to go, and spring would come later in the north.

Time flies, and the Spring Festival is just around the corner.

This year's Spring Festival was even more lively than in previous years. Apart from the eldest brother and sister-in-law celebrating the Spring Festival in the village, Tao Tao's family and Ting Ting's family both returned to their hometown for the Spring Festival.

It's been so many years, and it's rare to have all the family members together like this.

Lunar New Year's eve.

Both families gathered at Fang Wei's side, with the older sister, Pan Lianhua, Tian Guihua, and Xiaoya as the main members, and several children helping out.

The New Year's Eve dinner was very lavish. After all, life is so much better now than it was back then. It's impossible to eat sweet potatoes as a staple food anymore, or go months without seeing any meat.

"Sister-in-law, your cooking skills have improved a lot."

Today's head chef is Tian Guihua. She worked in the company canteen when she was in the provincial capital, and after returning, she went to work in the bamboo ware factory canteen. In short, she was always working at the stove.

And you know what? Her cooking skills are much better than before.

Tingting and her husband didn't talk much. The couple looked like they had been through a lot, and probably only Fang Wei could guess a little about their past experiences.

He felt a deep respect for his niece and nephew-in-law.

"Tingting, are you and your husband busy with work these days?"

"Not busy at all. We're quite relaxed now. We don't need to go abroad or travel for work. We work nine to five, which is great."

When Tingting heard her uncle's question, she answered calmly.

Both she and her husband have jobs that require confidentiality, so even if they are transferred back to office work, they still have to keep their mouths shut.

Fang Wei nodded, then looked at Fang Tao and inquired about his work situation.

Tao Tao is now a leading figure at the Provincial Academy of Agricultural Sciences. In recent years, he has made several significant achievements on his own, becoming the youngest researcher in the academy.

At this level and position, he hardly needs to worry about anything in life. He now lives in the experts' building, and his salary is among the highest in the institute; at such a young age, he already enjoys the待遇 (treatment/benefits) of a division-level official.

Fang Wei then focused on drinking with his older brother. The children were able to chat together, but Tao Tao and Ting Ting were much older than Bin Bin and his sister.

It's clear that Tao Tao and Ting Ting don't talk about social issues, otherwise Bin Bin and his sister wouldn't be able to keep up the conversation.

Neither Tingting's nor Fang Tao's families stayed for long, since the Spring Festival holiday was only a few days long and they had to rush back to work.

years later.

Fang Wei took her son to take the driving test and they successfully obtained their driver's licenses.

Fang Wei and Pan Lianhua sent their children to Guangzhou, while Xiao Jie flew back to Chengdu. Binbin had no choice but to bring his girlfriend over and have a meal with his parents.

The girl's name is Liu Xuemei. She is a junior at Sun Yat-sen University and will graduate next year.

The girl was nearly 1.7 meters tall, with a good figure and above-average looks. She seemed a little nervous when she first met Fang Hongbin's parents, but she quickly overcame her nervousness and was very good at dealing with people.

In short, the first impression left on Fang Wei and Pan Lianhua was very good; however, a few more interactions would probably be needed to get to know them better.

Fang Wei and Pan Lianhua are not very domineering parents. They have always respected their child's wishes. Whether Binbin and Liu Xuemei can get married in the future depends on themselves.

Anyway, my parents can't help me.

Before the start of the semester, Fang Wei and his wife treated Wu Tianming, Principal Chu, and Binbin's tutor to a meal.

Principal Chu was very respectful, and Binbin's mentor was also very respectful, praising Binbin incessantly during the meal. Pan Lianhua couldn't stop smiling.

Binbin isn't here today, so it's easier to talk things out.

"Can Binbin find a job in Guangzhou in the future?"

"It should be fine. Getting into the Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine might require some effort, but getting into the affiliated hospital of our university is definitely no problem."

Chu Fan gave his assurance that it wasn't just about social niceties; the key was that Binbin was exceptionally talented.

Fang Wei then stopped the conversation. Before the guests left, he gave them some local specialties. There were nothing valuable, just a token of his appreciation.

They didn't refuse; if you offered them something valuable, they wouldn't accept it.

"Old Wu, I'll repay this favor after Binbin graduates and gets a job."

Wu Tianming stayed until the end, as he was going to a meeting in Beijing in a few days and there were some things he wanted to discuss with Fang Wei.

Before that, Fang Wei had made a pointed remark to the other party.

"I already know without you saying it. Let's talk about the proposal. This year's No. 1 document still focuses on agricultural issues. I think we should continue with the proposal to protect native seeds?"

Wu Tianming waved his hand, indicating that some things did not need to be discussed in depth, and he trusted Fang Wei to handle them well.

He had thought about this year's proposal for a long time, and still wanted to continue advocating for the protection and development of native seeds. In the past two years, the domestic agricultural market has opened up slightly, but foreign investment has brought a significant impact.

Especially in the seed sector, without Yaoling Agriculture's resolute support, local breeding companies simply couldn't have survived.

For a country this size, Yaoling Agriculture alone is not enough. One flower does not make a spring; we need strong support from all sides to foster the emergence of many excellent breeding companies.

There are so many varieties of crops that Yaoling Agriculture simply can't keep up with the demand.

“We previously called for the establishment of a national seed bank, but the process has been very slow, and we need to continue to raise this issue.”

"Yes, and the loss of rural labor is becoming increasingly serious, which should also be addressed."

The two talked for more than an hour and basically reached a consensus.

This year, the two of them will also join forces with about a hundred representatives to submit a joint proposal, continuing their concern for issues such as food security and seed security.

The next day.

Fang Wei and Pan Lianhua then drove back to the village.

Next, the company held a mobilization meeting for spring planting, and then Cai Tong led most of the senior executives to the production line.

This time of year is when Fang Wei goes to Beijing for a meeting.

He traveled by train from Chenzhou to Beijing, where he, along with Wu Tianming and others, submitted a joint proposal at this meeting.

In fact, the main theme of this year's conference is price reform, which is a tough battle. In comparison, the so-called seed issue can be put aside for the time being.

Fang Wei and the others were not discouraged. Anyway, they planned to bring it up every year, and it would eventually attract attention.

It's quite interesting, really. Many familiar faces were absent from this meeting, but Fang Wei and Wu Tianming were still there. Some people joked that they were evergreen trees, having seen off one generation of delegates after another.

After the meeting, he didn't go to visit Tingting. They had only met during the Spring Festival, and it hadn't been that long; he didn't want to disturb her life.

Back home, spring plowing was over. Once the seedlings at the seedling nursery were ready, transplanting could begin.

The year's plan starts in spring; the most important task now is spring planting. Everything else can wait. (End of Chapter)