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

night.

Fang Wei was having dinner when Lu Zhiwen and Cai Tong called one after the other.

"Wang Qingyu wants to form a secret alliance with us? Why?"

The two men were talking about the same thing on the phone: Fan Zhipeng's former boss, Wang Qingyu, had secretly approached Lu Zhiwen, wanting to cooperate with Xiangyang Locks.

"Wang Qingyu is unwilling to be manipulated by Fan Zhipeng and wants to use external forces to help him regain control of the company. So he wants to ask us to put on a show with him. Secretary, do you think we should agree to it?"

"We must be cautious about this matter and guard against any possible traps. From any perspective, we and the other side are mortal enemies, while their conflict is merely an internal one."

Fang Wei felt that this matter was not simple. Why did Wang Qingyu propose the alliance earlier or later, but only after Xiangyang Locks had received a large investment? This was bound to raise suspicions.

Furthermore, it's impossible for Xiangyang Locks and Xianfeng Mingguang to get along peacefully. The saying "rivals in the same trade are enemies" is absolutely true here.

Even if Wang Qingyu, with the help of Xiangyang Locks, defeats Fan Zhipeng and regains control of the company, the price that Xianfeng Mingguang would have to pay is probably too high for him to bear.

Lu Zhiwen and Cai Tong both accepted Fang Wei's explanation and abandoned their ambition to decide the fate of the world in one battle.

Xiangyang Locks needs to proceed steadily and cautiously, avoiding any opportunistic or quick-fix strategies to defeat its competitors. As long as it avoids making mistakes, victory is only a matter of time.

There's no other reason than that Yaoling Agriculture is rich!

When you have an absolute advantage in strength, you don't need too many schemes and tricks; you just need to proceed step by step and push forward.

the next day.

Fang Wei, Cai Tong, and others began to inspect the various production units.

The rice planting was successfully completed, and now it's time for the inspection. Everyone was very satisfied with the results. The company's rules and regulations are now quite mature, and generally, we don't make basic mistakes.

The heads of each production unit are rotated every two to three years to prevent the formation of cliques within each unit.

After the spring planting season ended, Zhao Jinsheng returned to the Yaoling Cooperative, while the original head of the Yaoling Cooperative went to the Hengzhou production base.

Among the heads of various bases, Zhao Jinsheng holds the highest position, after all, he is also the deputy director of the company's [Agricultural Production Department], belonging to the company's middle and senior management.

"Old Zhao, would you like to work at the company?"

Back in the village, Zhao Jinsheng appeared more composed.

Fang Wei made a point of having a meal with the other party to discuss the changes in society over the past few years. Then, he asked about the other party's future plans, and Cai Tong intended to promote Zhao Jinsheng's position again.

“Secretary, I’ve spent my whole life in the countryside. I can’t even recognize the roads in the city. I think it’s best to stay on the front line of agricultural production. There aren’t so many problems there, and I can just focus on production.”

Zhao Jinsheng made it clear that he did not want to go to the provincial capital, but preferred to stay in the countryside.

Fang Wei didn't force him. Old Zhao wasn't suited to sitting in an office, and he didn't know what Cai Tong was thinking.

After eating and drinking his fill, Zhao Jinsheng got up to say goodbye.

"Third Brother, Old Zhao has changed a lot in the past few years. How should I put it, he has become more authoritative."

After the guests left, Pan Lianhua and her sister came over to clean up the mess.

Pan Lianhua was no stranger to Zhao Jinsheng; he had worked with Fang Wei since the commune era, so they were old acquaintances.

“He is in charge of the entire agricultural production in Yangshan. The Yangshan Farm and the Yangshan Rice Planting Base are all under his management. It’s impossible that there haven’t been any changes over the years.”

Change is a good thing, it shows that Zhao Jinsheng is also growing through training.

Fang Wei was well aware of Zhao Jinsheng's strengths and weaknesses. Now it seemed that the other party had made up for his weaknesses, which was why he had asked him earlier if he would be willing to work for the company.

The fact that the other party refused shows that they have a clear understanding of themselves.

Zhao Jinsheng's strengths can be perfectly utilized on the production line, but he would be hesitant and timid if he went to the head office.

"Time flies so fast, we're getting old in the blink of an eye."

Pan Lianhua seemed to have remembered something, and suddenly became sentimental.

Fang Wei smiled without saying a word. The other person realized his mistake, rolled his eyes, and then laughed too.

the next day.

Fang Wei drove straight to the county town as soon as he left home in the morning.

Today he and Luo Zhimin had arranged to discuss the land issue for the breeding center. If they couldn't reach an agreement, he would represent the company to demand compensation.

"The cleanup work has been basically completed. Next, the 4 mu of paddy fields will be put out to public tender, and you can also participate in the bidding for the contract."

Luo Zhimin was not interested in the so-called open bidding, but since that was the requirement from above, he had no choice but to comply.

In fact, this land is most suitable for Yaoling Agriculture. Focusing only on the contract fee is a superficial approach. How much can the contract fee really be? What he values ​​is the benefits that the contracting company can bring to the local area.

From any perspective, contracting the land to Yaoling Agriculture is the most suitable option. "You need to put out a tender for such a small plot of land? Are you sure the county isn't just finding someone to rip us off? Secretary Luo, let me make this clear first: if the contract fee is outrageous, you'd better give us the compensation as soon as possible."

The county's compensation funds had not yet arrived, but Fang Wei did not urge them, in order to wait for the follow-up processing of the 4 mu of land at the breeding center.

Either sell or contract out; no matter how you look at it, Yaoling Agriculture is the first choice.

But now the county has come up with another bidding process, isn't that obviously an attempt to inflate prices?
So Fang Wei was a little unhappy.

“My dear Party Secretary Fang, would the county possibly think of cheating you? Absolutely not! This bidding process was indeed mandated by higher authorities, and there was nothing I could do about it. Please be understanding.”

Luo Zhimin quickly reassured Fang Wei, as he was genuinely afraid that Fang Wei might give up.

As things stand, even in a public tender, it's unlikely anyone would dare challenge Yaoling Agriculture. Therefore, a sale at the reserve price is the most probable outcome, so there's no need to overthink it.

"Okay, we'll participate in the bidding. However, we won't be foolish enough to bid too high. If anyone tries to sabotage us, we'll withdraw. Don't forget to give us the compensation later."

Fang Wei thought about it and realized that the logic made sense, but he was afraid that something unexpected might happen.

When he returned to his office, he immediately called Cai Tong.

After the spring planting was finished, Cai Tong and the others returned to the provincial capital, as they couldn't stay in the countryside forever.

After receiving Fang Wei's call, Cai Tong arranged for someone to contact the county. Bidding and tendering processes have their own set of regulations, and appearances must be maintained to avoid giving others any reason to criticize.

A few days later, Fang Wei's worst fears came true.

Since it's an open tender, theoretically all qualified companies can participate. While this isn't as outrageous as an auction, a price increase is almost certain. With competition, who would be foolish enough to only submit a reserve price?
The county's initial offer wasn't high, but the final contract price is hard to say.

After making inquiries, he quickly obtained definite information. In addition to Yaoling Agriculture, three other companies had confirmed their participation in the bidding, including two state-owned agricultural companies and one private agricultural company.

"Secretary Fang, what should we do?"

This bidding process was also a sealed bid, meaning that each competing company would submit a price they were willing to pay, and then the bids would be sealed.

The answer will be revealed on the day of the bid opening. Theoretically, the highest bidder wins, but it's not absolute. So the bidding process these days is quite mysterious, leaving the company's bidding team somewhat at a loss.

The fact that New Cage wasn't among the bidders this time is a bit of good news.

After all, he had no personal grudges against the companies that participated in the bidding. Everyone bid based on their own circumstances, without any factors other than business considerations.

"Please fill in the form with a 50% increase on top of the base price, and I'll discuss it with Mr. Cai right away."

Things took a new turn; before Fang Wei could even make the call, Cai Tong called.

"Secretary, we've held a meeting and decided that you'll be fully responsible for this bidding process. You have the authority to set the price increase limit of 100% of the base price; the company has given you that authority."

The bidding team must have notified Cai Tong, and Cai Tong and others held a special meeting to decide to grant Fang Wei full authorization.

However, Fang Wei wouldn't actually double the price; he felt a 50% increase would be enough.

Other companies don't have the same profit margins as Yaoling Agriculture; if they set prices too high, they're bound to lose money. Nobody does business that loses money, and he trusted his judgment.

"Alright, you can bid according to the price I said, and I will bear any consequences."

Fang Wei stopped arguing, sealed the tender documents, and had them sent to the county.

On the day of the bid opening, he went to the site in person and waited for the final result with the bidding team.

County leaders also attended the bidding meeting, and the host then read out the bids from each unit, and finally announced the winning bids.

Fang Wei was surprised by the first bidder's offer. It wasn't that the bid was too high, but rather too low, only 10% higher than the reserve price.

The second bidder was not Yaoling Agriculture either, as their bid exceeded the reserve price by 36%.

At this moment, the members of the bidding team sitting next to Fang Wei were very nervous. If the third company's bid exceeded 50% of the reserve price, Yaoling Agriculture might lose.

"Secretary, aren't we being too conservative?"

Someone whispered to Fang Wei, their voice trembling with nervousness.

"Stay calm. There's no use saying anything now. Let's wait patiently for the results."

Fang Wei felt that there was still hope for the company. Yaoling Agriculture's breeding and planting costs were the lowest in China. If others wanted to take over these 40,000 mu of farmland, they would have to consider the cost issue first.

He felt that his price was reasonable; if someone else offered more than his, they would definitely lose money.

This possibility is not high.

The host then took out the bid documents from the third company, and then took out the bid documents from Yaoling Agriculture.

"Only two companies remain. Let's reveal the answer now." (End of Chapter)