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

Around noon, Fang Wei took Deng Yuanen to the county town to meet with Bank Manager Zhang.

"Mr. Deng, your company plans to take out a loan of 1000 million yuan. I can repay the loan in no more than one year."

"Is 1000 million yuan enough? Don't rush to repay the loan. I can sign a one-year loan contract with you. If it's still useful when it expires, the bank can extend it for another six months."

President Zhang was very easy to talk to, and after a few drinks, he became good friends with Deng Yuanen.

Fang Wei merely acted as an intermediary; he didn't need to get involved in the rest of the matter, as Deng Yuanen could handle it all himself.

After the meal, he parted ways with Deng Yuanen and went to Wang Lin's office by himself.

"Secretary Fang, you've come at the perfect time! I was just thinking of meeting you in the next couple of days. I have to thank you; you've been a huge help to me. How about we grab a couple of drinks tonight?"

Wang Lin certainly had his reasons for being happy. First, the coal mine was completely revitalized, not only allowing most of the original miners to return to work, but also creating some new employment opportunities.

The county's finances have also shed historical burdens and increased tax revenue, making it a win-win situation.

In addition, the bank has strengthened its ties with Yaoling Group, and the bank's funds have begun to flow in a positive direction, which in turn promotes the county's economic development, making it a win-win situation.

As for the Yaoling Group's growing economic influence in the county, he didn't see it as a problem.

As long as he doesn't violate principles, his work achievements are undeniable. As for making things more difficult for those who come after him, that's not something he needs to consider; he's not one for sentimentality.

"Sure, but it's still early. Shall we meet at 6:30?"

"Okay! See you at the usual place at 6:30."

Fang Wei then left Wang Lin's office and went to the construction site of Yaoling Hotel.

The hotel has been topped out and is now in the interior decoration phase. It is expected to be completed by the end of the year. If things go smoothly, it can open to the public around National Day; if things go slowly, it will open just before New Year's Day.

“Secretary Fang, the construction speed could have been faster, but we have very strict requirements for the quality of the project. We will require the construction team to rework any small flaw, so the progress is not as expected.”

The project manager was somewhat uneasy when he met Fang Wei and explained the issues with the project's progress.

Fang Wei smiled and waved his hand, saying, "We don't need to rush the schedule; the quality of the project is the top priority. In short, we just need to complete the project smoothly before the end of the year, and we can't allow it to drag on into next year."

"No, we will work overtime to finish the project before National Day."

The project manager personally accompanied Fang Wei on a site visit, along with the supervisors, which gave him a comprehensive understanding of the overall situation.

He is generally satisfied with the current progress.

night.

Fang Wei and Wang Lin enjoyed a hearty drink at their favorite restaurant. As they left, the proprietress inquired about the opening date of the Yaoling Grand Hotel. It was clear she was even more eager than Fang Wei, as the county's first upscale restaurant was about to open under her management.

The third floor of the grand hotel has already been rented to her, and she thinks about it every day.

"Don't worry, ma'am, the hotel will definitely open before the end of the year. I'll have them notify you in advance so you can start the renovations."

Fang Wei was very familiar with the proprietress; over the years, he, his family, and others had eaten at the restaurant countless times.

The proprietress expressed her gratitude, and Fang Wei got into the car, asking the driver to take her home.

He has a lot of social engagements these days, and he usually brings a driver when he goes out, especially when he's driving long distances.

When he got home, Pan Lianhua was still waiting for him.

"You're doing alright today. Looks like you haven't had too much to drink."

Pan Lianhua has always been against men drinking too much. It's okay to drink a few cups less, but the problem is that every time he goes out, he comes back reeking of alcohol.

I'm doing alright today; I don't smell strongly of alcohol, so I guess I didn't drink much.

"Secretary Wang only drank a few cups and then refused to drink anymore. I can't just pour myself a drink, can I? We didn't drink much today, the two of us only drank half a bottle of wine."

Fang Wei laughed and revealed the truth.

It wasn't that he didn't want to drink; it was mainly because Wang Lin wasn't in good drinking condition today.

"You think you're losing out by drinking less? Sit down for a bit, I'll go make you some tea."

Pan Lianhua then brewed a pot of tea for Fang Wei and brought it over, and the two chatted about the Yaoling Grand Hotel.

During this period, many people have been looking forward to the grand hotel, each with their own reasons, but ultimately they all hope that the county town can see some changes.

Overall, the county town has not changed much in recent years. The county has not invested much more funds, and the scale of the private economy is not large, so it is reasonable that there has been no change.

Some changes only came unexpectedly when Yaoling Group stepped in.

For example, the opening of the largest farmers' market in the county and the tallest building in the county (Yaoling Hotel) are visible changes, but some people have also seen business opportunities in them. The restaurant owner saw this opportunity, which is why she took out her savings accumulated over the years to open a mid-to-high-end restaurant.

“I didn’t want to invest too much in the county before, for no other reason than that I would be hated by people. Once the Yaoling Hotel opens, it will definitely have an impact on the hotel, catering and entertainment industries.”

Fang Wei didn't say one more thing: the transportation company had in fact monopolized the county's short-distance passenger transport market. With their size, they had no competitors in the county.

The country is currently promoting housing reform, and the company will also get involved in the real estate market in the future. At that time, Yaoling Group will truly control the economic lifeline of the entire county.

He didn't know whether this was a good thing or a bad thing.

However, Yaoling Group is a genuine collective enterprise, so there's not much to worry about in terms of appearances.

As the weather gradually warmed up, Sun Shili grew increasingly anxious. Research on the new generation of wheat was progressing slowly, despite the significant human and financial resources invested by the Crop Research Institute and Yaoling Agriculture, with disappointing results.

But he was too embarrassed to urge Fang Wei, after all, the other party had already sent out elite troops and was also trying to cultivate a new generation of wheat locally.

This morning.

Sun Shili was busy in the experimental field at the Central Plains Base when a staff member ran over and said that someone wanted to see him by phone.

I had just returned to my office, picked up the receiver and said "hello," when Fang Wei's voice came from the other end:
"Director Sun, good news! There's been progress in the breeding of the new generation of wheat. Wait for me a while; I'll come over once I've finished what I'm doing."

"That's great! I'll wait for you. Be careful on the road."

Sun Shili felt as if the clouds had parted to reveal the clear sky; this matter had troubled him for too long, and now there was finally progress.

The two didn't talk much and ended the call soon after.

This also came as a surprise to Fang Wei; the Yao village only notified him after they had already identified the mutated strain. Based on his experience, the breeding of the new generation of wheat had made a significant step forward, so to reassure Sun Shili, he called to tell him.

If there is no further progress, he is worried that Sun Shili will give up.

"Songlin, next you need to vigorously cultivate mutant strains. After another round of screening, we can proceed with breeding. I'm going to the Central Plains in a few days, so please prepare samples of the mutant strains for me."

Fang Wei plans to hand over all the data and samples to the Central Plains Base after the screening is completed.

Since it's a collaborative research project, the results belong to him, while the academic achievements belong to the Crop Research Institute and the Institute of Agriculture; everyone gets what they need. Therefore, completing subsequent research at the Central Plains Base is the same, including large-scale breeding programs, which can all be conducted there.

This matter cannot be resolved without leaving the Central Plains base.

The main issue involves the planting area. All of Fang Wei's breeding techniques are based on the planting area. Without this basic condition, breeding will definitely fail.

Of course, in the future production phase, we can try to contract some land.

The Crop Research Institute only conducts research, while industrialization still depends on Yaoling Agriculture; otherwise, the new generation of wheat will not be able to leave the experimental fields.

"Okay, Third Brother. You're really planning to go to the Central Plains base? Why not just send someone to deliver it?"

While agreeing, Wang Songlin raised some questions.

He always felt that the company shouldn't be involved in too many collaborative projects. The Crop Research Institute practically treated this place as an experimental base; which research project wasn't completed here?

“Songlin, we can’t just look at the surface of things. How much technology and equipment has the Crop Research Institute provided us over the years? Besides, without them, it wouldn’t have been so easy for our achievements to pass the review and win awards.”

Fang Wei didn't say much, but just made a pointed remark to the other party.

Wang Songlin chuckled foolishly. He didn't understand these things anyway, so he just listened to whatever his third brother said.

Fang Wei was too lazy to discuss the matter further, so after giving some instructions, he left the Yao village. Wang Songlin needed some time to prepare the mutated strains and materials, and he couldn't go to the Central Plains base anytime soon.

The reason he made the trip in person was to show his importance to the collaboration with the Institute of Crop Sciences.

in the afternoon.

Lin Bingkun arrived at the office and chatted with Fang Wei about work for nearly two hours.

"I recently visited all the production units, and the basic situation is still good. It's just that the company has relatively little dry land, which has affected the seed cultivation of some cash crops."

Lin Bingkun suggested contracting more dry land to strengthen the cultivation of seeds for cash crops, which could bring new profit growth points to the company.

"I will consider this matter. When you have time, please report your thoughts to President Cai."

Fang Wei did not immediately express his opinion. Now that the company has reached its current size, every move must be carefully considered.

night.

Fang Ping and Tian Guihua came to our house for dinner, and Fang Wei asked about the coal mine.

The coal mine is currently operating smoothly, but due to the addition of numerous pieces of equipment and increased investment in safety, production costs remain high. (End of Chapter)