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

after a few days.

Yaoling Agriculture held a commendation meeting for autumn harvest work in Xinlin County, and representatives from various units attended the meeting.

The company gave a very generous reward this time, and everyone was all smiles.

"The outstanding producers and skilled workers selected this time will also receive a benefit: the company will organize a trip for everyone, and all expenses will be covered by the company as an encouragement."

Finally, Lin Bingkun announced some good news, which caused a stir in the venue.

After the meeting, everyone went to Linhe Hotel for dinner, and Fang Wei arrived late at that time.

He usually doesn't attend meetings like this now, but he came to the hotel this time because Lin Bingkun called him several times, asking him to come and encourage everyone.

Fang Wei then arrived at the scene, raised his glass and drank three cups of wine with everyone, ate a few bites of food, and then left first.

Lin Bingkun did the same; he stayed a little longer before leaving. He and Fang Wei sat there, but no one seemed to enjoy themselves.

This season is another bumper harvest, so let's all have some fun.

Fang Wei left the Linhe Hotel and went straight upstairs to a small private room. Shortly after, Lin Bingkun walked in.

The waiter quickly brought out all the food, and the two ate and chatted, since they couldn't stay hungry forever.

“Secretary, Suiyang County came to see me again. It seems they are not very confident about their own conditions and hinted that they can negotiate.”

The two simply ate a meal, without ordering any alcohol, and discussed work while eating.

"Then I'll take some time to go and investigate. If you don't have time, I'll go and take a look first. I think I can reach an agreement with Suiyang County on the land contract."

Fang Wei had originally planned to go to Suiyang County as well, because he had to give Wang Lin face no matter what.

But he only goes to investigate; if the other party still has the same conditions, he will ignore them.

"I'm sorry to trouble you, Party Secretary! I still need to check on the planting of winter rapeseed. If Suiyang County is sincere, I'll go talk to them later."

The two quickly reached an agreement on the matter of Suiyang County and then focused on eating.

After finishing his meal, Fang Wei returned to the village and then made a phone call to Suiyang County.

Upon hearing that he was coming to inspect the area, the other party was incredibly enthusiastic and immediately reported to Secretary Liu after hanging up the phone. The county promptly made arrangements, treating this matter with the same level of importance as a visit from a higher-level leader.

The next day.

Fang Wei dismissed two staff members and drove to Suiyang County.

Suiyang County is 150 kilometers away from Xinlin County. While Suiyang County used to have a better foundation than Xinlin County, it certainly can't compare in recent years. With the strong support of Yaoling Group, Xinlin County has developed rapidly and has long surpassed Suiyang County.

When Fang Wei arrived, Secretary Liu held a brief welcoming ceremony, which shows how difficult it is to attract investment these days.

"Secretary Fang, you must be tired from your journey! Come on, let's go to my office for a cup of tea first."

Secretary Liu greeted them with a smile, then took Fang Wei to his office for tea.

The two didn't talk about anything serious at this time, but chatted casually for about half an hour before it was time to eat.

Suiyang prepared a luncheon of a rather high standard, with Secretary Liu personally accompanying Fang Wei, giving him ample face.

"Secretary Liu, you are all so incredibly hospitable."

Fang Wei and Secretary Liu sat down together and exchanged a few polite words in front of everyone.

Today, everyone at the table is a prominent figure from Suiyang County, but in order to entertain the guests, they are all doing their best to make them happy.

"Nothing more to say, we are honored that Secretary Fang could come. Come, let's have a drink together."

The atmosphere at the table was getting better and better. Fang Wei estimated that he had drunk at least one bottle of wine, and then said that he was a little drunk.

He's here to conduct an inspection, not to challenge others. Getting everyone drunk won't do him any good.

Seeing the sincerity in the other party's eyes, Secretary Liu gave everyone a wink and said, "Secretary Fang must be tired from your journey. Let's stop here for now and continue tonight."

We had to go on a field trip in the afternoon, so the banquet ended quickly.

Suiyang County had arranged accommodations in advance, and Fang Wei and his entourage rested at the hotel for a while until a waiter came to inform them that they should come downstairs.

The county arranged vehicles, and Secretary Liu personally led the team to accompany Fang Wei on his inspection tour of the countryside.

Since we're discussing land contracting, shouldn't we at least let them see the land?

"Peanuts have been a traditional crop in this area, and this year's harvest is quite good."

After getting out of the car, Secretary Liu accompanied Fang Wei to the edge of the field and gave an introduction.

Many people were still harvesting peanuts in the fields, indicating that the final harvest was nearing completion, and many fields were already empty.

Fang Wei nodded, walked into the field, picked up a few peanuts at random, and examined them. He could tell that they were still growing the old variety. The peanuts produced in Suiyang County were of decent quality, but the yield was low, and Suiyang peanuts had declined in recent years.

"Secretary Liu, why don't you change the varieties?"

Everyone here is a sensible person, so Fang Wei spoke very directly. "It's not that we don't want to change it, but that people's mindset won't change. Why have I always wanted to build an oil pressing plant in the county? It's because only the drive for profit can achieve the goal."

Secretary Liu explained that peanut farming has become increasingly unprofitable in recent years, leading many people to sublet their land.

Upon seeing the situation, the county planned to take unified action: first, to introduce large agricultural groups to revitalize traditional advantageous projects; and second, to strive to build an oil pressing plant for deep processing and absorb more labor.

“We still have the capacity to contract land, but building a large-scale oil pressing plant is not realistic, and we also have our difficulties.”

Fang Wei didn't say much. He knew the other party was playing the emotional card, but investment is precisely something you can't let emotions cloud your judgment.

After the group finished their inspection and returned to the county, it was already dark.

Secretary Liu arranged another dinner, which Fang Wei accepted without hesitation, and by the end he was a little tipsy from drinking.

the next day.

After getting up and having breakfast, Fang Wei set off back to the village.

This investigation yielded some results. At least the local land and climate in Suiyang County are quite good, making it very suitable for peanut cultivation. With proper planning, two peanut crops and one soybean crop can be grown per year, which will certainly bring good economic benefits.

Upon returning, he reported the findings of his investigation to Cai Tong, Lin Bingkun, and others.

Lin Bingkun felt the time was right and planned to go to Suiyang County in a few days to have a proper talk.

However, he underestimated Suiyang County's persistence. Secretary Liu still hoped to bring in an oil pressing plant so that the county's advantageous industries could be preserved.

Besides oil extraction, he also wants to develop other peanut processed products, eventually forming a complete peanut industry chain.

Lin Bingkun returned empty-handed, and Fang Wei had no choice but to temporarily abandon the cooperation with Suiyang County.

Just then, Liang Wenhui approached him again.

"Mr. Liang, we really have no intention of selling the oil mill. Please let us go."

Seeing Liang Wenhui, Fang Wei was both amused and exasperated.

He had a fairly good impression of Liang Wenhui; the man was upright and honest, and wouldn't do anything behind people's backs. The other party should have known the oil mill couldn't be sold, yet they still came.

“Secretary Fang, I think you’ve misunderstood. I’m not here to discuss an acquisition, but rather to explore cooperation with you.”

Liang Wenhui waved his hand with a smile, then sat down directly.

Fang Wei realized he had gone a bit too far and quickly got up to make him a cup of tea.

"What kind of cooperation method?"

Fang Wei sat down next to the other person and casually asked.

“Your agricultural product processing is quite good, but your market share in the edible oil market is too small, so there is no future in it. My plan is for us to cooperate. You will do the initial processing and then sell it to us, while I will be responsible for the final processing and sales.”

Liang Wenhui didn't mince words and directly stated his plans.

Fang Wei couldn't help but laugh in anger after hearing this. So the so-called cooperation was just supplying the other party with raw materials? After the initial processing, it would be a semi-finished product. Once her own brand was gone, wouldn't she be at the mercy of the other party for a while?

"Mr. Liang, you're not being sincere at all. I don't think we can cooperate."

Fang Wei rejected the other party's suggestion without hesitation.

"That's really a pity! Secretary Fang, I can say this: within five years at most, no small oil pressing plant in China will be able to survive. They will either be acquired by others or become part of the industrial chain."

Liang Wenhua didn't try to persuade him any further. He had said everything he needed to say, and if the other party insisted on going his own way, there was nothing he could do.

In other words, the company is currently in a period of rapid expansion. If it were in the past, he wouldn't even bother to look at a small factory like this.

"We'll talk about it later! Mr. Liang, it's a rare opportunity for you to come all this way, come on, let me treat you to dinner."

Fang Wei laughed and then pulled Liang Wenhui to the Linhe Hotel.

He and Liang Wenhui had no personal grudges. When it comes to business, they would ask for an exorbitant price and then negotiate it down to the nearest acceptable amount. Whether the deal went through or not, it wouldn't affect their relationship.

The two had a meal in the county, and then Liang Wenhui left Xinlin County without even going to see Wang Lin.

For him, it wouldn't matter if this didn't work out; he had several other goals, and he estimated that there wouldn't be any major problems.

Back in his office, Fang Wei quietly considered Liang Wenhui's words. He didn't think the other party was exaggerating; it was indeed the case that competition in the edible oil market would be exceptionally fierce in the future.

The oil pressing plant under Yaoling Group is actually quite large, but it's nothing compared to those large enterprises.

"But I have an unparalleled advantage, do they?"

Fang Wei will not underestimate himself; his advantage lies not only in the entire industry chain, but also in his huge cost advantage.

In addition to breeding, Yaoling Agriculture is also passionate about planting because its planting costs are much lower than others. For example, for oil crops, the company has the best seeds on the market, has achieved overall mechanized operations, and can save a lot of fertilizers and pesticides.

The costs of planting are limited to a few things: land costs, infrastructure costs, agricultural machinery costs, labor costs, fertilizer and pesticide costs, and so on.

The land cost for contracted land is relatively low, and the costs of infrastructure and agricultural machinery are a one-time investment that can be spread over many years. Labor costs and fertilizer and pesticide costs account for a large proportion, and significant savings can be achieved in these areas. (End of Chapter)