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

Chapter 599 The Money-Burning Game: Responding to All Changes with Unchanging Stance

Time flies.

The dumping strategy of edible oil giants began to take effect, and a large number of edible oil companies withdrew from the industry, selling their factories to these giants.

Other companies have signed agreements with these giants, becoming their vassals and only producing semi-finished products.

Yaoling brand cooking oil continues to perform steadily in the market. Some things cannot be simply compared by price; we should also consider the cost-effectiveness.

Because Yaoling brand cooking oil has a high cost-performance ratio and a good reputation, it is still loved by consumers even without following the trend of price reduction.

While oil mills are not industry giants, they have a large number of loyal customers, and it is difficult to shake their market share simply by engaging in price wars.

Fortunately, the oil mills were generally small in scale and their products did not occupy a large market share, so the giants did not pay much attention to them.

Liang Wenhui has been in a terrible situation lately. The giants have all drastically reduced the price of cooking oil, and he has no choice but to follow suit. But following the price cuts means losses, and every day feels like burning money, which pains him greatly.

But there's no other way; if you can't hold on at this point, you'll be eliminated.

Fang Wei has recently turned his attention to agricultural production, as the summer harvest and planting season is about to begin. Compared to the fluctuations in the edible oil market, this is the issue he is most concerned about.

"Third Brother, are we going out on patrol again?"

Pan Lianhua knew men's habits best. She guessed that he would be going out again in the next few days, so she asked him during dinner.

"Yes, it's harvest season again. I won't feel at ease unless I go and see it for myself."

Fang Wei smiled and gave the other party an affirmative answer.

Actually, it's not absolutely necessary to go. Yaoling Agriculture is now a mature, large-scale enterprise with well-established rules and regulations, so his presence or absence won't make any difference.

However, the inspection work is still very important. Even the best system must be implemented properly, which requires supervision and inspection.

Fang Wei's regular or irregular inspections are a matter of his attitude, so they need to be maintained in the long term.

"So where do you plan to go first this time? Hengzhou?"

Pan Lianhua nodded, then asked another question.

"I plan to start from the county, then go to Qinghe County and Suiyang County. Then from Chenzhou to Hengzhou, and if time permits, I will also go to the Jianghuai base."

Fang Wei plans to visit as many places as possible this time, trying to be as comprehensive as possible.

Pan Lianhua didn't say anything more, just told the man to take care of himself and be careful, and then went to the kitchen to wash the dishes.

Fang Wei thought for a moment, then walked to the kitchen door and said, "Lianhua, if you're bored, why don't you go stay in Yangcheng? Anyway, I'll be going there after I'm done with this busy period to finalize Xiaojie's marriage."

When Xiaojie brought Cheng Xiaoyue back last time, she mentioned that in July or August, Cheng Xiaoyue's parents would meet with Fang Wei and his wife in Guangzhou to propose marriage.

The two of them will definitely have to go there in advance, and it won't be long from now.

"I'm fine, don't worry about me. I'll go to the factory more often when I'm bored. Let's wait for you to come back, then we can go together."

Pan Lianhua thought for a while, then shook her head, not wanting to go to Guangzhou so early.

Fang Wei said no more and began his inspection tour the next day. He spent the first few days in the county, and then went to Qinghe County and Yangshan County.

Summer harvest and planting are in full swing in various units. He traveled from Yangshan County to Suiyang County, and then on to Chenzhou and Hengzhou.

He loved the sight of the harvest; he even felt that every grain of rice and every crop produced by each unit deserved his credit. After so many years of working in breeding, he had finally reaped abundant rewards.

After leaving Hengzhou, Fang Wei went to the Jianghuai Base.

On the day of their arrival, Hu Linwei and Zhang Chu called to report bad news.

“Secretary, under the pressure of the price war among the giants, our cooking oil sales have also declined significantly. The company is still holding on, and many people hope that we can also lower the price.”

Zhang Chu was clearly under pressure and immediately suggested lowering the price.

Hu Linwei is slightly more optimistic. He believes they can hold on for a while longer and see how things go when the new school year starts.

"For now, we'll continue to observe the situation. The temporary decline in sales isn't a big problem. Besides, our edible oil products aren't priced high to begin with, so there's no need to be led by the nose by others."

Fang Wei told them to wait and see, and then went to the conference room for a meeting.

The Jianghuai base mainly grows winter wheat, and this year's harvest is good. Detailed reports were submitted several months ago.

After the meeting began, Fang Wei listened to the work report from the base and affirmed their achievements.

“Secretary, the base’s supporting facilities are already very complete, but the subsidies that the city promised have not yet arrived.”

Before the meeting ended, the person in charge of the base said something.

The question is how to make money in agriculture. In order to introduce Yaoling Agriculture, Jianghuai once promised to provide subsidies for the construction of farmland water conservancy facilities.

If all infrastructure projects were undertaken by businesses, I doubt anyone would come here to contract land.

"Huh? Wasn't this agreed upon a long time ago? Didn't you go to the city government?"

Fang Wei was quite surprised. Yaoling Agriculture had a good relationship with the local area, and the city had provided various forms of support, including tax breaks. Why hadn't the promised subsidies been delivered?

“We went to them several times, but they always made excuses to delay, and we couldn’t afford to confront them.”

The person in charge spread his hands, indicating his helplessness.

It's best to handle this kind of thing gently; if things get too tense, he's afraid things won't end well. "I understand. I'll go there myself tomorrow."

Fang Wei pursed her lips and decided to go to the city to ask tomorrow.

Subsidies will definitely be provided, but dragging it out like this isn't a solution.

The next day.

Fang Wei went to check out the various facilities at the base in the morning, and then took Yang Feng to the city.

Jianghuai attached great importance to Fang Wei's arrival. The main leaders not only met with him, but also sat down together for a symposium.

Since it was a discussion, Fang Wei spoke freely, first expressing his gratitude to the local authorities for providing many conveniences for the base's development. Finally, he subtly inquired about subsidies.

The leaders present were all embarrassed after hearing this.

"Chairman Fang, this is indeed our fault. From last year to this year, the city has had a significant funding gap, which is why the money has been delayed. But please rest assured, the subsidy will definitely be disbursed before the end of the year."

One of the leaders quickly offered an explanation and provided a timetable for distributing the subsidies.

Fang Wei then learned the truth, and her resentment vanished instantly. After all, everyone has difficult times, and as long as it's not intentional delay or renege on obligations, a slight delay in distributing subsidies is understandable.

"I'm not in a big hurry, I'll just wait for the subsidy to arrive before the end of the year."

He then expressed his opinion without urging the other party in any particular way.

The leaders breathed a sigh of relief. They said the subsidies would be issued before the end of the year, but in fact, they would pay out as soon as the city's financial situation eased a little.

Back at the base in the afternoon, Fang Wei reported the situation to the base leader.

The base manager also said he understood the city's difficulties, but he also said that if he hadn't received the money by the end of the year, he would definitely go to the city to collect the debt.

Fang Wei spent a week at the Jianghuai base, getting a good grasp of the situation, before returning to his village.

"Third Brother, you should rest for a while first, then we'll have to go to Guangzhou."

Pan Lianhua felt a pang of heartache seeing the exhaustion on the man's face.

Although she wanted to go to Guangzhou as soon as possible to finalize her daughter's marriage, she still asked Fang Wei to rest for a while before setting off.

"It's okay, I'll rest for a few days and then we'll leave."

Fang Wei didn't feel particularly tired; it was just normal to feel a little exhausted after being on the go for so long.

It will recover in two or three days.

The next day.

Fang Wei didn't go to the office until the morning to handle some of the work at hand.

On the third day, he and Pan Lianhua drove to Guangzhou.

Yang Feng also went with him. As his assistant, he was always needed to help Fang Wei complete various tasks, and it would be very inconvenient if he wasn't by her side.

However, after arriving in Guangzhou, Yang Feng went to the group company, where many things awaited him.

Fang Wei and Pan Lianhua made some preparations at home, and then called Xiao Jie to tell her that they had arrived in Guangzhou and to see when Cheng Xiaoyue's parents would be available to meet.

Xiao Jie replied quickly, saying that she, Cheng Xiaoyue, and his parents would be coming to Guangzhou this weekend.

Since there were still several days to go, Fang Wei couldn't just sit idly at home, so he went to the group company to take charge.

"Chairman, these documents need to be processed immediately, and there are a few other minor matters that I have made decisions on your behalf. Please take a look and see if there is anything amiss?"

Upon entering the office, the administrative staff delivered a pile of documents.

A little later, Yang Feng came in and gave Fang Wei a brief report.

"Okay, let's handle these matters according to your suggestion."

Fang Wei glanced at the few minor matters that Yang Feng had handled on his behalf and, finding no problems, had the other party issue the documents directly.

He still had a few official duties to handle, so he lowered his head and began to work.

With Yang Feng as his assistant, his workload eased up a bit. But to be honest, his workload wasn't that heavy before.

"Secretary, how about we have lunch together?"

Around noon, Cai Tong and Hu Linwei knocked on the door and came in.

They were both very busy for a while, one working on the production line and the other overseeing things at the company. They were so busy they barely had time to breathe.

"Sure! Please have a seat, I'll be right there."

Fang Wei smiled and nodded, then finished what he was doing and left the office with the two of them.

The three of them didn't go to the company cafeteria, but instead went to a Cantonese restaurant.

“Secretary, the competition in the edible oil market has become increasingly fierce recently. We are doing relatively well; many edible oil manufacturers have not been able to survive.”

The three of them ate and chatted, and the topic of cooking oil came up again.

(End of this chapter)