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

"Let's not dwell on those things. Haven't you helped me a lot already? By the way, Lao Pang, I need your help with something. My nephew works at the Academy of Agricultural Sciences, and he's run into some trouble."

Fang Wei smiled and waved his hand, indicating that Pang Wanxin didn't need to be so polite.

He then told the other party about Fang Tao's situation, hoping that the other party could take care of him.

"Let's not even talk about the agricultural research institute's tertiary industry. Your nephew really shouldn't have gone there. Here's what I'll do: I'll talk to Wang Lin about this later and get your nephew transferred back from the tertiary industry to the institute."

Pang Wanxin immediately understood what was going on, but no matter what shortcomings Fang Tao had, he was still Fang Wei's nephew and wouldn't tolerate anyone bullying him.

But he spoke of it casually, saying that some things can be done but not said, and that if things are done properly, the other party will naturally understand.

"Okay, I'll be leaving tomorrow. Contact me by phone if anything comes up."

Fang Wei didn't say anything more and returned home after parting ways with Pang Wanxin.

He was away for quite a while, and the group returned to the village the next day.

The next day.

Fang Wei arrived at the office full of energy. He had spent most of his time in the provincial capital in a very relaxed manner, almost like a vacation.

After resting for so long, it's time to seriously deal with work matters.

A little later, Yang Feng and Du Wanyi walked into the office together. Du Wanyi was carrying a stack of documents that needed Fang Wei's signature. Yang Feng had handled these documents in advance while he was away, but the paperwork still needed to be finalized.

Fang Wei remembered all of these things; Yang Feng had called to report to him, so he quickly signed the documents.

Secretary Du then left the office with the documents, as she needed to distribute them to various departments for their records.

"Chairman, our Suiyang and Tiannan oil pressing plants have both ramped up their production capacity and can operate at full capacity in critical times. Good news has also come from the sales company: edible oil production and sales are booming."

Other edible oil giants haven't taken any action against us yet, but they've accelerated their acquisition pace and are gradually monopolizing the market supply of oilseed crops.

Yang Feng's job responsibilities are different from Secretary Du's. He is Fang Wei's right-hand man, so he has a broader scope of attention.

Sometimes he would even go on inspections in Fang Wei's place, or attend meetings in the county or city.

The cooking oil market has been relatively stable recently, but upon closer observation, he discovered that undercurrents were brewing beneath the calm surface, so he specifically reminded Fang Wei.

"Yes, this matter needs to be taken seriously. Please tell General Manager Hu and General Manager Zhang about this situation."

Fang Wei nodded, naturally understanding that those giants would not allow him to develop unchecked.

He instructed Yang Feng to contact Hu Linwei and Zhang Chu, while he himself made a phone call to Liang Wenhui. The two sides were now allies, and sharing information would benefit everyone.

"Mr. Liang, there's something you should take a look at."

After the call connected, Fang Wei relayed the information Yang Feng had given her to the other party.

"Thank you very much, Secretary Fang. I've also noticed a bit of a trend. I was planning to contact you after confirming the information, but I didn't expect you to be more informed than I am."

After listening, Liang Wenhui couldn't help but sigh.

Previously, the raw materials in his mudflat market were cheap, so he terminated his contract with Yaoling Agriculture, and now the market situation has changed again.

However, he did take some time to work; he implemented a "company plus farmer" model, which helped stabilize the supply of oilseed crops.

Thanks to his early action, the increased volatility in raw material prices in the market has had less of an impact on him.

The two chatted for about ten minutes before ending the call.

Fang Wei knew very well that the competition in the edible oil market was not something that could be decided overnight, and most of the companies that couldn't withstand the pressure had already fallen in the previous brutal purge.

It's a miracle that Liang Wenhui survived, but the other party and Yaoling Group will likely become the top targets of the giants next.

He then began to handle his regular official duties, which kept him busy until noon, before finally leaving the office to go home for lunch.

A few days passed quickly.

With the harvest season fast approaching, Fang Wei took some time to go to the mountains.

He mainly wanted to see how the tree species replacement plan was progressing and whether it would affect this year's wild camellia seed harvest.

As for harvesting, he no longer needs to worry about it. The highway has already reached the edge of the wild forest, which is much more convenient than the old days when people had to carry things on their shoulders.

Fang Wei spent half a day wandering around the wild camellia oleifera forest, and the forestry company's tree species replacement plan was progressing smoothly.

The replacement of tree species is not done by region, but rather by replacing dead or semi-dead trees first, and then replacing severely degraded (aging) trees that do not bear fruit.

In this way, it won't affect the yield, but will instead improve the ecology of the wild forest.

"It is estimated that this year's output will increase further."

Based on his experience, Fang Wei made an assessment and concluded that the yield of wild camellia seeds this year had increased rather than decreased, which should be related to the natural reproduction of wild forests over the years.

Elsewhere, wild camellia trees take about three to seven years to develop from seed to their first flowering and fruiting.

In the [forestation and harvesting area], this stage for wild camellia trees can be shortened to within three years, followed by a peak fruiting period of several decades. Therefore, Fang Wei's tree species replacement plan has been extended to about five years, with the aim of not affecting normal yields.

He also discovered that the transplanted camellia seedlings were growing very quickly. The seedlings transplanted last year had already exceeded 3.5 meters in height, and the seedlings transplanted earlier this year had generally grown to be more than one person tall.

Fang Wei was very satisfied. He then went to the mountains to pick some fir mushrooms and returned to the village.

a few days later.

The forestry company began a large-scale harvesting operation, temporarily hiring a group of people from various townships, which made the harvesting work progress rapidly.

After harvesting the fruits in the mountains, the next step is to pick chestnuts, camellia seeds, and herbs grown under the trees in our own forest.

Wild and cultivated herbs in the mountains have become a major source of profit for forestry companies. The products are in high demand and short supply, and vehicles can often be seen queuing up at the gates of herb processing plants overnight.

This morning.

Fang Wei received a call from Wu Tianming.

"Old Wu, how have you been lately? I was thinking of asking you to meet up when I go to Guangzhou in a while."

"I'm still the same as always, doing fine. By the way, a friend of mine asked me to ask you for help. He wants to buy more medicinal herbs from your forestry company. Do you think you could make an exception?"

Wu Tianming called about herbs. His friend was the CEO of a medicinal herb company in Yangcheng, and had previously purchased wild herbs and understory-grown herbs from Yaoling Forestry.

However, as the medicinal herbs produced by Yaoling Forestry become increasingly popular, the quantity of herbs available to the other party is decreasing.

"Yes, I can increase his purchases a little, but not too much."

Fang Wei remembered Wu Tianming's friends; they had eaten together before, so they weren't exactly strangers.

"Okay, then I'll have him come directly to you?"

Wu Tianming was aware of Fang Wei's predicament; it was already good enough that Fang Wei had agreed to increase the purchase volume.

"No need to look for me, just go directly to the person in charge of the forestry company, I will give them a heads-up in advance."

Fang Wei didn't want to go through all that trouble, so after ending the call with Wu Tianming, he called the person in charge of the forestry company.

The person in charge agreed to increase the purchase volume for Yangcheng Medicinal Materials Company by 30%. There was really nothing more they could do, since they were all long-term clients and they couldn't go too far.

Fang Wei agreed and then put the matter out of her mind.

Currently, the forestry company is actively transplanting various trees and planting various medicinal herbs on the newly contracted forest land in various townships. However, this is a long-term solution and won't be available for immediate use until at least two years later.

morning.

Fang Wei drove to the county and went directly to Xu Bo's office.

The two hadn't seen each other for a while. Fang Wei was often away on business, and Xu Bo was frequently going to townships to inspect work, so it was rare for them to run into each other.

"Secretary Xu, it's been a long time."

"Secretary Fang, please have a seat."

Xu Bo was very welcoming to Fang Wei. After they sat down, someone brought them tea.

“Secretary Fang, a document has been issued from above, requiring all localities to thoroughly rectify and manage small coal mines, small power plants, small cement plants, and other enterprises within three years. Although Yaoling Coal Mine is very advanced, its scale is near the red line for cleanup and rectification, so we still need to pay attention to it.”

Xu Bo had wanted to talk to Fang Wei about the coal mine for a while, but he hadn't had the chance.

So when we met today, he got straight to the point without any small talk.

"Coal resources are far from being exhausted. It's not that our capabilities are insufficient, but rather that we are focused on sustainable development. Now that the higher authorities have set requirements, we will increase production and strive to increase it by 30% to 50% within a year."

In recent years, the development of coal mines has mainly focused on improving technology and employee benefits, without any deliberate expansion of production capacity.

Fang Wei's guiding principle is safety first. He has invested heavily in this area and has also gradually updated the equipment, making the coal mine's technical and equipment level comparable to that of a super-large coal mine.

Having developed to this point, increasing production capacity is just a matter of saying a few words.

He said that production capacity could be increased by at least 50% in six months to a year, but he was being conservative and there was no need to be so high-profile.

"That's wonderful! Yaoling Coal Mine is a major taxpayer in the county, so of course I hope you can continue to develop well."

Xu Bo was overjoyed; it seemed the coal mine had been saved.

He believed Fang Wei's words without a doubt. He was not ignorant of the situation at the coal mine and knew very well that the other party was not exaggerating.

"By the way, Secretary Xu, I heard that the county is planning a new county town?"

It's not a good thing that the previous person laid such a solid foundation, mainly because it's difficult for Xu Bo to make any further breakthroughs.

Previously, Yaoling Agriculture had achieved some success in agricultural production, but these achievements were like patches—useful but not particularly remarkable.

Xu Bo then set his sights on the real estate sector, planning to develop a new district, essentially building another new county town. (End of Chapter)