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

"I understand, I'll make arrangements right away."

Yang Feng didn't fully understand the logic behind it, but that's okay, he'll figure it out eventually over time.

He generated the documents, which were then passed on to the group company and the coal mine.

Lu Zhiwen and Fang Ping quickly formed a negotiation team and began formal negotiations with the five companies.

Fang Wei didn't need to worry about the specific details. He took advantage of his recent free time to inspect the forestry company.

The forestry company is an inconspicuous entity within the entire group. Relatively speaking, its profitability is average, and its investment cycle is long with slow capital recovery.

But Fang Wei doesn't think so. In his mind, Yaoling Agriculture and Yaoling Food ranks first, and Yaoling Forestry ranks second.

The positive role of forests in the environment is undeniable. Although forestry has a long input-output cycle, once it enters a positive cycle, the benefits it generates are continuous and can last for decades.

Early in the morning.

Fang Wei drove up the mountain and arrived at the experimental forest.

The experimental forest is very quiet. This year's large-scale transplanting work has basically been completed, and now we need to prepare for the busy harvest season.

The experimental forest contains various types of seedlings, but camellia oleifera trees still make up the largest number, accounting for nearly half.

Fang Wei walked around the experimental forest and saw that the remaining saplings were all very short, mostly less than half a meter tall. It seemed that the qualified saplings had all been dug up, and this batch must be newly cultivated saplings.

Later, he left the experimental forest and went to the wild camellia oleifera forest.

The tree species replacement plan is progressing smoothly. He inspected the forest and estimated that about half of the wild camellia trees had been replaced with improved varieties.

However, this does not mean that this year's camellia seed harvest will be reduced by half, after all, the area of ​​this wild forest has visibly expanded considerably.

He had previously visited the newly contracted forest land in other townships, and the afforestation work was progressing smoothly. Large areas of camellia trees had already been planted, and they would probably start to flower and bear fruit in a few years.

In comparison, the tree species replacement plan is far more difficult than afforestation.

Because the forestry company has limited manpower, the afforestation work in other township forest areas is basically done by temporary staff.

The tree species replacement plan requires even more careful attention and can only be completed by company employees.

However, the tree species replacement plan will proceed quickly next year, and the poorly maintained camellia oleifera trees that needed to be phased out have already been largely eliminated. The remaining original varieties of camellia oleifera trees can be phased out slowly in the future.

Therefore, starting next year, we will only need to transplant improved varieties of camellia trees in forest clearings, which will greatly reduce the workload.

This means that the tree species replacement plan will be completed by the end of next year.

In just a few years, the company's camellia seed production will increase dozens of times, and the production of camellia oil will also increase significantly.

Fang Wei walked around the wild camellia forest, then visited two other wild forests before heading directly to the wild herb cultivation base.

There is still quite some time before the harvest season, and apart from a few staff members on duty, the wild herb cultivation base also has very few employees.

What have you all been busy with these past few days?

Fang Wei greeted the staff on duty and then inquired about the forestry company's recent work arrangements.

He doesn't pay attention to any particular company all the time, let alone such work details.

"Secretary, everyone is busy picking the medicinal herbs planted under the trees. The picking time for the herbs has been brought forward a bit. After picking them, they need to be sent to the processing plant for processing, and customers are waiting to buy them."

Upon hearing this, Fang Wei realized that the forestry company had moved up the harvesting time for medicinal herbs under the trees.

It is said that the medicinal herbs grown under the forest canopy in Yaoling Township have medicinal effects comparable to wild herbs, and for many years they have been in short supply. Therefore, without affecting their medicinal efficacy, the harvesting time has been brought forward compared to before.

"Okay, then you guys go ahead with your work, I'll just wander around by myself."

Fang Wei then strolled around the cultivation base. This area was full of rare wild herbs, which were a major source of income for the forestry company.

Because wild herbs are valued based on their age, the herbs here are not shipped in bulk, but rather irregularly depending on their growth conditions.

There have been incidents of people illegally harvesting rare wild herbs in the mountains, so the company has stationed staff on duty at the cultivation base year-round.

In addition to harvesting, logging is another important source of income.

After leaving the wild herb cultivation base, Fang Wei went to the nursery located at the foot of the mountain. There he met the head of the forestry company, who reported on the company's overall situation, which was generally quite good.

Contrary to popular belief, forestry companies actually generate considerable profits; they just have a relatively low profile.

“Secretary, we have already started artificial planting of medicinal herbs in the newly contracted forest land, and we will gradually see benefits starting next autumn.”

The head of the forestry company was full of confidence in the future, and his optimism even infected Fang Wei.

Fang Wei praised the other person a few times, then turned around and went home, just in time for lunch.

"Third Brother, you went up the mountain? Judging by the time, the swan mushrooms should be almost ripe by next week. Shall we take some time to pick some back then?"

The mountains are full of treasures, including the swan mushroom, which everyone loves to eat.

Fang Wei and Pan Lianhua remember this almost every year, because the two children have a special fondness for this kind of mushroom, so they go into the mountains to pick it every year. "Okay, I remember."

Fang Wei smiled and nodded, then continued eating with her head down.

After dinner, I was planning to rest for a while when Xia Feng, the boss of Qingzhou Coal Mine, suddenly came to visit.

"President Xia, what are you doing?"

Fang Wei noticed that Xia Feng was carrying a lot of things, and immediately became somewhat unhappy.

He doesn't mind ordinary social interactions, but he's afraid of receiving expensive gifts from others, which would put him in a difficult position.

Refusing would not only offend the other party but also offend Huang Zhigang. Accepting it could lead to a mistake, and how could they then conduct business impartially regarding the sale of the coal mine?

"Secretary Fang, don't worry, I know the rules. It's just some cheap local specialties, a little bit of cigarettes and alcohol. You can't expect me to come empty-handed, can you?"

Xia Feng laughed heartily, then put down what he was holding and opened all the bags.

He wasn't lying; they really were just some cheap local specialties, and the cigarettes and alcohol weren't very expensive either.

Fang Wei's expression immediately improved. He found Xia Feng quite interesting and enjoyed dealing with people who knew how to conduct themselves properly.

"Mr. Xia, please have a seat."

The two sat down, and Pan Lianhua brewed a pot of tea and brought it over.

“Secretary Fang, I really want to take over the coal mine, but after repeated deliberations by the company, we will not offer a high premium regardless of the cost. However, we can meet all other conditions, and even do better than you require.”

Xia Feng may not be extremely busy, but he is still very busy every day.

He had already invested a lot of time in the coal mine matter, and with results on the horizon, he had no choice but to come to Fang Wei again.

There are some things that are not easy to say in public, which is why I chose to visit at noon.

"President Xia, we will consider all of these things you mentioned. Please rest assured that we will fairly select the company with the best overall conditions from among the several companies."

Fang Wei hesitated for a moment, then gave the other party a hint.

If the price was the only factor, Yaoling Group wouldn't have needed to go through all this trouble; they might have already reached a deal.

Judging from the current situation, Qingzhou Coal Mine still has a significant advantage.

"Thank you so much, Secretary Fang, for clearing up my doubts. Now that you've said that, I feel much more confident."

By listening carefully to the underlying meaning, Xia Feng gleaned what he wanted from a few words.

If what the other party said was true, then Qingzhou Coal Mine would have a high probability of winning, so he relaxed a little.

"President Xia, don't worry, this matter should be settled soon."

Fang Wei could tell that the other party was eager to take over the coal mine, so he casually offered a word of comfort.

This matter has progressed to a point where a swift resolution is indeed necessary to avoid any unforeseen complications.

From this point of view alone, he and the other person felt the same way.

The two then changed the subject and chatted for another twenty minutes before Xia Feng got up to say goodbye.

Fang Wei did not see the other party off. This was a rather sensitive time, and he did not want others to misunderstand anything.

A few days passed quickly.

Three companies were eliminated because their bids and other aspects clearly did not meet Yaoling Group's requirements.

The remaining two companies no longer need to negotiate one-on-one, since everything that needed to be discussed has already been agreed upon. In the end, they can each submit a final offer.

Xia Feng maintained close contact with the company, and after repeated calculations, he quoted a price of 13.75 billion yuan.

morning.

Xia Feng and the head of another company arrived at the coal mine one after the other.

The coal mine was quite lively today; not only was Fang Ping present, but Lu Zhiwen was also there. After the two companies finalized their bids, Lu Zhiwen would hold a video conference at the mine to decide who the final buyer would be that day.

Xia Feng and the others entered the conference room, where Lu Zhiwen, Fang Ping, and others were waiting.

After exchanging a few polite words, the two handed their respective quotation documents to the staff.

When the document finally reached Lu Zhiwen, he didn't waste any time. He opened the document on the spot and announced the final offers from the two companies.

Qingzhou Coal Mine's bid was 13.75 billion yuan, while another company's bid was 13.50 billion yuan. Qingzhou Coal Mine's bid was only 0.25 billion yuan more than the other company's.

The company's manager couldn't help but slap his forehead, looking somewhat annoyed.

Of course, the price quoted is not the only factor in determining ownership of a coal mine; other factors must also be considered. (End of Chapter)