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

"Why didn't you report this to the company? Also, Assistant Yang has represented me on inspections of the Tiannan base more than once or twice, and you didn't say anything about it."

Fang Wei was very surprised. Director Chen lowered his head and kept admitting his mistake without explaining why.

He immediately realized something was amiss, so he didn't press the matter further and decided to investigate further later.

After these days of inspection, it has been found that the Tiannan base has done a good job in all aspects. Even if there are some minor flaws, they cannot overshadow the achievements they have made.

Next, Fang Wei asked the relevant departments to bring the employee roster and payroll list. After carefully reviewing them, he felt that the number of registered employees was indeed a bit low.

Even ignoring the busy farming season, there aren't enough people for any other tasks.

At night.

He called Lin Bingkun to inquire about the verification of employees at the Tiannan base and what exactly was going on.

“Secretary, I really don’t know anything about this. Nobody told me about it. I’ll have Fang Yi investigate it right away. Whoever is responsible will be held accountable. I won’t shirk any responsibility.”

This incident likely occurred during Lin Bingkun's tenure as general manager of Yaoling Agriculture. The number of employees was determined by the human resources department, so the problem most likely originated from there.

In addition, Director Chen of the Tiannan base is very capable in both management and production, but he is noticeably too lenient when dealing with matters related to the parent company.

The matter was quickly investigated and found to be due to a significant discrepancy. The personnel department staff responsible for verifying the number of employees at the Tiannan base had not conducted proper investigations.

Director Chen went to the head of the personnel department, but they refused to admit their mistake, and Director Chen did not report the matter to his superiors, resulting in the current situation.

If either party had been more objective and proactive, things wouldn't have turned out this way.

"Don't think this is a small matter. I suggest that the person in charge of the personnel department of Yaoling Agriculture be given a serious warning, demoted by half a grade, and have half a year's bonus withheld."

The individual involved was transferred from the human resources department and demoted to a regular employee at the Chenzhou base. Three months' bonuses were withheld from Lin Bingkun, the then-general manager of the company, and one month's bonuses were withheld from Director Chen of the Tiantian South base. All involved received a public reprimand.

Fang Wei was furious and gave Lin Bingkun a good scolding over the phone.

In addition, he was not polite to Director Chen and seriously criticized the other party's "good-natured" mentality.

However, the specific handling was relatively mild. The person involved was not dismissed, nor was the person in charge of the Yaoling Agriculture personnel department removed from their position. They were only demoted and had their bonuses withheld.

"Secretary, you can deduct half a year's bonus from me, but can you please not issue a public notice?"

Lin Bingkun felt somewhat embarrassed. He was now the vice president of the group company, and he felt it was a bit unfair to be criticized for this.

That coward Director Chen, instead of silently swallowing the bitter pill, should have reported the problem to his superiors.

"No! This incident must serve as a reminder to everyone that anyone who fails to fulfill their responsibilities must be punished. Even you are no exception; that's fairness."

Fang Wei ignored him and then called Hu Linwei, which brought the matter to a close.

After he left Tiannan, Yaoling Agriculture reassigned the director of the Tiannan base. Director Chen refused to return to the company to handle official business and could only serve as the deputy director.

In fact, over the years, many small things like this have happened.

In the past, everything was handled quietly, but this time it caused a big commotion. In Fang Wei's words, it was to serve as a warning to others.

Fang Wei returned to the county and then went to Qinghe County, Xinlin Farm, Breeding Center, Yangshan Farm, Yangshan Planting Base and other units, and together with Yang Feng, they completed the inspection work.

After the autumn harvest was completely finished, he convened a video conference to bring up the various problems discovered during the inspection.

"Yaoling Group has achieved remarkable results over the years, but it has also accumulated many problems. These mainly include overstaffing, a rough work style, and the unprincipled protection of departmental and clique interests."

Fang Wei talked about many things, none of which were major problems, but if they were not taken seriously, they could very well become a cancer to the entire company.

He demanded that Hu Linwei, Lin Bingkun, Lu Zhiwen, and others do their work thoroughly and not be aloof and ignorant of the situation on the ground.

Finally, it must be emphasized that everyone should learn from the incident at the Tiannan base.

Hu Linwei and the others all offered self-criticism and promised that similar incidents would not happen again. After all, such a basic mistake is very embarrassing, and it makes everyone lose face.

After the meeting, Lin Bingkun called Fang Wei separately to express his apologies again.

Of course, this was not his main purpose.

"Secretary, I heard that your seawater rice project is very successful. Do you need the company to support this project?"

Lin Bingkun took a liking to the seawater rice project and wanted to incorporate it into Yaoling Agriculture.

This project has good social and economic benefits in the future, and he would like to poach Fang Wei's project, even if it is his own.

"I was wondering why you were so nice today. You were waiting for me here. This project is still in its early stages. Let's wait until it's successfully planted on the saline-alkali land in Northwest China before making any further plans."

Fang Wei was indifferent; when he took over the project, success was still a long way off. Considering the small investment, which he could easily afford, he made it a private project with Professor Ma and Professor Lin. Unexpectedly, the project went incredibly smoothly. Once it was fully successful, he could authorize Yaoling Agriculture to operate it, given the significant difference between an individual's capabilities and a company's.

But he didn't have a concrete plan in mind, so he didn't want to talk about it today.

Lin Bingkun said no more, chatted for a few more minutes, and then hung up.

"Chairman, this is the report submitted by Yaoling Agriculture. This season's harvest is good, and all the data are in order."

Fang Wei sat in the office looking at documents for a while when Yang Feng walked in with a stack of reports.

Along with the reports, he also wrote an analysis of economic activities, which he handed over to Fang Wei after he came in.

"Okay, you can put it here for now, I'll look at it slowly."

Fang Wei nodded and then began to concentrate on studying the report, not even noticing when Yang Feng left.

The production and operation of agriculture in Yaoling has now reached a stable period. Unless there is a major disaster, the output will generally not fluctuate much.

With the expansion of rice planting area, the company's rice output has increased significantly compared to before.

But this is an extensive increase in production, so it's not exactly a surprise.

There's no need to worry about sales either. With the company handing over all kinds of seeds, rice, flour, etc., to the sales company, the distribution process has become much smoother.

Rice seeds remain the hottest commodity, and they basically sell out very quickly once they hit the market.

According to market data, Yaoling Agriculture currently dominates the rice seed market, with no significant competitors.

The situation for the other seeds is slightly more complicated, but they are still far ahead.

Fang Wei looked at the reports and economic activity analysis, smiled and nodded, feeling quite satisfied. Unlike many founders of large companies, he didn't actually have much ambition.

If an enterprising entrepreneur is willing to take risks, they may embark on what is known as a "second startup" after their company has entered a period of stable development.

But Fang Wei was willing to enjoy this tranquility, spending time studying the breeding of new crop varieties, or going out for fun with his wife, which were both good choices.

"Third Brother, isn't the Northwest region very interesting?"

During dinner that evening, Pan Lianhua suddenly asked about the Northwest region.

The scenery of Northwest China is certainly different from that of the South. Its desolation, barrenness, and delightful oases are unlike anything you can find elsewhere.

“I knew you wanted to go to the Northwest, but it must be snowing there by now, and the weather is quite cold. If you want to go, I think July or August next year would be a good time.”

Fang Wei responded with a smile, having long seen through his wife's thoughts.

"It's great that it's snowing! I've never seen such heavy snowfall before."

In southern Hunan, snowfall is rare in winter. Even when it does snow, it's not the heavy, fluffy snow of Northwest China; it often melts as soon as it hits the ground.

Pan Lianhua just wanted to see the scenery of heavy snowfall.

"It's not that it's impossible, but I don't know if you can handle it. How about this, we need to buy some thick down jackets. The clothes we wear at home for winter won't be of any use over there."

Fang Wei had previously visited Xiachu County and talked with Wu Jiang and others, and knew that winters in Northwest China were quite difficult to endure.

Since Pan Lianhua wants to go and take a look, she needs to prepare her equipment in advance, otherwise she'll definitely freeze to death when she gets there.

Since there wasn't much to do lately, he gave Du Wanyi some instructions and told her to stay at the group's headquarters. Yang Feng stayed at the company headquarters to handle daily affairs.

He and Pan Lianhua went directly to Guangzhou, and then flew from Guangzhou to the Northwest.

This time, Wang Muqi and his entourage came to pick them up at the airport. They were already wearing thick cotton-padded coats, and the temperature had already dropped below zero.

“Secretary, we completed the construction of the irrigation canal before the ground froze, and we also drilled some wells. The three connections over the fields are all done, but the dormitories and office buildings are not yet finished.”

On the way, Wang Muqi reported his work progress to Fang Wei.

Pan Lianhua looked out the car window; everything was a vast expanse of white. At this temperature, the snow wouldn't melt.

Upon arriving at the location, Fang Wei went directly to inspect the 10,000 mu of saline-alkali land and found that the situation was no different from what Wang Muqi had reported.

Since the office and dormitory buildings were not yet completed, Wang Muqi and others rented a two-story building with a large courtyard in the town. It could be used as both an office and a place to live.

Although the conditions weren't great, heating and water supply were fine, and there were running water and sewage systems, so overall it was quite convenient. (End of Chapter)