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

"Don't rush into a meeting. Go and call General Manager Hu over. I want to discuss this with him first."

Fang Wei shook his head and decided to handle the matter internally within the company.

Many of his ideas are still preliminary; it's fine to discuss them with a few individuals, but it's too early to formally discuss them at a meeting.

The key issue is that Yaoling Group is unlikely to take any action in this matter, so it's best to wait and see for now.

"Ok."

Yang Feng then turned and went out. A short while later, Hu Linwei walked in.

"Secretary, you wanted to see me?"

"Please sit down. I'd like to tell you about the recent changes in soybean prices on the international market."

Fang Wei didn't mince words and immediately listed all sorts of bad omens.

He believes that a soybean crisis is imminent, and this time international giants will not spread their firepower but instead intend to use soybeans as a breakthrough point to severely damage domestic grain and oil companies.

Soybeans can be pressed for oil, used to produce soy products, and are also widely used in industries such as animal husbandry.

The rapid development of the livestock industry in recent years has truly improved people's living standards, and soybeans have played a significant role in this.

"Secretary, it seems that the big players have big ambitions! I heard that the yield of Monsanto's genetically modified soybeans is very high, even higher than our [Nan Dou 336], and it is also very resistant."

The other party's genetically modified soybeans have already entered the domestic market, and the seeds should be available soon as well. I wonder how much impact this will have on our [Nan Dou 336] variety.

After hearing this, Hu Linwei expressed deep concern.

[Nan Dou 336] Soybean seeds have not performed strongly in the market and now face competition from international giants.

"Let's all prepare ourselves mentally first, and take it one step at a time."

In fact, Fang Wei knew very well that the methods of international giants were not limited to this.

But he can't say it out loud right now, otherwise he wouldn't be able to explain it at all. Fortunately, this process has already begun, and soon everyone will be able to witness the other side's despicable tactics.

"Okay, I'll let President Lin and President Lu know later."

Hu Linwei left Fang Wei's office with a worried expression. Although soybean breeding was not the company's main business, many things were interconnected and the impact on Yaoling Agriculture was difficult to assess.

He then convened a meeting with the group's senior management to give a full briefing on the situation and to raise everyone's vigilance.

Fang Wei couldn't sit still any longer. Taking advantage of the time before the Spring Festival, he quietly took Yang Feng out to visit several major soybean producing areas in China.

【Nan Dou 336】has performed inconsistently in different regions, but it had a good reputation back then.

However, he also received very bad news: many farmers were saying that the international giant Monsanto was going to cooperate with domestic companies and was preparing to provide genetically modified soybean seeds to farmers free of charge.

"Chairman, although the other party is unethical and is using the tactic of distributing soybean seeds for free to seize the market, we don't need to worry too much about it, right? After all, freebies can't last forever, and the impact won't last long."

On the way back to Guangzhou, Fang Wei remained almost completely silent, seemingly very anxious.

Yang Feng felt that the other party might be overreacting, so he offered a very tactful piece of advice.

"The dirty tricks these giants use are far beyond your imagination. Assistant Yang, make the arrangements so that as soon as anyone gets free soybean seeds from Monsanto, they must get some samples and give them to me immediately."

Fang Wei has a real-life example in his memory: when Monsanto introduced genetically modified soybean seeds into China, he distributed them for free under the guise of scientific cooperation.

Domestic growers were naturally delighted, as the free seeds saved them a significant amount of money.

Everyone worked hard at planting and cultivating the land, and when harvest season arrived, they were all beaming with joy. It truly was a high-yielding variety, exhibiting excellent resistance during the planting process, even saving on pesticide costs.

But they soon stopped laughing.

This is because the planting process of genetically modified soybeans causes enormous damage to the soil, and the recovery period is very long.

This is a classic case of trying to gain a small advantage but suffering a big loss. By the time everyone realized what was happening, imported genetically modified soybeans had already taken over the vast majority of the domestic market.

Monsanto further inflated soybean prices, making a fortune and causing thousands of grain and oil companies in the country to go bankrupt.

In this current timeline, thanks to Fang Wei's creation of the [Nan Dou 336] soybean variety, he isn't entirely without a fighting chance. However, [Nan Dou 336] still falls short of Monsanto's new genetically modified soybean variety, with a noticeable difference in yield.

Specifically, the yield of genetically modified soybeans in Monsanto can easily reach 900 jin per mu, while the current yield of [Nan Dou 336] is only 700 jin per mu, and this is the yield when grown in the [planting area].

"It's time to unleash our secret weapon."

Fang Wei secretly made up his mind. He hadn't been completely unprepared all these years. The third-generation high-yield soybean he had successfully developed could finally see the light of day again.

In previous years, Fang Wei led the research institute and breeding team to develop the third generation of high-yield soybeans [Nan Dou 339].

However, since [Nan Dou 336] had just been launched for sale at that time, in order to avoid wasting resources, Fang Wei had the seeds of [Nan Dou 339] sealed in the seed bank.

The data for 【Nan Dou 339】are slightly higher than those for the genetically modified soybeans from Monsanto. Due to the good secrecy, no one knows about this so far.

Back at the group company, Fang Wei summoned Hu Linwei and others to his office to discuss revising the spring planting production plan. The original breeding program for [Nan Dou 336] soybeans was discontinued, and all efforts were focused on cultivating [Nan Dou 339] soybean seeds.

"The yield of Nandou 339 can reach 950 jin per mu. It has good resistance and high oil yield, which is even better than the main genetically modified soybean of Monsanto."

Fang Wei uncovered a long-buried secret, one that even Hu Linwei and others were unaware of. Within the company, no more than five people, including Cai Tong, knew about it.

In addition, Fang Wei had already issued a gag order to the research institute and the breeding group, so it seems that everyone has a good sense of confidentiality.

"Secretary, you've really given us a wonderful surprise!"

Hu Linwei and his colleagues have been extremely worried these past few days, but they can't win in a fight, so they are desperately trying to find a way to maintain their basic market share.

Unexpectedly, after returning from his inspection, Secretary Fang resolutely brought out his secret weapon, namely the third-generation high-yield soybean [Nan Dou 339].

After hearing the introduction of the new soybean variety, everyone smiled.

"Originally, we planned to bring out [Nan Dou 339] after the potential of [Nan Dou 336] was exhausted. Unexpectedly, [Nan Dou 339] has become the only hope to combat Monsanto's genetically modified soybeans."

Fang Wei shook his head, feeling deeply moved.

International giants have a predatory nature; this was just a figment of our imagination before, but we're about to encounter it in real life.

The group agreed to revise the production plan. Lin Bingkun asked Fang Yi to go to Xinlin County immediately to request that the county temporarily provide some dry land to expand the scale of cultivating [Nan Dou 339] seeds.

The incident happened so suddenly that everyone disregarded the New Year celebrations and sprang into action.

The Spring Festival is approaching.

Yang Feng finally managed to obtain a small quantity of Monsanto genetically modified soybean seeds.

"Chairman, Monsanto has begun distributing genetically modified soybean seeds on a small scale within the country, and it is expected that they will be distributed on a large scale after the Spring Festival. They have very strict control over the seeds, and I spent a lot of money to get these 10 kilograms of seeds."

Yang Feng is quite reliable. When he discovered that he couldn't obtain genetically modified soybean seeds using conventional methods, he spent 10 times the market price to buy them.

Fang Wei nodded, satisfied with his performance.

"Assistant Yang, you and I need to go to Xinlin County right away, or we might not be able to go home for the New Year."

"It's okay, I'll explain to my family."

night.

Fang Wei told Pan Lianhua that he was about to return to the village, and Pan Lianhua immediately agreed to go back with him.

With the Lunar New Year approaching, she couldn't let her husband spend it alone in the village.

The two had originally planned to spend the Spring Festival in Guangzhou, but due to unforeseen circumstances, they had to return to their village.

After returning home, Fang Wei asked Yang Feng to send the genetically modified soybean seeds from Monsanto to the research institute, instructing them to work overtime to test and analyze the seeds and find out the problem.

In addition, Fang Wei brought some genetically modified soybean seeds with him to the Yao village.

He instructed Wang Sanqi and Wang Songlin to immediately arrange planting in the experimental greenhouse in the Yao village. It didn't need to be too large; planting one acre of soybeans would suffice.

If the research institute cannot detect any problems with the genetically modified soybean seeds, then planting these soybeans can still provide verification.

Pan Lianhua and her sister quietly prepared for the New Year. Then she received a call from Binbin, who said that he would go back to his hometown with Liu Xuemei and the children for the New Year.

Fang Wei was very happy to hear this, since her own actions had not affected the family reunion.

A few days passed quickly.

On New Year's Eve, Fang Weicai gave the relevant personnel of the research institute and the breeding team a holiday.

This holiday is relatively short. Everyone must return to work on the second day of the Lunar New Year, and officially start work on the third day of the Lunar New Year.

However, no one complained, especially Yang Feng, whose home was a bit far from Xinlin County, about a five or six-hour drive away, so he planned to spend the Spring Festival in the village.

"Assistant Yang, there's no need to be so tense. Here's what we'll do: you can drive my car back. It's rare to reunite with your family all year round. You can come back on the evening of the second day of the Lunar New Year. Be careful on the road."

The company hasn't provided Yang Feng with a dedicated car yet. He could use company vehicles in Guangzhou, but he has no way to do so in Xinlin County.

Fang Wei didn't want the other person to spend the New Year alone, so he lent him his car and told him to go back quickly.

"Thank you, Chairman! I will definitely be back Tuesday night."

Yang Feng was very happy. Although he had prepared to stay in the village because of his work, it was certainly a good thing to be able to go home.

At noon, Binbin's family returned to the village and happily enjoyed a reunion dinner.

Fang Ping and Tian Guihua went to the provincial capital for the Spring Festival this year, and Fang Tao also returned to the provincial capital. During this time, Fang Wei has not been able to take care of his nephew's affairs at all. (End of this chapter)