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

Saline-alkali land is indeed worthless, but the county will prepare the necessary infrastructure (water, electricity, roads, and land leveling) in advance, and will also build water conservancy facilities.

Therefore, only 30,000 mu of saline-alkali land was provided free of charge; subsequent land contracts would require payment of a contract fee. Of course, the contract fee wasn't much, and the specific figures were incomparable to those in the south.

“I understand. I will pay the money I am owed, as long as the county treats everyone equally.”

Fang Wei had no objections; the county couldn't afford to give indefinitely.

After all, the base successfully planted seawater rice in the first season, producing nearly 1500 million catties of seawater rice, which was a remarkable achievement.

At this point, it wouldn't be unreasonable for the county to cancel the free land policy, especially since they later promised to provide 20,000 mu of free land, which is really generous.

To be honest, the contract fee accounts for a negligible proportion of the planting cost.

Seawater rice requires neither pesticides nor chemical fertilizers, making its cultivation cost very low.

A few days later, the county directly approved 20,000 mu of free saline-alkali land for Fang Wei, which, together with the previous 10,000 mu, totaled 30,000 mu of free land.

Of course, this is not a permanent free policy. The land is free to use for ten years, after which the preferential policy will be canceled.

"Secretary, you said you'd add 10,000 mu of saline-alkali land, but you ended up with 20,000 mu. We don't have enough manpower. How about we recruit some more farm workers? What do you think?"

Wang Muqi was both happy and a little worried when he heard the news.

“Sure, you can hire people gradually later. You won’t need a lot of manpower until next spring. Also, you can add some agricultural machinery. If you need more money, just let me know.”

Even if Wang Muqi hadn't said anything, Fang Wei already knew that they needed to expand their workforce.

When he first started researching seawater rice, he didn't expect it to develop so quickly. His original purpose was simply for research, not to make money, but it has now exceeded his expectations.

As the chairman of Yaoling Group, it doesn't seem logical for him to start anew.

Previously, he contracted 10,000 mu of saline-alkali land in his own name, with partners Professor Ma and Professor Lin. But now he has added another 20,000 mu of land, and it will be difficult to make a profit without setting up a company.

That evening, he called Cai Tong and briefly explained his difficulties.

He still trusted Cai Tong in this matter, after all, the other party was a veteran of the cooperative and was currently in charge of the daily work of the board of directors.

"If you're planning to set up an agricultural company, that's fine, since it won't compete with Yaoling Agriculture. Besides, your project is unlikely to grow significantly in the short term, and Yaoling Agriculture isn't interested in it either."

Cai Tong couldn't help but laugh after hearing this, thinking that the other person was overthinking it.

Yaoling Group is essentially a collective enterprise, so it doesn't have many rules. Besides, promoting seawater rice and transforming saline-alkali land is not an easy task, and the company isn't interested.

He knew very well that Fang Wei's work on seawater rice and the transformation of saline-alkali land was not for money. Otherwise, with the breeding patents he held, he would have become a billionaire long ago if he went out and started his own company.

"That's true, let's leave it at that then."

Fang Wei stopped dwelling on the issue. In fact, he wasn't very interested in managing the Yaoling Group. On the contrary, he felt a great sense of accomplishment from tackling projects like seawater rice and improving saline-alkali land.

After thinking about it all night, he called Pan Lianhua and asked her to come to Xiachu County.

Xiao Jie's due date is still a little over a month away. With her older sister taking care of her in Shenzhen, she has nothing to worry about.

Pan Lianhua received the call and immediately flew to Northwest China. Fang Wei drove to the airport alone to pick her up.

"Third Brother, is something wrong?"

It was unclear over the phone, so Fang Wei just told her to bring all her identification documents before she came.

Sitting in the car now, she couldn't help but ask a question.

So Fang Wei explained the land contracting process and said that he was planning to establish an agricultural company.

"It's not good for me to be in the public eye, so it's better for the company to be registered under your name."

It's just a technical issue, which can be explained in a few words.

A portion of the company's shares will be registered under Pan Lianhua's name, and she will nominally serve as the company's legal representative and chairman.

These were all minor matters for Pan Lianhua. She could be a figurehead, but she wouldn't participate in the company's management. She knew very well that she didn't know much about breeding and planting, not even as much as Wang Muqi.

The procedures went smoothly. The company is registered in Xiachu County, and the county has given the company many preferential policies.

The company's shareholders are Pan Lianhua, Fang Wei, Professor Ma, and Professor Lin. All the contracts that Fang Wei had previously signed with the county have also been transferred to the company's name.

After finishing these tasks, Fang Wei drove Pan Lianhua to visit several scenic spots. It wasn't until just before the Mid-Autumn Festival that the two flew to Shenzhen.

"Third Brother, you're putting a lot of energy into Juli Agriculture now. What are your thoughts on Yaoling Agriculture?"

Back in familiar surroundings, Pan Lianhua felt more at ease.

Based on her understanding of her husband, she knew he must have some unusual ideas, otherwise he wouldn't have registered a company.

"Yes, the Yaoling Group is completely different now. It's not only mature but also has a great ability to withstand risks. In a few years, I plan to resign as chairman of the board and let Cai Tong take over. Whether I'm still in the company or not won't matter." Fang Wei has already handed over the position of general manager of the group, and he will definitely hand over the chairmanship in the future.

With a large number of senior executives, including Cai Tong, Hu Linwei, Lin Bingkun, and Lu Zhiwen, already matured, Yaoling Group's development has entered a fast track. He wants to unload his burdens as soon as possible and do things he enjoys.

“Your idea is actually quite good. Once you retire, we can travel all over the country.”

Pan Lianhua smiled slightly; she genuinely thought the other person's idea was quite good.

the next day.

Fang Wei then went to the experimental field.

His daughter has her mother-in-law and older sister to take care of her, so he has nothing to worry about, since he can't help her anyway.

The experimental field is still cultivating the [Hai Dao 012] rice variety. The second season is almost ready to be harvested and processed before being sent to Xiachu County.

The [Haidao 012] rice seed is not yet publicly available; it is more than enough to supply the Xiachu County base.

In addition, soil improvement experiments on the tidal flats are ongoing. So far, the results appear to be very good, which has further strengthened Fang Wei's determination to transform the saline-alkali land.

However, everything is still in the experimental stage, and he is not in a hurry.

Fang Wei then stayed in Shenzhen, where Yang Feng handled a lot of the specific work every day, so he was relatively free.

A few days passed quickly.

Xiao Jie went to the hospital and gave birth to a lovely boy.

This relieved the family, since Xiaojie was not young when she gave birth, and the safety of both mother and child was the best thing.

The son-in-law's family was even happier. Although they didn't say it, they still wanted a boy. Now that their wish has finally come true, Xiaojie's mother-in-law comes over almost every day to take care of Xiaojie and the baby, making Pan Lianhua feel a little uncomfortable.

"Third Brother, I want to go back now that I've finished taking care of my daughter during her postpartum period."

“Sure, it’s fine to leave early. I think your mother-in-law is quite meticulous. If you’re worried, let your sister stay here for a few more days, and let Xiaojie go back after her confinement period.”

Neither Pan Lianhua nor her sister could help Xiaojie take care of the child, because her mother-in-law had already volunteered.

There was no need for everyone to stay here, so Fang Wei and Pan Lianhua returned to the village together, and her older sister also returned more than half a month later.

After a busy period, I spent the Mid-Autumn Festival in Shenzhen.

Various production units in Yaoling Agriculture have successively begun autumn harvest work, and soybean growers in the north will also usher in the harvest season.

This season's inspection work has changed somewhat. Cai Tong and several directors of the cooperatives formed several inspection teams and went to the production line to conduct inspections.

Fang Wei then took Yang Feng to the Tiannan planting base to inspect the corn breeding and planting situation.

The hybrid corn breeding work in Tiannan is progressing well, and the seeds produced are sold throughout the country, completely suppressing Xin Kaiqi. Corn planting has achieved remarkable results, and the Tiannan oil mill is almost reaching its designed production limit.

After leaving the Tiannan base, Fang Wei and Yang Feng went straight to the main soybean producing area to investigate the planting effect of [Nan Dou 339].

"Mr. Fang, you've come at the perfect time. We were just about to hold a celebration banquet."

At the large state-owned farm, the person in charge warmly received Fang Wei and Yang Feng.

The two arrived at just the right time, arriving just in time for someone else's victory celebration. That night, not only Yang Feng, but even Fang Wei was so drunk that he was staggering.

the next day.

The two slept until almost noon before getting up. Recalling the way people toasted them yesterday, they felt an immense headache.

At lunchtime, Farm Manager Lu wanted to drink again, but Fang Wei firmly stopped him. He wasn't even fully recovered yet; no matter how good his alcohol tolerance was, he couldn't withstand so many people toasting him.

"Mr. Fang, we have had a bumper harvest this season. The yield is about 810 jin per mu, which is something we never dared to imagine before. Thank you for providing us with excellent soybean seeds. [Nan Dou 339] is definitely the top soybean variety."

Director Lu didn't force him; if he didn't want to drink, he didn't have to, but there were still some things he needed to say.

He wasn't just praising it to his face, but the yield per mu of [Nan Dou 339] was slightly higher than that of the genetically modified soybeans from Monsanto, and the oil yield was even 7.9% higher, which made him extremely happy.

In addition, the Great Northern Wilderness Plain has excellent natural conditions, and farms have achieved mechanized operations, with planting costs not much higher than in North America.

This marks the first time in China that a single soybean variety has been used to compete with international giants. It is virtually impossible for Monsanto to defeat the farm through its financial and price advantages.

"Director Lu, you're too kind. We're partners, and Yaoling Agriculture will continue to work hard in the future. By the way, do you know how the farmers in the vicinity are faring?"

The farm is the largest customer of [Nan Dou 339], but there are also many other growers of varying sizes who grow this soybean variety.

Director Lu was a local strongman, so Fang Wei asked casually. (End of Chapter)