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

"Actually, there's no other way. I guess farmers can't afford such high costs."

Yang Feng gave up on the idea and left the office he was flying to.

Fang Wei ignored him; he was now preoccupied with how to grow soybeans on saline-alkali land.

However, soybeans are not tolerant of saline-alkali soils; if the soil salinity exceeds 0.3%, they are essentially unusable. Even if the salinity is below this level, it doesn't mean there's no problem, but rather that the yield will be severely affected.

Unless a salt-tolerant, high-yielding soybean variety can be developed.

"It's worth a try."

The research institute and the breeding team were both fully booked, so if they wanted to develop salt-tolerant, high-yield soybeans, he would have to take charge personally.

Fang Wei planned to give it a try, and then decide what to do after she returned to Shenzhen.

The next day.

After breakfast, he drove to the mountains.

Binbin had mentioned to him twice before that the clinic was short of some rare herbs and wanted him to help purchase some. However, he had been particularly busy this year, so the matter had been delayed.

Upon arriving at the wild herb cultivation base, he greeted the staff and then went straight inside.

There are definitely herb farms available, but whether they meet the required age and effectiveness still needs to be seen in person.

Fortunately, the herbs Binbin needed were all available here, and the conditions for harvesting them were met.

"Xiao Luo, I need these herbs. Please arrange for someone to pick them for me, and I will pay the company directly."

He had already spoken to the forestry company manager about this, and the base had also been informed, so things were going smoothly. The forestry company handled all the subsequent harvesting, processing, and logistics.

"Okay, Party Secretary."

Xiao Luo took the order, which listed the names, quantities, quality requirements, and the specific address of Binbin's clinic.

Fang Wei turned and left, then drove around to inspect the woodlands in various towns and villages.

He discovered that the afforestation in various forest areas had already taken shape, and some camellia trees would flower and bear fruit next year, which meant that the production of camellia seeds would increase for several consecutive years.

The herbs planted under the trees can be harvested on a large scale starting next year, and the yield will increase significantly.

"That's right, the forestry economy has finally entered its harvest period."

Fang Wei had a plan in mind, and listened to music all the way to her second sister's house.

"Third brother, it's been a long time since I've seen you. What do you want to eat for lunch? I'll make it for you."

The second sister usually does some work in the village, but Tian Bingyi is very busy, often going to the Chenzhou vegetable planting base to help her.

Tian Bingyi wasn't home today, and my second sister was very happy to see Fang Wei. She quickly prepared several dishes.

"Second sister, aren't you tired of staying in the room all the time?"

Several dishes were Fang Wei's favorites, and he ate two bowls of rice in one go.

His second sister made him a cup of tea, and he suddenly felt that the house seemed a bit deserted, so he casually asked.

"What's there to worry about? Besides, I don't sit at home all day. I often go to the vegetable garden to help out. It's not much money, but it's nice to have something to do."

The second sister replied with a smile, saying that she felt life was really good now, so what was there to be dissatisfied with?

Tian Bingyi is in charge of the company's vegetable breeding and planting, and his income is quite considerable. With the year-end bonus, he wouldn't trade his job for a city residency permit.

Her children have long since grown up, started their own families, and all work for Yaoling Group, so she has no burden at all.

"That's good. Call me if anything happens at home."

Fang Wei chatted with her second sister for a while, then got up to say goodbye.

night.

The older sister cooked a few dishes, opened a bottle of wine, and drank a few glasses with Fang Wei.

"Third Brother, you've been busy for almost a year now. Why don't we go out and relax?"

Pan Lianhua had witnessed Fang Wei's busy schedule over the past year and felt very sorry for him.

Not wanting her man to be too tired, she took the initiative to suggest going out for a trip today, mainly so that he could rest.

"Winter is just around the corner, so if you're looking for sightseeing, why not spend a few days on the South Island?"

Fang Wei readily agreed and decided to visit the South Island.

“Great, I’ve never been to the South Island before.”

Pan Lianhua was naturally delighted. She hadn't actually been to many places, so she was full of curiosity about the South Island.

Since they were going on a trip, they naturally brought their older sister along, as well as Yang Feng and Secretary Du. He was still the chairman of Yaoling Group, and it was his duty to handle some important official business.

Bringing an assistant and secretary ensures that neither the trip nor important company matters are neglected.

It can be said to balance public and private interests.

Yang Feng and Du Wanyi were also very happy. This trip was mainly for relaxation, so they could have a good time.

Because of the long journey and the fatigue from driving, which didn't align with their purpose of resting, the group flew to the South Island and rented a villa in a seaside resort area. Fang Wei and Pan Lianhua both know how to swim, and Fang Wei is a particularly good swimmer.

I can sunbathe at the beach every day and swim in the sea. It feels really relaxing and pleasant.

"Chairman, international soybean prices have risen again recently, mainly led by North American soybeans, which have increased by 13% compared to the previous period. As a result, the price of imported soybeans will definitely rise next year, and related domestic enterprises will have a hard time."

There hasn't been much work at the company since I left.

Everyone knows that Fang Wei is on vacation, so they won't bother her unless it's something important.

However, Yang Feng would take some time each day to report to Fang Wei on domestic and international economic developments, especially changes in agricultural product prices.

"Domestic soybean production is somewhat small, while demand is so high, it would be strange if international giants didn't raise prices."

Fang Wei couldn't help but sigh. There was nothing he could do about it for the time being, and no one else could either. They could only take it one step at a time.

Ultimately, the country cannot control pricing power. Pricing power is a very complex issue, and it is mainly related to national strength.

Yang Feng didn't say anything more. After all, this trip was for vacation, and he didn't want to spoil the chairman's mood.

Later.

Fang Wei called her family and went to a famous local seafood restaurant with Yang Feng and Du Wanyi.

The local seafood was delicious and inexpensive, and it was impossible for such a high-end restaurant to overcharge customers. Everyone enjoyed the meal very much.

the next day.

After spending a day on the yacht, Fang Wei and Pan Lianhua both felt they had thoroughly enjoyed the trip.

"Then let's wander around. If you and your sister get bored, you can go to Shenzhen first. I'll go there after I'm done with my work, what do you say?"

Fang Wei discussed with Pan Lianhua that he would also like to travel around various parts of the South Island, mainly to discuss matters related to agriculture.

“We’ll go with you. We can broaden our horizons by seeing different places.”

Pan Lianhua was willing to travel around and see more of the South Island, and Fang Wei nodded in agreement, as long as she didn't find it tiring.

Fang Wei then called the South Island Breeding Research Institute. Director Gao of the institute was very pleased and personally led a group to the hotel to pick him up.

Director Gao was a friend of Sun Shili and had invited Fang Wei to visit the South Island several times. This time, his wish finally came true. In the field of breeding, Fang Wei was undoubtedly the most famous breeding expert in China, and everyone in the industry admired him.

"Chairman Fang, I've been waiting so long, you've finally arrived!"

"Director Gao, you're too kind. I'm here to learn and hope to have the opportunity to exchange ideas with you."

After exchanging pleasantries, everyone went to the research institute.

Fang Wei shared his plans, expressing his interest in various types of rice, both cultivated and wild.

The institute has more than a dozen experimental field bases in various parts of the South Island, so Director Gao arranged vehicles and accompanying personnel to tour almost the entire South Island.

In addition to the normal inspection, we also took the opportunity to enjoy the scenery, killing two birds with one stone.

When Fang Weiyi left the South Island, he had some rice seeds in his hand, including several kinds of wild rice.

Everyone arrived in Shenzhen by plane, and Fang Wei planned to stay there for a while.

"Assistant Yang, you are responsible for sending these rice seeds to our research institute."

The research institute is conducting research on new hybrid rice varieties, and these rice varieties, as well as wild rice, can be used as research materials, which may prove very useful.

After arriving in Shenzhen, Fang Wei asked Yang Feng to send these things to the research institute.

Fang Wei spent a few days with his family. Xiao Jie was recovering well and hadn't gone back to work yet. Then he went to the experimental field to try his hand at researching salt-tolerant soybeans.

He first called Professor Ma for advice. Professor Ma and Professor Lin are authorities in this field and have researched and developed several salt-tolerant crop varieties.

"Secretary Fang, to be honest, I didn't expect you to be taking on such a challenging research project right now. I think we could try using hybridization or transgenic technology. I'm sorry I can't be of much help here."

Professor Ma was very forthcoming, but also pointed out that the success rate of this project was not high.

"Thank you for the advice. I'll give it a try, but I'll give up quickly if it doesn't work."

Fang Wei said thank you and then hung up.

He knew Professor Ma was right; this project was indeed very troublesome. But the other party was unaware of his cheat ability; in the [planting area], he was creating one miracle after another.

The reason I called them was to see if they had any good experience to share, but they didn't.

From then on, Fang Wei would run back and forth between his home and the experimental field every day.

After repeated consideration and experimentation, he finally decided to use hybridization technology to cultivate salt-tolerant soybeans, with the main purpose of changing the characteristic of soybeans being "afraid" of salt and alkali in the early stage.

There are no technical barriers; the biggest problem right now is variety selection.

Fortunately, Fang Wei has been investigating soybean breeding and planting across the country for the past two years and has established connections with most of the domestic research institutions that study soybeans.

Therefore, the difficulty of collecting breeding materials was easily overcome.

While waiting for the breeding materials, Fang Wei designed the overall breeding plan, and as soon as the materials were ready, he immediately began to work on it.

However, before that, he needed to train the technical staff to ensure that his plan could be implemented effectively. (End of Chapter)