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

Time flies.

Juli Agriculture has begun preparing supplies, agricultural machinery and other items for spring planting.

In Xiachu County, the company expanded its planting area to 30 mu this year, including 10 mu of alfalfa and 20 mu of salt-tolerant crops. The breeding base area has expanded to 10 mu, and the experimental field area has also been expanded.

The number of farm workers in the company has increased significantly again, and each department has also increased its manpower.

In addition, two planting demonstration bases were built simultaneously. These two bases are located in two other counties, but they are not far apart.

The newly added saline-alkali land will be planted entirely with seawater rice in the first season. Land previously used for seawater rice can be rotated with soybeans. By the end of this year, winter crops will also be planted, currently only salt-tolerant winter rapeseed is possible.

The large investment led to a rapid expansion of the company's scale, resulting in insufficient cash reserves.

"Just tell me, can the current funds last until the autumn harvest?"

The head of the finance department reported to Fang Wei, who then asked how long they could hold on.

"We should be able to hold out until the autumn harvest without any problem. As long as we have enough income, the company's cash flow will not break."

The finance manager had already done the calculations before arriving, and the existing funds could last for another year.

The company had plenty of cash on hand, but the large-scale expansion this year and the huge capital investment made him somewhat worried.

"That's fine then. You can go back now. Report to me immediately if you encounter any problems with the funds."

Fang Wei breathed a sigh of relief. Once the autumn harvest is complete, he will receive a large amount of money, and all the problems will be solved.

He spent the morning handling some official business in his office, and then went to the breeding center.

This year, the breeding center plans to cultivate seeds of three varieties: [Hai Dao 012], [Yan Dou 001], and [Zi Hua Yan 002]. Besides using the seeds internally, most will be exported.

Yu Hao and his sales team have already established sales channels, and they hope that the company's seed products will be a resounding success this year.

To outsiders, Juli Agriculture's development seemed to be going smoothly, but only Fang Wei knew that the company's starting point was too low. The key issue was funding, since he had only invested a few million yuan at the beginning.

Although the company's revenue has increased, it still owes the Agricultural Development Bank a loan of 1 million yuan, but its expenses are actually even greater.

Last year, the company only had tens of thousands of acres of land, but this year it has expanded to 60 acres, more than doubling. With more land, the investment is greater, requiring the purchase of new agricultural machinery, the construction of various facilities, and the increase in the number of employees, all of which add up to a huge sum of money.

Now even the finance department is pinning its hopes on the cash flow after a bumper harvest, which shows that the company has indeed taken a rather big step.

Fortunately, the company's funds could last for another year. Fang Wei did not practice strict frugality in terms of expenditures, but instead spent money as needed.

In the blink of an eye, spring has arrived and flowers are in bloom, and Juli Agriculture has officially begun its spring planting work.

Thanks to sufficient initial investment, Juli Agriculture has largely achieved mechanized operations. This not only saves a significant amount of manpower but also greatly increases labor efficiency, resulting in a smooth spring planting season.

Fang Wei couldn't help but think back to previous years. In previous years, he would go to the capital for meetings at this time, but now he had lost his eligibility.

But it's nothing, since he still has the title of academician and the technology he possesses, so under normal circumstances no one will specifically target him.

The company specializes in the breeding, planting, and water-saving irrigation technology services of salt-tolerant crops. Ultimately, it is a niche company and has not yet attracted much attention.

However, Juli Agriculture still enjoys considerable renown within the industry, and visitors have been coming to inspect and visit it ever since the spring planting season began.

The reception work was handled by Yang Feng and Wang Muqi, and Fang Wei basically didn't show up, which saved a lot of trouble.

"Boss, a company is planning to order [Sea Rice 012] seeds, but our production capacity cannot meet their needs. They hope we can increase production."

It's currently the peak season for spring planting in the area, so there's still time to change production plans.

However, Yang Feng and Wang Muqi couldn't make the decision on this matter, so he came to report to Fang Wei and let her make the decision.

"This year we plan to cultivate 400 mu of [Sea Rice 012] seeds, which can supply about 4 to 500 million mu of saline-alkali land. What company is this that needs such a large quantity?"

Fang Wei stopped what she was doing, sensing that something was amiss.

"The other party said it was mainly for export, but they were unwilling to disclose the specific export destinations, saying it was a trade secret."

At first, Yang Feng also thought it was impossible, but the other party agreed to pay the advance payment, which dispelled some of his concerns.

"Mr. Yang, you continue to contact the other party. If you need me to intervene, we'll discuss that later. Remember, don't agree to anything lightly. Be extremely cautious before signing the contract."

Fang Wei still couldn't fully trust the other party. This matter seemed illogical in many ways, but he hadn't found any flaws yet.

So he instructed Yang Feng to continue contacting the other party, as he didn't want to let go of a big client if one did indeed come along.

"Okay, then I'll find out more about the other party."

Yang Feng immediately became alert. He had been following Fang Wei for more than a year or two and knew that the other party would not speak without reason.

Fang Wei then put the matter aside for the time being. He estimated that he would be able to find out whether the other party was a human or a ghost in a little while.

A few days later, Yang Feng came to report to him that the major client wanted to talk to the company boss. "Then let's meet him. This matter can't be dragged on forever; it's time to get a result."

Fang Wei readily agreed to meet with the other party, and Yang Feng immediately contacted that major client.

The next day.

Two men and one woman arrived at the company, and Fang Wei and Yang Feng met them in the conference room.

These three people looked like business elites, because he was familiar with their scent, but that didn't mean they were trustworthy.

"Welcome everyone. Manager Luo, General Manager Yang has told me about your matter, but the spring planting is already over. Isn't it a bit late this year?"

The person in charge among the three was surnamed Luo, and was a man around forty years old.

Fang Wei first exchanged pleasantries with the other party, and then explained his difficulties.

"Mr. Fang, you're treating us like outsiders. Although your company has already completed its spring planting, many surrounding counties and cities haven't even started yet. It's not too late now."

Mr. Luo was clearly not an amateur; he understood that this was just the other party feigning reluctance.

"Haha, as you said, the spring planting time is different in every place. Mr. Luo, our production strategy is based on production to order. If you place additional orders, what kind of guarantees are you prepared to provide?"

Fang Wei said that on purpose, and now that the other party has exposed him, he will no longer hide it.

The problem now isn't that the company can't increase production, but that the excess production is difficult to sell. That's why he asked the other party for a guarantee, which is also a common practice.

“We told Mr. Yang that we would pay a deposit of 10% of the total price after the contract is signed.”

President Luo smiled slightly, clearly already having a plan in mind.

"This deposit is not enough. If you are sincere, the deposit should be at least 50% of the total price."

Fang Wei shook his head. What can a 10% deposit do? If the other party doesn't want the goods after the autumn harvest, the company will suffer a huge loss.

The key issue is that the stagnant capital has led to poor cash flow, which is a major problem for Juli Agriculture.

Therefore, Fang Wei's demand for a 50% deposit meant that even if the other party breached the contract, it wouldn't cause any loss to the company. This was a preventative measure, since he had no idea what the other party's background was.

"That's impossible! There's no such rule in the entire industry."

President Luo's expression immediately turned sour, and he promptly rejected Fang Wei's request.

"Then there's nothing I can do. Aren't rules made by people? I think a 50% deposit of the total price is necessary to feel secure. If you don't agree, then we can only wait for another opportunity to cooperate."

Fang Wei didn't want to get into a tug-of-war with the other party, because it was the other party who took the initiative to increase production, but was unwilling to provide any guarantees.

In this situation, he simply couldn't trust the other party and would rather give up this large order.

"Mr. Fang, our company is very strong, that's beyond doubt. But the conditions you've proposed are really too harsh, is there really no way to make an exception?"

President Luo was clearly still unwilling to give up and tried to persuade Fang Wei.

Fang Wei just kept shaking his head. For him, no amount of big orders was as important as security. If the other party couldn't provide a security guarantee, then he wouldn't do the business.

It's that simple.

Seeing that Fang Wei was unmoved, the three men had no choice but to say goodbye and leave. As they left, they said that if Fang Wei changed her mind, she could have Yang Feng call them.

Fang Wei ignored them and turned back to her office.

A little while later, Yang Feng returned after seeing off his guests and went inside.

"Boss, what do you think about this?"

Yang Feng was still inexperienced; he didn't think these people were scammers.

Because the other party is very familiar with business rules and foreign trade regulations, which cannot be faked. Also, Mr. Luo's demeanor is that of a true business elite.

But he trusted his boss's judgment more, which is why he asked for advice.

"They may not be scammers, but they're worse than scammers! I don't know where they came from yet, but they're definitely trying to trap us. If they were truly sincere, they would definitely agree to my request; otherwise, where would they find such a large batch of goods?"

Fang Wei put it simply: currently, only Juli Agriculture in China can cultivate seawater rice seeds in large quantities.

If you place an order in advance within the production capacity, paying a 10% deposit of the total price is perfectly reasonable.

The problem is that the quantity of goods they need far exceeds the company's planned production. If they want to accept the order, they have to make temporary production arrangements and expand the scale of seawater rice seed cultivation.

The consequence of doing this is that it disrupts the company's original plans. After all, the market capacity is currently limited. If the other party breaches the contract, where can the company seek redress? (End of Chapter)