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

"Boss, after screening, our team has finally bred a winter wheat variety with good traits. However, the traits of the new variety are not yet very stable, and we need to continue breeding it."

Fang Tao's team has finally achieved a major breakthrough in the hybrid winter wheat project.

Breeding a basically qualified winter wheat variety is a crucial step in the project's success, and barring any unforeseen circumstances, the project has already seen the light at the end of the tunnel.

"Very good! I think your breeding process is very scientific. Continue breeding and strive to completely overcome this problem next year."

Fang Wei was overjoyed. The research on salt-tolerant winter wheat had not been going smoothly, and had even been restarted. It was truly not easy to get to this point.

Based on his experience, this variety is very likely to bring surprises.

Fang Tao's research project has made significant progress, and Feng Xiaojiang's group has begun researching a new project: the cultivation of salt-tolerant cotton and salt-tolerant corn.

The new project can be put aside for now; Fang Wei needs to help Fang Tao's team.

He discovered that the winter wheat cultivated by Fang Tao's group had slightly poor genetic stability, so in the subsequent cultivation process, he consciously increased the value of this attribute.

Now that the research has reached this stage, it's time for Fang Wei to shine.

After that, he didn't want to go anywhere else. He spent most of his time with Feng Xiaojiang, Fang Tao, and others, working together to research the cultivation of new crop varieties.

Time slips away unnoticed, and the New Year is here in the blink of an eye.

Salt-tolerant winter wheat is growing well, showing no signs of trait instability, and exhibits strong resistance during its growth.

If a variety exhibits characteristics such as cold resistance, salt tolerance, and high yield, then that variety is 80% likely to be successful.

Fang Wei was very happy, and it was only then that he realized that the New Year was coming soon.

"Third Brother, are we going back home for the New Year?"

To be honest, Pan Lianhua didn't really want to go back.

She and Fang Wei had gone to Guangzhou but hadn't returned to the village, which told her that her husband's heart was still in the distant Northwest.

Given that relevant departments have already promoted the advanced experience of concentrated agriculture nationwide, the cultivation of various salt-tolerant crops is urgently needed.

Therefore, Fang Wei didn't really want to go back to his hometown for the New Year, but he also wanted to consider his wife's feelings, so he said, "It's up to you and your sister. If you want to go back, then go back; if you don't want to, then don't."

Pan Lianhua didn't say anything. After discussing it with her older sister, they decided to spend the New Year in Xiachu County.

Fang Wei had no objection to it. He also wanted to seize the time to develop salt-tolerant winter wheat so that he could diversify the comprehensive improvement of saline-alkali land.

This is very important, as it relates to the future development of Juli Agriculture.

Binbin learned that his parents planned to spend the Spring Festival in Xiachu County, but he didn't know what to say. Since his in-laws were coming to Guangzhou during the holiday, he couldn't go anywhere else, so what else was there to say?

After communication between the two sides, the matter was settled.

This afternoon.

Fang Wei was still busy at the R&D center when Professor Ma and Professor Lin suddenly arrived at the company.

"Gentlemen, we can't do a surprise attack. Let me know in advance so I can send a car to pick you up."

Fang Wei didn't understand why these two had come without saying a word.

"No need to answer. We were attending a meeting in Jinzhou and just decided to come over on a whim, so we didn't think to call you. I said, Secretary Fang, you're not planning to go home for the New Year, are you?"

Professor Ma explained with a smile that he and Professor Lin were attending a seminar on the comprehensive development and utilization of saline-alkali land.

At the meeting, the two introduced the achievements of Juli Agriculture's comprehensive improvement of saline-alkali land, as well as the number of salt-tolerant crop varieties they currently possess.

I've heard that Juli Agriculture mainly engages in breeding, and many places and companies are very interested in it.

Fang Wei smiled and waved his hand, saying, "Not this year. The company will probably be very busy next year, so I need to take this opportunity to launch more salt-tolerant crops."

Professor Ma couldn't help but smile, pointing at the other person and saying, "Secretary Fang, you mustn't let yourself get greedy."

Professor Lin immediately chimed in, "Secretary Fang, the higher-ups have decided to conduct a pilot program in the five northwestern provinces to try planting soybeans on a large scale in saline-alkali land. This is a rare opportunity for us, and we must seize it."

Fang Wei then understood the two men's purpose in coming.

The two professors are very well-informed; it seems that the national government has begun to pay attention to increasing soybean production.

However, the amount of arable land in China is limited, so the priority is to ensure the planting of staple crops, and only then can other cash crops be planted.

Therefore, if large quantities of soybeans can be produced on saline-alkali land outside of basic farmland, it will help curb the high price of soybeans and naturally regain some pricing power.

That's why the agricultural sector is pushing this work so hard.

"The company is prepared. We can't afford to miss out on such a windfall, so I plan to spend the Chinese New Year here this year so we can be ready to deal with any emergencies."

The shareholders of the three companies sat together and had a very congenial conversation.

Fang Wei expressed his opinion, and Professor Ma and Professor Lin naturally had no objections.

"By the way, Secretary Fang, we've found out the details about General Manager Luo and his group. They have major international grain and oil suppliers behind them, which is why they do things that seem unbelievable."

Professor Ma, with his extensive network of connections, actually managed to find out the background of President Luo and his associates. The surname Luo itself wasn't important, but the fact that he represented several powerful figures behind him meant something anyone with eyes to see.

Fang Wei feigned sudden realization, realizing that the international giants were probably not targeting him personally, but rather did not want to see Zhuli Agriculture succeed in improving saline-alkali land.

They worry that an extra layer of soybean production capacity will be created domestically, hindering their plans to make a fortune.

Yaoling Agriculture had already suffered some losses from their high-yield soybeans before. If they were to develop soybeans that could be grown in saline-alkali land, wouldn't that be the death of them?

So they have been using various means to stop this, but unfortunately the effect is not obvious, which is why they sent someone surnamed Luo to dig a hole for Juli Agriculture.

As long as Juli Agriculture collapses, everything will be fine.

Unexpectedly, Fang Wei was not fooled at all and successfully overcame the difficulty of lacking funds.

"Secretary Fang, are our salt-tolerant soybeans reliable now?"

Since they were all on the same side, Professor Lin asked rather directly.

"Basically reliable! Large-scale production of [Salted Bean 001] seeds can begin from spring sowing, but this must be combined with the improvement of saline-alkali land, so it is best to implement rice-oilseed rotation in areas where conditions permit."

Fang Wei thought for a moment and gave an affirmative answer.

"That's good! Damn it, I heard that the contract price for imported soybeans is going to go up again. If this continues, the impact will be huge."

Professor Ma rarely uttered a curse word. He was disgusted by the behavior of the major international giants and knew that this protracted battle for soybeans was about to enter a fierce stage.

Although it will take time for salt-tolerant soybeans to show initial results, this technology might make negotiations with suppliers easier.

The group then discussed the specific quantity of [Salted Bean 001] seeds to be produced this year.

"How about this, since you two must be tired from your journey, why don't you rest for a bit today? We can have a company meeting tomorrow, and you can both attend. Then we can discuss the spring planting production plan in more detail."

Seeing that it was getting late, Fang Wei went to have dinner with the two of them.

Professor Ma and Professor Lin wanted to continue the discussion with him, but he shook his head and said they would talk about it at the meeting tomorrow.

The next day.

Fang Wei convened a meeting of the company's senior management, and Professor Ma and Professor Lin also attended.

"The [Salted Bean 001] variety is currently showing good sales momentum, so we should increase our breeding efforts for [Salted Bean 001] during the spring planting season. However, the current breeding center has a relatively small land area, so we can allocate some of the better-improved saline-alkali land for breeding."

Fang Wei decided to expand the breeding area, but this was not an increase in the total area, but rather an internal adjustment.

Reduce the planting area of ​​salt-tolerant crops and expand the breeding area.

"I agree."

"I agree too."

Yang Feng and others expressed their agreement and ultimately decided to allocate another 10 mu of land to the breeding center.

In the future, breeding salt-tolerant soybeans will be the top priority, followed by seawater rice.

Professors Ma and Lin are not involved in the company's operations, so they had no say in the meeting. However, Fang Wei knew what they cared about, and the meeting's outcome perfectly aligned with their wishes.

After the meeting, Professor Ma and Professor Lin went to Fang Wei's office.

“Secretary Fang, we’ll leave after lunch. Before the holiday starts, we can try to persuade some areas to introduce [Salted Bean 001].

"Since we're already here, it wouldn't be right not to stay a few more days."

Fang Wei made a polite remark, but both Professor Ma and Professor Lin shook their heads.

After lunch, the two said goodbye and left. Fang Wei sent a car to take them directly to the provincial capital.

With the Spring Festival approaching, Fang Wei gave the company's employees an early holiday. After all, many of the company's employees are from other places, and some of them need to go back to their hometowns for the New Year. Giving them an early holiday would give them more time.

Although this year is crucial, we don't care about a little extra time.

morning.

Fang Wei, Pan Lianhua, and their older sister drove to the provincial capital. They planned to buy all the New Year's goods on this trip, as Xia Chu County still had a limited variety of products.

New Year's Eve arrived.

There were only the three of them at home, plus Tao Tao and his wife and their child, and everyone had a reunion dinner together.

Fang Wei went straight to the R&D center before the fifth day of the Lunar New Year, and Tao Tao did the same. Xiao Ya brought her child from afar to see him, but he didn't have much time to spend with his family.

However, Xiaoya could understand that since Tao Tao started working here, the family's financial situation had greatly improved.

Fang Tao's salary has more than doubled compared to before, and with project bonuses included, his income is several times higher than before.

With some time still remaining before spring planting, he frequently spoke on the phone with Professor Ma and Professor Lin to discuss the establishment of virtual stocks. (End of Chapter)