I was reborn without dreams

Chapter 205 The "Dog Meat County Magistrate" is on a rampage.

Strictly speaking, the regulations for the management of "geographical products" were not yet mature at that time. Although the Ministry of Agriculture, the State Administration for Industry and Commerce, and the State Administration for Quality Supervision were promoting written legislation, progress was slow. At present, the "Regulations for the Protection of Geographical Indications" of 1946-1996 were still used for management.

The concept of "geographical indication products" or "geographical products" exists, but it has not been implemented.

This gave Zhang Zhengdong an opportunity. Peicheng County, Shanfu County, Xiayi County... no matter if it's Jiangkou Province, Zhongyuan Province, or Jianghuai Province, they can't do anything about him.

The only way to stop him from doing this is through organizational connections.

However, it was of no use.

Zhang Zhengdong has already tasted the sweetness of success; once his reputation is established, he won't have to worry about a lack of sales channels.

He has connections.

Distribution channels are king!

In addition to his nephew's urban sales channels, he also has his own rural channels at the junction of three provinces, and has a good influence in southeastern Henan, southwestern Shandong, and northeastern Anhui.

For consumers in rural markets, the most important thing is that the food is plentiful and affordable. The second most important thing is that it can't kill people. The third most important thing is that it's not illegal. Finally, it's about saving face.

"Top Scholar Dog Meat" is out of the question, but "County Magistrate Dog Meat" is still acceptable.

The county head personally marketing dog meat is something rural people have never seen before.

Many people think that dog meat is just a small-time business and can't make big money.
Those who sell dog meat don't care about the origin of the dogs they buy; it's probably a business with no initial investment.

However, this is not the case in Fengyi County. Because of the "dog meat county head," the theft and poisoning of dogs in rural areas are calculated at 20 yuan per kilogram of dog meat.

The price is much higher than the average price of pork.

Previously, the price of dog meat in the market could not be used to prosecute crimes because there was no standardized market price for dog meat.

In this process, Fengyi County, under the name of a new non-governmental organization called the "Meat Dog Breeding Association," issued dog licenses to dog owners in rural Fengyi County.

At the same time, we will crack down on dog theft and poisoning, with dog poisoning being considered as poisoning and punishable by at least three years in prison.

While cracking down on irregular dog meat sources, the number of meat dogs raised in Fengyi County has increased from more than 4,000 to 190,000.

Such a terrifying increase was certainly not because Uncle Zhang had magic; it was simply because he relocated the breeding sites of several meat dog farms and breeders in Shanfu County, Fangyu County, Xiayi County, and Pengcheng City to Fengyi County.

This place is legitimate.

Not only does it have a license, but it also has the "Trial Measures for the Inspection and Quarantine of Live Dogs," a complete set of formal industry inspection and quarantine procedures. The first such facility in China is located in Fengyi County.

Zhang Zhengdong boasted at a meeting in the city, daring to claim he could export it in front of the top three leaders of Pengcheng, which meant he actually had the capability to do so.

"From now on, our dog meat from Fengyi County will target the high-end market. Once summer is over, around the time of this year's autumn harvest, it will enter the consumer market in Luzhou. People from Luzhou's Liucheng District will be sending people over at the end of the month to inspect our Fengyi County's dog breeding practices, including the feeding level, breeding environment, slaughtering technology, and cold chain transportation capabilities..."

"If we succeed, we can generate at least 80 million yuan in revenue in Luzhou alone this year. At that time, our 'Fengyi Dog Meat' will be the most famous dog meat in the country. We will not engage in any geographical indication protection. This is a high-quality meat dog raised in the soil and water of Fengyi County."

"Furthermore, I have also discussed with experts from the Academy of Agricultural Sciences to establish a 'Cultural Dog Breeding Center,' which will be officially opened on National Day. Together with the Institute of Livestock, we will promote 'Fengyi Dog Meat.'"

"Don't worry that our 'Fengyi Dog Meat' will steal the market from neighboring counties. That's not going to happen. Our 'Fengyi Dog Meat' is a high-end product, aimed at ordinary people. It's a different breed of dog meat called 'Shahe Fragrant Meat'."

"..."

"..."

"..."

The county magistrate of Peicheng was furious when he heard this, thinking that Zhang's problem was no longer about whether he was eating alone, but that he was a "scammer"!

Who can beat you?
"Comrade Zhengdong, our Peicheng County's dog meat has a two-thousand-year-old tradition. If you do this, what will happen to 'Peicheng dog meat' in the future?"

"What do you mean, what to do? I didn't stop you from doing it. Didn't you say in the meeting that the country is promoting 'geographical indication products'? You can also sell them."

"..."

Selling dog meat... How could I possibly accept that?

To put it bluntly, dog meat is not suitable for formal banquets, and there is actually not much good experience in large-scale dog farming in the local area.

Uncle Zhang was annoyed by the three disinfection procedures for raising sheep, and the profits from raising sheep were very low. Not to mention selling them in Luzhou, even in Pengcheng City, he couldn't compete with other counties.

It's possible to sell them, but the profit isn't much.

Raising a dog is much simpler. First, you don't need to disinfect three times a day, so you don't have to worry about employees getting infected. Second, it's a blue ocean market, and as long as you can withstand the pressure, things will suddenly become clear. Finally, he really likes to eat it.

When Uncle Zhang returned to his hometown of Shazhou, he had dinner with South Korean investors and ate a "health-preserving soup." He later learned that it was actually "dog meat soup," which made him even more eager to open a dog meat restaurant in China.

The name hadn't been decided yet. The Korean investors mainly dealt in auto parts, and they mainly ate together, so they wanted to call it "Korean-style dog meat soup" or "Korean-style dog meat restaurant." But Uncle Zhang thought that his business wasn't just for one store; he also wanted to sell to Vietnam, so he wanted to call it "Fengyi Dog Meat" to establish the brand firmly.

Fengyi County has been registering and protecting a large number of names such as "Fengyi Dog Meat", "Fengxian Dog Meat", "Fengshou Dog Meat", "Dafeng Dog Meat", and "Fengcheng Dog Meat", including the bizarre name "Sanyi Dog Meat".

"If you want to do it, Fengyi County would absolutely welcome you; there's strength in numbers. But every country has its laws, and every family has its rules. If dog meat is to be served properly, it must first be regulated. Whether it's traceability codes or geographical records, it must be able to withstand scrutiny. You can't serve a lapdog instead of a meat dog. If that happens, not only will foreigners be criticized, but even our own people will say that those who eat dog meat are eating pet dogs. How can that have a good reputation?"

"I do have some basic thoughts on this. Not many, and not very mature. I just think that the pet market is gradually booming, and the voices for animal rights protection are getting louder and louder. Whether it's good or bad is beyond my comprehension. However, I think that if the source of meat dogs is stabilized, then wouldn't that, relatively speaking, also protect the rights of pet dogs? At least it would have a significant impact on the theft of pet dogs by the public, right?"

“When I was cracking down on highway robbers in Fengyi County, I also cracked down on dog theft and poisoning, and the results were very good. People who used to eat dog meat but stopped now line up for 700 or 800 meters when they see that there is safe meat to buy. The county even did a special report on it. I'm not bragging, you can go and see for yourselves if you don't believe me.”

"It's that newly opened 'Fengyi Dog Meat' restaurant in the city. They're making six or seven thousand kilograms a day, and it's impossible to keep up. Refrigerated trucks are constantly coming and going, and the business is booming."

"I estimate there's only one store in the city. If there are no competitors before the Spring Festival, it might not matter if sales in Luzhou City's Liucheng District don't pick up. We'll definitely make around ten million."

Uncle Zhang spoke with great enthusiasm, and even reported the situation to the "prefect" of Pengcheng: "Not counting the inspection and quarantine process, just talking about slaughtering, there are currently ten formal slaughterhouse workers and fifty to one hundred and fifty temporary workers. These people are all men aged sixteen to fifty-five, with low educational requirements and relatively high incomes, which can have a role model effect in rural areas."

"Another aspect is the direct sales and transportation/warehousing of 'Fengyi Dog Meat.' Each store has two shifts with eight people, and each vehicle has four to six drivers and assistants. This link can also solve employment issues. This is new employment, and the added value is not low, after all, the price of dog meat is still good. Of course, the current price is still considered high. If you really want to make big money, you still need to sell dog meat to large cities with large scale, large population, and strong consumption power, such as Luzhou, Beijing, and Tianjin."

“I’ve already inquired about it before. The donkey meat restaurants in Jingu are doing incredibly well, and they all use the signature cooking methods from Hebei Province. We can do the same thing, standardize and formalize the dog meat cooking methods from other places, and then introduce advanced packaging technology to make gift boxes. We have the conditions for this, and it’s readily available, so why not?”

Even if you don't say anything, the more you talk about it, the more you make the "county magistrate" of Peicheng County red and warm. Isn't this just making the "Peicheng dog meat" of 2,000 years ago play a supporting role?
My name is Peicheng, and I'm only fit to play supporting roles?!
But if you're talking about opposing it...

That's not possible.

Because Uncle Zhang is absolutely right, you can make money, and a lot of money at that.

The employment that Uncle Zhang mentioned is only part of the issue; the main focus is still on tax collection.

Even if a self-employed individual sells ten million yuan a year, they can't collect any taxes by simply opening a shop on the street; at most, they can only earn a thousand or so yuan.

However, if it's set up as a legitimate shop like "Fengyi Dog Meat," with all the necessary permits and licenses, then it's a completely different story. It can be sold from Pengcheng to Luzhou through legitimate channels, and according to Zhang Zhengdong, it would cost around 80 million yuan. That would mean real local tax revenue would be retained.

There is a clear distinction between agricultural counties and industrial county-level cities in Jiangkou Province. It is true that the city has jurisdiction over the counties, but similarly, the city can also get a share of the good things that the counties have.

Industrial county-level cities are different...

Who do you think you are, trying to put on airs with me?
Just like Uncle Zhang's hometown, Shazhou City, people will call Wu Dudu "Brother Wu" if they're being polite, but if they're not, they'll just call him "Little Wu".

It all depends on my mood.

What level or no level...

Is it any of your business?

If Fengyi County were to introduce a complete food processing production line, its current approach would not only result in an explosive increase in added value, but would also allow it to continue to explode on a large scale.

Whether or not it will qualify for the "county-to-city" transition, Pengcheng City might directly absorb Fengyi County and turn it into Fengyi District... who knows?

The main reason is that Zhang Zhengdong's approach of "formal breeding," "formal processing," and "formal sales" is that the initial stage of starting a business is relatively difficult, but once he gets a foothold, everything will go smoothly in the end.

The right path, the right path, is indeed the road to heaven, only it is difficult to walk.

No matter how much you try to make money through unorthodox means, you can never surpass the legitimate way. Taking shortcuts is only a short-term endeavor; you can't go the whole way, let alone reach the destination. You can't even get to the other side. The whole process is like walking on thin ice.

Uncle Zhang is now building his own "Zhang's Dog Star," which is a "hell on earth" for the dogs, but for the people attending the meeting in Pengcheng City, it's a direct opening up of their minds.

People need to have dreams.

If Comrade Zhang Zhengdong were to develop an industry or even a sector, with the industry center in Pengcheng, I dare say that the agricultural sector under his supervision would be making steady progress, without any shortcuts.

Livestock farming differs from fruit cultivation in that its cycle is relatively short. In contrast, the experience of raising meat dogs in rural areas shows a general pattern, with different sizes of meat dogs, typically two litters per year. Large meat dogs can weigh over 100 pounds and are all hybrids.

The so-called "bear-style" Alaskan Malamute is actually made for eating. South Korea has crossbred and standardized a batch of meat-producing dogs, but the meat quality is relatively poor and it is more suitable for stewing and boiling.

Other cooking methods don't work very well.

Large dogs are rare in other parts of China, but there are some in the mountain city of Chengdu, which are meat dogs bred from Tibetan mastiffs. However, they are not cost-effective to raise, as although the meat yield is high, they also eat a lot.

So basically, the main breeds are medium-sized local dogs, as described in the rhyme "one black, two yellow, three spotted, four white". Although dogs are essentially wolves, because they can eat starch, their overall cost of raising them is actually a little lower than that of carnivorous fish of the same weight.

Another reason is that mixed-breed dogs are extremely stable, suitable for both large-scale and small-scale free-range farming. They occasionally form small dog packs, and as long as the owner is the "dog king," there shouldn't be any major problems.

Fengyi County currently has 190,000 meat dogs in its officially registered breeding farms. The dogs come from all over the country, but a standard meat dog breed has been established: a medium-sized native dog with brown fur.

This wasn't a random selection. Zhang Zhengdong even established a "dog breeding office" in Fengyi County. The archived materials included not only field surveys from southwestern Shandong, southeastern Henan, and northeastern Anhui, but also data from several agricultural neighboring counties in Northeast China.

It was all thanks to the help of Zhang Zhengdong's former superior from his old unit. The former superior has now gone to Shenzhou, and the former regimental commander is in Andong Province dealing in timber and stone. Since it's state-owned, helping with the investigation in this area is just a matter of making a phone call.

The person who actually went to the countryside to do the hard and tiring work was the market research department of the "Zhang'an Industrial Alliance". Fengyi County spent a real 50,000 yuan to buy this survey report.

The truth is that the "Zhang'an Industrial Alliance" spent more than 300,000 yuan to visit county towns and markets in more than 20 counties, and purchased dog meat from three or four hundred dog meat restaurants or dog meat stalls, conducting on-site investigations at the places where the stalls were set up.

A nationwide investigation report would cost even more, and it's not something Fengyi County can easily produce. Even if they were to spend 50,000 yuan to buy the report now, it would only mean that everyone in Fengyi County knows that Director Zhang doesn't need to resort to such shady dealings. They could just have a different county head register the report directly.

The only difference between "Fengyi Dog Meat" and "Shahe Fragrant Meat" is their fat content; the standard breed of dog used for meat is exactly the same.

The "Fengyi dog meat" prepared for gift boxes has a lower fat content, and the texture is designed to be more fibrous. The aroma is achieved through flavor enhancement. The product's culinary development team is not limited to chefs from dog meat restaurants around Pengcheng City; chefs from Northeast China, Beijing, Luzhou, Chongzhou, Yuhang, Nandu, Yongzhou, Hongdu, and other places also come from.

The funding for this part is also considerable. Zhang Zhengdong mainly relies on financing because "Fengyi Dog Meat" is not 100% state-owned by Fengyi County. The shares that were given up were used for financing. The largest investor is the tertiary industry company of the former Luzhou Sugar, Tobacco and Wine Company, which has now been transformed into a municipal state-owned enterprise investment company.

Why would Luzhou City's Liucheng District negotiate with Fengyi County?
It wasn't simply because Zhang Zhengdong's nephew was named Zhang Da'an; it was because people in Luzhou City also knew that the dog meat market was a growth area, and the data analysis in Jiangkou Province was provided by a research institute in Luzhou City. As for the scattered small shareholders, there were many of them. In Fengyi County, there was a village called Fudikou that had a long history of raising meat dogs. Going back to the Ming Dynasty, the Fu family had been making a living by slaughtering dogs between Shandong and the Central Plains.

"Fu's Dog Meat" is a well-known brand in a small town in Fengyi County, but it can't get out of the county or even the town. Even in a poor place like Chenzhuang Town, there are dog meat restaurants. So there is no need for "Fu's Dog Meat" to become a brand.

However, the main dog breeders who follow and support Zhang Zhengdong now are all from the Fu family. In Fudikou Village, there is also a special dog breeding farm, and the "dog judges" among the breeders are mainly from the Fu family in Fengyi County.

They've all invested now, though not much; they borrowed money to get a tiny share, maybe a fraction of a percent.

However, we can already see a return on investment. The reason is that the "dog meat county head" personally promoted "Fengyi dog meat" very well. As long as the city doesn't forcefully suppress Zhang Zhengdong, making tens of millions before the New Year is not a problem.

The return money isn't much, only around three thousand yuan, but the pie in the sky that Uncle Zhang draws in the city isn't as round as the pie in the countryside.

Uncle Zhang said that if his nephew's company can go public, then our "Fengyi Dog Meat" can also go public, grow bigger and stronger, and go global.

So how big of a pie did Uncle Zhang promise? He said he'd strive to reach 1 billion by the year after next.

One billion...

The self-employed individuals thought to themselves, "So, I can make hundreds of thousands every year, right?"
Director Zhang is awesome!

A just and upright official!

Peicheng County's inability to compete with Uncle Zhang isn't limited to the upper echelons; the situation is the same at the grassroots level. Don't be fooled by the fact that many of Peicheng County's long-established dog meat restaurant owners are local "dog meat kings." They might claim they don't care about licenses, but on Children's Day, of the twenty or thirty large restaurants that claimed not to need licenses, only six didn't. The rest all put up new signs: "Our dog meat is all professionally slaughtered at the Fengyi County Meat Dog Slaughterhouse and has passed the Pengcheng City Inspection and Quarantine Bureau..."

Special Children's Day offer! Go home with a trustworthy and reliable dog to nourish your child.

Shouldn't the child receive supplements?

Brother, treat yourself better, give yourself some nourishment.

The dog meat restaurant is pretty impressive; they even dug up the advertisement for "Fengyi Dog Meat" that aired on Fengyi County TV, featuring two burly men like Dian Wei and Xu Chu as their signboard.

The people selling medicinal liquor across the street have never sold dog meat.

On Children's Day, the meat dog slaughterhouse in Fengyi County produced more than 18,000 meat dogs, but none of them went into the cold storage because they were not needed at all.

The wholesalers almost came to blows. Apart from the 15,000 dogs that originally belonged to the breeders, the remaining 3,000 belonged to the "Fengyi Dog Meat" brand and could be sold wholesale. However, there were more people than dogs. This time, the people who planned to do business in large quantities were from the same hometown in southeastern Henan. They really brought out three generations of local relatives and snatched away 1,200 dogs.

These 1,200 animals weren't meant for hoarding. They would be sold on the spot at the Chengbei Agricultural Wholesale Market. Some were sold to "Fengyi Bashi" and taken back to other markets, while others were frozen with ice and taken to rural markets. In short, they were mainly sold by small-scale individual vendors, which means that a group of secondary wholesalers was forming.

The key point is that they didn't raise prices much. It's not that they didn't want to, but that they didn't dare. "Fengyi dog meat" has a guide price, which means they want to regulate the dog meat market.

Individual vendors also adjust the price of local dog meat based on "Fengyi dog meat," essentially treating "Fengyi dog meat" as a trendsetter for the entire dog meat category.

The power is not yet apparent, but the influence is already there. Some long-established dog meat restaurants in Peicheng County can earn millions of yuan a year, not just because of their skills, but also because they need people to keep the business going.

The emergence of "Fengyi dog meat" has affected some local dog meat "Brahmins" in Peicheng County. The extent of the damage is unknown, but it is certainly not small.

There was a reason why some people took their cases to the "county magistrate" of Peicheng County.

The inspection and quarantine stamp in Pengcheng City, in particular, is really effective. It has directly led a large number of non-agricultural residents who want to eat meat but are not sure about its source to try it out. The peak of this wave has not yet arrived, and it is precisely because it has not arrived that counties in many provinces, such as Peicheng County, Shanfu County, and Xiayi County, are so anxious.

Once the peak is reached, the momentum will be unstoppable. At that time, even the most seasoned gourmets will have to accept the old ways, otherwise they will feel uneasy.

Although Pengcheng has a long history of "starting businesses," its loyalty to the imperial court is undeniable, and its tolerance is actually quite high. It's only when it can't tolerate it anymore that it will overturn the table and "start its own business."

The inspection and quarantine stamp on this dog meat is another way of saying "special permission from the imperial court". At this time, the brother invites his younger brother to eat meat and drink wine, and asks where the meat was bought.

Brother, I bought "Fengyi Dog Meat". Eat with confidence, it's safe meat.

Face will naturally follow.

This kind of basic psychology is actually everywhere, and if used properly, it can be incredibly useful.

Uncle Zhang doesn't understand psychology, but he has eaten a lot of soft-shelled turtles and dog meat in Pengcheng City. He eats them whenever he has free time, and when he does, he brags at the table. He feels uncomfortable if he doesn't brag.

After performing the trick many times, you'll become familiar with the locals. The key to mastering the details is experience.

Graduate students from Jiangning Agricultural University are willing to come to him even in the province because he has a lot of data that they don't need to think about; they can just reach out and get it. Director Zhang is comparable to a doctoral supervisor.

Just then, Ding Zhaozhong invited Jiangning Institute of Technology to participate in the search for antimatter in the universe, and the province also strongly encouraged the creation of some star projects. So, since Uncle Zhang had a lot of papers that could be published, it naturally attracted many graduate students.

The difference between the "dog meat project" and the "antimatter project" is quite large, but for the people of Fengyi County, there is no difference.

It's all high-tech!
"Comrade Zhengdong, what we mean is, could we take other counties into account? We could first set up a research group to discuss how to set this standard."

"Once we get together with a research team, we won't be able to eat dog meat, let alone dog poop. Don't think I'm being harsh, I have my reasons."

"..."

Uncle Zhang's words nearly made the person in charge of agriculture roll his eyes. Of course, Zhang Zhengdong, a rather unreliable county magistrate, had seen his share of such situations and was no different from this one.

Uncle Zhang actually had something to say. He took a sip from his mineral water bottle and said, "The current international opinion is that eating dog meat is barbaric, uncivilized, and backward. That's the main opinion. After joining the World Trade Organization, everything in China has to align with international trends. In terms of industrial technology, that's fine, but in terms of clothing, food, housing, and transportation, I think we still need to be careful."

"Well, first of all, if someone opposes eating dog meat and elevates the issue to the level of whether it's civilized or not, and confuses the use of dogs for meat with pet dogs, it's essentially an overgeneralization. Then it will be difficult to unravel the truth later. Does that mean that the two billion dollar global market is completely out of our reach, and we can only earn a few million dollars from local people?"

"Don't forget, whether it's the capital or Luzhou, they are both international metropolises, and sooner or later they will be aligned with international development trends. Just look at how fast cultural dissemination is now, comrades, to see the speed of cultural exchange on 'Jinbang Blog' and 'Chat Bar.' This morning I logged into 'Fengyi Bar,' and someone asked where to buy 'Fengyi dog meat.' Where was the person asking? It was a watermelon vendor from Changshan City. He was passing through Pengcheng and wanted to buy 'Fengyi dog meat.' That's the efficiency of dissemination; it crossed an entire Central Plains province in one go."

"If dog meat is like this, then the opposition to eating dog meat will definitely be like this too, and maybe even stronger."

"So now we need to seize the time. It's only been a few years since we joined the World Trade Organization. If we wait until the province or higher authorities think that eating dog meat will damage our international image, then it will all be in vain."

"Don't worry about Fengyi County stealing your business. How much can they steal? Anyway, they couldn't sell to Pengcheng City in the past, and whether they can sell to Pengcheng City in the future or not doesn't really matter. It just means that we, Fengyi, will sell a little more 'Fengyi dog meat.' But as long as the market expands, whether it's Xiaoyi County in Jianghuai Province or Shanfu County in Zhongyuan Province, as long as the farmers are legitimate, we can centralize trading, slaughtering, shipping, and storage, which can greatly reduce costs."

"Let's get the brand up and running first. If 'Fengyi Dog Meat' sells well, do you think it will harm the chefs in other districts and counties of Pengcheng City? That's impossible."

“I will not compromise on this matter. Our Fengyi County is doing very well right now. We have successfully developed compound feed for meat dogs, and the standard breeds for meat dogs have been determined. In addition, we are developing gift packs. With an annual output value of several hundred million yuan, how could I possibly dawdle over your small business of a few million or a few hundred thousand yuan?”

“If you think that Fengyi County is not fair and has stolen its reputation, then let’s make this clear now: if any district or county produces counterfeit or substandard ‘Fengyi dog meat,’ I will not deal with it in the city, but will go directly to the province. Don’t blame me, Zhang Zhengdong, for not showing any consideration for the organization. I take what I’m doing. Right now, I’m leading people out of poverty and into prosperity. Don’t blame me for being unforgiving.”

"..."

"..."

"..."

It was quite startling when someone who rarely made threats suddenly started saying such things, especially since Zhang Zhengdong was always polite and always upheld the principles of being pragmatic, both within the organization and in his relationships with the masses. Because of his upright character and his well-organized system of rewards and punishments, his reputation among colleagues and the public was based primarily on trust rather than on being "good."

This is practically Zhang Zhengdong's magic weapon in Fengyi County. The reputation of "Fengyi craftsman" and "Chenzhuang craftsman" was built by Zhang Zhengdong through word of mouth.

So, if it weren't for the possibility of damaging his credibility, Zhang Zhengdong wouldn't really be willing to talk to people. He doesn't actually have any impressive writing skills. The fact that he can speak fluently in the city is all thanks to his boasting and bragging to the locals.

But so far, there hasn't been a case of him slapping his thigh in frustration. For the villagers who have never handled big money, this is already a first-rate cadre. When he sees money coming back, they really intend to build a memorial arch for him.

This meeting regarding "technical standards for dog meat" and "ownership of local dog meat brands" ultimately did not reach a compromise, nor could it be compromised. The city government is not incompetent; whether it's selling dog meat or airplanes, the difference is not significant for Pengcheng City. As long as it can absorb the rural labor force released from the city, it is a good industry.

Reputation is not important.

So Uncle Zhang won an overwhelming victory. Afterwards, there were exchange meetings with some districts and counties in Jianghuai Province, Zhongyuan Province, and Qilu Province that also produce local dog meat, but they were not very effective. In the end, it was strength that mattered.

Who dares to say that "Fengyi Dog Meat" isn't Pengcheng's signature dish?
What Uncle Zhang didn't know was that the selection process for the "Geographical Records Product Catalog" had already begun, and new management methods were being studied. It would probably be released in two or three years in order to boost domestic demand and exports.

He's now involved in "Fengyi Dog Meat" and "Shahe Fragrant Meat." While the latter is unlikely to succeed, if the former's output value exceeds one billion yuan within two years, then its so-called international influence will be practically as worthless as toilet paper.

The people in Huzhou City know about this, because Huzhou City has an extremely high weight in the East China region's directory selection process, not just a little bit.

Investing in "Fengyi Dog Meat" at this time...

If you say that the people from the original sugar, tobacco and alcohol company in Luzhou City made random investments, no one will believe it three years from now.

Pengcheng City, being of a much lower status, was unaware of the higher-ups' operations. On the contrary, Zhang Zhengdong was wholeheartedly leading his fellow villagers in legitimate entrepreneurship, which surprisingly aligned with the future development direction.

In other words, dog meat is indeed not presentable in public, otherwise the people in the policy research office would suspect that Zhang Da'an was giving his uncle advice behind his back.

When a respectable person gives guidance, they would never mention selling dog meat.
Is it that the integrated circuits are not high-end enough, or that the mobile phone manufacturing is not prestigious enough?
The city officials held a short meeting with Uncle Zhang, mainly to inquire about the potential for growth in the meat dog farming industry.

"At the meeting before, I actually kept something from them. There was also a dog skin processing business that could be exported that year."

"Dog skin? Comrade Zhengdong, where is this dog skin being exported to?"

"Russia, Northern Europe, and Japan."

Uncle Zhang thought for a moment and then revealed some of his most treasured business secrets. "I wonder if any of you have ever played golf?"

"Related to golf?"

"Among these golf gloves, there's one type made of bleached dog and cat skin. Fengyi County doesn't have cat skin, but dog skin... there's plenty of that, isn't there?"

"Huh? Is that so?"

"There are also fur products, besides fox, dog fur is also very common. In addition to Russia, Northern Europe and Japan, which I just mentioned, most European countries use it. If they can't afford fox or mink, they buy dog. Among them, Mediterranean countries such as Italy are particularly typical. I can now increase the quantity. Look, leaders, think about it. I currently have 190,000 legally stocked meat dogs, but the actual consumption of a county, such as Peicheng County, can reach more than 500,000 dogs a year at its peak. It's just that we haven't counted it before. Now, let's make a rough estimate."

"Over five hundred thousand..."

"That's right. More than half of the pelts from these 500,000-plus dogs are wasted. Small workshops in the countryside can't collect many pelts, and the slaughtering standards vary. They also lack the skills to process the pelts, so the process is not only scattered but also very polluting."

Uncle Zhang picked up a teacup and placed it on the coffee table. "Now, the dog slaughterhouse and the leather products factory are directly connected. Centralized processing and disposal make pollution easier to handle and won't harm many people, right?"

"Moreover, if we calculate based on European prices, the dog skin business, if done well, could generate at least 200 million yuan a year for Fengyi County alone. Leaders, this is Fengyi County's most valuable business, one we intend to run exclusively, so we can't tell anyone else about it."

"..."

"..."

"..."

Selling "Fengyi dog meat" is about making money from dog meat, but selling "Fengyi dog skin" doesn't mean you can claim there's a two-thousand-year-old dog skin culture.

Uncle Zhang has already planned this out. He'll have his nephew introduce him to a reliable import/export trader. He's currently working with the University of Porto, and he doesn't know if the Portuguese play golf. If they do, he can send them two boxes of high-end dog-skin golf gloves!
(End of this chapter)