I couldn't take it anymore; when I went home for Chinese New Year, the family genealogy book ha

County Magistrate Zhang's eyes were urgent.

"Mr. Jiang, to be honest, the rest of our county is too poor. I've come here to learn from your experience and see if we can promote your Jiangjia Village's wealth-generating model throughout the county or even the province?"

Jiang Chen stirred the chives on the stove.

Dip a brush in sesame oil and gently sweep it across the lush green chive leaves.

The charcoal fire emitted a series of soft popping sounds.

He picked up the chilled beer next to him and took a slow, deliberate sip.

Jiang Chen picked up a few skewers of grilled chives and casually handed them over.

"County Chief Zhang, don't be in such a hurry. Eat some skewers; these are good for boosting your virility and energy. You guys sit in the office all day and don't get much exercise, so you should eat more of these."

Zhang Weimin didn't care about his image at all.

He took the scalding hot skewers with both hands, and despite burning his mouth, ate two skewers in a row.

He chewed on the chives, nodding repeatedly.

"Delicious! Brother, I was really worried. Millions of people in the county are waiting to eat, and the province needs data every day. Your Jiangjia Village is rolling in money, while other villages can't even afford to repair roads. I'm ashamed to be the county magistrate."

Jiang Chen put down the brush in his hand and picked up a white towel to wipe his hands.

"County Chief Zhang, you can't learn from the Jiangjia Village model."

Zhang Weimin was stunned.

He held half a leek skewer in his hand, looking anxious.

"Why can't you learn it? Brother, as long as you're willing to teach, the county will issue policies, and the village cadres will take the lead. Even if it costs us a lot, we'll make something of it."

The two secretaries also stopped eating their meat and stared at Jiang Chen.

Jiang Chen leaned against a small plastic stool, his tone extremely calm, and pointed out the core of the problem incisively.

"Because they don't have as much money to spend as I do."

This statement is extremely crude.

Zhang Weimin was speechless for a moment, but he couldn't refute it at all.

The Jiang Group bought airplanes to transport vegetables, spent billions of yuan in cash to invest in multinational pharmaceutical companies, and stirred up hundreds of billions of yuan in the stock market.

These actions even stunned the provincial finance department.

Even if ordinary villages and towns borrowed money at exorbitant interest rates, they couldn't scrape together even a tiny fraction of Jiang Chen's money.

Zhang Weimin was very unwilling.

"You can't learn hardware, but you can learn software, right?"

He knew perfectly well that any business idea Jiang Chen had, as long as it revealed even a little bit of substance, could cause the entire county's GDP to skyrocket.

This was his most significant achievement since taking office, which solidified his future career prospects.

Jiang Chen casually picked up an empty bamboo skewer and drew a circle on the oily bluestone slab.

"You can't learn the patterns, but you can borrow the ideas."

Zhang Weimin's eyes lit up, and he quickly nudged his secretary, Xiao Li, with his elbow.

"Write it down! Write it down quickly!"

Ignoring the grease on his hands, Xiao Li hurriedly pulled out a notebook and pen from his briefcase and placed them neatly on his lap.

Jiang Chen used a bamboo stick to mark the circles on the ground.

"Don't build those fancy industrial parks, and don't try to attract investment to develop heavy industries. Our county has a weak foundation and can't compete with those big cities."

Zhang Weimin pressed for further details.

"Then what's going on?"

Jiang Chen tapped the ground.

"Focus on the most basic agricultural and sideline products. Food is the most important thing for people. City dwellers are always complaining that they can't get safe vegetables. This is the biggest market."

Zhang Weimin sighed.

"But farming doesn't make money, my friend. Our county has been a farming village for generations, and the more we farm, the poorer we get."

Jiang Chen raised his head and looked directly into Zhang Weimin's eyes.

"Farming doesn't make money, the middlemen do. Vegetables that farmers buy wholesale for one yuan a kilogram become five or eight yuan in supermarkets in the provincial capital. Where does the price difference go? It's all skimmed off by middlemen and distributors."

Zhang Weimin sighed again.

"There's nothing we can do about it. Agricultural products spoil easily, and logistics costs are too high, so farmers can only sell to trucking companies that collect produce. These companies control the distribution channels, and the farmers are left to be ripped off."

Jiang Chen drew another straight line next to that circle.

"This is the problem you need to solve."

"The first step is to consolidate the land. We will bring together scattered farmland to form cooperatives, enabling large-scale planting, using standardized seeds and fertilizers to reduce costs."

Jiang Chen emphasized his words.

"The second, and most important, step is to develop a centralized cold chain logistics system. This will bypass intermediaries and deliver goods directly to the provincial capital's end consumers."

Zhang Weimin's brows furrowed into a knot.

"Developing cold chain logistics? That's a huge investment. Buying hundreds of refrigerated trucks and building large cold storage facilities is simply beyond the county's budget. Even if you try to get a bank loan, the approval process will take at least half a year."

Jiang Chen smiled and pointed to the huge logistics park at the entrance of the village.

"The county may not have money, but I do."

Zhang Weimin's eyes widened, his heart pounding.

"Brother, you mean...?"

Jiang Chen's tone was calm, yet it conveyed absolute control.

"Jiang Group's province-wide cold chain network is already in place. There are hundreds of smart warehousing centers and thousands of fully automated refrigerated trucks, and there is still surplus transportation capacity. As long as the county can organize the villages and towns below to grow agricultural products that meet the standards, I will take care of the rest of the logistics and sales terminals."

Zhang Weimin slapped his thigh excitedly, causing the iron skewer in his hand to fall to the ground.

"Brother! Are you serious? You're willing to guarantee the entire county's agricultural products?"

Jiang Chen picked up a skewer of mutton and took a bite.

"I only earn the logistics fees and the price difference at the retail level, leaving the lion's share to the farmers. I don't need that little bit of money, but I have to make sure my logistics fleet has goods to carry every day. The market needs supplies, and Jiangjia Village's output can't supply the entire Nanjiang Province. The combined production capacity of the whole county is just enough to fill this gap."

Xiao Li was writing furiously beside him.

In his excitement, he broke the nib of his ballpoint pen and quickly replaced it with another to continue his frantic writing.

Zhang Weimin rubbed his hands together, as happy as a child who had received candy.

But soon, a look of worry appeared on his face.

"Brother, this is easier said than done. There will be a lot of obstacles in implementing it. The situations in each village are complicated, and those middlemen who buy vegetables will definitely cause trouble behind the scenes."

Jiang Chen threw the skewer into the trash can and used a white towel to wipe the oil stains off his hands.

His casual and lazy demeanor had quietly faded away, replaced by a sense of oppression from being in a high position for a long time.

"County Chief Zhang, this is the kind of work your county government should be doing."

Jiang Chen stared at Zhang Weimin, his voice steady and powerful.

"I'm providing the money, the distribution channels, and the logistics; I'm not here to do charity. The rules must be followed my way."

Zhang Weimin patted his chest and guaranteed it.

"Tell me! As long as it allows ordinary people to make money, I'll agree to any rules!"

"First, we must control the pricing power ourselves. With my cold chain, the vegetables won't rot in the fields. Those middlemen who try to drive down prices and cause trouble will be kicked out of the county according to the standards of the anti-gang campaign. Anyone who dares to stop the Jiang Group's vehicles will have their livelihood ruined."

Zhang Weimin nodded emphatically.

"Alright! I'll personally take charge and let the Public Security Bureau handle it!"

Jiang Chen held up two fingers.

"Secondly, the county's task is to focus on quality control. Goods from Jiangjia Village are top-tier, exempt from inspection. When other villages are brought in, the quality absolutely cannot be compromised."

"Anyone who dares to use highly toxic pesticides in their fields, or who dares to adulterate or inject water into their vegetables, will be permanently blacklisted. Jiangjia Village's reputation cannot be ruined by a single bad apple."

Zhang Weimin's attitude was even more upright than that of an elementary school student.

"No problem! Each village will set up a quality control team. If any quality issues arise, I'll directly remove the village head from his post!"

At this moment, the door to the large, single-level apartment was pushed open.

Su Qing walked out yawning.

She was wearing a loose silk nightgown, and her long hair was casually tied back.

Su Qing rubbed her eyes and mumbled.

"Honey, who are you talking to? It's so noisy."

Jiang Chen's originally cold and stern aura instantly vanished.

He strode over, naturally put his arm around Su Qing's waist, and helped her sit down on a soft chair.

Jiang Chen spoke gently, his eyes filled with uncontrollable affection.

"Did the county leaders come to visit and wake you up?"

Then, he turned around and gave a brief introduction.

"County Chief Zhang, this is my wife, Su Qing. She's pregnant now and a bit sleepy."

Zhang Weimin quickly stood up, and his two secretaries also stood up straight.

"Hello, sister-in-law! I'm so sorry to have disturbed your rest."

Zhang Weimin knew Su Qing's background very well.

As the only daughter of Su Tianhao, the richest man in the provincial capital, Jiang Chen is not only incredibly powerful herself, but her father-in-law also controls half of the business world in the province.

He can't afford to offend either of them.

Su Qing smiled.

"You're too kind, County Chief Zhang. You two talk about business; I just came out for some fresh air."

Jiang Chen took a thin cashmere blanket and covered Su Qing's legs with great care.

"You sit here, I'll go in and get you a glass of warm water."

Zhang Weimin was deeply moved as he watched this scene.

Rumors circulated that the head of the Jiang Group was ruthless and decisive, but it turns out he's a fiercely protective husband.

This tender side of a tough guy makes him seem even more unfathomable.

Jiang Chen came out carrying a cup of warm water and handed it to Su Qing.

He walked back to the oven and looked at Zhang Weimin, who had already eaten and drunk his fill.

This extremely simple barbecue in the courtyard had no fancy banquet or lengthy official pleasantries.

Three county leaders, dressed in suits, each held a sizzling skewer of mutton, their mouths greasy from eating it.

However, they managed to turn this meal into a high-level strategic meeting concerning the economic direction of the entire province.

Jiang Chen's casual remarks about the closed-loop business model at the grassroots level were all spot-on.

It completely abandons the empty rhetoric and formalism of traditional officialdom, making it highly practical.

Zhang Weimin became more and more excited as he listened.

He downed the last sip of beer, wiped the grease from the corner of his mouth, and made the decision on the spot.

"Brother, those words have truly awakened me from my dream!"

Zhang Weimin stood up and paced back and forth in the yard excitedly.

"Upon returning, I immediately convened a meeting of the county committee and designated Jiangjia Village as an absolute model village for agricultural reform throughout the province!"

"Don't worry, brother. I promise you that all of Jiang Group's investments and operations in the county will be given the green light in terms of policy!"

"From now on, any approval documents involving Jiangjia Village will no longer need to go through procedures; just send them directly to my desk, and I will sign them personally!"

"I will absolutely not allow your business to be hindered by any bureaucratic practices. Anyone who dares to cause trouble for Jiangjia Village, I, Zhang Weimin, will be the first to kick them out!"

Jiang Chen stood up, still holding the large palm-leaf fan in his hand, and smiled.

"With County Chief Zhang's decisiveness, it's only a matter of time before our county is lifted out of poverty."

Zhang Weimin walked up to Jiang Chen and solemnly extended both hands to tightly grasp Jiang Chen's right hand, which was stained with a little mutton fat.

When he first came, he was called General Manager Jiang, but now even that title has changed.

"Brother Jiang, you are a great hero to our entire county!"

Jiang Chen replied with a smile.

"No problem, no problem. As long as the higher-ups don't interfere with our development, Jiangjia Village's goods will definitely be sold throughout the entire province!"