He won 900 million in the lottery.

The market is like this: big fish eat small fish.

The most direct consequence of having the jam factory set up a branch in Fengshan Town is that many secondary fruit farmers have lost their livelihoods.

"It's not that we can't survive, it's just that we're earning less."

A group of people caused trouble at the town government.

The town's police station was alarmed.

Police were deployed to maintain order.

There is no right or wrong.

This is simply an inevitable result of market economy development.

"Deputy Mayor Liu, if you won't let us live, you can forget about letting the fruit farmers live either!"

Liu Dongling glared at her: "I have never been coerced by anyone. Anyone who wants to be an enemy of the farmers is an enemy of the government."

The newly arrived police station chief was very perceptive and immediately led his men to arrest the person who had been stirring up trouble.

"Illegal gatherings that disrupt public order will result in penalties ranging from up to three years imprisonment, detention, probation, or deprivation of political rights for active participants, and three to seven years imprisonment for ringleaders. Let's see who dares to show their face again!"

The gathered fruit vendors immediately fell silent.

The jam factory manager was also watching from a distance.

All actions taken by Dongling, or rather the town government, were within his consideration.

This concerns his vital interests.

If the town government doesn't handle the relationship between fruit farmers and fruit vendors well, his processing plant will be caught in the middle and will end up pleasing neither side.

After the crowd gathered at the entrance dispersed.

The jam factory manager came in this time.

"Manager Song, why didn't you just come in?"

"I knew some of the fruit vendors gathered at the entrance, so I didn't feel comfortable asking them to come over."

"Hehe, it's alright. The government will handle these issues. As long as this investment promotion is beneficial to you and the fruit farmers, we have a reason to continue the cooperation. Have you visited Fengshan Town yet?"

"We've already looked at the area; the area near the east is perfect for building a factory."

"Yes, I think so too. Come on, let's go inside and talk in detail."

office.

"If Manager Song has any specific requirements regarding building a factory in town, as long as they are within a reasonable and compliant range, I can meet them."

"To be honest, Deputy Mayor Liu, building the factory is a huge undertaking, and so is purchasing fruit from fruit farmers. In the past, we had a payment period with fruit vendors, but when we dealt with fruit farmers, it was all cash. This meant that the factory's funds were very tight."

"Manager Song, please feel free to voice your thoughts. I hired you, and I will definitely help you solve your problems."

"Land, infrastructure, and equipment are the major sources of capital."

"The money issue is easily resolved; please wait a moment."

Less than five minutes later, I pushed the door open and came in.

"This is Mr. Shen. This is my first time visiting your headquarters. We've met before. He owns several companies and also has an investment firm in Shanghai. You two can have a chat."

Dong Ling nodded to me and then went out.

Government personnel cannot be present during business negotiations.

"Hello, Mr. Shen."

"Manager Song, let's get straight to the point. How much money do you need?"

"Although Fengshan Town is poor, it has abundant orchard resources, and most of the fruit is wasted during transportation and storage. If we could build a factory in Fengshan Town, at least a medium-sized one, we could fully utilize the resources of the nearby administrative villages and save fruit farmers from wasting their fruit. However, this would require a huge investment. Land, infrastructure, equipment, and cash payments to fruit farmers are all major expenses, totaling 1500 million yuan. Previously, we cooperated with fruit vendors, who had payment terms, so the cash flow was relatively smooth."

"Understood. What kind of model does Manager Song plan to use to build and operate this jam factory?"

"Mr. Shen, since you are an investment company, it would be even better if you could secure some financing."

"Since Mr. Song has this idea, how about I make a suggestion? My company can act as an intermediary, raising funds from the fruit vendors to invest in your jam factory. Your headquarters can then contribute some capital to build the factory. As for the cash flow from purchasing fruit from the farmers, I'll provide that. How about that?"

Manager Song thought for a moment and agreed: "That's a good idea. We've been dealing with many fruit farmers for so many years, and we can't afford to offend them. If we can jointly build a factory, it would be a new collaboration, and we can continue to rely on their connections and experience. That would be wonderful. Thank you very much for the suggestion, Mr. Shen."

"Okay, in that case, we can report to our superiors."

In Dongling's office, we told her the results we had come up with.

"Manager Song, I have only one requirement: when hiring, you must use local people as much as possible."

"That's no problem, but managing a mountain village like this entirely with locals would be difficult—"

"I've considered this issue. The town government will also contribute 5% of the funds, investing but not managing, operating entirely on a market-based basis. If problems arise in the factory, the government and the local police station will step in to resolve them. After today, I will also arrange for Manager Song and the Party Secretary of Fengshan Town to meet and discuss the specific details."

Manager Song's eyes lit up: "Oh, Deputy Mayor Liu, you're such a good leader! I don't know how to thank you enough. How about this, I'll decide: the jam factory will allocate some of its annual dividends to you as a red envelope, how about that?"

"Stop, I'm not buying it. My goal is to help Fengshan Town solve its poverty problem, and your goal is to make money. We can cooperate without hindering each other. However, if you oppress fruit farmers or engage in dishonest business practices, I will still take action. The last thing Bei Province has in abundance is jam makers."

"Understood, please rest assured, I will definitely complete the task."

After Manager Song left.

"Poverty alleviation is actually quite simple."

"Where is it simple? You're putting in both effort and money. If a typical selected graduate comes here without funding or connections, it might take three years to get things sorted out."

"Actually, I think that for selected graduates like you, we should look for those sons of wealthy and powerful families. They are more likely to be suitable. Anyway, when it comes to poverty alleviation, we should judge by deeds, not intentions. If you can really bring peace to a place, the people won't complain if you promote him."

"If that's the idea, then ordinary people will never have a chance to get ahead."

Dong Ling rolled her eyes at me: "Besides, most of the wealthy and powerful selected graduates go to economically developed cities. It's much easier to add flowers to brocade than to provide charcoal in snowy weather. It also looks better on their face and resume."

"Then why don't you go to an economically developed area?"

"Because we are not from aristocratic families, what we need to do is come from the masses and go back to the masses, take root in the grassroots. The deeper our understanding of the grassroots, the more we will be able to make judgments that are more beneficial to the masses when we reach that level in the future."

"Your awareness is still higher."

I gave Dong Ling a thumbs up.

"Sigh, I still have things to worry about. Don't bother me, go out and have some fun."

"Yes, my lord."