After the divorce, he settled in Northwest China and became a Shennong (a legendary Chinese farmer).

Chapter 102 The Cicada is Hidden Behind, Survive!

"Xiao Gu, how about I entrust all my land to you starting next year? Next year, the [Pegasus Project] will enter a critical phase, and I'll definitely be extremely busy. How will I have time to take care of these lands?"

Professor Mao had long since figured it out: he had absolutely no talent for farming, nor the physical strength to keep up, so he might as well just hand it over to the experts and wait for the harvest.

Gu Tong's character and abilities made him feel at ease, which is why he had this idea.

"Thank you for your trust! Professor Mao, this is no problem. We can discuss it in detail after the autumn harvest."

Gu Tong was very happy and immediately agreed.

After leaving Professor Mao's house, he realized that he had forgotten to ask about the discarded horse.

However, the retired horse no longer held much appeal for him; his chestnut horse was becoming increasingly magnificent, and if possible, he would prefer to buy it back.

When he got home, he made a simple meal, but Little Stone and the others ate with gusto, their mouths greasy.

The three sheepdogs grew larger and larger, and their appetites increased day by day, so Gu Tong never lacked meat for them.

After having a meal and tidying up, Dong Jun and the others arrived one after another.

"Old Ma and I spent a whole day running around and only managed to secure harvesting service contracts for 800 mu (approximately 53 hectares). Brother Gu is right, these long-term clients trust us and are willing to continue working with us."

After everyone sat down, Dong Jun went straight to what he and Ma Dongwen had learned.

There has been no progress with the new client, but we have secured an order for harvesting services on 800 acres from the old client, and we are just waiting for Gu Tong to sign and confirm it.

Gu Tong nodded, then looked at Ai Kebai.

"We'll still harvest my 1000 mu of alfalfa. You can ask Brother Gu for details."

Aikebai wasn't cut out for sales, and after explaining his family's arrangements, he fell silent.

"I've reached an agreement with Village Chief Ilyas; all the alfalfa and rapeseed in Albu Village will be handed over to us for harvesting. In addition, Professor Mao and his friend's 160 mu of land have also been handed over to us. I'll go see Wang Yu again tomorrow; there should still be some orders in Blake Village."

In his concluding remarks, Gu Tong summarized that the total area of ​​land in Salbu Village was 2400 mu. Dong Jun and Ma Dongwen had finalized an agreement for 800 mu of rapeseed fields, Aikebai's family had 1000 mu of grassland, and Professor Mao and others had 160 mu of land, making a total of 4300 mu of harvesting orders.

Based on a service fee of 80 yuan per mu, the total order amount is 34.4 yuan.

"Xiao Gu, having these service orders is a relief. But Honghe is coming on strong, basically blocking our path to acquiring new clients. Are we really not going to lower our prices?"

Ma Dongwen brought up the old matter again, asking Gu Tong for her response.

He felt that the price could actually be lowered, since the orders he had were all being processed at discounted prices. Why insist on sticking to the distinction between new and old customers?

"Let me put it this way: if we uniformly charge 80 yuan per mu, what will our old customers think? Also, if we follow Honghe's price reduction, what if they lower their prices again?"

Therefore, our pricing system cannot be disrupted, but we can find solutions in other ways. We can promise new customers partial discounts on subsequent aerial spraying operations, or strive to reduce losses during harvesting operations.

Gu Tong shook his head, disagreeing with changing the existing pricing system.

He had thought it through clearly: if the price continued to drop, it would soon fall below the cost line. Honghe could afford to lose money, but the four of them could not.

The pricing system cannot be changed, but new customers can be won over in other ways, such as providing discounted aerial spraying services and reducing loss rates.

"I think Brother Gu is right. We can't let others lead us by the nose, or we'll become more and more passive."

Dong Jun thought about it and felt that Gu Tong's plan was very good.

Combined with the previously established "surrounding the countryside from the countryside" strategy, they should still be able to secure some orders from small and micro-sized farmers. In that case, it would be difficult for Honghe to completely destroy the four-person team.

"I'll listen to Brother Gu."

Aikebai made his stance even more direct: he didn't need to think, he was convinced that as long as he listened to Gu Tong, he would be right.

Ma Dongwen was eventually persuaded. The key was that the four-person group already had a base of several thousand acres, so how bad could things get?

"Then let's do it according to Xiao Gu's suggestion. Next, we'll contact the small farmers and do what Honghe is unwilling to do."

Once everyone reached a consensus, Dong Jun and the others took their leave.

In the following days, Gu Tong would go to the fields every day.

There is no fixed time for harvesting rapeseed and the first day of the second crop; it varies from household to household and depends entirely on whether the harvesting conditions are met.

According to his own judgment, the rapeseed harvest would be completed in the next day or two, while the alfalfa harvest would be about a week later.

"That's good, it doesn't interfere with anything!"

That morning, Gu Tong inspected the farmland as usual. Just as she was about to leave, she suddenly received a call from Wang Yu.

He had called Wang Yu before, hoping to get some harvesting service orders in Bulak Village through the other party, but unfortunately, the other party happened to be in the county for training.

"Gu Tong, I just finished my studies here and heard some shocking news. Jin Feng Group announced a major expansion into the Yiwu region, with Nasu and the three surrounding counties being their primary targets."

Jinfeng Group's main business is providing agricultural machinery services, and its scale is much larger than Honghe's. They're coming in aggressively under the guise of benefiting and supporting farmers, so be careful.

"7

Wang Yu spoke slowly, but his tone was very low.

He was still in the county town at the moment, and the news had just come out. He immediately notified Gu Tong.

"Thank you! I'll keep an eye on things. When are you coming back?"

Gu Tong was stunned for a moment, completely taken aback by the news.

Honghe Group has just started a price war, and now Jinfeng Group is coming too. With only four people, they really can't withstand it!

He calmed down, thanked Wang Yu, and decided to proceed with his plan to go to Bulak Village to solicit orders.

Wang Yu understood what he meant and said, "I'll probably be back by evening. Come over tomorrow morning, and we'll talk when we meet."

After the call ended, Gu Tong returned home with a heavy heart.

county seat.

Headquarters of Honghe Agricultural Machinery Service Cooperative.

Tang Guoxing urgently convened a board meeting, which was attended by all board members, including Ma Yucheng.

The atmosphere in the meeting room was very heavy, especially among the department managers who were attending the meeting; they didn't even dare to breathe loudly.

"Without a doubt, the Jin Feng Group has come with ill intentions! Although it is not yet clear where their three-pronged attack will be aimed, I have a feeling that they will use the same methods to clear the market, that is, to wage a price war."

Li Yong, as of now, what is the status of your contract signings? How have the farmers in each village reacted to this significant price adjustment? Please explain the market situation clearly to all the council members; make sure it's comprehensive.

Tang Guoxing spoke first, summarizing the current situation, and then called on Li Yong to introduce the situation.

Li Yong stood up and said loudly, "Because the time was relatively short, the signing rate of interested farmers was not high, about 10%. The market's reaction to our price adjustment was generally positive, but there were also some sarcastic comments."

"President Tang, fellow directors, I will now expedite the signing of contracts with potential farmers, striving to secure over 70% of the harvesting service contracts in the county before Jinfeng Group does."

Ma Yucheng and the others were initially a little uneasy, but after hearing Li Yong's words, they felt a little more confident.

But when they thought of the price war Tang Guoxing mentioned, their faces darkened again.

Price war, price war, it's all about price wars all day long!

They invest heavily in agricultural machinery to make money; they feel bad if they earn less, let alone if they suffer losses.

Everyone present hated the Jinfeng Group intensely, but they seemed to have forgotten how they had treated the four-person team and those scattered agricultural machinery owners before.

"Oh? You're that confident?"

Tang Guoxing asked a question in return, his expression calm and unreadable, revealing nothing of his true thoughts.

Li Yong looked up at the other person's face and his heart skipped a beat. He felt that there was something hidden in the other person's words.

He secretly contacted Ma Yucheng and others, and then launched an attack at the council meeting. He thought he had done it without anyone knowing, but now he is not sure if the other party was completely unaware.

"President Tang, I'm confident. As the saying goes, even a powerful dragon can't suppress a local snake. Jinfeng Group has made a big splash in this county, but it won't be able to establish itself quickly. As long as we act quickly, at least they won't gain any advantage this harvest season."

Li Yong composed himself and then answered.

"You always think about the best-case scenario when considering a problem..."

'

Tang Guoxing pointed at Li Yong, his tone filled with helplessness.

Just then, his assistant hurriedly walked to his side, then leaned down and whispered something to him.

Tang Guoxing stopped abruptly halfway through his sentence, his face instantly turning grim.

"I understand, you can leave now." Tang Guoxing waved his hand, dismissing his assistant, then looked around and said, "Everyone, while we were in this meeting, Jinfeng Group announced their so-called 'benefit-the-farmers' prices. Would you like to hear about them?"

Li Yong immediately sensed something was wrong and quickly asked, "President Tang, is Jin Feng Group planning something big?"

"Mr. Tang, stop beating around the bush, what's going on?"

Ma Yucheng was getting impatient and kept urging Tang Guoxing to speak quickly.

"Taking the price of harvesting services as an example, the price publicly quoted by Jinfeng Group is 50 yuan per mu."

After saying this, Tang Guoxing seemed to feel completely drained and leaned heavily against the back of his chair.

The meeting room was completely silent. No one could believe their ears and wondered if they had misheard.

"That's impossible! Unless Jinfeng Group has gone mad! At 50 yuan per mu, they'll lose money on every project. Aren't they afraid of going bankrupt?"

Ma Yucheng shouted loudly without any regard for his image, but even he himself didn't believe what he said.

The same way that Honghe treated individual agricultural machinery operators back then is what Jinfeng Group is doing to Honghe now. Capital often uses this tactic to clear out weak hands: lose money first, then make a profit. It's a money-burning game where who has the most capital is the best.

The other directors weren't much better off. Li Yong felt it was absurd. He even thought that it wasn't Jin Feng Group that had gone mad, but rather that the group of people in front of him were being driven crazy by Jin Feng Group.

Tang Guoxing ignored Ma Yucheng's roar. He sat up straight again, picked up his teacup, took a sip of water, and said, "Meeting adjourned."

After he finished speaking, he got up and walked out of the conference room, looking somewhat dejected.

As Li Yong watched Tang Guoxing's retreating figure, a thought suddenly occurred to him: Did President Tang foresee this day coming?

He left the meeting room and saw Zhao Zhigang's brother-in-law, Ma Qiang, downstairs.

The other person came running over excitedly and said, "Manager Li, my brother-in-law is here. He said he'd like to invite you to lunch."

"Director Zhao, what brings you here? Sure, it's been a while! Let's get together. By the way, who's joining us for lunch?"

Zhao Zhigang had already been transferred from the county agricultural machinery office to the city, but Li Yong wasn't about to turn his back on him, so he immediately agreed.

Li Yong asked again who else was at the lunch party, and Ma Qiang leaned over and whispered something. Li Yong's expression changed drastically.

Meanwhile, Gu Tong was preparing lunch.

The Jin Feng Group incident has greatly impacted him, but he currently has no way to deal with it.

With their limited strength, the four of them couldn't possibly manage to drive away the tiger at the front door and keep the wolf away at the back.

Gu Tong simply put the matter aside. After returning from the fields, he fed the horses and sheep as usual, and then went to check on the four [Western Region Purple Grass] plants that had been divided. It was getting closer to noon.

He picked some green peppers and tomatoes from the vegetable garden and was about to go to the kitchen when he saw Liang Qin, Station Chief Yu, and Liu Cheng walk in together.

"Liang Qin, Station Master Yu, Technician Liu, what brings you all together?"

"It's all about the competition. We just went to your field, and your rapeseed is growing really well!"

Station Master Yu then spoke up, and Liu Cheng nodded in agreement.

Liang Qin then added, "The selection process has officially begun. Gu Tong, when are you harvesting your rapeseed? The county will send people to conduct on-site evaluations when you harvest, so don't forget!"

"Okay, I've got it. My rapeseed harvest season is in the next couple of days, and I'll let you know in advance."

Gu Tong has been in no mood to think about the evaluation lately, but thankfully someone came to remind her.

"Okay, you're busy, we're leaving."

Station Master Yu turned and left, and Liu Cheng quickly followed, not giving Gu Tong a chance to ask for a meal.

Liang Qin lagged a few steps behind and whispered about Jinfeng Group's entry into Nasu, and even specifically pointed out Jinfeng Group's agricultural machinery service prices.

When Gu Tong heard that the harvesting fee was 50 yuan per mu, he couldn't help but purse his lips.

He silently adjusted his previous plans in his mind. The keynote of the future was to survive, to survive the clash between Jinfeng Group and Honghe.

the next day.

Gu Tong went to the rapeseed field as soon as it was light. His eyes were filled with golden pods, and he knew that the time for harvesting had come.

He then returned home, called Dong Jun, and began making preparations.

Once everything was ready, he sent messages to Station Chief Yu and Liang Qin, informing them that he would be harvesting rapeseed at 10:00 AM.

Shortly after, both replied to the message, saying that the assessors would arrive at Gu Tong's rapeseed field before 10 o'clock.

9:45 a.m.

Gu Tong drove the combine harvester to the edge of the field, where Dong Jun and two assessors were already waiting.