I slept with my sister's classmate, and she turned out to be my boss.

Even after the announcement of the guaranteed price, the price of Codonopsis pilosula continued to fall.

The closing price that day was nearly 10% lower than before the announcement.

Market sentiment did not immediately stabilize because of the announcement.

Some farmers who followed the trend and expanded planting at high prices are still observing, while others have already begun to panic.

He Ying sat at her desk in the Party School dormitory, her notebook open in front of her, filled with the key points of her calls and to-do items from the past few days.

On the computer screen was an open document titled "Emergency Work Log for the Codonopsis pilosula Industry in Qingshun County," containing dozens of records arranged by date and department.

She glanced at the time: 9:40 PM.

She rubbed her temples, picked up her phone, and sent a message to Wang Desheng, the director of the Agriculture Bureau: "Have the signing rates for each town been tallied today?"

It took less than two minutes.

Wang Desheng's reply popped up:

"The statistics are in, and we are currently compiling them."

Currently, Shimen Township has the highest signing rate, exceeding 80%.

The figure for Shuangqiao Town is slightly lower, around 70%.

The lowest percentage was in Liuhe Town, less than 60%.

Farmers are still observing, mainly worried that Guangjitang might not actually buy their produce at the guaranteed price.

He Ying did not reply immediately after reading the message.

She first wrote down the numbers in her notebook, and then drew a line under the three characters "Liuhe Town".

Then she found Du Yuming's number and pressed the call button.

The phone rang once and was answered.

"Secretary, I was just about to call you. The contract signing data for Liuhe Town is out, and it's indeed too low."

"Have you investigated the cause?"

"After some initial investigation, it appears that several large-scale farmers in Liuhe Town had previously established private agreements with buyers from other regions."

Now that the market has collapsed, they are unsure whether Guangjitang's guaranteed price will affect the contracts they have already signed.

In addition, Liuhe Town's industrial base was not as solid as that of Shuangqiao Town and Shimen Township, resulting in farmers having a relatively lower understanding of the policies.

After listening, He Ying remained silent for two seconds before speaking:

"First, the county should issue a written statement clarifying that the guaranteed minimum purchase price does not conflict with other purchase channels—farmers can choose freely."

Secondly, the village-level cadres in Liuhe Town will begin visiting each household tomorrow. They don't need to bring everyone to the signing ceremony, but at least they need to ensure that every farmer knows their contract will not be affected by other agreements.

Du Yuming responded with a "yes" on the other end of the phone:

"Okay, I'll make the arrangements first thing tomorrow morning."

"besides……"

He Ying added another sentence:

"How's the progress on the finance department's policy regarding deferred loan repayments?"

"Zhao Zhijing met with two credit unions this afternoon. They agreed in principle to postpone the repayment deadline, but they need a formal guarantee letter from the county."

Zhao Zhijing is drafting it; a first draft should be available by tomorrow morning.

"Okay, have her send me the first draft as soon as possible."

After hanging up the phone.

He Ying wrote down the key points of the call in her notebook:

"The signing rate in Liuhe Town is relatively low."

Reason: Farmers have doubts about the contract.

Solution: Written explanation + door-to-door visits.

Loan repayment deferral: The first draft of the guarantee letter will be available tomorrow.

She's been working at a high intensity these past few days—

I teach during the day and coordinate matters in the county at night, often working until the early hours of the morning before I can sleep.

After a while.

She sat up straight again, picked up her phone, opened Mr. Liu's WeChat account at Guangjitang, and typed a line:

"Mr. Liu, the contract template has been sent to all the townships."

Several farmers who had previously signed contracts with out-of-town buyers are worried about potential contract conflicts. The county is issuing a written explanation, which is expected to be distributed to the farmers tomorrow afternoon.

Mr. Liu quickly replied: "I saw it. The acquisition of Guangjitang is ready and can be started at any time."

He Ying felt a little more at ease after seeing the phrase "can be started at any time," and replied:

"Okay, thank you for your hard work, Mr. Liu."

She glanced at the time displayed on her phone—

10:23 PM.

She turned to another page of her notebook and listed several to-do items under "Tomorrow":

1. Follow up on Mr. Liu's preparations for the guaranteed price acquisition;

2. Verify the initial draft of the loan repayment deferral policy provided by Zhao Zhijing;

III. Promote the implementation of farmers' freedom of contract in Liuhe Town.

After finishing listing everything, she closed her laptop, shut down the computer, and then stood up to wash up and prepare for rest.

She lay in bed, her mind still racing with thoughts of the ginseng, and it took her a while to fall asleep.

……

On Friday afternoon, He Ying's class ended a period earlier than usual.

Instead of returning to her dormitory, she went to the school gate to pick up Chen Dapeng.

Chen Dapeng came from the provincial capital today.

When he walked out of the station.

He Ying was standing under the streetlight waiting for him, wearing a light-colored thick coat and a scarf wrapped tightly around her, only her face showing.

When Chen Dapeng walked up to her, he paused for a moment.

She had lost weight, and her eye sockets had sunken a bit.

He didn't say anything, but simply put his arm around her shoulder naturally.

"Sister Ying, let's go eat first."

He Ying glanced at him, her lips curving slightly, but she didn't say anything more and got into the taxi with him.

Chen Dapeng booked a small restaurant not far from the school in advance.

He ordered a few light dishes and a bowl of pork rib soup.

As the dishes were served one after another.

He first ladled a bowl of soup for her and placed it in front of her:

"Sister Ying, have some soup to warm your stomach first."

He Ying lowered her head and took a few sips. The soup was at the perfect temperature, fresh but not greasy.

She slowly drank half a bowl, then put down the bowl, picked up a piece of green vegetable with her chopsticks, and chewed it for a long time.

Chen Dapeng sat opposite her, not urging her, and slowly ate a piece of food himself.

He noticed that she only picked up food three times, and only touched a small portion of the rice in her bowl.

He then placed another piece of fish in her bowl.

She glanced down at it, didn't refuse, picked it up and ate it, but ate very slowly.

Chen Dapeng put down his chopsticks and looked at her:

"Sister Ying, how long has it been since you had a full night's sleep?"

He Ying paused for a moment, holding the chopsticks, and did not answer immediately.

She looked down at the half-eaten piece of fish left in the bowl, and after a few seconds spoke:

"It'll be fine once I'm done with this in the next few days."

Chen Dapeng didn't press for details, nor did he say anything like "Don't overwork yourself."

He simply picked up her bowl and ladled half a bowl of soup in front of her.

"Sister Ying, finish your soup first."

He Ying glanced at him, the corners of her mouth curved slightly, but she didn't say anything. She picked up the soup bowl and slowly finished drinking it.

After finishing the meal, we paid the bill.

Chen Dapeng led her out of the small restaurant.

Chen Dapeng walked beside her, slowing his pace to match her rhythm.

He Ying didn't say anything, she just walked quietly.

Chen Dapeng didn't say anything, he just quietly held her hand.

We walked for a while longer.

He Ying slowed her pace and spoke first:

"Prices have been falling these past few days, but fortunately, after the guaranteed price was issued, the farmers' emotions have basically stabilized."

The signing process is underway, and the loan postponement is being coordinated.

Once I get through this, I'll be at ease.

Chen Dapeng turned his head to look at her and comforted her:

"Sister Ying, you've done everything you could. It's just a matter of time."

He Ying didn't reply, but rested her head on his shoulder.

It was almost nine o'clock when we got back to the hotel.

He Ying leaned quietly against the pillow, without moving.

Chen Dapeng leaned down next to her and put his arm around her shoulder.

He Ying nestled into his arms, her forehead resting against his shoulder, her voice low:

"Dapeng, you come here every weekend, aren't you tired?"

"Not tired."

Chen Dapeng tightened his arms around her, looking distressed.

"I won't feel at ease if you're here and I don't come."

He Ying did not speak again.

She leaned back quietly for a while, her breathing gradually becoming steady.

Chen Dapeng looked down and saw that she had her eyes closed, as if she was about to fall asleep.

He didn't wake her, but simply reached out and dimmed the bedside lamp a little.

Then keep that position so she can lean against it comfortably.

After an unknown amount of time, He Ying's voice came softly:

"Dapeng, what time is your train the day after tomorrow?"

"Four o'clock in the afternoon."

"There's still plenty of time, you can spend more time with me."

"Um."

She snuggled closer to him and didn't say anything more.

Chen Dapeng lowered his head and placed a very light kiss on the top of her head, then closed his eyes as well.