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

Five days later, the decline in the price of Codonopsis pilosula finally narrowed.

The closing price that day was less than two points lower than the previous day.

Although it is still falling, it is no longer the precipitous drop it experienced a few days ago.

Trading volume also began to rebound, with buyers tentatively placing orders at low prices.

The market is finally beginning to find a new equilibrium.

Mr. Liu stood at the entrance of the temporary prefabricated house at the Guangjitang Qingshun production base project site, holding his mobile phone and talking to Du Yuming.

His gaze fell on the main structure of the factory building under construction not far away—

The steel structure has been erected, and workers are installing the roof panels. The crane slowly rotates in the air, delivering bundles of materials to designated locations.

"County Chief Du, my unit is already operating at full capacity, with a daily processing capacity of over ten tons, and we are still adding new equipment."

The third drying line has been installed and tested, and will be put into production this afternoon.

Du Yuming asked a question on the other end of the phone:

"Was the equipment debugging successful?"

"Smooth sailing. The technicians were transferred from the main factory, so there shouldn't be any major problems."

"Okay, once the factory is completed and put into operation, the output can double again."

Mr. Liu responded:

"The prediction was too conservative."

Judging from the purchase situation in the past two days, the amount of goods that farmers have is larger than we expected.

If the signing rate can increase further, I'll need to add another drying line to ensure the acquisition process doesn't lead to inventory buildup.

Du Yuming paused for a moment: "The signing rate is already going up."

The Liuhe Town side followed up yesterday and is catching up on the progress.

I'll send you the new preliminary data as soon as possible, so you can prepare for capacity expansion in advance.

"Okay, I'll wait for your data."

After hanging up the phone, Mr. Liu watched the activity on the construction site for a while longer.

Several workers are welding a steel frame.

The engineer who was commissioning the new equipment came out of the side door of the factory and gave him a "everything is normal" gesture.

……

at the same time.

In the village committee office of Dawancun Village, Shimen Township, several village officials were checking the list of signed contracts separately.

A thick stack of contracts lay on the table, each stamped and neatly arranged according to village group.

A handwritten progress chart was posted on the wall.

The number in the "Number of Signed Contracts" column is being filled in, one cell at a time.

Zhang Degui sat in the courtyard with a newly signed contract spread out in front of him.

He didn't rush to put the contract away, but instead turned to the last page and looked at the bright red seal and the guaranteed price figure again.

My nephew was squatting on the threshold, holding a signed contract in his hand.

"Uncle, look at this, it's real, isn't it?"

"real."

"Then our loan..."

"Let's wait and see what the county says."

The two did not speak again.

Zhang Degui folded the contract and put it in the inside pocket of his coat, then made a phone call to his son who was working in another city.

"The contract is signed, so don't worry."

The centralized signing point in Shuangqiao Town was set up in the town government's conference room.

The long table was filled with people on both sides; some were filling out forms, while others were checking the contents of contracts with their neighbors.

Xiao Zhou from the Agriculture Bureau stood by the table, bending over to explain the terms and conditions to an elderly farmer, line by line.

"Uncle, this is the guaranteed minimum price, this is the acquisition standard, and this is the payment schedule. Is there anything you don't understand?"

The farmer held the contract close to his eyes and examined it for a long time before nodding and saying:

"Okay, I'll sign it then."

Xiao Zhou handed him a pen and watched him scribble his name in a crooked manner.

She didn't stop all afternoon.

……

The progress in Liuhe Town began to catch up on the third day.

The town mayor personally led several village-level cadres to visit households.

In the homes of several large-scale farmers.

They spent nearly an hour explaining the policy details regarding the guaranteed minimum price.

"The contracts signed by other acquirers are not conflicting; you can choose for yourselves."

"Guangjitang was introduced by the county government and is not affiliated with those out-of-town buyers."

"If we sign a contract with a guaranteed minimum price, no matter how much the market drops, someone will buy your goods at the contract price."

One large-scale farmer who had initially been hesitant did not immediately express his opinion after hearing the story, but called the village secretary that evening:

"I'll go sign it tomorrow."

Thursday afternoon.

Du Yuming obtained the contract signing data compiled from various townships.

"Shimen Township 89%"

"Shuangqiao Town 86%"

"Liuhe Town 74%"

……

"Secretary, the signing rate has exceeded 80% today."

Shimen Township 89%, Shuangqiao Town 86%, Liuhe Town 74%...

The overall signing rate in the county was 82%.

Liuhe Town is still catching up and is expected to catch up next week.

The acquisition of Guangjitang has been fully launched. General Manager Liu said the third drying line will go into production this afternoon.

At that moment, He Ying was sitting in a classroom at the Party School when her phone screen lit up.

Her gaze lingered on the number "82%" for a moment.

Then he leaned back in his chair and let out a long sigh.

She didn't reply during class; instead, she turned her phone face down on the table and continued listening to the lecture.

It wasn't until after class that everyone gradually got up and started to leave.

She then picked up her phone again and sent a message to Du Yuming:

"Keep pushing forward, and strive for full coverage by the end of the month. Make sure farmers have their contracts secure."

In addition, we need to keep a close eye on Liuhe Town; the progress gap can't be too large.

After sending it.

She put her phone back in her pocket, packed up her textbooks and notebooks, and left the classroom.

I stood in the corridor for a moment, then turned and walked towards the cafeteria.

She sat down by the window with her tray, and just as she picked up a piece of rice with her chopsticks, her phone vibrated again.

She put down her chopsticks, picked them up, and glanced at them. It was a message from President Liu.

"Secretary He, the latest progress on the factory construction and production line information has been sent to the county."

Based on the current pace of signings and acquisitions, I suggest that the second phase of expansion be initiated in the first half of the year.

He Ying did not reply immediately after reading the line of text.

Send me a preliminary plan for the second phase of the project.

At the same time, copies were sent to County Head Du and the Development and Reform Bureau, instructing them to coordinate land use and environmental impact assessments in advance.

Mr. Liu quickly replied with a single word:

"it is good."

He Ying put her phone back on the table and slowly drank her soup.

After finishing her soup, she picked up a piece of food with her chopsticks before lowering her head to continue eating.

Back in my dorm, I turned on my computer and read through the first draft of the second phase plan that Mr. Liu had sent me.

The plan is very pragmatic, without too much fluff, covering aspects such as production capacity, land use, investment scale, and expected returns.

Each item is listed clearly.

After reading it, she added a few comments at the end of the document, then forwarded it to Du Yuming with a sentence:

"I've reviewed the second phase of the plan, and the direction is correct. We'll have the Development and Reform Bureau conduct a preliminary land use review simultaneously, and the environmental impact assessment should be initiated early."

She closed her notebook and sat quietly in her chair for a while.

Then he picked up his phone and sent a message to Chen Dapeng:

"The data reported by County Chief Du today shows that the signing rate is 82%, and the acquisition of Guangjitang has been fully launched."

This hurdle is pretty much over.