Shen Tingzhou started with the planting base. He found that although the base was quite large, there was still room for improvement in variety selection and planting techniques. Together with Lin Wanqiu, he visited experts at the Provincial Academy of Agricultural Sciences many times and introduced a number of high-quality wheat, miscellaneous grains and vegetable varieties. These varieties not only had high yields and good quality, but also strong disease resistance, making them very suitable for the local climate and soil conditions.

To promote new planting techniques, Shen Tingzhou personally stayed at the planting base, teaching the villagers how to fertilize scientifically, irrigate properly, and prevent and control pests and diseases. He also established strict quality standards, requiring all crops to be grown according to green food standards and strictly prohibiting the use of pesticides and chemical fertilizers.

"Fellow villagers, the success of 'Natural Taste' today is inseparable from your support," Shen Tingzhou said, standing on the edge of the field to the villagers who had gathered around. "Now we have introduced new varieties and technologies. As long as you plant according to the requirements, you can not only increase the yield but also sell at a better price. In the future, we will also establish an agricultural product traceability system to ensure that consumers can eat with peace of mind and that everyone's income is more secure."

The villagers have complete trust in Shen Tingzhou. Over the years, Lin Wanqiu has led everyone to prosperity, while Shen Tingzhou has quietly protected the village's peace and helped them solve many difficulties. Now, with Shen Tingzhou personally guiding the planting, everyone is even more motivated and has expressed their determination to strictly follow the requirements to grow the best agricultural products.

Thanks to Shen Tingzhou's efforts, the yield and quality of the planting base have improved significantly. What was once saline-alkali land has now been transformed into fertile fields yielding thousands of kilograms per mu, not only meeting the raw material needs of three food processing plants but also being sold to surrounding provinces and cities, making it a well-known green agricultural product production base.

Having resolved the raw material issue, Shen Tingzhou turned his attention to the food processing plants. He discovered that while the factories' production processes were relatively standardized, there was room for improvement in safety and cost control. He personally led a team to conduct a comprehensive inspection of the three factories, identifying potential safety hazards and developing detailed rectification plans.

In terms of cost control, Shen Tingzhou introduced the military's refined management model, conducting rigorous accounting for every step of the production process to eliminate waste. He also optimized supply chain management, establishing long-term and stable cooperative relationships with raw material suppliers to reduce procurement costs.

"Cost control is not about cutting corners, but about improving resource utilization efficiency while ensuring quality," Shen Tingzhou said at the factory's employee meeting. "We must ensure that every penny is spent wisely so that we can remain invincible in the fierce market competition and continuously improve everyone's wages and benefits."

The employees highly approve of Shen Tingzhou's management methods. Under his leadership, the factory's production efficiency increased by 20%, production costs decreased by 15%, and the product qualification rate reached 100%. Everyone's wages and benefits also improved significantly, and many employees bought houses and cars in the city, living a comfortable life.

At the same time, Lin Wanqiu was also actively expanding the market. She led her sales team to participate in food expos across the country, promoting "Natural Flavor" products to a wider market. She also keenly recognized the potential of e-commerce, establishing a dedicated e-commerce department and opening an online flagship store to sell products nationwide through online platforms.

However, market expansion was not without its challenges. The rapid development of "Natural Flavor" aroused jealousy and exclusion from its competitors. In order to seize market share, a large food company did not hesitate to lower prices, engage in malicious competition, and spread rumors that "Natural Flavor" products contained preservatives and additives that were harmful to human health.

As soon as the rumors spread, "Natural Flavor" sales plummeted, many distributors demanded refunds, and negative reviews on online stores increased. Lin Wanqiu was extremely anxious as she watched the sales figures on the report continue to decline.

Upon learning of the situation, Shen Tingzhou immediately comforted her, saying, "Wanqiu, don't worry. If you're upright, you have nothing to fear. Our products are of excellent quality and can withstand scrutiny. The most important thing now is to remain calm, produce evidence, and refute the rumors."

While arranging for the factory to open its production process to the public and inviting media and consumer representatives to visit and inspect, he also contacted authoritative testing institutions to conduct comprehensive testing on all "Natural Taste" products. The test results showed that all products contained no preservatives or additives, and all indicators met national food safety standards.

Shen Tingzhou also leveraged his connections within the military to contact multiple media outlets and expose the spreaders of the rumors. The food company that engaged in malicious competition not only faced penalties from market regulators but also suffered a sharp drop in sales due to reputational damage.

Following this incident, the brand awareness of "Natural Taste" not only did not decline, but actually increased further. Consumers have greater recognition of the product quality and brand reputation of "Natural Taste," and sales have rebounded rapidly, even surpassing previous levels.

"Tingzhou, we really owe you a lot this time." Lin Wanqiu looked at the rebounding sales report and was filled with gratitude. "I really don't know what I would have done without you."

Shen Tingzhou held her hand and said gently, "We are husband and wife, and we should share joys and sorrows. No matter what difficulties we encounter in the future, we will face them together and we will definitely overcome them."

Thanks to the joint efforts of Shen Tingzhou and Lin Wanqiu, "Natural Flavor" is experiencing rapid growth. They have established sales branches in multiple provinces and cities across the country, and their products have not only entered large supermarkets and shopping malls but have also been exported overseas. Their planting base has also expanded further, boosting the income of farmers in several surrounding villages and becoming a model for rural revitalization in the area.

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