After reciting a list of fruits, President Fang concluded, "Your backyard is an orchard! With so many fruits, you'll have fruit to eat all year round."

He had only seen some of these fruits in books, and he never expected that the Gao family would have them. This trip was definitely worthwhile.

Upon hearing this, Gao Shujing, who had just washed his hands and entered, said, "We only planted one or two of each type of fruit, just to satisfy the children's cravings."

President Fang reached out, picked a bright red cherry, examined it for a moment, and then put it in his mouth.

President Fang: "Mmm, sweet and fragrant. This is the first time I've ever tasted something so precious in my life. Now I have another thing to brag about to others. This trip was worthwhile."

Gao Shujing: "Brother Fang, take some back with you later."

President Fang: "Absolutely. We need to bring not only cherries, but also grapes, bayberries, and lychees. Please pack less, as it would be a waste if we packed too much and they went bad. I'll come back to your house to pick more after I've finished eating them."

He's from a big city, he's been married, and he has a son.

He was transferred to the Tongfeng Brigade, where conditions were harsh. His wife stayed at the brigade for a while but couldn't adapt, so she took their son and returned to the city.

He worked diligently in the Tongfeng Brigade for several years, only to find his home had been robbed when he returned home. He got divorced and never remarried, and his son lived with his parents in the city.

Yu Rujia handed a basket to President Fang: "President, pick whichever one you like, and we'll pack it in a box later."

President Fang took the basket: "I won't stand on ceremony, thank you Yu, the educated youth."

After picking a few cherries, Director Fang asked, "Shujing, you have so many fruit trees here. How about distributing a type of fruit to each brigade?"

If every brigade could grow fruit as abundantly as the fruit trees in the Gao family's grove, the Dongyuan Commune's revenue could at least double.

Gao Shujing: "Branching is not a problem, but this kind of fruit tree takes several years to bear fruit, so it requires a lot of effort, unlike watermelons, which can be harvested in a few months."

"Furthermore, fruit trees cannot be planted on existing farmland; they need to be reclaimed. Are those production brigades capable of doing that?"

Planting fruit is easy, but waiting for it to bear fruit is difficult. If something goes wrong in the middle, there will be no harvest at all. Most production brigades will not choose this kind of project.

When Captain Huang first started planting oranges, he faced numerous obstacles. He had to use all his persuasive skills and carefully tend to the trees for several years before he finally reaped the rewards.

That's why, when Captain Huang learned that the Yu family had all kinds of fruit, he never thought of planting them on a large scale in the team.

With a crop of watermelons harvested several times a year, who would be willing to spend several years planting a new fruit with an uncertain future? With that energy, it's better to plant more watermelons.

President Fang had obviously thought of this as well, and changed the subject: "Are there any revenue-generating projects as convenient as watermelons?"

Watermelons don't require much care, have a short harvest period, and are easy to harvest, making this type of project easier to promote.

Gao Shujing: "There are annual fruits, but affordable items like watermelons are no longer available."

President Fang: "Tell me about it."

Gao Shujing: "There are strawberries and cherry tomatoes. They're planted in the vegetable garden over there. Do you want to go take a look?"

President Fang strode towards the vegetable garden: "Come on, I've never heard of cherry tomatoes. I've heard strawberries are quite precious. Are they easy to grow?"

Gao Shujing: "Cherry tomatoes taste somewhat similar to tomatoes, but they are much smaller. They are sweet and sour, juicy, and have a soft and smooth texture."

"Whether it's strawberries or cherry tomatoes, they require more effort than watermelons, and the yield is much lower."

As the two were talking, they arrived at the vegetable garden.

President Fang immediately noticed the pile of strawberries spread out on the ground, some green and some red: "Didn't you say the yield wasn't high? What's this?"

If this production volume is achieved, strawberries can definitely be promoted.

Gao Shujing: "The things I grow in my backyard are taken care of by my six children every day. The fruit trees don't need much care; they just need to be watered and fertilized occasionally. They focus on the vegetable garden, burying wood ash every three to five days."

"If the team were to cultivate a large quantity of crops, would they put in as much effort as my family? Do they have that much wood ash?"

They actually bury the wood ash in their house once a month, mainly relying on the spirit-gathering array.

Gao Shujing deliberately mentioned fertilizing so frequently so that President Fang would understand that the yield of strawberries grown on a large scale would be much lower than that of his family's.

Unlike the production team, the Yu family didn't use "rice sludge" in their vegetable garden. Their toilet, like those in the city, had a rice sludge basin. Every time they went to the toilet, they just flushed it with water, so there was no "rice sludge".

The Yu family's vegetable garden is only a little over 100 square meters, about two fen (0.02 hectares), and there is enough wood ash for cooking at home.

If it were planted on a large plot of land, fertilizing once a month would be enough, and without a spirit-gathering array, the yield would probably not even reach half of what his family produces.

President Fang: "No wonder your vegetables are so fresh and juicy, you've used so much fertilizer."

After speaking, he squatted down, picked a clean strawberry, and popped it into his mouth. President Fang hesitated for a moment and asked, "If we were to grow strawberries on a large scale outside, what would the yield be?"

Gao Shujing: "If you grow a lot of strawberries outside, the quantity and size of the strawberries will be much worse than the ones we carefully cultivate at home. Each plant can only produce about eight strawberries, which is about one or two ounces."

Director Fang didn't need to do the math to know that the yield was much lower than that of watermelons. No wonder he had never heard of Shangfen Brigade growing strawberries. These things are too precious. After half a year of hard work, they only produce one or two ounces, which are eaten up in a few bites.

President Fang then asked more detailed questions about strawberries and cherry tomatoes.

Finally, I ordered some strawberry and cherry tomato seeds from Gao Shujing and left with a box of fruit.

Yu Rujia: "President Liu achieved a lot during his tenure, so President Fang was under a lot of pressure."

Very few villages in the countryside have electricity, but they achieved this seven or eight years ago, which is a big step forward for them.

Although the main force in bringing the electricity to power was Captain Fang and Gao Shujing, the leaders at that time were Director Liu and Secretary Yuan.

If President Fang hadn't achieved anything new during his tenure, relying on past achievements wouldn't have taken him very far; otherwise, he wouldn't have personally come to Gao Shujing's door.

Gao Shujing: "He has just taken office, there is no need to rush these things. The situation is changing, and with his intelligence, he will definitely be able to find new achievements."

“He’s not that old, not even forty yet, so he should be able to climb a few more steps in his career without any problem.”

That's true. In a few years, a huge wave will sweep the country. If he can seize the opportunity, he won't have to worry about not achieving anything.

After that, President Fang would come every few days to ask Gao Shujing some questions, and sometimes he would take away some fruit tree branches, such as grapevines, which can be grown as long as there are vines.

It seems he's determined to pursue his fruit business to the end.

However, if he really does it well, he'll definitely be able to catch a good wave when it comes a few years later.