In the spring of 1981, Zhan Chunlan went to Huaguo Agricultural Products Import and Export Corporation for an internship on the recommendation of her mentor.

The warehouse was stuffy like a steamer. Zhan Chunlan came to check the inventory. She squatted in the last row, looking at the burlap sack in front of her. The sack was open, and the gray-green dried ferns had a unique dried vegetable smell that she actually quite liked.

"Sent from the Northeast?" she asked the storekeeper.

"Yes, 480 tons. It was put into storage last year, and no one has asked about it since." The old warehouse keeper patted the sacks with a palm-leaf fan, raising a cloud of dust. "No one wants to eat it domestically, and there's no port for export. It's just waiting to be composted."

She reached out and picked up a fern to examine it closely. Its color was a natural golden brown, and each one was neatly arranged without any broken pieces. It felt dry and supple in her hand, and upon closer inspection, it had a rich, unique aroma of sun-dried food. In her opinion, it certainly looked quite appealing.

480 tons. Zhan Chunlan quickly calculated in her mind: at a purchase price of 20 yuan per ton, that's 9,600 yuan; warehouse storage fees of 1,200 yuan for two years; plus interest and losses—the state has already spent more than 10,000 yuan on this pile of "straw".

Just three days ago, she found a 1977 photocopy of the Japanese newspaper "Food Times" in the department's archives, and one line in it made her heart race:

"The port price of boiled Hokkaido bracken (also known as Chinese fern) is US$6.2 per kilogram, with a shortage of 8,000 tons per year."

$6.20 – equivalent to RMB 9.3 per kilogram at the official exchange rate of 1:1.5 in 1979; while in domestic warehouses, this pile of "straw" was only worth 2 cents per gram.

At 10 p.m., the office lights came on dimly, and Zhan Chunlan was writing furiously at her desk:

Feasibility Report on Exporting Stockpiled Dried Bracken Ferns to Japan to Generate Foreign Exchange

In this report, Zhan Chunlan analyzed in detail why dried bracken fern can be exported, the quality advantages of dried bracken fern from China, and economic benefit forecasts.

On the third page of the report, she listed three tables:

A. Price list - Tokyo retail price: US$12/kg, CIF price: US$6.2/kg, our ex-factory price is US$4 (including reprocessing costs).

b. Cost sheet – Reprocessing fee of 25 yuan per ton (sorting, rehydration, sulfur bleaching, vacuum packaging), which can add 1200 US dollars.

c. Gap Table – Of the existing 480 tons, 320 tons have a handle diameter exceeding 0.6 cm, requiring secondary cutting; the breakage rate is 8%, requiring color sorting and hand picking.

Finally, she offered the following implementation suggestions: immediately take samples for testing and obtain an export health permit; contact Japanese trading companies to send samples; improve packaging to meet Japanese market standards; and strive for a booth at the autumn trade fair.

After the report was submitted, it did not immediately receive attention from the leadership. The country needs to import a lot of grain and export a lot of goods. She was just a junior intern, and her first report was bound to be overlooked.

Unbeknownst to her, her report had already sparked a heated debate among her superiors.

They were mainly divided into two camps. One camp was the "Foreign Exchange First Team," which believed that since the country was currently facing a shortage of foreign exchange, anything that was reasonable and legal and could generate foreign exchange could be sold. The other camp was the "Face Above All Else Team," which believed that exporting things like dried ferns to other countries would be an insult to the image of a great power and would not help to build a national image.

The two sides were deadlocked and neither could convince the other. They had held several meetings, large and small, but made absolutely no progress.

Zhan Chunlan thought that the leader had not read it at all, or that he thought her report was not feasible, so she did not care. After all, it was just an idea.

To everyone's surprise, almost a month later, she was called to the conference room to answer her questions about her report in detail.

Zhan Chunlan entered the conference room and saw that the room was full of people.

“Distinguished leaders,” she began, her voice clear and steady, “please allow me to add a few key data points.”

She walked to the blackboard and wrote several lines of numbers in chalk:

"Last year, my country spent US$1.87 billion in foreign exchange on wheat imports. If only 100 tons of the 480 tons of dried bracken fern here are successfully exported, it will bring in US$400,000 in foreign exchange, enough to import 2,000 tons of high-quality wheat."

A leader wearing glasses pushed up his glasses and asked, "Comrade Zhan, are you sure the Japanese market will accept our products?"

Zhan Chunlan took out several sealed bags from her canvas bag and distributed them to the leaders present: "These are small samples that I reprocessed according to Japanese standards after taking samples from the warehouse. I have already asked a colleague in the department who understands Japanese to help me send them to three Japanese trading companies."

"We've received some good news: Yamada Trading Co., Ltd. has indicated that if the quality remains stable, they are willing to place a trial order of 20 tons..."

Whispers filled the meeting room. Then, an older, silent leader spoke up: "Xiao Zhan, tell me, why are the Japanese willing to pay such a high price for our wild mountain vegetables?"

Zhan Chunlan smiled slightly: "Leader, on the one hand, it shows that our national image is improving. Japanese consumers are willing to pay a premium for natural foods made in China, which is an affirmation of the quality of our agricultural products."

"On the other hand, their countries are developing rapidly, and they are no longer satisfied with just having enough to eat. They also demand to eat well, and these wild delicacies from our country are rare natural foods for them."

She opened another document: "In fact, Japan has very strict food safety standards. The fact that our dried bracken fern can pass their inspection is itself a shining national symbol."

One of the leaders of the "face-saving team" frowned and said, "But it makes foreigners think we can only export wild vegetables..."

“Leader,” Zhan Chunlan replied calmly, “the French export truffles, the Italians export balsamic vinegar—these are their pride. Why can’t our dried bracken fern become a distinctive symbol of China?”

The section chief finally made the decision: "Let's do as Xiao Zhan said and try one ton first. But," he looked at Zhan Chunlan, "you will be in charge of the whole process."

For the next month, Zhan Chunlan practically lived in the processing workshop. She led the workers in repeated experiments:

Selection criteria: Only tender shoots are selected, with a length controlled between 8-10 cm.

Rehydration process: Water temperature must be controlled at 40 degrees Celsius, and the time must be accurate to the second.

Sulfur bleaching process: Sulfur dioxide residue must be lower than Japanese standards.

Vacuum-packed: 100 grams per bag, with an error margin of no more than 2 grams.

On the day the first batch of samples was shipped to Japan, Zhan Chunlan stood at the dock for a long time. The sea breeze ruffled her hair, and she knew in her heart that this was not just the journey of a ton of dried bracken, but also an important attempt for Chinese agricultural products to go global.

A month later, a telegram arrived: "The sample passed inspection. Yamada Trading Co., Ltd. has ordered 50 tons and requires delivery within three months."

The section chief's hand trembled slightly as he held the telegram. He looked at Zhan Chunlan, this young woman in her early twenties, who had actually accomplished it.

“Xiao Zhan,” he took a deep breath, “the remaining 430 tons are also yours.”