Less than two hundred meters after leaving the groundbreaking ceremony site, the villagers disappeared into the waist-high grass on both sides of the road. When they came out again, they were carrying a huge basket on their backs, inside which was a bulging snakeskin bag tied with a red rope, nearly twenty centimeters taller than their heads.

The leaders of Honghe City had never seen such a scene before and couldn't help but ask curiously, "What are they carrying in the baskets on their backs? What are they planning to do?"

“They must be carrying potatoes,” Li Sixin quickly explained. “Boss Xu signed contracts with various villages yesterday to purchase potatoes, and twenty tons of potatoes need to be collected today and shipped to Haishi.”

"That's a good thing!" The leader of Honghe City nodded in praise, then turned to Xu An and praised him again, "Mr. Xu is truly a man of action! I only heard about your plan to purchase 100 tons of potatoes yesterday, and you've already taken action. You're a promising young man!"

"No, no," Xu An said modestly. "It's just that our partners need it urgently, so I can only trouble everyone to speed things up a bit."

"A hundred tons of potatoes are not easy to store. Mr. Xu, have you made the arrangements?"

"It's all arranged. There are many vacant cellars in the surrounding villages."

As they chatted, the village road of Hezibao came into view. Just then, two dilapidated tricycles drove past on the village road and sped toward the wide dirt road outside the village entrance.

"Everyone's really hardworking! They've already taken their farm tools and gone to the fields to get busy!" The leader of Honghe City exclaimed again upon seeing this. After speaking, he noticed a hint of hesitation in Li Sixin's eyes and immediately asked again, "Secretary Li, could it be that they're not going to the fields?"

"Hmm," Li Sixin thought for a moment and then shook his head decisively, "It's really not like that. With Boss Xu's help in sales, all the crops in the fields were harvested early on, and now they are almost sold out."

"Oh," the Honghe City leader persisted, "So, did they go out to do odd jobs?"

"No, they went to patrol the roads!" Li Sixin succinctly explained the reason:

“A few days ago, a large truck loaded with building materials got stuck in a pothole halfway through the road and couldn’t get out. People from several villages came to help pull the truck out. This kind of thing happens frequently since there have been more large trucks coming and going. So we discussed it and decided that each village would take turns sending two teams to patrol the road and repair any potholes they see.”

"This is the spirit of ownership!" Upon hearing this, the leaders of Honghe City nodded and gave a definitive conclusion to this behavior.

After turning onto the village road of Hezibao, two bright blue sliding canopies stood prominently in the center of the village.

"Those two azure-blue canopies ahead are the temporary office space for Xu's Catering Food Procurement Factory. They provide shelter from wind and rain, and can also block some snow. The canopies are equipped with lights and small heaters for warmth. The two canopies can accommodate one hundred people at the same time and can handle the packaging and shipping of up to 20,000 orders per day."

"Are these all full-time employees of Xu's Catering Food Procurement Factory? What are their salaries and benefits like?"

"Currently, they are all temporary workers. After the factory is completed, there will be an assessment test. Only those who pass the test will be included in the recruitment scope. The working hours for temporary workers are eight hours, and the daily wage is thirty yuan. If overtime is required, overtime pay will be paid according to the normal working hours."

The Honghe City leader turned to Xu An and asked, "Mr. Xu, what aspect of the test is it focused on?"

"It's a basic literacy and writing test," Xu An explained simply. "Factories use a lot of machinery, and whether it's for operation, use, or for the safety of the workers, literacy is required."

“Yes.” Li Sixin picked up where Xu An left off and continued, “Literacy classes have been set up in Hezibao and the surrounding villages. The villagers are actively participating, and now many villagers have learned how to write their own names and recognize some simple words.”

"This is a good thing." The leaders of Honghe City nodded again.

Spicy hot pot planting area.

"The seedlings of the 'Shuanshuan Chili' cultivated by Professor Wei's team were evenly planted in 147 greenhouses, with a total of 14,170 seedlings. The current survival rate is 91%, far exceeding expectations."

"It is estimated that these 49 mu of land can yield 5 tons of dried chili peppers. According to the purchase price offered by Boss Xu, this output can generate an income of 620,000 yuan. With the presence of greenhouses, it can be cultivated and harvested three times a year."

"That's really great. If this forecast holds true, these 49 households will be able to escape poverty and become prosperous next year!"

After lunch, the leaders of Honghe City bid farewell to everyone and embarked on their journey back to Honghe City with their assistants.

"Xiao Zhou, what are your thoughts on what you saw and heard at Hezibao today?"

"My feelings," Assistant Xiao Zhou replied after a moment's hesitation.

"My impression is quite good. The villagers of Hezibao have great faith in their Party Secretary and respect and cooperate with the owner of Xu's Catering. The surrounding villages are also very united, with no one trying to trip anyone up. From what I saw this morning, Xu's Catering is genuinely cooperating with these villages, and there is a strong sense of mutual trust between them."

"You have a very high opinion of Xu's Catering!" the Honghe City leader said casually with his eyes closed.

"Hehe." Assistant Xiao Zhou scratched his head and chuckled, "The owner and manager of Xu's Catering are both young people. They speak frankly and are easy to communicate with."

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!