Bang, bang, bang.
As a large iron door opened, a warm air instantly emanated from inside, making people feel particularly comfortable in this minus 25℃ weather.
Zeng Jianqing smiled and said to Chen Xia, "Xiao Xia, this is the warehouse where we keep our ginseng. Let's go in and take a look."
Zeng Jianqing, Chen Xia's uncle, is the deputy director of the local ginseng cooperative in Fusong.
After knowing that Chen Xia was going to purchase ginseng, Zeng Jianqing was extremely happy, especially when Chen Xia said that he wanted to purchase a large amount of wild ginseng, Zeng Jianqing simply regarded him not as his nephew-in-law, but as a god of wealth.
You can't blame him for being excited, because although wild ginseng is precious, it is not easy to preserve, and it is difficult to sell in the winter, which has caused headaches for everyone in the ginseng cooperative.
The 1970s and 1980s should be the last peak production period of wild ginseng.
Just like the eventual depletion of yellow croaker resources, in that special era, people across the country were determined to catch up with the UK and the US.
The workers worked overtime day and night, the fishermen fished like crazy, and the farmers could produce more than 200,000 kilograms per mu. When it came to the ginseng farmers' turn, they went crazy looking for wild ginseng.
Although Northeast China was an old industrial base in the 1970s and 1980s, that was the workers' business and the benefits belonged to the workers. The rural areas in Northeast China were still very poor.
Especially at the foot of Changbai Mountain, which is all mountainous and coupled with climate issues, agricultural production is inherently difficult.
There was no tourism industry at that time. The 5A-level Changbai Mountain Scenic Area in later generations had not yet been opened. It was located on the border and was inaccessible to ordinary tourists.
Live by the mountain, live by the water. In addition to wild products, the most famous thing in Changbai Mountain area is ginseng, so a ginseng cooperative was established in Fusong.
Every ginseng farmer has a task. Whoever collects the most ginseng will be the most glorious red flag bearer.
As a result, these ginseng farmers have disregarded the natural laws of ginseng growth and have gone into the mountains to search for and dig ginseng like crazy. As long as it is wild ginseng, no matter how old it is, they will dig it all up without leaving a single blade of grass.
This leads to two consequences.
The immediate consequence is a sudden surge in wild ginseng production, but no way to sell it. The future consequence is the depletion of wild ginseng resources, driving prices sky-high.
For example, in today's world, where everyone is struggling to make ends meet, who has the money to buy wild ginseng for a health boost? Ginseng is good, but it requires money, right?
Therefore, except for a very small number of people who can afford it, most wild ginseng cannot be sold.
The law of market economy is that when supply exceeds demand, the value will inevitably depreciate, even for wild ginseng.
After all, wild ginseng is a precious medicinal material. It is impossible for the ginseng cooperative to sell it in the market like cabbage. Otherwise, the people in Fusong will have nosebleeds every day.
If it cannot be sold, it must be kept well, but the storage of ginseng is a very time-consuming, labor-intensive and costly project.
For example, the suitable storage temperature for wild ginseng is 15-20℃, and the humidity is about 60%-70%.
Too high temperature is conducive to the activity of microorganisms, thereby accelerating the disease and decay of ginseng.
The temperature is too low, in the Northeast in winter, the temperature is dozens of degrees below zero, and the ginseng is frozen like a popsicle. The fatty acids, volatile oils, saponins, etc. contained in the ginseng will undergo chemical reactions, causing the ginseng to deteriorate.
In addition, ginseng is a plant after all, and if it is stored for a long time, it will become moldy or worm-eaten. Once this happens, it will be impossible to sell it even if you want to.
Another consequence of the crazy and massive ginseng harvesting at all costs is that wild ginseng will be almost impossible to find in a few years.
When people have enough money and want to buy some wild ginseng for a tonic, they find it hard to find on the market. But where there is demand and a market, there will inevitably be unscrupulous people who come up with all sorts of crooked methods.
As a result, a large number of fake wild ginseng appeared, such as forest ginseng, garden ginseng, and Russian ginseng, which are relatively good.
What's worse, some people splice ginseng roots, splice ginseng roots, artificially draw patterns, carve patterns, dye, etc., pass off inferior products as good ones, and falsely report age and category.
They will do anything to cheat and deceive.
The customer spent a lot of money to buy fake wild ginseng, but when he took it home and tried it, he found that it had no effect. Then he began to have serious doubts about traditional Chinese medicine.
Without mentioning the past, the camera moves back to the warehouse of the Ginseng Cooperative in 1982.
Not only my uncle Zeng Jianqing was present, but also the director of the cooperative Yu Jinbin and some leaders. As soon as they heard that a big customer was coming, they all waited early.
I thought to myself that no matter what, I must keep this big customer from Zhijiang.
Yu Jinbin saw people coming and hurried forward. Zeng Jianqing introduced them to him one by one:
"This is my eldest brother-in-law, the director of the Fourth Hospital of Yuezhou, Zhijiang Province, and he's at the division level. This is my nephew's son-in-law, also at the section level. These two are my eldest nephews, one in the navy and the other in the air force."
When Yu Jinbin heard that they were all big leaders, he became even more enthusiastic: "Welcome, welcome, leaders, welcome to our ginseng cooperative for a visit and guidance."
Dean Gu also shook hands with these local cadres and said with a smile: "Today I am the supporting role, and the main role is my son-in-law."
Chen Xia smiled and shook hands with Yu Jinbin. "Director Yu, I'm sorry to bother you this time. I'm here on behalf of our company to purchase some ginseng."
After saying that, he also took the initiative to show a "Purchasing Letter of Introduction from Yuezhou Pharmaceutical Company".
Now is still the era of man-to-man. If he just wants to buy a few today, he won’t care about your identity.
But if you want to purchase in large quantities, you must have a letter of introduction from your unit. Otherwise, no one wants to bear the charge of speculation and they will not sell to you at all.
Before coming to Northeast China, Chen Xia had already prepared numerous blank letters of introduction, including those from Yuezhou Fourth Hospital and Yuezhou Pharmaceutical Company. He simply handed over whatever was needed, that's how he felt.
Chen Xia's trick didn't scare the people in the cooperative, but it did scare the two brothers-in-law who came to watch the fun.
Gu Zhongguo quietly asked Dean Gu, "Dad, how come my brother-in-law has a letter of introduction from a pharmaceutical company? Isn't he an employee of your hospital?"
Comrade Lao Gu also lowered his voice and said to his two sons:
"Don't underestimate this brother-in-law. He opened a pharmaceutical factory in Yuezhou and is not short of money. He plans to collect these ginseng for investment."
Gu Zhongjun was shocked: "Dad, the local government has already allowed the opening of factories? Will this violate national policy?"
Dean Gu smiled strangely, "Your brother-in-law is a little fox. He has already registered the pharmaceutical factory under the name of Yuezhou Pharmaceutical Company. It is nominally their branch factory. And he is not in name only, he is the actual controller."
"Dad, that brother-in-law must be very rich, right?"
"Nonsense! Look at us. The down jackets we're wearing were all bought from the Friendship Store with foreign exchange coupons. And the things we spend money on are gold bracelets, gold rings, and Zhonghua cigarettes. Do we think we're short of money?"
Now, the looks that Gu Zhongguo and Gu Zhongjun gave Chen Xia were uncertain.
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