October of the second month. The wheat fields in the desert ripple like rolling waves, golden and glistening, shining brightly. The wheat has grown to 1.5 meters tall, its stalks thick and strong. The leaves are emerald green, yet the wheat grains are plump and translucent, shimmering with a golden light. As one approaches, a sweet fragrance fills the air, intoxicating the senses.
The only drawback is that a single "golden wheat" stalk has only one ear of wheat, and the grains are twice the size of ordinary wheat grains, making them of higher quality. However, the quantity is only one-tenth of that of ordinary wheat.
Zhang Guodong's predicted yield is roughly the same. Even with twice the yield of ordinary wheat grains, it would still only be one-fifth of that of ordinary wheat.
One-fifth of the yield. It's impossible to promote "Golden Wheat" beyond the reach of a select few; otherwise, widespread distribution would lead to widespread starvation worldwide. Furthermore, "Interstellar Shennong," this new type of microorganism, can only reproduce rapidly when paired with Golden Wheat. It's as if "Interstellar Shennong" exists specifically to complement "Golden Wheat."
The successful cultivation of "Golden Wheat" in Shatin attracted many Shatin owners to visit the farm. The greedy and astonished looks in their eyes revealed their immense surprise at the successful crop.
Subsequently, Governor Wang Yunyi led a delegation to inspect the slogan in Shatian and gave high praise to the research work of Zhang Guodong and several experts.
The relevant patent registrations were submitted to the state. The "Golden Wheat" mother clock patent belongs to Zhang Guodong, while the "Interstellar Shennong" cultivation solution is jointly owned by Zhang Guodong, several experts, and the provincial and municipal governments. The shareholdings are shared by Wan, Wei, Lu, and Wei. This separation is to consider the future profits and distribution issues brought by the "Interstellar Shennong" microbial culture solution. It can be said that Wang Yunyi is very concerned about the protection of patents held by private individuals and intellectuals, without discouraging their enthusiasm, while at the same time keeping such a crucial formula in the hands of the state.
If this achievement were reported to the central government, it would greatly boost Wang Yunyi's political standing.
Of course. Zhang Guodong wasn't particularly interested in how to allocate the potential profits from "Interstellar Shennong." The share of the profits was a reward for him. And this was originally the result of the research and development by those professors and assistants. Although it was on his turf, he felt it would be unworthy to offer more. This was enough!
Thus, a company jointly owned by the four parties, "Shennong Holdings," was quietly established. This company had a total registered capital of only 40 million RMB. Originally, some people thought that Zhang Guodong would not be able to come up with the funds of Wan Shares, 6 million RMB. So some people began to be eager to try to invest, but unexpectedly, when Zhang Guodong heard about the plan to set up the company, he transferred 6 million RMB without batting an eye, which surprised many people.
So, this small business owner is actually quite wealthy?!
No matter who poured money into the deal, Zhang Guodong consistently refused to meet with these business owners. Meanwhile, these individuals had increased their stake in the company from 400,000 to 4 million! This demonstrates their fervor and their optimism about the future of "Shennong Holdings."
"Shennong Holdings was established. Zhang Guodong became a hands-off manager, holding the fourth largest board seat, but generally did not attend board meetings."
He doesn't have that much time.
Furthermore, "Shennong Holdings" and "Golden Wheat" should be integrated; their combined strength would be even greater. Many people advised Zhang Guodong to use the patent of "Golden Wheat" to acquire a stake, potentially increasing his personal shareholding to a certain percentage. However, Zhang Guodong refused.
Golden Wheat. Although its quality is very high, regular consumption can prolong life for ordinary people—this is truly a claim. For cultivators, it reduces impurities and toxins in their bodies. Currently, in terms of quality, aside from the lower-yield Zhao family's "Crystal Rice" and the He family's Green Sorghum Beans—two secondary spirit-level crops—Golden Wheat can rank third!
In terms of yield, the former two are far surpassed by "Golden Wheat," which dominates the list. "Golden Wheat" can be grown on a large scale, while "Crystal Rice," "Green Sorghum," and "Beans" cannot be grown on a large scale and can only be cultivated in small plots. In terms of yield, "Golden Wheat" has a significant advantage.
It is second only to "sub-spirit crops" but in reality, it is on par with sub-spirit crops.
However, the yield of "Golden Wheat" remains low. And most importantly, only Zhang Guodong knows the true value of "Golden Wheat." Currently, even Professor Yan and others don't know the future prospects of "Golden Wheat" or its actual important effects on the human body.
If this were to be used to offset the price of Shennong Holdings' shares, then it would be a significant undervaluation!
Zhang Guodong flatly refused all those who tried to persuade him!
The true value of "Golden Wheat" will only become apparent after it matures and has been consumed for some time. This 1,000 square kilometers of "Golden Wheat" can produce at least 1000 kilograms!
Zhang Guodong is now essentially waiting for a higher offer. Why?
If Zhang Guodong could cultivate "Golden Wheat," a crop second only to "sub-spiritual" crops, simply by comprehending the "Laws of Life," then he could cultivate similar crops like "White Jade Rice" and "Purple Gold Rice." Come!
Because of a crop called "Golden Wheat," which isn't exactly a sub-spiritual crop, cultivating good relations with the highest secular authority is a worthwhile deal!
A month later, Xiaoyu and Qin Shuangshuang left Kouhao Shatian.
After the college entrance examination, high school seniors should have had a two-month vacation, but this year the vacation was shortened by one month due to the postponement of the college entrance examination. However, universities across the country started as usual, so Xiaoyu and Qin Shuangshuang had to start school early!
"Little Fish, I'll take you to school! But before you go, I bought you a few gifts!" Zhang Guodong also came along and spent half a day preparing some gifts for Little Fish.
Xiaoyu has no shortage of clothes or pocket money. You could even say she's quite wealthy now. Ye Yun just casually gave away 100,000 yuan. Zheng Le is an administrative cadre; her salary and bonuses can't compare to Ye Yun's. However, she wasn't stingy either, giving away 20,000 yuan!
As for the New Year's money for his parents and the gift money for meeting his parents, Zhang Guodong, as the older brother, paid for it all by himself.
My mother's reasoning was: "My son's money is my money! Son, your father and I's New Year's money. You can decide whether to give it to your sister!"
As a result, Zhang Guodong suffered a tragedy.
After much deliberation, he realized that less than Ye Yun's share wouldn't work, let alone two! "Then let's make one million!" Zhang Guodong said. "However, this money can only be used after the little girl graduates."
And so, even before Xiaoyu entered university, she was already worth 1.3 million. Of that, nearly 200,000 was from New Year's money and gifts given to her upon meeting others. The remaining 100,000 was pocket money given to her by Zhang Guodong and others. Xiaoyu, however, was very frugal and saved it all.
Zhang Guodong took out a pink laptop and a high-end women's mobile phone.
This cost him nearly 20,000 yuan!
For today's very affordable electronic products, these two items cost nearly 20,000 yuan, yet they have very high-end specifications.
"Thank you, brother!" On the way to school, Xiaoyu sweetly and carefully hugged him in her arms.
A few days ago, Zhang Guodong bought another car, a Mercedes-Benz, for 2.6 million yuan! As the fourth largest shareholder of Shennong Holdings, it's clearly unreasonable for him to only own a luxury minivan worth around 100,000 yuan.
“If anything happens at school, just call me, okay?” Zhang Guodong said as he drove.
I felt a sense of感慨 (gǎnkǎi, a complex emotion encompassing both admiration and reflection).
"Shennong Holdings' chairman is appointed by the provincial government, and surprisingly, he is a vice-governor who is also a standing committee member—a powerful vice-ministerial level official. The vice-chairman, who also serves as the general manager, is appointed by the state—a high-ranking official at the departmental level—primarily responsible for market expansion and company development. The chairman doesn't handle day-to-day operations; those are mainly handled by the general manager."
There are two more vice presidents. One of them, appointed by the city, is also at the deputy provincial level. The other is Professor Liu, who holds the position concurrently. The group elected Professor Liu to serve as the company's technical director with the title of vice president, implicitly acknowledging his deputy provincial level status.
Zhang Guodong is the fourth largest shareholder, but the actual third largest shareholder is unclear due to the shared shares held by Professor Yan, Professor Liu, and several others. However, if the shares are separated, Zhang Guodong is the third largest shareholder and the largest individual shareholder. He is a very important director of the company, but his rank is not specified. If his rank were specified, would he be considered a department-level official?
Zhang Guodong sometimes thinks to himself with a touch of self-deprecation.
But regardless, his role as a director is officially taking center stage today. His status and position are appearing in an official capacity for the first time.
Nowadays, if Zhang Guodong were to visit the municipal or provincial Party committee or government, he would be received by at least a vice-ministerial level official. This demonstrates the status of Shennong Holdings, a state-owned enterprise, and the high hopes the nation places on it.
This is the light that comes with status and position.
Upon arriving at Xi'an Jiaotong University School of Medicine, Zhang Guodong called the dean, who personally came out to greet him—a very prestigious welcome.
There was nothing more to it than Zhang Guodong introducing himself two days in advance, calling Dean Zhang of the medical school, and saying that his younger sister would be attending the medical school, and rambling on for a bit.
Dean Zhang was initially polite, unaware of what "Shennong Holdings" was, and even less aware of the significance of Zhang Guodong's position as a director.
But there are always people who know. After checking online, Dean Zhang finally understood what kind of company Shennong Holdings was. It was actually a newly established state-owned enterprise! The chairman was at the vice-ministerial level, concurrently serving as a member of the Standing Committee and a vice-governor. As for the directors, if they were cadres, they would at least be at the department-level.
Zhang Guodong's shareholder is surprisingly listed as the largest individual shareholder and the fourth largest shareholder overall. That's quite a high-ranking position!
The dean of the School of Medicine at Jiaotong University, the head of such a large department, generally has an administrative rank or not. For example, there are those who are hired but enjoy corresponding administrative benefits. Dean Zhang is a cadre of the Yantai rank.
Naturally, all of this is easy to talk about.
With Dean Zhang's care, Xiaoyu will have a much better time at school, and her family will be at ease.
After completing the formalities, Zhang Guodong and Xiaoyu had a meal together in the cafeteria. Xiaoyu declined Dean Zhang's offer to accompany her, as he was very busy with the start of the semester. They agreed to have tea together next time. With Xiaoyu reluctant to part, Zhang Guodong drove away from the school. However, Zhang Guodong promised to visit her at the school often, and Xiaoyu could go home on weekends.
After bidding farewell to Dean Zhang, Zhang Guodong quickly returned to Kouhao Desert. "Strange, the sky has become so gloomy. There was even thunder?" Professor Liu had left Kouhao Desert, but Professor Yan, Professor Kang, and others remained, continuing their research. At least, they had obtained this batch of "Golden Wheat." Mature, ready for harvest.
Zhang Guodong was also puzzled. However, the sky was extremely overcast, and a clap of thunder in the desert was like a bolt from the blue, extremely loud and startling.
“The weather was normal in the city just now. But it’s completely different here!” Zhang Guodong didn’t answer, but he knew in his heart that the weather was always unpredictable.
"Pan, Zhang, is it going to rain here? We haven't received any reports from the city's meteorological bureau about rain or thunder! If it really rains, will it affect the wheat? It's almost ripe, and in a little over a week, it will be ready for harvest! Please, please don't let it rain!" Professor Yan said.
"Professor Yan, everyone, let's pack up and go back inside. Today's research work will be temporarily suspended, and everyone can take a rest!" Zhang Guodong said with a smile, just in case.
The unusual weather is a good opportunity to rest.
Unexpectedly, the gloom continued, accompanied by constant thunder that lasted for two hours before darkness fell.
The people in the desert all stay indoors in their villas or houses. It's said that in this vast desert, rain is a rare occurrence year-round. Often, if a drop of rain falls, it's dried up by the heat.
It looks like the rain will be quite heavy today? Otherwise, why would the clouds be so low? And why would the lightning be so intense?
About ten kilometers northwest of Ningyun Desert, on a barren, flat area.
More than twenty men in black robes soon appeared, their identities and ranks distinguished only by the thickness and amount of gold and silver threads embroidered on their chests.
The two individuals were not face-to-face; one appeared to be a young, powerful figure, while the other was an elderly man with white hair. However, both were cultivators of the same level.
"How much time do we have left?" the old man asked in a deep voice.
"Lord Lei, according to the agreement and the calculated time, the spatial barrier will open again in one hour!" a subordinate said respectfully and with a hint of excitement.
"Elder Zong and Elder Qing will arrive soon!"
This white-haired old man was actually Lei Tai! A "Grand Master" level cultivator! And this young man was also a "Grand Master," a trump card for the Lei family. Two "Grand Master" level cultivators could play a decisive role in the outside world.
This is something that even Emperor Mu and the others probably don't know.
"Hmm!" Lei Tai's expression remained calm, revealing neither joy nor anger. He glanced at the young man, took a deep breath, and said, "Hong, the guiding formation. It's up to the two of us to set it up! With this formation, Elder Zong and Elder Qing can accurately open the spatial barrier here."
The young man, Hong, had a cold expression and nodded indifferently.
Two highly skilled cultivators could easily set up a "spatial guidance array" together, but Lei Tai's movements were slow, and the more he completed, the more solemn his expression became. It seemed that guiding Elder Zong and Elder Qing, who had descended to this realm, did not bring him joy.
Note: This is the first update today, totaling 4,000 words. To be continued tomorrow.
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