Chapter 113: Bottle Planting Can’t Always Be Choked by Others
After asking this question, Zhuang Qixiang remembered that he was no longer the manager of the training center.
After all, he had been working there for more than two years, so when he heard someone wanted to reduce the order by 5,000 bottles, he still subconsciously showed concern.
Yan Xue also knew this. She looked at him and said in her usual calm tone, "Can I ask what the reason is?"
He added, "After all, we've had a pleasant cooperation before, and you're not the kind of people who go back on your word."
If the other party was the former Secretary Hu of Liuhu Town, she would not ask, but they did have a pleasant cooperation in the past with Wugang Town.
Wugang Town didn't hide it from her, "It's not that we want to reduce the order, it's that we won't be able to buy that much wood next year."
The Wugang Town Party Secretary sounded helpless. "We were planning to expand next year, otherwise we wouldn't have been able to order 10,000 bottles from you. But when we contacted the places we bought the wood from before, both were sold out, and one wanted to raise the price."
This guy is quite capable of doing things, as can be seen from how they entertained Yan Xue and Zhou Wenhui before, but obviously he has no better idea.
"It's too expensive. I did the math and it's not worth it. Even if I go somewhere further away, I might not be able to buy it."
The main problem is transportation. Except for the city closest to them, the transportation cost will be high if the transportation is farther away. After all, wood is quite heavy.
The secretary of the Wugang Town Forestry Bureau apologized, "5,000 bottles? We'll figure it out. We can handle it. It just so happens we haven't signed the contract yet, so I just wanted to let you know."
The contract was about to be signed and the time was agreed upon, but if they couldn't buy enough wood, it would be understandable to order less at the last minute.
Yan Xue smiled and said it was okay, but the other party still said a few more words to trouble them. Just as he was about to hang up, Yan Xue called him again, "Secretary Zhang."
"Is there anything else? If you have something, tell me."
The other party's attitude was very gentle, so Yan Xue said, "I have another planting method. It doesn't require wood, it can be planted with sawdust. Would you like to try it?"
"Use sawdust?" The other party was obviously surprised, just like Zhuang Qixiang was at the beginning. Zhuang Qixiang also looked over here when he heard it.
"We use sawdust," Yan Xue replied affirmatively. "The center has been researching this for two years, and it's been very successful."
But the other party was still hesitant. Apparently, the idea that wood ear mushrooms could be grown with sawdust was still too unbelievable for most people.
But the fact that wood ear mushrooms can be grown was unbelievable to many people before. Yan Xue was not in a hurry. "You can ask someone who knows about growing wood ear mushrooms to come and take a look."
The people in Wugang Town have been planting this for two years and are very active in learning. There must be people who know a little bit about it and can tell whether this is feasible or not.
But Wugang Town Secretary Zhang still didn't give a definite answer. "This is a serious matter. We need to discuss it carefully."
After hanging up the phone, Yan Xue answered Zhuang Qixiang's previous question, "It's Wugang Town. They said that the wood was either bought up in advance or the price has increased."
"Wugang Town." Zhuang Qixiang had some impression of the town's Forestry Bureau. "Isn't this an excuse?"
Yan Xue couldn't be sure about this, but the cultivation of wood ear mushrooms has developed rapidly in the past two years, and it is indeed possible that some people want to raise prices and make more money from it.
But it's not absolute. "It depends on whether they are willing to come and take a look. If they really can't buy wood, there's no harm in coming and taking a look."
Secretary Zhang of the Wugang Town Forestry Bureau is quite flexible, otherwise he would not have started growing wood ear mushrooms last year.
After hearing what Yan Xue said, Zhuang Qixiang nodded and didn't ask any more questions. But then he frowned again, "Is wood so hard to buy now?"
He had just taken over the Liuhu Town Forestry Bureau and was getting things in order, but he hadn't even started contacting people to buy wood yet. If it became difficult to buy, it would affect more than just Wugang Town.
Thinking about it, he didn't feel like sitting in the center any longer, so he said goodbye to Yan Xue and went back to the bureau to contact someone to buy wood.
Yan Xue waited for another two days before Secretary Zhang from the Wugang Town Forestry Bureau called. "Last time, you mentioned using sawdust to grow wood ear mushrooms."
If she wants to know, then she shouldn't have other thoughts. Yan Xue smiled and said, "The center has just started harvesting a new batch of seeds. You can come and see them anytime."
Then people from Wugang Town really came to take a look. A group of people came, including Secretary Zhang, secretaries of the forestry farms and technical personnel from the base.
Yan Xue took the person directly to the cultivation room, where rows of shelves were filled with canning bottles, and there were more or less wood ear mushrooms growing on the culture medium at the mouth of the bottles.
“Can it really be grown?”
It was so unexpected that someone couldn't help but say something. Although the others didn't say anything, they all had similar expressions.
"Sawdust is also sawed off from wood and has the same composition as wood," Yan Xue said with a smile.
But when everyone walked in, they were still shocked. They felt that they were indeed professionals and could come up with such technology.
Moreover, this cultivation method is obviously more space-saving. It does not need to be laid out outside and can be done indoors. Some people can't help but ask: "Do the bottles have to be placed indoors?"
"Not really," Yan Xue said. "Once the mycelium has filled the cans, we can just put them in the shed. We have a lot of rooms here, so we didn't move them outside."
When they heard that they could just put it in the shed, everyone nodded in their hearts. Building a shed saves a lot of money than building a house.
Someone also noticed the key point in Yan Xue's words, "After the mycelium fills the canning jar, does it need to be cultivated indoors before it fills up?"
Yan Xue nodded. "It has to be grown indoors, and the temperature has to be controlled, keeping it between 22 and 25 degrees Celsius."
She likes to be upfront about the ugly side of things. "We have air ducts underneath this cultivation room, connected to a boiler to supply air. But when the mycelium is growing, the spacing doesn't need to be so large; it can be more densely packed."
When people heard that it had to be cultivated indoors and that airways and boilers had to be built, they immediately started to frown, thinking that it would not only be costly but also troublesome.
"Although this cultivation method is a bit troublesome, the yield is very high." Yan Xue seemed to know what they were thinking. "Just this can can consistently produce 700-800 grams of fresh wood ear mushrooms."
"Seven or eight taels?" The secretaries didn't think much of it, but the technicians they brought with them were shocked. "Is it really that high?"
Yan Xue didn't waste any words and directly showed them the notebook in her hand. "This is the data we collected in the past two years. There is indeed so much."
Seeing that everyone was passing it around, he continued slowly, "Although this method of planting cannot produce a harvest in three years, it only takes about forty days from planting to harvesting."
"So short?" The people in the bases were shocked again. It takes two months of cultivation for the ears to grow.
"The shortest record is forty days." Yan Xue turned the page in her notebook. "In thirty days, the mycelium filled the canning jar, and after ten days, the ears appeared. We can harvest continuously for over a month."
That is really fast, and we can get such a high yield after only harvesting for more than a month. It can be seen that the wood ear mushrooms mature very densely during the ear-growing stage.
"Can this only be planted in spring?" Someone immediately grasped the key point. With such a short harvest cycle, more than one crop can be planted in a year.
Yan Xue took a look and found that it was one of the two bases she had first guided. She smiled and said, "Of course not. It can be planted in the fall."
Seeing the other person's eyes light up, he added, "It's hot and humid in the summer, so it's easy to get ear ulcers and runny ears, so I avoid them."
But this is also very good. If funds are limited, there is no need to build so many cultivation rooms. The yield can still be considerable by planting one crop in spring and autumn every year.
Unexpectedly, this wasn't the end of the story. Yan Xue quickly pointed to the cans on another shelf and said, "These are all grown using the culture medium we finished growing this spring."
"Can this culture medium be reused?" Everyone at the Wugang Town Forestry Bureau has been asking a million questions today.
"Sure." Yan Xue said with a smile, "But it has to be poured out, processed, and then refilled."
He then pointed to the center's backyard and said, "It can also be used to make organic fertilizer. We have even set aside a piece of land for experiments."
The mushroom residue is rich in organic matter and microorganisms. After fermentation, it can significantly increase the organic matter in the soil, change the soil structure, reduce pests and diseases, and increase crop yields.
News after news came crashing down, leaving everyone in Wugang Town stunned. Upon hearing this, they couldn't help but look at Secretary Zhang and asked, "How about we go over and take a look?"
Then a group of leaders from the Forestry Bureau went to the backyard to see the crops and vegetables grown by the breeding center, and they were indeed growing quite well.
Calculated this way, compared with the outstanding output and low cost of raw materials, the cost of building a cultivation room does not seem that high. After all, it can be spread over the following years.
Finally, Yan Xue showed them the dried black fungus and the wet black fungus after soaking. Given that the growth cycle is so short, it is not surprising that the taste and quality are a little different.
Everyone had a lot of things in their minds, and some even took notes. They had to go back and digest them slowly. After reading and asking questions, they said goodbye.
On the way back, we were still discussing the pros and cons of this vase-growing method. "You can see that the flowers are smaller and thinner than those grown on logs, so they may not sell well."
"That depends on how much it sells for," said Secretary Zhang. "If we sell it at the same price as we sell it for log planting, it's definitely not going to sell."
However, the advantages of these methods are that the growth cycle is short and the output is high. Sawdust as raw material is cheaper and easier to obtain than wood, so you can still make a profit even if you sell it cheaply.
Secretary Zhang looked at everyone and said, "Let's all go back and figure out whether we can plant crops. We can't keep being held back by others."
The two companies that had already sold their wood had obviously been snatched away in advance, and the remaining ones all raised their prices collectively as if they had agreed beforehand.
They work hard all year, not for others, so after calculating, he would rather plant less next year.
Unexpectedly, Yan Xue gave him a new idea. Since wood was difficult to buy, they could use sawdust, which was plentiful in the town and could be reused.
"Besides, Jinchuan Forest Farm has already spread the reputation of Duanmu Fungus. No matter how well we do, at most we can just use the name of Jinchuan Fungus."
Secretary Zhang reminded everyone, "Since their bottle cultivation method was only developed in the past two years, it shouldn't be used by any forest farms yet, right?"
Among so many people present, there were always some who reacted quickly, especially the forest farms that first set up cultivation bases, they understood it almost immediately.
They can't compete with Jinchuan Forest Farm, after all, Yan Xue is from Jinchuan, but that doesn't mean they will never get the upper hand.
If this can be done, they will be the first to do it, and when they sell it later, they will use the name of Wugang Wood Ear Mushroom.
Thinking of this, everyone couldn't wait to go back to town for the meeting, and they began to consider the feasibility of the matter on the way.
On the other hand, Zhuang Qixiang contacted a lot of people and found that wood was really hard to buy, with prices rising ridiculously.
Those who haven't raised their prices much have already had fixed buyers. If they can hold their prices steady, they won't let the previous buyers go and sell to him.
This is a problem. With the timber production in their town, it can support the inoculation of 3,000 bottles of fungus at most. What should they do with the remaining 7,000 bottles?
You can't ask for a refund after paying the deposit? They can't scale up to 3,000 bottles.
Zhuang Qixiang directly brought up the idea of vase cultivation at the meeting. "If that doesn't work, we can use sawdust. The center was researching this last year and it's definitely feasible."
But the people in Liuhu Town were not like those in Wugang Town. They had no experience of planting for two years and no confidence. They all hesitated when they heard this.
Some people even asked directly: "We have never grown anything before, so why are we taking such a big step by doing something so new?"
"Then what do you think we should do? Plant 3,000 bottles and not plant the other 7,000 bottles?" Zhuang Qixiang asked directly.
These fungus strains were only obtained thanks to Zhuang Qixiang. The man immediately smiled and said, "I believe that Secretary Zhuang will definitely find a way to get it."
Zhuang Qixiang was asked to handle the matter and take the responsibility. He gave some suggestions for solutions, but felt that they were not appropriate.
It was only after Zhuang Qixiang came to the Liuhu Town Forestry Bureau as the head that he realized how easy it was to lead the training center. "I'll find time to visit the training center," he said.
He didn't allow the group to continue nagging. "If you still think it's not enough, ask the county to replace you with a new secretary. I'll go back to the training center. The manager position there happens to be vacant."
That means it's completely over. Don't even think about buying fungus strains next year, let alone having money to modify those tractors in the bureau.
Now no one said anything, but some people couldn't help but grumble in private that the new Secretary Zhuang was too arbitrary.
But no matter how much they grumbled, everyone showed up for the visit to the training center that day. Just after they went in and said a few words of hello, the phone in Yan Xue's office rang.
Yan Xue was busy, so Lang Yue'e answered the call and quickly came out to say, "Wugang has decided to order 10,000 bottles, and I have some questions about the bottle cultivation method."
When they heard about the bottle cultivation method, everyone in the Liuhu Town Forestry Bureau immediately pricked up their ears. They didn’t expect that Wugang was also asking about this. Hadn’t Wugang been planting it for two years?
Yan Xue noticed it, but pretended not to know. She called Guo Changan beside her and said, "I can't leave here. Changan, go and help me solve this problem."
Guo Changan nodded and went in. "Yes, it's similar to the log cultivation method... We have the drawings here and can guide you in building..."
The door at the back was tightly closed, so people outside couldn't hear clearly. But the less they could hear, the more anxious and anxious people from the Liuhu Town Forestry Bureau wanted to know.
From what I hear, Wugang is planning to try out some bottle cultivation method. Is that really feasible?
They have been planting for two years and must have made their own judgment. If they can't make money, who would have the time to change it?
After returning from the cultivation center, everyone's attitude has changed a lot, but most people still want to be conservative and use logs for planting, and few are willing to try the bottle planting method.
Finally, Zhuang Qixiang got tired of hearing this and said, "Then each forest farm will draw lots. Whichever one draws the lot will use it, and those who don't want to plant it will give up."
After the decision was made here and the money from Wugang Town was paid, Yan Xue also took people to guide the two new bases on how to build the cultivation rooms.
Therefore, if Liuhu Town wants to build, it has to wait until Wugang is completed. Yan Xue came back from there, and it can be said that he is slow at every step.
But no matter what, neither side reduced the order for strains. When the last order was signed in November, there were nearly 50,000 bottles.
Zhou Wenhui showed the calculated accounts to Yan Xue. "With so many, do we need to hire more people next year?"
"We have to hire another one at least," Yan Xue said. "If this batch of bottle-grown wood ear mushrooms sells well this spring, we'll have to cultivate another batch of fungus in the summer."
"We will be very busy from now on. We will spend half a year every year cultivating bacterial strains." Zhou Wenhui said she was busy, but her eyes were smiling.
Being busy at least proves that their center is getting bigger and better, and more and more people are relying on and using their strains.
Zhou Wenhui put away her things and said, "Take a break tomorrow and come to my house for dinner. Weiguo made some mutton."
In those days, beef and mutton were harder to get than pork. Unless Hui Muslims could supply them, you had to find someone who knew a sheep farmer to slaughter the sheep.
Liu Weiguo really continued his style at the forest farm, getting along well with everyone no matter where he was. Yan Xue smiled and said, "That'll have to wait until tonight. Qi Fang said he wanted to take Yan Yu to look at cars."
"Evening is fine too. Bring your Yan Yu along so that Airong won't see and ask." Zhou Wenhui also smiled. "Your Yan Yu also likes cars?"
"He likes it. Even though his dad installed a handlebar in front of the child seat, he still won't let it go. He insists on touching the big one and loves to look at it on the road."
Qi Yanyu has always maintained a keen interest in cars, a means of transportation that can move quickly. His grandfather mailed him a few toy pistols that could fire bullets, and he just played with them for the fun of it.
Seeing that the little guy was four years old, Qi Fang decided to take a day off and take him to the machinery factory to see those big guys and broaden his horizons.
It's just that this little fat boy is growing up quite fast. When he wears more clothes, the child seat he has been sitting in since he was over one year old looks too small.
Yan Xue helped her son put on his hat and said, "I think we won't be able to sit on this one next year. We need to get another one."
Qi Fang glanced at the fat boy who was smiling at Yan Xue with his eyes curved, "Next year, let him sit directly on the front bumper of the car."
Obviously, he was not prepared to give his son another shot, nor was he prepared to let his son sit in the back, or simply let Yan Xue hold him.
But I guess given this little fat guy's love for cars, he would rather sit on the front bar so that he can touch the handlebars than sit at the back where he can't see anything.
The family of three arrived at the machinery factory. Qi Fang had obviously greeted the guard at the door, rode directly in, and parked his bike in the bicycle shed.
It’s a pity that the factory is closed today, otherwise they would park a row of bicycles and the fat boy would have nothing to do but stay in the bicycle shed for half a day.
But that's not necessarily the case. There was something else that attracted his attention more. There was a small locomotive placed on the open space at the entrance of the machinery factory.
From the moment the little guy entered the door, his head was like a little sunflower, and no matter where the bike went, his heart was always towards the locomotive.
He was blocked by his father in the middle, but he tried to turn his head back, almost using his little hands to ask his father to get out of the way.
As soon as Qi Fang put him down, he rushed towards the locomotive. Qi Fang was unhurried and even touched Yan Xue's hand to test the temperature.
Then he tried to hold Yan Xue's hand in his coat pocket, "It's a bit cold."
How could it be cold? Yan Xue had been hugging his waist all the way with her hands in his pockets, so she wasn't cold at all.
But this man usually does these things seriously. The fat boy in front turned around and urged them to hurry up, without noticing his little trick.
So he was no longer in a hurry. Not only did he hold her hand, he also clasped it between Yan Xue's fingers. He wished he could walk this short distance forever.
Yan Xue looked at his calm expression and couldn't help but scratch his palm. "Have you mastered the trick to deal with your son?"
Qi Fang didn't say anything, but pinched her fingertips with his long fingers. While the little fat boy wasn't paying attention, he silently moved closer to him.
Then the little fat boy realized that his parents were old. Why did they walk slower than his great-grandmother?
He turned his head and it was so far away. He turned his head again and it was still so far away. His father's long legs seemed to be just for decoration.
Finally, he could only run back and hold his mother's hand, "Car! What a big car!"
The couple then let go, and Yan Xue explained to him, "That's the front of the train, Yan Yu used to ride on it."
But Qi Yanyu obviously hadn't remembered. After thinking about it, he let go of his mother and went to pull his father, "Dad, little train! Can the little train start?"
"It can't be opened, but you can go up and take a look." Qi Fang lifted his son up, and this time the long legs were no longer just for decoration.
This small locomotive in the machinery factory could not be repaired and was discarded. The factory also happened to produce spare parts for assembling locomotives, so it was placed in the factory as a sign.
In addition to the small train, the factory also has internal combustion engines, and retired cars and tractors that are used for research and modification.
When the little fat boy saw the tractor for the first time, his eyes lit up, "Tank! Mommy is a tank!"
Seeing that he liked cars, Qi Fang made a small tank for him as a birthday gift a few days ago. He thought of it as soon as he saw the tracks.
"That's not a tank, it's a tractor." Yan Xue corrected him and heard him say "Oh" with a little disappointment.
Qi placed a light touch on his son's head and said, "It's almost the same. The factory that used to produce tractors also produced tanks."
"Really?" The little fat boy's eyes lit up again. Yan Xue didn't know any of this and looked at the man.
Qi Fang simply carried his son onto the RT-12 he used for research, then reached back to pick up Yan Xue. "In the 1950s, our country introduced an 80-horsepower Stalin 80. That Stalin Tractor Factory produced tanks."
Many of these factories are dual-use, producing civilian goods in peacetime and military goods in wartime. The original tractors can be modified and then driven directly into the battlefield.
Qi Fang knew all about these things by heart, and the little fat boy looked at him differently after hearing them. "Then Dad, can you turn this into a tank?"
"Then can you get down from your mother's arms first?" Qi Fang looked at him and didn't answer. "You are a five-year-old boy. You can't rely on your mother all day long."
"Dad is already an adult in his twenties, why does he still insist on sleeping in the same bed with Mom?" the little fat boy immediately asked back.
Qi Fang paused at that moment, and the look in his eyes when he looked at his son was hard to describe. It looked like he was thinking about where to start.
But before he could say anything, he caught a glimpse of something and suddenly made up his mind. He then strode over and carefully examined the accessories.
Yan Xue sensed something was wrong, "What's wrong?"
"It's been touched." Qi Fang just glanced and said.
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