Gu Qishen receives numerous calls every day from people wanting to order grain seeds. The summer grain harvest has been largely completed, with almost every village in City C fulfilling its grain quota – a significant achievement.
The farmers in each village also witnessed this bumper harvest, and everyone was overjoyed.
After receiving a few phone calls, Gu Qishen went to find Han Yixian. He needed to discuss with him what to exchange the grain seeds for.
Han Yixian smiled when he saw Gu Qishen arrive and said, "Have you been bothered enough these past two days?"
Gu Qishen said helplessly, "My office phone has been ringing non-stop. These high-quality, high-yield grain seeds are in high demand. But there are just too many people and not enough seeds, so we can't possibly meet everyone's needs."
Han Yi nodded and said, "Yes, we should at least meet our own needs before thinking about anything else. However, each village must still have wheat that can be used as seed. We can trade with them, give them more grain, and exchange according to a certain ratio."
Gu Qishen said, "Hmm, this is a good idea. Anyway, the grain they left behind will be consumed in the future, except for the seeds. We can exchange it with them proportionally. They will definitely be willing to get more grain."
Han Yi first brewed a cup of tea for Gu Qishen and said, "It depends on the quality of the grain. We need to replace it with the kind that is plump and suitable for seed."
Gu Qishen nodded and saw a paper bag on Han Yixian's desk, knowing it contained food. He said, "Do you have anything to eat here? I haven't had breakfast yet."
Han Yixian could tell at a glance that Gu Qishen had his eye on the food on his desk, so he rolled his eyes at Gu Qishen and handed him the paper bag.
Gu Qishen chuckled as he opened the paper bag and saw several kinds of pastries inside. He said, "Yuhan made these, right? You're so lucky. Yuhan even brought you pastries. She's spoiling you like a child. She was afraid you'd go hungry."
Gu Qishen took out a piece of cake and ate it without ceremony. Han Yixian helplessly made Gu Qishen another cup of milk.
Gu Qishen said with a smile, "I knew you had good food here. A wife like Yuhan is hard to find even with a lantern. You're a lucky guy."
Han Yixian rolled his eyes at Gu Qishen and said, "Yuhan and I are destined for each other, and it's no use if others are envious."
Ignoring Han Yixian's smug look, Gu Qishen picked up his cup, took a nice sip of milk, and said, "This time, quite a few people have contacted me to pre-order grain seeds. I'm considering whether to sell them directly or exchange them for other things, so I wanted to discuss it with you."
Han Yixian said, "Of course we're exchanging goods. We're going out to eat, and we need to bring back food. For example, seafood and other grains. Our first priority is to ensure our food supply."
This year, Qinghe Farm has had a good harvest; almost all of their wheat can be used as seed. Soybeans have already been planted, with seeds provided by Yuhan, and fertilizer also prioritized for Qinghe Farm. If all goes well, this autumn's soybean harvest should also be plentiful.
And the corn, which is growing well now, should be fine too. If only every village had access to chemical fertilizers, this farmyard manure is far too little; the fertility is simply insufficient.
Gu Qishen sighed and said, "As the old saying goes, a good crop depends on manure. No matter how good the seed variety is, it won't work without fertilizer. But the fertilizer plant in our city is really not doing a good job. Their output is just a drop in the ocean."
Han Yixian looked steadily at Gu Qishen and said firmly, "Then let's expand the scale of the fertilizer plant, and we can build a few more fertilizer plants. This is an urgent problem that needs to be solved."
Gu Qishen shook his head and sighed, "It's easier said than done. Whether it's expanding the scale or building a new factory, you need equipment. Most of the equipment in fertilizer plants is imported now. It's difficult."
Han Yixian said, "The Shengli Equipment Manufacturing Plant in the provincial capital is researching new fertilizer equipment. We will use this grain seed to negotiate with them. We can give them priority in providing high-quality grain seeds, but we want priority in purchasing fertilizer equipment from the Shengli Equipment Plant."
Gu Qishen looked at Han Yixian and asked, "How do you know so much about this?"
Han Yixian said, "Because I have long planned to expand the scale of the fertilizer plant. I have already investigated manufacturers of fertilizer equipment across the country, and we can buy the equipment we need separately. In the meantime, we can make preparations. We will start by expanding the scale of the existing fertilizer plant."
I have an advanced fertilizer production process here, no worse than those abroad. After our fertilizer plant undergoes technological upgrades, increasing output several times over will be no problem.
Gu Qishen stood up and grabbed Han Yixian's arm excitedly, saying, "Really? If that's the case, our city's food problem will be solved. You know, fertilizer is so scarce right now. It's really in short supply."
Han Yixian said, "Fertilizer will be in short supply for a long time to come. We can build more fertilizer plants, one in each county, to prioritize supplying fertilizer to the local county. If there is a surplus, we can sell it to other areas. This is also a good project to generate revenue."
Gu Qishen shook his head and laughed, "We're lucky if we can satisfy ourselves, how could we possibly have anything left over? You're talking nonsense."
Han Yixian said, "I'm not talking nonsense. We must make good use of this opportunity and try to gain something by utilizing high-quality grain seeds."
The two newly established farms this year also focus on cultivating high-quality grain varieties, and their technical capabilities must keep pace. We can only maintain this advantage for a few years; once the grain varieties become more widespread, we'll lose this advantage, so we must seize this opportunity.
Gu Qishen nodded and said, "Then we need to make arrangements in advance. We need to control the quality of grains that can be used as seeds. Apart from the seeds left by each village, it's best to collect all the others. Fortunately, we still have grain in our granaries that we can use for exchange."
Han Yixian said, "Besides exchanging grain, we can also exchange other things that the villagers need. We can conduct a survey to find out. I think the farmers would definitely prefer this method."
It's important to understand that rural areas have very few ration coupons, making it difficult for them to obtain many industrial goods they need. This initiative can be seen as providing them with a form of welfare.
I've already contacted several manufacturers and pre-ordered some industrial products like pots and pans to exchange for grain.
Gu Qishen clapped his hands and said, "Your idea is great. The villagers will definitely welcome it. I'll go back and set it up so they can conduct a survey first, to see what the greatest needs are in the countryside."
As for the things you need, you'll have to figure that out yourself.
Han Yixian assured him, "Don't worry about that. With me here, I guarantee I can get you what you need."
The two of them then discussed in detail the sowing situation of crops and the growth of other grains after the summer grain harvest in various places, and also formulated a general plan on how to utilize the grain seeds.
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