Pan Mingzhong could never have imagined that a major rival for him would be right in front of him in the future. But even if he did know, he would still have to bow his head.
Simply put, Pan Mingzhong is desperately short of money right now.
If he had simply been content to be a team leader who assigned tasks with his hands behind his back, perhaps he wouldn't have been in such a hurry to sell the saline-alkali land to Lijiapo.
However, now there is an excellent opportunity. There are buyers, raw materials and equipment. As long as he can come up with the money, he can immediately set up a rubber products factory.
Since the Lijiapo Cannery was built, commune-run and team-run enterprises have sprung up like mushrooms after rain, with several appearing every few days.
If he misses this opportunity, who knows how far he will fall behind!
One mu costs 2.5 yuan, so 800 mu would cost 2,000 yuan. A flat vulcanizing machine costs 200 yuan, a set of molds costs 200 yuan, nitrile rubber costs 2 cents per jin, and the sealing rings produced cost 10 cents each!
This deal is definitely a winner!
Pan Mingzhong and Li Jin went to the commune to find Director Yu to handle the land ownership transfer, but Director Yu just frowned.
He was from Xiaocheng County, quite young, and had previously worked in the Organization Department of the Huichuan County Party Committee. After Hu Shusong stepped down, Liu Donglai considered the matter carefully and then appointed him to preside over the work of Wudahe Commune.
"Captain Li, Captain Pan, the land belongs to the collective. Aren't you selling the land like this?"
Although President Yu's tone was relatively amiable, it still carried a hint of displeasure.
However, Li Jin and Pan Mingzhong were not worried at all.
They had a contingency plan for this.
“Dad, there are historical reasons for our land with Guanyutai, which can be easily resolved through negotiation. However, the ownership of the saline-alkali land in Panjiazhuang was clearly defined before, and we need a proper reason to allocate it.”
Even if President Yu knew that this was just an excuse they came up with, as long as it sounded plausible on the surface, that was fine.
Some things may not be in accordance with the rules, but you can't let the person who does the work for you take the blame for those irregularities.
Li Jin's voice was steady. "President Yu, it's like this. Our village and Panjiazhuang are not buying or selling land. We are exchanging plots of land based on the principles of mutual benefit and convenience for farming."
Pan Mingzhong chimed in, "Yes, Director Yu, although you've only just arrived in Wudahe, you must know from your time in the county that our brigade members make a fuss every year about paying grain taxes for 800 mu of saline-alkali land."
Li Jin said, "Our main reason for exchanging land was to better fulfill our grain delivery quota and avoid causing trouble for the commune."
Pan Mingzhong: "Our county government has the right to adjust the land ownership of the brigade, so we need to trouble you to submit a report to the county."
The two of them took turns explaining the legal and reasonable excuses for the matter to President Yu, and then offered him a cigarette and lit it for him.
President Yu took a puff of his cigarette, his expression relaxing slightly. He then turned to Li Jin and asked, "Does Secretary Liu know about this?"
Li Jin laughed, "I chatted with Secretary Liu for a bit, and he said that we should follow the normal procedures and report to the county only after the commune agrees."
President Yu sat up straighter. "I understand what you mean; it's all for the purpose of boosting production. I will report to the county immediately."
This means it's done.
As Pan Mingzhong stepped out of the commune gate, he exclaimed with genuine envy, "Uncle Li, you and Secretary Liu have such a good relationship!"
Li Jin smiled and shook his head, saying nothing.
...
The land in Lijiapo suddenly expanded by half, and the brigade leadership was excited for several days.
However, after a few days, they began to worry.
This saline-alkali land, with a layer of Suaeda salsa seedlings growing on the white ground, what should we do with it in the future?
They dug ponds to raise fish and shrimp?
But don't we have those two big pits at the county brick kiln?
Li Xiangdong drew a diagram for them, saying, "Those 800 mu of saline-alkali land are right next to the Baiyang River. We will build an 800 mu standardized aquaculture base there, which will be convenient for water exchange and drainage. These ponds in our village will be used as seedling bases in the future, which can not only supply our own aquaculture base, but also sell fish and shrimp seedlings to other places."
"Then we need to expand the pig farm and build a standardized pig breeding base to raise second-generation wild boars. My current plan is to raise 50,000 pigs per year."
A pig farm with 10,000 pigs needs about 20 to 30 mu of land, while a farm with 50,000 pigs needs 100 to 150 mu of land!
Liu Yuliang said, "If we raise so many, the livestock shed won't be big enough!"
Li Kang chimed in, "Yes, raising so many pigs and dealing with pig manure will definitely attract a lot of flies!"
Li Xiangdong drew some dots on the paper, "So, we need to build the pig farm in the northwest of the village."
During the summer and spring, southeast winds are common, and since the pig farm is downwind, the stench doesn't reach the village.
Everyone nodded in agreement.
"Then there's the Chinese herbal medicine planting base. The rehmannia is growing quite well. A few days ago, we also planted astragalus, angelica, fleeceflower root, and angelica dahurica. The growth period for rehmannia, astragalus, angelica, and fleeceflower root is two to three years, while angelica dahurica can be harvested in just over 300 days. Although there's no rush to build the Chinese herbal medicine processing plant now, we still need to make good plans."
"Xiang Dong, we've allocated a total of 400 acres of land to grow medicinal herbs. Is it really necessary to build such a large processing plant?"
Liu Changhai asked doubtfully.
Li Xiangdong smiled slightly, "The entire area I've reserved isn't going to be used to build processing plants; this large section in front is intended for a trading market."
"Trading market?"
“Yes! We can’t limit our vision to just the 400 mu of land in our own village. In a year or two, when other villages, or even other counties, see that we’re making money growing medicinal herbs, do you think they’ll follow suit?”
Liu Changhai nodded, "Of course!"
Now people are eyeing their village's wheat and watermelon seeds!
"If they all plant them, aren't they competing with us?"
"It's competition, but it's also a business opportunity."
Seeing the puzzled looks on everyone's faces, Li Xiangdong laughed and said, "Our 400-mu Chinese herbal medicine planting base is just a small-scale operation in the eyes of large pharmaceutical companies. We have no bargaining power with them at all."
"But what if all the villages in our county grew medicinal herbs? Or even more broadly, what if the entire Dongfang City grew them?"
"When that time comes, people will think of us when they want to buy a particular kind of herb!"
"Our village will be the first to establish a processing plant and trading market, which will attract small-scale farmers from other places to our village for processing and trade! Just imagine what it will be like when buyers and sellers gather in Lijiapo?"
Li Xiangdong's words stirred everyone's emotions, and they couldn't wait to start the trading market right now!
Li Xiangdong poured a bucket of cold water over his head, saying, "Of course, it will probably be more than ten years before we see such a scene."
"Our most important task right now is to make money in the present and earn the first pot of gold for future development."
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