Chapter 50

“Qing’an County, Zhe Province, wheat yield reaches 820 jin per mu, completing the 38th autumn harvest ahead of schedule!”

“Longxia research team inspects Longbei terrain, to launch Longfeng pilot in northern Longbei.”

“Longxia Ministry of Agriculture: Longxia’s grain reserves are abundant, no need to worry about a food crisis.”

…

In the following three days, #SuZheAnWheatHarvest# trended on social media. Wheat is a basic livelihood issue, and with the harvest in the three provinces of Su, Zhe, and An, it acted like a calming dose, easing half of the netizens’ food crisis fears.

“Are we there yet?”

On July 10th, on the Changlong Expressway in Su Province, a middle-aged man asked wearily.

The man’s name was Zheng Xinlin, manager of Wangwang Flour Mill. Wangwang Flour Mill is located in Taoyuan County, Sichuan Province, mainly producing rice flour, wheat flour, mung bean flour, and other assorted grain products. Wangwang employs thirty people, from workshop workers to business staff. Though small in scale, it has operated for twelve years and is a well-known enterprise in Taoyuan.

Zheng Xinlin had planned to expand the factory this year but didn’t expect the food crisis to break out, followed by Ha’erma’s passage… Sichuan Province, part of Central South China, had the government warn in advance, so the factory’s machines and equipment were sealed early and unharmed. However, the factory had been shut down for two months due to a very simple reason: no grain.

Rice and wheat flour production requires a large amount of raw grain. The government guaranteed basic food supply, but businesses are commercial entities, and individual companies found it difficult to buy grain. During this time, Zheng inquired and found that some grain businesses survived on stockpiles, while others temporarily closed.

Wangwang was on the verge of closure. He didn’t want to give up unless absolutely necessary.

Zheng Xinlin had been worried for two months when #SuZheAnWheatHarvest# hit the trending list. With a businessman’s keen sense, he immediately called grain stations in the three provinces.

Because of the nationwide shortage, all three places’ lines were busy. After three days of calls, he finally reached Changlong Grain Station. After learning Wangwang’s situation, they clearly stated: grain could be sold. So, he drove overnight from Sichuan.

After Zheng asked, his assistant in the front said, “We’ll reach it after the overpass ahead.” They had been on the highway for seven hours, expecting to reach Changlong County by 3 p.m.

Zheng looked at the time and closed his eyes to rest. At 3 p.m., the car arrived at the Changlong County grain station.

“Oh my…”

“There are too many people.”

Zheng and his assistant were stunned when they saw the scene.

Changlong Grain Station, located in the county outskirts, mainly buys grain from farmers and sells it to buyers. They were now standing in front of a large 5,000-square-meter open area, filled in the middle with golden wheat, with a row of newly built color steel buildings beside it.

Nearly a hundred men and women gathered in front of the buildings, judging by their clothes and appearance, they were grain merchants from across the country.

“Team Leader Liu, when do we register?”

“We’ve come all this way, won’t we get grain?”

…

Several impatient men and women asked.

At that moment, a middle-aged man came out of the steel building: “Thank you all for coming. As long as you received the call, everyone can buy grain.”

The food crisis had sparked an economic crisis. According to foreign media reports, many acid rain countries had already plunged into economic crises; Mali’s grain processing unemployment rate reached 72%, aquaculture 39%. Foreign economies were collapsing rapidly.

Though Longxia’s government intervened, all industries including planting, aquaculture, and real estate suffered. National data showed that from March to June, Longxia’s unemployment rate rose by 55%, with the grain processing industry accounting for 92%.

Grain processing mainly involves instant noodles, biscuits, cold cakes, wafers, and related food industries. These require large amounts of grain and workshop workers; without enough grain, workers were inevitably laid off.

Workshop workers usually have families to support, which threatened Longxia’s basic stability.

Now that Su, Zhe, and An had harvested abundantly, Longxia, after investigating the socioeconomics, decided to allocate this grain to sustain the grain industry.

Only with the grain industry running smoothly could the national economy basically function.

Longxia decided to help small and medium grain enterprises survive, but with strict rules: 1. Companies are forbidden from hoarding and reselling grain at inflated prices. 2. Grain must be used for production. 3. No double purchasing of grain—for example, if company A buys grain in area A and then in area B, this is a violation and will be publicly penalized if discovered.

Longxia allocated purchase quotas based on companies’ past financial and tax reports. Because it was a special period, quotas would be lifted once nationwide planting resumed in the second half of the year.

“Taxes…” some businesspeople grumbled. Though regretting not paying more taxes before, this was a relatively fair quota system.

“The system is connected. Please have your ID and business license ready and queue in order,” staff announced.

Everyone hurried to line up.

Zheng and his assistant stood at the end of the line.

“Mr. Zheng, ID and license are ready?” the assistant checked the briefcase.

“Yes.” Zheng looked at the huge crowd and worried about Wangwang’s grain quota. As a small business, they needed at least 100 tons of grain to survive this autumn. If the station only allocated five or ten tons, it would be insufficient.

Time ticked by. At 5 p.m., it was their turn.

Liu Yuming, responsible for registration, looked at the computer and asked, “Name?”

“Zheng Xinlin, Wangwang Flour Mill.”

“327 Taoyuan Town, Sichuan Province?”

“Yes.”

Liu copied the business license and handed Liu Yuming a stamped A4 paper: “Your factory can buy 150 tons. The situation is special now; you can purchase a limited amount but cannot resell.”

Liu Yuming explained the rules again.

“One hundred fifty tons?” Zheng was stunned.

Liu nodded: “SuZheAn just harvested wheat, and our acid rain wheat yield is insufficient. After the second half of the year, there will be no quantity restrictions.”

Ten minutes later, Zheng left with the documents.

When lining up, he had lowered his expectations to 60 tons—he hadn’t expected such a surprising result.

“I asked around, but no one is selling.”

“The grain station offers subsidies for buying wheat. Selling to the station is about the same as selling to us.”

“Sigh, we’ll just have to make do.”

…

At that moment, two grain buyers passed by.

Zheng Xinlin learned passively that although the grain station was official, it did not force farmers to sell their grain. Currently, the wheat purchase price in Longbei was 4,500 to 5,200 yuan per ton. The grain station, based on market conditions, set the purchase price at 5,000 yuan per ton. Due to storage and labor costs, the selling price was 5,500 yuan per ton.

The buyers had tried to buy directly from farmers, but the farmers didn’t trust them, and with the grain station’s subsidy, the price difference was small. Even those willing to cooperate raised prices to 6,000 yuan per ton.

Domestic grain prices had yet to break the 6,000 yuan mark; if mass production resumed in the second half of the year, prices would be even lower.

To profit, they would have to buy high and sell high overseas, but with the global crisis, countries banned grain exports… if they sold privately, it would be a straight path to jail.

At 8 p.m., Zheng Xinlin and his assistant found a hotel in the county town to rest.

After dinner, the two strolled outside. The hotel was on the outskirts of Changlong County, surrounded by ubiquitous wheat stalks. Zheng looked at the wheat fields and thought of post-disaster Taoyuan Town.

Now, the vast green fields of Taoyuan had largely degraded; no one knew if they would grow back…

Early the next morning, they went to the grain station’s payment office.

Wangwang purchased 150 tons of wheat. Thanks to national policy support, payment for the wheat could be used as collateral for a loan.

Zheng mortgaged two factory buildings.

There were two modes of wheat transportation: 1. Shipping the raw wheat directly. 2. Doing rough processing locally in Changlong, charging a processing fee per ton; Changlong had a wheat husk collection station.

Zheng inquired about the detailed costs and chose the second option.

Instant noodles and biscuits had slightly risen in the market. He planned to process flour into instant noodles, hoping to launch the product by month’s end if all went well.

“My 200 tons will be enough.”

“I have 300 tons and bought biscuit-making equipment, planning to produce some whole-grain biscuits.”

“Supermarket food prices are rising; if we can’t produce, who knows when it will end…”

…

While Zheng Xinlin waited for wheat processing, other grain enterprises were also carefully planning.

They felt like fish in the desert, about to die of thirst, suddenly rescued back to the sea.

“Director Sun, during your previous floods, we sent three rescue teams… I’m not bragging, but your wheat isn’t ripe yet, could you give us one million tons of seeds?”

“Team Leader Liu…”

“County Magistrate Wang!”

…

This time, Su, Zhe, and An collectively harvested 23 million tons of grain. According to the Longxia Ministry of Agriculture’s plan, 10 million tons would be allocated for winter wheat planting in northern Longxia.

Longxia was still negotiating details, but regions across the country couldn’t sit still. The bountiful Longfeng harvest in Su, Zhe, and An meant other areas could also achieve good harvests despite acid rain. Longxia’s winter wheat planting season was September to October. Now, only one month remained before sowing… no one could wait!

“Is this oilseed rape?”

“Should be…”

…

While the whole country watched, inside Fengshan Farm, Qin Yun and Liu Wensheng stared blankly at the scene before them.

The magical oilseed rape seeds cost 3,000 points per mu, yielding 5,000 jin per mu, and were not limited to farm fields. (Five-day maturation period)

Oilseed rape seeds grew into a five-day vegetable. After seeing this, the two purchased ten mu of oilseed rape seeds and handed them to the Agricultural Research Institute for study. Since it was not limited to farm fields, the institute planted the oilseed rape outside the Tulou perimeter.

Qin Yun and Liu Wensheng focused on managing the SuZheAn farmland and hadn’t paid attention to the oilseed rape’s growth.

Now, the oilseed rape had grown from seeds into a field near the Tulou, each plant like a large green shrub.

“Seventy-two centimeters tall, longest leaf eighty-five centimeters, overall nutrition 7% higher than domestic varieties,” a researcher reported the data.

Liu Wensheng plucked a leaf, repeatedly asking, “This is oilseed rape?”

“Yes,” the researcher confirmed firmly.

Oilseed rape is the most common vegetable on the market, known as the king of leafy greens, with each leaf about thirty centimeters long. The oilseed rape before them had grown not only to eighty centimeters in length but also to the width of a palm.

Liu Wensheng put the leaf in his mouth.

The oilseed rape leaf was fresh green, with no earthy taste.

Just as Liu finished chewing, a worker ran from the farmland, shouting, “The rice is ripe!”

Rice also matures in five days.

The farm had expanded from 20,000 mu to 50,000 mu. Because rice required paddies, the farm specially opened a plot on the southern edge. The paddy fields were nearly a kilometer from their location. Hearing the news, Qin Yun and Liu Wensheng took a harvester and headed straight to the paddies.

Under the system’s rules, the harvester and sprinkler were farm vehicles.