Chapter 66

“On February 25th, Longheng Barbecue closed 72 locations, Shang Hotpot shut down 57…”

“Longbao Finance: Longbao’s January furniture spending dropped by 70%, while frozen goods and daily necessities surged by 335% year-on-year.”

“Economists suggest the 3029 economic crisis may have already arrived.”

…

Over the next half month, the domestic economic situation grew increasingly grim.

“My mortgage is five thousand, I’ve got two kids in middle school, and I just got laid off last week.”

“I’m fifty-six thousand in credit card debt—I can’t even pay the interest.”

“Just sold off my stocks and bought two hundred thousand worth of gold…”

…

With the global economy in crisis, even though there was no food shortage at home, people were stretching every penny. No one felt any sense of happiness.

…

“A feed factory wants to buy corn. Should we sell?”

“How much are they offering?”

“Two yuan seventy per jin.”

…

While the entire country was in an economic slump, in Pingshui Town, Changlong County, Wang Xuecai was asking Wang Mengying for her opinion.

Changlong County was a nationally recognized agricultural model county. In response to the land transfer policy, they had started leasing land last May. Since then, they had harvested two rounds of wheat and one of corn. Acid Rain Seeds didn’t require high-quality soil, and from those three harvests, they had made a total profit of 520,000 yuan. The wheat had already been sold to the county grain station, but they still had a hundred tons of corn left.

After Wang Xuecai asked, Wang Mengying thought for a moment and said, “What are others selling for?”

“Some at 2.5, some at 3.”

“Let’s hold off for two days and watch the market.”

“Got it,” Wang Xuecai said, then called the feed factory back.

Feed ingredients mainly came from corn, wheat, soybean meal, peanut meal, and other grain mixtures. Right now, Longxia could meet its own corn and wheat needs, but soybeans were still imported. With reduced production of fish meal, rapeseed meal, and other grain crops, feed prices had skyrocketed—up sevenfold in just six months.

Half an hour later, Wang Xuecai hung up the phone. “Your dad called. He’s coming home tonight.”

“Just for a couple days or staying long-term?”

“He’s coming back to farm.”

Wang’s father had been a construction foreman, working on projects away from home since she was in high school. But with the economy in such bad shape, the engineering team couldn’t keep going anymore.

“Got it.” Wang Mengying didn’t say much, but her whole body radiated joy.

At 3 p.m., the two of them went shopping at the county supermarket, then headed home.

Changlong County used to be coal country. Back when coal was plentiful, the mountains were pockmarked with huge mining pits, but at least there was still some green—grasses and leaves here and there. Now, aside from the corn and wheat fields, all the green had turned into dry, withered branches. Driving past the base of the mountains, the hills were bare and colorless.

“Sigh.” Wang Xuecai looked at the mountains on either side, a trace of sadness in his eyes.

In late February and early March, the mountains of Changlong County used to be full of wild jujube and walnut trees. Now, all the trees, flowers, and grasses were dead. Though he was grateful that Changlong County still had some greenery left, the lush beauty of the past was gone for good.

At 5 p.m., Wang Mengying was in the kitchen cooking.

They were growing oilseed lettuce in the courtyard—one of the staple vegetables of the moment. According to Longxia Agricultural News, oilseed lettuce had become a basic item on household tables, appearing in 89% of meals. Not because everyone loved it, but because there were so few vegetables left to choose from.

Wang Mengying stir-fried a plate of oilseed lettuce with pork. As she cooked, two scorpions, each the size of a finger, crawled up onto the stove. She swatted them away without missing a beat.

Her home sat at the foot of Pingshui Mountain. With the ecosystem on the mountain destroyed, scorpions, centipedes, and other pests had become regular visitors over the past six months. The first time she saw them, she was terrified, but she’d gotten used to it. Just last week, while cooking, she found a half-meter-long snake in the rice bin. It took her two days to recover from the shock.

These days, when she scrolled through the news online, she saw that while other netizens didn’t have it quite as bad, scorpions and geckos were common in many homes. One resident from Longbei even made the trending list after discovering a half-meter-long weasel in their house. All of this was a result of nature falling out of balance—wild animals from the deep mountains were venturing out in search of survival.

Wang Mengying sprinkled some insect repellent powder in the corners, then carried the plate out to the courtyard.

At 7 p.m., an old off-road vehicle pulled up outside the courtyard. Wang Dajun got out, followed by two shy young men.

“This is Xiao Du and Xiao Zhuang, brothers from the construction crew,” Wang Dajun said, introducing them.

“Hello,” Wang Mengying greeted them and brought out two more sets of tableware from the kitchen.

After everyone had eaten their fill, the two young men went into the back room to rest, while Wang Mengying and the other two sat in the courtyard. They chatted for a bit about recent events, then Wang Dajun hesitated before asking, “How much money do we have at home?”

Wang Xuecai immediately became alert. “What for?”

“I want to open a food processing factory.” With the current global crisis, aside from industries that are drought- and flood-resistant, the most promising field is plant cultivation.

Already, many young people from towns and cities have returned to the countryside to start businesses. Those with land are farming, and those without are using the internet to develop businesses related to agriculture. The year 3029 has been dubbed a year of crisis, but with crisis comes opportunity…

“We could open a noodle factory, or a biscuit factory. If we have the right channels, we could even go straight into feed processing,” Wang Dajun said, growing more excited as he spoke.

He had previously worked in construction, and while he lacked entrepreneurial experience, he had a sharp sense for market trends. After his construction team went under, he had originally planned to return home and farm, but the journey back had sparked a lot of new ideas.

“Isn’t this an economic crisis?” Wang Xuecai was a bit stunned by what he was hearing.

“This crisis is mainly about rising prices. And why are prices rising? Acid rain has affected crop production, reducing the yield of raw materials…” Wang Dajun explained based on his understanding. His conclusion was that as long as they followed demand, even if they didn’t make much profit, they wouldn’t lose too much either.

“I had twenty workers under me, and now they’re all unemployed,” Wang Dajun added.

He used to lead his own crew doing tough construction jobs. Now that the construction industry was in a slump, his workers were out of jobs too. If possible, he still wanted to find a way for them to make a living.

Wang Xuecai thought it over seriously, then looked at Wang Dajun. “How much do you need?”

“At least three hundred thousand.” He had seven hundred thousand in cash, and once the project and factory site were finalized, a million would be the bare minimum.

“You’re not shy about asking,” Wang Xuecai muttered, then pointed to Wang Mengying. “Mengying handles the accounts for the agricultural base.”

Wang Dajun was momentarily stunned.

He had said all this in front of his daughter, but he hadn’t expected that getting the money from the old man would require her input too.

“What kind of project are you planning?” Wang Mengying asked after thinking it over.

“I’ll spend the next couple of days checking out what makes our town unique.”

Wang Mengying responded professionally, “I’m all for starting a business back home, but we need a complete project plan.”

Over the next three hours, the three of them discussed market demand and eventually set their sights on a pig feed mill. Changlong County had a well-developed agricultural industry, and they could easily source corn and wheat, but acquiring and transporting other raw materials would be a challenge…

“Let’s go check things out in person tomorrow,” said Wang Xuecai, finally giving in around ten at night.

Wang Mengying gathered the stools from the courtyard.

Wang Dajun watched her back as she walked away and suddenly realized—his daughter had grown up. Times were tough economically, but having the whole family sitting together like this brought a deep sense of peace and security.

The next morning, before the three of them could even head into the county to look around, they saw the Ministry of Agriculture trending online: [Longxia’s Economic Strategy from March to September, 3029]

The strategy consisted of twenty-five points—

1. Longxia has signed new seasonal grain cooperation agreements with disaster-stricken countries such as Cybera and Sola. In addition to grain cooperation, Longxia will also invest in new types of fisheries abroad.

2. Longxia will engage in trade exchanges with other countries, exporting wheat and sweet potatoes to nations like Natal and Canpesheng, while importing soybeans and peanuts.

3. Approval granted for the export of wheat, corn, sweet potatoes, and related products.

4. Implementation of renovation plans for old residential communities.

5. Launch of aerobic senior care facility construction projects.

6. Support for new agricultural industries.

…

The economic strategy focused mainly on two aspects: international trade cooperation and boosting domestic infrastructure and demand.

“With the global grain shortage, maybe I should go home and grow sweet potatoes to sell to other countries.”

“Grain is capital! I just lost my job last month, and I’m thinking of going back to farm.”

“You don’t necessarily have to farm—we could produce things like wheat flour and sweet potato starch and see if we can export them…”

“Feels like there’s real potential in agricultural products. They’re still considered a luxury in many parts of the world.”

…

Netizens were all focused on point number three.

Over the past six months, Longxia had provided grain aid to many countries, but with six billion people affected by the global disaster, every nation was facing a food crisis. As the crisis deepened, having a large stockpile of grain meant having negotiating power and international influence.

In Longxia’s 25-point strategy, the nation isn’t simply selling grain—it’s assisting other countries in jumpstarting their economies, all while safeguarding its own interests.

“An economy only works when it’s moving. We sell grain to Cybera, Cybera sells us ocean fish—both countries survive.”

“I checked Longxia’s export price guidelines. Even with the global crisis, the prices are still fair.”

“Now I finally understand what win-win cooperation really means.”

…

There are 320 countries across the globe. In the past, everyone focused on maximizing their own gains during cooperation. But the Harma Storm swept across the world like a virus, and now nations face not just economic hardship, but the far graver issue of survival.

Shuilan Star doesn’t belong to Longxia alone, and Longxia cannot stand by and watch other nations fall in the face of catastrophe. This economic strategy isn’t about maximizing profit, but rather, under the premise of protecting Longxia’s interests, it serves the greater good of all on Shuilan Star.

“Didn’t see that coming.”

“A truly unbelievable way to cooperate.”

“A completely unexpected strategy.”

…

After Longxia announced its strategic cooperation plan, not only were its own citizens stunned—even foreign media outlets were taken aback.

As the global food crisis deepened, most countries, though silent on the surface, had already braced themselves for Longxia to jack up prices. Now, with Longxia’s successful development of localized Acid Rain Seeds, there’s a glimmer of hope for the world—even if these seeds can’t be planted everywhere. Some nations have even publicly declared that as long as Longxia can provide life-saving grain, they’re willing to make the biggest concessions in terms of resources.

These concessions are humiliating, and everyone had been prepared for Longxia to exploit the situation.

But Longxia didn’t raise prices. It didn’t hoard supplies for profit. Instead, it chose win-win cooperation.

In the face of a global disaster, win-win cooperation is nothing short of a luxury.