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Chapter 653: Chapter 643 Hosting the Visit Group (Part 2)
Director Bai, seeing that the atmosphere on this side was quite good, took advantage of the situation and approached, saying, "Governor, although this is certainly a good thing, Xiaoshen here is not without difficulties."
After he finished, he even gave Shen Yunfang a meaningful glance.
Shen Yunfang immediately understood Director Bai’s intention and felt a faint sense of gratitude for his help. What a great leader he was.
"Oh? What other difficulties are there? Let’s talk about them and see if, with so many of us here, we can’t think of a way to help you resolve them," said the governor, who was not the type to make empty promises but rather spoke with caution.
Shen Yunfang gave a shy smile, "Then let me first thank all the leaders. As you all have seen on our way here, I have sixteen vegetable greenhouses, each with a planting area of about three acres, and these vegetables will generally ripen in mid-December. If such a large quantity of fresh vegetables cannot be sold in time, they will definitely rot on our hands, which would mean a huge loss for our farm. That’s why I previously sought assistance from Director Bai, but the volume of vegetables here is just so large that he didn’t have a good solution, and now we’ve brought up the issue with all the leaders." Towards the end, she showed an appropriately troubled expression.
The governor listened without speaking, and the other leaders looked to him for his reaction, not quite understanding his intentions. They waited and remained silent.
After a while, the governor finally spoke: "This is indeed a problem. Have you discussed this and thought of any solutions?" He directed the question at Director Bai.
Director Bai then said, "After receiving Comrade Shen’s request for help, our department held a meeting specifically to discuss this matter. We think we can promote Comrade Shen’s fresh vegetables to various state-owned enterprises. It just so happens to coincide with the time before and after the New Year, and the enterprises can buy these vegetables and distribute them to their employees as New Year benefits." Distributing anything is good, but giving employees fresh vegetables is quite an impressive move.
The governor listened and nodded along.
Now everyone understood the governor’s thoughts, and a minor leader also chimed in, saying, "Director Bai has come up with a really good idea. This way, we can not only resolve Comrade Shen’s problem but also secure welfare for the employees. It’s like killing two birds with one stone."
Everyone’s gaze returned to Director Bai. Now that there was a plan, it was not the time for further problems.
"Hehe, this method is feasible, but the state-owned enterprises in our city alone won’t be able to consume such a large amount of fresh vegetables."
Ah, everyone understood.
One greenhouse could produce nearly ten thousand pounds of fresh vegetables. With more than ten greenhouses, that would be a considerable amount. There were only so many state-owned enterprises in Z City. If we tallied up all the government staff, each person would end up with several dozen pounds of vegetables, which was far too much. Most importantly, vegetable prices are not cheap in winter. Who would be willing to eat dozens of pounds all at once? Even if the vegetables were a gift from the enterprise, it wouldn’t be appropriate to distribute so much.
The governor’s secretary was as attuned to the governor’s thought as if he could read his mind. Observing the governor’s body language, he promptly said, "This is indeed a very important issue. When we return, I’ll organize a meeting with all the department staff to study this. What do you think, Governor?"
Though it appeared to be a question, in reality, it was offering the governor a way out. It wouldn’t be proper to agree on the spot. It was better to discuss it further before coming to a solution.
That was also the governor’s intention, and with that, he nodded in agreement, reassured Shen Yunfang a few words, and then continued with the visit.
Shen Yunfang wasn’t discouraged at all. To be honest, she wasn’t really worried that her vegetables wouldn’t be able to sell. Just next door in Z City, there were millions of people. A few hundred thousand catties of vegetables spread out meant that there wouldn’t even be enough for one catty per person. By that calculation, she didn’t have to fret about being unable to sell them.
Her only issue right now was a severe shortage of staff, leaving her unable to spare anyone to set up a stall to sell the vegetables. Therefore, she was thinking that if she could, just like last time, push these vegetables to organizations and let them distribute them to their employees, it would be much easier.
Of course, this kind of opportunity could only come once or twice, but she felt confident that if she could successfully push out fresh vegetables, surely next year there would be wholesalers who would take the initiative to come buy vegetables from her farm.
Having considered all this, Shen Yunfang still enthusiastically led the leaders around her farm.
First, the governor squatted down to chat with Erkui’s sister-in-law, mainly about the planting of greenhouse vegetables.
Shen Yunfang had arranged this deliberately. Erkui’s sister-in-law was bold and prepared to speak her mind, and was thus specifically placed there. Indeed, she didn’t disappoint, spending quite a while laughing with the governor about her experiences in growing vegetables. During the conversation, she casually mentioned that her husband used to be a soldier and had come to work on the farm after his discharge.
The governor immediately seized on the key point, engaging even more warmly and kindly with Erkui’s sister-in-law, a former military spouse.
Shen Yunfang pulled the still dazed reporter over and whispered, "Hurry up and take a photo, the governor personally asking a vegetable farming worker—that’s big news."
Finally catching on, the reporter snapped away at the governor. Later, to thank Shen Yunfang for the tip-off, he even purposely included her in a photo with the governor, framing all three of them together.
After standing up, the governor nodded to Shen Yunfang and said to the people around, "I didn’t expect Xiaoshen to be such a supportive and caring military spouse. Not only has she bravely embarked on her own business venture, but she’s also employing struggling military veterans and their relatives. It’s truly admirable."
Shen Yunfang quickly responded modestly, "I don’t deserve such praise, I haven’t done anything special. They are the ones who are capable and hardworking. My farm is not a place for idlers; the wages are paid for the amount of work done. It’s all thanks to their own abilities; I’ve merely provided them with a platform, that’s all."
"That’s already very impressive; not many people could do that," another leader sincerely remarked, himself a retired military officer.
After that, Shen Yunfang arranged for the governor and the leaders to visit the melon field to experience picking melons themselves. She came from the future, where pick-your-own farms were thriving, and many people enjoyed this kind of fun.
Clearly, these high-ranking leaders were also quite fond of the activity, bending down, tapping here, and tapping there as they seriously selected watermelons. Being in the melon field, of course, Shen Yunfang, as the boss, couldn’t just watch. So she let the leaders choose a few watermelons, cut them open right there, and invited the leaders and workers to eat the melons together.
This time Shen Yunfang didn’t need to give a reminder; the reporter, clicking away with his camera, captured it all.
In the end, Shen Yunfang also arranged for the leaders to pick up hoes and join the workers in weeding the soybean field, allowing the reporter to record the moment of the governor immersing himself among the laborers to work.
The leaders toured around the farm for an entire afternoon before reluctantly leaving in their cars. Smiling, Shen Yunfang waved her hand and said to Zhang Chunwang nearby, "Chunwang, it looks like we don’t have to worry about selling our vegetables this time."
