NOVPUB
Chapter 654: Chapter 644: Finding a Market
A few days after the provincial leaders’ inspection, Official Wang rushed over in a hurry.
"Boss Shen, you’re busy. It really is inconvenient to visit your place," Official Wang found Shen Yunfang in the vegetable greenhouse, and then, led by Yunfang, made his way to the office on the first floor of the dormitory building.
This office space had just been set up over the last few days. Originally, Yunfang hadn’t thought it necessary, as her work, since arriving, had been either checking on the greenhouses or working in the fields. The recent visit from the provincial leaders had served as a reminder, however, that her farm might host more leadership inspections in the future. Lacking a place for leaders to take a break and have a drink would be inexcusable. Hence, the new office came into being.
"Heh, it’s a bit out of the way, but we had no choice, did we? Come, Official Wang, you must be tired. Let’s start with a slice of watermelon." Upon entering the office, Yunfang cut a large watermelon and served it on a big platter.
"Oh, I won’t hold back then," Official Wang really didn’t hold back, grabbing a slice and starting to eat it right away, "Truth be told, out of all the watermelons I’ve tasted, yours are the sweetest."
"Thank you so much for the compliment, Official Wang. Such words are the highest praise for our watermelons," Yunfang said with a smile as she sat down to chat with him.
"Ah, just look at me, all focused on eating watermelon and forgetting why I’m here." After finishing an entire slice of watermelon, Official Wang remembered the purpose of his visit, "Boss Shen, I’ve brought good news for you."
"Oh? Now you’ve really piqued my curiosity. Where is this good news coming from?" Yunfang already had an inkling, but she kept a serious expression on her face.
"Heh, remember a few days ago, several leaders from the province and city came here for an inspection? After returning, they held a meeting specifically about your situation. The Governor himself said that your business is a key enterprise in our city. Should you encounter difficulties, the city government will definitely find ways to help resolve them. The provincial government will assist with the sales of your greenhouse vegetables. I’m here today just to inform you. You should head over to Director Bai’s office tomorrow. The details will be explained to you by the leadership in person." Official Wang had specifically requested to be the bearer of this news, just to curry favor with Yunfang.
Just as expected, Yunfang was delighted to hear this, "That really is wonderful news. It’s come at just the right time; I’ve been worried about the winter sales of our vegetables. But we have quite a lot of vegetables growing in several greenhouses. Can the province really handle it all at once?" Yunfang had considered that the sales might go like the previous period with watermelons and cantaloupes, wherein the city government’s internal departments consumed the entire supply, but the output from the greenhouses would be much more substantial than that of the watermelons and cantaloupes. A single department in the city government wouldn’t be able to handle it all.
"About that, I heard the Governor gave instructions. You should personally check with Director Bai for details." Official Wang, being a small fry, hadn’t had the opportunity to be present at the Governor’s meeting, so his knowledge was merely superficial; in-depth details required a visit to Director Bai.
"Alright, I’ll make a trip to the city government tomorrow." Yunfang didn’t feel discouraged by the lack of details. The visit to the city government was obligatory anyway—if Director Bai didn’t seek her out, she would seek him. "Official Wang, you’ve really gone out of your way today, coming all this distance to inform me. Your timing is perfect; the soy and corn in the fields are about ready for harvest. I’ll have some sent over for you."
"Ah, there’s no need, no need at all. I can’t take advantage of you," Official Wang said, although his face could barely conceal his joy.
"Don’t be such a stranger. What’s mine is yours, and all I have are these harvests from the fields. It’s the perfect time to take some home and enjoy the freshness. I won’t overdo it, it’s just a gesture of kindness. Wait here a moment; I’ll go get someone to prepare your share," Yunfang spoke, then walked out to arrange someone to pack the goods for Official Wang.
This place was too out of the way, and Shen Yunfang really hadn’t given Secretary Wang much. She merely had someone break off a dozen ears of corn and pack more than ten pounds of soybean pods. Since it wasn’t harvest season yet, all these items were freshly picked from the field, so Secretary Wang had to take them home to process himself.
Seeing these goods, Secretary Wang grinned from ear to ear without any qualms about the quality. After exchanging a few polite words with Shen Yunfang, he had the person Yunfang found send them back to the city by bicycle.
The next day, Shen Yunfang went to the municipal government office, where the hall chief was waiting for her in his office.
After meeting, without mincing words, the hall chief conveyed the governor’s thoughts.
"Xiaoshen, the governor was very satisfied with his inspection of your place and spoke highly of your farm. Right after returning, he went straight into meetings to help you solve problems."
"That’s really kind of the leaders to care," Shen Yunfang expressed her gratitude with propriety.
"As long as your farm can truly stand on its own two feet and develop, to lead the way for our province’s citizens, that will be better than anything." The hall chief was truly a good leader, constantly thinking about how to develop agriculture in Z Province.
"Hall Chief Bai, you can rest assured. I’ve made a big resolve, leaving behind my home and business, so I will definitely do my best." To outsiders, Shen Yunfang, the boss, was pretty much rooted to the farm, having set aside her family affairs. Of course, in reality, this was the case. If she was not going to work, she would just be here wandering around, hardly any different from working.
However, she still insisted on going home for meals and her time spent with her children and husband had not decreased.
"Mmm, I believe in you, Xiaoshen. You’ll do well. This time, for your farm’s winter greenhouse vegetable sales, the governor has given clear instructions that we must help you get through this. After some discussion, we think it’s best to distribute the produce internally among government agencies and various enterprises and institutions. It just so happens that when your greenhouse vegetables are ready, it will be near the year’s end, and these units can provide the fresh vegetables as benefits to their staff. Being able to eat fresh vegetables in winter is quite a prestigious thing for us in Z Province, and it’s beneficial for both the staff and the units," Hall Chief Bai spoke of the solution they had discussed as leaders.
Shen Yunfang nodded in agreement; she had already anticipated this outcome.
"However, each of your greenhouses covers more than three acres, so there will definitely be a large quantity of vegetables. I estimate that our city’s units won’t be able to consume them all. Therefore, under the governor’s facilitation, I’ve contacted the leaders of several surrounding cities and counties, talked with them, and now it’s confirmed that over forty units in these places are interested. I’ve had someone tally up the amount of vegetables they want; take a look." In fact, everyone was happy to hear about fresh vegetables in winter, and they willingly placed orders without needing much persuasion.
But since the size of the units differ, the amounts of vegetables needed vary too, which was a bit troublesome. Hall Chief Bai was not Shen Yunfang; he knew there were a lot of vegetables, but he had no idea of the specific quantity that could be produced, so he could only list the units that wanted vegetables. The rest was up to her to arrange.
