Sail across the sea

Chapter 363 Not in a Hurry

Meng Zimin's composure as a high-ranking leader was evident at this moment. Unlike Niu Jianping, who reacted with impotent rage, he calmly asked:
"Rongjiang, how much leeway do you think there is in the conditions the province has proposed?"

Tan Rongjiang shook his head: "I asked Gao Yiping, and he said that this is the final condition, and all four factories will be treated equally."

"What if we don't agree?"

"Gao Yiping said, 'We can think about it some more.'"

"What do you mean by 'think about it'?" Wang Zhou interjected.

Tan Rongjiang said, "That is to say, he can give us some time to think."

"He's not in a hurry?"

"It seems...not in a hurry."

"Not in a hurry?" Meng Zimin muttered to himself, neither confirming nor denying.

“I think he’s playing psychological warfare with us. He did the same thing when the Provincial Department of Chemical Industry came to talk to us in the past,” Niu Jianping said. “Last time, Lao Tan said that the conversion of ammonium to urine was included in the Ministry of Chemical Industry’s work plan. If our province falters, the Provincial Department of Chemical Industry will be the first to be criticized. I really don’t believe they’re not worried.”

The issue of converting ammonium sulfate to urine has actually been discussed for some time. Cangyuan County wants to gain more benefits, so it has been wrangling with the Chemical Industry Department, testing each other's patience.

The leaders of Cangyuan County understood the principle of knowing oneself and one's enemy. Therefore, when negotiating with the Chemical Industry Department, they also arranged for someone to find out the department's bottom line. The answer they received was that the Chemical Industry Department was in a hurry because this matter was arranged by the Ministry of Chemical Industry and involved the evaluation of the Chemical Industry Department's work.

“County Chief Meng, County Chief Niu, County Chief Wang, I think we should be more cautious about this matter.” Hou Haitang, the deputy county chief in charge of education, interjected, “I read the newspaper the day before yesterday. Gao Yiping from the fertilizer company said in the newspaper that the four nitrogen fertilizer plants selected by the province are just an intention, and they welcome other fertilizer plants to take the initiative to participate in this work.”

"Is this implying that if our Cangyuan Nitrogen Fertilizer Plant is unwilling to cooperate, they will find other fertilizer plants to replace us?"

“So what if it’s replaced? We’re too lazy to bother with any modifications,” Niu Jianping retorted.

Hou Haitang said, “County Chief Niu, as we’ve analyzed before, the conversion of ammonium to urine is beneficial to the county. Just now, Director Tan said that Canghai Fertilizer Plant’s annual output value is 16.8 million yuan, and its profits and taxes can reach one-third, which is more than 5 million yuan. Even if the profits are to be shared equally with the province, the tax revenue will still fall into our county, and the profits left for us will be quite substantial.”

Wang Zhou said, "We need to invest 1000 million yuan. Even under the best-case scenario, it will take more than four years to recoup this investment. If we use this 1000 million yuan to do something else, we might still make just as much money."

Everyone fell silent, accepting Wang Zhou's explanation. In truth, everyone understood that finding a more profitable project wasn't easy, and the risks would be even greater than those of ammonium sulfate-based urine modification.

Furthermore, the biggest advantage of the ammonium bicarbonate to urea conversion project is that it can provide urea to replace the previous ammonium bicarbonate, which greatly benefits agricultural production throughout the county. Increased agricultural production means farmers have more money, which can be used for building houses and consumption, stimulating the county's economy and generating substantial indirect benefits.

The county's main purpose in delaying is to negotiate with the province. If the province can't hold out and agrees to provide an extra 200 million, the county will save 200 million.
"So, County Chief Meng, what should I do next?" Tan Rongjiang asked Meng Zimin cautiously.

Meng Zimin thought for a moment and said, "The conditions in the county cannot be changed. You continue to negotiate with the fertilizer company. I don't believe they can easily switch to another company."

"Didn't you say that the Chemical Industry Department chose Cangyuan Nitrogen Fertilizer Plant after comprehensive consideration? Other fertilizer plants in Yuxi City are not as good as ours. The investment for ammonium to urine conversion is 2000 million yuan. The province can't just choose to cooperate with a plant that is not ready just to spite us."

"What if they drag their feet?" "That's impossible. We're not under any pressure; the provincial authorities are definitely more impatient than we are."

"Actually..." Tan Rongjiang hesitated for a moment, but still forced himself to say, "Our nitrogen fertilizer plant is under a lot of pressure."

"What kind of pressure are you under?" Meng Zimin asked in surprise.

Tan Rongjiang said, "County Chief Meng may not know that ever since the newspaper published the news that Luping City had a bumper harvest due to the use of urea, many people have come to the nitrogen fertilizer plant to ask us why we can't produce urea. We are under a lot of pressure."

Tan Rongjiang was using euphemisms; in reality, the biggest pressure he faced was being asked to help procure urea from the Canghai Fertilizer Plant. He couldn't bring this up in the meeting, so he had to use a more respectable excuse.

“I know about this too,” Hou Haitang said again. “Some time ago, I heard that a private business owner in the county got a batch of urea from Cangtang. People from the Education Bureau, Health Bureau, No. 1 Middle School, and County Hospital all bought urea from him. Those who didn’t get it had a lot of complaints.”

That's right! I also suffered an undeserved misfortune.

Finally, someone spoke out about this.

Tan Rongjiang shouted in his heart, while giving Hou Haitang a grateful look.

"Well, about this..."

Meng Zimin stammered.

He knew about it too. That individual business owner had contacted the government office, and most of the county leaders, including himself, had bought that batch of "smuggled" urea. The quantity of urea wasn't large; in the end, each county leader only received three or four bags, which was far from enough.

In official circles, it's said that the higher the position, the greater the responsibility. To put it another way, the higher your rank, the more relatives and friends will ask you for favors.

In the past, when the county agricultural supply company received a small amount of urea, he, as the county head, could distribute ten or eight bags to his relatives in the countryside. They were all extremely grateful, saying they benefited from his generosity.

Now, my cousin from the countryside has come to the city and said that her neighbor's second son is just a small electrician at the county power supply station, but he can still carry several bags of urea back home. As the nephew of the county magistrate, it must be even easier for him to get some urea. Why don't you write a note and approve three or five tons for your poor aunt?

When Meng Zimin heard this, he was startled and fell over: "Auntie, what do you need so much urea for?"

“Many families in the village want to buy urea. If I take it back, I can sell it for an extra five yuan per bag,” my aunt said confidently.

After finally getting rid of his aunt, Meng Zimin harbored some resentment:

Why can't Cangyuan Nitrogen Fertilizer Plant produce urea? If their own county produced urea, wouldn't leaders from other counties be begging them for permission to produce it?

However, at that moment he did not associate it with the matter of ammonium sulfate being converted to urine. As a county magistrate who was extremely busy, this matter was just a minor episode for him.

(End of this chapter)