1988: Back to the human world for a few years

Chapter 418: Trying Something New (1)

(What did I say? So the original plan was cut.)
Although they knew that the old man, with his status as a leader, would come here for an inspection and, even if he did not adopt a direct approach, he would definitely want to see the most authentic first-hand situation; Ye Tao and others did not expect that the old man would go around in circles and make the first stop of the inspection Qingyun County, and moreover, Dadingmiao Township in Qingyun County.

God has pity on us. No matter in later times or now, Qingyun County is the poorest area in Dezhou, without a doubt.

If one has to choose the poorest of the poor, then Dadingmiao Township, which is currently facing the choice of "abolishing townships and merging towns", is definitely the worst place in Qingyun County... It was able to abolish townships and merge towns in the early 1990s, and Dongxindian Township, as the recipient, refused to agree. One can imagine how poor this place is.

………………

After bumping along the bumpy dirt road for nearly two hours, the old man randomly pointed to a village, then stopped a few dozen meters away from the village entrance, got out of the car and stretched his limbs a little.

"Where is this place?"

The old man looked at the beautiful scenery around him and the shabby-looking village entrance, and asked casually.

As an old man who had experienced both the old and new eras, he knew very well that in northern China today, the better the scenery nearby and the less modern landscaping there was, the poorer the place was... and the rusty iron block hanging at the entrance of the village and the earthen walls full of honeycomb-like holes undoubtedly confirmed his guess.

Seeing the old man ignore Ye Tao and other main people and ask questions directly to his "guide", Yang Mo felt helpless: "Reply to Mr. Zhao, this is Zhenjia Village."

The old man looked at him with a little surprise, then laughed: "I heard that Dahua Company is a big company, and you, as the vice president, are also very busy... But I didn't expect that Xiao Yang is still very close to the people... How come you have been here before?"

I don't know whether this statement is an endorsement or not, but the suspicion contained in it is real.

No wonder, Yang Mo, the deputy general manager, is a typical position of low rank but with great power, and it is not the kind of low rank but great power in the conventional sense. Although he is only a section-level cadre, even an ordinary powerful division-level cadre is definitely not as important as this guy, and the number of large and small projects in his hands is definitely not as many as him.

For people like this, it may be an exaggeration to describe them as "busy with a lot of things to do every day", but the actual situation is not far off.

Therefore, when a key figure who needs to sit at the center all day can blurt out the name of a remote and poor village, he can't help but wonder if the other party is fooling him.

Yang Mo glanced at Ye Tao and the deputy squad leader who were smiling, and sighed helplessly: "Mr. Zhao, you must be joking. I have countless tasks to deal with all day long. I finally made it to the weekend, and I just want to lie in bed and sleep. How can I have the energy to come all the way here to play?"

As he spoke, he had a desperate attitude: "Actually, it's a coincidence. If you, Mr. Zhao, had gone to economically developed counties like Qihe and Pingyuan, or even to Linyi, I might not be able to name a few villages. But here in Qingyun... To be honest, I've been here quite a few times, and I can name at least 45 or 6 villages, if not 50... So it's unfortunate that I just happen to know this Zhenjia Village."

The old man laughed. "Oh? I only heard that the Xialiu Sales Agency that your Dahua Company cooperates with likes to go to poor villages, but I didn't expect that you, Xiao Yang, are the same... Does this count as the subordinates must follow the superiors' wishes?"

Hearing the old man's ambiguous words, Yang Mo smiled and said, "It has nothing to do with this. Basically, I am from Southwest Drilling Company 1... Although the environment in Qingyun is quite different from that in the southwest, there are still some similarities in some aspects, so I will naturally pay more attention to it... It really has little to do with Xialiu Sales Agency."

"Oh?" The old man looked at him with interest.

As Yang Mo led the old man to the entrance of the village, he explained, "Due to the changes and turbulence of the Yellow River and its tributaries in ancient times, the three types of terrain, hills, slopes, and depressions, are distributed alternately in Qingyun County. The terrain is low and slightly undulating... Although the overall geographical environment is much better than the mountainous areas, it is relatively disadvantaged in the Qi and Lu regions, which are flat plains everywhere... In simple terms, there are too many places that need to be manually leveled and filled, and the cost-effectiveness of the initial infrastructure investment is too low. When there are many better options, investors and industrial project parties don't like to spend time on this."

"Besides that, this place is close to Hebei Province and is within a 30-kilometer zone. Due to some well-known factors, this place is even less of an investment target;"

"This kind of situation, where both the geographical location and the cultural environment are restricted, is somewhat different from some areas in the southwest. Even though the actual conditions of the two areas are incomparable, we can still learn from them, right?"

The old man was stunned. Are they using Qingyun as an experimental site?
This young man thinks far ahead.

Although he didn't know what Yang Mo was going to experiment with here, and it was a bit unkind to use Dahua Company's money and resources to explore the future work of Southwest Drilling Company, Dahua Company was a state-owned enterprise after all, and state-owned enterprises were given the responsibility of innovation and exploration. Therefore, he could not blame Yang Mo for this.

With a noncommittal smile, the old man looked back at the minibus that was slowly backing into the shade of the trees, and looked at Yang Mo and Ye Tao who were accompanying him with interest: "Ji Province is a famous martial arts town. This place is close to Ji Province, so there must be a tradition of practicing martial arts... But along the way, I didn't see any messy things, which is really rare."

Hearing the old man's implication, Ye Tao immediately complained: "Mr. Zhao, you have to believe us, we really didn't tell you that you were coming...Besides, Dezhou is now a county-level city, and the journey is only two hours. Even if we informed you, it would be useless."

The old man felt a little annoyed by this guy who took the opportunity to cry for milk. He responded with a smile and then turned his gaze to Yang Mo.

He made it very clear yesterday that Yang Mo must tell him everything today. Compared to Ye Tao and others, he actually wanted to hear what this little guy had to say.

Yang Mo had nothing to hide: "Mr. Zhao, actually... there is only one disease in this world, and that is poverty."

"After all, the vast majority of Chinese people are simple and kind. As long as you can cure the disease of poverty, or let them feel that you are working hard to help them cure the disease of poverty, then more than 90% of the problems will be solved... and the public security and road robbery problems that are a headache for all places are basically caused by poverty."

Hearing the implication of Yang Mo's words, the old man showed surprise in his eyes. Then he glanced at the dilapidated entrance of Zhenjia Village and the bumpy dirt road. The meaning was very obvious... Are you kidding me?

Seeing this, Yang Mo smiled and said, "Mr. Zhao, to be honest, this is what we deliberately requested... In fact, as early as a month ago, we already had the funds to build this road, and some villagers can even renovate their houses. Who knows, there may be more than a dozen small Western-style buildings in the village;"

"But we have suppressed all of this... At least within three years, Zhenjia Village will not allow this visual [ecological sense] to be destroyed... Even after three years, we can gradually improve various living facilities and build new houses, but we must not make it too modern visually."

The old man was suddenly confused. What did this mean?
Yang Mo shrugged. "There's nothing we can do. All 27 villages, including Zhenjia Village, have been included in Dahua Company's [Precious Chinese Medicinal Materials Property Rights Finance Pilot Village]. If we don't do the necessary image packaging, it will directly affect the pricing of those medicinal materials and the valuation of the capital market."

The old man was dumbfounded.
Property rights finance of precious Chinese medicinal materials?
What the hell is that?

Yang Mo did not explain immediately. He just stretched out his hand and motioned the old man to follow him into the village.

………………

After entering the village, the old man realized that the situation might be different from what he thought.

Although the houses in Zhenjia Village are indeed shabby earthen-walled houses that look as if they could collapse in a heavy rain, and the villagers here are not dressed in Western clothes at all, but in this village where there are no modern facilities outside except for a few electric poles and a radio speaker, the faces of those villagers are much rosier than he expected.

Moreover, unlike the common grassroots rural areas, this place is very clean, extremely clean. Except for the occasional pile of fresh cow dung left by the passing cattle that will never see the sun the next day, there are no plastic bags, fertilizer residue, pesticide residue, feces, kitchen waste, etc. If he had not been born in the countryside and had visited many grassroots rural areas for inspection work over the years, he would almost have thought that the countryside should be like those city people who have never been to the countryside, thinking that the countryside should be such a pastoral beauty as in books.

In addition to these obvious abnormalities, what surprised the old man was that in this poor village that looked shabby at first glance, there were actually several imported cars parked. Judging from the parking position and license plate numbers, these should be vehicles from other places, but there was no one in the car, and there were no people around, and I don’t know where they went. In this era, each village is wary of outsiders. Seeing Yang Mo and his group of outsiders who changed into ordinary clothes entering the village, more than a dozen strong men immediately rushed out of the village quietly. Although they did not approach, they just stared from a distance, but judging from the hoes in their hands and the sickles on their waists, if Yang Mo and his group showed any improper intentions, they would immediately turn hostile.

The old man glanced at Yang Mo teasingly, and his meaning was very clear: Haven’t you been to this village before? Why don’t people recognize you?
Yang Mo defended himself aggrievedly: "Dahua Company doesn't practice formalism, and I'm not good at socializing. Every time I come here, I always hide behind others. Who would remember a young man like me?"

As he spoke, he took the initiative to wave to a villager, then took out a rarely used business card from his pocket and handed it over with a smile: "Second brother, I'm an employee of Dahua Company. Is your village chief here? I have something to ask him."

The villager took the business card and saw only two lines of words "Dahua Company. Yang Mo" on it. Although he didn't know the meaning of this business card layout, it didn't stop him from immediately letting down his guard... Before business cards flooded the streets, this thing was still very impressive.

"So it's the leader of Dahua Company... The village chief is not here. He accompanied Expert Zhao and a few devils to inspect the Coriolus versicolor cultivation base... The village director is working in the fields, not far from here. How about I call him over to you?"

Facts have proved that the name of Dahua Company is indeed very effective at the grassroots level in rural areas. Even though Yang Mo did not show his work ID and only handed over a business card, before thoroughly confirming the other party's identity, the man quickly put the sickle behind his waist in another position, as if he was afraid of scaring the distinguished guest.

Seeing the man was about to run to call the village director in a hurry, Yang Mo quickly stopped him: "Second brother, no need, we just happen to be going to the simulated wild cultivation base of Coriolus versicolor to have a look, please bear with it and lead the way."

The man first looked at him in confusion, as if he was surprised that someone from Dahua Company didn't know where the Coriolus versicolor cultivation base was. However, he glanced at the rest of the people and found that each of them had an extraordinary demeanor. Then he realized that this group of people might not be simple. Even the young man Yang Mo might not be the ordinary people who went to the countryside that he usually saw. He quickly responded, then stretched out his hand with a restrained look on his face to lead the way.

………………

Just as mentioned before, there is not much else in the Qi and Lu areas today, but there are definitely a lot of old poplar trees.

Therefore, the so-called simulated wild cultivation base of Coriolus versicolor in Zhenjia Village is actually just an old poplar forest not far from the village.

However, unlike the previous state of laissez-faire, this old poplar forest covering an area of ​​about 50 acres has been surrounded by fences, leaving only three entrances and exits, and there are villagers guarding the entrances... Judging from the real weapons in the hands of these villagers, the villagers regard this old poplar forest as a treasure.

The old man frowned and glanced at the Type 81 rifles hanging on the bodies of the villagers, but he didn't say anything in the end. After the man finished the registration, he followed Yang Mo leisurely and walked into the poplar forest, which was not actually very dense.

Not far away, I saw a few people squatting under a poplar tree about as thick as a waist, studying something.

Yang Mo was not polite and walked up directly: "Teacher Zhao!"

"Eh? Mr. Yang, why are you here?"

A young man who looked to be in his early thirties looked at Yang Mo who suddenly appeared in surprise, then wiped his hands on his body a little awkwardly, and then he met Yang Mo's right hand that was extended to him.

As a teacher at Laiyang Agricultural College, he naturally recognized this powerful section chief who was extremely enthusiastic about technical personnel... However, he was just an assistant teacher. He was not qualified to give individual lectures, so he naturally became a member of the grassroots technical personnel of the Coriolus versicolor cultivation team, and then traveled back and forth between the cultivation bases in various villages.

It was not surprising for Yang Mo to recognize those professors, associate professors, and even lecturers, but he was flattered that he could remember the names of even a small assistant like himself.

Grabbing the assistant teacher surnamed Zhao's right hand and shaking it vigorously, Yang Mo wanted to take out a cigarette and pass it to him, but thinking that this was a simulated wild cultivation base for Coriolus polygoni multiflori, he immediately withdrew his hand halfway out.

"Teacher Zhao, the Coriolus versicolor in Zhenjia Village should all be grown using the embedding method, right? What's the current situation?"

Yang Mo perfunctorily greeted the two island country commissioners sent by Sankyo Co., Ltd. who bowed to him, then squatted under the poplar tree with more than a dozen "patches" and asked Teacher Zhao.

Teacher Zhao quickly squatted down and said, "Mr. Yang, everything is going well. Although there were some omissions in the early cleaning and disinfection of the garden, selection of grafting sites, embedding techniques, and water replenishment due to lack of experience, old poplar trees are very good living substrates after all. Although the difficulty of this embedding cultivation method is significantly higher than that of the sawdust substrate, so far, the germination rate of Phellinus igniarius mycelium is still over 80%."

Looking at the "small copper spots" that are easily overlooked if you don't pay attention to the patches, Yang Mo nodded: "The sprouting rate is only one aspect. The simulated wild mulberry must grow for at least three years before it can be harvested... This process is very long, and there are many technical links that need to be studied and paid attention to... I don't understand these things, so I can only trouble you, Teacher Zhao, in the future."

Hearing that Yang Mo was not dissatisfied with the mycelium germination rate of only 80% like those ignorant leaders, but instead had a tone of entrusting him with an important task, a certain assistant teacher breathed a sigh of relief and looked at Yang Mo with eyes full of relief and gratitude... People who have never done research on a completely new technical topic will not understand what a grassroots technical staff like him is thinking at this moment.

After asking Mr. Zhao about several difficulties and problems encountered during the cultivation process, Yang Mo, who received a relatively satisfactory answer, turned his head to look at the old man standing behind him without saying a word and just listening quietly. Then he smiled, stood up and walked to the two island country commissioners standing obediently beside him: "What is the purchase price of wild Coriolus versicolor in the island country this month? Has Mitsubishi Bank adjusted the market valuation of imitation wild poplar Coriolus versicolor?"

After a while of mumbling, the accompanying translator said: "The price of grade A wild mulberry mulberry has risen to 1300 US dollars per kilogram, and the price of grade B is basically between 800 and 900 US dollars; for wild poplar mulberry, the price of grade A is about 700 US dollars per kilogram, and the price of grade B is about 450 US dollars."

"As for the imitation wild poplar mulberry, there is no artificially cultivated mulberry on the market, and your company has not cultivated finished products on a large scale for inspection and efficacy evaluation. Therefore, even though the price of wild mulberry has soared, Mitsubishi Bank continues to be cautious about the valuation... The current valuation is $150 per kilogram for grade A imitation wild poplar mulberry, and $65 per kilogram for grade B."

Upon hearing this huge difference in estimates, Yang Mo did not show any disappointment on his face. He just nodded slightly and waved his hand, signaling the other party to continue recording the Coriolus polyphylla growth record and environmental assessment in this poplar forest.

"Xiao Yang, what do those two island workers do?"

The old man looked at the staff who were standing on a ladder to observe the growth of the Coriolus versicolor embedded in the higher part of the poplar tree, and asked curiously.

Yang Mo shrugged. "He's just an employee of the Island Country SL Forestry Company... This is a subsidiary of Sankyo Co., Ltd., specializing in the construction and deep processing of precious forestry and precious medicinal materials... He is also one of the directors of the medicinal materials import and export company jointly established by the drilling company and Sankyo Co., Ltd."

The old man nodded thoughtfully. "What about the Mitsubishi Bank? I just heard you talking about some valuation adjustment... Doesn't it take three years to harvest Coriolus versicolor? What will the market price be by then? Just sell it to them at the contract price or market price. Why do we need a price evaluation?"

Yang Mo's face showed no sign of impatience. "Mr. Zhao, the 27 villages including Zhenjia Village are all pilot centers for property rights finance with Coriolus versicolor as the core value... Under the property rights finance operation model, the true value of Coriolus versicolor is not determined by the purchase contract price or the real-time selling price... The estimated price adjustment of financial institutions such as Mitsubishi Bank is the focus of the property rights finance transaction business, and it is also the key to how much asset value gain dividends the 27 villages including Zhenjia Village can get in advance."

Property rights financial transaction business?

Receive dividends on asset value gains in advance?
The old man became more and more confused as he listened, and finally he couldn't help but say, "Xiao Yang, please give me a brief introduction to the property rights finance model you are developing."

Yang Mo did not hesitate at all and nodded: "Okay, Mr. Zhao..."

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PS: I had already written more than half of it during the self-study class, but since the previous chapter has been included, the "price of life" content that was originally planned to be written can only be cut out. This chapter was rushed out at the last minute, and even the title was changed. It's a bit short and a bit watery, sorry.

(End of this chapter)