Reborn in the 1980s: I made my fortune hunting wild game in Changbai Mountain

When Yue Feng asked him a question, Wu Keji did not answer, but simply smiled and shook his head.

After a few seconds, Wu Keji saw that Yue Feng was looking up at him and still showed no sign of eating, so he sighed and said:
"This old man has lived most of his life, and he still has some trump cards up his sleeve!"

I'm asking you these questions now just to explore some possibilities!

You don't need to be too nervous. Since we resolved our internal issues last time, there have been very few conflicts that require bloodshed!

This time, Yue Feng was not convinced. He looked into Wu Keji's eyes and said in a deep voice, word by word, "Very rare, but it does happen!"
As you just told me, you like to make thorough preparations, so there must be something special that made you aware of this potential crisis!
I know that someone like you would never reveal the truth before it comes to light!
I won't ask for details; I'm just stating my opinion in front of my master!
With me, you can always feel at ease and at ease. You can ask for help anytime you need it!
Whether it's personal matters, money, or other connections, you'll be treated the same as my master with my nephew—he'll give you whatever you want, with no upper limit!

If necessary, even if we have to give up all this wealth and start over, I, Yue Feng, am only in my early twenties and won't even blink!

Hearing Yue Feng's words, Wu Keji and Zhao Dashan exchanged another glance, and the two old brothers raised their glasses again, clinking them together with smiles.

"Old Zhao, when it comes to judging people, I'm not as good as you are at judging Xiaofeng!" Wu Keji said with great satisfaction.

Zhao Dashan looked at Yue Feng with great pleasure and said proudly, "That's right, how could my apprentice, Zhao Dashan's, be an ordinary person? From the first time I met this child, I knew Xiao Feng's character!"
What do you have to worry about now? The child is all grown up. If you really have any ideas, you might as well talk to Xiaofeng about them!

There are only three of us in this room; no information can escape beyond this room!

With Zhao Dashan and Yue Feng both expressing their opinions, Wu Keji nodded and then began to speak.

"Now, the national policies on ginseng harvesting and cultivation have changed! This has put our ginseng farmers' organization on the verge of organizational reform!"
We had serious disagreements internally about the distribution of benefits, leading to factionalism and division, which eventually escalated to the point of resorting to force.

Force can only resolve some disagreements among the leaders; it cannot change the overall policy trend!
If we don't keep up with national policies and trends, it won't be long before agricultural organizations become defunct in name only!

However, making adjustments now in line with the national situation will affect the vested interests of many people, inevitably leading to major conflicts and even bloodshed!

During this time, Xiao Tao got married, and I took the opportunity to stay on the mountain for a while, constantly thinking about how to solve this problem!

However, after much thought, no good solution could be found that could satisfy both.

"My boss entrusted me with the responsibility of feeding so many people; I can't just let it all fall into my hands!"

After listening to Wu Keji's words, Yue Feng began to think rapidly.

Previously, the government ostensibly managed ginseng as a state-owned enterprise, with state-owned units responsible for the unified purchase and operation of ginseng farms. Pricing and sales were standardized, and ordinary people had no distribution rights, let alone bargaining power!

For the Songyuan ginseng farmers' organization, part of their business comes from their own private plots of wild ginseng, which are managed by the "fields" controlled by various leaders. These fields will release ginseng to the mountains for harvesting at specific times each year.

With the increasing harvesting of wild ginseng year by year, the revenue from this business has shown a clear downward trend, and the output of old, high-quality wild ginseng is becoming increasingly scarce, facing the risk of depletion.

The other part consists of artificially cultivated ginseng, such as forest-grown ginseng and garden ginseng. Ginseng farmers' organizations are also cooperating with state-owned ginseng farms to undertake daily management and professional maintenance.

Although this income is not substantial, it is stable. The ginseng market has been good in recent years, and most ginseng farmers are employed by the government.

Of course, they were all nominally active under the leadership of Wu Keji.

After hearing about the problems Wu was facing from Grandpa Wu, Yue Feng quickly understood the situation by considering the historical context.

Now that the government has relaxed restrictions on ginseng sales, ordinary farmers can also grow ginseng in their own names. As a result, those who have mastered ginseng cultivation and management techniques have become highly sought-after.

When a person's status is not commensurate with their abilities, conflicts will naturally arise. As the leader of the team, Wu Keji will face many challenges in balancing these issues.

Ginseng farmers' organizations, as grassroots groups formed to resist risks, inherently operate in a gray area between right and wrong. Once interests are involved, vicious struggles or conflicts become inevitable.

Thinking of this, Yue Feng picked up a piece of wild duck meat with his chopsticks and stuffed it into his mouth. While gnawing on it, he said, "Grandpa, is it because the state-run ginseng policy has been relaxed that your men are starting to get restless?"

Upon hearing Yue Feng's words, Wu Keji suddenly looked up at Yue Feng, his eyes filled with surprise.

"The official document for this won't be released until next spring. Where did you hear that from?"

Yue Feng smiled and shook his head: "I naturally have my own information channels. I have friends in the Forestry Bureau and such, and I've always had good relationships with uncles and elders!"

You tell me, is this the case? I might know more inside information than you do, who knows!
Let's close the door and compare the information we have. Maybe that will give you some new insights into your uncertain plans!

"That's indeed the case!"

Once the government loosened its policies on ginseng trading, the people under my command became uncontrollable!

They all understand the skills and techniques of ginseng cultivation, and can grow, manage, and sell ginseng themselves, bypassing the management of the ginseng gang!
I know the major policies can't be changed, but I want to ensure a smooth transition of rights and responsibilities for the participating groups!

When Yue Feng saw Wu Keji nod and acknowledge the core conflict, he understood the situation.

He paused for a second to roughly organize his thoughts, then smiled and said, "Sir, do you think that relaxing the policy is a good thing or a bad thing for you practitioners in the ginseng industry?"

Wu Keji calmly replied, "In the short term, it's definitely a good thing! Ginseng farmers have more choices, and their skills will come in handy! In the long term, it's hard to say."

Anything in excess will affect the market. Ginseng cultivation is a long-term, high-investment industry, making it prone to oversupply and a rush to market. If everyone rushes to plant and market, and the market cools down, many people will lose their life savings and not get their money back. In severe cases, some might even contemplate suicide!

Yue Feng nodded after listening. As expected of the leader of the Songyuan Ginseng Gang, Grandpa Wu had a very thorough understanding of the nature of the industry and its possible future development.

In fact, ginseng, as one of the three treasures of Northeast China, was in a relatively stable state before the policy was relaxed. The market was always good, the output was stable, and the quality was excellent. These factors all contributed to its high price.

In Yue Feng's memory, it was after the market was opened up the following year that the market began to plummet around 90, and many people lost everything in the face of the depressed market.

Many ginseng farmers borrowed money to start planting, only to lose everything.

This also led to ecological problems such as deforestation for ginseng cultivation, and the market price did not recover for many years.

Yue Feng explained very clearly: "Grandpa, this trip to Beijing wasn't just about playing with eagles and making friends. Through some special channels, I also learned some inside information about policies."

I'll give you a development scenario that's highly likely to come to fruition over the next ten years. If you want to make a decision, refer to this scenario!

Don't worry about the specific source of the information; I certainly wouldn't make it up out of thin air!

"you say!"

Yue Feng said, "With the relaxation of the state-owned ginseng policy, a large number of farmers and ginseng growers will definitely join the industry and start large-scale ginseng cultivation!"
As far as I know, it generally takes about six years from breeding and seedling cultivation to harvesting ginseng.

"Yes, it usually takes about six years. If it's a 'side strip sea cucumber,' it will take even longer, up to seven to nine years, to grow to meet the required morphology!"

Wu Keji agreed, then stopped drinking and waited for Yue Feng to continue.

Yue Feng continued, "According to the expectations of those people above, after the policy is relaxed, the annual ginseng production will explode after the six-year cycle is over! At that time, the market for medicinal garden ginseng will be greatly impacted!"
The annual consumption of ginseng in our country, both domestically and internationally, is relatively fixed, and the normal growth rate of market demand is easy to calculate!
This stuff is medicine, not food! Once the supply and demand relationship is disrupted, the only possibility is a huge price drop. The massive influx of fresh garden ginseng will cause the prices that have risen over the years to plummet overnight!
According to what I've heard, at the national level, several experts have estimated that this market volatility will last for about ten to fifteen years!
Ideally, it would take about 15 years for the market to stabilize initially! However, according to my friend's personal opinion, 15 years is relatively conservative. He thinks it will take 20 years, or even longer, to digest this impact!

I also asked him why he made this judgment. His answer was that our country is in a period of rapid economic growth. Farmers originally had a single source of income. Now that they have a way to make money, the scale of people flocking to new planting industries may far exceed normal expectations. In this case, several factors are superimposed, and the actual impact is far greater than theoretically estimated!
My friend advised me that the price of old ginseng will continue to rise, and as it becomes increasingly rare, its value will increase accordingly!

The market for artificially cultivated ginseng has about five or six more years of growth and profitability; once that period ends, it will inevitably collapse!

Yue Feng, who was reborn as a 13th-generation idiot, had already experienced the development of this era. Although he was not a professional in the field, as a native of Northeast China, he had relatively smooth access to information on major policy trends.

After all, in those days, besides television, radio, and newspapers, there were no other sources of information. Newspapers were full of news about ginseng prices collapsing and ginseng farmers losing everything; you could find out about this kind of public news just by glancing at it while wiping your butt.

After listening to Yue Feng's "professional" persuasion, Wu Keji's expression became much more serious than before.

Yue Feng only cared about whether he made a profit or a loss; he didn't care about the outcome, whether it was good or bad.

To Wu Keji, these cold words directly determined the life or death of his men.

"The information you shared is very important to me! Xiaofeng, I really underestimated you before! Beijing truly lives up to its reputation as the country's capital; it has some truly capable people!"

After a five-second silence, Wu Keji picked up his glass and downed the remaining half-glass of wine in one gulp before speaking from the heart.

Yue Feng didn't pour wine immediately, but poured Wu Keji a cup of hot tea to comfort him, saying, "Uncle, don't get agitated! You must have connections and influence with those state-owned ginseng farms and such!"

If you want to make money steadily, just buy all the ginseng seedlings that are ready-made in the mountains and haven't reached the age limit yet. Hold them for a year or two and sell them when the market is good. You'll make a sure profit!

Once the peak season for ginseng is approaching, withdraw from the market, and then you can hold onto the old ginseng business!
Personally, I don't think this industry is worth racking your brains to figure out the future!
No individual can defy the policy will of the nation! This is the law of the times!
Just like if one day the country enacts a law banning the hunting of wild animals and prohibiting the use of guns, then hunting gangs will have no foundation to exist!
These products of our time will eventually decline under the influence of national policies!

After listening to Yue Feng's final summary, Wu Keji remained silent.

Reason told him that Yue Feng was right, but emotionally, Wu Keji couldn't let go.

The thought that the entire industry would undergo a major transformation in five or six years, and that the years of accumulation by ordinary ginseng farmers would vanish, weighed heavily on Wu Keji's mind.

At this moment, Zhao Dashan picked up the wine bottle and filled Wu Keji's glass with baijiu.

Zhao Dashan patted Wu Keji on the shoulder and said, "Alright, Lao Wu, you're already this old, why are you thinking so much?"
Money is just a matter of having enough to spend; you can't take it with you when you die!

Xiaofeng's news from the capital must be accurate. You can take advantage of this policy change to get out of there!
"Then, the two of us old buddies can keep each other company at the mountain farm, flying eagles and hunting every day, drinking, eating meat, and bragging all the time, with Xiaofeng keeping an eye on us. Wouldn't that be great!"

Wu Keji nodded and let out a long sigh: "If the Ginseng Gang is destined to decline, then let it decline in my hands!"

Xiaofeng was right just now: no matter how hard an individual tries, they can't go against national policies!

"Hey, grandpa, why are you suddenly getting sentimental? No ordinary person has the foresight to predict what will happen tomorrow!"
You don't need to get upset about what happened in the past, nor do you need to worry about things that haven't happened yet! Come on, let's eat meat and drink!

Yue Feng placed a large piece of succulent duck leg meat in front of Wu Keji and urged him to eat it.

Wu Keji nodded, picked up a duck leg, took a bite, and something glistened as if it slid down his dark, inky eyes. (End of Chapter)