1968: Started from breeding

The crowd in the conference room quickly dispersed, leaving only a faint smell of smoke and the sound of documents being turned.

Su Wenchen composed himself and looked at Li Zhenlin, the director of the State Planning Commission, who was sitting at the head of the table.

Li Zhenlin did not speak immediately, but picked up the "Special Economic Zone Agricultural Modernization Supporting Introduction Plan" on his desk.

"Fifteen billion, Comrade Xiao Su, the number you mentioned at the meeting just now was quite a shock."

How confident are you about this number?

Su Wenchen instantly understood why he was left alone.

Wealth is tempting, especially astronomical sums of foreign exchange.

The leadership needs absolute confirmation, as this is not only related to the implementation of special economic zone projects, but also to the country's foreign exchange expectations and negotiating confidence.

He immediately sat up straight, his tone calm but firm: "Director Li, the figures are preliminary estimates based on the intelligence we have."

"According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, there are more than 500 million hectares of farmland affected by salinity to varying degrees, of which a huge amount urgently needs to be treated."

"Especially in California's Central Valley, which mainly grows high-value cash crops such as grapes, citrus, and almonds. I've heard that their gross profit per hectare can reach $2000 to $3500."

"Because the profits are very high, planting is very frequent, and the amount of fertilizer used is also very large. That area is also one of the most severely degraded land areas."

He paused for a moment, lowered his voice, and spoke with a hint of certainty.

"As for the pricing range of $100 to $300, it is a conservative estimate that takes into account both international market competitiveness and our own profit margin."

“The pricing power is in our hands. The core cost is our microbiome technology, which has almost no cost. As long as we can open up the market, even if we only cover 10% of the demand in the first year, there is still a potential of hundreds of millions of dollars.”

"Moreover, as long as we set a good example in the United States, we can naturally go and talk to other countries in Europe as well."

"Actually, it's not just us; almost every country in the world is troubled by saline-alkali land to some extent."

"Furthermore, Europe is not as sparsely populated as the United States, so the demand for land degradation remediation is greater for them. As for the remediation price, we can decide based on the actual situation and the degree of friendliness."

"Therefore, our market prospects are very broad, mainly because there are no competitors in the same category that can compare with us internationally."

Su Wenchen deliberately omitted Ronald's role as a potential driving force, as well as the political factors involving the opponent's votes.

Because he wasn't sure if his superiors knew.

Li Zhenlin was utterly shocked upon hearing Su Wenchen's words.

"So, the next year could see more than $15 billion?"

Su Wenchen immediately affirmed.

"If you include the global market, it's definitely worth tens of billions every year."

"However, what I was referring to, leader, was market potential. At this stage, it is impossible for us to supply so much alkali-remediating fertilizer, and we do not have that much production capacity."

"This is why we need to build large-scale feed mills. Only with large-scale feed production can we supply the ever-increasing number of alkaline rabbits."

Upon hearing Su Wenchen's words, Li Zhenlin immediately nodded.

"Looking at it this way, this feed project is really urgent!"

"By the way, after you expand your scale, is there a risk of leaks?"

Su Wenchen immediately assured him.

"Director Li, we have already begun to take steps to control the breeding stock of alkaline rabbits, including the Moonflower rabbit."

"Currently, all breeding rabbits are concentrated in separate breeding rabbit farms."

"As for other alkaline rabbits, we currently perform sterilization surgery on them at around four months of age."

"One is to prevent the leakage of breeding stock, and the other is that the lifespan of sterilized rabbits will increase significantly."

"Rabbit manure is currently the main raw material for our alkaline fertilizer treatment, so long-lived alkaline-fighting rabbits are more beneficial to us."

"Based on our current observations, the appetite and fecal production of neutered rabbits will increase relatively."

Hearing Su Wenchen's words, the doubts in Li Zhenlin's eyes visibly subsided.

He then changed the subject and spoke earnestly to Su Wenchen.

"Xiao Su, don't think I'm nagging, but to be honest, we really have to value your alkali-remediation fertilizer right now!"

Do you know what our foreign exchange quota was last year?

"The total national exports are only $2.8 billion!"

"We still have to repay more than 100 million yuan in interest on the technology loan from the Soviet Union after the New Year is over."

"Then most of it will be used to import the equipment on the list, and we don't know if that will be enough!"

Now you know why I asked you to confirm it again!

"Currently, the only eye-catching foreign exchange earning project in our country is your Moon Rabbit."

"However, we cannot expand the production of this kind of high-end fur indefinitely."

"Therefore, your alkaline rabbit treatment project is our most important and irreplaceable foreign exchange earning project going forward."

"do you understand?"

For Li Zhenlin, if the subsequent exports of the alkaline fertilizer can truly reach the foreign exchange amount calculated by Su Wenchen, then...

In his eyes, he was definitely the top player in the foreign exchange industry.

If the US alone accounts for over a billion a year, then adding European countries would bring the total to tens of billions.

This directly doubled the current total foreign exchange reserves!

Although their State Planning Commission was the country's chief administrator, they had never lived such a wealthy life before!

If he can really earn that much foreign exchange, he could be a godfather to Su Wenchen.

Upon hearing this, Su Wenchen immediately replied solemnly.

"I understand, Director Li! Our special zone will certainly live up to your expectations and accelerate the improvement of the scale of alkali-control rabbit breeding."

"Strive to earn enough foreign exchange for our country as soon as possible."

Li Zhenlin nodded in satisfaction.

"By the way, I have some good news to tell you in advance. In order to stimulate the enthusiasm of local enterprises for foreign exchange earnings."

"After the Spring Festival, for every US dollar of goods exported by all foreign exchange earning enterprises, our government will provide a subsidy of RMB 1.08."

He finished speaking with a touch of wistfulness.

"In previous years, since the friction with the Soviet Union began, we were restricted by both sides and could not import anything of even slightly better quality."

"Therefore, the US dollar is not in short supply as it is now."

"The US has softened its stance, although it has only loosened restrictions in a portion of the areas."

"But it's enough to make our mouths water."

"So we have to seize this window of opportunity and bring in as many as we can."

Li Zhenlin was clearly prepared for the possibility that the United States might renege on its promise and impose another blockade at any time.

Su Wenchen's eyes lit up when he heard this.

Although one dollar is exchanged for one dollar, according to the exchange rate, it's a loss.

But this is much better than before, when there were no subsidies at all.

This policy is definitely a huge benefit for Su Wenchen.

As the export of alkali-treated fertilizer increases, the special economic zone will also bring in a huge amount of funds every year.

This way, money can be used to expand production, thereby gradually driving the overall development of the special economic zone.

Su Wenchen had even started planning in his mind how to spend such a large sum of money in the most cost-effective way. Seeing Su Wenchen lost in thought, Li Zhenlin smiled.

"Alright, Xiao Su, let's go if there's nothing else!"

"The authorities still have high hopes for your special economic zone, but I'm warning you, don't make any mistakes on the economic aspects!"

Upon hearing this, Su Wenchen snapped out of his reverie and solemnly agreed.

"Understood, Director Li!"

"I, Su Wenchen, would never make a mistake on this matter!"

"If I make a mistake, you'll be the first person to deal with!"

Seeing this, Li Zhenlin also stood up and tidied up the documents.

"Let's go then!"

"You'll have to stay in Beijing for a few more days. If the leadership approves it, then we'll discuss the selection of the specific procurement company for the project."

"You can come over and give me your opinion too."

"Well, to be honest, we don't know much about foreign private companies either, so we're all really clueless about this!"

Su Wenchen immediately replied, as if he had just thought of something.

"Boss, we really need to be more vigilant about this."

"I've heard that many foreign companies manipulate contracts in various ways."

"So we need to pay attention to this."

"I think when we send people abroad to negotiate, it would be best to consult with professional organizations in some major cities of the other country."

Li Zhenlin asked curiously.

"Oh, they're all from the same country, won't they team up to scam us?"

Su Wenchen paused.

"It is indeed possible that this is the case, but this also comes at a cost. The larger the consulting firm, the higher the cost of its reputation."

"Unless the other company offered excessive compensation."

"Otherwise, those big consulting firms wouldn't bother to destroy their own livelihoods."

"In particular, we can consult several companies and compare them several times, which will greatly reduce the chances of being ripped off."

"Moreover, leader, this procurement is different from the previous Soviet aid projects."

"Back then, there was only the Soviet Union, so we could only do whatever they said."

"This time we're spending real money, so we'd be a sucker if we didn't compare prices from different vendors!"

Hearing Su Wenchen's words, Li Zhenlin nodded.

"No wonder that person kept recommending you to join the preparatory team before they left!"

"It's a pity that the price of sending you abroad was too high, otherwise I think it would have been no problem to send you to lead the team."

Su Wenchen naturally understood what Li Zhenlin was saying.

He was a key figure in driving the birth of the Moon Rabbit and the Alkali-Curing Rabbit.

If he leads a team abroad, it's fine if others don't know, but once the United States finds out that he was the one who did it.

That would be a classic case of lambs to the slaughter.

So he replied with a smile.

"Boss, you think too highly of me. I just like to gossip about people."

"This specific task definitely needs to be handed over to professionals!"

"I can only offer a heads-up; if you really asked me to look for loopholes in the contract, I honestly wouldn't understand it!"

Moreover, Su Wenchen believed that a wise man avoids dangerous situations, and he didn't actually have much expectation for things abroad.

After all, he wasn't a true native; he had seen all sorts of skyscrapers in his previous life.

Upon hearing Su Wenchen's words, the other party nodded.

"Indeed, professional matters should be left to professionals, but there aren't any professionals in China right now, so we still need to train them gradually."

"So don't rush off, stay in Beijing for a few more days and help come up with some ideas. This is the first time we've introduced something from the West, so we need to streamline the process for the future. That way, we won't be completely clueless like we are now."

“If you hadn’t reminded me, I estimate that many comrades who went abroad would have ended up like those imported from the Soviet Union back then.”

"We do whatever they say, and we don't dare to say a word more than necessary."

“Indeed, we’ve spent real money on this, so we can’t let it be like before, where they don’t even let us be present when they’re repairing equipment.”

"Alright, that's all for today!"

"We'll discuss the specific details later."

"It's getting late, shall we go eat together?"

Su Wenchen touched his head.

"Hey, boss, now that you mention it, I'm actually hungry!"

"To be honest, I've never actually eaten here before!"

"I really want to try our state banquet dishes!"

The other party smiled and pointed at Su Wenchen a few times.

"You little brat, what kind of state banquet is this? You think we eat state banquets every day here?"

"That's something that can only be displayed when receiving important foreign guests!"

"Come on! I'll treat you to something and take you to try the cafeteria here."

Su Wenchen nodded repeatedly upon hearing this.
"Thank you so much, boss."

In his opinion, strolling around here is much more attractive than going abroad.

The two then walked out of the conference room together.

Time flies, and the Spring Festival is just around the corner.

Su Wenchen stayed in Beijing for almost a month starting from New Year's Day.

On the one hand, they also reviewed and organized the information on companies from various Western countries collected by the preparatory group and various diplomatic departments.

On the one hand, he is also responsible for training personnel who will subsequently go abroad for inspection.

If it weren't for the approaching US president's visit, Su Wenchen probably wouldn't have been released before the Spring Festival.

Because the US president will be visiting on February 21, a week after the Spring Festival.

So even if the organizing committee didn't want to release the people, they had no choice.

After all, Su Wenchen still needs to take charge of the work in the Special Economic Zone.

On the green train back to the special economic zone, the rhythmic clatter of the wheels accompanied Su Wenchen's swirling thoughts.

The view outside the window also changed from the North China Plain to the saline-alkali landform of the Huang-Huai-Hai Plain.

When the familiar fields bearing the marks of saline-alkali land transformation came into view, Su Wenchen felt a surge of pride.

With his intervention, this saline-alkali landform has been gradually transformed. (End of Chapter)