A Tale of Two Cities Supporting Xinjiang

"Section Chief Ding, these are all the data from my pond for the past month."

Batur Abujiang placed a thick notebook on the table. "Feeding amount, water temperature, crab condition, water change records... it's all here."

Although my dad didn't say it, he made me remember all of this carefully.

Ding Xuemin opened the notebook, which contained detailed data, even recording the daily temperature changes. A warmth welled up inside him. "Thank you."

"You are the one who should be thanking me."

Batur Abujiang said earnestly, "Without your persistence, our reservoir wouldn't have seen such a positive change."

For three days and three nights, the office lights were almost never turned off.

Ding Xuemin calculated the benefits, Xiao Zhang analyzed the data, and Batur Abujiang provided firsthand information.

They developed three plans: the ideal increase in production, the general increase, and the worst-case scenario.

Each situation is accompanied by detailed countermeasures.

On the morning of the fourth day, Ding Xuemin walked into the regimental headquarters again with a thick stack of reports.

Section Chief Chen took the report, flipped through a few pages, and his eyes lit up: "This report... is very well done."

He continued reading, becoming more and more serious as he read.

Finally, he closed the report and looked at Ding Xuemin: "Section Chief Ding, there's a key piece of data in your report: the survival rate in the trial ponds increased by 15%. Which ponds are you referring to?"

"It's the pond belonging to Batur Abujiang."

Ding Xuemin said, "His father, Abujiang Tursun, is a representative of the farmers. He initially had doubts about the new plan, but after seeing the actual results, he now fully supports it."

Section Chief Chen nodded: "Having the support of a leader is very important."

Go back and prepare; you'll be at the review meeting tomorrow afternoon.

Ding Xuemin, Xiao Zhang, and Batur Abujiang all attended the review meeting.

There were seven or eight leaders sitting in the conference room, and Section Chief Chen was presiding over the meeting.

Ding Xuemin explained the plan, while Xiao Zhang presented the data and shared the realities from the front lines.

When Batur Abujiang said, "My father initially opposed it, but now he takes the initiative to operate according to the new plan every day," the leaders looked at each other and nodded.

During the Q&A session, Finance Director Zhou asked the most detailed question: "If the pilot program fails, how will the costs be recovered from the 80,000 yuan investment?"

Ding Xuemin had made preparations in advance: "The bamboo and wood structural materials of the greenhouse can be recycled, and the insulation film can be used for other agricultural purposes."

Even in the worst-case scenario, we can recover 30% of the costs. Furthermore, we will only roll out the program after a successful pilot phase, minimizing risk.

The review meeting lasted for more than two hours.

At the end, Section Chief Chen saw them out: "Wait for notification; the results will be available within three days."

On the way back, none of the three spoke.

Only after the car pulled into the base did Batur Abujiang ask in a low voice, "Section Chief Ding, will it work?"

"Do your best and leave the rest to fate," Ding Xuemin said.

On the afternoon of the third day, the phone rang.

It was Section Chief Chen calling: "Section Chief Ding, it's approved. The 80,000 yuan in support funds will arrive next Monday."

Ding Xuemin's hand holding the microphone trembled: "Thank you... thank you, Section Chief Chen."

"Don't thank me, it's because your report was well done."

Section Chief Chen said, "However, there's a problem. You applied for 80,000, but the review panel felt there were still risks, so they approved 60,000, but require you to match 20,000 yourself. Can this be resolved?"

Ding Xuemin answered without hesitation, "Yes. We can handle it ourselves."

After hanging up the phone, Ding Xuemin did some calculations.

He opened his mobile banking app and glanced at his account balance of 23,000 yuan, which was his savings from the past few months, which he had originally planned to send home.

Without hesitation, he transferred 20,000 to the project account.

When Xiao Zhang came in, Ding Xuemin had just finished transferring the money.

"Section Chief Ding, has the funding been approved?"

Ding Xuemin said, "Eighty thousand were approved."

The shortfall of 20,000, I covered it.

Xiao Zhang was stunned: "You're paying for it again?"

"The last time."

Ding Xuemin smiled and said, "Once the greenhouses are built and the business is profitable, the money will come back."

The news spread quickly. When everyone learned that Ding Xuemin had personally contributed another 20,000 yuan, the discussions in the cafeteria completely changed.

"Section Chief Ding really treats our affairs as his own," Old Li remarked.

Old Wang nodded: "Last time I paid out of my own pocket to hire experts, this time I'm paying out 20,000 yuan to build a greenhouse. I couldn't do that."

After the pilot greenhouse project started, Abujiang Tursun's dark face became even more gloomy.

He stood with his hands behind his back by his pond, watching the busy crowd at the construction site in the distance, and snorted, "All this fancy stuff. River crabs live in water, not some delicate creature living in a greenhouse!"

While Ding Xuemin was working feverishly, Abujiang Tursun was also busy.

He went from house to house, a cigarette in his hand, complaining to everyone he met.

"Old Ma, don't let Ding Xuemin fool you."

Abujiang Tursun said to Ma Jianguo from the neighboring pond, "His feeding plan is okay, but this greenhouse? It's just burning money!"

"We've been raising fish for so many years, when have we ever seen anyone build houses for crabs?"

Ma Jianguo hesitated: "Technician Ke Ding said that the greenhouse can stabilize the water temperature and extend the growing season..."

Abujiang Tursun interrupted him, "Extend what?"

Crabs are a fruit that comes to market in autumn, why do we have to keep them until winter?

When the market price drops, it'll be too late to cry!

Besides, how much does a greenhouse cost? How many years will it take us to break even?

That was a very honest statement, and the surrounding employees all nodded in agreement.

In Xinjiang, where everyone works hard to earn money, no one dares to gamble their hard-earned money on something new that hasn't been tested yet.

As a result, despite Ding Xuemin's best efforts, only the two households that started with him were truly willing to join the greenhouse pilot program; no other households were actually willing to do so.

Ma Jianguo explained to Ding Xuemin privately, "Technician Ding, it's not that we don't trust you, it's just that... the investment is too large."

If it doesn't work, we'll have worked for nothing for a year.

Ding Xuemin didn't say much, just nodded, "I understand, it's good for everyone to wait and see."

The construction of the greenhouse is proceeding in an orderly manner, and the steel frame has been basically completed.

In mid-September, a time when autumn should be crisp and clear, the weather suddenly changed.

The weather station issued a cold wave warning the night before, and the temperature plummeted the next morning.

Yesterday I was wearing a single layer of clothing, but today I have to wear a cotton-padded coat.

The most dangerous thing is the aquaculture pond.

"Technician Ding! Something terrible has happened!"

Ma Jianguo knocked on Ding Xuemin's door early in the morning, saying, "All the crabs in my pond are lying still, not moving at all, and they won't eat even when I feed them."

Ding Xuemin felt a pang of anxiety, put on her coat, and ran outside.

Several people had already gathered by the pond, all looking worried.

A few dead crabs floated on the surface of the water, while most of the river crabs lay quietly on the bottom of the pond, hardly moving at all. These cold-blooded animals are extremely sensitive to temperature changes; when the water temperature suddenly drops, their metabolism almost stops.

"Mine is too!"

"Oh no, oh no, how much will we lose this time...?"

Panic spread among the employees like a cold wave, and some had already begun calculating the losses.