A Tale of Two Cities Supporting Xinjiang

Simayi Maimaiti turned off the alarm notifications on his phone, muttered something in Uyghur that no one could understand, put his phone back in his pocket, picked up the feed bucket, and walked towards the pond.

The crabs in the pond have been acting strangely these past few days, constantly trying to climb onto the bank.

Based on his experience in raising crabs, he knew that either the water quality was the problem or there was a lack of oxygen.

But he tested it yesterday using a traditional method, and the water looked clear, so there shouldn't be anything wrong.

"Uncle Sima Yi!"

Young technician Zhang rushed over, panting, "The system shows that the dissolved oxygen level in your pond #3 is only 2.8, which is severely oxygen-deficient. We need to turn on the aerator immediately!"

Sima Yi waved his hand and continued to scatter feed into the pond: "Your machine is inaccurate."

When I was raising crabs, you didn't even know what you were doing.

"But uncle..."

"But what 'but'? My crabs are perfectly fine."

Xiao Zhang was so anxious that he stomped his feet and turned to run towards the village committee.

Ding Xuemin was on a video call with the purchasing manager of Luyuan Fresh Food. The manager was full of praise for the quality of the previous batch of organic crabs and was about to discuss the purchase plan for the next season when Xiao Zhang rushed in without knocking.

"Director Ding, Uncle Sima Yi has turned off the monitoring equipment again."

The system alerted that the dissolved oxygen level in his No. 3 pond had fallen below the warning level.

Ding Xuemin's heart sank. She hurriedly ended the call, grabbed her coat, and walked out.

In the six months since the organic certification was obtained, the price of aquatic products in the village has doubled, and orders have been increasing.

But problems also arose: production couldn't keep up with demand, and quality fluctuated from time to time.

Last month, two batches of crabs suffered increased losses during transportation due to their physical condition, which drew complaints from customers.

To this end, Ding Xuemin went to great lengths to apply for smart agriculture support funds and introduced this intelligent water quality monitoring system.

Sensors have been installed in all ten or so ponds to monitor key indicators such as pH, dissolved oxygen, and temperature in real time, and the data is transmitted directly to mobile phones and the village committee's monitoring center.

He originally thought this was a great thing, but he didn't expect it to encounter so many obstacles in its promotion.

When they arrived at Pond No. 3, Ding Xuemin saw Sima Yi squatting by the pond, staring at the water.

"Uncle Sima Yi, Xiao Zhang said you turned off the equipment again?"

Sima Yi stood up, patted the dirt off his hands, and said, "That thing is so noisy, it keeps calling the police, it's annoying."

Ding Xuemin suppressed her anger: "The system shows that the dissolved oxygen level in your pond is only 2.8. The crabs are already starting to lack oxygen. We need to turn on the aerator immediately."

"I checked, it's fine."

Sima Yi disagreed, saying, "Look at this water, how clear it is."

If there were a real lack of oxygen, the crabs would have surfaced long ago.

As soon as he finished speaking, several bubbles rose to the surface of the pond, followed by a few crabs that wobbled to the surface, their legs flailing weakly.

Sima Yi's expression changed.

Ding Xuemin rushed to the electrical box by the pond and turned on the aerator.

The roar of machinery filled the air, and the water began to churn.

"Quick, help me catch the crabs that are floating on the surface!" Ding Xuemin shouted as she took off her coat.

Sima Yi then realized what was happening and hurriedly searched for a net.

The two worked for more than half an hour and pulled out more than 30 crabs that were barely alive, seven or eight of which were already dead.

Looking at the crabs lying on the ground with their bellies up, Sima Yi squatted down, holding his head and remaining silent.

After checking the aerator's operation, Ding Xuemin walked over to him and asked, "Uncle, how much was lost?"

"About fifty or sixty."

Sima Yi's voice was somber, "Based on the current price of organic crabs, we'll lose over two thousand."

"more than.

The lack of oxygen has affected all the crabs in the pond, and deaths may continue over the next few days. Even those that survive will be in poorer condition, impacting their quality for the market.

"I just don't understand, how could I have misjudged these crabs after raising them for so long?"

"You're not mistaken."

The reason is that the breeding density is now high and the environment is changing rapidly, so experience alone is no longer enough.

"You see, the system issued a warning three hours ago. If we had dealt with it then, there wouldn't have been any loss."

Sima Yi remained silent for a long time, and finally sighed: "You Han people have a saying, what is it... an old horse stumbles."

"An old horse knows the way."

Even the oldest horse needs to follow the road signs.

This intelligent system is like a road sign.

The next day, Ding Xuemin convened a meeting of all livestock farmers at the village committee.

He had the dead crabs from Simayi Pond placed on the table, saying, "Everyone can see this; this is the consequence of not following the system's warning procedures."

"Organic certification doubled our prices, but it also doubled our responsibilities. Our clients have extremely high quality requirements, and even the slightest fluctuation could lead to lost orders."

Li Dazhuang raised his hand: "Director Ding, I'm not against using the system, but that thing is too sensitive."

My pond is perfectly fine, but it keeps giving me warnings, which is making me very anxious.

Someone chimed in: "Exactly. Sometimes the data looks alarming, but the crabs are perfectly fine."

Ding Xuemin nodded: "Xiao Zhang has mentioned this issue to me."

The system has just started running, and some parameter settings may not be suitable for the actual conditions of our pond.

Therefore, starting today, we are adjusting our strategy.

He walked to the whiteboard: "First, the system's early warning system is divided into three levels."

Yellow alert: Please pay close attention; Orange alert: Preliminary measures must be taken.

A red alert has been issued, and immediate action is required. The village committee will also send someone to the scene.

"Second, establish a technical team."

"With Xiao Zhang taking the lead, and selecting three more experienced fish farmers to participate, we will gradually adjust the system's alarm thresholds based on the actual conditions of our ponds."

Ding Xuemin looked at Sima Yi, "The third, and most crucial, point."

Starting today, all smart monitoring devices must be turned on 24 hours a day.

"Anyone that closes without a valid reason will receive a warning for the first offense, have their monthly cooperative dividend deducted for the second, and for the third... have their organic farming qualification revoked."

The meeting room erupted in uproar.

"Director Ding, this is too harsh!" Li Dazhuang exclaimed.

"You have to be ruthless."

We've already invested over 200,000 yuan in this system; we can't let it become just a decoration.

More importantly, we are now receiving high-end orders. If a batch of accidents occur due to management issues, losing money is a minor matter, but ruining our reputation is a major one.

If organic certification is lost and prices drop, would people be happy about that?

No one spoke.

"Uncle Sima Yi, you have the most experience. I would like to ask you to join the technical team and help Xiao Zhang adjust the system parameters."

Only when both aquaculture and technology are understood can this system truly function effectively.

Sima Yi looked up, somewhat surprised.

Ding Xuemin continued, "You see, yesterday's losses could have been avoided."

The system gave a warning three hours in advance. If you had paid attention then, you wouldn't have lost more than two thousand yuan, and the crabs wouldn't have died.

We can't let experience and technology clash; we need to make them work together.

Old Chen coughed and said, "I agree with Secretary Ding's opinion."

Times have changed; crab farming now requires a scientific approach.

Sima Yi, you should agree and help everyone make the selection.

Sima Yi looked at Old Chen, then at Ding Xuemin, and finally nodded slowly: "Okay, I'll give it a try."

But if that machine keeps giving false alarms, I'm not responsible.

Xiao Zhang quickly replied, "Uncle, don't worry, with your guidance, we'll definitely be able to adjust the parameters to the most suitable level!"

For the next month, the technical team was extremely busy.

Although Sima Yi was still stubborn in his words, he was very capable when it came to work.

He took Xiao Zhang to visit each pond one by one, adjusting the monitoring parameters according to the actual conditions of each pond.

"The pond is deep, so the dissolved oxygen threshold can be set a little lower."

"There are trees shady nearby, so the temperature changes slowly, and the alarm delay can be extended."

"Li Dazhuang's pond has thick mud at the bottom, making it easy for ammonia nitrogen levels to exceed the standard. We need to pay more attention to this indicator."

As Xiao Zhang listened and took notes, he was filled with admiration: "Uncle, your experience is invaluable; it's much more practical than the knowledge in books!"

Sima Yi rarely smiled: "You know how to talk, kid."

After optimization, the false alarm rate of the system has been greatly reduced.

The farmers discovered that this iron lump actually seemed to have some use.

In particular, several accurate warnings of sudden changes in water quality prevented losses, and people's attitudes gradually changed.