A Tale of Two Cities Supporting Xinjiang

More people signed up than expected.

In three days, more than eighty people signed up.

There are recent college graduates, young people who have returned from working outside, and several who are already technical backbones of the cooperative.

The interview was conducted by Li Chao, Researcher Lü, Aini, and the director of the county's agricultural bureau.

"Why do you want to learn this?" Li Chao asked the first interviewee.

She was a 22-year-old girl named Guli, who had just graduated from Xinjiang Agricultural University.

"I studied horticulture."

Guli speaks very frankly, "But I've found that what you learn in school and what you use in the fields are two different things."

I want to learn real skills, skills that will allow us to grow better apples and sell them for higher prices.

The second one was a young man, twenty-five years old, named Aishan. He used to work in Shanghai as a courier.

"I saw Xinjiang apples selling for such high prices in supermarkets in Shanghai."

Aishan said, "I was thinking, why can't we process the products ourselves and sell them ourselves?"

"Do we really have to sell the fruit cheaply to the buyers so they can make a fortune?"

The selection process was very difficult, with only twenty spots available.

The final twenty selected included twelve university students and eight young people with practical experience. Li Chao's terms for them were:

Starting salary of 4,000 per month (considered a high salary in the local area).

A three-year contract is signed, and five social insurances and one housing fund are provided.

After completing their studies, students can either stay and work in the laboratory building or return to the cooperative as technical supervisors.

There are two opportunities to study in mainland China each year.

"Officer Li, isn't this treatment too good?"

Xiao Zhang was a little worried, "Can we afford it?"

"Affordable. Technology is priceless."

The value these twenty people can create, once trained, far exceeds their salaries.

At the end of September, the first training course in the laboratory building concluded.

The twenty technicians were divided into four groups: planting, processing, testing, and marketing.

The five people in the processing team moved directly into the newly built processing plant.

The team leader was Guli.

This girl has a fierce determination. During the three-month training period, she filled three notebooks with notes, thoroughly understanding every step of the juice production process.

"Officer Li, we've figured out the issue with the sterilization temperature."

Holding the experimental data, Guli said, "The Shihezi red apples have low sugar content and low pectin content, so the sterilization temperature needs to be reduced by 5 degrees and the time shortened by 20 seconds."

This method both sterilizes and preserves the flavor to the maximum extent.

"Have you tried it?" Li Chao asked.

"I tried three times."

Guli opened her phone and played a video. "Look, this is a comparison at different temperatures."

Juice made using our method has a brighter color and a sweeter taste.

That afternoon, the first batch of test products rolled off the production line.

Five hundred bottles of NFC apple juice, in glass bottles, labeled: "Gobi Organic · Shihezi Red Freshly Squeezed Juice".

Li Chao opened a bottle; it had a rich apple scent, with a hint of Gobi sunshine.

It tastes sweet and refreshing, without any of the cloying sweetness of concentrated fruit juice.

"It's a success." He breathed a long sigh of relief.

Aini also took a sip. "This tastes...much better than those juices that cost twenty or thirty yuan in the supermarket!"

"How much is it priced?" Xiao Zhang asked.

"Retail price: 28 yuan per bottle."

Li Chao had a plan: "We'll go for the high-end market."

The first batch of 5,000 bottles will be tested on our own e-commerce platform.

Once the juice production line was up and running, a new problem arose: fruit pulp.

For every ton of apple juice extracted, 300 kilograms of pulp are produced.

These fruit pomace have a high moisture content and are prone to rotting; if not handled properly, they can cause pollution.

"I've come up with a plan."

This time, it was Aishan who made the suggestion: "Many sheep are raised in our Gobi Desert, and the fruit residue is nutritious and can be used as feed."

But you can't feed it directly; it needs to be fermented.

He learned a set of biological fermentation techniques in the laboratory building: fruit pomace plus straw, plus fermentation agents, and fermentation in a sealed environment for fifteen days.

The resulting feed has a higher protein content, which sheep particularly love to eat.

"We've done the math."

Aishan, holding a calculator, said, "The processing cost for one ton of fruit pomace is one hundred yuan."

If processed into animal feed, it can sell for four hundred yuan. Net profit is three hundred yuan.

Guli added, "And it solved the pollution problem."

Our processing plant utilizes everything from raw materials to finished products to waste, achieving zero emissions.

Li Chao immediately made the decision: "Aishan, you will be in charge of building the feed workshop."

The juice production line, vinegar production line, and chip production line are all operating at full capacity.

The feed workshop has also been built, so that no fruit residue is wasted.

More importantly, each of the twenty technicians was capable of working independently.

Guli became the technical director of the processing plant, and her monthly salary increased to eight thousand.

Aishan was in charge of the feed project and also took on three apprentices.

Of the other eighteen people, some returned to the cooperative and became technical backbones; others stayed in the laboratory building and began to train the second batch of students.

What makes Li Chao most gratified is that his initial worry that the technology would be lost after those cadres who came to Xinjiang to provide assistance left has completely disappeared.

Technology has taken root.

The person stayed.

The industrial chain is now complete.

At the year-end summary meeting, the village secretary of Aini Village reported a series of figures:

"The annual sales volume of fresh fruit is 800 tons, with an output value of 12 million yuan."

Deep-processed products: 120 tons of fruit juice, 60 tons of fruit vinegar, and 25 tons of crispy chips, with a total output value of 6 million.

The feed workshop processes 300 tons of fruit pomace, generating an output value of 120,000 yuan.

Total profit: 2.8 million.

"Furthermore, we have provided 73 jobs for the local community, with an average monthly salary of 4,500."

This year, farmers who followed the government's lead saw an average increase in income of 30,000 yuan per household.

A round of enthusiastic applause erupted from the audience.

Looking at the familiar faces below the stage, Li Chao stood up and said, "Next year, our goal is to achieve an output value of over 20 million, build another fruit wine workshop, and train another 30 technicians."

Three months after the Liaota Agricultural Joint Innovation Experimental Building was put into use, Li Chao convened a meeting with the heads of six cooperatives.

A line of text was written on the whiteboard in the conference room: "Seminar on the Standardized Planting System of 'Shihezi Red'".

"Everyone, our apples are selling well now because of their good quality," Li Chao said bluntly. "But have you ever wondered—why did Uncle Wang's apples have a sugar content of 21.5 last year, but only 20.8 this year? Why are Aunt Li's apples all the same size, while Brother Zhang's are all different sizes?"

The audience fell silent.

"Because the planting methods are different." Li Chao opened the PPT, "Some people fertilize a lot, some fertilize a little; some water frequently, some water lazily; some prune carefully, some prune casually. A hundred farmers, a hundred different methods."

Old Wang from Changji nodded: "That makes sense. But everyone has their own experience, so it's hard to reach a consensus, right?"

"Therefore, standards need to be set."

Li Chao switched to the next page, "From today onwards, we will establish a standardized planting system for 'Shihezi Red'. How to cultivate seedlings, how to apply fertilizer, how to spray pesticides, how to harvest—all will be standardized."

"Who sets the standards?" Old Ma from Tacheng asked.

"The laboratory building is settled."

Li Chao pointed to the three-story building outside the window, "Researcher Lü and his team of experts have already produced a first draft based on the soil and climate characteristics of our Gobi Desert."

The reason I've invited everyone here today is to discuss and improve things together.

A thick stack of documents was handed out to everyone.