I was married off to a disabled hero in lieu of marriage; my in-laws doted on me and I aspired to gr

The agricultural university was quiet; the students were all on holiday. Some of the students who had joined as research assistants went home to harvest wheat, while others stayed at the university. Zhao Jintao stayed at the university.

When Xia Lei saw Zhou Zhonghai arrive, he didn't bother to greet him and continued shaking the bottle, as they were researching a new type of pesticide.

Bored, Zhou Zhonghai moved closer to Xia Lei and asked, "Will I die if I take a sip?"

"Pesticides are for killing pests, why would you drink them?" Xia Lei said irritably.

"In the countryside, couples who don't get along often have a fight, and one of them will gulp down a bottle of pesticide."

"All pesticides that can be sold on the market have an antidote. Those without an antidote are not allowed to be sold," Xia Lei said irritably.

"You guys really have it tough, researching pesticides and antidotes at the same time. Director Xia, how about a cup of tea?"

"No!"

"Look how stingy you are. I brought some good tea, a gift from the governor."

"Even the best tea can't be eaten as a meal."

"You need to eat, and you need to drink tea too."

"You, Minister Zhou, have food to eat and tea to drink, while our research institute is starving," Xia Lei said sarcastically.

"It's just a debt of 200,000, is it really that big of a deal?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Xia Lei handed the beaker to the student next to him, looked at Zhou Zhonghai, and said sternly:

"It's settled then. You pay back the money you owe me, and I'll give you 10,000 tea seedlings. The tea seedlings are gone, but where's the money? Minister Zhou, the research institute isn't just about eating. Pesticides aren't something you can just make by shaking a bottle. We need sulfur, sodium, phosphorus, potassium, and calcium, and those things also cost money."

Without money, there are no raw materials; without raw materials, there are no pesticides. And the wheat seeds, corn seeds, and Angora rabbits—they were all cultivated day and night; they didn't fall from the sky. Our researchers and students work so hard, yet in the end, we can't even pay their salaries, let alone receive subsidies.

I can understand if you lie to me once, but who can stand it when you lie to me again and again?

Xia Lei poured out his grievances, and Zhou Zhonghai frowned and said, "Why are you acting like a complaining woman? Let me tell you, this year Tonggang County's wheat yield per mu is over 900 jin. The wheat is still being dried. Once the public grain is delivered, the Finance Bureau will allocate funds to me. Just wait two more months. It's not like I'm not going to pay it back."

"Yes, once you have money to pay your grain tax, you'll want soybeans and new wheat seeds, and the cycle will continue. You'll end up owing me money anyway."

"Hey, wait a minute. Now that the county has money, if they want wheat seeds, they can buy them themselves, cash on delivery, no more credit. The first year is a bit difficult."

"Tonggang County has money; they can buy wheat seeds themselves. What about the other counties?"

"The other counties... we'll see how things go, they won't stay this poor forever. Come on, let's go have some tea."

"I won't drink it. Your tea is no good. One sip costs over 100,000."

"Your heart is smaller than the eye of a pin."

Dragging Xia Lei to the lounge, Zhou Zhonghai brewed himself a pot of tea and said ingratiatingly, "A province can't rely solely on agriculture. A pound of potatoes costs eight cents, and a pound of wheat costs fifteen cents. If things continue like this, we'll never get rich."

"That makes sense. Throughout history, a nation's economy has never been supported by agriculture."

"Agriculture is the means to provide basic necessities for people, but to achieve prosperity, we also need industry and commerce."

"you mean……"

"Soon, industry and commerce will take action. How can reform and opening up only involve agriculture?"

"real?"

"Look at other countries, their prosperity comes from industrial reform. Science and technology are what make a country strong. Take my son's prosthetic leg, for example, it costs over a thousand yuan apiece, which is far more profitable than agriculture. And take the rickshaws in Beijing, they only charge two yuan per trip, and you can earn dozens of yuan a day. We farmers work ourselves to the bone and only earn two or three hundred yuan a year. Agriculture is the foundation of a country, but industry and commerce are its leading industries."

"So, our province also needs reform?"

"Of course, once industry and commerce are established, how could I, Zhou Zhonghai, owe you a mere 200,000? I had no choice, Director Xia. I could only have the confidence to pursue industry and commerce after I had established agriculture, right? We were the first to try something new, lacking experience and money. It was tough for you, and tough for me too."

I took a sip of Da Hong Pao tea; it tasted good, but the more I drank, the hungrier I got.

"I understand you, but our research institute also needs to eat."

"Two months later, once the grain is delivered to the national treasury and the money is received, I'll immediately send you the money. This time in Beijing, I found a market for potatoes, soybeans, and peanuts. The purchase price for potatoes is 6 cents, and I can resell them for 10 cents, making a profit of 4 cents. It's not a lot of money, but once the sales channels are established, we won't have to worry about millions of catties in the future."

"Can this new variety of potato sell for a dime?"

"Twelve cents, two cents for fuel and labor costs."

"Twelve cents? Finally, someone appreciates my potatoes."

"Whether the potatoes are delicious or not has nothing to do with you, right? Aren't such starchy potatoes only grown in sandy soil?"

Zhou Zhonghai looked at Xia Lei with suspicion, "You take all the credit?"

"What do you know? Sandy soil determines the taste, but my new variety yields over a pound of potatoes per plant. One seedling can produce three or four potatoes, which is four or five pounds. I can't control the taste, but I can control the yield." Xia Lei glanced at Zhou Zhonghai disdainfully.

"Yes, yes, Director Xia deserves a lot of credit. He still needs to study. Being educated makes a difference."

Zhou Zhonghai was completely convinced by Xia Lei; this guy was a genius, and his skills were truly exceptional.

As they chatted, they became friends again. Zhou Zhonghai dared not offend Xia Lei, as the province was about to implement large-scale land redistribution to households and plant new wheat and corn seeds. He didn't know how much money the research institute would need at that time.

It's tough. A minister, doing a job of cheating and deception.

Fortunately, Xia Lei was a scholar and slow to react. By the time he realized what was happening, all the wheat, corn, and soybean seeds had already been moved.

This year you owe 200,000 and you're already complaining. Next year, humph, 400,000 will be nothing.

The two chatted like brothers, and Zhao Jintao returned covered in mud.

"Uncle Zhou, you've arrived."

Zhao Jintao washed his face; he was as black as charcoal from working in the fields every day.

"Jin Tao, I'm waiting for you to eat. The students are on holiday, is the cafeteria still open?"

"Go ahead, there's a small canteen. I'll treat you to a meal."

"Okay, Director Xia, Jin Tao and I are going to have dinner."

"Hey, I didn't eat any either."

Xia Lei didn't understand why Zhao Jintao would invite Zhou Zhonghai to dinner but never him.

"Go home and eat. The cafeteria food is expensive and the taste isn't good either. It's not as good as your wife's cooking."

Zhou Zhonghai wasn't interested in the meal; he simply enjoyed chatting with Zhao Jintao.

"You, all of you, Zhao Jintao is my apprentice."

"Is that so? Your apprentice doesn't have money, he can't afford it."

"He has no money, and that's because you owe our research institute money."

"Look at you, talking about money again. Jin Tao, come on, let's go eat."

Zhao Jintao also wanted to invite the teacher to eat together, but Zhou Zhonghai was unwilling, and with Xia Lei present, it was difficult to say anything.