Forced to marry a disabled man in the countryside? I'll repay you tenfold!

Guo Mingyuan then took a closer look at Su Wanqing—the "breeding genius" praised by Shen Monong, the person the Academy of Agricultural Sciences was eager to poach, and also the "Little Doctor Su" that Chen Xiuer talked about all day long.

He adjusted his glasses and said with a smile, "I overheard you talking about the substrate at the entrance. It's a coincidence; our chemical plant also has a fertilizer plant—we may not have many other things, but we have a lot of these kinds of waste materials and byproducts. If you need them, the factory can supply them long-term. In return, could you offer us raw material suppliers a discount on the price of the mushroom bags?"

The wheat bran and soybean residue that Su Wanqing mentioned are things that the factory would have to process anyway. If they could be supplied directly here, it would naturally be a win-win situation.

Su Wanqing thought for a moment and said, "The price should be negotiable. However, the specific amount needs to be decided by the organization. Is Elder Shen here right now? It would be most appropriate for him to take the lead in setting the price."

Shen Monong works at the Academy of Agricultural Sciences, and the pricing and material allocation for these types of technology extension projects are naturally coordinated by the Academy. It's perfectly legitimate to have Professor Shen make the final decisions.

"Okay," Guo Mingyuan nodded. "Old Shen told me to go directly to the alfalfa field behind the hill to find him today. Shall we go together?"

After Chen Xiuer locked the door of the planting room, the group headed towards the back mountain together.

The hillside where Su Wanqing had once sown premium alfalfa seeds has now expanded into a lush, three-acre green carpet. Old Shen, wearing a straw hat, is squatting in the field, carefully checking the alfalfa's growth. Aunt Wen, along with her grandson Gu Zhixing, is helping to plant the second crop.

The August sun was still scorching. When Old Shen saw them arrive, he straightened up and waved, his face beaming with undisguised joy.

"What brings you all together?" He looked intently at Su Wanqing. "Little Su, the alfalfa variety you discovered is truly remarkable! The growth, the yield—if the whole country could grow alfalfa that yields 5,000 jin per mu, how many more cattle and sheep could be fed! The people's bowls would be much fuller!"

Aunt Wen also took off her straw hat and fanned herself, exclaiming, "I've been studying seeds for so many years, and I've never seen such good quality seeds. No fertilizer or intensive management, and the second crop didn't lose any yield at all! Such good seeds should be propagated and promoted as soon as possible to truly benefit the people."

Looking at the lush greenery before her, Su Wanqing felt an even deeper respect for her two predecessors.

Guo Mingyuan cut to the chase: "Old Shen, we're here about the mushroom bags. Dr. Su has agreed to cooperate. Our factory—along with the fertilizer plant—can provide the base materials and auxiliary materials on a long-term basis. How much discount can you give us on the price? If we finalize it today, I can go back and sign the contracts with several factories together, and we can start supplying next week."

Upon hearing this, Shen Monong immediately pulled out a small notebook and pencil from his pocket, squatted down on the ground, and started calculating: "This kind of semi-finished mushroom bag can yield about five catties of fresh mushrooms per bag, and can be harvested twice. The price for external factories is one yuan and seventy cents per bag; since you provide auxiliary materials, the cost will be reduced, so let's make it one yuan and fourty cents."

He calculated that the price of oyster mushrooms grown in the traditional way was 10% lower than that of ordinary mushrooms, but the profit was about the same, because no further management was required, which saved a lot of trouble.

Guo Mingyuan readily agreed: "Okay, then it's settled. They will provide each of our factories with thirty mushroom bags every week."

Su Wanqing quickly did the math. Although the initial steps for making mushroom bags were more numerous, the extra one or two hundred yuan in income each week, along with the long-term, stable orders, made it worthwhile. And this was just the beginning—once the business expanded and demand increased, she could hire people to scale up production at any time. The mushroom strains that the Academy of Agricultural Sciences treasured were plentiful in her storage space.

As she was thinking, she looked down at the contract terms and suddenly paused.

No, wait—

These factories are all located in the Yili region, yet they are often hundreds of kilometers apart? Is this... is this the standard of measurement for "Beautiful Xinjiang"? If this were back in my hometown of Bincheng, the distance would be across provincial borders!

Su Wanqing's lips twitched slightly, which Guo Mingyuan immediately noticed. He smiled and explained, "Dr. Su, don't worry about the transportation. Just prepare the goods. I've arranged for a bus going in the same direction to carry them on the roof of the truck when picking up passengers. The factory will share the transportation costs. Once the handover is clear, any damage on the way will not be your responsibility."

As for what resources he used to gain this advantage, Guo Mingyuan smiled but remained silent.

"Good, good," Su Wanqing thought to herself with a smirk. It turned out that this Section Chief Guo was no ordinary person either; he had quietly become one of the earliest "logistics intermediaries."

She started by cultivating a business, first discovering Chen Xiuer, a "pioneer e-commerce operator," and then uncovering Guo Mingyuan, a "primitive logistics boss." This combination is amazing.

With Chen Xiuer handling production and Guo Mingyuan taking care of sales and transportation, Su Wanqing felt relieved. Once Old Master Shen finalized the price terms, she took the contract to Liu Shuqing for his signature.

Liu Shuqing was in the command post, holding a bottle of red antiseptic and handing it to Jiang Sisi so she could apply it herself.

Su Wanqing knocked on the door and came in just in time to witness this scene. A slight twitch appeared on her lips – see, she knew it would turn out like this.

Liu Shuqing, holding an enamel mug, muttered as she drank water, "Sisi, don't provoke your sister again. You know her temper; look at her now, scratched like this again." She glanced up and saw Su Wanqing, quickly waving, "Dr. Su, you've come at the right time! Please take a look at Sisi; is this injury serious?"

Su Wanqing: "..."

She approached and took a quick look. The wounds weren't deep; they were just red scratches made by fingernails, with a few places where the skin was broken and blood was seeping out. Su Wanqing took the mercurochrome, dipped a cotton swab in it, and gently applied it to Jiang Sisi.

Jiang Sisi was in a good mood, her eyes crinkling as she said, "Brother Liu, I understand. But who could have imagined? I just relayed Dad's words to her verbatim, and she reacted so strongly. Saying things like 'Then sever ties,' and even threatening to report my own father… I don't know how heartbroken Dad must be to hear that." She paused, her voice lowering, "And what happened? She caused this whole mess, and now she'll have to stay in there a few more days."

Su Wanqing remained silent. Sure enough, it seemed Jiang Weiwei would have to stay until winter before she could come out.

Jiang Sisi turned to Su and asked, "Sister Su, is my injury serious? How many days will it take to heal?"

Su Wanqing applied the medicine and put away the cotton swabs: "It looks scary, but it's just a superficial wound, it'll heal in two days at most."

Jiang Sisi said "Oh," and immediately said to Liu Shuqing, "Brother Liu, could you help me find Uncle Zhang Niu and send me back to the county town? I'll take the afternoon bus home. This... I need to let my dad know about it."

Su Wanqing suppressed a laugh. Jiang Sisi was in such a hurry to go back because she was afraid that if she waited a few more days for the injuries on her face to heal—going back now with these red marks would allow Jiang Zhiping to see them clearly.