Chapter 1331
The on-site meeting concluded successfully, and the leaders were impressed.
In late April, the Li family of Team 4 had a relatively quiet period of time.
By this time, all the wasteland and arable land that needed to be plowed had been plowed, and all kinds of crops that needed to be planted had been planted. Most of them had already sprouted and even completed their first watering and fertilization.
The Li family's high-horsepower tractors, seeders, and other equipment have also transitioned from busy operation to maintenance and idleness, marking the end of the first wave of the year's busy agricultural machinery season.
In the courtyard, Li Jianguo led a group of people to perform maintenance on a high-powered tractor while talking to Li Long about the situation this year: "This year, we cleared more than 1000 mu of wasteland. Nobody wanted these wastelands in our team before."
You know it's all saline-alkali land, nothing can grow there. But after our cooperative has been working on it for the past two years, this wasteland is now worth something, and everyone wants to cultivate it, either to grow cotton or goji berries.”
Li Long smiled and said, "That's good news. After the household responsibility system was implemented, we farmers won't have any problem having enough to eat. If we want to make money, with the current yield per mu, it's impossible to reduce the number of plots. So we can only expand the cultivated area."
In fact, there have always been differing opinions between the government and the public regarding the household responsibility system and the dissolution of the people's communes. The specific circumstances of the household responsibility system implemented in different regions also vary.
In general, the lessons learned from later generations show that, at least in Team 4, the future of agricultural development ultimately lies in cooperatives and large collectives; going it alone is very easy to fail.
Li Jianguo was quite happy; with just a little work from this large machine this spring, he earned back half of last year's income.
Now, these high-horsepower tractors and agricultural machinery have processed nearly half of the land in the entire brigade, and are beginning to extend their reach to other brigades. He envisions that in another three to five years, they will be able to cultivate land across townships.
Li Long also noticed that his elder brother was now trending towards developing an agricultural machinery consortium.
This is a good thing, since there are people in charge at the cooperative, and there's no better way to make a living just by farming. It's also unlikely that my brother will start another cooperative; the current situation, focusing on agricultural machinery, is fine enough.
Right now, we're making high-horsepower tractors. In a few years, when cotton harvesters become more common, we'll have the capital to buy a few, and then we can really make our mark.
So Li Long thought he would tell Liu Gaolou when he came over, and ask him to bring some more high-horsepower tractors over.
Anyway, things are in complete chaos over there, and these agricultural machines are basically abandoned. It's better to bring them back and make use of them.
After returning from school, Li Qiang rummaged through his house and found half a jar of wolf fangs. He took an ordinary one from it, brought it back to school, and secretly handed it to Yerlan.
He didn't take Yerlan's money, and Yerlan was quite grateful, sending Li Qiang a fountain pen a week later. The matter then quietly passed.
In May, Yerlan invited Li Qiang to his home to pick plums. Only then did Li Qiang learn that Yerlan had two brothers, and the two older brothers had already been admitted to university, which was actually somewhat similar to his own family.
The two became good friends.
Before May Day, Jia Tianlong, Zhao Hui, and Liu Gaolou arrived at the purchasing station.
As usual, Jia Tianlong went to pay his respects to the jade doll and took away the more than two tons of fritillaria and other medicinal herbs that the purchasing station had collected.
To Li Long's surprise, Zhao Hui didn't come alone this time; he brought a young female secretary with him. Judging from the way the two were talking, Li Long felt that they were not ordinary people.
Of course, that's their own business, and Li Long didn't even ask.
If Jia Tianlong were to bring a female secretary and their behavior were ambiguous, Li Long would definitely try to persuade him to stop.
As for Zhao Hui, it hasn't come to that yet.
Both parties happily discussed the price of the more than 1 hides currently being acquired at the station. Zhao Hui then left a check for 200 million yuan and departed happily.
Before Li Long could even announce his arrival, Liu Gaolou brought not only two Kamaz heavy trucks but also a high-horsepower tractor. This time, he didn't bring any cars; the 10 accompanying gas trucks were carrying agricultural implements, leather goods, and antelope horns.
When Li Long inspected the goods, he saw that the hides were of various sizes and the antelope horns were of different lengths, realizing that things were really in chaos there and that famine was severe.
Otherwise, it would have been impossible to kill such small antelopes.
However, he didn't say much about it. It was just a matter of exchanging canned goods and sugar, and there was plenty of stock available here.
It is now 91, and the planned control over white sugar is no longer as strict as before.
Because Liu Gaolou requested a large quantity of canned goods and sugar this time, it was essentially a barter transaction, and neither party paid the other.
Li Long also inquired about Liu Shanmin's situation. Liu Gaolou didn't know exactly where his second uncle was at present, only that he was traveling around famous scenic spots and historical sites all over the country, living a very carefree life.
Li Long thought to himself that this was incredibly irresponsible; the child was old enough to be educated, yet he didn't care.
But thinking about it, it's normal. After all, he has that nationality, and after going through so much, it's already good enough that he can live peacefully and enjoy life.
Liu Gaolou was quite worried. Although he hadn't gone there, but was only at the border, he could still sense the chaotic situation on the other side.
In short, it's better to be a dog in times of peace than a human in times of chaos.
After this group of visitors left and the May Day holiday ended, the on-site meeting began.
Despite having prepared for so long, Li Long was still somewhat nervous when he saw the notice from higher authorities regarding the participants of this on-site meeting in Principal Yang's office at the township agricultural extension school.
The team was led by a deputy director of the department, and leaders and agricultural experts from the autonomous region, prefecture, and county levels participated.
Many technicians from agricultural research institutes were also invited. Li Long said with a wry smile, "Our staff and the people in charge of reception don't have as many guests as they do."
Principal Yang waved his hand and said, "It's not that serious. I've spoken to the township and they've borrowed some staff to help with the reception and welcoming. Our people will mainly be responsible for introducing the technical aspects."
"We've been preparing for this long, there shouldn't be any problems. Let's proceed according to our steps."
Professor Yang, however, was not intimidated at all, and said with a smile, "It's normal for so many people to come. This experimental project we're doing now is the first of its kind in Xinjiang. In the future, cotton will definitely be planted more and more in both northern and southern Xinjiang, and cotton may become a pillar agricultural product of our autonomous region in the future."
The fact that our drip-irrigated cotton yield has suddenly become so high shows that everyone from the autonomous region to the county and township levels is really paying close attention and wants to see how we achieved this. Furthermore, our reporting procedures have already been communicated with higher authorities, so there shouldn't be any problems.
Li Long also knew that the three of them were just encouraging each other. Since they had already come this far, there was no way to change things, so they might as well go for it.
On the morning of the event, colorful flags were planted along both sides of the road from the crossroads in the village all the way to the experimental field. At the crossroads, staff members dressed in white shirts and black trousers were there to greet guests and direct them.
Actually, it's not necessary to welcome them, because there are large temporary signs by the roadside indicating the location of the event and pointing out the direction with arrows.
Township leaders, Principal Yang, and Professor Yang were all waiting at the crossroads. Although the leaders had been notified by phone that they would arrive in half an hour, no one wanted to wait in the office, fearing that the plan might change and they would be too late.
Li Long's car was parked inside the Agricultural Broadcasting School. He, like Principal Yang and Professor Yang, was wearing a suit and waiting behind the leaders.
Li Long had originally intended to wear a jacket, since a business jacket seemed more formal than a suit. However, Principal Yang and Professor Yang wanted them to follow suit, and suits were the norm at the moment. So, he decided to go with the flow; it wasn't a big deal.
The sun has risen in the east, the temperature is gradually rising, the slight chill of the morning is slowly dissipating, and the air is becoming warm and moist, making it very comfortable outdoors.
Finally, a convoy came from the south, led by two Santanas and followed by two minibuses.
Principal Yang whispered to Li Long, "Look at the leaders' cars, they're not even as good as yours."
Li Long immediately replied, "That's because the leaders are low-key and don't engage in extravagance or waste."
One of the leaders overheard this and turned around to say, "Comrade Li Long's awareness is truly high."
Everyone laughed.
They all stopped smiling immediately, and a moment later the convoy pulled up and stopped in front of them.
After the county leaders who came down first guided the other leaders down, they began to introduce themselves to the leaders.
This introduction alone took five or six minutes, and even then, some researchers were omitted.
Fortunately, the leaders valued efficiency. The county officials originally suggested going to the meeting room first, but the deputy director in charge of the team said to go directly to the fields and get straight to the point.
Li Long liked this requirement for high efficiency.
After Professor Yang gave a brief introduction, leading the leaders and technicians to the field, Li Long then began to explain in detail the facilities and planting process of the experimental field.
Several trainees selected from the Agricultural Broadcasting School and the students brought by Professor Yang served as the specific guides. They stood at the pump room, filter pool, main pipeline, and other locations. After Li Long finished his detailed introduction, the leaders and technicians could ask the trainees any questions they had.
Actually, Li Long explained it in quite detail. This kind of thing is like a mountain to those in different fields. If you don't want to understand it in detail, that's fine. But if you want to understand it in detail, there are many questions about each facility.
So after Li Long smoothly finished explaining the whole thing, before Professor Yang could even move on to the next item, Li Long was immediately surrounded by people.
The technicians surrounded him, bombarding him with questions about the details.
Some people couldn't squeeze in, so they had to ask the guides next to the pump house.
The leaders then went to communicate with Professor Yang, Principal Yang, and local officials, focusing on understanding the yield and cost of the experimental fields.
The explanation was conducted in a fairly orderly manner, so the atmosphere immediately became lively after the explanation was finished.
It was mainly Li Long who said that the yield per mu was a bit frightening. Everyone here is an expert and knows how cotton yields are now. The sudden emergence of high yields and super high yields, even though it's just an experimental field project, shows that it is still achievable.
Few people wouldn't be interested.
Li Long wasn't impatient and answered questions one after another. Everyone was asking questions at once, so he could only answer one at a time, then randomly select another person to answer next. His mind was divided in two, thinking about the answer on one side and the question on the other, which was a bit like a press conference.
After asking the guides, those who couldn't squeeze in eventually gathered around Li Long.
After the leaders had gathered a general understanding of the situation, and seeing that there were still so many people surrounding Li Long asking questions, they asked Professor Yang and Principal Yang to go over and help Li Long with some of the questions.
The deputy director asked the township head what Li Long did for a living.
The township head was naturally well aware of Li Long's identity, but here we mainly introduce him as the person in charge of the experimental fields, the founder of the township's first cooperative, and other identities.
The deputy director vaguely knew of Li Long, and now he has finally matched the real person with the name.
Seeing Li Long speaking eloquently in front of so many experts without any stage fright, and answering questions in a way that made the questioners nod repeatedly, it shows that he does have some real expertise.
The deputy director was quite interested and thought he would take some time to chat with the young man after Li Long finished speaking.
The first half of the presentation didn't take long, but Li Long's Q&A session lasted for more than an hour.
Later, the leaders couldn't stand any longer, so they were led by the township leaders to rest in the township. Originally, the county leaders wanted the meeting to end quickly, but the deputy director said to let them continue, since they came here to visit and learn, and couldn't give up halfway.
After finally finishing, the sun was already high in the sky. Only then did Li Long feel the heat; his clothes were soaked with sweat, but he was still in a good mood.
Li Long felt quite pleased to be able to exchange ideas with such a group of experts.
The answers were mostly correct, and these experts and technicians basically understood the specific process of drip irrigation farming.
Or rather, they may have some understanding of it, but they haven't fully participated in the process of drip irrigation for cotton planting. Now, through questioning and theoretical explanations, they have grasped the whole process, including some aspects that need attention.
At least I'll have an impression of it when guiding drip irrigation farming in the future.
The technical staff at the agricultural research institute are generally quite forward-thinking. Just by looking at some of the documents and projects issued by the national and regional agricultural authorities, it's clear that this area will definitely be rolled out in the future. It's always better to have a detailed understanding now than to be passive in the future.
Upon arriving in the township, the staff arranged for the technicians and experts to rest. Li Long was called to a reception room where the deputy director was reading a newspaper. When he saw Li Long come in, he greeted him and asked him to sit down.
After chatting casually with Li Long, the leader got down to business and asked him for his opinion on drip irrigation for cotton cultivation.
Li Long thought to himself, "Isn't this exactly my forte?"
He immediately voiced his thoughts, which were simply that this was a major trend for the future, and in his vision, it was even more advanced than the current plans of the Autonomous Region's Department of Agriculture.
The deputy director was quite surprised upon hearing this, after all, Li Long was from a farming background and hadn't even graduated from junior high school. It was unlikely he had much foresight or vision regarding industry development.
Li Long's words were somewhat beyond his expectations, which piqued his interest in the young man.
Li Long also saw this and took the opportunity to propose national and local support to help farmers build the foundation for drip irrigation farming, so that farmers could also use this foundation to get rich and achieve leapfrog development of modern agriculture.
The deputy director understood Li Long's meaning, smiled, and did not give him a direct answer.
Li Long was certain that the leader should understand his subtext, but the other party did not give him a clear answer, which made Li Long a little uneasy.
Is it okay or not?
P.S.: Thank you to readers like "Spring Warmth in Eleven Provinces," "Gentle Breeze and Bright Moon," and "zxj2012" for their generous donations. Thank you all for your concern. (End of Chapter)