"Hey, Lao Shang, come and look! Nantang is on CCTV, talking about the green ecological kiwi fruit in Nantang. Is this our Nantang?"
Shang Quan's wife's excited voice made him even more annoyed. Sitting in his study, he didn't hear clearly what his wife was saying, as he was deep in thought about work.
The entire region's 5,000 acres of kiwi fruit had entered the fruiting stage, with an expected yield of one million kilograms. However, before this, Jiang Guohui and the regional agricultural bureau had done no preliminary work. It wasn't until half a month ago that they hurriedly reported that the kiwi fruit planted three years ago in Huai Shan, Nantang, and Fu Tou counties had matured this year, which then drew the region's attention.
Actually, this couldn't be entirely blamed on Lao Jiang. Although some people had mentioned the pilot planting of kiwi fruit before, no one paid much attention, thinking that farmers planting kiwi fruit was their own business and had little to do with the government.
Now that policies have been relaxed, farmers are free to plant and sell whatever they want. The state no longer wants to purchase grain, with prices being extremely low, and local authorities often delay grain payments with IOUs, causing widespread public discontent and becoming a major concern for all levels of the party and government.
Despite consecutive years of bumper harvests, farmers still have surplus grain at home. Diversifying their operations and engaging in sideline businesses can't quickly absorb the surplus grain. Switching to other cash crops is a good thing.
Who would have thought that the yield of kiwi fruit would be so high, and that nearly 5,000 acres would be planted in the region?
Three years ago, he hadn't yet taken up his post as a commissioner, and he wasn't clear about the situation. Jiang Guohui only had a rough idea of what was happening. The deputy commissioner from the Ministry of Agriculture who was on a temporary assignment here three years ago had long returned to the ministry, and the people at the agricultural bureau hadn't paid much attention to this matter. It wasn't until Nantang County reported on it that Jiang Guohui realized the severity of the issue and became anxious.
With 5,000 acres of kiwi fruit, a conservative estimate would be a yield of one million kilograms. The worst part is that there seems to be no habit of eating kiwi fruit in Liyang, which is the most pressing concern for the region.
If it were apples or peaches, even if the prices were lower, at least some locals would eat them. But kiwi fruit? In Liyang, hardly anyone is willing to eat it.
With no one to eat it, where will the one million kilograms of kiwi fruit be sold?
No market research had been done beforehand, and everyone was clueless, acting on assumptions. Now, the agricultural bureau and the commercial bureau are scrambling to explore the market, which infuriates Shang Quan.
Shang Quan knows these office-bound bureaucrats. By the time they complete their market research, it will be too late.
Nantang's situation is a bit better. The county party committee and government had some foresight and started market research a while ago. Shen Zilie had also reported to him about this matter, but whether they can sell the 400,000 kilograms of kiwi fruit from Nantang is still uncertain.
Huai Shan and Fu Tou counties, on the other hand, didn't even think about doing this work, considering it the farmers' own business and not something the government should be overly concerned about.
Thinking about this, Shang Quan felt a surge of anger. Even if the government hadn't forcibly promoted the planting, as a local government, shouldn't they have taken action on such a significant matter instead of just standing by?
This issue had been troubling Shang Quan for some time. How to sell one million kilograms of kiwi fruit had become a major concern for him. Today, he received even worse news: the kiwi fruit in Huai Shan and Fu Tou counties was also expected to have a bumper harvest, with the total yield, including Nantang, likely to exceed 1.2 million kilograms, which made him even more anxious.
"Lao Shang, Lao Shang, come and look!"
Shang Quan, with a sullen face, walked out of his study somewhat impatiently, "What's the big fuss about?"
He has always been tolerant of his wife, who is about ten years younger than him, but today he was in a bad mood, so his tone wasn't as polite.
"Come and look, is this Nantang? I think it is. Look, isn't that Shen Zilie from Nantang County who came to our house?" His wife, not noticing his sullen expression, kept her eyes glued to the TV, excitedly saying, "Shen Zilie is quite capable. He managed to gift Nantang kiwi fruit to the Chinese delegation at the Asian Games, as well as the delegations from North Korea, Laos, and Cambodia. This is quite interesting. Is Nantang kiwi fruit so famous that even the Asian Games sports delegations want to try it?"
Shang Quan's gaze fell on the TV, and he, like his wife, couldn't believe his eyes.
Yes, the person on TV was none other than Shen Zilie.
A few days ago, he said he was going to Beijing to explore the market for kiwi fruit. There were some leads, apparently signing contracts with several state-owned factories in Changzhou to sell the kiwi fruit as employee benefits. However, Shen Zilie mentioned that over 200,000 kilograms still lacked a market, which worried him. He never expected that Shen Zilie would appear on the CCTV Asian Games feature program.
On TV, Shen Zilie was speaking confidently, introducing the characteristics of Nantang kiwi fruit and expressing hope that it would help the delegations achieve good results. The guy was quite articulate.
The TV also showed a huge banner advertisement hanging on an unfinished high-rise building, which seemed to be in Beijing, possibly near Chang'an Street. Shang Quan, who had recently been to Beijing, had a vague impression of it.
A large advertisement with a white background, the mascot of the Asian Games, a panda named Panpan, in the upper left corner, and two enormous kiwi fruits in the upper right corner—one whole and the other cut in half, showing fresh, juicy flesh and seeds. In the center, in bold red cursive, were the words: "Friendship First, Competition Second, Nantang Kiwi Fruit Cheers for Athletes from All Countries!"
At the bottom was a line of large black regular script: "Home of Chinese Kiwi Fruit—Changjiang · Nantang," followed by an abstract advertisement of athletes running on a track, with a catchy slogan at the bottom: "Taste Nantang Kiwi Fruit, Enjoy a Healthy New Life!"
The striking advertisement made it easy to remember Nantang as the home of kiwi fruit. Shang Quan had never heard of Nantang being called the "Home of Chinese Kiwi Fruit" before, and he wondered which department had granted this title.
Shang Quan's mood improved significantly. Shen Zilie had made such a big splash, which would likely greatly boost the sales of Nantang kiwi fruit in Beijing. However, he was puzzled as to why Shen Zilie hadn't called him to update him on the situation, which would have made him feel more at ease.
It's a new day, where are the recommendations, brothers? I need them!