I See through Everything

Chapter 244: Chapter 135: A Warning and the Red Line

Chen Xingang quickly opened the file and began to browse it carefully. After a moment, he looked up and asked, "General Manager Jiang, why does this plan require establishing collective cooperatives?"

"Chen Zhen, if we let the villagers go it alone, this plan will be very difficult to execute. Each village must establish a collective cooperative to coordinate with our company’s production schedule," Jiang Miao continued to explain.

"For example, when converting rice paddies into paddy-based fish ponds, the plots of land owned by just one or two villagers would be too small. The pond embankments would take up a significant amount of space, and building too many of them would prevent combine harvesters from accessing the fields."

Chen Xingang nodded in agreement. "That’s certainly a possibility."

"There’s another point. Ordinary farmers often don’t follow proper standards for using pesticides and fertilizers. They also don’t really understand that many pesticides cannot be used in paddy-based fish ponds. This would lead to excessive pesticide residue in the paddies, which would then accumulate in the fish, and could even cause the fish to die."

"I see," Chen Xingang said, finally understanding.

"Therefore, establishing collective cooperatives is a necessary prerequisite for this project."

The project Jiang Miao designed was not suitable for places like Magong Town and Red Grass Town, where the arable land is scattered. It was better suited for places like Meilong Town and Ketang Town, which have large, contiguous rice paddies.

The project was named the "Integrated Paddy-Soybean-Fertilizer-Fish Pond Project."

It involved leveling and converting a large area of rice paddies, building embankments around the perimeter, and creating a shallow fish pond.

Starting at the end of February each year, the ponds would be filled with water to raise Egyptian Catfish. The stocking density would be about half that of a normal fish pond, meaning the yield per mu could reach 6,000 to 7,500 kilograms of Egyptian Catfish.

In May, after the Egyptian Catfish were harvested, the water level would be lowered. Late-season rice would be planted in June and harvested in mid-October.

In mid-November, with the ponds drained, a crop of soybeans would be planted. The soybeans would be harvested in late February of the following year. The soybean stalks, leaves, and roots would be left behind to decompose and act as fertilizer when the fields were flooded again. This, combined with the fish manure and uneaten feed that settled during the Egyptian Fish farming phase, would provide nutrients for the next crop of late-season rice.

Of course, this schedule wasn’t fixed; it could be adjusted.

For instance: early-season rice from April to July, soybeans from August to November, and fish farming from December to March.

Or: mid-season rice from May to September, soybeans from October to January, and fish farming from February to April.

This way, not only would the soil nutrients be plentiful, but the problem of pesticide residue in the water could also be effectively avoided.

After all, the water would be drained after the rice was grown. This would be followed by a crop of soybeans. The new soybean variety developed by Hailufeng Company boasted good resistance to pests and diseases, requiring only short-acting, rapidly degrading pesticides that won’t linger in the soil.

And during the rice-growing period, Jiang Miao didn’t plan to have them raise Egyptian Catfish in the paddies precisely to avoid the issue of pesticide residue.

Besides, the water level during rice cultivation is very low, allowing for a stocking density less than a quarter of a normal fish pond. It would be better not to raise fish at all, to avoid increasing management and pesticide costs while also negatively affecting the rice yield.

"Once the conversion is complete, each mu of land can produce an additional 6,000 to 7,500 kilograms of Egyptian Catfish and 300 kilograms of soybeans per year. The rice yield will also increase somewhat."

Jiang Miao then added, "The lotus root cultivation areas in Meilong Town can be converted in the same way."

Currently, Meilong Town has nearly 10,000 mu of lotus root fields, and the cultivation period for these lotuses is around 200 to 300 days.

During the lotus cultivation period, a certain water level must be maintained, especially during the rapid growth and tuber formation stages, when the water must be kept at a depth of 20 to 50 centimeters. This period lasts 120 to 150 days, which is more than enough time to raise one batch of Egyptian Catfish.

If they also utilized the 30-day germination period of the lotus roots, the entire farming cycle could be extended to 180 days. They could even consider raising two batches of Egyptian Catfish.

The only thing is that the stocking density couldn’t be too high—only about half the density of a normal fish pond.

Moreover, after draining the lotus fields in the winter, they could also plant an additional crop of soybeans.

Chen Xingang calculated in his head. ’If this can really be achieved, then each mu of land could generate an additional six to seven thousand yuan, or even over ten thousand yuan, in revenue.’

At the same time, it would ensure Meilong Town’s "red line" for paddy fields was maintained.

The thought made his heart race with excitement. He was just as envious and jealous of the achievements of Luo Heguang and the others in Magong Town.

After all, Meilong Town had always been one of the stronger economies among the towns in Shanmei. Its gross industrial output was around 24 billion yuan, while its agricultural output was only 1.5 billion. Including the tertiary sector, its total GDP was about 30 billion yuan. The local population was around 100,000, with another forty to fifty thousand migrant workers.

But as environmental policies tightened, Meilong Town’s gold and silver jewelry processing industry not only failed to grow but actually began to show signs of decline.

The lack of a clear economic growth driver had become a bottleneck for Meilong Town’s development.

Faced with Hailufeng Company, which had single-handedly caused Magong Town’s economy to take off, it was no wonder that Chen Xingang and the rest of the town’s leadership were so eager.

If Hailufeng Company’s project could be implemented, Meilong Town—with its 33,000 mu of rice paddies, 10,000 mu of lotus root fields, and 7,500 mu of aquaculture zones—would gain another massive economic growth driver.

At this thought, Chen Xingang quickly made his position clear. "General Manager Jiang, as long as you’re willing to invest, I’ll immediately summon the cadres from every village for a meeting. I’ll strive to get everything settled before the Lunar New Year and guarantee this project moves forward quickly."

"Then I must thank you, Chen Zhen," Jiang Miao said with a smile and a nod.

"Haha, I’m the one who should be thanking you, General Manager Jiang, and Hailufeng Company for giving Meilong Town this opportunity." Chen Xingang didn’t dare to be arrogant.

After discussing for more than two hours, the two sides finalized the various arrangements for the project.

Hailufeng Company and Meilong Town both got to work.

After returning to the company, Jiang Miao arranged for Lü Weibin, the manager of the Planting Division, and Fang Yi, the manager of the Feed Division, to form a temporary team specifically responsible for advancing the rice-soybean-fish-lotus project in Meilong Town.

Chen Xingang also moved very quickly. That very evening, the village cadres from the 31 local administrative villages were summoned to a meeting at the town government building to discuss how to implement the rice-soybean-fish-lotus project. In particular, regarding the matter of establishing collective cooperatives, they needed to communicate clearly with the village cadres, lest those guys start treating a feather as a warrant.

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