Chapter 310: Xu Li's Expectations

Lin Wei had just accompanied Xu Li to Panlong Town to inspect the progress of the vegetable greenhouse construction when she saw Chen Yang's car coming out of the town government.

Without a word, she used her car to block Chen Yang at the town government gate. Then, she strode angrily to Chen Yang, who was sitting in the driver's seat, and began to confront him.

"Husband, you weren't resting at home—how did you end up coming to Panlong Town?"

Chen Yang hadn't expected Lin Wei and Xu Li to arrive so quickly, and he hadn't even called Zhou Zhengyang in advance to let him know. He could only explain: "Secretary Zhou said our town's pig farmers have run into serious trouble, and I must come over to help buy their pigs. I owe them a favor—wouldn't it be inappropriate not to make the trip?"

Lin Wei let out a cold snort; she had wanted to beat Chen Yang up, but seeing Professor You sitting in the passenger seat, she restrained herself.

At that moment, Xu Li also got out of their car. She smiled at Chen Yang and said, "Junior, I invited you to Clear Water County, but you didn't come. Secretary Zhou asked you to come, and you did. It seems Secretary Zhou carries more weight than I do."

Chen Yang called out "Senior!" and quickly stepped out of the driver's seat, smiling as he told Xu Li, "The vegetable greenhouse is the project you're overseeing, and I have complete confidence in it. If someone else were in charge, it would be different—I definitely need to keep an eye on it myself."

Xu Li smiled without speaking. Because what she had heard from Lin Wei was not this version.

At that moment, Zhou Zhengyang also received the news and rushed out of his office. He respectfully said to Mayor Xu, "Mayor Xu, welcome to Panlong Town to guide the work."

Xu Li waved her hand and said, "Comrade Zhou, we're old acquaintances, so let's skip the pleasantries. I came without notice mainly to see the true state of the vegetable greenhouse project. Do you have time now?"

Zhou Zhengyang had originally planned to take the livestock farmers to the county pig farm this afternoon to discuss canceling the contract, but since Xu Li has come, that plan will definitely be postponed.

"Mayor Xu, our town's vegetable greenhouse project is about to finish; we're just waiting for you to come inspect it!"

Xu Li heard that Panlong Town's vegetable greenhouse project was progressing faster than Blackwater Town's, and she was a little surprised.

"Comrade Zhou, Blackwater Town's progress is only halfway done, while you're almost finished—can the quality of this project stand up to scrutiny?"

Zhou Zhengyang replied confidently, "Mayor Xu, if you find any corners cut, feel free to punish me!"

Xu Li was pleased with Zhou Zhengyang's attitude. However, since she had come, she couldn't just listen to one side—she still needed to go to the site to see for herself.

So she said to Chen Yang, "Since you're here, you ought to go check out the project you invested in, right?"

Chen Yang nodded, then turned and summoned Professor You to accompany him as they followed Xu Li to the base of Panlong Town's vegetable greenhouse project.

Along the way, Xu Li asked Chen Yang doubtfully, "Isn't your company building a large pig farm in East Sun County? Why are you coming to Panlong Town to collect pigs?"

Chen Yang explained, "Our company lacks experience in running a large pig farm; even if the farm were built, we wouldn't dare undertake large-scale breeding at first. At least for a year, our company's pork supply will still be unable to achieve self-sufficiency."

Xu Li asked curiously, "Are there many pigs in Panlong Town? Do you really need to come here yourself as the boss?"

Chen Yang said, "Panlong Town's current live pig reserves aren't large. I came mainly to discuss a contracted cooperation with Secretary Zhou, letting the town's farmers raise pigs for our company to ease the pressure of pork imports."

Xu Li hadn't expected Chen Yang to expand livestock production in Panlong Town, and she immediately became interested. "Junior, as far as I know, Panlong Town has over fifteen thousand farming households. How do you plan to cooperate with them?"

Chen Yang had already consulted Professor You on the way about experience cooperating with farmers to raise pigs. He immediately said, "My cooperation model is this: our company provides piglets, feed, veterinary medicine, and breeding technology, while Panlong Town's farmers provide the site and labor. When the live pigs are ready for market, our company will send people to the door for quarantine inspection, and any qualified pigs will be purchased uniformly at the contract price."

Xu Li thought Chen Yang's method was good. Panlong Town is a poor town, and not many people there can afford to buy piglets. Commonfolk Meat Industry Co., Ltd. providing piglets and feed is tantamount to directly solving their funding problem. As long as they don't slack off, they can basically make money. This is genuine poverty‑relief work!

"Junior, your idea is excellent. On behalf of the tens of thousands of farming brothers in Panlong Town, I thank your company for its support."

Chen Yang said modestly, "Senior, you're being too formal. I'm also a native of Panlong Town; helping my hometown is what I should do."

Xu Li smiled and added, "Clear Water County is also your hometown—why not consider expanding the project a bit further?"

Chen Yang hadn't expected Xu Li's appetite to be even bigger, wanting him to expand the business to the whole of Clear Water County. But he isn't someone who acts on impulse, so he didn't agree right away.

"Senior, cooperating with farmers saves labor and land, but the risk is high. If an uncontrollable factor during pig rearing causes piglet deaths, the company can't claim compensation from the farmers and can only suffer a loss. In other words, the more farmers we cooperate with, the greater the company's investment risk. For now, we can only run a pilot in Panlong Town, using a year to weed out the weak and keep the strong among the pig farmers."

Upon hearing that, Xu Li felt a little disappointed but did not show dissatisfaction. After all, the purpose of corporate poverty relief is to achieve a win‑win for both the company and the farmers, not to make the company a sucker.

Moreover, what Chen Yang said also makes sense. Given the financial situation of Clear Water County's farmers, they simply cannot afford compensation for failed pig farming. In the end, the only party that will foot the bill is Commonfolk Meat Industry Co., Ltd.

However, Xu Li still hoped Chen Yang could contribute more to Clear Water County's agricultural development. She asked in a tentative tone:

"If the pilot in Panlong Town succeeds, have you considered expanding the scope of cooperation?"

Chen Yang immediately understood her meaning and said at once, "If a farmer has a certain level of financial strength and rich experience in this line, the company can give priority to cooperating with them."

Xu Li thought Chen Yang was being slippery. Answering her like that amounted to no answer at all. Farmers with both strength and experience already have stable sales channels; they fundamentally don't need support.

"Junior, I think you should support more capable but cash‑strapped farmers. Only then can we achieve overall poverty alleviation in Clear Water County."

Chen Yang pondered, then told Xu Li, "Senior, our company can provide financial support to some capable farmers. However, applicants must first pass our company's assessment. Only those who pass the assessment can receive the support funds. What do you think?"

"No problem!" That's exactly what Xu Li wanted to hear from Chen Yang; she immediately said, "I will communicate with the leadership team of Clear Water County to organize a specialized pig‑farming training class for farmers who want to get rich through pig farming. Once they complete the training, you can send people to assess them."

Seeing that Xu Li was willing to let the Clear Water County Government step in to solve the technical training issue for pig farmers, Chen Yang immediately agreed to her request.