Chapter 1345

Of course, raising cattle and sheep cannot rely solely on pasture; it also requires some additives and concentrated feed, especially during the fattening stage, when concentrated feed is even more necessary. Rao Songnian also provided several feed formulas suitable for Matou goats and Jiangnong No. 1 yellow cattle.

Naturally, given the current economic foundation of Matou Town, not every household can afford to build sheep pens and cattle sheds. They can only start by selecting some key farming households or establishing cooperatives, then applying for bank loans to build the sheds and introduce breeding cattle to rapidly expand the scale of farming.

These past few days, Lu Xianghui has been focusing on promoting the cooperative model in various villages. Cooperatives have significant advantages in the livestock industry; introducing breeding cattle as a cooperative can reduce the economic burden on each individual household, and selling as a cooperative offers incomparable advantages in channels, costs, and pricing compared to individual farmers.

As for Su Xinghui, he took a trip to the county seat to visit Tang Houde, the president of the Agricultural Bank of China in Changshan County.

Tang Houde received Su Xinghui in his own office. His office was decorated much better than Su Xinghui's office in Matou Town; after all, it was a financial institution, which is the wealthiest sector in this era.

Tang Houde very enthusiastically brewed a cup of tea for Su Xinghui by hand. Su Xinghui said, "Thank you, President Tang." Tang Houde said, "Secretary Su, please don't be so formal. You just arrived in Changshan County, and Old Cai called me to ask me to support your work. But you've been too busy these days, and I didn't want to disturb you."

The Old Cai that Tang Houde mentioned was the former President Cai of the Shangjun County Agricultural Bank, now the Division Chief Cai at the Provincial Agricultural Bank's Deposit and Remittance Department. When these county branch presidents go to the city branch for meetings, they often eat and drink together. Since they don't have too many conflicts of interest, their relationship is quite good.

Tang Houde's relationship with Division Chief Cai has always been very good. Since Division Chief Cai was transferred to the provincial branch and promoted two levels at once, Tang Houde has interacted with him even more. Every time he goes to the provincial capital for business, he makes sure to sit down with Division Chief Cai.

Su Xinghui smiled and said, "President Tang, Brother Cai has spoken of you to me as well. It is I who should have visited you the moment I arrived in Changshan County; it was indeed my oversight."

Tang Houde then smiled and said, "Not at all, not at all. Secretary Su, is there anything you need from me today?"

Su Xinghui said, "I came today hoping that the County Agricultural Bank could support the work in our Matou Town."

Tang Houde said, "How exactly do you need our support? Secretary Su, please feel free to speak."

Su Xinghui said, "It's like this: we are preparing to vigorously develop the livestock industry in the town, letting the common people raise Matou goats and a high-quality breed of beef cattle on a large scale. The development prospects for both types of livestock are excellent. However, President Tang should know our town's foundation—it is truly poor. So, we hope the Agricultural Bank can provide some support by offering startup capital for the common people."

As he spoke, Su Xinghui took a document out of his bag and handed it to Tang Houde. This document was a feasibility report on vigorously developing the livestock industry in Matou Town, written by Lu Xianghui after synthesizing the actual situation in Matou Town and the suggestions and opinions of several experts, with some modifications by Su Xinghui.

Tang Houde began to read the report seriously. The information and data in this report were very detailed, and the analysis of the advantages and prospects of developing the livestock industry in Matou Town was very spot-on.

Of course, this report was secondary. If it were someone else, no matter how flowery the report was written, Tang Houde wouldn't read it seriously. In China, the top priority for bank loans is not how good the project is, but what kind of person is applying for the loan.

Someone like Su Xinghui is, of course, the highest-quality client. Division Chief Cai was promoted two levels in just two years because of his dealings with Su Xinghui; how could Tang Houde not take his request seriously?

Of course, Tang Houde still had to read the report, and he had to read it very seriously to show his respect for Su Xinghui.

After reading for more than ten minutes, Tang Houde looked up and said, "Secretary Su, you are indeed an expert at developing the economy. This project is truly a good one. It seems that Matou Town's economic takeoff is just around the corner!"

Su Xinghui smiled and said, "So, President Tang, does that mean you agree to provide loans to the farmers in our town?"

Tang Houde said, "It's still too early to say I agree, but based on this report, I am very optimistic about the prospects of this project. We still need to send people to your town to inspect the situation before we can make a decision."

By saying this, Tang Houde had effectively agreed to Su Xinghui's loan request. Of course, sending people to Matou Town to inspect the situation was a necessary procedure that could not be skipped.

Su Xinghui said, "Then we will wait in the town for President Tang to send people over."

Tang Houde said, "Secretary Su, roughly how much loan quota do we need to prepare for this project?"

Su Xinghui said, "We plan to establish about fifty breeding cooperatives in the town. This will require introducing about fifty breeding bulls, the same number of breeding cows, and about five hundred calves. Adding in the costs of building sheep pens, cattle sheds, and other expenses, each cooperative will need about thirty to forty thousand in loans. In total, we need a loan quota of about two million."

To be honest, a loan quota of two million is not much, but for Changshan County, lending two million to a single project is an unprecedented event.

However, Tang Houde didn't even blink. What if he gave the entire annual loan quota of the Agricultural Bank to Matou Town? Changshan County didn't have any other good projects to lend to anyway.

Especially now that the state has established the Agricultural Development Bank, and Changshan County also has a branch of the Agricultural Development Bank, policy-based loan businesses like the original grain, cotton, and oil procurement have been transferred to the Agricultural Development Bank. The Agricultural Bank can be considered to have unloaded a heavy burden.

From Division Chief Cai, Tang Houde knew Su Xinghui's background very clearly, and he also understood Su Xinghui's ability to develop the economy very well. He knew that no matter where Su Xinghui went, he could develop the local economy very well. Therefore, he was not worried about the repayment ability of this project.

To put it bluntly, what if these loans couldn't be recovered? As long as he could gain Su Xinghui's favor, it would be worth it. Tang Houde wouldn't have to pay back the unrecoverable loans himself.

Tang Houde nodded and said, "Fine, then I will prepare a loan quota of two million for you."

Su Xinghui stood up and said, "President Tang, thank you. I won't disturb you any further; I'll take my leave now."

Tang Houde said, "That won't do. Secretary Su is a guest here; you must have a meal with us before you go."

Su Xinghui said, "There's no need for a meal, right? Next time President Tang comes to Matou Town, I will treat you to a meal."

Tang Houde said, "No matter what, you must eat before you leave, otherwise Old Cai will blame me if he finds out."

Hearing Tang Houde say this, Su Xinghui stopped being coy. He nodded and said, "Then I will respectfully comply."

That noon, Su Xinghui had a meal at the Agricultural Bank and had a very pleasant conversation with Tang Houde. ===== CHAPTER 1347 =====