Chapter 272: Cultivated Fresh Rooftop Farm
Guo Yang has been traveling a lot recently, and he has mostly learned about the group's other business segments through phone calls and work groups.

But it is also clear that the group's capital inflows during this period were very fast, making up for the cash outflow from Jiahe Grain and Oil Investment.

Tianhe Seeds started pre-sale of seeds before New Year’s Day, and the popularity was even better than in previous years.

All orders for Alfalfa Agriculture and Animal Husbandry's hay bales, grass powder, pellets and other products have been paid off, and the direct income from selling grass for the whole year far exceeds 20 billion yuan.

At the same time, the acquisition of processing trade also contributed a lot of revenue.

But the most eye-catching one is the Alfalfa No. 1 seed.

Jinta’s 20 mu of professional seed fields produced approximately 4000 million kilograms of seeds, and Wuyuan’s forage production fields were also able to complete the collection of a small amount of seeds.

A total of about 5000 million kilograms of seeds can be used to improve 2000 million acres of land.

Even for the entire country, this is an extremely large number.

It has attracted strong attention from departments at all levels, and various subsidies have been provided, such as subsidies for good varieties, subsidies for projects, subsidies for agricultural machinery...

Improvement projects in the Songnen Plain, the eastern coastal saline-alkali areas, the Huanghuaihai area and other places are emerging in an endless stream, and land consolidation projects are in full swing.

Customers have also become familiar with Jiahe and are aware of Jiahe's after-sales service capabilities. They can receive technical guidance throughout the entire process from sowing to plant protection to harvesting.

It was extremely satisfying to stock up on alfalfa No. 1 seeds and soybean seeds.

Orders are rising steadily.

Sales volume is rising steadily.

...

Beijing.

Guo Yang walked out of the door of the Ministry of Agriculture.

Fortunately, although it is cold today, there is no wind or sand.

After a while, we arrived at the car on the side of the road.

Luo Xiu smiled and said, "Boss, it's time to go back to Jiuquan. I'm tired of drinking the tea from the Ministry of Agriculture. It's far inferior to the ramie tea from the company."

"Why, are you still disgusted?"

"No, I just feel like the boss is more popular."

"That's because the results are out. Let's go back tomorrow. We still have time now. Let's go to the supermarket."

Guo Yang was playing with the corn cob in his hands.

After meeting with the top leaders at the hospital, he has been busy visiting various departments during this period.

The Grain Bureau, the Academy of Agricultural Sciences, the Soil Conservation Center... have a better understanding of the current situation.

Before 2004, my country's grain output declined year after year. In that year, the gap between grain supply and demand reached 3750 million tons, and grain supply was tight.

In 2004, Document No. 18 returned to agriculture, rural areas and farmers after an absence of years.

Specific policies have been introduced one after another, including providing direct subsidies to farmers, reforming the grain circulation system, lowering agricultural tax rates until they are completely abolished.

Results follow closely on the heels of policies.

From 2004 to 2006, my country's grain production achieved three consecutive years of increase.

Especially in 2006, which has just passed, Tianyu No. 1 led to an increase in corn production of about 3000 million tons, and wheat production also increased.

Even the soybean production area, which has been shrinking significantly, has managed to stabilize its yield thanks to the performance of Tiandou No. 1 on coastal saline-alkali land.

Breeding of superior varieties and cultivation techniques, land consolidation and soil fertilization - these are the main reasons for the substantial increase in production.

Tianhe and Muhe played a vital role in this.

Recently, Hexi Dairy has once again become the conscience of the industry.

Jiahe's other products also have a good reputation.

It can be said that Jiahe grew up under the supervision of the Ministry of Agriculture and is also an important achievement of the Ministry of Agriculture.

Therefore, during this period, no matter which department Guo Yang and Luo Xiu went to, they were treated well.

Taking advantage of the opening of Jiahe Supermarket, Guo Yang, Yang Cheng and others also presented Jiahe's conscientious products to the business department.

It's not expensive for these people.

But gave enough face.

However, despite the increase in grain production, there is still a hidden crisis of arable land.

Only when talking with the Forestry Department could I more truly appreciate the importance that the top leaders attach to the development of coastal saline-alkali land.

At present, the contradiction between protecting arable land and developing the economy, and between protecting arable land and ecological construction is quite prominent.

The eastern region should take the lead in achieving modernization, the central region should rise, the western region should be developed, and the northeast region should be revitalized...

Infrastructure needs to keep up, new rural construction needs to be promoted, and almost all regions hope that the central government will relax its management of cultivated land;
The project of returning farmland to forest and grassland has been implemented for many years, but steep slopes of farmland that need to be returned to forest and grassland can still be seen everywhere in the western mountainous areas.

The grain subsidy policy also only increased the per capita arable land area in plain areas where mechanized operations were more suitable.

In the hilly and mountainous areas of the central and western regions, young and strong laborers have gone to cities to work, and most of the arable land is sloping. The degree of intensive cultivation of grain fields has declined, and abandonment has become more and more common.

Water shortages are becoming more and more serious, pollution is worsening, many rivers are no longer suitable for irrigation, and groundwater is over-extracted...

Especially in the main grain-producing areas of the Huanghuai and Haihe River Basins, if this continues, the drought will only become more severe.

Drought areas are expanding, typhoon disasters are increasing, and flood disasters are getting worse...

The task of maintaining 18 billion mu of arable land remains arduous.

Compared with 1996, my country's total cultivated land area has decreased by more than 1.1 million mu.

In 2003 alone, nearly 3800 million mu of arable land was reduced.

Subsequently, the upper echelons repeatedly issued orders to strictly protect arable land, and the situation improved. However, in 2005, the area still decreased by 543 million mu.

Faced with the reduction of arable land and food security issues, the Ministry of Agriculture and the State Food and Grain Administration have felt tremendous pressure in recent years.

However, this time when talking with the Ministry of Forestry and the Soil and Water Conservation Center, one could clearly feel that he breathed a sigh of relief.

Guo Yang has visited the Ministry of Agriculture many times in recent years.

The pressure of reduced arable land has been weighing on the Ministry of Agriculture.

This year, the pressure is less.

This is due to the complete reversal of the downward trend in cultivated land area.

The food security margin has been greatly improved.

This is due to the increase in coastal saline-alkali land and the improvement in the quality of arable land...and it is due to Alfalfa No. 1 seeds.

Last year, Alfalfa produced 2000 million kilograms of Alfalfa No. 1 seeds, and 800 million mu of coastal saline-alkali land was improved jointly by the Agricultural Development Bank, the State Grain and Grain Bureau, large households and enterprises.

Including the saline-alkali land improved by Tiandou No. 1, the total increased area should be tens of millions of acres, which is a very impressive figure.

This year, local governments have stepped up their response to policies, and the reduction in cultivated land is only over 60 mu.

This data is definitely inaccurate.

For example, the land occupied by green belts along many highways, the land occupied by various so-called ecological parks, the land occupied by rural enterprises, etc. are still recorded as arable land.

But with more than 10 million mu as a guarantee, is it possible that the statistics could be off by more than 10 million mu?

Therefore, even if water is excluded, the cultivated land area in 2006 is likely to have increased.

The situation in 2007 is even more optimistic.

These are all great political achievements!

It is simply the best New Year gift for departments at all levels and relevant persons in charge.

The feedback to Jiahe is that Alfalfa Agriculture and Animal Husbandry, Tianhe Seed Industry, Fengkai Agricultural Machinery... have all successively received the double gift package of policies and sales.

Both the work group and the spam group have been very lively recently, and everyone is sharing the joy brought by the results of their work.

……

About another half an hour passed.

Luo Xiu parked the car on the side of the road. Through the car window, Guo Yang saw Yang Cheng's figure. Behind him was a rather large Jiahe Supermarket.

Maybe it was just the time to get off work, there was a lot of people at the supermarket entrance, and many of them were carrying large and small bags.

Guo Yang got out of the car and looked around the area. There were some relatively high-end residential buildings nearby.

“This location is great!”

Yang Cheng came up to him with a smile and said, "This place is close to the company, and it may only take about ten minutes to walk there."

As he spoke, Yang Cheng pointed in a direction.

Guo Yang took a look and figured out the general direction.

Yang Cheng followed up by saying, "There is a shopping mall near the company, and Weiguang's rooftop farm is also built there. We can even consider selling the farm's vegetables in the supermarket."

Guo Yang raised his eyebrows and asked, "Has it been built?"

"We have now completed part of it. Traditional soil is too heavy and puts too much load on the roof. The group's soil experts are currently developing lightweight soil that does not compact and also controlling the thickness of the soil layer."

It was a bit cold outside, and Yang Cheng sighed as they walked.

"Only after actually doing it, you will know that the rooftop farm is a systematic project, involving plant planting, building waterproofing, heat conservation and energy conservation, building construction, pests and diseases, and many other aspects."

Guo Yang smiled and said, "Let's go see your results later."

“Hey, that’s all company.”

Guo Yang felt that Yang Cheng's mental state had improved a lot, as if he had found a new goal in life.

After walking for a while, we arrived at the supermarket entrance.

The big words on Jiahe Supermarket look ordinary, but the decoration is quite good. Maybe they learned a lesson from Huinong.com.

The whole style contains many agricultural and natural elements, and is more green.

As I walked into the supermarket, a warm breeze hit me and I felt much more comfortable.

The supermarket is not very big, only about two or three hundred square meters.

But what made Guo Yang happy was that the supermarket was clean and bright, various products were neatly stacked, the space seemed spacious and ample, and there was a constant stream of people shopping for goods.

“Well done!”

"This is the first one, so we must do it well. However, there are still many shortcomings and too few product categories," said Yang Cheng.

"I am very satisfied. For Jiahe to run a supermarket, product display is more important. It would be fine if we could make less losses."

Guo Yang started shopping. To be honest, this was his second time going to the supermarket in recent years, except for last year when new vegetable varieties were launched.

Flour, and carefully baked bread and noodles...

Excellent quality Tiandao 20 rice;

Cooking oil;
Wide noodles and hot pot noodles made from potatoes in Dingxi...

A wide variety of vegetables including tomatoes, cauliflower, and super red-core carrots;

Hexi Dairy's milk, milk powder, fresh milk...

Guo Yang came to the fruit area.

It is obvious that they are all carefully selected. Each one is big and round, and has an extremely eye-catching appearance.

There are apples from Aksu, navel oranges from southern Jiangxi, bananas from Hainan, cherries, strawberries, and...is this Sunshine Rose?
Guo Yang really didn't expect that Sunshine Rose would appear at this time.

Cherries, Sunshine Roses, Tunisian soft pomegranates, strawberries, etc. have been representatives of high-end fruits for a long time.

However, with the expansion of local cultivation, it has fallen from the altar after more than a decade, and consumers no longer pay for the high-priced fruits.

But it's still quite a gimmick at this time.

The prices are also very expensive, often 188, 288, 388... But it seems that there is nothing cheap in Jiahe Supermarket.

After looking around, Guo Yang and Yang Cheng came to the office area in the separate room. The store manager came hurriedly and gave them some information, then went back to work.

Guo Yang smiled and said, "Not bad, the daily sales are around 70,000 or 80,000." "This is the storefront of the group company. Even with the rent, it's still a loss."

"Now there is only one store, the supply chain is not advantageous, and various costs are very high. When there are more stores, the costs will come down."

Yang Cheng thought for a moment and said:

"Do we need to speed up the expansion? If so, it would be better to adopt the franchise model, so that the expansion is fast and we can earn franchise fees."

"In the past two years, Baiguoyuan in Yangcheng has done just that and has opened more than 100 stores."

Guo Yang shook his head. "Jiahe only opens directly-operated stores, not franchise stores. We can open a few more stores now, but in the long run I would like to slow down the pace and continue to hone our services."

The subsequent chaos and damaged reputation of Baiguoyuan were closely related to the rapid expansion franchise model adopted by the company in order to make profits.

“The rotten parts have been cut off, so there won’t be a rotten smell.”

The clerk picked up the rotten oranges, dragon fruits and cantaloupes, skillfully cut off the rotten parts, and assembled them into a box of fruit slices for 18 yuan.

They used rotten fruits to make platters and sold fruits that had been cut overnight, and lied to customers that the fruits were freshly cut that day.

This is the Baiguoyuan that later had 6000 stores.

Guo Yang absolutely cannot accept such a situation.

For him, what is more important is to stick to his desires. Whether it is seeds, grains or fruits and vegetables, it is worth spending his whole life on it and becoming the best in the world.

Yang Cheng said: "The fresh food industry is too difficult, especially the requirements for cold chain and supply chain are too high."

Guo Yang thought for a moment and said, "Before the Spring Festival, I want to make some adjustments to the group's internal structure. Jiahe Fresh will be independent, and the supply chain will also be a separate sector."

Yang Cheng was not surprised, but rather a little delighted, "The ownership of the shop is still in Weiguang, right?"

Guo Yang smiled and said, "Are you addicted to collecting rent?"

"Who doesn't want to be a landlord?"

"Don't you feel sorry at all?"

"Fresh food is too complicated, so I'd rather manage finance for my boss. My biggest wish is that the rooftop farm can produce results."

There are three persistent problems with fresh produce: short shelf life, non-standard products and cold chain requirements.

Hexi Dairy has also built a cold chain logistics platform, which can be used as a reference to a certain extent, but there is still a long way to go if we want to achieve the goal of getting fresh agricultural products from the field to the table.

There are two other problems that also require solutions from the upstream planting end.

As for vegetables and grains, it’s not too bad. Tianhe’s new varieties can enter supermarkets in just one year.

As for fruits, it usually takes at least three years to bear fruit.

Moreover, the productivity of my country's fruit industry is low, and the farming method is extensive. As a result, high-quality fruits are in short supply, and the poor quality fruits rot in the fields with no one caring.

Therefore, Jiahe needs to directly participate in the fruit production process and plan fruit planting bases.

Guo Yang thought that maybe he could combine building new orchards with directly purchasing mature orchards...

Before leaving, Guo Yang took another look at the supermarket's store information management system.

Yang Cheng said: "This was done by someone from Huinong.com. It is relatively advanced. If you really want to do something small, it will be difficult to stop. If you find that there are continuous problems with the data, you can deal with it immediately."

Guo Yang smiled and said, "Is this what I want to express?"

Yang Cheng stood there in a daze.

Guo Yang smiled and said, "Just kidding. Let's go and see the rooftop farm you built."

Overall, the first supermarket store is quite remarkable.

Guo Yang also developed the habit of investigating everywhere and thinking at any time. No matter what, Jiahe Supermarket would not be a tool to make money.

……

It only took a few minutes to get to the rooftop farm, but Yang Cheng introduced a lot of things along the way.

This inexplicably made Guo Yang feel a lot more at ease.

For a long time, Yang Cheng or Weiguang Company has had very little autonomy, and everything has been done step by step.

Even Huinong.com has been separated out, and Jiahe Fresh Supermarket will also become independent in the future.

Guo Yang was really a little worried that Yang Cheng might be in a bad mood.

However, in this short period of time, Yang Cheng's relaxed and happy state showed that he really liked the farm, which reduced Guo Yang's worries.

The effect of the rooftop farm also exceeded Guo Yang's expectations, as it was planted with a variety of vegetables.

The spinach that has just emerged from the soil and still has small red flowers on top, the yellow cabbage with wrinkled leaves, and the lettuce that looks like small green flowers blooming in the soil;

The garlic sprouts are neatly arranged;

lush shallots;
Green vegetables, bok choy, radishes…the leaves of various vegetables look so tender.

"Yes, it has that flavor."

"A lot of vegetables still froze to death."

Guo Yang smiled and said, "Those that haven't frozen to death are tastier. To resist the cold, smart vegetables will convert starch into glucose, which makes them taste better."

"So the vegetables that can't survive the winter and are frozen to death are all stupid?"

Guo Yang and Yang Cheng looked at Luo Xiu who rarely interrupted and said, "I didn't realize you are such a talented person."

Braving the cold, you can stay in the rooftop vegetable garden, look up at the blue sky and blue sea, the rolling clouds, and overlook the hustle and bustle of the city.

You can enjoy a pastoral life in a city full of skyscrapers.

Proper farming can help office workers relieve work depression and life stress.

"Hello, Boss. Hello, Mr. Yang."

Employees of Weiguang Company also appeared in the vegetable garden frequently. Some of them came to work, but many others came to pick vegetables.

Guo Yang asked a female employee in confusion, "Are you going home to cook for yourself?"

"Oh, yes, boss."

The female employee, wearing a thick down jacket, waved the bag in her hand and said, "Get some vegetables and have hot pot at home tonight. It's so delicious!"

Guo Yang smiled and asked, "From Sichuan and Chongqing?"

"The enemy."

“This yellow cabbage hotpot is delicious.”

"Yes, yes, yes. I heard about it from my colleagues before, so I came here today to pick it. Thank you for your generosity, boss."

"You should thank Mr. Yang."

"We have to thank you all. We have to thank you all. Now other companies in the office building are envious when they hear that we have our own vegetable garden."

There are quite a few people coming to the rooftop vegetable garden. Colleagues communicate with each other while planting and picking vegetables, and it seems that there is less indifference.

Employees who came and went also kept greeting and thanking Guo Yang, which greatly enhanced their sense of happiness.

Guo Yang said: "Can the group headquarters in Jiuquan be designed in this style with a rooftop farm?"

Luo Xiu's eyes lit up, "That's totally possible!"

Guo Yang smiled and said, "Remember to remind me when you get back, or you can tell Ning Xiaojing."

At this time, Yang Cheng on the side hesitated for a moment, but thinking about the research during this period, he still expressed his inner thoughts.

"Boss, I think the group can invest more in research and development. Rooftop farms are still very meaningful."

"It helps office workers relieve stress, helps the elderly pass the time and fill their inner emptiness, and helps urban children understand how hard it is to get food, fruits and vegetables."

"It can also benefit the environment, by providing insulation and cooling in the summer and warmth in the winter. The rooftop farm acts like a giant sponge, absorbing carbon dioxide and impurities and purifying the air."

"In an era when space is becoming increasingly scarce, green spaces and gardens on rooftops or balconies provide people with an additional public space for communication. In a city full of tall buildings, people can only have a chance to look down when they stand on the rooftops, and birds also have an extra place to rest..."

"Some cities in China have incorporated rooftop greening into urban planning, but there are still very few rooftop farms."

"The planting technology is immature, there are no suitable seeds, the cost is too high... there are still too many technical difficulties."

Guo Yang was actually a little surprised. Yang Cheng's enthusiasm for the rooftop farm exceeded his imagination.

The purpose of rooftop farms is leisure and entertainment, and the research and development does not cost much.

However, Guo Yang suddenly thought of the plant factory. This thing has exaggerated energy consumption and extremely high cost. It is difficult to mass produce it before controlled nuclear fusion is mastered.

However, research and development can complement rooftop farms. When photovoltaic production capacity is in excess in the future, it seems that plant factories can also be tried in the northwest...

After pondering for a while, Guo Yang said, "You can try it first."

Yang Cheng smiled and said, "Boss, you are wise!"

"Then you organize a team to engage in technical research and development?"

"no problem!"
-
Shandong Province, Yellow River Delta.

A Toyota Prado was speeding on Industrial Avenue, overtaking various vehicles in one go.

When the road was blocked by two trucks parked side by side in front of him, he drove into the opposite lane to overtake without stopping.

The car coming from the opposite direction started honking its horn from a distance away.

Yang Heng, who was sitting in the passenger seat, gripped the armrest tightly, his toes clenched, his heart pounding, and he thought, "Does Mr. Wu drive so violently?"

He didn't calm down until he successfully overtook the other car, but he refused to put down the handrail.

Perhaps he felt Yang Heng's nervousness.

Wu Feng from Huihuang Seeds said with a smile, "It's very stable. The ranch is too far away. If we don't hurry up, it will be dark by the time we get there. If we don't finish the work today, how can we take Boss Guo's plane back tomorrow?"

"It's coming, it's coming."

Even on the vast plains, Yang Heng still felt that the car was going a bit fast.

Wu Feng slowed down a bit.

"Xiao Yang, how long have you been doing project applications?"

"Almost exactly one year."

"Then he has a strong learning ability. He has mastered the policies so quickly and can handle things on his own."

"It's OK. My boss asked me to contact the Animal Husbandry Management Department and the Planting Management Department. I have been involved since the drafting of the alfalfa and soybean industry."

"As for the policies and subsidies for this Binhai Alfalfa Ranch invested by Huihuang, I will definitely help you."

Wu Feng was stunned. It seemed that Xiao Yang had just graduated for a year. Was Jiahe so bold in hiring people?

"I heard that Jiahe has a leadership training program. Xiao Yang must be on the list, right?"

Yang Heng smiled and said, "It's all thanks to the boss's cultivation!"

Wu Feng gave up the idea of ​​poaching people.

I wanted to avenge the fact that Alfalfa Agriculture and Animal Husbandry had continuously poached brilliant key technical personnel.

Yang Heng's performance these days was not only timid, but also calm. He was familiar with various policy clauses, which made him interested.

But now it seems that Jiahe’s training level for Yang Heng is very high.

In the past two years, Huihuang has taken advantage of the alfalfa business to export batches of premium and first-grade oat straw to foreign countries.

At the same time, we kept a close eye on the domestic forage market and carried out many forage promotion and demonstration to achieve efficient on-site conversion.

They also achieved extreme goals in cost saving, as the contracted lands were all remote wastelands.

The overall benefit is okay.

Now that the domestic dairy industry has experienced the melamine incident, the forage industry must stand up again.

Huihuang is the leader of the second echelon of the domestic grass industry, with a rich variety of forage seeds and extensive experience in forage planting.

With both technology and capital, Huihuang Seed Industry continues to expand its investment in various regions.

The coastal salt marshes are just one of the stops.

(End of this chapter)