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Chapter 379 The Soong Sisters 4
Song Ya-wen shook her head helplessly: "Ya-ting, don't be silly. This is Zhi-yuan's house. We still have our change of clothes at the hotel."
Besides, he lives here alone. What would it look like if we stayed?
Song Yating chuckled and said, "Mr. Wu is a gentleman. Are you worried that he'll climb into your bed while you're asleep?"
Song Ya-wen scolded playfully, "Ya-ting, you're getting more and more outrageous!"
Wu Zhiyuan chuckled: "Yating, what are you thinking about all day long?"
Alright, it's getting late. I'll take you back to your hotel to rest. We're going to Wuhe Town tomorrow.
Although reluctant, Song Yating asked, "Can I stay here tonight?"
Wu Zhiyuan laughed and said, "Are you really going to help me with my laundry?"
Song Yating said with a smile, "I'll do anything you ask."
Song Ya-wen interjected, "Ya-ting, let's talk about it tomorrow."
……
Wu Zhiyuan picked up the Song sisters from the airport by himself, as it was a private matter.
However, Song Yawen's trip to Wuhe Town was on official business, and she used an official vehicle.
Moreover, Wu Zhiyuan was not the only person accompanying him; relevant department heads were also present.
The Song sisters and Wu Zhiyuan rode in the same car.
The car drove out of Qingyan County and headed northeast along the county road toward Wuhe Town.
Sitting in the passenger seat, Song Yating looked out the window and asked all sorts of questions.
Wu Zhiyuan explained: "The reason why Wuhe Town is called Wuhe is because five rivers converge within its territory."
Wuhe Town has abundant water resources and fertile land, making it very suitable for agricultural development.
Song Ya-wen nodded: "Indeed, agriculture cannot exist without water."
Song Yating interjected, "Mr. Wu, this area is all flat land. I thought Wuhe Town was all mountains."
Wu Zhiyuan said, "Qingyan's terrain is high in the south and low in the north. The south is close to the mountains, and there are indeed many mountains."
However, Wuhe Town is located in a hilly area, with mountains but not steep ones, and mostly undulating gentle slopes and river valley plains.
Therefore, we say that Wuhe is the bridgehead for Qingyan's northward development. Its flat terrain and proximity to Jiangzhou make it suitable for industrial development.
Wu Zhiyuan looked at Song Yawen beside him and continued, "Sister Yawen, the terrain of Wuhe is very suitable for developing modern agriculture."
There are gentle slopes where fruit trees and tea can be planted, flat land where vegetables and grains can be grown, and rivers where irrigation can be carried out.
Moreover, each village has its own unique characteristics. Some villages are famous for making dried bamboo shoots, some for beekeeping, and some for growing medicinal herbs.
What we need to do now is to integrate these scattered resources.
After driving for about half an hour, a fork in the road appeared ahead, and the road conditions deteriorated significantly.
Wu Zhiyuan pointed out the window: "This road leading east leads to Jiangzhou, the provincial capital."
The road conditions are terrible, full of potholes; on sunny days you're covered in dust, and on rainy days you're covered in mud.
Why has Wuhe, with such a prime location, experienced only lukewarm development? This is one of the reasons.
If the roads are blocked, good products can't get out, and merchants can't come in.
The good news is that several projects have been completed and construction will begin this year. The road will be a two-way four-lane highway built to Class II standards, and we are striving to open it to traffic in the first half of next year.
Once this road is completed, its significance for Wuhe Town and the entire Qingyan area will be revolutionary.
Sister Ya-wen, if we don't take this road from Wuhe Town, we can only go to the provincial capital by following the road we came from today, first to the county seat, and then detouring onto the national highway to reach the provincial capital, which takes almost two hours.
After this road opens, it will take about half an hour to get to the provincial capital.
This means that agricultural products from Wuhe Town can enter the provincial capital Jiangzhou, a market with a population of nearly ten million, at a speed and cost almost equivalent to that of suburban bases.
Moreover, because the journey is shorter and transportation is smoother, losses are greatly reduced, ensuring higher quality.
After a pause, Wu Zhiyuan continued, "Moreover, the fundamental improvement in transportation conditions has changed more than just the transportation of agricultural products. It has brought about opportunities in all aspects."
First, the significant reduction in logistics costs will enhance the price competitiveness of our agricultural products.
Secondly, the increased timeliness makes it possible for us to develop high-value-added business models such as contract farming, pre-processed vegetables, and central kitchen distribution for Jiangzhou.
Third, with convenient transportation, the flow of talent, technology, information, and capital will be smoother.
Only companies like yours are willing to come, and only then will top talent be willing to stay.
Fourth, it can also promote rural tourism. Citizens of Jiangzhou can drive for more than half an hour on weekends to come here to pick fruits, have a vacation, and experience farm life.
This is a road, but more importantly, it's a vital artery for development; once it's open, everything else falls into place.
The car arrived at the Wuhe Town Government.
Town Party Secretary Liu Jingjing and Town Mayor He Yeshan greeted them at the entrance of the government building.
Liu Jingjing is in her thirties, with a full figure but not fat, and her long hair is tied up in a bun.
She was wearing a long navy blue down jacket, the collar of which was slightly open, revealing a beige turtleneck sweater underneath.
Her features aren't exactly stunning, but they're very pleasing to the eye.
He Yeshan was in his thirties, tall and thin, wearing glasses, and had a refined and scholarly demeanor.
After the introductions, Liu Jingjing shook Song Yawen's hand and said politely, "It is an honor for Wuhe to have President Song here."
County Head Wu gave us a heads-up yesterday, saying that important businesspeople would be coming to inspect the area today, and we're really looking forward to it.
Wu Zhiyuan smiled and said, "Secretary Liu, let's skip the formalities. We won't listen to reports today; let's go straight to the site."
Mr. Song was interested in the agricultural product processing and logistics park project, and took us to see several representative sites.
After a brief stop at the town government, the convoy proceeded directly to the scene as instructed by Wu Zhiyuan.
The first stop was the Wuheyuan Agricultural Products Professional Cooperative at the east end of the town.
The cooperative's yard is large, with the cement floor swept clean, and several farm tricycles parked neatly on one side.
A simple rain shelter was erected against the courtyard wall, and baskets of agricultural products were piled up under the shelter, covered with plastic sheeting.
He Yeshan explained, "This is the largest cooperative in our town, serving five or six surrounding villages. Our main products are local specialties from Qingyan, such as wild walnuts, chestnuts, shiitake mushrooms, wood ear mushrooms, and dried bamboo shoots. The head of the cooperative is Lao Han, who is a leading figure in the town's efforts to help people get rich."
Old Han was in his fifties, with dark skin, and looked shrewd and capable.
Old Han first introduced the basic situation of the cooperative, then lifted the plastic sheet to reveal several sacks of dried bamboo shoots: "These are this year's new dried bamboo shoots, all wild, dried with a wood-fired stove, they smell very good."
He then opened a woven bag next to him, which contained wild walnuts: "These are iron walnuts from the mountains. They are not very big, but the kernels are particularly plump and they taste very good. They are more flavorful than those large, thin-shelled walnuts."
Song Ya-wen bent down, picked up a walnut and weighed it in her hand, then grabbed a handful of shiitake mushrooms and brought them to her nose to smell them. She looked up and asked Old Han, "Master Han, where are all these goods sold?"
Old Han said, "We mainly wait for out-of-town dealers to come and buy. For example, these dried bamboo shoots, at their best they would have offered ten yuan a pound, but this year they've been pushing the price down so much that they're only offering seven or eight yuan."
Not selling? If we don't sell, it'll just rot in the warehouse.
We have little bargaining power because if we don't sell, other towns will. Qingyan has plenty of these kinds of agricultural products.
Song Ya-wen asked He Ye-shan, "Mayor He, how many cooperatives like this are there in the whole town? How involved are the farmers?"
He Yeshan replied, "There are seven or eight cooperatives of various sizes, but only two or three are truly operating well."
Most farmers still operate independently, either harvesting and selling their own produce or selling it to dealers.
They are poorly organized, unable to form a cohesive force, and have no bargaining power.
The products are truly excellent, but we can't sell them for a good price; this is our biggest pain point.
Wu Zhiyuan said, "Old Han, don't be discouraged. President Song is here today because he wants to sell your good stuff to more distant places."
Then, these agricultural products will be able to fetch a good price.
Old Han repeatedly said, "That's wonderful! That's wonderful! If that's the case, I thank County Chief Wu and General Manager Song on behalf of all the men in the village!"
After leaving the cooperative, the convoy continued north, driving along the bumpy road for about ten minutes before stopping in a wide, gentle slope.
Wu Zhiyuan pointed to a large area of wasteland in front of him: "President Song, this is not basic farmland, so the land acquisition will be less difficult and costly. It is also very close to the new road and Jiangzhou. It can be considered as one of the alternative sites for the logistics park project."
As everyone got off the bus, they were greeted by rolling, gentle slopes, flat and open, covered with withered yellow grass.
Wu Zhiyuan added, "President Song, after the road is completed, it will only take half an hour to drive from here to Jiangzhou city."
Within this radius, whether it's refrigerated truck delivery of fresh produce or developing central kitchens for pre-processed vegetables, timeliness can be guaranteed to the greatest extent possible.
Song Yating muttered under her breath, "Sis, this place looks a bit deserted now."
Song Ya-wen didn't speak, but simply nodded slightly.
Wu Zhiyuan walked to her side and pointed into the distance: "President Song, look over there, that's the main vegetable production area of Qingyan County, where fresh vegetables are available all year round."
To the south lies the main production area of mountain products.
Go north, and another ten kilometers or so, you'll reach the territory of Jiangzhou.
If a modern agricultural industrial park integrating warehousing, sorting, processing, cold chain, and logistics is built here, it will be equivalent to installing a "heart" and "hub" between Qingyan's agricultural production area and Jiangzhou's consumer market.
Goods from all directions are transported here, graded, packaged, and further processed. Then, via refrigerated trucks, they are continuously delivered to supermarkets, farmers' markets, and catering businesses in Jiangzhou. They are even distributed nationwide and internationally through the Song Group's distribution channels.
Song Yawen nodded: "The location is indeed good, and it has the potential to become a regional distribution center."
However, County Chief Wu, the success of a logistics park requires more than just location and land.
It requires collaboration across the entire industry chain, a stable supply of goods, a mature operating team, and a range of supporting services such as finance, testing, and information. These are the real barriers to entry.
Wu Zhiyuan said, "President Song, I've thought about all of these things."
We have the source of goods, as you just saw, and the quality is guaranteed; we just lack integration.
We can build supporting services step by step; the government's responsibility is to build platforms and create an environment.
As for the operations team, I think that if the Song Group is willing to come, you would be the best operations team.
Of course, if you don't want to start from scratch, you can acquire an existing company in Jiangzhou.
Song Ya-wen nodded: "County Chief Wu has hit the nail on the head. We have done several mergers and acquisitions in Country A and know the value of 'buying time'."
If there's a suitable target, it's definitely much faster than starting from scratch.
Wu Zhiyuan said, "There are several companies in Jiangzhou that do fresh food delivery and cold chain logistics. They are not particularly large in scale, but their networks and channels are readily available."
If the Song Group is interested, I can have the county's investment promotion bureau compile a list to get a preliminary understanding of their situation.
Song Yawen smiled slightly: "Then I'll have to trouble County Chief Wu."
However, acquisitions are one thing, but the actual projects still need to be implemented. This land is indeed attractive.