72: Chapter 72 Cheap Fruit Hurts Farmers

It was unclear who started the rumor.

The news that Township Head Chen Qunfeng had apologized to Secretary Qin through a mess of tears and snot had somehow spread among the cadres and masses of Dahe Township; many people were discussing it.

"I never would have expected Township Head Chen to actually apologize to Secretary Qin."

"I heard it too. They say when Township Head Chen apologized, he was a blubbering mess of snot and tears."

"..."

As many people gossiped like this, some of the talk inevitably reached Chen Qunfeng's ears. Hearing these words, the resentment in his heart reached its peak.

Damn it, I've lost face.

But it doesn't matter. A great man knows when to yield and when to stand tall. Losing face is temporary. As long as that man named Qin lets his guard down and thinks I've truly apologized from the heart, there will definitely be an opportunity in the future.

As long as I can bring that guy Qin down, everything will be worth it.

Chen Qunfeng comforted himself this way in his heart, and he seemed to feel a bit better. When he heard people whispering in the distance, he didn't get angry; he even gave them a slight smile.

Gradually, many people noticed that the Township Head had really changed.

He became more proactive in his work, smiled more often, and visited Qin Chuan more frequently to report on his work. Every time there was a Party Committee meeting, he supported Qin Chuan.

As a result, everyone believed that the Township Head had completely changed, seeing the Township Head and the Secretary getting along harmoniously.

Time passed quickly, and it was now July.

The schools were already on summer break, and the construction of the Dahe Township Central School was in full swing. It had become a massive construction site, with a large amount of engineering machinery and numerous construction workers busy at work.

The construction of the teaching building was progressing the fastest, having already reached the height of three stories. Progress on other buildings was also good; the Arts and Sports Center, which started construction last, had completed its pile foundation and begun work on the first floor.

The faculty dormitories, student dormitories, and the comprehensive building were all at the height of one or two stories. It was estimated that they would be topped out one after another in about half a month, followed by water and electricity installation, as well as interior and exterior decoration.

The Dahe Energy Group had been fully established, with all departments basically perfected, and the Jiucailing Coal Mine had also begun large-scale construction.

According to the plan, this coal mine would be built with an annual production capacity of about ten million tons. The railway line had also completed its re-surveying, with a total length of 2.7 kilometers, and construction was set to begin soon.

It was worth mentioning that the bank loans went very smoothly. After all, with such massive reserves right there, a total of 560 million was borrowed from the bank, greatly exceeding Qin Chuan's expectations.

With money in hand, things were easier to get done.

Various construction projects were in full swing, and the entire Dahe Township presented a scene of vitality and bustling activity.

Today, as usual, Qin Chuan was out for a morning run in his sneakers. He noticed a phenomenon: along both sides of the road, including the area near the entrance of the Township Government, there were more farmers setting up stalls to sell yellow peaches.

Dahe Township had a large area and was very mountainous.

With so many mountains, the most suitable thing to plant was fruit trees. A few years ago, the township leadership of that term, in order to create a record of political achievement and increase farmers' income, had every household plant yellow peaches.

The yellow peach variety was quite good, a high-quality strain from the Academy of Agricultural Sciences.

The yellow peaches produced were also of good quality—large, sweet, and crisp.

But problems followed. Since every household had a bumper harvest of yellow peaches, supply clearly exceeded demand. To whom would they sell so many peaches?

Last year, many could not be sold and simply rotted in the fields.

The weather was good this year, and since the yellow peaches had entered their peak production period, there were even more of them. Now, as the peaches began to ripen, many fruit farmers were setting up stalls along the roadside to sell them.

Seeing more people selling yellow peaches today than yesterday, Qin Chuan realized a major problem.

How were so many yellow peaches going to be sold?

As the local official responsible for the people, he couldn't ignore this matter.

After finishing his run, he saw a large number of stalls selling yellow peaches at the entrance of the Township Government. Qin Chuan walked up to an elderly man selling peaches.

"Old man, how much are these yellow peaches?"

The rural old man obviously didn't recognize that this was Secretary Qin and replied, "One yuan per jin. How much do you want?"

Only one yuan per jin!

Qin Chuan was a bit surprised. These yellow peaches were fresh, large, and clearly of good quality; they would sell for at least five or six yuan per jin in a supermarket.

Seeing that Qin Chuan didn't speak, the old man thought he found it too expensive and said, "Eighty cents. Let's call it eighty cents. Anyway, they're home-grown; selling a little is better than nothing."

Qin Chuan crouched down and picked out about fifteen or twenty, packing them into a plastic bag. It came to a total of ten and a half jin, but the old man charged for ten, making it eight yuan in total.

This much for only eight yuan.

Believe it or not!

Carrying the bag of yellow peaches, Qin Chuan went to his office, washed one, and started eating. The more he ate, the more delicious he found it.

This taste, this quality, and it was only eighty cents!

Lately, he had been busy with the Central School and the construction of the coal mine, neglecting the yellow peaches planted by the common people.

If so many yellow peaches were to be sold, he had to give everyone a hand.

With this thought in mind, he called Hu Qibin and notified all the township leaders currently present to have a meeting at 9:30 AM.

Upon receiving the notice, everyone took it as a matter of course, thinking it was another meeting about the Jiucailing Coal Mine or the Central School.

After sitting down in the meeting room, everyone was surprised to find that Secretary Qin had actually walked in carrying a bag of yellow peaches.

Placing the bag of peaches on the conference table, Qin Chuan said loudly, "Director Hu, pass these yellow peaches out. One for each person. Everyone, have a taste."

Soon, everyone was given a yellow peach.

"Secretary, these are yellow peaches from our township, right? The taste is quite good!"

"I also bought a few jin yesterday. They're cheaper than last year, only one yuan per jin!"

"To be honest, our township's yellow peaches are really delicious. It must have a lot to do with the soil and water. I can guarantee that other places definitely can't grow such good peaches."

"..."

The meeting room became lively as everyone chatted while eating the yellow peaches.

After a few minutes, feeling it was about time, Qin Chuan raised his hand and pressed down, signaling for everyone to quiet down.

Immediately, the noisy meeting room fell silent.

Qin Chuan said, "I called everyone for a meeting today to discuss the matter of our township's yellow peaches. Does anyone have the statistics on what the total yield for the township is this year?"

Everyone was slightly stunned.

They hadn't expected the meeting to be about this matter rather than the Central School or the coal mine construction.

Ma Zhengnan said, "We haven't conducted the statistics for this year's yield yet, but we do have the data for last year."

"Our township's total yellow peach planting area is over 36,000 mu, and last year's total yield was over 81 million jin."

Such a large planting area, such a massive yield!

Qin Chuan was slightly shocked!

Ma Zhengnan continued, "The weather has been good this year, and the township's yellow peaches have also officially entered their full production period. I estimate the total yield will exceed 100 million jin!"

A yield of over a hundred million jin!

Qin Chuan said slowly, "Comrades, with a township-wide yield of over a hundred million jin, have you ever thought about how so many yellow peaches will be sold?"

Upon hearing this, almost everyone slightly lowered their heads.

Some township leaders even had scenes from last year flash through their minds—scenes of massive amounts of yellow peaches that couldn't be sold and rotted in the fields.