The Official Ladder: I ascend to the pinnacle of power, wielding the power of life and death.

"Yes, County Chief, I will notify them of the adjustment immediately."

Tang Zhichao responded.

"Mr. Zhao, I'll go to the other two bases for research first, and I'll come back this afternoon."

"Yes, County Magistrate."

Jiang Yiming then went to the Friendship Vegetable Base in Lulin Township.

Zhang Lei, the person in charge of the vegetable base, explained the situation of the base to Jiang Yiming.

"Our village is close to the market town and borders the Xijiang River to the east, giving it a superior geographical location and abundant water resources. After years of development, our cooperative has built a vegetable base of a certain scale, with a current vegetable greenhouse area of ​​100 mu. Our cooperative adopts a short, flat, fast, and early model in vegetable production, seizing the market during the off-season and solving the problem of poor sales."

"Our vegetable base has several key characteristics: First, we selected a variety of vegetables with high disease resistance, strong resilience, good marketability, and compatibility with the growing season and cultivation methods. Scallions are the main crop, but tomatoes, chives, cabbage, potatoes, and celery also make up the majority of our greenhouses. Second, we primarily use organic farmyard manure supplemented with commercial fertilizer, focusing on base fertilizer and supplementing with topdressing. Third, we practice intercropping and relay cropping, which effectively reduces the occurrence of pests and diseases."

Zhang Lei said, "However, due to road conditions, our vegetables are mainly supplied to county towns, where prices are not high and profits are limited. We hope that one day we can sell our vegetables to other cities."

"If the roads are clear one day, what do you think will be the advantage of our vegetables compared to vegetables from other places?"

Jiang Yiming inquired.

"We have three advantages. First, earlier market access. Due to the climate, our vegetables mature and hit the market earlier. Xichuan County's geographical location creates a unique climate; the temperature in Xichuan County is slightly higher, and our vegetables mature more than 20 days earlier than those in some surrounding cities. By taking advantage of this 20-day time difference, we can seize the market and command higher prices. Second, better taste. There are many livestock farms nearby, and we purchase these farms to apply organic fertilizer to our fields, resulting in tastier vegetables. Third, greener. Our vegetables are basically pesticide-free, with no pesticide residues."

"Under natural conditions, the vegetables in our Xichuan County ripen more than 20 days earlier than those in the surrounding areas?"

Jiang Yiming heard the key words.

"Yes, County Chief, this is due to the unique geographical location of our Xichuan County."

Tang Zhichao responded.

"With such advantages, there is great potential for developing vegetable cultivation."

Jiang Yiming immediately instructed, "Director Tang, you should make preparations in advance and put effort into multiple aspects. Our vegetables not only need to be available on the market early, but they also need to have their own unique characteristics. We are located in a mountainous area, so please have a qualified third-party organization test the selenium content in our soil and vegetables."

"Selenium can enhance human immunity, promote the proliferation of lymphocytes, and the synthesis of antibodies and immunoglobulins. Selenium has a significant inhibitory and protective effect against various cancers, including colon cancer, skin cancer, liver cancer, and breast cancer. Its intermediate metabolite, methylenol, has strong anti-cancer activity. Selenium has a synergistic antioxidant effect with nutrients such as vitamin E, allicin, linoleic acid, germanium, and zinc, increasing antioxidant activity. At the same time, selenium can reduce and alleviate the toxicity of heavy metals."

"If our vegetables have a high selenium content, they will definitely be favored by the market, and we will focus our future promotion efforts on this aspect."

"Speaking of which, I'd like to set a goal for your agricultural department: to build a vegetable supply base for the entire city and even the whole province over the next three years."

Tang Chen thought to himself, "There aren't even roads, how could it become a vegetable supply base?"

However, he dared not refute, and repeatedly agreed: "Don't worry, County Chief, I will go back and arrange for people to formulate a plan, and make building a vegetable supply base for the whole city and even the whole province a key task for our bureau in the next three years."

After talking with Zhang Lei for a while, Jiang Yiming went to the next base.

Because the roads were difficult to navigate, it was already past 1 p.m. when we finished visiting all three bases.

Jiang Yiming quickly finished his meal and sent the others back, while he took Wang Lifeng to the Hengxin Planting Base.

Xu Yongchang waited there for Jiang Yiming to arrive.

Around 3 p.m., Jiang Yiming arrived at Hengxin Grape Plantation. Not long after, he saw a van drive up.

Five people got out of the car, the one in the lead being Cao Zhongmin, the deputy director with almost completely white hair and dressed simply.

Seeing so many people, Cao Zhongmin asked with some confusion, "Who are these people?"

"Old Cao, this is our county's new county head."

Zhao Heng introduced, "County Chief Jiang, this is Cao Zhongmin, the deputy director of the Fruit Tree and Tea Research Institute of the Provincial Academy of Agricultural Sciences."

"Hello, Mr. Cao, I am Jiang Yiming, the newly appointed acting county head of Xichuan County. Thank you for supporting the development of our hometown."

Jiang Yiming warmly shook the other person's hand.

"You're too kind, County Head. It's what I should do."

"Old Cao, the county magistrate, upon learning of your arrival, canceled his other plans and came here specifically to wait for you."

Zhao Heng smiled and said, "Let's talk in the conference room."

The group then went to the conference room inside the base.

"Old Cao, I've come all this way to see you because I have a favor to ask."

"You said."

Cao Zhongmin was puzzled, wondering what a county magistrate could possibly want from him.

“I want to promote grape cultivation throughout the county, and the grapevines you cultivate are very suitable for the climate of Xichuan County. If you can serve as our county's grape cultivation technology promotion expert, I believe the people will definitely avoid a lot of detours.”

"You want to promote grape cultivation throughout the county?"

Cao Zhongmin was somewhat excited; this was his wish.

"But the roads in Xichuan County are impassable, so even if the crops are planted, it will be difficult to transport them out, right?"

Cao Zhongmin expressed some doubt.

"As far as I know, grapes generally don't bear fruit in the first year of planting. That is to say, if grape seedlings are planted in March, they won't bear fruit until June or July of the following year. In other words, there is still a year and a half before the grapes are ready for market. During this year and a half, I will do my best to solve the road problem."

Jiang Yiming said.

“I’m 59 this year and will officially retire next March. My previous plan was to return to my hometown to retire and make some contributions to my hometown. But from what I understand, promoting grape cultivation faces many difficulties, not just the road problem.”

Cao Zhongmin said.

"Besides roads, the issues are funding, technology, and sales."

Jiang Yiming said earnestly, "I have a year and a half to solve the road problem. As for the funding issue, I plan to apply for project funding from higher authorities, and at the same time, I plan to negotiate with financial institutions to establish micro-loans to provide small loans to growers and help farmers develop agricultural industries."

"As for sales, I have tasted grapes from Xichuan County. They are excellent in terms of taste and other aspects. I believe that as long as the grapes from Xichuan County can be transported out, they will definitely be favored by the market and there will be no shortage of sales channels."

"As for the technical issues, we can only rely on you and your team."

"If you agree, I will have the Science and Technology Bureau connect with you, and our county will provide certain operating funds for your team to use."

Seeing Jiang Yiming's sincerity, Cao Zhongmin said, "Okay, I agree. My team and I will be responsible for training and guiding grape cultivation techniques in Xichuan County. I hope that under your leadership, the people of Xichuan County can truly prosper!"