Chapter 361 - 174: Eve

Chapter 361: Chapter 174: Eve

"By the way, Academician Li, can the Immortal Bean series be saved for seed?"

Academician Li nodded with a sense of resignation. "Yes, they can be saved for seed. Soybeans are self-pollinating, so unless they’re artificially gene-edited, the seeds can always be replanted."

"That’s rather troublesome. We have no way to protect the seed stock."

"Perhaps we should ask the creator of the Immortal Bean series? After all, he’s the father of these soybeans. He’d certainly know more than we do."

"Good point."

"Then let’s have Jintang make a special trip!"

"To get back on topic, there’s no question that we must promote Immortal Soybeans on a massive scale domestically. The question is how to do it skillfully. Besides that, you’ve all noticed the other implications, haven’t you?"

"The financial markets?"

"This is a major event that will have a ripple effect. It won’t just affect the soybean futures market, but it will also impact other commodity futures for feed and oil crops."

"Financial speculation is fine, but we have to be careful not to overdo it. After all, if they lose too much money, they might just pull the plug," one of the old men reminded with a cold smile.

"Yes, this news won’t stay secret for long. Make the arrangements as soon as possible. After all, ABCD has subsidiaries and joint ventures in the country. Once Hailufeng Company starts selling its soybean feed, it probably won’t take more than a few weeks for them to catch on."

"A few weeks is enough. We’ll cash out after making a few tens of billions and not get bogged down."

"How should we arrange the promotion of Immortal Soybeans?"

"Didn’t United Mining Company contract for over a hundred million mu of desert and sandy land? Divide that land into four parts and sublease it. Set the sublease price at three times their contract price! United Mining will develop the Hunshandake Desert themselves. The Wulanbuhe Desert will go to the local authorities in Monan, the Tengger Desert to Beidahuang Group, and the Badan Jiling Desert to COFCO Group."

"We need to control production capacity. We’ll create an annual production plan and manage a strategic reserve. If the import channels for feed and oil crops are disrupted, we need to be able to ramp up domestic soybean production to 100 million tons within a year. That would require preparing about 200 million mu of desert and sandy land in advance."

"The deserts in the Beiting Region of the Western Regions could also be a backup option. The rainfall there is decent, after all."

"What about the remaining smaller deserts and sandy lands in Monan?"

"How about this: the Kerchin Desert, where Hailufeng Company is located, will be entirely handed over to them for development. The contract price will be... let’s say 150 yuan per mu. The other small, scattered plots of sandy and saline-alkali land can be opened up to the market."

In truth, these other small plots of sandy and saline-alkali land added up to a significant area, but they were too scattered. It was better to let the local authorities handle them as they saw fit.

"The sandy and saline-alkali lands in other areas can be opened to the market, but we must carefully control the amount of land released."

"That makes sense. After all, the large desert and sandy land areas already planned total nearly two hundred million mu. Even if we only develop a quarter of that, it’s still fifty million mu. Therefore, the area opened to the market absolutely cannot exceed fifty million mu. Otherwise, given the current situation, soybean production will quickly exceed demand."

"Agreed."

"Controlling annual soybean production at 50 to 60 million tons should be sufficient. We’ll fill the remaining gap with imports. However, we must use this opportunity to deal a heavy blow to ABCD’s grain operations in South America."

"Heh heh, a perfect opportunity to settle our old scores with ABCD."

Clearly, no one present had any fondness for ABCD. In the early 2000s, ABCD had crushed the soybean industry in Cyrus, causing the country to lose a great deal of its influence over the feed and oil crop sectors. This had long been a thorn in the nation’s side.

Now was the time not only to take revenge for that past grievance but also to severely weaken ABCD and shatter their global industrial structure.

Suddenly, one of them remembered something. "We need to increase protection for Jiang Miao and Hailufeng Company, especially Jiang Miao’s personal safety. ABCD won’t take this lying down."

"Have Jintang arrange it!"

"Alright."

"We need to give ABCD something to do. Can’t have them getting bored."

"How about this? We’ll host some high-profile forums on grain, feed, and food in Shanghai and Yangcheng soon. Lure all the executives from ABCD’s domestic subsidiaries and joint ventures to attend. At the same time, we’ll have some experts make a few eye-catching statements to distract them for a while."

"That’s a good idea."

After more than four hours of discussion, the group finally hammered out a series of strategies. Academician Li and the others were only present for the initial explanations before quickly leaving the meeting room.

「That night.」

One by one, calls were made on secure lines.

Relevant personnel from all corners of the country received notifications, though they were oblivious to the meaning behind them.

Because many of these events seemed unrelated. Without a view of the big picture, it was like the blind men touching the elephant. By the time they could see the whole elephant, it would be too late.

For instance, the upcoming Cyrus Grain Security Summit in Shanghai and the Cyrus Feed Industry Conference in Yangcheng.

Even the organizers themselves were unaware of the labyrinthine plot behind it all.

Meanwhile, Academician Li, Manager Liang, and the few others who might have known the connection had also received notices. They were instructed not to discuss the previous night’s events with anyone.

The Monan State-owned Assets Operation Company, the largest shareholder of United Mining Company, along with COFCO Group, Beidahuang Group, and Hailufeng Company, all received a notice summoning them to a meeting in Home County, where United Mining’s headquarters was located.

This was the small group that would be privy to a part of the plan.

After all, to get these companies to work together and develop the desert lands in their designated zones, they had to be told something.

The window of opportunity for the entire operation was only about a month.

Once ABCD caught on, the global commodity futures market for agricultural products would inevitably be thrown into turmoil.

On the eve of this gathering storm.

Jiang Miao returned to the headquarters in Shanmei.

However, before he could even step inside, He Youwei, who had returned from the Capital City half a month ago, was already waiting for him in the living room.

"Teacher, my father is coming over tomorrow at noon."

"Oh?" Jiang Miao had been in the car and had no idea what was going on. "Is it something urgent?"

He Youwei said, a little uncertainly, "It’s about the Immortal Soybeans. He didn’t say what exactly, but it should be good news. Also, my father told me to remind you, Teacher, that you need to strengthen your security from now on."

Jiang Miao’s gaze sharpened slightly, as if he had already guessed something. Then he smiled and said, "I understand."