Chapter 976 Stars
In the interrogation room late at night, the incandescent light was buzzing. Captain Zhang threw the evidence bag on the table. Twenty-seven varieties of wild mushrooms were shining strangely in the transparent plastic bag. "Do you know the consequences of illegal collection?" Captain Zhang pushed a stack of documents over. "The eco-tourism you are so proud of has become the most ironic evidence."
Qi Tongwei stared at the electronic clock on the wall. It was 3:17 in the morning. The little fox curled up under the interrogation chair, its tail hanging limply. His memory flashed back to that snowy night three years ago. In the ecological blueprint drawn by the little fox, there was indeed a plan for "rational development of wild mushroom resources", but where was the specific limit? He thought of the excited smiling faces of the tourists and the pride of the villagers when they entertained guests with wild mushrooms, and his throat suddenly tightened.
The phone of the village party secretary Lao Chen rang at this time. A noisy quarrel came from the speakerphone: "The promotional video just shot by the TV station is completely useless! The county leaders said this is a major negative example!" Lao Chen's voice was crying, "Tongwei, Zhang Dazhu and others put all the responsibility on you..."
Suddenly, thunder exploded outside the window. Qi Tongwei looked at the Wildlife Protection Law on the wall of the interrogation room. The words of Article 35 flickered in the lightning. He remembered that he had told the villagers to "respect nature" in the ecological planting training class, but now he has become a "sinner" who destroys the ecology.
Three days later, he was released on bail and returned home. The banner "National Ecological Demonstration Village" hung at the entrance of the village fluttered in the wind. Zhang Dazhu and several villagers blocked his door, holding a joint letter in their hands: "Qi Tongwei must resign! He made it impossible for us to get a bank loan!" Aunt Wang stood at the edge of the crowd, rubbing the corner of her clothes, hesitant to speak.
The little fox appeared in the moonlight, its eyes reflecting the mess on the ground. "Law and morality," its voice seemed to come from far away, "are like two intersecting mountain roads, sometimes running parallel, and sometimes going in opposite directions." Qi Tongwei squatted down and touched the fertilizer bag in the corner - it was left before the ecological reform, and the bag mouth was still stained with moldy mushroom stick debris.
The turning point came when the expert group from the Provincial Department of Agriculture arrived. The white-haired edible fungus researcher squatted in the woods, carefully observing the mushroom growth environment. "These wild mushroom species are an important part of the ecological chain," he raised a magnifying glass covered with mud, "but excessive collection is indeed illegal." The researcher turned to Qi Tongwei, "But your ecological planting model may be the key to solving the dilemma."
Under the guidance of experts, the village established a wild mushroom protection area. In the area surrounded by barbed wire, electronic monitoring equipment records temperature, humidity and species changes. Qi Tongwei led the villagers to cultivate artificial mushrooms outside the protection area, using pine needles and humus to simulate the wild environment. Captain Zhang became a frequent visitor, and he no longer brought a search warrant, but the newly revised "Local Wild Plant Protection Regulations."
One morning, Qi Tongwei met Aunt Wang in the newly built Mushroom Museum. The old lady, wearing a volunteer armband, was explaining to tourists: "These wild mushrooms are the treasures of the mountains and forests, just like people must have a bottom line..." The sunlight shone through the glass dome of the museum, shining on the white hair at her temples, with a pearly luster.
When the CCTV crew entered the village again, the camera no longer focused on the bright agricultural products, but on the electronic screen in the reserve. The data jumping on the screen recorded the delicate balance of the ecological chain.
"Xiao Qi," she pushed her glasses, "There are two fewer boxes of white jade mushrooms this time. Is it because the temperature of the cold storage is not adjusted properly?" As she spoke, Zhang Dazhu passed by carrying mushroom sticks and said in a muffled voice, "Customers nowadays are getting more and more picky. They want both cheap prices and organic certification. Do you think we are gods?"
The price issue is like a big rock, weighing down everyone. The cost of ecological planting is nearly 30% higher than that of ordinary greenhouses. Just the organic fertilizer alone costs more than 200,000 yuan per year. But the market does not recognize this. The supermarket purchasing manager said: "Consumers only look at the price. Can your organic label be used to make a living?"
Late at night in the village committee, the account book was spread out on the table. Qi Tongwei flipped through the bank statements, his brows furrowed more and more. Loan interest, labor costs, equipment maintenance, each of which is a fixed expenditure. The little fox squatted on the corner of the table, tapping the calculator with its tail: "Do you want to try direct sales?" It tapped the phone with its paw, and the screen was a live broadcast room for helping farmers on a certain e-commerce platform.
The next day, Qi Tongwei and several young people set up a live broadcast booth in the threshing ground. Aunt Wang was pushed in front of the camera and rubbed her hands nervously: "I... I don't know what to say, but we grew these mushrooms with wheat bran and corn cobs, without adding fertilizers..." Unexpectedly, the comment area became lively in an instant: "Auntie is so honest! Support original ecological agricultural products!" The first live broadcast sold the usual three-day volume, but after calculating the profit, deducting the platform commission and shipping costs, it was almost the same as the wholesale price.
This matter alarmed the county leaders. At the investment promotion meeting, the deputy county chief patted Qi Tongwei on the shoulder and said, "Qi, the city is going to create a regional public brand for agricultural products. Your village should take the lead in the pilot project." But after the document was issued, Qi Tongwei found out that to use this brand, he had to pay a management fee of 100,000 yuan per year and was forced to purchase designated packaging. Zhang Dazhu was so angry that he slammed the table and said, "How can this be called assistance? They are clearly here to divide the cake!"
The days passed in such a struggle. When the rainy season came, the newly expanded bacterial laboratory suddenly leaked, and the culture equipment worth hundreds of thousands of yuan was soaked. The villagers spontaneously brought plastic sheets to repair it. Aunt Wang brought hot ginger soup from home: "Xiao Qi, you can earn money again if you lose it, as long as people's hearts are not scattered." This sentence made Qi Tongwei's eyes red. He remembered that snowy night three years ago, it was also such a group of people who followed him to build a greenhouse in the cold wind.
The turning point came at a trade fair. Qi Tongwei took samples to the provincial agricultural expo with a try-it-out mentality. In front of a booth in the corner, he met Mr. Lin, a high-end restaurant owner. "This is the natural taste I want," Mr. Lin tasted the fresh mushrooms and his eyes lit up, "but you have to ensure year-round supply, and the price is negotiable."
With orders in hand, new problems emerged. In order to meet the needs of the high-end market, a standardized production process must be established. Qi Tongwei took technical backbones to Fujian to study, and after returning, he set up a training class in the village. Zhang Dazhu was the first to sign up, and he studied more seriously than the young people: "I used to think that I knew everything about mushrooms after growing them for half my life, but now I know that farming also needs to be scientific."
As sales channels expanded, the price system was gradually straightened out. Ordinary mushrooms were sold wholesale, high-quality gift boxes were supplied to the high-end market, and leftovers were processed into mushroom sauce. The villagers found that although the purchase price per kilogram did not increase much, the actual income increased due to careful sorting and deep processing. On the day of dividend distribution at the end of the year, Aunt Wang wiped tears while holding the passbook: "I have never seen so much money in my life, thanks to listening to Xiao Qi."
On calm days, there are occasional ripples. Someone from the next village got jealous and reported them for "falsely advertising organic products." On the day the Market Supervision Bureau came to inspect, Qi Tongwei led his team straight to the planting base. From strain cultivation to harvesting records, all links could withstand inspection. Before leaving, the law enforcement officer gave a thumbs up and said, "Your account is more standardized than many large companies."
Today's village is no longer the small mountain village that relied on luck to sell goods. An electronic screen stands at the entrance of the village, showing real-time data on soil moisture and bacterial growth. When tourists come, they no longer just pick mushrooms and take photos, but also go to the laboratory to see bacterial cultivation and listen to Qi Tongwei's story of "from a spore to the table."
Late at night, Qi Tongwei was checking the account book again. The little fox was napping beside him, and his tail occasionally swept across the numbers in the account book. The moonlight outside the window was like water, and the roar of trucks came from the distance. Qi Tongwei knew that tomorrow would be another new day. The numbers in the account book would change, and the market demand would change, but some things would never change - such as Aunt Wang's careful checking of the bills, the busy figures of the villagers in the greenhouse, and the gifts given to them by this land.
He closed the account book, stood up and walked to the window. At the foot of the mountain, the lights of the warehouse were as bright as stars.