Chapter 157: Long Live Linyuan Farm!

Chapter 157: Long Live Linyuan Farm!

Zhang Lin was puzzled, but when the provincial agricultural research institute's investigation team arrived, he couldn't refuse to meet them.

He didn't want to invite any bad luck.

After hanging up the phone, Zhang Lin instructed Zhong Miaoying to go out and greet the visitors.

Not long after, she returned with Wei Yuan and a middle-aged man.

"Director Wei, this must be Director Ma from the provincial institute, right? Please, have a seat," Zhang Lin warmly welcomed them to the tea table.

Director Ma sat down and smiled. "Mr. Zhang, your farm's business development has added a vibrant touch to our province's agriculture!"

Zhang Lin quickly replied, "Director Ma, you flatter me. It's just a regular place."

Wei Yuan laughed. "Director Ma, I told you, if you praise Mr. Zhang, he'll definitely play the modest card."

Director Ma chuckled. "Mr. Zhang, we're here today to inquire about the Fujian Agricultural Research Breakthrough Award. Specifically, we want to know if the award committee hinted that you needed to make a donation to win, or anything like that?"

As he spoke, he placed a recording device on the table.

Zhang Lin glanced at the device and said, "Director Ma, no, they didn't. I just saw their official website online and decided to apply with a 2,000 yuan entry fee. I didn't know anything else."

"I didn't even think much about it after I applied. But then someone posted it online, and the Fujian Agricultural Research Breakthrough Award Center stepped in."

Zhang Lin was being partly honest. He couldn't reveal the real reason for his application, but he didn't need to smear anyone.

Director Ma turned off the recorder and put it away. "It's all greed. Your farm's popularity is so high that Qinghua Company thought they could capitalize on it. They didn't know the situation on the award committee's side, so they dumped a big pot on them."

"The award committee made internal mistakes, and a management cover-up only added more weight to the pot. The Fujian Agricultural Research Breakthrough Award Center ended up burying itself, and Qinghua Company suffered along with it."

Zhang Lin had already guessed the cause. If it were an internal issue, it wouldn't have exploded so spectacularly.

Wei Yuan then chimed in, "Mr. Zhang, besides inquiring about this matter, Director Ma is here to bring you some good news from the provincial government!"

Director Ma added, "Mr. Zhang, the provincial government is already investigating this matter. The leaders want it to be over quickly. This incident has had a negative impact on Linyuan Farm, but your sweet potatoes are indeed a breakthrough in agricultural research. In a few weeks, the provincial government will award you the Outstanding Contribution in Agriculture Award. However, you need to submit an application, dated three months ago, as that was the application period."

Zhang Lin immediately understood.

The leaders wanted this matter to be over quickly, indicating that it had a significant impact on Fujian's agricultural system. At this point, the provincial government was likely afraid that the farm would post more videos about the incident, which would only fuel the fire and increase the farm's popularity.

This wasn't what the leaders wanted, so they sent Director Ma to negotiate. As compensation, they offered the award.

Even if the application period had passed and the awards had already been decided, they would still squeeze Linyuan Farm in.

This was a form of transaction, a backroom deal.

Squeezing Linyuan Farm in would mean displacing someone else, which wasn't fair.

But if the highest agricultural department in the province made this decision, fairness wouldn't be a concern, and the outside world would never know.

Indeed, fairness in this world was rare.

But as a beneficiary, Zhang Lin had no complaints.

Besides, he needed an agricultural honor to advance.

The conversation was very pleasant, and Zhang Lin agreed to the terms, much to Director Ma's relief.

"Director Ma, Director Wei, it's getting dark. Would you like to try our sweet potatoes at the restaurant?" Zhang Lin invited them, already sending a message to the kitchen and Liu De to make arrangements.

The two men's eyes lit up.

The hottest topic online today was Linyuan Farm's sweet potatoes. But since the farm hadn't released them yet, no one outside could taste them. Women were flooding the farm's comment section, asking about the sweet potatoes.

Now, they had the chance to taste them in front of everyone, and they were quite eager.

Zhang Lin led Director Ma and Wei Yuan to the restaurant, where Zhao Lin, responsible for restaurant management, had already prepared the table and greeted them.

"Director Ma, Director Wei, you can scan the code to see what dishes you'd like!" Zhang Lin said, adding, "I've already arranged for the kitchen to prepare the sweet potatoes."

The restaurant served the dishes quickly, and before long, the food was on the table.

Wei Yuan had eaten at this restaurant before and praised it with a smile, “Director Ma, the restaurant at Liyuan Farm is truly exceptional. The food is even better than that of famous restaurants.”

Director Ma, hearing this, also became quite eager. After a few bites, he couldn’t help but praise, “Mr. Zhang, the food at your restaurant is indeed delicious!”

During the meal, the kitchen brought out the cooked sweet potatoes.

Zhang Lin said, “Director Ma, Director Wei, please try these sweet potatoes!”

The two didn’t hesitate and each picked one up to eat.

The +1 flavor and +1 texture attributes made Director Ma quite surprised, “I never expected sweet potatoes to be so delicious.”

Wei Yuan was clearly more interested in the sweet potatoes, “Mr. Zhang, is the deliciousness of these sweet potatoes due to a special method used by your chefs, or would they be just as delicious outside?”

Zhang Lin replied half-jokingly, “Director Wei, the main effect of these sweet potatoes is to whiten the skin. The deliciousness is thanks to our chefs' skills. After all, they are professional chefs. Without their expertise, they wouldn’t taste this good outside!”

Wei Yuan nodded, “Yes, your restaurant’s chefs are truly impressive.”

After finishing the sweet potatoes, the two were full and decided to leave.

Zhang Lin escorted them to the parking lot, where Liu De was already waiting with two large bags. Seeing the three of them, he stepped forward, “Boss!”

“Put the bags in Director Wei’s trunk!” Zhang Lin instructed with a smile.

“Mr. Zhang, what’s this? You can’t make us do something wrong!” Wei Yuan hurriedly said.

Zhang Lin explained, “Director Wei, you misunderstand. Our farm is under your jurisdiction. We’ve developed a new type of sweet potato and need your department to test it. We’d like your guidance on the results.”

His words were flawless.

Wei Yuan and Director Ma exchanged a glance, knowing these were the whitening sweet potatoes.

In this situation, it was just a matter of courtesy. The key was that their wives would love it.

Zhang Lin gave each of them a bag, “One for each of you!”

“Mr. Zhang, we’ll do our best to test them,” Wei Yuan said with a smile as Liu De placed the bags in the car and closed the trunk.

Then, Wei Yuan drove Director Ma to the guesthouse, taking a bag of sweet potatoes from the trunk and handing it to him, “Director Ma, I’ll come by early tomorrow to take you to the station!”

“Alright, thank you,” Director Ma replied, feeling quite pleased with the smooth outcome of the meeting. Back in his room at the guesthouse, he called his superior, “Leader, Mr. Zhang has agreed. You can proceed to handle the matter.”

After dropping off Director Ma, Wei Yuan returned home, eager to please his wife with the bag of whitening sweet potatoes.

Carrying the sweet potatoes, he found his wife already out of the shower, wearing a nightgown and watching TV.

Liu Yue, seeing her husband, quickly stepped forward to help him with his shoes, “What’s in the bag?”

“Sweet potatoes!” Wei Yuan smiled.

Liu Yue frowned, “Why did you bring a bag of sweet potatoes? They’re not from Liyuan Farm’s whitening sweet potatoes!”

“What if I told you they are?” Wei Yuan said with a grin.

“Really?” Liu Yue looked at him in disbelief. Seeing his nod, she eagerly took the bag and opened it, ignoring the dirt on the sweet potatoes as she examined each one.

Wei Yuan knew how much these sweet potatoes would appeal to women. He was well aware that his wife usually avoided anything dirty, especially after a shower. This meant that once they went on sale, there would be no shortage of buyers.

The only question was whether Mr. Zhang could promote these sweet potatoes widely. If they could, it would be a significant boon for the Agricultural Bureau.

Back at the farm, he hadn’t asked about this with Director Ma present, fearing that the provincial authorities might try to take over the business. He would have to ask about it later.

“I wonder how much these sweet potatoes will cost,” Liu Yue sighed. “Based on the effects shown in Linyuan Farm’s promotional video, they’re bound to be expensive. Ordinary people might not be able to afford them. I wonder if my salary will cover it.”

Many women online were asking about Linyuan Farm’s whitening sweet potatoes, and most of them shared Liu Yue’s concerns.

Everyone has a love for beauty, and the whitening effects were truly tempting. However, the better the effect, the higher the price, and they might even become a luxury item. If that happened, their hopes would be dashed, as they wouldn’t be able to afford them.

Under this mindset, Linyuan Farm finally released the latest advertisement and price for the whitening sweet potatoes. When the price was announced—200 yuan per pound—it sent a wave of excitement through the women.

Because even ordinary people could afford them.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end