Chapter 90 Encountered a Difficulty
When Fang Wei returned home.
My mother was preparing dinner in the kitchen, and my father was bending over the coffee table, writing and calculating as usual, his calculator making a clacking sound.
The TV was on, and the screen was showing the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games. The voice of the CCTV announcer's explanation, the sound of the opening ceremony, the sound of Fang Xianfeng pressing the calculator keys, and the sound of cooking in the kitchen intertwined to form the background music of the living room at home.
Even though they were extremely busy, Fang Xianfeng and Tian Xilan would still look up from time to time to glance at the screen on TV.
"came back?"
"Well, Dad, what are you calculating? Haven't you finished keeping today's accounts? Aren't you going to watch the opening ceremony?"
"I'm watching this right now... I'm not keeping track of it. I'm calculating something else."
Seeing that he was calculating seriously, Fang Wei stopped disturbing him.
I put down my schoolbag, sat on the chair with my legs crossed, and watched the opening ceremony.
……
The Olympics these days are different from the Olympics 20 years later. The attention they receive is quite a lot. It is no exaggeration to say that it is the attention of the entire nation.
The consecutive failed bids for the Olympics seem to have become an unsolvable knot in the hearts of the people. Now they are all holding back their anger, hoping that the athletes representing their country can achieve good results and win glory in this year's Olympics.
This year's Olympics was held in Sydney, while the 04 Olympics was held in Athens. In June this year, the country again applied for the 08 Olympics.
"I don't know if the application will be successful." Fang Xianfeng sighed.
"Dad, what do you think?"
"It has to succeed! At least it has to be our turn! We are just two votes short! Otherwise, the Olympics will be held here this year!"
"I also think it will succeed." Fang Wei said with a smile.
Perhaps it will be difficult for young people in future generations to understand the mood of the current people. It’s just an Olympic Games. Twenty years later, most countries will not be interested in hosting it!
But nowadays, the Olympics have more complex and far-reaching significance for the country and the people.
I still remember that day in July 01, when the news of the successful bid for the Olympic Games reached the motherland, the land of China was boiling with excitement, and countless Chinese people gathered in front of the TV cheered!
As someone who has experienced it all personally, Fang Wei's most profound impressions of the Olympics are the 00, 04 and 08 Olympics. On the contrary, he has a vague impression of the Olympics after 08.
Although this year's Olympics was held in Sydney, the national delegation still achieved many advanced achievements, not only setting many world records, but also achieving the highest number of gold medals and total medals since 00.
Fang Wei remembers it quite clearly: 28 gold medals, 16 silver medals and 15 bronze medals.
Don’t ask why he remembered it so clearly, because he had always used [281615] as his various passwords.
Separated by the vast ocean, the butterfly effect brought about by Fang Wei's rebirth seems to have no impact on the progress of the world outside the island for the time being.
Fang Wei watched the opening ceremony footage playing on TV, it was exactly the same as he remembered.
Watching it again now, I find it quite interesting.
As a grand celebration, the opening ceremony of each Olympic Games is carefully designed. This ceremony happens to be the opening ceremony. 120 riders ride into the venue on horseback, forming a horse team and performing a wonderful parade, and finally arranging and interweaving into a huge five-ring logo.
The most watched event is the lighting ceremony. This Sydney Olympics is quite special in that it uses underwater torch relay and underwater lighting.
Perhaps it is because I don’t know much about the culture of other countries. After watching so many Olympic Games, the opening ceremony that impressed me the most was the 08 Yanjing Olympics.
As for the ones that came after that, he really couldn't praise them...
……
"time to eat--"
Following Tian Xilan's shout from the kitchen, the father and son in the living room also stood up, some serving dishes and some serving rice.
Normally, the TV is turned off when we eat, but tonight is an exception and we can eat and watch TV at the same time.
"Huh? No mussels tonight?"
Fang Wei picked up the chopsticks and found that the mussels he had been eating for a whole half month had temporarily disappeared from the table.
"Well, for a change."
Fang Xianfeng took a bite of his rice and said, "Awei, I discussed it with your mother last night. We plan to officially start mussel farming next month when mussel fry are released into the sea!"
Fang Wei was stunned for a moment, then asked, "Dad, have you thought it through?"
"I've thought about it. I've been going there every day for the past half month. I feel like I've learned most of what I need to know. If I delay it any further, I'll have to wait until April or May next year. It's better to do it now."
"Okay, that's very decisive!"
When his father announced this decision, Fang Wei was a little surprised.
There are two seasons a year when shellfish fry come out to sea, either in October and November or in April and May.
Fang Wei originally thought that it was very quick for his father to make a decision in April or May next year, but he didn't expect that after eating mussel meals for half a month, his mind was full of mussels.
Of course, the sooner this happens, the better. After all, mussels need nearly eleven months to grow. If we can successfully put the mussel seedlings into the sea in October this year, they will be available for sale in August or September next year!
"As for the shellfish seedlings, do you plan to breed them yourself, or..." Fang Wei asked.
"It's too difficult to breed by myself. I spent half a month learning at the breeding office. Not only does it cost a lot of money and time to build hardware equipment such as the nursery room, but the technology is not that simple either."
Fang Xianfeng shook his head and said, "So we should just buy clam seedlings directly from the breeding office. Although clam seedlings also cost a lot, at least there is still time. Moreover, the breeding office has temporarily given a great discount on purchasing clam seedlings. We can raise them in the sea first, and when they mature, we can try to raise them ourselves." Fang Wei nodded. Fang Xianfeng was very thoughtful in this regard.
After all, he has been in business for so many years, and he has calculated the costs and expenses very carefully. If he has the conditions and technology to raise seedlings himself, a pair of parent shellfish can produce tens of millions of eggs, which can save a lot of shellfish seedling costs.
But he was just starting out, and both the cost of hardware equipment and technical issues did not support him taking such a big step.
Directly purchasing shellfish seedlings is currently the most economical and effective way.
“Have you got the breeding license?”
"It's being processed. It will probably be ready in two days."
“Have you considered where the aquaculture area will be?”
"I've thought about the general scope. I asked Professor Xu to help me check it out. The water temperature, water quality, wind and waves are all suitable. I'll have to treat Professor Xu to a meal someday!"
"Of course I want that."
"Of course. I have troubled Professor Xu a lot during this period."
"Everyone must be annoyed with you." Tian Xilan said with a smile.
"That's not something I can do. How can you do business without being shameless?"
"Dad, how many acres do you plan to contract?" Fang Wei asked.
"That's what's bothering me!"
Fang Xianfeng sighed and said while eating:
"I've calculated that if it's ten acres, at least ten to fifteen rows of ropes will be needed to connect them. Under each row of ropes, there will be one hundred and twenty strings of seedling ropes, and each seedling rope will hold three to four hundred mussels. On average, one acre will need about three tons of mussels..."
"After cultivation, one acre can yield about ten tons. The current purchase price is about 350 yuan per ton, and the price of shellfish seedlings is 180 yuan per ton, so..."
This problem is not difficult to calculate. If other costs are not included, one acre can earn about 3,000 yuan. If other costs are included (contracting fees, boat rental fees, rafts, lifting ropes, seedling ropes, labor, etc.), the annual net profit of one acre is about 2,500 yuan.
Currently, my father collects fish at the dock and earns about 900 yuan a month, which is just over 10,000 yuan a year.
In other words, a breeding scale of at least five acres is required to make this necessary.
We have heard a lot about five acres of sea area, but in fact it is pitifully small, just the size of an experimental field of the aquaculture office.
For marine aquaculture, five acres can only be regarded as a small aquaculture household that cannot be any smaller. However, as with aquaculture and production, the larger the scale, the lower the cost will be, and the higher the ability to resist risks will be. If you want to make big money, you must go for a large scale.
Taking into account the initial investment, the cost will be higher than calculated. If we calculate it based on 700 yuan per mu, the investment for five mu will be at least 3,500 yuan.
"Ten acres!"
Fang Xianfeng was full, so he put down his chopsticks, took out a cigarette of Hongtashan from the cigarette box, and started smoking it.
"Why don't you consider expanding the scale?" Fang Wei asked.
"You think your dad doesn't want to, but I, your dad, don't have money." Fang Xianfeng was angry and amused.
He spent several nights pondering the decision of the ten-acre farm size. It required a one-time investment of nearly seven thousand yuan, which almost emptied his family's savings!
Seven thousand yuan is really a lot. The average monthly income these days is only five or six hundred yuan, and there is no way to say how much money can be saved in a year. I wonder how many families are still troubled by not being able to afford the tuition fees of several hundred yuan every year.
Without capital, accumulating the first pot of gold is often the most difficult.
"Ten acres is actually enough. It's a little small, but if I make it work, it will double the amount of fish I get." Fang Xianfeng said to himself.
It is inevitable that I feel a little unwilling. After all, this is the first time I have the career I want to pursue, but I am constrained by insufficient capital.
"In my opinion, you should swallow your pride and ask your eldest brother or Zhiyuan to borrow some money so that you can expand your scale. You are just starting out now. By the time everyone else has tasted the sweetness and joins the market, you will no longer have the upper hand." Tian Xilan said in a low voice.
"Oh, what do you know as a woman? I have never asked anyone for money in my life. How can I ask for a favor?"
Fang Xianfeng frowned and said, "Besides, we don't know whether we can make it to Chengdu or not. If we mess it up, tell me, how are we going to pay back the money?"
Tian Xilan wanted to say something, but Fang Xianfeng waved his hand and said, "Stop talking. I'll think about it myself."
Fang Wei listened to their conversation and was also thinking.
Seeing that the atmosphere was a bit dull, Fang Wei smiled and said:
"Dad, how about buying a lottery ticket and trying it out?"
"...Don't make trouble."
Fang Xianfeng rolled his eyes at him, not taking it seriously, and continued smoking, his eyes fixed on the opening ceremony on TV.
"Let's give it a try. It's not a big deal. Maybe you'll win."
Fang Wei smiled and said, "The Olympics have just started. Many of my classmates' parents are buying sports lottery tickets. If they win, they are happy. If they don't, they will just consider it as supporting sports."
"..."
Fang Xianfeng didn't say anything, but took out two dollars from his pocket and put them in front of him.
"Go, go, go and have fun by yourself. If you win the jackpot, I'll call you daddy!"
"..."
(End of this chapter)
