Liang Cheng asked Zhang Tianxing to go back to Yancun Township, mentioning that it was about crayfish farming.
Zhang Tianxing dared not delay and immediately rushed back. This artificial farming was crucial for the market to grow and strengthen.
The matter was of great importance and allowed no mistakes.
Upon arriving at Yancun Township, Liang Cheng had a lot to say to Zhang Tianxing.
Finally, his countless words boiled down to one sentence: "Tianxing, the villagers still have no confidence in artificial crayfish farming; they are unwilling to contract it or engage in it."
Wang Er, passing by, overheard Liang Cheng's words and immediately became displeased: "Liang Lao Er, you must speak with a clear conscience. Crayfish are everywhere; who would farm them artificially? A trip to the ditch will catch plenty."
He paused, then continued: "Of course, the current state of crayfish owes much to your nephew, but let's be honest. While you introduced crayfish, is artificial farming beneficial? It's better to catch them from the fields; no investment is needed."
Hearing this, Zhang Tianxing felt a wave of helplessness. How could they not understand the logic? However, the work still had to be done. Otherwise, if artificial farming didn't take off, promoting crayfish would be meaningless.
Everything was for the sake of crayfish. Zhang Tianxing had to focus on the key points: "Do you know Fatty Wang from the county town?"
"Yes, that Fatty Wang, he's so cunning and full of schemes. I heard he was arrested recently because his restaurant had a food poisoning outbreak."
"What does this have to do with crayfish?"
"You don't know this, do you? That Fatty Wang contracted food poisoning because he used wild, contaminated crayfish. If it were all artificially farmed, this problem wouldn't have occurred."
"Is artificial farming that miraculous?"
"Absolutely! Artificial farming is the process of domesticating crayfish, changing their diet so they no longer feed on decaying matter. In this way, the quality of crayfish meat will definitely improve, thus preventing food poisoning incidents."
"The main reason people aren't farming crayfish is that it's a new thing. It's never been farmed artificially before, so people are uncertain. You can't blame them. We all make a living from the soil; making money is fine, but losing money is a problem. We farmers can't afford to be hit hard, and the primary issue is lack of capital."
Hearing Uncle Wang's words, Zhang Tianxing fell into thought. As a new venture, promoting crayfish was bound to encounter various problems.
However, even so, it ignited Zhang Tianxing's fighting spirit. Weren't they afraid of no harvest? Fine, he would provide them with a guarantee.
Zhang Tianxing pondered for a moment and discussed with Liang Cheng: "Second Uncle, how about this: we'll reach an agreement with those who contract crayfish farming. For those who cooperate with us, we can sign a contract to alleviate the farmers' concerns."
"Tell me about it, let me see if it's feasible," Liang Cheng asked curiously.
This contracting couldn't be forced; a forcibly picked melon wouldn't be sweet. If anything went wrong, they would be ruined.
The money they had earned recently wouldn't be enough to cover any losses. The more people involved, the more troublesome the compensation issues would be.
"It's like this: as long as the farmers operate according to our requirements, if the per-mu yield doesn't reach 500 yuan, we will compensate 500 yuan per mu."
After hearing Zhang Tianxing's words, Liang Cheng was a little confused.
"Xiao Xing, think it through. This is not a small sum. People's annual harvest from one mu of land is only five to six hundred yuan."
"Second Uncle, let's not discuss that. Just tell me, with this condition, are there any other problems with farming crayfish?"
Liang Cheng shook his head. With a guarantee, there would definitely be no problem; it would be foolproof.
Besides, cultivating grains for a year doesn't yield much. It might be better to look into crayfish farming. At the current prices and market conditions, crayfish farming holds great promise, though the government hasn't officially released unified policies.
The township government was also troubled by this matter. With the first Crayfish Festival to be held in Yangcheng, the township's crayfish industry was almost non-existent, which would be difficult to explain.
If superiors came to inspect and found only two or three households farming crayfish, how could they dare to host the first Crayfish Festival? Their political careers would be over.
However, the promotional effect was poor, practically nonexistent. Everyone lacked confidence in farming.
As the saying goes, you can have millions at home, but you don't farm animals.
Crayfish are a type of animal. If any problems arise that cannot be resolved, a year's work will be in vain.
The entire family relies on the harvest from the land. Making money is fine, but losing money is a big problem; it would affect their livelihood for the whole year.
In desperation, they thought of the Crayfish Association, which led to Liang Cheng asking Zhang Tianxing to come over.
Zhang Tianxing readily agreed. Promoting crayfish was beneficial and harmless for him. Thus, Zhang Tianxing came up with this idea.
There was no other way but to use money. However, Zhang Tianxing had confidence in himself. As long as everyone followed his plan for crayfish farming, there would basically be no problems. Zhang Tianxing had faith in crayfish.
Upon hearing this news, the villagers were tempted.
"If there's a guaranteed minimum, then we can consider farming crayfish."
"Yes, the worst-case scenario is only getting that 500 yuan for the year. If crayfish also make money, it's better than working a regular job."
"I must say, Liang Cheng's nephew is not simple. He can even write a guarantee into the contract. This young man is indeed someone who can achieve great things."
"Oh, are you interested in this young man? Why don't you take him as your son-in-law?"
"I'd like to, but would he come?"
Zhang Tianxing's decision caused the number of farmers raising crayfish to surge. With a safety net, as long as they followed the rules, they would get paid.
It would be best if crayfish sold well, but even if they didn't, there was a fallback. This was a job worth doing.
Thus, the number of farmers raising crayfish increased rapidly, which greatly pleased the township government with Zhang Tianxing's performance.
"This Boss Zhang is quite good; he knows how to help the government solve problems. Next time Zhang Ji Crayfish has any issues, we will also help without hesitation."
As they say, a favor returned. Zhang Tianxing wanted exactly this effect. For businessmen, it's about business; there's no profit, no early rise.
Everything Zhang Tianxing did was to promote crayfish and, incidentally, let the villagers earn some pocket money. Farming crayfish was better than going out to work.