188: Chapter 188 There really are places like this.

Zhao Yang squatted down, picked up a kiwifruit that had already turned soft, and broke it open to take a look.

The flesh was emerald green, full of juice, and fragrant.

Such good produce, just rotting away like this.

A thought suddenly flashed through his mind: Why not process these things before selling them?

Canned kiwifruit, kiwifruit juice, dried kiwifruit...

Any one of these would have an added value several, or even over ten times, higher than selling the fresh fruit.

Zhao Yang stood up, brushed the dirt off his hands, and already had an idea in his mind.

Returning to his office, he flipped through his phone book and found Sun Hongwei's number.

Sun Hongwei was now the Municipal Party Committee Secretary of Wuping City.

Wuping City was located in the core area of the Pearl River Delta, with developed industry; perhaps there would be a suitable enterprise there.

"Brother Hongwei, are you busy?" Zhao Yang dialed the number.

"Zhao Yang? What a rare guest!" Sun Hongwei's excited voice came from the other end of the line.

"I heard you went to Cangyun County to be the Deputy County Magistrate? Why haven't you called me all this time?"

Zhao Yang laughed, "In our poor mountain gully, transportation basically relies on walking, and communication basically relies on shouting. How could I bear to make a phone call!"

"You brat, if you're so capable, tell me the next line after 'communication basically relies on shouting'." Sun Hongwei laughed heartily.

"Brother Hongwei, no need to take these jokes seriously. We just take the essence."

Sun Hongwei put away his smile, "Someone who can't even bear to make a phone call wouldn't just call me to chat idly, would they? If you have something to say, say it!"

"Hehe, Brother Hongwei understands me best!"

Zhao Yang smiled, "Cangyun County produces a lot of kiwifruit, and every year a large amount rots in the fields because it can't be sold. I want to set up deep food processing, making canned kiwifruit or kiwifruit juice. Do you have any similar enterprises over there? Help me make an introduction."

Sun Hongwei pondered for a moment, "Deep food processing... Wait a moment, let me think."

The other end of the line was quiet for a few seconds, then Sun Hongwei's voice sounded again:

"Tianyu Industrial in our city specializes in canned goods and beverages. The chairman is General Manager Xu Tianyu; I know him well, and he is reliable. If you are interested, I will help you arrange a meeting; why don't you come to Wuping for a visit?"

"That's great!" Zhao Yang's eyes lit up, "Then I'll trouble you, Brother Hongwei."

"No need to be polite, when are you coming?"

"I'm going back to Jiangzhou this weekend to accompany Jiang Nan, and I'll leave next Monday, so please schedule it for Tuesday."

"Alright, I'll arrange it."

Tuesday, Wuping City.

Tianyu Industrial was located in an industrial park on the outskirts of the city, covering nearly a hundred acres.

The factory buildings were uniform and orderly, and the factory area was clean and tidy.

From afar, one could see the four large characters "Tianyu Industrial" standing on the roof of the office building, looking quite impressive.

Sun Hongwei personally accompanied Zhao Yang to Tianyu Industrial.

General Manager Xu Tianyu was waiting at the entrance of the office building to welcome them; he was in his early forties, tall and thin, and looked scholarly.

He didn't look much like a businessman; he looked more like a university professor.

"General Manager Xu, this is the County Magistrate Zhao I mentioned to you, the Deputy County Magistrate of Cangyun County in charge of industry," Sun Hongwei introduced.

"County Magistrate Zhao is young and promising!" General Manager Xu Tianyu reached out his hand enthusiastically, "Welcome, welcome, please come in."

The three of them walked into the office building, and General Manager Xu Tianyu first took Zhao Yang to visit the production workshop.

Through the glass window, Zhao Yang saw the fully automated production line. Cleaning, crushing, juicing, filling, sealing, sterilization...

Each process was orderly, and one could hardly see any workers.

"This line is imported from Germany, with an annual production capacity of 50,000 tons." General Manager Xu Tianyu's tone carried a hint of pride.

"In the entire Wuping City, and even the whole province, there aren't many that can reach this level."

Zhao Yang nodded and followed General Manager Xu Tianyu into the sterile production workshop.

After putting on a white lab coat, hat, and shoe covers, and going through the air shower room for disinfection, they were allowed to enter.

The workshop was spotless, and the air was filled with a faint fruity fragrance.

Zhao Yang observed very carefully, not missing a single detail.

After the tour, the three returned to General Manager Xu Tianyu's office.

Staff brought tea, and General Manager Xu Tianyu personally poured a cup for Zhao Yang.

"County Magistrate Zhao, what do you think?" General Manager Xu Tianyu asked with a smile.

Zhao Yang picked up the teacup, took a sip, set it down, and spoke unhurriedly:

"General Manager Xu, the production line is a good one, and the workshop is also a good one. However, I have a suggestion; I wonder if you would be willing to listen?"

What kind of insight could a Deputy County Magistrate from a remote mountainous area have?

Although General Manager Xu Tianyu was complaining in his heart, he had excellent self-restraint and looked at Zhao Yang with a smile:

"Please go ahead, County Magistrate Zhao."

"As the living standards of ordinary people improve, their health awareness is becoming stronger. Beverages with added preservatives will have less and less of a market in the future."

Zhao Yang looked into General Manager Xu Tianyu's eyes, speaking at an unhurried pace.

"Tianyu Industrial might want to consider producing pure, natural juice with no additives. It's nutritious and additive-free; it will definitely be sought after by the market."

The office was quiet for a moment.

Sun Hongwei's hand holding the teacup paused slightly, and he glanced at Zhao Yang.

The smile on General Manager Xu Tianyu's face froze for a moment, and a flash of surprise crossed his eyes.

Ever since the Ministry of Health released the "Administrative Measures for Food Additives" a year ago, the entire food industry had been focusing on the issue of additives.

But this topic was basically only discussed within the industry; how would a Deputy County Magistrate in charge of industry in a mountainous county know about this?

General Manager Xu Tianyu re-evaluated the young man in front of him.

He was twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old, wearing an ordinary jacket, and looked completely unremarkable.

But his eyes were very bright, and when he spoke, he was calm and unhurried, with every word hitting the mark.

Not simple.

General Manager Xu Tianyu put away his smile and said seriously:

"County Magistrate Zhao, to be honest, I have always wanted to produce pure, natural, zero-additive juice. But I've had this idea for a long time and haven't been able to implement it."

"Why?" Zhao Yang asked.

"The cost is too high." General Manager Xu Tianyu smiled bitterly and shook his head.

"Pure natural juice without preservatives has a short shelf life and high requirements for raw materials. The cost is nearly double that of ordinary juice. It has no competitiveness in the market."

"General Manager Xu, why not target the high-end market? High-end customers value quality more than price."

Zhao Yang smiled and began to cast the bait.

"General Manager Xu, if pure wild kiwifruit only costs one yuan per jin, what do you think of that cost?"

General Manager Xu Tianyu was stunned.

One yuan per jin? Pure wild? He subconsciously shook his head:

"County Magistrate Zhao, you're not joking with me, are you? Ordinary kiwifruit costs three yuan per jin, let alone wild ones. If there were such a place, I would move the factory there immediately!"

Zhao Yang smiled; in fact, the price he stated had already been inflated quite a bit.

The old farmers selling kiwifruit were shouting to sell them at three jiao per jin, and still, no one was interested.

"General Manager Xu, a gentleman's word is his bond."

Zhao Yang sat up straight, put down his teacup, and looked serious:

"Such a place actually exists, and it is right here in our Cangyun County."