"Does feed have high technical content? Does it require such high-level experts to develop it?" Xue Zhiqin asked with some confusion.

Xue Zhiqin also rose through the ranks from a grassroots cadre and is very familiar with rural affairs.

Before the 1980s, there were basically no large-scale farms in rural areas. Every household raised some livestock such as chickens, ducks, pigs, and sheep. The poor raised chickens, and the rich raised pigs. The number of pigs raised was also very small, usually just a few chickens or one or two pigs.

In those days, it was not allowed to buy any special feed for pig farming. Many rural children had the experience of "picking pig grass" and filling a large basket to go home. Then they would feed it directly to the piglets, and the piglets also liked to eat this green grass.

In addition, cornmeal, sorghum flour, rapeseed oil peel, sweet potatoes grown in large quantities, etc. are all the main food for pigs. In addition, the water used to wash the pot, also known as swill, is mixed with cornmeal and other things to feed the pigs. Pigs love to eat it and sleep after eating.

In later times, some people said that swill pigs were garbage pigs. In fact, this is a misunderstanding.

The water used to wash the pot and leftover food have great nutritional value in themselves. As long as they are not left overnight, no harmful substances will grow in them.

In addition, in the 80s, food was so precious in rural areas that farmers were reluctant to throw away even the water used to wash the pot.

The meat quality and taste of pigs fed purely with grains are really good, very fragrant, and oily but not greasy.

So in Xue Zhiqin's opinion, feed is something that basically requires no technical content. Rural people have their own methods of making and processing feed, and the pigs raised are also very good.

In fact, Xue Zhiqin only saw the feed production for free-range pigs in rural areas. However, when pig and chicken farming is scaled up and economic benefits are pursued, modern feed must be used.

These days, the domestic feed industry is still at a very low technical level. The manufacturing principle is to crush and ferment raw materials such as sweet potato leaves, corn and soybean meal, and then they can be used.

In later generations, there are various additives in pig feed. Feed additives are raw materials that must be used in the modern feed industry. They have obvious effects on enhancing the nutritional value of basic feed, improving animal production performance, ensuring animal health, saving feed costs, and improving the quality of livestock products.

For example, acidifiers, plant essential oils, antimicrobial peptides, probiotic preparations, organic trace elements, arginine, etc. are preferred. Piglets fed in this way have less diarrhea, red and shiny skin and hair, and better resistance.

"I think this stuff is very high-tech. I've looked up some foreign information before and found that the livestock feed used in foreign countries can not only make livestock fatter, but also enhance immunity and inhibit disease." Zhang Li paused, then continued: "In addition, pigs fed with foreign feed can generally reach about 70 kilograms in 60 days and about 5 kilograms in 220 months before they can be sold. Our farm-raised pigs take at least a year to be marketed..."

"So fast!?" Xue Zhiqin was immediately surprised when he heard this.

"There are a lot of breeders in the towns and villages in Changzhou. Especially since the household contract responsibility system was implemented at the beginning of last year, many villagers have started to engage in breeding. This is especially true in Wujin County, Yanghu County, Wuxi County, and Jinkui County. The local breeding industry has already shown a trend of expanding on a large scale. So if we increase investment in the feed industry, on the one hand it can create a large number of jobs, and on the other hand it can promote the development of the local breeding industry and increase farmers' income. It can be said to kill two birds with one stone." Zhang Li said.

"You're right!" Xue Zhiqin's eyes suddenly lit up when he heard this, and he nodded repeatedly in agreement.

The reason why Zhang Li is so young and yet can serve as the deputy director of Changzhou Township Enterprise Management Bureau, in addition to her academic qualifications and family background, the most important point is that she has a very strong mind and ability to get things done, and she has a strong sense of the overall situation, which even the mayor Xue Zhiqin admires very much.

Today, Changzhou's township enterprises have developed to such a scale, and Zhang Li's contribution is also very great. She can give Xue Zhiqin important suggestions on key decisions, and she can also do it flawlessly in the implementation of specific matters. In addition, her special family background can help Xue Zhiqin withstand some pressure from his superiors. Therefore, although Zhang Li is only the second-in-command of a department of the municipal government, she has actually become Xue Zhiqin's indispensable right-hand man.

"I also heard that Wuxi is going to introduce foreign investment to build a large-scale feed factory, which will adopt all the latest technology and equipment. Once the factory is completed, it will very likely become the largest feed production base in southern Jiangsu. In this way, our breeding industry will be controlled by others in the future..." Zhang Li did not stop writing the contract while speaking. It was obvious that she was quite skilled in this kind of writing work.

"That's settled then. Let Xu Qiang help us develop new feed first!" When Xue Zhiqin heard Zhang Li mention the word Wuxi, he suddenly became excited and made a decision immediately.

After all, being located in the southern Jiangsu region, the leaders of these prefecture-level cities have always been in a competitive environment. Especially in the past two years, several cities in southern Jiangsu have vigorously developed township enterprises, and in many industries, there is overlapping and fierce competition. So no matter what, Xue Zhiqin does not want to see these surrounding cities gain the upper hand in the competition for similar products.

"The contract has been written. Mayor Xue, please take a look at it." At this time, Zhang Li had already handed the draft contract to Xue Zhiqin.

"I'm confident in your work." Xue Zhiqin just glanced at the contract and said, "Give it to Xu Qiang to see. If he agrees, we'll sign the contract today!" "Okay." Zhang Li nodded.

"Actually, I'm still a little worried. It's true that Xu Qiang is a senior expert, but the question is, does he really understand feed? Even if he is a chemical expert, it's impossible for him to be proficient in all products, right? What if the 50,000 yuan is wasted..." Seeing Zhang Li stand up, Xue Zhiqin was already a little worried.

"Actually, my suggestion is that no matter whether he can successfully develop a new feed product or not, we should give him the 50,000 yuan..." Zhang Li said.

"Huh?" Xue Zhiqin was stunned when he heard that.

"Mayor Zhang, you must know the story of buying horse bones for a huge sum of money, right?" Zhang Li said with a smile.

"Oh, you mean..." Xue Zhiqin suddenly understood.

"In fact, we are able to cooperate with an expert of Xu Qiang's level this time. Whether the final product is successful or not, we will make a profit." Zhang Li put the pen into the pen holder on the table and said, "I think the competition among township enterprises in our southern Jiangsu region is essentially a competition in terms of policies and attracting talents. As long as there is a steady stream of high-level talents to help our industry, we can take the lead in market competition. As for this cooperation with Xu Qiang, whether it is successful or not, it is a landmark event worth promoting. We can make full use of the city's radio and television stations and newspapers. In addition, I have some media friends in Shanghai, and they also like this kind of news..."

"Hahaha, OK, that's it!" Xue Zhiqin nodded approvingly, and then said, "After the contract is signed, you will be responsible for the follow-up contact with Xu Qiang and his team. If you need funds, just come to me for approval."

"Okay." Zhang Li said, then took the contract and left the office.

Things went very smoothly afterwards.

After confirming that there were no objections to the content of the contract, Xu Qiang and the CZ Municipal Government quickly signed a technical support contract. Later that evening, Xu Qiang received a warm reception. Mayor Xue Zhiqin, senior municipal official Zhao Qiang, Deputy Director of the Township Enterprise Management Bureau Zhang Li, and leaders of several other departments attended the banquet.

Compared with other government officials Xu Qiang had met who liked to wear Zhongshan suits, the leaders here all wore suits and leather shoes that were polished to a shine, giving people an impression of being very motivated.

Speaking of which, Xu Qiang is the only expert who has won the National Technology Award in the technical cooperation with Changzhou, so these leaders also attach great importance to him, and even arranged Xu Qiang to the C position in the group photo after the meal.

Xu Qiang felt that this arrangement was a bit deliberate, but no matter what, the leaders of Changzhou still respected him.

The next day, Xu Qiang and Zhang Li still got in the Volga car and arrived at Wujin County in Changzhou.

Speaking of which, Wujin County can be said to be the earliest area in Changzhou to carry out a pilot program for township enterprises. Since the 1970s, some small township enterprises have appeared in the area. Since the reform and opening up, it has been one of the birthplaces of the Southern Jiangsu model and was once known as one of the "Five Tigers of Southern Jiangsu".

Wujin County Hongxing Feed Factory can be said to be the largest township enterprise in Changzhou that mainly produces feed. At the beginning, it was just an agricultural machinery repair station in Wujin County. After the reform and opening up, the original agricultural machinery repair station was abolished and the original site was converted into the current Hongxin Feed Factory.

As you enter the production workshop of this factory, the first thing that catches your eye is a dozen large wooden barrels for fermentation placed side by side. Next to the barrels are piled sweet potato vines and two agricultural crushers.

Upon learning of Zhang Li's arrival, the director of the feed factory immediately came up to greet her warmly, and was obviously in awe of Zhang Li.

Later, through conversation with the factory director, Xu Qiang learned some information about the feed factory.

Just as Xu Qiang expected, the production process of this feed factory is relatively traditional. It is to crush the sweet potato vines, then mix them with soybean meal and corn flour and ferment them. The fermentation takes about fifteen days, and the finished feed will not go bad for several months.

Most importantly, this feed does not contain any additives and is completely natural. (End of this chapter)