"Technician Zhou, welcome, welcome."
Shen Fuguo looked at the rather delicate woman in front of him, feeling a bit puzzled. Was Director Liu sending a technician or a sent-down youth?
She looked about the same age as Chen Yang.
"Hello."
Zhou Jingqiu was thin, with a small, melon-seed shaped face that showed a hint of childishness.
Her two braids hung down her back. Just standing at the village entrance, she seemed detached from the world, uniquely different.
This was clearly an urban person, and a young woman of outstanding temperament.
It wasn't surprising that Shen Fuguo felt puzzled. Liu Fuchun was also hesitant when he first saw Zhou Jingqiu.
Weren't technicians supposed to be middle-aged men, tanned and weathered from working in the fields? How could such a young girl be a technician? Su Dan Novel Network
Zhou Jingqiu spoke little, and Shen Fuguo and Liu Fuchun felt a bit anxious. The atmosphere grew cold.
"Miss Zhou, hello, I am a sent-down youth from Shenjiaba Village. My name is Chen Yang."
Looking at the frail young girl before him, she seemed to carry a gust of wind, making one feel clean and pure at first glance.
"Hello, Zhou Jingqiu."
Her reply was still simple, but she added her name.
Compared to others, she was clearly more approachable to Chen Yang, perhaps due to their similar identities.
Over the years, due to her family's background, she had experienced too much of human warmth and coldness. She had become numb. Perhaps accepting suffering was the meaning of her existence in this world.
"Technician Zhou, the idea of raising "dao hua yu" (rice-flower fish) and clearing ponds for aquaculture was proposed by Comrade Chen Yang."
"I heard Comrade Chen Yang also participated in the college entrance examination. He might be a university student soon."
Liu Fuchun, sensing the awkward atmosphere, quickly tried to steer the conversation, seeing that Zhou Jingqiu and Chen Yang could talk more.
"If the dao hua yu are managed well, a complete ecosystem can be formed. The microorganisms that grow with the rice can nourish insects and plankton. The fish eat the insects, and their waste fertilizes the rice, creating a cycle."
"Other species can also be introduced, such as eels and loaches, which can help aerate the submerged roots of the rice. This way, a more complete ecosystem can be built."
Upon hearing Liu Fuchun's words, Zhou Jingqiu showed a flicker of interest.
She looked at Chen Yang and spoke. It was clear that Zhou Jingqiu had done some research on the dao hua yu theory proposed by Chen Yang.
"Where there's shallow water, there are many turtles."
"The water level in rice paddies is definitely not as deep as ponds. Even if we don't release fry, there will be plenty of crabs, turtles, loaches, and eels that swim in when it floods."
"However, how to control the water level in the rice fields, ensuring the growth of dao hua yu while preventing the rotting of rice roots, how to prevent insects without pesticides, and how to ensure rice yield without chemical fertilizers – these issues need to be resolved through experimentation."
Chen Yang couldn't explain many issues to Liu Fuchun and Shen Fuguo. Liu Fuchun only had a junior high school education, and Shen Fuguo couldn't even recognize many characters. They had no common language.
"Yes, these issues indeed need to be resolved through experimentation."
"It's still a long way until spring next year. Given the climate in An Province, planting a second crop of rice is theoretically feasible. We can divide a certain area first, then control the water level, and conduct a comparative study."
"As you mentioned, water level, pest control, and the use of farm manure can be treated as variables. Under the same conditions for other factors, by controlling variables, we can experiment to find the optimal solution."
Hearing Chen Yang's words, Zhou Jingqiu's interest was clearly piqued. She had expected to arrive and have to figure things out on her own.
But now, it seemed she had found someone who understood her ideas.
Chen Yang raised an eyebrow. The method of controlling variables is widely used in various disciplines, especially physics and biology.
Zhou Jingqiu's approach was standard but also the most effective.
Of course, the rainfall and climate at this time of year would be different from the spring plowing season. These factors would need to be considered later.
At different times of the year, the cost of controlling water levels would vary.
However, they couldn't wait until spring plowing to experiment. They could only use the current second crop of rice to conduct an experiment.
"There's one more point: the size of the fish fry. The growth cycle of rice is only a few months. By the time of harvest, the fish must also be harvested."
"If the fry are too small, they won't grow much in a few months. If the fry are too big, the farming costs will be too high, and the profit will be reduced."
Chen Yang didn't know how to raise dao hua yu, but he understood business.
The reason dao hua yu didn't develop sustainably in his past life was mainly due to high farming costs. They were neither good at raising fish nor growing rice.
Controlling water levels required significant labor and resources. Added to the cost of raising fish, if the fish escaped during a flood, the losses would be enormous.
"This is also a problem. However, generally, fry weighing two to four ounces are optimal. I can help you contact the fry cultivation base of the Municipal Aquatic Product Company."
"If we release the fry in February or March, and harvest around July, with a growth period of four to five months, they can grow to about half a pound to a pound. The profit and investment..."
In those days, it wasn't like modern times where fish were fed with artificial feed. Relying solely on the plankton in the fields, it would be remarkable for the fish to grow to half a pound in four to five months.
Buying fry also cost money, so Zhou Jingqiu was unsure if dao hua yu could be profitable.
However, Chen Yang knew what he was doing. In the initial stages, it was just an experiment. Once the wild pond was established, they could breed their own fry, significantly reducing farming costs.
With the implementation of the household contract responsibility system and the widespread promotion of hybrid rice, if grain yields increased, Zhou Jingqiu could try to make some fish feed by mixing corn stalks, bran, and corn kernels.
This era was different from the future; there were no "pure ecological farming" marketing gimmicks. People were content with just having food, and wouldn't care if it was wild or farmed.
At this time, aquaculture and animal husbandry were not well-developed, at least in terms of aquatic products, which were mainly wild.
In his past life, dao hua yu adopted a high-end strategy, increasing prices through scarcity to offset costs. This approach was not feasible at this time.
However, Chen Yang didn't expect the villagers to make exorbitant profits. As long as they could increase their income beyond just farming, it would be enough.
An increase of a little on each mu of land would add up to a significant amount for the entire village. The purchasing power of currency in those days was still very strong.
Even if each mu of land produced an extra fifty jin of fish, reaching over a jin, that would be twenty to thirty yuan. Shenjiaba Village had two thousand mu of paddy fields. Even if only a quarter were suitable for dao hua yu, that would be five hundred mu.
This could increase income by over ten thousand yuan!
Shenjiaba Village had over six hundred people. Spread evenly, each person would gain nearly sixteen yuan. In a rural area where the average annual work points were only ten to twenty yuan, this was not a small sum.
Even with costs, if halved, it would still be eight yuan a year, which was considerable at this time. The key was that it was sustainable.
Grain was the lifeblood of farmers. Being able to earn money while producing grain was already very good.