Liaoning Province.  

Upon receiving the news, Yu Liang rushed to Liaoning at top speed. The team of experts had already been received by the old-timers at the Liaoning Agricultural Reclamation Bureau, treated to good food and drink, and given a comfortable night’s sleep in the guesthouse with soft beds.  

They refused to go any further north!  

Yu Liang was thunderstruck. Without even bringing his assistant, he went alone to the Agricultural Reclamation Bureau to confront over a dozen of these old-timers.  

He slammed his hand on the table and said angrily, “Our farm was the first to experience the epidemic outbreak. Whether it’s the severity of the disease or the extent of the damage, we’re worse off than you.”  

“I went to universities personally to invite these experts, calling in countless favors and spending who knows how much in resources—I won’t even bring that up. These are experts I begged and pleaded to get. How is it that after just a stop in your Liaoning Province, they’ve been intercepted?”  

“You owe me a reasonable explanation.”  

The old-timers at the Agricultural Reclamation Bureau were shaken. “Brother Yu, don’t be angry, don’t be angry! We’re truly wronged here!”  

“We have no idea why the expert team got off here!” said the director of Liaoning’s Shengli Farm. “When the train station called us, we were completely baffled. Aren’t we just doing our best to host your guests for you?”  

Their strategy was simple: play dumb. We don’t know anything! The experts got off on their own.

“Couldn’t it be that the experts thought our scenery and climate were better and decided to stay? In any case, they’re here to treat pigs—treating pigs in Liaoning is the same as treating pigs in Heilongjiang. We’re all old friends here, no need to split hairs!”  

Yu Liang wanted to spit in their faces. Listen to yourselves—have you no shame?

He was somewhat glad Old Nong hadn’t come instead. With his temper, he’d have rolled up his sleeves and started a fight.  

“I don’t need your help, and the experts aren’t here for sightseeing. Let them go, and I’ll take them to Heilongjiang immediately.”  

Ahem… The deputy bureau chief held Yu Liang back. “Since they’re already here, let them take a look at our situation first. Once they’re done, they can go to your place. No time wasted.”  

And then, after “taking a look,” they’d be stuck here for months, right?

Yu Liang stood up to leave, his voice icy. “Seems you have no respect for us at all! I’ll report this to the central bureau and let them judge who’s in the wrong.”  

“Hey—brother, brother, calm down! That’s such a harsh thing to say! We’re all working for the country here—let’s talk this out properly.” Deputy Bureau Chief He Shengli pulled him back.  

“Brother, how about this? We’ll reimburse you for all the expenses—whatever favors or resources you spent, we’ll cover it all.”  

“Just one month! After one month, I’ll personally escort the experts to your place. Just let them take a look at our situation first!”  

He slid over a notebook with two slips tucked inside.  

Yu Liang pulled out the slips: one for ten tons of grain, another for 1,000 head of pork, and 3,000 yuan in funding.  

He looked at them and set them down, his expression cold. “Who do you think you’re insulting with this? We have grain, and we’re not short on pigs either!”  

“But in a month, a thousand pigs a day will die in our province’s farms!”  

Yu Liang finally understood—they had their eyes set on these experts and weren’t planning to give them back.  

Even if he reported it, it would only lead to a reckoning later. As far as the central bureau was concerned, all provinces were equally important—as long as the meat stayed in the pot, it didn’t matter how. The likely outcome was that they’d just have to swallow this bitter pill!  

Yu Liang thought of Old Nong’s explosive temper—had he seen through their true nature early on and just gritted his teeth and accepted it?  

So he suppressed his anger and calmly began negotiating. “We don’t need grain or meat—convert it to cash. And also… we want steel!”  

“Thirty tons!”  

“Steel?” The leaders huddled together to discuss. “Thirty tons is impossible. Our annual output is only three million tons, and you’re asking for thirty tons just like that? Do you think steel grows on trees?”  

These experts aren’t worth that much combined—thirty tons of steel? Are you insane?

Yu Liang said, “Fine, then. Two of the experts in that team are from Tsinghua University. I’ll take those two, and you can keep the other eight. Give me 5,000 yuan—I don’t even care about the steel!”  

The old-timers internally shook their heads like rattledrums. The two Tsinghua experts were the ones they really wanted—the other eight weren’t worth 5,000 yuan even if they stayed and worked for two more years!  

After some deliberation, they said, “How about… ten tons?”  

Their renowned steel city wasn’t short on steel—they had vast resources and plenty of workers. What they lacked was grain and meat. It wasn’t worth offending a major grain producer over something like this.  

Yu Liang agreed immediately. “Deal!”  

Others: “…”  

And so, Director Yu, filled with indignation, took the approval slip for ten tons of steel and the hefty sum of 3,000 yuan back to Heilongjiang.  

…

Heilongjiang Province, Lan County.

After hanging up the phone, Nong Yanping said, “Comrade Lin, that test you took wasn’t an accident! I designed it specifically.”  

“Right now, our pig farm is facing a severe swine fever outbreak. Organize your thoughts on how to handle the epidemic and draft a report as soon as possible. We’re preparing for a tough battle!”  

Lin Hongying nodded. This wasn’t difficult.  

In her past life, she had experienced dozens of swine fever and swine flu outbreaks, large and small. She already had mature response plans in her mind—all she needed to do was write them down on paper.  

From what she remembered, China’s most severe swine fever outbreaks were the 2009 swine flu and the 2019 African swine fever. Back then, dead pigs piled up faster than they could be buried, and walking along the roads at night, you could hear the screams of pigs being burned alive. Large and small pig farmers went bankrupt one after another, and domestic pork prices skyrocketed.  

As long as it wasn’t African swine fever, Lin Hongying was confident they could overcome the epidemic.  

Nong Yanping wrote Lin Hongying a letter of introduction and assigned her to Zhenhua Farm. Lin Hongying had originally tested to become a technician at Heping Farm.  

…

Zhenhua Farm

The next day, Lin Hongying and clerk Xiao Liu traveled for over an hour to reach Zhenhua Farm.  

Someone was already waiting at the farm entrance to receive them.  

Xiao Liu said, “Hello, this is Comrade Lin, the new technical instructor for Zhenhua Pig Farm. From now on, you should address her as Instructor Lin or Master Lin.”  

The person who came out to greet them was a middle-aged female comrade. The woman froze when she saw Lin Hongying, her outstretched hand hovering in midair.  

“Lin Hongying? How is it you?”  

[Liu Faying’s Resentment +1000]

Lin Hongying hadn’t expected to run into an old acquaintance here—Liu Faying, the sister-in-law who had contributed her first wave of resentment points.  

Liu Faying’s eyes widened. “Wait, Clerk Liu, are you mistaken?”  

“She’s—”  

She’s that uneducated, backward rural bride forced into an arranged marriage! How could she possibly be a technician?

Xiao Liu continued seriously, “Director Liu, she is our new Agricultural Management Bureau technical instructor—Instructor Lin. Do you know each other?”  

Don’t underestimate her just because she’s young. We personally saw Deputy Director Nong escort her out of his office with a smile.

Liu Faying quickly said, “No, I don’t know her.”  

Lin Hongying had no time to dwell on Liu Faying’s thoughts and walked straight into the pig farm.  

She immediately frowned.  

There was no disinfection or change of clothing procedure before entering the pig farm. Because of the cold weather, the outdoor faucets were frozen, so even the handwashing and disinfection step had been skipped.  

Though it was the 1960s and she couldn’t expect too much—many people didn’t even have decent clothes, let alone spare ones to change into—the factory workers at least had uniforms. The pig farm, however, had none.  

Even so, Lin Hongying insisted on washing her hands, improvising a pair of gloves and shoe covers before entering the pig pens.  

Zhenhua Pig Farm was large, covering about 400 acres, divided into breeding areas, feed processing areas, and office areas. It could produce 10,000 pigs a year, making it a true large-scale pig farm for this era.  

Yet the moment Lin Hongying stepped into the breeding area, she was met with filthy water and pig waste everywhere. The pigs in the pens lay listlessly on the ground.  

A pungent stench of pigs assaulted her senses, hitting her like a physical blow.  

“Who’s in charge of safety inspections here? Have them come see me immediately.”  

“And which department handles disinfection? Bring them to me as well.”  

Liu Faying watched Lin Hongying issue orders and frowned. “Why call them? What’s wrong?”  

She still couldn’t reconcile Lin Hongying with the image of a respected technical instructor.  

Lin Hongying pointed at the pig pens. “Fine, I’ll tell you! Nothing here is being done correctly. Why aren’t the sick pigs separated from the healthy ones?”  

[Liu Faying’s Resentment +1000]

“How often are the pens cleaned? Why is the waste piled up like a mountain?”  

[Liu Faying’s Resentment +1000]  

“Is disinfection carried out regularly every day?”  

[Liu Faying’s Resentment +1000]

The rapid-fire questions left Liu Faying speechless.  

[Liu Faying’s Resentment +1000]

Finally, Liu Faying snapped, “We’re raising pigs, not children! If you can’t stand the dirt and the smell, why are you even in this line of work? You’re from the countryside—don’t you know that?”  

“I doubt you’re even a real expert!” Liu Faying turned to Xiao Liu. “There’s nothing about her that resembles an expert.”  

Lin Hongying calmly said to Clerk Liu, “Replace Director Liu. Bring in someone who can actually communicate.”  

[Liu Faying’s Resentment +1000]

No matter how many resentment points Liu Faying generated, Lin Hongying had no desire to listen to her endless complaints any longer.