Du Heng hurriedly nodded. "Right, that's what I mean. Farming these days is worse than begging."

Liao Quansheng also sighed, stroking his chin. "In this situation, it's indeed possible to make a change. But, Du, do you remember? Four or five years ago, you dragged me to your village to plant codonopsis, and the results were terrible. They didn't grow well and were badly affected by insect bites. Especially since you've been growing lilies for years and used too much fertilizer, the soil's fertility was completely depleted. It had no strength left. Moreover, the excessive residual chemical fertilizer burned the codonopsis seedlings. So, now that you're bringing this up again, I still don't have a solution for you."

Liao Quansheng looked troubled. Suddenly, his eyes lit up. "Your mountain is so big. If crop farming isn't working out, then develop livestock farming! Raise some sheep, raise some cattle. Isn't that better than focusing on crops?"

Hearing Liao Quansheng's suggestion, Du Heng gave a bitter smile. "Raising cattle requires too much initial investment; few families can bear the cost. However, there are quite a few people raising sheep on the mountain now, but around thirty sheep is already the limit."

"Why?"

"My big brother started raising sheep last year, and I invested some money, thinking of making the venture bigger and stronger." Du Heng gave another bitter smile. "But once we had more than fifty, we discovered a problem: finding a place to graze the sheep every day became an issue. Our mountain is large, but it's still in an afforestation period, so no livestock are allowed on the mountain. There's also a fair amount of fallow land, but most of the land is still being cultivated. If you're not careful while grazing, the sheep will wander into other people's farmland.

"Of course, these are minor issues. But do you realize what a huge undertaking it is to prepare fodder for hundreds of sheep for the winter and early spring? A family without at least two strong laborers simply can't prepare enough winter fodder, and that's assuming they can even find enough grass."

Saying this, Du Heng sighed again. "At first, I thought it was simple and had my big brother raise sheep. But during the New Year last year, seeing how exhausted my big brother was, I completely gave up on that idea. So, raising only a few is just a bit of supplementary income for the family—hardly useful. But if you raise too many, you simply can't manage. Besides, there's a saying, right? 'Furry assets don't count towards true wealth.' And with so many pesticides being used in the fields these days, who knows when the sheep you've worked so hard to raise might go out once and be completely wiped out."

Du Heng looked at Liao Quansheng seriously. "Honestly, you really should discuss it with Dong. After all, your company acquires a lot of traditional Chinese medicines; you should be able to find a few types that meet the conditions, don't you think?"

Liao Quansheng scratched his head in frustration. After carefully considering the intricacies, he felt it was indeed necessary to cultivate a good relationship with Dong Yuezhang. Besides, they were classmates, so their bond was naturally closer than with others. Most importantly, he himself was actually very optimistic about Dong Yuezhang's prospects.

"Du, why do I feel like I'm indebted to you for life?" Liao Quansheng sighed. "Alright, help me arrange a time with Dong. I'll talk to him and see how it goes."

Du Heng's face lit up with joy immediately. "How about tomorrow? Tomorrow, the Health Clinic is putting up its branch plaque. I've invited you to the ceremony. Dong will definitely be attending the event too. When it's over, the two of you can talk."

Liao Quansheng shook his head helplessly. "You really know how to pick your moments."

These words indicated Liao Quansheng's agreement. So, the next day, Du Heng arrived at the Health Clinic's entrance with the key leaders from the Municipal Maternal and Child Health Hospital and Liao Quansheng. 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

Looking at the scene, so familiar he couldn't be more familiar with it, Du Heng thought to himself, I, Du Heng, am back.

He then composed himself and went to greet Yu Haiting and the others who were already waiting.

"President Du, welcome home."

"Yu, I'm back... Dean Zhang, long time no see."

Du Heng looked at the very familiar faces before him, a heartfelt smile spreading across his own. He went forward, shook hands with each of them, and introduced the leaders from the Municipal Maternal and Child Health Hospital who had accompanied him.

However, when he reached Lu Zhongjiang, Du Heng paused, taken aback. "Secretary Lu, you're...?"