Anhui Province, Lushi.
Autumn plowing is approaching, and the Seed Street in North District is ushering in another peak season.
The street, which is less than two hundred meters long, is crowded with thirty or forty seed shops.
Reporter Xiao Wang was walking on the street, feeling a little nervous and couldn't help but look at his companions.
This middle-aged man with a weathered face looked very leisurely, looking around with a relaxed expression, as if he was really traveling.
The middle-aged man’s name is Li Dong, and he is a rights defender for Syngenta Group. His main job is to go to seed markets across the country, investigate and collect evidence, and crack down on lawless elements who infringe on seed decks.
Xiao Wang is an investigative reporter for the Agricultural Materials News. This time he is following Li Dong to track Syngenta’s anti-counterfeiting and rights protection cases, collecting first-hand information in order to report the news and expose the entire process of corn seed production, processing and sales. The underground industrial chain reveals the multiple root causes of repeated infringement of seed decks.
The two of them traveled all the way from Suihua in Heilongjiang Province and Chifeng in Mongolia Province to inspect the southern region. The next step is to go to Ili in Xinjiang Province. The entire journey totals nearly 10,000 kilometers. It can be said that it is a long and arduous journey.
Due to the proliferation of decks in the seed market, which has almost stifled innovation in the industry, the industry is increasingly worried that seeds will become the second stuck chip.
Therefore, the central government proposed a "turnaround for the seed industry" at the end of last year. Since then, the central government has continued to hold meetings and issued documents, calling for "strengthening the national seed industry." Protecting intellectual property rights means protecting innovation, and there have been calls to crack down on seed infringements. It swept the entire industry instantly.
As a giant in the domestic seed industry, Syngenta responded to the country's call without hesitation, said "no" to infringement, and launched a series of anti-counterfeiting operations since the beginning of the year.
Li Dong has been working for many years and is very familiar with the seed market. Xiao Wang followed him all the way, which opened his eyes and accumulated a lot of news materials.
The two of them had been running around for days, and they were tanned and shiny. Their clothes were dusty and very simple, and they looked very similar to pretending to be farmers.
Wandering all the way around, Li Dong quickly found his target.
He walked into a seed store, spent a long time selecting on the shelves, and finally picked up a bag of corn seeds with the words 'HEYU 187' written in bright letters on it.
This is the benchmark variety of Syngenta's seed industry, but the bag in his hand is not genuine, but a fake set.
Similar fakes are already flooding the market. He has seen a lot and has rich experience. He can tell the authenticity as soon as he starts to observe.
Next comes the key part of buying and talking.
Xiao Wang followed behind, pretending to be calm, but his heartbeat suddenly accelerated.
He couldn't help but feel nervous, because during previous inspections in the north, he and Li Dong were often spotted by store owners, and almost caused accidents several times.
He clearly remembered that it was his first time working as an undercover investigative reporter in a seed shop in Sh City, Heilongjiang Province, and he felt excited and nervous at the same time.
At that time, I had already paid and was about to pick up the goods. However, the shopkeeper suddenly saw through it and was kicked out by several big men on the spot. The other party even said harshly: If I come back next time, my three legs will be broken!
The two left in embarrassment. Xiao Wang had forgotten how to go back, and only one impression was left in his heart. It was so exciting!
Later, he ran wildly on this thrilling road of rights protection, and the road became dark.
I hope it goes well this time and doesn't cause any trouble, he thought to himself, put his right hand into his pocket, and quietly turned on the recorder.
Li Dong took the bag of corn seeds and walked up to the female shopkeeper: "Madam boss, how much does this bag of seeds cost?"
The female shopkeeper took one look at it and quoted the price without hesitation: "80 yuan."
Li Dong smiled and said, "Do you have any other brands here?"
The female shopkeeper's fingers were twirling on her mobile phone and she said without raising her head: "The goods are all in the store."
Li Dong also wanted to try harder: "Are there two types of Dade 216 and Yuanke 105? I heard that they are both Syngenta brands. I want to buy them both and try which one is better."
The female shopkeeper raised her head and said with some hesitation: "We generally sell more Heyu187 here, but the two you mentioned sell less. There is no stock in the store. Do you want it? If so, we can go to the warehouse to get it."
Li Dong was overjoyed and nodded quickly: "Of course I want it. When can you give it to me? Can it be in the afternoon? We are coming from other places and we have to take the high-speed rail back in the evening."
The female shopkeeper nodded: "Yes, but you need to pay a deposit."
"Of course," Li Dong weighed the packet of seeds in his hand: "I want two packets of this, and one packet of the other two. Is it the same price?"
"That's right." The female shopkeeper pointed to the QR code on the checkout counter: "Scan the code here to pay."
After seeing the message on WeChat that the money had arrived, she immediately stood up to pick up the goods.
"Wait a moment!"
The sudden sound interrupted the female shopkeeper's movements.
A fat middle-aged man suddenly appeared from behind the container. He stared at the two of them closely, looking up and down, with a surprised and uncertain expression on his face.
Oops, it was revealed.
This thought flashed across their minds at the same time, they exchanged glances, and were almost instantly ready to fall out and run away.
Li Dong felt embarrassed in his heart, but asked with a smile on his face: "You are the boss, right? What can I do?"
The boss hurriedly walked forward with a smile on his face and said: "The bag of seeds in your hand is a sample. It has been stored for a long time and the quality is not very good. We will get you a new bag."
He took the corn seeds from Li Dong's hand without any explanation, stuffed them into his pocket, then quickly rummaged in the cabinet, found two packets of seeds and handed them over.
"These two packs are the 'Heyu 187' you want to buy." He said word by word, with special emphasis on the five words 'Heyu 187'.
"Also, Dade 216 and Yuanke 105 are temporarily out of stock and will not be sold." The boss hesitated and added.
Li Dong's heart sank. As soon as he got the two packets of seeds, he glanced at them and saw that they were genuine products, and definitely not the fake ones he had before.
It seems that the other party has figured it out, and the store is afraid that it will fail again.
His expression changed and he said: "The boss lady said just now that the goods are in stock, why don't you keep your word?"
The boss laughed: "She is not familiar with the situation in the store and made a mistake."
Li Dong put the two packets of seeds on the shelf and said angrily: "Then I won't buy these two packets. I'll refund my money!"
The boss waved his hand, and the wife quickly took out her mobile phone and returned the money.
Li Dong and Xiao Wang looked at each other, shook their heads slightly, and walked quickly towards the door.
"Wait a moment!"
Li Dong turned around and said angrily: "Boss, what do you want to do again?"
"Are you from Syngenta?"
"This..." Li Dong suddenly couldn't hold himself any longer: "So what if it is? So what if it's not?"
The boss smiled and said, "If so, how about we make a deal?"
"No?"
"Then why don't you send me off?"
Li Dong turned around and came back: "What deal?"
"Haha, don't worry, please answer me a question first."
The boss looked curious and said, "I've always wanted to ask someone from Syngenta for a clear answer. Did you really achieve a soybean yield of 1,000 kilograms per mu?"
Li Dong smiled confidently: "That's still fake. It's been reported in the news."
"If I believed the news, I wouldn't ask you in person. Media articles, especially public accounts, all speak like words. How many words can I trust?"
"Okay, what you said makes sense." Li Dong glanced at Xiao Wang, and as expected, he saw an embarrassed look on his face.
"Super soybeans do exist, I won't lie to you."
The boss looked suspicious: "Haven't you always been producing non-GMO crops? Corn is your strength, but when it comes to soybeans, aren't the GM varieties in Eagle Country the strongest?"
Li Dong puffed up his chest and said confidently: "That was before. Ever since we cooperated with Sanqing Group to develop gene-edited crops, soybeans were the strongest in China."
"I have personally seen an experimental field for growing super soybeans. It cannot be faked, and the harvest is about to begin. The real data will be available soon. To tell you the truth, the yield of 1,000 kilograms per mu was the highest in the rapid planting workshop. The real yield still depends on the data from the experimental field, and I can’t say whether it has a thousand catties or not.”
The boss nodded: "What you said makes sense. You are an honest person. Now I really believe that there is such a super soybean."
He suddenly beamed, rubbed his hands and came over and said, "When will the seeds of this super soybean be launched? Do you think I can apply to be an authorized dealer?"
He became so enthusiastic that Li Dong suddenly couldn't react: "No, aren't you selling fakes? Why do you suddenly want to be a regular dealer?"
The boss smiled and said: "You have such good seeds, why should I sell fakes? Real seeds can't be sold. No one can live with money, right? Besides, how can there be fake genetic seeds for sale? I'm here It makes sense to just wash your hands and sell genuine products ashore.”
Li Dong suddenly became happy: "You know what's interesting? In fact, we also have super corn, super rice, super peanuts, and a series of seeds. They will be rolled out across the board by then. If you sell fakes again, you will lose all your money."
When the boss heard this, his heart became hot and he became even more anxious.
"That's great. We have chatted for so long and we have made friends. I will apply for a dealer right now..."
Li Dong chuckled and interrupted him: "Boss, put aside whether you are a friend or not. Where is the deal you mentioned?"
The boss waved his hand and said grandly: "What kind of deal? I'm kidding you. The main reason is that I'm very familiar with the seed market and I get along well with you, so I have some information to provide."
"By the way, you are here to fight counterfeiting and protect your rights, right? I can tell at a glance that you two outsiders are easily exposed, but I can tell you some truth to save you a trip in vain."
The boss talked non-stop, detailing the underground industry chain of seed counterfeiting and infringement. Both of them were stunned.
"In fact, selling deck-infringing seeds is almost an open secret in the industry. The infringing seeds you find here may have their real source in a certain seed production land in Xinjiang Province 5,000 kilometers away."
"Behind the deck infringement seeds is a long chain. This is a collective carnival with clear division of labor and remote collaboration."
"The infringement of decks has been repeatedly banned. The main reason is that the infringing seeds are fake but not inferior. It is like Moutai in Erguotou bottles, but it is still sold at the price of Erguotou. In that case, except for the companies and dealers who have been decked out, no one will object."
"Fake seeds are cheap, benefiting farmers, and are conducive to the development of local agriculture. Therefore, for a long time, the crackdown on counterfeit seeds has been loud but small."
"If you want to crack down on counterfeiting, you have to go to Yili and destroy the infringing seed production base. Only then can you deter those counterfeiting companies and boost morale in the fight against counterfeiting."
Xiao Wang firmly held the voice recorder in his pocket, feeling ecstatic. Now it was revealed, and the truth came to his door.
But it's really hard to find anywhere without wearing iron shoes, and it takes no effort to get it.
With this detailed first-hand information, we can definitely curb infringement and counterfeiting from the source.
And his own reports also gained heavy weight.
He couldn't help but smile.
****
Eagle Country, Wisconsin.
In a spacious conference room at Cargill’s corporate headquarters.
President Wallace looked at the executives sitting around him with a gloomy face and said coldly.
"Whether this Chinese super soybean is real or fake, can anyone give me accurate information?"
The executives looked at each other in confusion, but were speechless and could only shake their heads.
Wallace's face turned ugly. He was about to have a seizure when his secretary came over.
"The presidents of ADM, Bunge, and Louis Dreyfus all called and asked to speak to you and hold an industry meeting together."
Wallace connected to the video conference with a serious look on his face. He knew that with these three colleagues coming together, something big must have happened.
The presidents of three other grain merchants soon appeared on the screen.
Everyone had a heavy expression, and there was a deep worry in their eyes.
"Hello, Mr. Wallace, since our four major grain merchants have always been advancing and retreating together, I will not talk nonsense and go directly to the topic."
Patricia, the president of adm, is a middle-aged lady with short blond hair. She is unsmiling, has sharp eyes, and has a rather aggressive temperament.
As soon as he opened his mouth, he dropped a bombshell news.
"We have confirmed that the super soybeans from Syngenta, China's largest seed industry group, are absolutely true."
All the executives in the room suddenly became commotion.
Only the four CEOs remained motionless, expressionless, not even a wrinkle on their faces.
Wallace slowly said: "Ms. Patricia, I wonder if the source of the information is reliable?"
Patricia said in an unquestionable tone: "We have cooperation with COFCO. They have always imported our soybeans, but recently they have proposed to adjust the long-term soybean import contract, and our Yihai Group has extensive contacts in China. and channels, they also confirmed the news.”
The four presidents looked at each other, and they all saw the fear hidden in each other's eyes.
Wallace said solemnly: "The matter is very serious. Everyone knows that China is our largest soybean export market. More than 100 million tons of soybeans are sold to the East every year. The blow of losing this market is unbearable for us. "
Patricia said coldly: "This is not only a business crisis, but also a political incident. I suggest contacting the White House immediately to jointly respond."
The other two CEOs nodded slowly: "I agree."
A senior executive suddenly raised his hand and asked: "Dear Ms. Patricia, I have a question. Syngenta has not been able to develop genetically modified soybeans that are comparable to ours for so many years. Why is it suddenly so popular?" A major breakthrough?”
Everyone else nodded and looked at the big screen.
Patricia sighed and said: "They have received help from Sanqing Group. The two parties have jointly developed gene-edited crops and have achieved fruitful results."
She scanned the audience, her eyes as cold as an eagle: "Everyone should know Sanqing's strength in genome research, which further confirms the existence of super soybeans. If soybeans with a yield of one kilogram per mu can be fully promoted in China, what will happen to them? We will be a disaster."
"Moreover, China has super soybeans, which will definitely be promoted to the world and compete fiercely with us."
"There must be a battle between us and China."
"This battle is a matter of life and death and is inevitable."
Everyone present was immediately silent, with a faint sense of panic rising in their hearts.
It was a fear that there was no way out, but there were people approaching from behind.
The breath of the pursuer had hit the back of their necks heavily.
So will the day when we surpass them, or even leave them behind, be far away?
An era in which the four major grain merchants dominate the world's food lifeline.
Can it continue?
I'm afraid it will be gone forever.
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