Within a few days, the teacher sent word that they had found an expert in this field, having informed them in advance, and forwarded both the contact information and name to Zhou You. Coincidentally, almost on the same day, Big Head also got in touch with an expert, and after sending over the name and contact details, Zhou You realized it was the same person. This either meant the expert professor was highly renowned or genuinely skilled, or perhaps the field was quite niche with no broad market yet.
The expert had a distinctive name, Li Baoyin, which sounded very down-to-earth. A couple of days earlier, his family had contacted him, saying the preparatory work was mostly done, but they were fumbling around with no clue and wanted Zhou You to bring the expert back as soon as possible for guidance.
"Hello, Professor Li, this is Zhou You. I asked someone to reach out to you a couple of days ago," Zhou You said politely. He was always courteous to those with real talent, respecting knowledge and culture.
"Hello, hello, you must be Teacher Zhou. I've heard from your teacher and your friend. It's rare these days for someone to still be willing to take on this line of work," Li Baoyin said, his tone very straightforward.
"Professor Li, are you at the school? Could I come over and chat with you in person?"
"Sure, come on over. I happen to be at school. Give me a call when you arrive."
Many things were inconvenient to discuss over the phone, and since the two schools were close by, Zhou You drove over directly. At that time, universities were still relatively open, allowing free entry and exit, unlike later during the pandemic when getting in became extremely difficult.
Following Professor Li's directions, he drove straight to his office building. One glance at Li Baoyin, and Zhou You's impression of him soared—simple clothes, a plain hairstyle, slightly dark complexion, clearly someone who often did field research.
"Hello, Professor Li, I'm sorry for the intrusion."
"No problem. I didn't expect Teacher Zhou to be so young. Your teacher spoke very highly of you. I've known him for years, and I've never seen him praise a student like that," Li Baoyin said with a chuckle, looking at Zhou You as if he were a junior.
"Teacher Zhou, what made you think of having your family go into organic farming?"
"Well, mainly because I saw that them working away from home long-term wasn't sustainable—they couldn't take care of the elderly or the kids." He paused briefly before continuing, "Mostly, I believe that as the economy keeps growing, people's demands for dietary health are also rising. It's gone from just eating enough to eating well and eating healthy."
Hearing this, Professor Li's eyes lit up. "I completely agree with that. In all my years of research, I've increasingly noticed this trend. People used to go for rich, heavy meals, but now they're all about refined food. Many who can afford it, the early rich, are eating imported food from abroad."
"In reality, our country has a huge population and a massive market, but so far, no brand has been established, and no one has the patience to stick with it. To be honest, the investment is substantial, and returns are slow. Big companies and giants are still expanding in volume, focusing on factory farming."
"Small individual farmers don't have the energy or money to do this, and scaling up organic agriculture is tough—management difficulty grows exponentially. It can only achieve regional supply, which is why big capital isn't interested; the scale is limited."
The two hit it off more and more—one with insights from a later era, the other with professional expertise. In their eyes, they praised organic farming and agriculture to the skies. Seeing someone who resonated so deeply with his views, Professor Li, a man of theory and practice, felt like he'd found a kindred spirit and wanted to pour out everything he knew.
Seeing Professor Li so excited, Zhou You said, "Professor Li, I have an idea, and I'd like your take on it. I'm a teacher at the school now, but I've also invested in a few projects outside. This organic farming venture, I'm planning for the long haul. At the very least, as long as my relatives are involved, I'll keep putting money into it."
"But we can't just rely on passion without professional guidance. I'd like to invite you to join as a technical shareholder. What do you think? That way, it could serve as a professional experimental base for you and boost your research."
As a university teacher, Zhou You knew that research projects were highly appealing to professors—they brought results, data for papers, and papers for promotions.
Li Baoyin was a man of sentiment too. "No need for shares. Just having this project for my experiments is more than enough. As you know, Teacher Zhou, some of us university professors struggle with research."
"No, that won't do. Let's keep things separate. You'll be traveling back and forth long-term, and I won't have the time to manage it. I'll need you to put in the effort, maybe bring your students along. I'll allocate you 20% of the shares."
Seeing Professor Li wave his hand in refusal, Zhou You continued, "As one of the top technical experts in our province, this percentage is by no means high. And I have selfish motives too—your connections across the province alone could solve many of our problems."
Seeing Zhou You's sincerity, Professor Li said, "Alright, I'll take the shares, but 10% is enough. Any more, and I won't be able to face your teacher. I can't have him saying I'm taking advantage of his student."
"Haha, ask my teacher—he'd have no objections. He'd probably be thrilled," Zhou You said, knowing that with Professor Li agreeing to take shares, the project was mostly a done deal.
Now that they were tied by common interests, they chatted for a while longer. Professor Li outlined some challenges of organic agriculture, and Zhou You listened, somewhat lost—every trade has its own mysteries. Organic farming was vastly different from small-scale farming or free-range livestock, especially when aiming for growth and strength.
They agreed to head back to Zhou You's hometown the next day. After leaving, Zhou You called the Shanghai legal firm, outlined his requirements, and asked them to draft an agreement allocating personal shares. Zhou You would hold 40%, his parents 20%, his uncle and second uncle's families 10% each, Professor Li 10%, and 10% would be kept as a reserve.
Since they were just starting out and hadn't hired outsiders, they still needed to pay salaries to their own people; otherwise, they might not last a year or two. The pay wasn't much, comparable to migrant worker wages, but for them, it was top-tier treatment. After all, working from home, owning shares, being their own boss, and taking care of their families—what more could they want?
The next day, Zhou You drove Professor Li back to his hometown. When he picked him up, he found that Professor Li had brought several students along, clearly ready to get down to business. On the way, Professor Li introduced Zhou You to the students and sang his praises.