Chapter 399: Interlude 3

Chapter 399 -187: Interlude 3

According to technical analysis, if all aspects of the concept meet their projected targets, the project could yield 15 to 20 cubic meters of freshwater per mu each day. A one-million-mu cultivation base could therefore produce 15 to 20 million cubic meters of freshwater daily, amounting to 5.4 to 7.2 billion cubic meters annually.

Additionally, the one-million-mu spirulina cultivation base could annually produce approximately 3 million tons of dried spirulina matter and 800,000 to 1 million tons of dried suaeda.

This dry matter could generate 2 billion kWh of electricity via microbial fuel cells and produce 2.4 billion cubic meters of biogas through fermentation. ℴ

Furthermore, if the water used for cultivation is not industrial wastewater, the biogas residue from the dried spirulina can be used as organic fertilizer.

The genetically modified suaeda can also yield 200,000 to 300,000 tons of sodium chloride and tens of thousands of tons of other inorganic salts. However, these byproducts are not profitable and would instead require methods for safe disposal.

The project’s profitability is actually quite decent. The annual output value from biogas, electricity, and organic fertilizer is around 5 billion yuan, averaging 5,000 yuan per mu.

If the cultivation base were located on the coast of the Bohai Sea, it could supply freshwater to the core area of the North China Plain. At a factory price of 0.5 yuan per cubic meter, this would generate an additional 2.7 to 3.6 billion yuan in annual revenue.

In terms of costs, aside from facility depreciation and labor, the artificial lighting would require about 150 million kWh of electricity per year. Heating and electromagnetic fields would need another 300 million kWh, and miscellaneous power consumption would be around 50 million kWh, totaling 500 million kWh.

This return on investment is quite good, especially since lighting and heating are concentrated in the middle of the night. Heating is only required during the winter months, and by using off-peak wind power, electricity costs only 0.156 to 0.229 yuan per kWh.

Moreover, these farms could also develop warm-water aquaculture and hydroponics, allowing for further utilization of the waste heat.

After inspecting the natural environment on Chongming Island, Jiang Miao instructed Li Zixuan to write a report for the headquarters’ R&D division, proposing the establishment of a research base there.

In fact, Hailufeng Company already had four research bases: the Shanmei Headquarters Research Base, the Yuecheng Tropical Plant Research Base, the Luling Dairy Cattle Breeding Research Base, and the Zhelimu Biological Mining Research Base.

The research base on Chongming Island would primarily focus on agricultural technology for East China.

As for the spirulina-suaeda-microbial fuel cell-biogas project, he planned to locate it in the coastal region of Bohai Bay and name it the Integrated Bioenergy Application Research Base.

After all, this technology was intended for future use in the coastal areas around Bohai Bay, so establishing a research base nearby would facilitate both research and industrial planning.

They rested on Chongming Island for a day.

The next day, the group continued their journey north by high-speed rail.

Upon arriving in Qin Island City, Jiang Miao decided to stay for a day.

「Inside a restaurant.」

Jiang Miao met with his sister, Jiang Xia, whom he hadn’t seen for nearly two months.

“Sis, you’ve been working hard,” he said, pouring her some tea.

“We’re family, there’s no need to be so formal.” Jiang Xia then asked, “How is Shuya doing?”

Jiang Miao shook his head with a helpless smile. “She’s fine, almost fully recovered. She’s been clamoring to get back to work these past few days.”

“Taking care of a baby must be wearing her out. But with Mom at home, plus a few maternity nurses and regular nurses, it shouldn’t be too much trouble.” Jiang Xia took a sip of tea and continued, “I’ve pretty much finished all the arrangements on my end. In a week, I’ll be heading to the major cities in Yu Province to purchase properties.”

“How many properties have you bought in each region?” Jiang Miao asked, placing a piece of braised sea cucumber with scallions on his sister’s plate.

“We’ve acquired a total of 100 storefronts in the Yangtze River Delta Region. With help from the local branch in Gan Province, we bought another 100 there. We got 80 in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Region and 100 across the major cities of the other coastal provinces. Adding the 50 in the Pearl River Delta, that’s 430 in total. We’ll probably add another 170, bringing the grand total to 600.”

Hailufeng Company’s expansion strategy for its physical specialty stores is to first establish three hubs, then expand along four main corridors.

The three hubs were the Pearl River Delta, the Yangtze River Delta, and the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Region.

The four corridors are the Shenhai Line, the Jingjiu Line, the Jingguang Line, and the Yangtze River Main Channel.

As for expanding down to the county level in places like Gan Province, that isn’t necessary at the moment.

For one, the company is short-staffed. Expanding to 600 physical stores this year is already pushing our limits, especially since Hailufeng Company operates on a direct-ownership model, not a franchise one.

For another, our product range isn’t diverse enough. Combined with the limited purchasing power in small counties, expanding into them at this stage would be a case of losing money just to build brand awareness.

In the initial phase, it’s enough to secure key regions and nodes along the main corridors.

This strategy of focusing on corridor nodes also helps reduce the pressure on our internal logistics system. Customers in smaller counties and remote areas will have to rely on online shopping and Shunfeng Express for now.

Once Hailufeng Company has a richer product line and our network of contracted growers and farmers reaches a certain scale, we can then consider further penetration into lower-tier markets.

After chatting with his sister for over half an hour, Jiang Miao had a much better understanding of the progress being made with the specialty stores in each region.

As they were talking, Jiang Miao remembered something. “Oh, right, Sis—the HR department’s autumn recruitment drive has already hired nearly 500 marketing majors from vocational colleges. You should give HR a call and coordinate with them. Have them send some of the trained reserve employees over to Gan Province and the Yangtze River Delta as soon as possible.”

“Oh? Got it. I’ve been so busy these past few months, I completely forgot to check in with HR about that.” Jiang Xia made a note of it.