After thinking for a moment, Li Kaishan gritted his teeth and said, "If all else fails, we'll requisition the land."

Yan Qingqing immediately retorted, "No, Uncle Village Chief, land is the foundation of people's survival. Even if our village is rich now, we can't do without land."

Li Kaishan was somewhat discouraged. He knew this was not a good idea, but Yan Qingqing had made so many contributions to their village, and now they couldn't not even have a place to build a workshop.

Seeing Li Kaishan's predicament, Yan Qingqing comforted him, "Uncle Village Chief, there's no need to worry. This workshop doesn't necessarily have to be built in our Canghe Village."

The village chief of Wangjia Village once told me to build my workshop in their village, and even said he wouldn't charge me for the land.

Li Kaishan snorted and said, "Such a good deal is something that even village chief Wang would be willing to do, let alone any other village chief."

If it weren't for all the workshops and gardens you built and opened, would our village have the good life we ​​have now?

In the past, we could only eat meat during festivals and holidays, but now every household has meat at every meal.

To be honest, I really don't want you to build workshops in other villages.

But I know I can't stop you. You're someone who's destined for great things. Whether it's a workshop or something else, it certainly won't be limited to our Canghe Village.

It won't even be limited to our Chengyang County.

Uncle can't help you a lot, but I can't hold you back either.

Which of these villages around here do you prefer? I'll go and talk to them.

"Even our village is fine. If you don't want to requisition everyone's land, I'll have them relocate."

Yan Qingqing: ……

If she dared to do that today, someone would probably impeach her tomorrow, accusing her of wasting public resources, occupying land, and forcibly demolishing homes for her own benefit.

However, she felt Li Kaishan's affection for her.

If possible, she would certainly prefer to prioritize Canghe Village.

So Yan Qingqing thought for a moment and said to Li Kaishan, "Uncle Village Chief, have you ever thought about merging the nearby villages into our Canghe Village?"

Li Kaishan was startled by what he heard and looked at Yan Qingqing in disbelief, asking, "What... what do you mean by this?"

Yan Qingqing laughed and said, "It doesn't mean anything, it's just that I feel Canghe Village is a bit too small, which will hinder its future development."

If several nearby villages could be merged into it, perhaps our Canghe Village could eventually become a town.

If things develop well in the future, it might even surpass the county seat.

Uncle Village Chief could talk to the village chiefs of a few nearby villages first, and see if they are willing to make a contribution to the joint development of Canghe Town.

If it succeeds, they will be the founders of Canghe Town, won't they?

Yan Qingqing's words made Li Kaishan's blood boil. What a great prospect! Not to mention the village chiefs of the other villages, even he wanted to leave his mark in the legends of future generations.

If it succeeds, future generations will remember Li Kaishan as the first mayor of Canghe Village.

Thinking of this, Li Kaishan slapped his thigh and said, "Great idea!"

I'll call a meeting with them right now.

Whoever agrees to return first, you'll have priority in choosing which village to build the new workshop in.

Yan Qingqing: ……

Is Li Kaishan using her family's workshop to realize his grand plan of merging villages?

However, Yan Qingqing felt that the plan was feasible. Once this place became a town, it would only benefit everyone and not cause any harm.

After Li Kaishan finished speaking, he got up and left. Yan Qingqing called him back and said, "Uncle Village Chief, shouldn't we distribute the profits from the inns and shops in our village to the villagers?"

Li Kaishan slapped his forehead and said, "Look at my memory! I came here today to talk to you about this."

The accounts had been settled before the Lunar New Year, but because there were too many things to do and the villagers were busy preparing for the New Year, it was delayed.

Following the method you taught us, our inn has already recouped 80% of its investment. You invested 500 taels, so you'll receive 400 taels in dividends from last year.

I'll go back and get you the silver notes right away.

Upon hearing this, Yan Qingqing smiled and said, "Uncle Village Chief, I'm not short of money, so I'm not in a hurry."

The main concern was that the villagers were anxious, since they had invested most of their savings when the inn was built. Receiving dividends sooner would put their minds at ease.

Aunt Wang next door had nagged Yan Qingqing about this twice.

Yan Qingqing was the one who initiated this matter, so she also has a responsibility to ensure that the villagers receive their dividends.

Moreover, most villagers were hoping to receive dividends before the end of the year.

However, Li Kaishan was indeed busy before the Lunar New Year, so he thought he would distribute the money after the New Year.

How could Li Kaishan not understand Yan Qingqing's meaning after hearing her words? He had indeed been inconsiderate in this matter.

He immediately nodded and replied, "Okay, I'll go back and take care of it first."

After seeing Li Kaishan off, Yan Qingqing began to consider which of the nearby villages was most suitable for building a laundry workshop.

Wangjia Village is the closest, but Village Chief Wang is too slick and cunning.

Yangjia Village is separated from them by a mountain, but now Village Chief Yang has sold the mountain to her, and she is extremely shrewd in handling matters.

Emotionally speaking, she was more inclined towards Yangjia Village.

Of course, there are also Lijia Village and Zhaojia Village. These villages all border Canghe Village, and they all share a common village head, Li Kaishan.

With this in mind, Yan Qingqing decided to first send someone to see if there were any suitable places to build workshops in these villages.

Then, taking into account their opinions on merging villages, we will finally select a site.

Li Sanniu also received the red deed for the homestead.

He was overjoyed and kept telling Xu about the blueprints Yan Qingqing had planned for them. If they were built, their house would be one of only two mansions in the village.

As she listened, Madam Xu laughed and said, "Don't be too happy yet. I heard that Second Sister-in-law is planning to build a new workshop. You have experience, so I think this is the perfect job for you."

Li Sanniu was both happy and worried when he heard this.

He was pleased that Yan Qingqing valued him so much, which made him feel that he was also a capable person.

What worries him is that Yan Qingqing is building one workshop after another, and if he doesn't squeeze out some time, he might never be able to move into a new house.

Thinking of this, Li Sanniu gritted his teeth and said, "Second Sister-in-law's new workshop location hasn't been chosen yet, and it will take some time before construction starts. Let's start building the house tomorrow."

Anyway, the weather is already warm, so a few days earlier or later won't make a big difference.

Xu thought it was feasible.

Seeing the villagers renovating their houses one by one, she wanted to live in one too.

Moreover, Li Xiangbao is getting older, and in a couple of years he will be of marriageable age. Although they have money now, others don't know that.

They couldn't possibly go around bragging about the shares their second sister-in-law had given them in the workshop, but once the house was built, things changed.

This is their storefront; you can tell at a glance that they're a wealthy family.