Chapter 455: Buying land and starting construction

"Okay, I'll go over now and we'll talk about the details." Zhang Wanwan agreed readily, called Leng Ziyue and drove to Xiapu Village with the contract she had prepared in advance.

There were a lot more people in the village committee of Xiapu Village this time, some in their fifties and sixties, some in their seventies and eighties. They all seemed to be waiting for Zhang Wanwan's arrival. As soon as they saw the car, someone immediately shouted for the village chief.

Zhang Wanwan and Leng Ziyue nodded and smiled at them when they got off the car. She really didn't know how to address them. Coupled with the language barrier, she found it really difficult.

The village chief came out and invited them in to sit down. He made a cup of tea and got straight to the point. "Ms. Zhang, Mr. Leng, these people are the leaders of the village. Since young people don't take charge of things, we can make the decisions. That forest is the public property of the village. If we want to sell it, we need everyone to bear witness to the price. The income will be invested in the construction of the village or given to the elderly during festivals."

Zhang Wanwan nodded. So that was the reason. No wonder so many people gathered here today. It seemed that this money was closely related to their interests.

"Village chief, please tell me how you plan to sell it so that I can think about whether it is feasible." Zhang Wanwan said.

The village chief hurried into the room and took out a curled-edge notebook. He flipped through it for a while before turning to the page that recorded the sale of the grapefruit trees. He pondered and said, "We bought the grapefruit saplings for 600 yuan each. There were 600 in total, which means we spent 360,000 yuan to buy those saplings. After so many years, the saplings have grown into big trees, and each can be sold for about 1,200 to 1,500 yuan. That means the value of those fruit trees is between 720,000 and 900,000 yuan. This amount of money is a huge sum for our village, so we can't give the fruit trees to you."

"I understand. I don't want those fruit trees either." Zhang Wanwan said with a smile.

The village chief smiled naively and said, "I know Miss Zhang is considerate, but we want to sell the fields, but we can't afford to transplant the fruit trees. So, can you help us dig out the fruit trees when we open up the wasteland? Please give us a list of expenses. We will return the money to you after the fruit trees are sold. Do you think it's okay?"

"You can't even come up with this little money?" Zhang Wanwan was shocked. How poor is this village? Is it really that bad?

The village chief smiled awkwardly, not knowing how to start. An old man next to him had no scruples and said indignantly, "Our village was not so poor before. It's just that the previous village chief lost all the money in gambling. We didn't know about it at first. When the village needed money, he couldn't take it out and the matter was exposed. But what's the use? If there is no money, there is no money. Even if you beat him to death, the money can't be recovered. In addition, all the young people left later, and the village no longer needs to build. The public account is still in deficit. We would like to pay for hiring people, but some people have money and some don't, some are willing and some are unwilling. We are also worried that if we really pay the money, the fruit trees will not be sold at a good price and we can't even get back the wages. Alas! We are all scared. The villagers are not knowledgeable. Miss Zhang, please don't be surprised."

Zhang Wanwan really sympathized with these villagers this time. It was almost like a rainy day when it leaks. No wonder so many people came to buy an orchard. They seemed worried.

"What should we do now?" Zhang Wanwan leaned close to Leng Ziyue's ear and whispered.

Leng Ziyue pursed his lips, signaling her to be patient.

The village chief smiled bitterly and said, "This is the situation. We don't have a penny in the public account right now. But don't worry, Miss Zhang. If the fruit trees are really sold, we will definitely pay you first. I can assure you of this. There are so many people watching here, and everyone can bear witness."

Zhang Wanwan waved her hand. "Don't rush about this. I understand your situation. Village chief, please tell me how much you plan to sell the fields for. If I really buy the orchard, I will naturally find a way to clear out the fruit trees. But you have to find a seller in advance. Once the fruit trees are dug out, it's best to transplant them immediately. Delaying for too long will affect their vitality."

"That's right." The village chief laughed, turned two pages, and said seriously, "The orchard is really not expensive. After all, it wasn't a farmland at the beginning. It was reclaimed by everyone. The location is also relatively remote and transportation is inconvenient. Let's discuss and sell it for 18,000 yuan per mu, including the surrounding wasteland. What do you think?"

To be honest, the price was really not cheap, at least two or three thousand more than Zhang Wanwan expected. However, considering that this village was so poor, she didn't think about bargaining and agreed after a moment of hesitation.

Everyone was delighted, and some even ran out happily to tell other villagers.

The village chief hurriedly said, "In that case, do you think we should sign the contract first?"

Zhang Wanwan nodded, "Of course we have to sign the contract, but I won't pay until I get the land certificate. Don't worry, mobile phone transfers are very convenient now. Let's take the land certificate to the window of the Land and Resources Bureau to handle the transfer procedures. I will transfer the money to you immediately. How about that?"

The village chief hesitated for a moment and then agreed, thinking that Zhang Wanwan still wanted to develop their forest and she couldn't just take the land certificate and run away.

The two parties agreed and signed the contract immediately. The village chief went to the Land and Resources Bureau with Zhang Wanwan on the same day. The submitted procedures still needed to be reviewed, which was not so fast. After the review results came out, Zhang Wanwan got her own land certificate and immediately transferred 360,000 yuan to the village chief.

Now that the villagers had money, they didn't even need to ask Zhang Wanwan to hire anyone. They contacted workers themselves to come and dig up the fruit trees. The elderly in the village also came out to help. They managed to move the fruit trees out of the forest using only manpower and small trailers.

When Zhang Wanwan brought the workers over, the corners of her mouth twitched when she saw the bumpy and horrible forest. She did not let them open up the land directly, but asked them to survey the terrain here. She planned to open a road first, and then let the bulldozers go in to flatten the weeds when large trucks could enter and exit.

After the villagers sold the forest, they often paid attention to the situation there. They were all shocked to find that Zhang Wanwan did not let people go into the forest to work but instead asked them to build roads. They secretly sighed that Zhang Wanwan was very rich.

Building a road is a big deal. To put it bluntly, they will also benefit from it once the road is built.

The village chief had always wanted to do something for the village. When he saw Zhang Wanwan hiring someone to build a road, he came to her immediately and his attitude was more polite than before.

Zhang Wanwan was surprised when she saw what the old village chief was carrying. "Village chief, why are you here?"

In the past, she always went to Xiapu Village, but this time the village chief came directly to her house. One can imagine how shocked Zhang Wanwan was.

(End of this chapter)