June weather is like a child's face, changing in an instant.

As soon as Li Xiangdong and Zhao Sufang got home, it started raining heavily.

Large raindrops splashed onto the ground, breaking into large circles, and the air was filled with the earthy smell.

Soon, the surrounding dark clouds moved rapidly, the whole sky turned dark and gloomy, and the rain became heavier and heavier.

The rain, forming silvery lines, created a hazy mist, making distant houses and trees appear blurry and indistinct.

Li Xiangdong and Zhao Sufang closed all the doors and windows tightly to prevent rainwater from getting in.

As a result, the room became very stuffy and hot, so Li Xiangdong simply took a small stool and sat on the balcony to enjoy the coolness brought by the torrential rain.

Winter plum and jasmine lay obediently at Li Xiangdong's feet. When rainwater drifted in, they would move their bodies a little further in.

Liu Jiangsu had already been simmering a pot of fresh shrimp and abalone porridge over a low flame on the stove. Now Zhao Sufang had an appetite and was holding the bowl, sipping the porridge in small sips.

The heavy rain stopped after about ten minutes. The dark clouds dispersed, and the sun shone down, making the whole world feel like it was inside a sweltering pressure cooker.

Li Xiangdong was feeling irritable and was about to go inside to turn on the electric fan when he saw Li Guoqing running towards him from afar.

"Second brother, second brother—you have a phone call! From Forty-Eight Bays Village!"

Li Xiangdong's heart skipped a beat, and he quickly ran towards the brigade headquarters.

Jasmine and Winter Plum ran wildly behind him, the two dogs and the man whizzing past the roadside like the wind.

Li Xiangdong has been thinking about Sishibawan Village for several months now.

He remembered that in his previous life, the "Eight Kings" were arrested in early 1982, but in this life, the government did not arrest the "Eight Kings," and they continued to do their business peacefully.

The five-needle pine bonsai, which should have become popular in the first half of the year, has remained lukewarm, with sales and prices remaining relatively stable.

Li Xiangdong's seedling base, which he co-built with villagers in Sishibawan Village, recently acquired several thousand pots of five-needle pine bonsai, tying up a large amount of working capital.

Chen Zaohua knew that Li Xiangdong planned to make a fortune from the five-needle pine bonsai, and it was she who made this call.

Li Xiangdong calmed himself down and quickly dialed Chen Zaohua's number.

"Beep beep beep—beep beep beep—"

The phone was answered after ringing twice.

Hello!

That was Chen Zaohua's voice.

"Sister Zaohua, it's me!"

"Xiang Dong! Listen to me, we've recently discovered that someone is buying up large quantities of Japanese white pine bonsai, and someone has even come to Forty-Eight Bays Village to buy up all of our Japanese white pine bonsai!"

Chen Zaohua spoke quickly, rattling off the current situation to Li Xiangdong: "Although the price they offered wasn't high, it was still 30% higher than the market price!"

"Thirty years higher?"

"Yes! Xiangdong, how's it going? Have they all come out yet?"

Chen Zaohua was very excited. If they sold all the five-needle pine bonsai, they would make a lot of money.

Li Xiangdong felt a surge of excitement.

It seems the Five-Needle Pine Incident is about to unfold.

"Sister Zaohua, tell that person we'll sell, but the current price isn't right!"

"Huh? This height isn't enough? How much would you like to know?"

Chen Zaohua was a little confused.

“Tell them that the price of each pot will be doubled.”

Will this work?

“No problem. If they keep arguing, we won’t bother with any more talk. We’ll just refuse to sell to them.”

Li Xiangdong spoke with confidence, and Chen Zaohua quickly agreed.

Just before hanging up, Li Xiangdong added, "Sell them all that's right under our noses. Tell them we don't have any more five-needle pine bonsai."

Whenever someone wants to drive up the price of Japanese white pine bonsai, they must first buy up all the Japanese white pine trees from individual sellers in the market, creating scarcity.

Forty-Eight Bays Village is the origin of five-needle pine bonsai, so someone must be trying to control the supply here.

Li Xiangdong felt a slight excitement, but this time the "Eight Kings" were not arrested, which was far from his initial speculation.

But who orchestrated this scheme?

They acted very quickly over there.

Before Li Xiangdong and his team even arrived at Sishibawan Village, their three thousand newly grafted five-needle pine bonsai were bought up.

The price is quite considerable. Although they vary in size and shape, each pot can bring in an average income of over fifty yuan.

Chen Zaohua poured iced tea for Li Xiangdong, Zhou Hongsong, and Li Guoqing, who had rushed over, and said cheerfully, "We made a total of 90 cents!"

The village chief grinned from ear to ear, "Amazing! You're truly amazing! Tell me, how did you know that five-needle pine would sell so well?"

Fu Youcai and Fu Youde also stopped their trip to purchase five-needle pine trees.

It's not that they don't want to buy anymore, but that all the five-needle pines in Ningbo and other places have been bought up by homeowners at higher prices.

Fu Youcai had been preoccupied these past few days, but he didn't want to spoil the mood with the jubilation of those around him.

Of course, most importantly, his word doesn't count.

The big boss of the seedling base is Li Xiangdong, and his agent in Sishibawan Village is Chen Zaohua. Once they've made up their minds, why would they listen to him?

However, since Li Xiangdong is here today, he still wants to express his thoughts.

Taking advantage of a lull in their conversation, Fu Youcai leaned close to Li Xiangdong and said, "Mr. Li, I think this matter might not be so simple."

Li Xiangdong raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"

Fu Youcai explained his analysis in detail: "Bonsai is not like leather shoes. In a factory, thousands of pairs of leather shoes can be produced in a few days with the machines running. Bonsai requires grafting, shaping, and it takes even more time to grow into a large bonsai."

He looked at Li Xiangdong seriously and said, "If someone suddenly buys up all the Japanese white pine trees on the market, I suspect that someone is trying to drive up the price of Japanese white pine trees!"

A smile involuntarily appeared on Li Xiangdong's face. He really didn't expect to encounter such a business talent with a keen sense of business acumen!

"Go on."

Fu Youcai touched his nose, frowned, and said, "But there's one thing I don't understand. Five-needle pine isn't like leather shoes; people can live without it. If they raise the price of five-needle pine, who will buy it?"

Everyone in the room held their breath and looked at Li Xiangdong.

"You're absolutely right to suspect that they're trying to drive up the price of five-needle pine."

Fu Youcai took a deep breath after receiving Li Xiangdong's affirmation.

He continued, "As for who will buy it, it's the ordinary people, of course!"

Li Xiangdong took a sip of herbal tea; it was cool and refreshing, with a bittersweet taste.

Fu Youcai didn't understand. Although everyone had money, who would spend so much money to buy something that was neither edible nor drinkable, just to display at home for show?

"What if I told you that five-needle pine can maintain or even increase its value?"