Once something is given financial attributes, its price will inevitably soar to unbelievable heights.

Just like the tulips of the Netherlands, the clivia of Changchun, the five-needle pine of Jiangsu and Zhejiang, and the houses of later generations of China.

People have a misconception that these things will always be valuable and will continue to appreciate in value. They believe that as long as they own these things, they will make money no matter how high the price they pay.

Therefore, people not only buy five-needle pine, but they also buy more when it is more expensive.

Of course, in this kind of Ponzi scheme where it's like passing the buck, it all comes down to who's the last one holding the bag.

You never know who's swimming naked until the tide goes out.

The air inside was suffocating. They had never experienced a market economy and had never been exposed to what Li Xiangdong was talking about.

These things seem as unbelievable as a fairy tale.

After a long pause, Fu Youcai swallowed hard. "What great abilities do they have..."

He stopped halfway through his sentence because he understood that someone who could spend so much money to plan ahead must have some skill.

Fu Youde was puzzled. "Since the price of Japanese white pine is going to skyrocket, why did we sell all three thousand pots?"

Fu Youcai glanced at him and said, "They definitely won't allow us to have so much stock."

Fu Youde nodded, seemingly understanding but not quite.

Li Xiangdong asked Chen Zaohua, "How are the remaining five-needle pines?"

Chen Zaohua's eyebrows and eyes lit up. "They're growing very well, all in the backyard of the base. Only the village chief, a few old hands, and I can go in and take care of them."

Li Xiangdong smiled, "That's good! I'd like to see just how far they can go."

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Near Qianzhangyan, in Sishibawan Village, lies a mountainous area shrouded in mist year-round, which is the location of the seedling base—the bonsai garden.

At the highest point of the bonsai garden, there is a backyard covering about eight acres, which is locked with a large iron lock all year round, and only a select few people are allowed to enter.

Here are the 1,000 Japanese white pine bonsai that Li Xiangdong owns alone, and the 2,000 medium and large Japanese white pine bonsai that the Fu brothers acquired for the bonsai garden.

Li Xiangdong strolled around the backyard carefully, looking at the elegant and vibrant bonsai, and felt a great sense of satisfaction.

Next, we'll see how the market reacts.

Of course, this process won't be quick, especially the initial market preparation, which can be a bit tedious and uneventful.

At this point, ordinary people wouldn't realize anything.

Li Xiangdong observed the situation quietly and did not make a move.

He is currently busy handling the procedures and qualifications for the import and export of plants and flowers. If everything goes smoothly, the bonsai garden's bonsai will be able to be exported overseas as early as the end of the year.

In the following two weeks, five-needle pine suddenly became popular in the market.

By this time, those with better connections already knew that the price of Japanese white pine bonsai had increased, and that they were in high demand and short supply.

People started to stir, and everywhere people were asking where they could buy five-needle pine.

As a well-known source of five-needle pine bonsai, Sishibawan Village naturally attracts many buyers, but the results are disappointing.

Then, within a few days, five-needle pine bonsai became even more sought after in the market, with prices changing almost daily.

The price of a three-year-old bonsai has risen from a dozen yuan to sixty or seventy yuan per pot!

And what's even more alarming is that this price is still rising rapidly.

People who own Japanese white pine bonsai began to hoard them and hold back their sales, resulting in a decrease in the number of Japanese white pine bonsai on the market.

This directly caused the price of Japanese white pine bonsai to skyrocket. Just a few days later, someone actually bought a five-year-old Japanese white pine for 300 yuan.

This news was like adding fuel to a raging fire.

Now, almost everyone in the Jiangsu and Zhejiang region, regardless of age or gender, whether they are government officials, businessmen, or farmers, is talking about five-needle pine bonsai.

The village of Sishibawan, located at the eye of the storm, was no exception.

Many villagers are now lamenting that the previous sale of 3,000 five-needle pine bonsai was far too cheap.

If you were to sell it now, it wouldn't be impossible for it to fetch 300,000 or even 400,000, let alone 150,000!

Whether people are working at the bonsai garden or resting at home, these are the topics they talk about every day.

Of course, some villagers just felt it was a pity, but Chen Zaohua's former sister-in-law, Shui Xiu, said some rather harsh things.

She wanders around aimlessly every day, questioning Chen Zaohua's management abilities, saying that a woman like her doesn't have that kind of capacity and yet she wants to lead everyone to wealth! Now that she's caused such a huge financial loss, she should compensate everyone…

The smart people naturally ignored her words, since none of them had come to the village to set up a bonsai garden like Chen Zaohua; they were still working outside the village!

Moreover, it was Li Xiangdong who suggested that everyone graft more five-needle pine bonsai. If there were no one, we wouldn't even have 15,000 yuan, let alone 150,000 yuan.

However, for every smart person there is a fool.

Incited by Shui Xiu, they actually wanted to drive Li Xiangdong and Chen Zaohua away and take over the bonsai garden.

As the spiritual leader of this operation, Shui Xiu has been in high spirits these days. She confidently went to the village chief's house to persuade him.

"Uncle, chase them away! This huge bonsai garden is the private property of our Forty-Eight Bays Village. We won't have to split the profits 30/70 and let them take the lion's share!"

The village chief's expression was unreadable. He said "Oh," and looked up at Shui Xiu for a long time. "I've underestimated you all these years. You're a real talent!"

Shui Xiu, even more excited by the village chief's praise, raised her voice slightly, "The land is ours. Li Xiangdong and the others' investment in the bonsai garden is all in the land. Even if we drive them away now, they won't be able to take away a single penny. We've made a fortune!"

The village chief sneered, "That's a good idea. I just don't know if you came up with it yourself, or if you all came up with it together?"

Shui Xiu straightened her back. "It was my own idea! When I told Erdan and Chenggong about it, they both agreed!"

The village chief nodded. "This is a big deal! Why don't you call them all over and we can discuss what to do next!"

Shui Xiu left happily.

The village chief's wife came over worriedly and asked, "Old man, you're not really going to do this, are you? That's not right!"

Fu Youcai laughed and said, "Mother, how could my father do that! He's trying to trap us like turtles in a jar."

The village chief waved his hand, "Go and invite Boss Li and Zao Hua over."

That silly woman, she thinks she's the only smart one!

When Li Xiangdong signed the agreement, he had already clearly stated the terms, just to prevent the villagers from being envious of his profits and kicking him out!

Fu Youcai went and explained the whole story. Li Xiangdong laughed, "Uncle is cleaning house!"

Chen Zaohua's face tightened. "Yang Shuixiu is stirring up trouble again!"

"Let's go then, and see how they plan to get rid of us!"

Li Xiangdong was the first to leave, heading straight for the village chief's house.