Chapter 147 Making a fortune
For the first two days, Gu Mansheng's team wandered aimlessly through the mountains like headless flies, finding nothing. But the villagers, each receiving a dollar a day, were overjoyed, as if it were free money. Many more were envious and were eager to join.
On the fifth day, someone finally discovered the Dendrobium.
That location wasn't far from where Shen Yi and the others fell off the cliff last time.
The news caused a stir throughout the village. Villagers rushed home to prepare their tools, eagerly anticipating a big day's work.
In the Lu family courtyard, Gu Mansheng lay on a recliner, counting the thick wad of banknotes in her hand, grinning from ear to ear.
Lu Huaiyuan reported like a lackey: "We found it in just five days. I checked it. There are about seven or eight dendrobiums in that patch. It only cost a few dozen yuan to harvest them. We made a fortune!"
Gu Mansheng's eyes were full of joy: "Very good! Remember, tomorrow you must prepare the best equipment, check it carefully, and don't make any mistakes. If you do a good job this time and gain your uncle's appreciation, you won't have to worry about your future."
Lu Huaiyuan's smile froze, and he leaned closer with a pitiful look on his face: "Xiaoman... am I really going to the state-owned factory? Didn't we agree on the police station? This is such a huge change..."
Gu Mansheng gave him a disdainful look.
A half-baked peasant, if it weren't for her, he wouldn't even know which way the gate of a state-owned factory faces, let alone be picky.
She suppressed her disgust and patiently coaxed, "Uncle isn't a god either; everything has to be done step by step. Besides, if you can rise to a leadership position in a state-owned factory, the benefits will be much greater than in the police station, and things will be much easier to do without the constraints of the police station."
Lu Huaiyuan's mind raced.
That's true. Police stations have many rules, and if you cross the line even slightly, they'll be watched. State-owned factories are different; as long as you have real power, life is pretty good, isn't it?
During this trip into the mountains, he was treated like royalty by the villagers, and he couldn't resist the feeling of being treated superior. As long as you have money and power, who would dare look down on you?
Once he understood this, Lu Huaiyuan immediately put on a smiling face: "Okay! I'll do whatever Uncle arranges!"
Gu Mansheng pulled out two ten-yuan bills and handed them to him: "While it's still early, go to the city and buy some good equipment. Especially the rope, you must buy the best! Don't let anything go wrong, otherwise that old woman Aunt Zhou will cause trouble again."
Lu Huaiyuan took the money, thumping his chest loudly, "Don't worry, wife! I guarantee it will be done perfectly!"
Lu Huaiyuan took the money, his eyes darted around, and he ran into the yard to intercept Lu Xiaohui, who was busy at work.
He pulled one of the two ten-yuan bills out of his hand and stuffed it into Lu Xiaohui's hand: "Sister, take this! Go to town and buy some ropes and tools for the villagers to use when harvesting dendrobium tomorrow."
Lu Xiaohui rolled her eyes, seeing right through her: "Your wife sent you, didn't she? And you, you turn around and order me around?"
Lu Huaiyuan grinned and said, "Sis, you're my own sister! I only gave you this lucrative purchasing job because I trust you. You can even skim some extra cash on the side, right?"
Seeing his shameless behavior, Lu Xiaohui was furious and grabbed a broom to hit him.
"Get out of my way! Now you've dumped all the housework on me, and you're all just sitting back and doing nothing! You expect me to run errands? Dream on!"
She looked Lu Huaiyuan up and down, and sneered, "Gu Mansheng gave you twenty, right? You gave me ten, and you want me to take a cut? What good rope can you buy with that little money? Are you afraid the rope won't break and someone will die from the fall? You'll be held responsible if someone dies. Only a fool would take that kind of sucker!"
After saying that, Lu Xiaohui threw down the broom and came out of the kitchen with a basket.
"where did you go?"
Lu Huaiyuan panicked when he saw her about to leave.
How can a house be managed without someone to take care of it?
Lu Xiaohui gave him a cold look: "You heartless bastard! Dad's still locked up in the commune, I'm going to bring him food!"
After saying that, he left without looking back.
Lu Huaiyuan watched her retreating figure, spat, and then looked at the empty courtyard. With no one to serve him, he could only reluctantly take the money and make a trip to town himself.
The Liu family had just divided up the money from selling pickled vegetables, and the whole family was beaming with joy.
Liu Shouren handed a thick wad of deposit to Zhang Xiuying, beaming, "The lumber mill said they need more next month. Several other construction sites also want to place orders, but they think our production capacity is too small."
Liu Xiangyang's eyes lit up: "That's easy! I've specifically inquired about it. As long as we cooperate with collective units, this is considered legitimate business and not against the rules! As long as the raw material channels are legitimate and we get the unit's approval, it's fine."
Liu Zhixia's eyes lit up: "Wouldn't that mean we can expand the scale? Let my second brother and sister-in-law contact a few more factories. Once the orders come in, we can operate openly and honestly, and we won't have to worry about being reported anymore!"
She'd never done anything like this in her past life, so she'd always been extremely cautious. She never imagined this path could actually be so lucrative. If only she'd known this earlier, she would have slapped the cooperation agreement in Lu Jianping's face during that search—how satisfying that would have been!
Zhang Xiuying pondered, "Making it isn't difficult, it's just that bottling it takes time. I'll ask a few more trustworthy villagers to help me then."
Liu Zhixia glanced at the empty space in front of her house and an idea came to her: "Why not level this piece of land and build a separate room specifically for packaging?"
Without hesitation, the father and son immediately went to measure the dimensions and draw the positions, working with great enthusiasm.
Just then, a villager came running up, panting and pale.
"The Liu family! Something terrible has happened! Quick, save them!"
As the squad leader, Liu Xiangyang rushed over without saying a word: "What's wrong? What happened?"
The villager, breathless, said, "Something happened on the mountain! Just like Xia said, someone went to pick dendrobium orchids on the cliff, and the rope broke! Several people fell!"
"What?!"
The Liu family members were shocked.
Zhang Xiuying was so anxious that she kept slapping her thigh: "Oh no! This is terrible! Someone's going to die! Help!"
Liu Zhixia grabbed Liu Shouren, who was about to rush out: "Dad, quickly pull the cart! The injured must be taken to the hospital immediately!"
The group rushed to the foot of the mountain, only to find the scene even more devastating than they had imagined.
Several villagers fell off the cliff, and their fate remains unknown. Looking at such a high cliff, their chances of survival are slim.
Since it was impossible to go directly down the mountain, they had to find a way to detour to the foot of the mountain for the search and rescue.
Aunt Zhou was already sweating profusely while directing the rescue. When she saw Liu Xiangyang arrive, she grabbed him and said, "Xiangyang! We need to ask the next brigade for help. You know them well, so go and make the trip! Our brigade will remember this favor!"
"Okay!" Liu Xiangyang turned and ran.
Aunt Zhou saw the cart that the Liu family had brought and quickly called out, "Quick! First, lift these injured people onto the cart and send them to the hospital! The rest of you come with me to the foot of the mountain to search for them!"
No one dared to delay. Several strong young men pulled a cart and carefully transported the seriously wounded down the mountain.
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