Wen Shanshan turned on her cell phone and saw that it was her father calling, so she had to walk to the other side to answer the call.

Wang Yanmei and Xu Fuqiang did not forget their business.

The couple went out in the afternoon specifically to inquire about Baoshan's matter, and they just came back.

Xu Fuqiang said excitedly, "Qingzhi, Dad has figured out the mountain contracting issue. There is no problem. The villagers were very happy to hear that our family has the idea of ​​contracting a mountain. They said that the young laborers in the village have all gone out, and some from other villages have returned to do construction. Only our Taoshui Village has more mountains than people. Since the man who contracted the mountain to plant flowers and trees a few years ago stopped doing it, our village's mountain has been left there."

Wang Yanmei continued, "I asked about the land behind our back mountain, which is closer than other hills. The mountain is 300 yuan per mu, and the fields below can be leased for 500 yuan per mu. When the village chief heard that we were planning to plant fruit trees, he also said that the country has a subsidy policy, and the subsidy is estimated to be 100 yuan per mu."

Finally, Xu Fuqiang subconsciously asked: "Qingzhi, what do you think?"

After all, Qingzhi is the only college student in the family, so he must consider things more comprehensively.

Now whenever there is a problem at home, the couple will subconsciously ask Qingzhi for his opinion.

Xu Qingzhi nodded and said, "If you think it's good, then I have no objection."

The couple's hands were clenched into fists with excitement, their faces were filled with joy. They felt that just thinking about the future made them more hopeful.

The hard days of the past are finally over.

When Xu Qingzhi saw the joy on her parents' faces, she also felt happy from the bottom of her heart.

"Then Dad will go and discuss the matter of Baoshan right now!" Xu Fu said impatiently.

Jiang Xiao, who was standing by, gave his advice at the right time: "Auntie, uncle, why don't you go and see the mountain you want to contract first? Make a rough plan in your mind. This way, when you discuss the contract, you will have a better idea in mind."

Wang Yanmei clapped her hands and said, "Xiao Jiang is right. Let's go check out the place first and get an idea of ​​the location."

The mountain I want to contract is not far away.

So, the three members of the Xu family drove their tricycle to check out the site.

When they got there, Xu Fuqiang pointed to the bare mountain and talked about his plan, "Qingzhi, look, that's it. It's actually connected to the mountain behind our house. This is what Dad thinks. Do you think it will work?"

"The bayberries we grow taste great, which is probably because the mountain faces the sun. So you see this mountain is also on the sun side, so we'll take over this half, and we won't take over the side further back that's not on the sun side. We can take over a few acres of the flat land below to grow vegetables. When we have enough money, we'll take over the whole area next year. We'll dig a big pond to raise fish, plan an area to raise seedlings, and grow vegetables in the rest of the area. We can also grow your favorite grapes, strawberries, and so on."

The mountain is U-shaped, half-enclosed, and the bottom of the mountain is flat and open. After so many years of changes, the land is now piecemeal, with clear ridges.

When Xu Qingzhi was a child, there were still people growing this kind of vegetables. Now, the villagers have either moved to the city or to the more convenient Daji Village, and these lands have been abandoned and no one cares about them.

"Sure, but..." Xu Qingzhi frowned.

Wang Yanmei thought there was some problem, "But what?"

"I remember that when I was a child, the mountains here were full of trees. How come they have become bare now?" Xu Qingzhi was very curious.

Wang Yanmei sighed, "Do you remember the fat uncle who always liked to tease you with lollipops? Two years ago, his parents died one after another, his child died in a car accident, and his wife ran away. He was the one who accidentally set the mountain on fire when he went up to the mountain to worship during the New Year's Day two years ago. Only half of the mountain was burned, and the mountain is now bald like this. He went to jail and was sentenced to three years. He should be released next year. He is such a poor man."

After listening to this, Xu Qingzhi felt that the hemp rope would break at the thinnest part.

The fat uncle was a pretty nice guy. When he was young, he had no money, and even though my parents were poor, they still lent him money.

But after Xu Qingzhi grew up, he was away from home most of the time, and his parents never specifically talked about these things about the neighbors.

So she knew it now.

"Your fat uncle is a good person, he is honest and loyal. It's bad luck to run into this. The village now publicizes every New Year that people should be careful about fire prevention when worshipping on the mountain." Xu Fuqiang sighed and waved his hand, "Let's not talk about this anymore. Let's go and negotiate with the village about the mountain package as soon as we see fit, so as to avoid more accidents later."

Xu Fuqiang was about to leave on his tricycle when he saw an old man carrying a hoe walking towards him.

The old man's trouser legs were half-tied up, and there were mud spots all over his pants. He said with a smile: "Fuqiang, I heard that your family is going to lease the mountain."

"Uncle, we haven't even started yet." Xu Fuqiang replied with a smile.

That's how news spreads in the village, it spreads very quickly.

If you come across gossip, it won't just be a quick story, but it will be spread with great excitement with exaggerated details.

So it is not surprising that the other party knew that the Xu family wanted to take over the mountain.

"A while ago, a large truck came to your house every day to transport bayberries. Is it because you made a lot of money from bayberries that you want to rent a mountain to plant fruit trees?" The old man came closer, put down his hoe, and inquired.

Xu Fuqiang smiled and shook his head, "I don't make a lot of money, it's just enough to live on."

The old man smiled and said, "Don't lie to me, I'm an old man. Although I'm hard of hearing, I've heard that the vegetables your daughter grows at home are sold to big cities, and she even pays people to pick the vegetables. Isn't that a lot of money?"

Xu Fuqiang was not good at hiding his feelings, and he just smiled with his honest face without saying a word.

The old man put the hoe on his back and said, "Okay, I don't have anything to do, just asking casually. By the way, I heard that your family wants to grow cherries? I told my daughter about it, and she said that our soil and water are not suitable for growing cherries. My daughter passed the doctoral examination in agronomy two years ago. She knows best which places are suitable for growing what. The grapes in our family are tastier than those of other families because of her good guidance."

Xu Fuqiang nodded.

"Okay, I'm leaving now. I still need to check on the fields." Seeing that no one responded, the old man carried his hoe and walked away.

This old man was also from Taoshui Village, but he was not very familiar with the Xu family and they had basically no contact, so Wang Yanmei did not ask Xu Qingzhi to call anyone.

After the people walked away, Wang Yanmei frowned and said, "Fuqiang, take over all the land below. Don't wait until you have money to take over it, otherwise there will be trouble later."

"Well, the area above our back hill is also covered."

The couple originally wanted to be safe and rent half a mountain and a few acres of land first.

This is a coincidence, so add more.

Anyway, I still have money.

The family of three rode a tricycle directly to the village chief's house to confirm the contract for the mountain.

Xu Qingzhi mainly helped to look at the contract, and everything else was decided by her parents.

The village chief persuaded the Xu family to take over the entire mountain to save them the trouble of dealing with pieces here and there. Besides, there were tea trees on the back of the mountain, and the tea seeds could be harvested and pressed for oil in the second half of the year, which would generate income.