Chapter 222
It will take some time before Xiao Hei contacts Ji Yushu on her behalf, in which time Fan Xiaoxiao can focus on the winery business.
The most pressing issue is the availability of space.
...
"Village chief, is this the house you were talking about?"
Looking at the small wooden house by the river, Fan Xiaoxiao felt a slight twitch at the corner of her mouth.
The house looked like it was about to fall into disrepair, with the snow on the roof weighing it down and making it seem like it was about to collapse.
Using such a place as a distillery, let alone its safety, is questionable. Just the fact that it's completely dark inside makes Fan Xiaoxiao imagine what it must smell like.
Village Chief Fu knew that the place he had found was indeed a bit dilapidated. He chuckled twice, then a hint of embarrassment appeared on his face.
“Miss Xiao, you know the situation in Ginkgo Village. Although I am the village chief, I have no say in things. This house is mine. As for the rest of the place, I really can't get anything out of it…”
Fan Xiaoxiao looked at the village chief with some suspicion. His words did sound unbelievable. How could a village chief not even be able to manage a house?
The village chief blushed slightly from Fan Xiaoxiao's gaze; this matter had always been a thorn in his side.
After all, although Ginkgo Village was nominally under his jurisdiction, the Tianshan Sect was still above him.
Moreover, the families in the village have complicated backgrounds, and many families are related to several elders.
Although his cousin is an elder, this is not his most significant advantage.
Because of this, many people covet his position as village chief.
Fan Xiaoxiao sighed, and she roughly understood that even the wealthy village chief had his share of difficulties.
She glanced at the shed again and shook her head.
“Village chief, I know you’ve had a tough time, but the current state of this house is really not suitable. Let’s see who you’ve found first. If there’s really no other way, we can just repair it and use it again.”
Fortunately, Village Chief Fu did not falter in the task of finding the people.
The people he brought were the same group who had helped Fan Xiaoxiao build her house last time. Most of these people were related to the village chief's family.
They were already familiar with Fan Xiaoxiao, so working together didn't feel like much effort was required.
"Lady Xiao, do you mean to lead everyone to make money?!"
Tiger Three was still the same carefree guy, his mouth wide open, laughing at Fan Xiaoxiao. He looked inexplicably honest and simple.
"Yes, this time we'll lead everyone to do some really profitable business."
"but……"
Fan Xiaoxiao trailed off mid-sentence, her brows furrowing slightly.
When Hu San saw her expression, and considering that Fan Xiaoxiao had previously mentioned a business that would help everyone make money, he immediately raised his eyebrows and his voice involuntarily became louder.
"However?! What is it? My wife, please speak freely."
"Hey, it's just about the house."
Fan Xiaoxiao sighed and scratched her face in a mock manner. Village Chief Fu glanced at her and shook his head almost imperceptibly.
He had already asked the children in the beginning. If they had a house, they would have told him long ago. Why would Fan Xiaoxiao need to ask again?
As expected, the moment Fan Xiaoxiao asked the question, the young people present all looked somewhat embarrassed.
Hu San scratched his head, looking somewhat embarrassed: "The house really is gone. The village chief came to ask about it a long time ago."
Fan Xiaoxiao frowned, then remembered what Xiaobao had said at the beginning. She had a sudden inspiration and looked towards the end of the village.
"Didn't I hear there are still a few houses left over there? Can't we rent them from them?"
To everyone's surprise, as soon as Fan Xiaoxiao finished speaking, the expressions of the people present changed slightly, becoming somewhat embarrassed and unsightly. Even Hu San stammered, unable to utter a complete sentence for a long time.
Fan Xiaoxiao looked at them with some confusion, not understanding why everyone was reacting this way.
Village Chief Fu sighed and then brought up the matter of the house over there.
It turns out that the houses at the end of the village all belonged to the Guo family. That family, like Village Chief Fu, were relatives of the elders.
However, their relationship was much closer than that of Village Chief Fu; they could be considered relatives with the same surname. Under such circumstances, Village Chief Fu had already put in a great deal of effort and dedication to retain his position.
If it weren't for Village Chief Fu's strong abilities and willingness to work hard for the village, he wouldn't be the village chief anymore. Moreover, despite the village's size, only the villagers near the ginkgo tree outwardly listen to Village Chief Fu. Those further back mostly support the wealthy Guo family.
As a result, Ginkgo Village was divided into two factions.
Fan Xiaoxiao hadn't expected there to be so many twists and turns in this. After finishing his sentence, Village Chief Fu seemed to think it wasn't enough and added another sentence.
"Sigh, it's all my fault for being useless. If I could lead everyone to a better life, we wouldn't have let that Guo Datou dominate the end of the village..."
"Village chief, please don't say that. Over the years, you've worked tirelessly for the village and done a lot of practical things. We've all seen it."
"Hey, yes, village chief, please don't say that."
Village Chief Fu shook his head, ignoring the others' comments. Instead, he sighed and continued to Fan Xiaoxiao, "When your family came, we were hoping to rip them off. That was indeed wrong of us. But right now, there are really no houses left in the area I can manage."
“My wife, if you don’t think this is acceptable, I’ll give up my house. My wife and I will go and squeeze in with my eldest son and his family. Next spring, after the winery is built, we’ll move back.”
“Village chief, your house is located in the very middle of the village. This kind of place is not suitable for building a winery.”
As soon as this idea was proposed, Fan Xiaoxiao immediately shook her head in opposition. Putting aside whether Village Chief Fu's house was big enough, his neighbors were all people, and making wine required a confidentiality agreement.
If someone were to secretly learn it, it would be a huge loss for Fan Xiaoxiao.
Village Chief Fu had obviously thought of this as well. He rubbed his head, clearly also having a headache.
Fan Xiaoxiao sighed, then looked at everyone again with renewed spirits: "Besides the house, don't we have any other places that are even a little bigger? Even a clean shed would be fine."
If they don't even have a shed, they'll really need to renovate that big house by the river, which will put their winemaking and her plans on hold again.
Fan Xiaoxiao didn't have much time to waste like this; Gu Zhongtai's plan forced her to act quickly.
The young people in Ginkgo Village exchanged glances but remained silent.
Just as Fan Xiaoxiao was feeling a bit discouraged, she heard Hu San exclaim "Eh!"
"Hey, I do have a place where I can use this!"
Where is it!?
His words drew everyone's attention. Hu San, a little uncomfortable with the stares, scratched the back of his head, chuckled a couple of times, and then said, "It's my family's newly built cattle pen."
(End of this chapter)
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