Chapter 203, exclusively published on Jinjiang Literature City: With so much debt, can it really be paid off...?
“It’s great to make a deal!” Chen Bing couldn’t help but say first.
Why were they planning to find out where Yunlu Village was? It was because the supplies from the last transaction were running out and they urgently needed to replenish them.
Although the extreme cold season has passed, the disasters of the new year will soon begin again. If we don't make plans to find people as soon as possible, who knows how many people will suffer from heat-related illnesses this year.
However, "the extreme cold season consumes a lot of supplies, and some were lost during the beast attacks. Currently, the only supplies we have to exchange are some beast meat."
At this point, Mr. Chen and the others looked somewhat embarrassed and ashamed.
They have tens of thousands of people, yet they live less comfortably than the hundred or so people in Yunlu Village. They even struggle to replenish their supplies. It's shameful.
Lu Xuan had anticipated this and smiled nonchalantly, "It's alright, this transaction accepts credit, so you don't need to worry about not being able to pay."
"Buy on credit!?" Everyone looked surprised.
How dare they let them buy on credit in such a precarious situation?
Chen Bing, the caravan owner, couldn't help but blurt out, "Aren't you afraid we won't be able to pay our debts?"
Lu Xuan smiled and said, "I naturally have a way to enable you to repay your debts. In fact, before you, I had already made the same deal with another group of disaster victims."
"In just one extremely cold season, they have escaped the state of hunger and cold and are now living a prosperous life with surplus food and vegetables and meat at every meal."
Everyone stared in shock, their mouths agape.
Such a big change in just one extreme cold season?
Mr. Wang couldn't help but ask, "Young Master Lu, could you explain in detail how the credit process works?"
Lu Xuan said, "It's very simple. First, you can obtain the supplies you need from me on credit, and then pay off the debt with the surplus grain by planting mutated crops."
"The disaster relief team I mentioned is relatively small and doesn't require too many supplies. They harvested grain twice during the extremely cold season and were able to pay off their debts with some left over. The disaster relief team in Yangshan County has a larger number of people and a greater need for supplies. It may take longer to pay off their debts, but they will eventually be able to do so."
Grandpa Chen was initially delighted, but then he became somewhat troubled: "However, the temperature is either too high or too low during the hottest and coldest seasons, so the grain harvest is limited. After deducting what we need to eat ourselves, there probably won't be much left."
Lu Xuan: "We can increase investment in greenhouses when purchasing supplies, and I can also provide plant nutrient solution as fertilizer for crops to ensure yield."
He didn't trade the greenhouse last time because Yunlu Village itself hadn't even built a greenhouse at that time.
The low yield of farmland in Yangshan County is largely due to the poor quality of the barren land in the mountains.
Lu Xuan said, "The cost of a greenhouse is relatively high, and a large number of air conditioners need to be purchased as a supplement. But as long as the greenhouse is built, the fertilizer is sufficient, and the new mutated seeds I brought are used, we can harvest once every month and a half at most."
This is equivalent to harvesting grain eight times a year.
If they can't pay back the debts, unless all the disaster victims are superhumans with enormous appetites... then they wouldn't be able to eat so much food.
Landlord Liu asked excitedly, "You have a way to build a greenhouse in the field?"
It's not that greenhouses didn't exist in ancient times, but most were small-scale, only enough for noble families to satisfy their own appetites, with very little left to sell to others.
If they could cultivate it on a large scale, they might really not have to worry about not having enough food!
Although the others were still somewhat incredulous that such a good thing could happen, to put it bluntly, if Lu Xuan himself wasn't afraid of losing money, what were they afraid of?
If you have the opportunity to obtain supplies, don't hesitate, seize it as soon as possible!
So everyone stopped thinking about it and asked Lu Xuan directly how much supplies he could provide.
Lu Xuan said, "We have as much nutritional supplements, salt, sugar, medicine, ice packs, heat packs, air conditioners, refrigerators, and other supplies as needed. We can also provide tens of thousands of kilograms of mutated grains that can be used as improved varieties, as well as tens of thousands of kilograms of seafood."
Chen Bing exclaimed in shock, "You have seafood? You've been to the beach?"
Lu Xuan nodded, "We did go out to sea for a while, and the sea was rich in supplies."
The crowd's expressions grew increasingly envious.
While they were still living a hard life, others were already able to go out to sea to fish!
But thinking about it, it makes sense.
Yunlu Village boasts a magical flying car that can travel a thousand miles a day; it can go wherever it wants.
Lu Xuan continued, "As for the price of building the greenhouse, it depends on your needs. If we only provide the greenhouse and the air conditioner to control the temperature, the cost per acre is about 700 catties of mutated grain. If we add the magical device that can automatically sow, fertilize, and water, the cost per acre will increase to 1200 catties of mutated grain."
"Hiss—" Several gasps immediately rose in the council chamber.
Miao An, who had been listening in the background, and Cheng Yi were almost speechless with astonishment.
That's way too expensive!
The highest yield they can get from each mu (unit of land area) is only seven or eight hundred jin (unit of weight).
They used to think that this figure was almost twice as high as the previous yield per mu, which was already a lot. They never imagined that just building greenhouses would drain their savings.
Boss Zheng, Landlord Zhao, and the others couldn't help but frown.
If building a greenhouse costs them all their food, what's the point of their farming? They can't just be doing free labor for Lu Xuan, can they?
Fortunately, before they could raise any questions, Lu Xuan said, "The debt doesn't need to be paid off all at once. We can set a repayment period, such as paying it off in six months or within a year, and each time we pay off a certain percentage of the property value."
Grandpa Chen and the others, who had been on tenterhooks, finally breathed a sigh of relief and showed expressions of 'I see'.
They said that Brother Lu wasn't such a heartless person who only thought about exploiting them.
With greenhouses and that plant nutrient solution, their yield per acre will definitely increase by several times.
If the harvest is not delayed during the hottest and coldest seasons, even if half is used to pay off debts each time, the remaining portion plus nutrients will be enough for them to eat.
Seeing that they had relaxed, Lu Xuan asked, "So, would you all like to be equipped with an automatic seeding device?"
"unnecessary!"
"No need!"
Several people said in unison.
Although they were indeed curious about what kind of magical artifact could automatically sow seeds and make it so affordable, they were currently fleeing famine, not indulging in pleasure. Where would they find something so precious that even sowing seeds required a magical artifact?
Master Miao tactfully suggested, "There are many disaster victims here. Everyone here has hands and feet, so they can plant the seeds themselves."
With an extra 500 jin of debt per mu, why not do something with so much grain? Wouldn't it be better to exchange it for more nutrients, medicine, or biological coatings?
Lu Xuan nodded indifferently: "You can decide for yourselves. Let's talk about the specific size of the greenhouse, and the quantity of other necessary supplies can also be decided at the same time."
Towards the end, he added, "Many of the goods traded last time have seen price reductions to varying degrees. You can increase your order quantity accordingly based on the price."
Upon hearing this, the others immediately inquired about the latest prices and discovered that prices had indeed dropped significantly. Items such as refrigerators and air conditioners had seen their prices reduced by more than half, which greatly delighted them.
Since they had all considered going out to find Lu Xuan, they had naturally already taken stock of the quantities needed, and quickly reported the specific number required.
In terms of food, the main focus is on nutritional supplements, followed by salt. There should be enough to last at least two months, enough to last until the next harvest.
In addition, there are also a number of agricultural and sideline products such as cured meat, salted fish, sweet potato starch, common fruits, and pickled vegetables;
Ice packs, dry ice, and more bioclothing are being prepared for the upcoming extreme heat season.
Some of the tents were damaged during the rainy season and animal attacks, and a new batch needs to be replaced;
Then there are miscellaneous items such as waterproof tarpaulins and rain shelters.
Originally, the air conditioner was supposed to be purchased separately, but Lu Xuan said that the air conditioner and the heating system would be used together, so there was no need to buy one separately.
Besides these, the most important things were medicine and cold weapons.
Even though they knew there wouldn't be any more beast attacks in the short term, the people of Yangshan County were still terrified, and everyone unanimously agreed to stockpile as many weapons and medicines as possible.
Lu Xuan figured they probably also had a 'fear of insufficient firepower', and he didn't object to it. He even took out the alloy crossbows that he hadn't provided last time to give them more options.
The number of people in Yangshan County was more than ten times that of Huo's army, so the amount they wanted was naturally much more exaggerated.
Two million vials of nutrient solution, 50,000 jin of salt, several thousand jin of sugar, 200,000 doses of medicine, thousands of biological suits, thousands of alloy crossbows and various cold weapons, and hundreds of boxes of [unspecified items] were also ordered.
There are also various kinds of seafood, with 50,000 catties of each of superior varieties.
Finally, and most importantly, the greenhouse.
The camps occupied by the disaster victims in Yangshan County now consist of three mountains. Most of these mountains are used for housing, while the remaining areas are cultivated farmland.
To avoid being submerged by floods, the location is also on the mountainside, totaling about 5,000 acres.
If all the fields were covered with greenhouses, the debt would be... four million catties of mutated grain!
If we add the energy consumption of air conditioning, we would need to add another 200,000 to 300,000 kilograms.
After hearing this price, everyone was a little stunned.
All the supplies mentioned earlier totaled less than two million catties, yet the cost of just one greenhouse is over four million!?
Landlord Liu began to have doubts again, "Can we really pay off so many debts?"
Lu Xuan said, "After the greenhouse is built, with sufficient soil fertility and water, the yield per mu can reach at least 1,500 jin. 5,000 mu would yield 7.5 million jin. Even if we only pay back 30% each time, it will be enough to pay off the debt by the third harvest."
Even if they need to purchase other supplies in between, they can achieve food freedom within six months at most.
Everyone present stared in disbelief.
A yield of 1,500 jin per mu? Is that really a yield that humans can achieve?
Lu Xuan took a sip of tea unhurriedly and raised an eyebrow.
1500 jin is nothing; the yield per mu in Yunlu Village has reached more than 2000 jin.
If it weren't for the fact that truly high-yield foods like sweet potatoes, cabbage, and radishes can't be used as staple foods, the average yield per acre could even be three or four times higher.
"Oh, right. There's one more thing." Lu Xuan took out a batch of communicators from his spatial storage.
"This is a long-distance communication device. With it, even if I am not here in the future, you can contact me at any time if you need anything."
Lu Xuan explained how to use it to them and also gave them his contact number.
The system store has many good items, but not many that can be used for making calls. The best one is this communicator.
In addition to basic voice calls, video communication and text messaging are also supported.
Grandpa Chen touched the wristband-style communicator with delight, exclaiming in surprise, "Such a treasure exists?!"
Lu Xuan: "Want it?"
Everyone: "Of course we want it!" Only a fool wouldn't want something this good!
With the communicator, they could contact Lu Xuan immediately if they encountered any problems. Even when they were busy on different mountain peaks, or when the young people went out hunting and hadn't returned, they could know the other party's specific movements at any time, which saved them a lot of trouble!
Mr. Zheng speculated, "Such a useful item, must it be very expensive?"
Lu Xuan: "Fortunately, each item only requires 100 jin of supplies."
Others: "!" That's so cheap!
Lu Xuan: Actually, it can be even cheaper.
The communicator is priced in the mall for only three figures, cheaper than the smallest 5 cubic meter unit.
If it weren't for the fact that long-distance communication was so important to the ancients that being too cheap would reduce the value of the items, Lu Xuan would have originally planned to give them away as a bonus, considering the large volume of their transactions.
In the end, Grandpa Chen and the others bought a total of one hundred communication devices, adding another ten thousand jin to their debt.
After confirming that nothing was missing, Lu Xuan took out paper and pen and wrote down the specific list of supplies, the total debt to be repaid, and the repayment period. He then signed a contract with everyone and had them find an open space to take out the agreed supplies one by one.
Because there were so many things, while he was taking things out, the others quickly moved into the space. It took about half an hour to complete the handover.
At this point, the transaction belonging to the 'public' is considered complete.
Afterwards, Boss Wang, Landlord Liu, and the others made a private transaction with Lu Xuan for some items they needed.
Some of these items were necessities included in the bulk transactions, while others were supplies they wanted to enjoy additionally, including but not limited to various fruit wines, canned fruits, dried fruits, and beef jerky.
After the private transaction was completed, everyone was eager to build the greenhouse as soon as possible.
Just as they were discussing the news of Lu Xuan's reappearance, it spread, and the disaster victims from the other two mountains rushed over. The people in charge then asked these disaster victims to inform more people and prepare to get to work!
Tens of thousands of people built 5,000 mu of greenhouses, with an average of about ten people responsible for one mu. Except for the initial slow pace due to lack of experience and the delay in transporting materials, the construction speed increased as the project progressed.
By evening, all 5,000 mu of heated houses were completed.
After that, the air conditioners were installed at intervals of one unit every three to five acres. Lu Xuan then explained to them how to use the plant nutrient solution. The rest of the work—plowing and planting—was left to the Yangshan disaster victims themselves.
Mr. Chen and others did not purchase herbicides.
As I said before, Yangshan County has a lot of people, but weeding is just a simple matter; manual weeding is sufficient!
With a greenhouse, not only can planting continue uninterrupted, but it can also be used to alleviate the discomfort caused by extreme weather during periods of extreme cold or heat, killing two birds with one stone!
During the construction of the greenhouse, Grandpa Chen and the others also learned that Yunlu Village also had orchards, mushroom houses, and lotus ponds.
Orchards and lotus ponds are too extravagant for them, but mushroom houses are something they could consider.
However, Lu Xuan also told them, "Wood suitable for mushroom growth is not easy to find. I don't have any in stock. If you want to build mushroom houses, you will need to find a way to collect it yourselves. I will only provide highly active mutant spores."
Master Miao hurriedly said, "It's already very good! With so many of us, if we brainstorm together, we're sure we can grow some."
Lu Xuan nodded. "I hope that when I come back next time, your place will have achieved mushroom freedom."
·
That evening, everyone prepared a lavish welcome feast for Lu Xuan.
The ingredients included some meat harvested during the beast attack, fresh wild vegetables picked in early spring, and a few freshly acquired seafood dishes.
Before the change, Mr. Chen, Mr. Wang, and others had only ever eaten dried seafood; they had almost never tasted fresh seafood before. Today was their first time experiencing it.
Garlic oysters, steamed sea urchin with egg, salt and pepper shrimp, spicy blue crab, braised mackerel, cold seaweed salad, and a huge steamed lobster I'd never seen before—every dish was so delicious that I wanted to swallow my tongue.
In the first half, everyone except Lu Xuan was engrossed in eating and didn't have time to talk.
After eating until they were about 80% full, the group drank Lu Xuan's specially supplied ten-year vintage wine, praising the seafood enthusiastically while continuing to reminisce.
Chen Bing drank quite a bit and kept telling Lu Xuan how hard they had worked these past few months, expressing a deep regret that they hadn't chosen to leave with Yunlu Village.
She kept repeating it over and over, but never actually said that she wanted to go with Lu Xuan this time.
There was uncertainty about whether Yunlu Village would still accept people, and also because Yangshan County was the place where he was born and raised. Even though they had left the county, there were still many familiar faces in the mountain camp.
Now that it's clear that the future will be better, Chen Bing still doesn't want to leave his homeland.
Towards the end of the meal, Chen Yao and Chen Rui secretly approached Lu Xuan to ask how Lu Chen was doing.
Lu Xuan gave them Lu Chen's contact number and told them to use Chen Bing's communicator to call him and catch up. He also gave them a few empty conch shells he had accumulated in his space to play with.
The siblings were delighted to learn the uses of the conch shell and thanked it profusely.
·
After the meal, Lu Xuan checked into the lodgings arranged by Master Miao.
With the noisy atmosphere fading away, Lu Xuan finally had time to take stock of today's gains... or rather, expenditures.
Old Master Chen and the others were willing to use meat to offset part of the debt, but he did not accept it.
Don't be fooled by their current apparent aversion to meat. After the beast attack, it's obvious that the remaining animals in the vicinity couldn't possibly feed 60,000 to 70,000 people. The little meat they have isn't even enough for their own consumption, so what's the point of trading?
If you actually make a trade, you'll regret it within a month.
Therefore, apart from the IOU, Lu Xuan's only gains today were a small amount of grain income from private transactions and various gold and silver jewelry.
The expenses, including heating and air conditioning, amounted to 500 million yuan. When other supplies were consumed, the account shrank considerably.
The viewers in the live stream felt as if they had spent their own money watching this.
[I came here to make a lot of money, but I lost over 500 million without even seeing a single cent. My heart aches!]
Even though I signed an IOU, I still feel like I got ripped off!
[If just one gathering place costs 500 million, wouldn't the balances of the streamers be wiped out if they moved to multiple locations?]
[He promised to earn billions to buy warships, but in the end, his wealth is dwindling. Is the streamer playing a game of abstraction?]
Lu Xuan's expression remained unchanged. "What's the rush? Haven't you heard the saying 'haste makes waste'? Come back next time, and you'll naturally recoup the more than 500 million you spent this time." Not only that, you can also make tens of millions more.
The second and third debts were pure profit, adding up to a net profit of one billion.
Invest 500 million and earn 1 billion back. Isn't a 200% profit margin tempting enough?
If he can make several large-scale transactions of similar or even larger scale at several disaster relief settlements on this trip, he should be able to acquire the military warships in six months, barring any unforeseen circumstances.
Lu Xuan opened the system store and, for the umpteenth time, found the gray military warship he had his eye on. A satisfied smile appeared on his lips.
·
The next morning, Lu Xuan took the initiative to have Old Master Chen and others bring over all the wounded from the beast attack on the mountain for treatment.
Not only those with scars like Cheng Yi, but also those with partial disabilities can be brought over.
Chen Bing asked with a look of astonishment, "Can someone who is already disabled be cured?"
Lu Xuan took out the treatment device and said, "It can treat them, but it may not be able to completely cure them. However, it can restore them to a state where it does not affect their daily lives."
If he were to use a medical pod, he could be completely restored to his original state. However, he only has one medical pod, so the treatment time for the disability is relatively long. There are at least 800 to 1,000 people with varying degrees of disability in the entire Yangshan County.
He only has a little over a month of free time; how could he possibly treat all of them?
So this time he only planned to use a few treatment devices to alleviate their pain as much as possible. If he was lucky enough to unlock the purchase permission for the medical pod next time he came, he could get a few more devices and perhaps provide them with comprehensive treatment.
The prerequisite is that the disaster victims can afford the medical treatment.
As for the treatment costs, part of them were borne by the disaster victims themselves, while the remainder were recorded in the public accounts of Yangshan County, adding another item to the debt.
Lu Xuan spent the entire morning helping with the treatment.
The disaster victims, who had initially held little hope, were moved to tears when they discovered that the scars on their bodies had disappeared and that their crippled hands or legs, which had been unable to move, had been restored to the point where they could walk and lift objects. Many of them even kowtowed to Lu Xuan to express their gratitude.
Lu Xuan did not avoid it and accepted their gratitude without hesitation.
Cheng Yi's facial injuries were not as deep as Ge Yuan's, and they were completely healed after being treated with the medical device.
By the time the last disabled patient was cured, it was past noon.
Having completed the necessary transactions and provided as much help as possible, Lu Xuan did not linger in Yangshan County.
That afternoon, the aircraft took off again amidst the reluctance of thousands of disaster victims in Yangshan County.
...
Where will the streamer go next?
[Are your regular customers only located in Yangshan County? Should we randomly select customers?]
Lu Xuan opened the radar map of the aircraft and looked at the dozen or so coordinates marked in red. He said, "What's the big deal? Didn't we already mark the locations of quite a few settlements when we went out last time? It's not difficult to choose one of them."
Which one does the streamer plan to visit first?
Should we go back up north for a visit?
[Weren't we supposed to be going to the capital? Let's go see who the new emperor is first.]
Why not go to Jiangnan? I want to see the ancient water towns of Jiangnan; the scenery must be breathtaking!
Lu Xuan ignored the audience's 'calling out' and scanned the dozen or so coordinates before finally settling on a large gathering place in the eastern part of the city.
A prefectural city that is as well-preserved as Yangshan County, but on a larger scale.
Lu Xuan lightly touched the coordinates of the prefectural city with his finger. "You're the one."
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