Zhao Xifeng swayed her plump hips as she walked home, muttering curses under her breath. At this time, the children were all at the village primary school. Her house was empty, and with the weather still very hot, few people came to visit during the day; she didn't really want to go back.
The price couldn't be agreed upon, and as a result, fewer people were busy harvesting crops a few days ago. Many people were just observing and not in a hurry to harvest crops like corn.
As Zhao Xifeng passed by Zhao Laoliu's cornfield, she saw him busy harvesting corn cobs. He was wearing a vest and was drenched in sweat. Yet, he was quite robust, with firm muscles.
Zhao Laoliu was an honest farmer, taciturn but kind-hearted. He spent 30,000 yuan to marry a wife when he was forty. The following year, they had a daughter, but unexpectedly, his wife left after giving birth, saying she couldn't bear the hardship anymore. Seven years passed, and Zhao Laoliu raised his daughter with great difficulty. Now she is in the second grade at the village primary school.
Speaking of Zhao Laoliu, he's a well-known bachelor in the village. He's incredibly strong and lives a very stable and reliable life, which makes him one of the poorer villagers. Although Jixing Village is an administrative village in Xiazhangba Township of the High-tech Zone, it's not an urban village with many business opportunities; it's a true rural village.
If the city had plans to develop this area over the next ten years, it wouldn't be possible now. Development requires a large sum of money, and they can't afford to support the villages nestled against the mountains right now.
"Hey, Lao Liu, harvesting corn? I think you shouldn't rush—" Zhao Xifeng's eyes darted around as she greeted him with a coquettish laugh. A glance at Zhao Lao Liu filled her with envy; this woman was usually quite flirtatious, and gradually, when Zhao De wasn't around, she dared to flirt with men.
Upon seeing that it was Zhao Xifeng, Zhao Laoliu gave a simple, honest smile, stood up, wiped his sweat, and said, "Anyway, I'm just idling around—"
"Sixth Brother is so diligent. Where can you find a good man like you? How about I introduce you to someone another day?" Zhao Xifeng said with a chuckle.
You know, men in their forties also need women, and Zhao Xifeng's eyes were far more suggestive. Her words were so blunt that they made Zhao Laoliu blush. Luckily, his face was already quite tanned. He managed a couple of dry laughs.
"No, let's not. Ya Ya is still too young," Zhao Laoliu said truthfully.
He loved his daughter very much. After his daughter's mother passed away, Zhao Laoliu was deeply affected and gradually gave up the idea of remarrying, fearing that it would affect his daughter.
It's quite surprising. Zhao Laoliu has an honest and simple appearance, and he's not exactly a handsome man, but Yaya was cute and clever from a young age, a little beauty in the making. Unlike most rural children, she was fair-skinned, very polite, and eager to learn.
"Oh, you're a grown man and you're still shy? Fine, since you don't want to, I won't say anything more!" Zhao Xifeng said with a coquettish laugh. She was just teasing Zhao Laoliu; if she really wanted to introduce someone, which family's daughter would marry him? Even a widow would have to be considered. "Zhao Laoliu, Yaya will be in third grade soon after the New Year, right?"
Zhao Laoliu looked at Zhao Xifeng with a puzzled expression, then nodded in agreement. He didn't know why Zhao Xifeng was suddenly talking to him. After all, Zhao Xifeng used to treat him with great respect.
"Yaya should go to a good junior high school, high school, and university in the future. It would be such a waste not to give such a beautiful girl a good learning environment!" Zhao Xifeng continued.
The more he talked, the more confused Zhao Laoliu became, and he didn't know how to answer.
"That's a lot of money, Lao Liu. How much money do you have? Do you want to make a lot of money?" Zhao Xifeng changed the subject and said temptingly.
He swallowed hard, a bitter taste in his mouth. He dreamed of making money. But he knew his own limitations; his only skill was farming, and he knew he'd never amount to anything. His only hope was for his daughter to succeed. But that would require a lot of money.
“I want to, but—” Zhao Laoliu said.
Zhao Xifeng chuckled and said, "Old Six is honest enough. It's good that he wants to make money. You know what's been going on in the village lately, right? I have a great idea that I guarantee will make a lot of money. Come closer!"
"this--"
"What are you afraid of, you old man? Are you afraid I'll eat you? I'm a woman and I'm not afraid of anything, so hurry up!" Zhao Xifeng pulled Zhao Laoliu along, but no one saw it.
Zhao Laoliu was extremely embarrassed, his face flushed red as he awkwardly twisted his body.
"What's up?"
“That’s how it is—” Zhao Xifeng said in a low voice.
"No, that's illegal, and—" Zhao Laoliu shook his head immediately upon hearing this. He looked at Zhao Xifeng in surprise, somewhat bewildered. This woman from the Zhao family actually wanted him to do *that*?
"Hmph, and what?" Zhao Xifeng's face immediately turned cold. This Zhao Laoliu is so stubborn; he doesn't even seize such a good opportunity. No wonder he's still a poor wretch. "What's wrong with doing this? That man is too greedy. He's clearly trying to cheat our whole village. Giving him a lesson is understandable. I just can't stand these ugly businessmen. Search your conscience, isn't that right? If it works out, I'll give you two thousand. Take it or leave it!"
Zhao Laoliu didn't know how to answer, and timidly said, "Zhang Guodong is a close friend of Secretary Wang in the township—"
——————
Lan Hua returned to Peach Blossom Cottage, but this time she was no longer timid. She was eager to see Zhang Guodong. When she arrived at the courtyard, she saw Zhang Guodong digging holes and watering the fields outside. His figure captivated Lan Hua—a strong, charismatic man. Lately, she had learned to dress well and to acquire knowledge. She found herself deeply drawn to the things in books.
After seeing the fat man and Lin Yujiao off, Zhang Guodong felt his physical strength was still recovering, so he didn't immediately go into the Peach Blossom Spring Space to train. Feeling fine, he watched as the five ladies enjoyed the lychees, leaving behind many lychee seeds. The fruit looked good; the flesh was like crystal, very appealing.
Feeling fine, Zhang Guodong picked it up to see if he could grow this southern fruit. However, he had heard that lychees are very difficult to grow, especially in the north.
A quick online search confirmed it: it not only has strict temperature requirements but also high requirements for soil pH. It thrives in acidic soils.
“Temperature is easy to solve. The Jade Spring Vine can now cover an area of more than six meters. Within a radius of more than six meters, the temperature is under its control. But the soil pH is a problem!” Zhang Guodong dug a hole with a hoe, took out two lychee seeds that had been soaked in spiritual water and threw them in, then filled the hole with soil.
Thinking it over, he realized it wasn't a sure thing, and he didn't know if the seed would even sprout. So Zhang Guodong pulled over the hose and poured a lot of water into the pit.
Since I'm free anyway, I'll just treat it as a pastime. If it can really grow against the environment, that would be the best. Maybe I can even eat northern lychees, haha!
Of course, he also planted a few in the Peach Blossom Spring space. Just as he was wondering whether the Peach Blossom Spring or the outside world had sprouted first, Blue Flower walked over here.
"Guodong, are you farming?" Lan Hua's pleasant voice rang out, sounding a little nervous. Zhang Guodong sensed something was off.
“Yeah, I was just bored, so I dug a hole and sowed some seeds,” Zhang Guodong said with a smile. “Blue Flower, is there something you need?”
A slightly tinted eye swept over Lan Hua's body, noticing that her breasts were surprisingly bulging and quite large, especially in the summer when everyone was dressed lightly; it seemed as if one could see right through them.
That look made Lan Hua a little flustered, and her neck turned bright red. After this period of exercise, Lan Hua's figure had recovered very well, like that of a young person.
"Secretary Wang and Uncle San were looking for you, but they couldn't get through to you on the phone. They asked me to come back and tell you that they are having a meeting in the township—" Lan Hua said shyly.
Zhang Guodong immediately understood why Fatty and Zhao Sanshun were looking for him. It was naturally about the medicinal herb seeds. Fatty was the top official in the township, so naturally no one dared to put pressure on him. If Fatty wasn't there, then it would definitely be a different story.
However, Zhang Guodong has also thought about this matter, and there are some clues now.
Everyone thinks this price is too high, so let's go for a lower price!
"Oh, I'll go to the township now. Lan Hua, are you alright? Li Yun and the others should be there. Go find them!" Zhang Guodong said.
The two returned to the courtyard, where Zhang Guodong put down his hoe and bucket, washed himself quickly, changed his clothes, and then got into his car to leave.
"Guodong. Wait—" As soon as the car door opened, Li Yun ran excitedly out of the house. This girl's cultivation had skyrocketed, reaching level nine, and her movements had become much more agile. She wasn't worried about her speed scaring Lan Hua.
Li Yun ran over and said, "Guodong, Qingzhu and I discussed it, and it's very inconvenient to have only one car here. Should we buy another one?"
"Buy a car?" Zhang Guodong was taken aback. But then he thought about it and realized it made sense. It was a bit inconvenient to go out from Taoyuan Xiaozhu, and it really wouldn't work without a car. "Okay, what kind do you want? I haven't given you any gifts since we met, so this time I'll give you a car!"
"Wow, my husband is so good!" Li Yun cheered and pounced on Zhang Guodong, rubbing her red lips against his face twice.
That girl!
Zhang Guodong patted and pinched her buttocks, and laughed, "Go online and check what kind of car you want, then call me, but don't be too flashy!"
"Hehe, you pervert, hurry up and squash that part of me!" Li Yun ran away from him and rushed back into the house.
Zhang Guodong smiled wryly. This girl!
————
When the van arrived in the township, many people looked at it with awe. Zhang Guodong's name had also spread to some extent in the township; he was a very close friend of Secretary Wang.
The old gatekeeper was still there. Zhang Guodong made an exception, greeted him, offered him a cigarette, and then drove in.
The cigarettes were delicious; they were good cigarettes, and a pack of them probably cost tens of yuan. Looking at Zhang Guodong, one could see a deep respect in his eyes.
"He has such a good relationship with Secretary Wang, and he even thinks highly of an old man like me. There aren't many good young people like him these days!" The old gatekeeper grinned and said self-deprecatingly.
The township meeting room was filled with smoke, with many people puffing away from large chimneys, and countless plumes of smoke rising into the air. There were already many cigarette butts on the ground.
Township leaders were also present, led by Fatty, and village leaders from Jixing Village were also there. Zhao Sanshun looked somewhat worried. Neither side spoke, and the meeting room was very tense.
At that moment, the meeting room door was suddenly pushed open, revealing the secretary's secretary, Xiao Li.
"Secretary Wang, Mr. Zhang has arrived!" Xiao Li said hurriedly.
What? Zhang Guodong is here? Everyone sat up straight. The key figure has finally arrived. This is actually the first time all three parties have sat down together to discuss something. Whether it will succeed depends on this.
The fat man threw away his cigarette butt and immediately said, "Let him in!"
When Zhang Guodong entered, he couldn't stand the air in the meeting room and asked Xiao Li to open the window to let in some fresh air. This action finally made some people stop smoking.
"I know everyone is very dissatisfied with the seed price, right?" Zhang Guodong sat down and said bluntly.
No one spoke, and it was clear that this silence was an expression of dissatisfaction.
"I have a new plan here, it's very 'cheap'!"
Zhang Guodong's words were a bombshell, instantly causing a stir in the conference room. Everyone turned to look at him. Cheap? A new plan?
The fat man was also taken aback, because Zhang Guodong had not communicated with him beforehand, so he didn't know.
"Guodong, you speak first, let everyone hear it, and try to solve the problem today!" the fat man said. The other township leaders nodded, but some of them looked at the fat man and Zhang Guodong with a knowing look.
They'd heard about the relationship between these two; they were university classmates, and now one is a businessman while the other is a government official. This relationship is quite sensitive!
Zhang Guodong smiled slightly, pondered for a moment, which made everyone feel very irritated.
“So let me explain. The seeds cost 30,000 yuan per kilogram, which everyone thinks is not worth it. I have been thinking about this for a while and finally came up with a cheaper solution, which is to stop selling the seeds!” Zhang Guodong said.
"What?!" A murmur rippled through the crowd, their gazes towards Zhang Guodong filled with anger. He's not selling? Has he played us all too well?
The fat man choked a bit, coughed lightly, and said, "Quiet down, you haven't finished speaking yet, have you?"
“My new plan is that I will stop selling seeds, but sell medicinal herb seedlings, one yuan per seedling!” Zhang Guodong said. “I think this plan is better, otherwise it will be difficult for everyone to accept. Secretary Wang, leaders, Uncle San, what do you think of this plan?”
Three thousand plants per mu (unit of land area), that's the planned number, that's three thousand yuan, three mu is nine thousand plants, nine thousand yuan, but it's still much lower than the original thirty thousand yuan per jin (unit of weight).
This is a major breakthrough.
The fat man looked at Zhao Sanshun, who was the leader among the village representatives this time.
“I think one yuan per herb is acceptable. However, we need technical guidance on how to cultivate the herbs, otherwise too many will die!” Zhao Sanshun said slowly.
"You can rest assured about that. I naturally bear some of the risks associated with my seedlings. The survival rate of these seedlings is at least 90%. As long as you plant them according to my instructions, the survival rate will not be a problem!" Zhang Guodong nodded and said.
With Zhang Guodong's guarantee, the negotiations were surprisingly quickly resolved.
"Haha, that's perfect! I think everyone should take some time to finalize the contract! There'll be a small celebration party in the village later, so don't go back yet, go back afterwards!" The fat man was probably the happiest. The matter was resolved in a flash.
From afternoon until seven o'clock in the evening, the village held a celebration party, which was attended by many people, and Fatty was also very happy. Zhang Guodong drank quite a bit.
"One yuan per plant? What trick is Zhang Guodong playing? Was he just trying to rip us off earlier?" After the meeting, everyone's minds were still on the agreement. Who benefited, and who lost? Only Zhang Guodong probably knew.
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