The head constable Zhang, who was leading the way, saw that Meng Zhao and his group were sincere and articulate, had household registration certificates, and clearly stated their purpose for coming here. He immediately realized that they had arrested the wrong people.
Feeling a little embarrassed, he quickly took the key from his waist, walked briskly to the cell door, and opened it with practiced ease, saying, "Brother, I'm really sorry, we had no choice but to do this because we were investigating the case."
Gu Changwu was well-connected and had a lot of social skills, much like Meng Zhao. They still had business to attend to here, and offending the county constable was no small matter. They might as well do him a favor, so he straightened his clothes and said.
"It's alright, it's alright. I don't have anything else to do anyway. I'll just consider it a change of scenery and take a nap. It's fate that we've met. Once we've finished our business, we'll host a banquet in the county and invite you to drink. You can't refuse to come."
Seeing that no one was going to pursue the matter, what could Officer Zhang say? He naturally agreed repeatedly.
After leaving the yamen, it was completely dark outside, and the streets were deserted. Meng Zhao returned to the inn, booked a room for Gu Changwu, and told him to wash up and get a good rest for the night. They could talk about anything else tomorrow.
Gu Changwu was in good physical condition, and he wasn't beaten during those two days in prison. Instead, he slept well and didn't eat much. After returning to the inn and eating some good food, he immediately became energetic again.
The most convenient way to buy land is to go directly to a real estate brokerage firm. After all, they have extensive connections and are well-informed. If someone has land to sell, they will usually go to a real estate brokerage firm to help them sell it. This way, both the buyer and the seller can save a lot of trouble.
However, Meng Zhao wanted to buy wasteland, not farmland. Normally, no one would buy such land, and the brokerage firm naturally had no information on it, so he had to find it himself.
Water is the source of all things, and a workshop cannot be built without water. Meng Zhao's requirement for the two of them was that they must be close to a water source. In the past few days, Gu Changwu and Gu Yun have found three places. After breakfast, the group set off in a mule cart.
Gu Changwu sat in front of the donkey cart and walked along, introducing the scenery along the way to the others. "This river is called Lianhe River. It is named that because it passes through several villages."
The group walked along the direction the river had come from, passing a village. Gu Changwu continued, "This village is called Shagang Village. It has about a hundred households. I went to check it out, and there are quite a few young and middle-aged people. If we set up the workshop nearby, it would be easier to recruit workers."
After walking for a while, we finally arrived at our destination, where the mountains in front of us were already showing some greenery.
"This mountain has no name because it is too high and steep, and few people come here on weekdays, so the land at the foot of the mountain has been abandoned. The Lian River flows down from this mountain."
Meng Zhao looked around and saw that the land was flat and open, with abundant water resources, and the environment at the foot of the mountain was relatively quiet.
The starch workshop and the pig farm complement each other and need to coexist. The nearest village, Shagang, is almost a 15-minute walk away. When the pig farm opens here, it will not affect the lives of the villagers.
Meng Zhao was very satisfied with the land, so he drove the mule cart to Shagang Village. Logically speaking, since the land was closest to their village, the property rights should belong to their village.
After entering the village, Meng Zhao took out some melon seeds from his pocket, walked up to a farmer woman who was hanging clothes to dry in front of her house, and politely handed them over. "Excuse me, sister, could you tell me where the village headman's house is?"
The man glanced at Meng Zhao, then at the melon seeds in her hand, carefully took them, put them in his pocket, and pointed to a spot. "Just keep walking straight along this road until you reach a wider intersection, then turn left. Walk a little further, and you'll see a house with a big willow tree in front of it. That's the village head's house."
Meng Zhao quickly thanked him, then turned back. Meng Dashan loosened the mule's bit and let the mule cart continue forward.
Sitting on the mule cart, Shen Yun looked around curiously and couldn't help but say, "Sister Meng Zhao, this village looks even more dilapidated than ours."
Shenjia Village was already considered poor, but I didn't expect this village to be even worse. Along the way, several houses didn't even have roofs, and I don't know how people lived there.
Meng Dashan, sitting in the front, was also a little worried. "Zhaozhao, are we really going to buy land here? Why don't we find a more prosperous place? This remote area probably doesn't attract many people. Even if we make the starch and raise the pigs, it might be difficult to sell it."
Meng Zhao nodded slightly and then explained, "Father, although Hongnong County looks poor, it has one advantage: it's close to Huian County. Once we've finished making the goods, we can transport them to Huian and then transfer them out. It's not too much trouble."
“We’ve almost bought up all the potatoes around Qingshi County. Hongnong County has high potato yields and is cheap, making it the perfect place to build a starch workshop. Besides, it’s only a three-day journey from our hometown of Qingshi County. If we ride horses, it’ll be even faster, and we can get there quickly if anything happens. If we go too far, it would take more than half a month to send a message back and forth. Who can stand that?”
She paused, then continued, "Besides, the poorer this place is, the lower our costs for buying land and hiring people will be, which is beneficial to us."
The group chatted as they walked, and soon they saw the big willow tree that the man had mentioned earlier. They got out of the car, and Gu Yun knocked on the door. A woman's voice came from inside. Afraid of startling her, Meng Zhao explained their purpose.
The other party hesitated for a moment, then mumbled something before someone came to open the door.
There was only a couple in the courtyard, who looked to be under fifty. Meng Zhao smiled and said, "You must be the village head of Shagang Village. We are from out of town and have our eyes on a piece of wasteland at the foot of the mountain in front of us. We would like to buy it. We wonder if you would be willing to sell?"
The man was skeptical. He looked at Meng Zhao and his group's clothes and figured they didn't look like they were rich or noble. After hesitating for a moment, he still stepped aside to let them into the courtyard.
There wasn't much to sit on in the yard, so the group sat down on a horizontal piece of wood.
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