Upon hearing that Xu Milu had contracted the land to grow grapes, Tian Wen's eyes lit up. He hesitated for a long time, his expression strange, before finally stammering out:
"Mr. Xu, it's not that I want to meddle, but isn't growing grapes a bit... unprofitable?"
Xu Milu understood what Tian Wen meant. Grapes take two to three years to bear fruit, and irrigation must be guaranteed during this period. If a thousand acres of land are used to grow grapes, the initial investment will be too high, and there will be many variables when the contract expires.
"To tell you the truth, some people in Xingning Village tried to grow grapes before, but grapes are delicate and hard to take care of. The first year, a severe cold wave froze half of them to death. The second year, they survived, but they didn't grow well. In the third and fourth years, they finally started to bear fruit, but the yield was still low."
Thinking of this, Tian Wen couldn't help but worry, his old face wrinkling into a chrysanthemum shape.
Xu Milu listened attentively for a while before shaking her head with a smile:
“This isn’t your ordinary grape; it’s an annual, bearing fruit in the same year. It’s drought-resistant, flood-resistant, and has a high yield. The only problem is that I don’t have many seedlings right now. Why don’t you give it a try first?”
Tian Wen looked at Xu Milu as if she were a fool, with a hint of pity:
"Mr. Xu, you've been scammed, haven't you? Grapes don't grow for a year. Even if you spend a lot of money to buy seedlings that are already bearing fruit and transplant them, you still have to wait until the second year for them to bear fruit—let's get this straight, we've already signed a contract!"
Xu Milu didn't explain much. She only had about a thousand ping-pong grape seeds in her hand, which sounded like a lot, but it was only enough for thirty acres of land. She planned to keep the rest of the land until she found suitable seeds.
"Don't worry, village chief. The contract has already been signed. How could I possibly go back on my word?"
Xu Milu was about to leave on her electric tricycle when some villagers stopped her.
"Mr. Xu, you haven't driven your car away yet!"
car?
Where did she get the car?
Xu Milu was puzzled when Tian Wen took a car key out of his pocket and handed it to her:
"When that fat guy Wang left, he left the car behind and said, 'You can drive it away.'"
? ? ?
Xu Milu was both amused and exasperated. She had only taken it as a joke, but who knew that Fatty Wang would take it so seriously and actually leave the car behind.
Then look at the brand, wow, it's the latest model from last year. You can't get it for less than a million. This Fatty Wang is something else, giving away such an expensive car like that.
"Where's Boss Wang? Weren't you just joking? Why did you actually take a taxi home?"
Xu Milu also refused to take the car keys:
"Village chief, please don't join in the commotion. Just leave the car here and let Mr. Wang drive it away. I have other things to do, so I'll be leaving now."
Tian Wen had no choice but to take the car keys and then reminded him:
"Wang Pangzi is a bit unethical in business; you'd better watch out for him tripping you up."
“I am a law-abiding and honest citizen, what kind of trouble could he possibly cause me?”
Xu Milu smiled but didn't say anything, nor did she easily believe it, and rode away on her electric scooter.
...
...
Unexpectedly, on the third day, Fatty Wang called.
When Xu Milu answered the call, the voice on the other end sounded quite unfamiliar. It wasn't until Wang Pangzi reminded her that she remembered who he was.
"Miss Xu, this is Wang Chaoqun. We met in Xingning Village the other day."
Fatty Wang was all smiles, and you couldn't tell at all that he was unhappy.
[Village Chief Tian called me and asked me to go get the car. Haha, you see, actually it was my fault that day. I almost embarrassed you. It's just that Miss Xu was very generous and didn't hold it against me.]
Xu Milu smiled but didn't say anything.
There's no such thing as a free lunch; Wang Pangzi's sudden call to her couldn't possibly be just to thank her.
Sure enough, after only a few pleasantries, Fatty Wang got straight to the point:
I heard that Ms. Xu has been recruiting villagers to build greenhouses for growing grapes these past few days?
There's no need to investigate; a quick look around the village will tell you. Xu Milu has nothing to hide:
"Yes, I was planning to plant some grapes first to test the waters. Did Mr. Wang call to offer some advice?"
"Oh dear, that's too much of an exaggeration. I wouldn't call it giving advice; it's just that I admire Miss Xu's magnanimity in business. She signed a contract worth over two million without hesitation. I just wanted to make friends; they say having more friends means having more options!"
Wang Pangzi sensed Xu Milu's displeasure and changed the subject:
"Miss Xu mentioned the other day that you haven't bought a car yet, right? That's perfect! My brother-in-law works at the car dealership. I'll tell him that when Miss Xu goes to the dealership to choose a car tomorrow, she can mention my name to get a 20% discount on whichever model she likes."
As if afraid Xu Milu would refuse, Fatty Wang quickly explained:
【Don't misunderstand, Miss Xu. I was so confident that day, I really thought I wouldn't get the car back. When I got back, your sister-in-law gave me a good scolding and wouldn't let me into the house for the past two days. If it weren't for you, I don't know how much more I would have been scolded. Don't be polite with me, these days you'll get ripped off if you don't know anyone when buying a car. Go find my brother-in-law, he'll handle everything for you.】
Xu Milu thought about it and didn't refuse. She really should buy a car. It wasn't practical to ride an electric tricycle to the village every day. She needed to find a means of transportation.
...
...
When Xu Milu heard that she wanted to buy a car, the person with the strongest reaction in the family was Xu Minian.
"Sis! Buy a seven-seater! After I finish my college entrance exams, take us on a road trip!"
Xu Minian said excitedly.
"Alright, alright. Buying a car is a big deal. Let your sister make the decision herself. Why are you jumping around and getting involved? We're not rich people, why are we comparing ourselves to them?"
Liu Hongmei scolded her son from the side.
She doesn't know much about cars, but in her mind, buying a car is a major purchase for the family, just as important as buying a house.
Xu Milu keenly sensed the hidden meaning in Liu Hongmei's words:
"Mom, what's wrong?"
Liu Hongmei sent Xu Minian back to her room to do her homework before complaining to her:
"It's all because of your uncle. It's almost Chinese New Year, and everyone's saying they're going back to their hometown for the holiday. They suggested that your cousin drive his new car so we could all go together. Xiaomi just said he wanted to ride in the new car, and your aunt said in front of me that our family has money to open a restaurant but not money to buy a new car."
Xu Milu couldn't help but frown.
The family's four-seater used car has been driven for ten years and should have been replaced long ago. It's all her fault for being so busy these past few days that she forgot about it.
"It's my fault too, I could forget something so important. Luckily, I have a friend who works at a car dealership, I'll call Uncle Sun in a couple of days and we'll go buy a new car together, our old one should have been replaced a long time ago."
Xu Milu calculated that after signing the contract, she would only have about 200,000 yuan left. Besides the normal cash flow of the store, there would also be subsequent expenses for the greenhouse ping-pong grapes, so this amount of money was definitely not enough.
There are still over 20,000 jin of Ping Pong grapes in the system's inventory, but it will take time to monetize them.
Just then, the phone rang. As soon as he answered, Zhao Jin's voice, filled with grief and indignation, couldn't be concealed:
[Xiao Xu, this isn't fair of you! Why haven't you come back yet? Are you abandoning things in Sichuan and Chongqing?! Do you know how many times I've called you these past few days?!]
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