night.
Mu Chen carried twenty catties of rice and two chickens, walking halfway through the village, until he arrived at the village chief's house.
Knock knock knock.
Who is it?
"I am Ah Chen!"
The one who opened the door was the chieftain's eldest grandson, Azhuang.
Although Ah Zhuang is not yet twenty, he is quite muscular.
"Ah Chen, what brings you here?"
"Brother Zhuang, I heard that our clan elder has returned. Is he home?"
"It's home, come in quickly."
Upon entering the house, Mu Chen saw the chieftain sitting by the kang (heated brick bed) with a dark face, puffing on his pipe one after another, clearly in a very bad mood.
The village chief was always fair in his dealings and took good care of every household in the village.
Mu Chen's grandfather passed away last month, and he was the one who presided over the entire ceremony.
Everyone in the village respected him.
“What Mu Laosan did has nothing to do with you, little kid. He’s not a member of our Black Crow Village anymore. What are you doing bringing a bag of cornmeal? And this pheasant, take it with you when you leave.”
Clearly, the chieftain had verified the shady dealings that Mu Laosan had been involved in.
On his way here, Mu Chen heard from the aunties that Mu Laosan's limbs had been broken by the men of the village and he was beaten half to death.
happy.
"Grandpa, Mu Laosan deserved it. I've come to thank you."
"If it weren't for you, my grandfather's funeral wouldn't have been handled so properly."
"It's almost Chinese New Year, so I brought some rice. Please don't mind it."
Rice?
The chieftain was stunned.
These days, everyone eats cornmeal. Even families with rice mix it in half and half.
It's no wonder he was surprised when Mu Chen threw twenty pounds at him in one go.
"You silly child, you've wasted your time. Sit down!"
As soon as Mu Chen sat down, A Zhuang brought him a pot of rice wine, saying, "It's freshly brewed, warm yourself up."
Miao rice wine is incredibly fragrant.
It is made from fermented glutinous rice, and every drop is infused with the essence of pure grain.
The aroma of newly brewed rice wine wafts through the red glow of the stove fire.
Mu Chen drank a large bowl in one gulp.
I feel much better now!
After chatting for a while, the village chief asked Mu Chen to bring Duo Duo over to celebrate the New Year with them.
Mu Chen smiled and nodded, saying he would definitely come to pay his respects to the clan patriarch, before getting to the main point.
"Grandpa, is that piece of land to the west part of our village?"
"West side? You mean the area that stretches from the halfway point all the way to the top of the slope?"
"right."
The chieftain thought for a moment, “You should be able to see that row of cedar trees on the mountaintop during the day! This side of the trees belongs to our Black Crow Village, and that side belongs to Que Dong Village.”
"Why are you asking this, Ah Chen?" asked Ah Zhuang, who was standing next to him.
Mu Chen put down his bowl. "I see! It's a little less, but it's fine! Clan Master, I'd like to rent this land."
"Rent land? You think a hundred acres isn't enough? What are you going to do with it?"
"Plant something!"
Over the past month, Mu Chen has been digging for treasure and inspecting that area to the west.
According to the information in Shennong Space, it perfectly meets his requirements; however, the soil is still not as good as that of Quedong Village.
"What kind of crops do you need such a large plot of land for?"
"Keep this a secret for now! Elder, take a look, should this land be rented to me, or should our Black Crow Village contribute the land as shares, so that no matter what I plant, I'll get my share of the profits?"
"What do you mean?"
The clan elder and his grandson Azhuang pricked up their ears.
Mu Chen explained, "If you rent it, I will pay you cash each year based on how much corn this land can grow, converted into the selling price of that year!"
“If you choose to contribute land as equity, then we need to discuss how much of the equity the land represents first.”
"For example, if the land accounts for 10%, no matter what I grow on the land in the future, if the produce on this land earns 10,000, the village will receive 1,000; if it earns 100,000, the village will receive 10,000."
Mu Chen tried to explain things in a simple and easy-to-understand way.
The chieftain understood.
Only after understanding did he look Mu Chen up and down, and finally asked, "Kid, no matter which village you choose, don't you have to pay for the first year first? Can you afford that much money?"
Without wasting any words, Mu Chen directly pulled out twenty old men's bills from his person.
"Oh dear, child, what have you done..."
The clan elder was frightened, and A-Zhuang was also stunned.
Two thousand dollars in 1994 was not the same as two thousand dollars thirty years later; its purchasing power was much stronger.
Mu Chen grinned and said, "Grandpa, I'll leave this money with you for now, and we'll wait for your decision."
The chieftain's gaze towards Mu Chen changed, and A Zhuang immediately held his breath.
"This is a huge matter! I need to gather everyone together to discuss it."
The chieftain was also tempted.
As the chief of Heiwu Village, he has only seen those villages in good locations gradually improve over the past few years, but he cannot change the poverty of Heiwu Village, which makes him anxious.
Now that he has the opportunity, even if he has doubts about Mu Chen, two thousand yuan is by no means a small amount in this era.
Even if it means gambling with Mu Chen for a year, it's worth it.
“Alright! Then you should gather everyone to discuss this first, patriarch. I have to go out tomorrow and probably won’t be back for three or four days.”
"You can give me the results when the time comes. I'll need your help keeping an eye on Duoduo for the next few days while I'm away."
"Okay, no problem."
With the village chief and the others looking after Duoduo, Mu Chen felt more at ease.
"Well... here's the money! Wait here, I'll give you a receipt."
The chieftain was straightforward in his actions, and quickly gave Mu Chen a receipt.
When Mu Chen left, he even asked A Zhuang to personally take Mu Chen home.
the next day.
Mu Chen set off before dawn.
This time, his destination was the provincial capital, Lincheng.
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