Having finalized her target, Tang Xiaoxiao took immediate action. In this small county town, every household was closely connected, with countless kinship ties. Tang's father had lived there his entire life, and he had more than a dozen brothers. She immediately used her connections to inquire about suitable land for contracting. Soon, among several candidate locations, Tang Xiaoxiao immediately took a liking to a small hill located in her hometown, Hou Tang Village.
Hou Tang Village, as the name suggests, is mostly inhabited by families with the surname Tang. There is also a neighboring village called Qian Tang Village. According to legend, the two villages were one family hundreds of years ago. Their ancestors once held minor official positions, but due to being implicated in official matters, they retired here with their families and servants. Over time, they multiplied and developed into two large villages.
Whether the legend is reliable or not is another matter, but the Tang family has lived in this small village for generations. Later, when the family's conditions improved, Tang's father built a detached villa in the county town when Tang Xiaoxiao was 2 years old. The family moved away from the village and rarely returned except for holidays.
However, the Tang family's homestead in the village is still there, and it is quite large. The four brick houses in their old home have never been demolished. The small hill that Tang Xiaoxiao had her eye on is not far from her old house. There is a wasteland below it. Because the soil is poor and it is full of pebbles of different sizes, there are no minerals worth developing and it is not suitable for growing crops. No one wants it, so it has been left uncultivated.
The small county town is surrounded by mountains, boasts a pleasant climate, and is rich in mineral resources. Some of its specialty fruits are even famous throughout the country. Since Tang Xiaoxiao has decided to start with planting, her initial plan is to create a cherry orchard. The local area has a specialty large cherry, which is much larger than ordinary cherries, with a small pit, thin skin, thick, juicy flesh, excellent taste, and rich nutrition, making it very popular.
Most importantly, it is also quite expensive, ranking among the high-priced fruits.
When she told her parents about her plans, they were supportive. Cherries were the most popular fruit variety among local farmers, with low risk. Although many people grew them, demand always exceeded supply each year, so there was no worry about sales. The only drawback was the high price of seedlings and the significant investment required during cultivation. However, they knew Tang Xiaoxiao had ample funds, so this wasn't a problem. At current prices, two million was more than enough to do many things.
However, the piece of land that Tang Xiaoxiao had her eye on made them frown. Tang's father said, "You're just a child, you don't understand. This hill has been unable to be leased out for years. It's not suitable for planting fruit trees at all. Not only is the survival rate low, but even if they manage to survive, it's difficult for them to bear fruit. No, no, absolutely not."
Tang Xiaoxiao smiled mysteriously and said, "Dad, believe me, I've learned a lot these past few years. They can't grow crops because they're not skilled enough. What if I could change the soil quality? Then there wouldn't be any problem. This mountain is big enough and cheap. The other plots are too small. This plot is useless to others, but it's a treasure to me."
Tang's father was once again successfully fooled by Tang Xiaoxiao. The two went directly to the village secretary, who, according to seniority, had to call Tang's father "elder cousin." Although they were distant relatives, they had grown up together and shared a close bond. Hearing that the Tang family wanted to contract the village's barren mountain, including the dozen or so acres of land at its foot, the secretary was pleased but, out of good intentions, still offered some advice, explaining the situation to the two. After Tang's father assured him that everything was fine, he happily processed all the necessary paperwork.
Because it was a barren mountain land that no one wanted, the contract was issued in just a few days. Tang Xiaoxiao obtained the seventy-year usage rights to this mountain land for the incredibly low price of 130,000 yuan.
After the news spread, it caused a stir in the surrounding dozen or so villages and small county town. Mr. and Mrs. Tang were stopped countless times on the street, bombarded with questions, and they simply mumbled incoherent answers.
"Yes, it's the mountain at the west end of the village, and we need the gravel area at the bottom as well."
"My daughter Xiaoxiao learned some knowledge in college, and now she wants to come back to build up her hometown! She can also keep us old folks company!"
"It's better to keep a young girl under your nose so you can feel at ease!"
"How much? Not much, not much. Don't you know what's going on with that mountain? We wouldn't even bother clearing it up for free. It's just that our child is young and energetic, so we parents have no choice but to support him!"
Even relatives from other places heard about this and called to inquire.
The hype lasted for several days before gradually subsiding. Regardless of what people outside speculated about, whether they mocked behind her back or made wild guesses, Tang Xiaoxiao was already preparing to hire people to start work.
The mountain was barren, with only a few narrow paths worn out by human footsteps. It needed to be cleared. Hiring vehicles and buying tools and materials were all done through Tang's father's connections. Workers were also easy to find. There were many able-bodied men in the village who did odd jobs at the mines during the off-season to earn some extra money. In the current economic situation of a small county, the average monthly income of office workers was only around two thousand yuan. When Tang's father announced that he was hiring people to clear the mountain, offering one hundred yuan per person per day plus two meals, people were practically fighting tooth and nail to come and do the work.
They eventually hired twenty able-bodied young men, and construction quickly began in earnest. Since the Tang family didn't live in the village, Tang Xiaoxiao hired a distant uncle to help supervise the construction.
Speaking of his distant uncle, Tang Yuanshan, Tang Xiaoxiao had a lot to complain about. He shared the same great-grandfather as Tang's father, was four years younger, and grew up following Tang's father around like a puppy. He was known for his bravado and was considered a bully in the village. Even after growing up, he never had a proper job and was always idle. After marriage, he became an alcoholic and beat his wife. When Tang Xiaoxiao was eight, his wife couldn't take it anymore and divorced him, leaving behind a five-year-old daughter. Tang Yuanshan didn't care about this daughter either; the thin, small child was always unkempt and often went hungry. Strangely, this incompetent bachelor with a child in tow married three more wives from other places after his divorce, each a beautiful young woman. Each wife bore him three daughters. Now, his youngest daughter is not even two years old, and his current wife has already run away.
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