Zhang Jianhao nudged him with his elbow and whispered, "You'll get your share."
Li Qiming chuckled.
Zhang Cheng walked side by side with the old village chief: "Uncle, the city is going to bring electricity to the village, and I've taken on the job. When the time comes, any villagers who are willing can come and work and earn wages."
"Powering it?" The old village chief's eyes lit up. "That's fantastic news!"
"Also, Big Head Bro mentioned the orchard to you before, right?"
"It was mentioned." The old village chief's joy faded slightly. "The township said that a 30-year contract would cost at least 20,000 yuan. No one in the village can afford that. I was thinking of taking out a loan in the name of the village committee, and then having each family contribute some money, dividing the orchard according to how much they contributed. But those damned guys from Wang Village cut down a lot of fruit trees recently, so it will take at least three or four years to have a harvest. I'm afraid it will be difficult to raise that money."
Zhang Cheng pondered for a moment: "Uncle, the villagers are not well-off. There has been no harvest for the past three or four years, and we still have to spend money on labor. I'm afraid no one is willing to do it."
The old village chief's face showed even deeper sorrow.
“Uncle, how about this?” Zhang Cheng stopped in his tracks. “I’ll pay the 20,000 yuan contract fee. For the next three or four years, the villagers will plant and maintain the trees for me, and I’ll pay them on a daily basis. Once the fruit trees are profitable, in addition to their wages, I’ll distribute the profits to the village according to a set ratio.”
The old village chief suddenly looked at Zhang Cheng, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes: "Er Gouzi, you...you're serious?"
"real."
"This...this is 20,000 yuan! And we'll have to cover several years' worth of wages!" The old village chief said, somewhat incredulously.
“Money is worthless, we can earn it back after we spend it. As long as it allows our fellow villagers to have work and earn money, it’s worth it,” Zhang Cheng said calmly.
The old village chief rubbed his hands together excitedly: "Good! Good! Er Gouzi, on behalf of the whole village, thank you!"
“Uncle, let me make this clear from the start.” Zhang Cheng changed the subject. “We need to get all the villagers' consent first. If they all agree to let me take over the contract, then we’ll sign a written agreement. I don’t want to spend money and effort only to end up with a lot of complaints.”
The old village chief's smile faltered slightly as he looked at Zhang Cheng with some surprise. After a long pause, he said, "Er Gouzi, do you... distrust your uncle, or distrust the villagers?"
Zhang Cheng met his gaze and calmly said, "You can't judge a book by its cover. Even brothers keep clear accounts. Signing the IOU is better for everyone."
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