Chen Hong quickly refused: "Uncle, your idea is good, it would be even better if you could book it all."
However, even if you take it over, don't register it under my family's name. I'm rarely home anyway; I've left the hotel and farm to you to manage, so I don't have the time or energy to manage my family's businesses.
"We'll lease the entire plantation, registered under our company's name, it'll be a collective investment. You can entrust the tea sales to me; these tea trees are of superior quality, and the tea they produce will fetch a good price."
After thinking about it, the village chief realized that Chen Hong really didn't care about such a small amount of income.
He nodded and continued, "Okay, I understand what you mean. I'll discuss this with everyone later."
If we really take over the lease, it should be profitable in the future. This year when we went tea picking, your Uncle Erhu and I took a good look, and the soil in that valley where the tea trees grow is quite good.
If the tea produced in this valley can fetch a good price, we can propagate it by cuttings from the tea bushes.
This year, I took some time to clear out the land in the valley and sow some beans to nourish the soil. Once the tea seedlings planted next year or the year after have taken root, I will plant tea trees throughout the valley.
If that valley were fully developed, it could yield about a hundred acres of land suitable for growing tea trees.
If taken good care of, the new tea trees can be harvested for tea leaves in no more than five or six years.
To be honest, the current low grain prices are hurting farmers. Growing grain is not worthwhile; if managed properly, growing tea can be quite profitable.
Besides, the wild tea trees in this valley are of good quality, so the tea trees propagated by cuttings should be just as good.
The tea produced in the future should fetch a good price, so contracting the valley to grow tea trees would be very profitable.
As our seaside develops better and better, we can not only sell our products on Taobao, but also sell them on counters in hotels.
These days, if you have good stuff, you don't have to worry about selling it. We never used to go out much, so we never knew there were so many rich people now.
You tell me, aren't we just like frogs in a well, so ignorant of the world? We have good stuff that we just let rot, instead of transporting it to the mainland to sell for profit.
Chen Hong also found it funny: "That's why we older generations find it hard to leave our homeland and stay at home to start our own businesses."
We should still try our best to provide education for young children and let them go out and explore more.
Putting aside how much money I make, at least I can go out and see more of the world and broaden my horizons.
We can't keep revolving around this small fishing village generation after generation.
Seafood from our coast is a rare commodity inland, yet we can't sell it at a good price, and all the money goes to middlemen.
In the past, we had no connections or sales channels. Now, with the rapid development of society and the availability of Taobao stores and express delivery, we will have the means to sell fresh seafood in the future.
Uncle, just you wait! In a few years, there will definitely be other faster transportation channels that will allow us to sell seafood all over the country.
By then, whether it's fishing at sea or aquaculture, our lives as fishermen will get better and better!
After discussing the tea with the village chief, I also mentioned hiring security guards for the shop and the farm.
"Uncle, with more tourists from other places coming to the village, there are more unstable factors as well. The fact that someone almost got into my house shows that we need to take this matter seriously."
We can't control what the village decides, but we need to make sure our own family matters are settled first.
With so much to do at home, it's just you four or five men doing all the work inside and out.
We also have to take care of the hotel and the farm. Our business is growing bigger and bigger, and we're making money. Not only are you too busy to handle everything, but we're also worried about attracting attention.
I was worried that it wouldn't be enough time to recruit people temporarily, so I already spoke with Hou Lin yesterday and asked him to help us recruit a few veterans. They can protect our property and also protect you.
Uncle, society is quite chaotic these days. Many people are idle and lazy, not doing anything productive, always wanting to gain something for nothing.
It's good that we want to get rich, but we also need to plan ahead and protect the fruits of our labor.
You can discuss this with Hou Lin later. We're not afraid to spend money; let's find a few good guys.
Veterans have received formal training and education from the state, so we feel safe using their products. I don't miss home anymore when I'm away from home!
After settling things at home, Chen Hong didn't let her family see her off. She called two taxis she had booked in advance, and with all her luggage, she took her family to the airport and flew back to Jinan.
It was already six o'clock when we got off the plane, and the children have to go to school early tomorrow morning.
After leaving the terminal, Chen Hong shared some fish with her parents, then hailed two taxis and went home separately.
The first thing I do when I get home is to quickly make dinner.
The mother and son had a simple dinner: a steamed grouper, some steamed mantis shrimp, and a pot of sea cucumber porridge. It was a nutritious and light meal, which was quite healthy.
After dinner, Yu Yang went to deliver mackerel and mantis shrimp to his neighbor's house. After Chen Hong finished cleaning up the dishes, she started processing the sea cucumber.
She was really pressed for time today and didn't have time to process these sea cucumbers.
First, clean the sea cucumber thoroughly, then use scissors to make a small vertical cut on its belly.
The steel pot must be thoroughly cleaned, leaving no trace of oil. Any remaining oil will cause the sea cucumbers to melt, affecting their quality and appearance.
Add purified water or mineral water to the pot, and try not to use tap water. Tap water contains too many impurities, which will affect the quality of the finished sea cucumber product. If purified water is available, try to use clean water without impurities.
At this moment, Yu Yang returned after delivering the items and stood next to Chen Hong, watching curiously as his mother cooked sea cucumbers.
"Mom, are you cooking sea cucumbers? Why are you putting them in before the pot boils? Is there some kind of superstition behind it?"
While cooking, Chen Hong said to Yang, "The most important things when cooking sea cucumbers are the heat, temperature, and time. Actually, it's not that difficult; there are just a few tricks."
"If you want to learn, just watch from the side. Let me tell you, this is our family's secret recipe, passed down only to men, not women!"
Yu Yang knew his mother was teasing him on purpose: "Mom, you're lying to me again! Almost every family in our coastal area knows how to cook sea cucumbers, it's not some kind of family secret recipe!"
Chen Hong said with a smile, "In the past, the elderly in the village all knew how to cook sea cucumbers, but fewer people in our generation do."
If it's your generation that wants to go to university and get a job, there will be even fewer people with this skill!
This job sounds simple, but if done poorly, it can turn out awful and ruin a good pot of sea cucumbers.
Yu Yang nodded in agreement and diligently learned how to cook sea cucumbers from his mother. Chen Hong also explained each step to her son in detail as she demonstrated:
"Turn on the fire and boil the water to seventy degrees Celsius, then put in the sea cucumbers. The sea cucumbers will automatically expel their internal organs when they get hot." Chen Hong held a strainer in her hand and stirred the sea cucumbers in the pot from time to time.
To ensure that every sea cucumber in the pot is heated evenly, the water in the pot gradually turned into a pure orange-red color in about ten minutes.
"Son, do you see this? This soup looks so beautiful, orange-red, that's the characteristic of pure wild sea cucumber!"
Some farmed sea cucumbers, masquerading as wild ones, produce water that is dark gray or black after this boiling process, and have an unpleasant fishy smell.
The water from boiling the sea cucumbers that Chen Hong caught was not only orange-red and transparent, but also emitted a pleasant sweet aroma, with only a faint salty and fishy smell.
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