"Huh? You want them all?"
The village chief was dumbfounded.
"Yes! But that's not enough. Do other families in your village have bonsai trees?"
"Ah...yes, yes, yes! I'll go to the village committee right away and announce it through the loudspeaker!"
The village chief ran out quickly, and soon his shouts echoed throughout every corner of the village.
————
Li Xiangdong looked at the vast expanse of oddly shaped and unevenly shaped five-needle pine bonsai in front of him and was somewhat speechless.
Apart from the exquisite bonsai in the village chief's house, most of the other bonsai are quite small.
Of course, it's fine if it's small; maybe it's because the villagers, seeing the country's reform and opening up in the last two years, became interested in making money by growing bonsai.
But what's with that obviously cut-off pine branch that was temporarily stuck into the broken ceramic pot?
He strongly suspected that the villagers had simply found some branches and stuck them into the pot to make up the numbers.
Seeing Li Xiangdong's pained expression, the village elder felt embarrassed and kicked over a straight five-needle pine branch in front of him.
"Which bastard brought this to fool people? Damn it, this is ruining the reputation of my Forty-Eight Bends Village! Can this really be called a bonsai?"
After cursing a couple of times, he looked around at everyone, put his hands on his hips, and said, "Get out of here! Don't embarrass yourself here!"
An elderly woman in her sixties reluctantly walked over, moved the bonsai tree away, and continued to complain:
"What's wrong with it? It's a five-needle pine too!"
If it can make money, that's all that matters! Why be so particular?
Who knows when that sucker who doesn't have bonsai will come again!
The village chief's forehead veins bulged. "Sister-in-law Jin Hua, my brother Lu Xing must have gone out to sell vegetables, right? When he comes back and finds out you've ruined his reputation like this, see if he doesn't beat you up!"
Grandma Jinhua quickened her pace as she walked back.
The others exchanged glances and then stepped forward to take away their own mediocre bonsai.
After being cleaned, the remaining five-needle pine branches were vigorous, with dense, short needles, lush green leaves, and graceful posture, making them look much prettier.
Li Xiangdong offered them a very good price, acquiring all the five-needle pine bonsai.
"By the way, Uncle Village Chief, there's something else I need to discuss with you."
Clutching the crisp new bills Li Xiangdong had given him, the village chief was in high spirits. "Tell me!"
"I would also like to order a batch of Japanese white pine bonsai, and the price will remain the same as today's price."
The village chief's eyes widened, and his lips trembled slightly. "Really?"
"real."
How much do you want?
"The more the better. I can pay a deposit first, and I want the finished product two years later."
If you do the math, in the second half of 1982, the Jiangsu and Zhejiang regions began to hype up five-needle pine bonsai. Among them, the publication of the book "Five-Needle Pine Bonsai" compiled by Mr. Shen Yemin is known as the fuse for the outbreak of the "Five-Needle Pine Incident".
Because there wasn't much Japanese white pine material available at the time, its price was driven up to an astonishingly high level—the price was determined by the number of buds on the Japanese white pine!
Li Xiangdong's acquisition two years later in the first half of the year was perfectly timed.
Unlike industrial products, which can be mass-produced by machines, bonsai cultivation requires time and patience.
In fact, it's unlikely that a particularly large bonsai will be cultivated within two years; it's just enough to make a quick buck.
When the village chief heard Li Xiangdong say "the more the better," his eyes lit up like light bulbs. "Really? You want as many as you have? Even the small ones are fine if you don't have the big ones?"
"Yes! Besides these, I also plan to build a bonsai garden in your village to cultivate all kinds of bonsai. Then everyone can come to work at the bonsai garden and earn money."
"A bonsai garden? A workplace? How many people can you hire?"
Li Xiangdong estimated that if the export certificates could be obtained, there would be considerable demand abroad for plants such as five-needle pine, ginkgo, red maple, golden larch, and Chinese ash.
"Currently, I estimate around a hundred people! However, how it develops in the future, and whether we need to expand further, depends on the market's reaction."
"What? A hundred or so people? Good heavens, if that's the case, then all my good sons can come back to work."
The village chief grabbed Li Xiangdong's hand, which was resting on the octagonal table. "Mr. Li, is what you're saying true?"
Li Xiangdong said with a smile, "How could I joke about something so serious!"
Having reassured the village chief, he then made his own request, "However, I have another favor to ask."
"What is it? Tell me!"
"We want to learn the bonsai-making techniques from the villagers."
"Ah! This..."
The village chief, who had been very excited, suddenly fell silent.
"No rush, this is a big deal, please think about it first."
Li Xiangdong leisurely picked up his teacup, blew on the rising steam, and began to sip his tea.
The village chief remained silent for a long time, which made his wife, who was pretending to do cleaning but actually eavesdropping on their conversation, very anxious.
She threw down the broom in her hand and said anxiously, "Husband, don't hesitate! With such a good opportunity, why don't you agree quickly! Besides, how many people have learned grafting techniques from our Forty-Eight Bays Village in recent years and then gone out to do it on their own?"
Chen Zaohua spoke up at the right moment, "Uncle, actually, I also learned a bit about bonsai back in the day..."
The village chief's wife became even more anxious and pushed the old man, saying, "If you don't let them learn, someone else will. In the end, the good thing will fall into someone else's lap, and I'll see if you regret it!"
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