Zhou Huaian drove his tractor to the grove and met Yang Xiaoxue who was riding a bicycle towards him. "Come on, Chunyan just mentioned you!"
Yang Xiaoxue smiled and joked: "No wonder my ears are burning!"
"She is at home cooking pig food. Just shout at the door and she will come out." Zhou Huaian smiled, waved good-bye and left.
When Yang Xiaoxue arrived at his house, she saw Lai Fu and Wang Cai lying at the door. As soon as the dog barked, Yang Chunyan came out.
The two sisters entered the yard together. Yang Xiaoxue took down the backpack and said, "I cut some sugar cane and brought it to you. By the way, I want to ask when the market will open?"
"The market will open on the sixth day of the first lunar month!" Yang Chunyan helped her carry the heavy backpack to the steps and put it away. "How much sugarcane did you plant?"
Yang Xiaoxue smiled and said, "I only planted one mu of land this year, and some of it grew from last year's old bags."
"It's cold, so it's good to eat some sugar cane." Yang Chunyan went to the kitchen with her. "We came back from Mena's house that afternoon and went to your house. We found the gate was locked so we came back."
Yang Xiaoxue thought for a moment, "That day was my husband's 60th birthday, and we stayed at home until dark. What do you want from me?"
"Huaian and Wang Zhen are planning to do it... Originally I thought they wouldn't be able to invest much money, so I wanted you to invest some money too. Now I realize that the investment is a bit high, and even Uncle Datian didn't dare to invest."
Yang Chunyan threw a handful of firewood into the stove and continued, "Let me tell you first, how much will Wang Zhen cost for one share? If it's too much, it's better not to take the risk."
"Really?" Yang Xiaoxue patted her in annoyance. "Yan'er, you are willing to take me with you because you have me as your sister. If I blame you for losing money, am I still a human being?"
Yang Chunyan smiled and said, "Don't make a decision yet. Go back and discuss it with Brother-in-law Fang. We'll talk about it after they figure it out."
"I'll discuss it with him when I get back." Yang Xiaoxue paused, "I went to Ning'an today and met Brother Weiguo. He said that there is a new purchasing point in Ning'an and the flower market. This year's truffles may be in short supply!"
Yang Chunyan nodded, "Wang Zhen told us a long time ago. There's nothing we can do even if we're angry. No matter what, it's better than digging for food in the soil for a season!"
"That's true, but it's a pity that we can't grow them. It would be great if we could." Yang Xiaoxue said, "I heard that there are mushroom seeds for sale now. You can buy mushroom seeds from the Agriculture and Animal Husbandry Bureau and spread them on a mushroom bed made of wheat straw, corn cobs and wood shavings, and then mushrooms will grow."
Yang Chunyan thought of the two mushroom-growing families in Fangtian in her previous life, and their business had always been good. "I think growing this is okay, especially these days, people who want to eat fresh mushrooms will buy them to eat, and those restaurants will also buy them."
"I knew that we sisters would think alike. I told Zhiqiang about this, and he was worried that no one would buy the truffles." Yang Xiaoxue wrinkled her nose, "After we make truffles this season, I will learn how to grow mushrooms."
Yang Chunyan clapped her hands, "I support you!"
"Yes!" Yang Xiaoxue said with a smile, "With your support, I am confident that you will be able to eat the mushrooms I grow next year."
"Then I'll wait!"
The two sisters talked for a while, and then Yang Xiaoxue said goodbye and left.
The Zhou Huaian brothers and Xu Laosan took turns hauling coal for several days in a row until they filled up the pens reserved in the backyards of several families, and then they stopped.
The opening time was getting closer, and the old man took Zhou's father and Lao Xiazi to clean the chimneys of the grill. Zhou Huairong repaired the grill and put everything in place, waiting to start work.
Yang Weiguo brought news to Zhou Huaian that the new truffle collector had set up purchasing points in Purin, Hengshan and Baima, and it seemed that they were going to do something big.
In the afternoon, Boss Feng came to Zhou Huaian's house and asked him to go with him to find the other two bosses to discuss the matter. It would be best not to engage in a price war, otherwise no one would make any money.
Zhou Huaian thought about it and decided to go with him to call Yang Weiguo to go to Ning'an to find the boss. It didn't matter if they left. The three of them realized that this year, several bosses from the neighboring province also went there to collect truffles.
Zhou Huaian felt that these people were the ones who really had the brains and knew how to make money, just like green-headed flies, they would immediately spring into action if there was any smell of money.
Everyone goes out to make money. After meeting, several families agreed that the purchase price would remain the same as last year. Finally, they signed an agreement that none of them would increase the price at will, and they would not purchase the truffles in advance before they were ripe.
After the negotiation, Zhou Huaian and Yang Weiguo went to Wang Zhen's place and learned that there had been progress on the piece of land they had their eyes on.
Wang Zhen found the Land Management Office and told them that he wanted to buy that piece of land to build a factory. They said they would report to their superiors and told him that the total area of the land was nearly eight acres. If he wanted to sell it, the price of that piece of land should not be as expensive as the one they bought before.
Zhou Huaian did some calculations after hearing this, "The land we bought plus the yard at the door is a total of 300 square meters, 980 yuan per square meter, which is just over 3 yuan per square meter. If it's cheaper than this place, it won't cost much more!"
Yang Weiguo said: "The land is not expensive, but it costs money to build the house, and it will also cost a lot of money to build the factory."
Wang Zhen nodded. "I heard from Master Liu that the prices of steel bars, cement, and yellow bricks have increased a bit. The further we go, the higher the construction cost will be."
Zhou Huaian said with a smile: "Anyway, the factory operation is handed over to you, and we two will just be hands-off managers."
Yang Weiguo: "I am the boss who doesn't care about anything. You still have to renovate the brigade's house in the future!"
Zhou Huaian said with a playful smile: "You are the boss, how dare we trouble you!"
Wang Zhen smiled and nodded, "Brother-in-law is right!"
Yang Weiguo glared at the two of them and said, "I told Chunyan and Dongmei that you two teamed up to tease me!"
"It's unfair!" Zhou Huaian cried out, "You are my brother-in-law, we only dare to please you, how dare we tease you!"
"I don't want to talk to you anymore. You're such a smooth talker. You've led Wang Zhen astray!" Yang Weiguo picked up his gloves and said, "Let's go. I have a lot of things to do at home!"
"Great!" Zhou Huaian picked up his hat, waved to Wang Zhen, and got on the tractor.
The next day, Zhou Huaian and Zhou Yiding went to several purchasing points to notify the collection time, only to find that there was an additional three-way intersection at the road. The good thing was that there was no such intersection at Baicaoping, Baicaopo and Bailingshan.
When Secretary Xu and Zhou Datian came back from the purchasing points in Huashi and Tonglin, they had found that each place had added an outlet. It seemed that both companies liked to set up outlets in towns and had not yet seen the countryside.
"Damn it, why are you picking on me?" Zhou Huaishan cursed angrily.
Secretary Xu was also annoyed and said, "I have a lot of them, and now two more have been added. I heard that there are also several bosses next door who are buying them. The number of people coming here to sell goods will only decrease. It's better for Weiguo to buy them in the village, where the competition is not that great."
Zhou Datian only now realized that what Zhou Huaian said was right. They had only been doing this for two years, and two bosses had already heard the news and came here. In the future, more and more people would come to buy mountain products.
He originally thought that this business would allow him to make money for a lifetime without much hassle and effort, but now he is not as sure as he thought before. He plans to go back to the old secretary for advice after the meeting.
Zhou Huaian comforted them, saying, "No matter what, we have more purchasing points than them, and more people know about our purchasing points than them. The advantage is still on our side."
After everyone paid their share money for this year, it was November 5th in a blink of an eye.
Early in the morning that day, Zhou Huairong and his brothers packed their luggage, got on their tractors, and went to several purchasing points separately.
Zhou Daqing also went down the mountain and took Zhao Meina and Xu Hongbing and several other elderly people to dig truffles. Xiu Na and Xiao Chuan sent them to the foot of the mountain before reluctantly going home.
The market officially opened on the sixth day of the Lunar New Year, and all the Zhou family members were busy again. The old man, Lao Xiazi, and Zhou's father were busy in the barbecue room, and Jiang Yu and the others came after lunch to wait for work.
In the afternoon, villagers came one after another carrying baskets to deliver goods. Yang Chunyan heard everyone talking about how the goods this year were not as good as last year's and the truffles were not as big as last year. They all said that the truffle production was high last year and it would be a small year after the big one.
After Yang Chunyan and Zhou's mother sifted and picked up a large basket of truffles, they found that the first and second grade goods were less than in previous years, and the third and last grade were the most. Considering that last year's truffle production was indeed much higher than the year before, it was normal for the production to decrease this year.
When Zhou Huaian, Zhou Yiding and Xu Laosan came back with the goods, they were all talking about this issue. Compared with several purchasing points, the one in Bailing Mountain was better.
Although there was no price war, the addition of two stores still took away some of the supply. Coupled with the decrease in production, the truffles collected on the first day this year were only half of last year's.
After being busy for more than half a month, it was the end of December in the Gregorian calendar. Zhou Huaijun came back and told Zhou Huaian that the power station would be operational on time on New Year's Day. He also said that Wang Zhen had asked them to prepare red silk and firecrackers, and Xu Changming and the county leaders would also attend the commissioning ceremony.
Zhou Huaian goes out early in the morning to transport goods. He is so busy that he even forgets that the power station starts generating electricity on New Year's Day.
After hearing the news, he immediately asked Zhou Huaiqing and Xu Laosan to call Secretary Xu and Zhou Datian back to participate.
The first village-run power station in Ning'an County is given great attention by the higher-ups. The deputy county magistrate, Xu Changming, as well as the director of the county power bureau and the mayor of Baima Town were all present at the opening ceremony on New Year's Day.
After New Year's Day, villagers in Funiu Village who have invested in the power station will enjoy cheaper electricity bills and receive dividends at the end of the year.
All the villagers of Funiu Village, except those who went up the mountain to dig truffles, went to the power station. Except for the three brothers of the Zhou family who worked at the purchasing point, Zhou Huaian, Yang Chunyan and several older people also went to the power station.
The power station is a large yard. There is a copper sign hanging at the gate covered with red silk, with the words "Funiu Hydropower Station" written in large letters. There are several rows of long tables in the yard. Engineer Huang, who is working with Zhou Huaijun and several other people, is standing in front and making a report.
Zhou's mother excitedly pulled Yang Chunyan, quickly pointed at the middle-aged man sitting in the middle, and said excitedly: "I heard that man is the deputy county magistrate.
Look, your grandfather, the old man, Huai'an and Huaijun are sitting behind him. People in the village say that we are the most blessed old men and women in the village."
Yang Chunyan looked at the old man and Zhou's father who were sitting there with their backs straight, and said with a smile, "Mom, you are still the most capable old man and old lady in our village."
Zhou's mother laughed so hard that she couldn't close her mouth. "We don't have any ability. We are just enjoying the blessing of you and the youngest." (End of this chapter)
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