“It will come, don’t worry about it. I’ll get it started, you take care of it, and then we’ll find a few aunties in the village to help out, and we can all make money together.”
Widow Zhang was still completely bewildered, and could only casually say...
"You should eat first, then we can talk about this. There's no rush."
"Hmm, oh, right, let's ask Sister-in-law Han to come and help out too." Han Xiaotao should at least have a stable job.
Upon hearing the name Han Xiaotao, Widow Zhang immediately let out a sarcastic laugh.
"I understand, I understand, how could I leave her behind?"
Ye Cheng rolled his eyes at her, quickly finished his breakfast, and went out.
I need to withdraw money today to finalize the plan to raise free-range chickens.
A total of 150,000 yuan was raised. In addition to the contract fee, there was also start-up capital and living expenses for the Zhu brothers this year.
Savings: 250,000; Foreign debt: 10,000; Mortgage: 300,000
I checked my bank balance and found I still had 250,000 yuan. I had to spend it, so I did.
Xiao Hu doesn't need to go deliver the money; Ye Cheng told Xiao Hu to prepare for the afternoon's sea voyage.
It's been so long since I've been out to sea, I feel like I'm going to lose my sense of self.
After withdrawing the money, Ye Cheng rode his motorcycle towards Xialing Village. Having ridden it once before, he found the route easy this time and quickly arrived at the entrance of Xialing Village.
Upon arriving at the village entrance, the sight there gave Ye Cheng a huge fright.
Wow, whose family is having a banquet?
Why are so many people standing at the village entrance?
"Oh, they're here, they're here."
Is this it?
"So young! I wonder if she's married."
The group of people at the village entrance started chattering when they saw Ye Cheng, which made Ye Cheng a little flustered. Had he entered a spider cave?
"Xiao Ye, Xiao Ye, over here."
Aunt Li stood in the crowd and called out, and the Zhu brothers squeezed out one by one, beaming with joy.
"What are they doing? Are they welcoming me?"
"What else would we do but welcome you? Everyone in the village is so happy to hear that you're coming to contract the mountain to raise free-range chickens. Everyone's thinking about whether we can help them sell their chickens as well."
After hearing what Aunt Li said, Ye Cheng finally understood that the villagers had been poor for too long.
Since they finally have this opportunity, they all want to improve their lives.
That's not impossible. As long as the products are good, Ye Cheng believes they will always sell.
"Auntie, let's go and lease the mountain first. I haven't looked for a way to sell chickens yet. No rush, there's still time."
“Okay, okay.” Aunt Li and the Zhu brothers helped Ye Cheng head to the village committee, and the other villagers who had come to watch the commotion followed behind.
Ye Cheng glanced back and saw pairs of simple, honest eyes filled with a longing for wealth.
As the saying goes, "Bad people come from poor and remote areas."
However, troublemakers are a minority; in fact, most villagers are simple and kind.
"Brother Cheng, we've reached an agreement with the village chief. The annual contract price is reduced to 2,500 yuan per year," Zhu Liwen whispered to Ye Cheng on the way.
It's good to save 500, it's good to save some money.
When we arrived at the village committee, it was simply incomparable to the one in Baiyun Village.
It was just a mud house, and an old man with a stubble beard stood at the door, eagerly waiting. When he saw someone coming, he immediately came out to greet them.
"Brother Cheng, this is our village chief, Zhu Weiguo," Zhu Liwen introduced.
"Hello, village chief," Ye Cheng greeted him.
Zhu Weiguo excitedly grasped Ye Cheng's hand.
"Boss, I didn't expect you to be so young."
“I’m not a big boss, I just made some money fishing before. Village chief, it’s getting early, why don’t we sign the contract?”
"Hey, sign it, sign it!" Zhu Weiguo's beard trembled with excitement.
Ye Cheng took out the contract and glanced at it briefly. It was handwritten, which was quite remarkable, but the handwriting was neat and tidy.
"This is what I wrote, Mr. Ye. Do you think it's okay?" Zhu Weiguo looked at Ye Cheng with some trepidation.
Ye Cheng looked it over from beginning to end and found no problems. It was 2,500 a year for a 30-year contract, which came to a total of 75,000.
"It's well written. It's 75,000 in total. I'll pay now, and then we'll sign and stamp it."
As he spoke, Ye Cheng pulled out a thick wad of cash.
Zhu Weiguo's eyes widened as he looked at the money; when did the village have so much money?
"I'll stamp it." Zhu Weiguo found the village committee's official seal and quickly stamped it, afraid that Ye Cheng would change his mind.
Ye Cheng didn't sign; he just looked at Zhu Liwen.
"Sign it."
"Huh? I signed it?" Zhu Liwen pointed to himself, somewhat incredulous.
“Yes, you sign, I’ll just invest.” Ye Cheng nodded.
He knew what was going on in the village. If he signed the contract, there was no guarantee that the village wouldn't suddenly renege on the agreement and decide to contract the mountain to an outsider.
He'll be all alone then, with nowhere to reason with anyone.
However, Zhu Liwen is from this village, and with his four brothers, they are absolutely dominant in the village. Anyone who dares to gossip about them will face immediate retaliation.
That's just the way things are in the village; if you're going to play in the village, you have to follow the village rules.
Zhu Liwen held the pen, his heart pounding with excitement. He felt like he couldn't even write his own name anymore. It was only after Zhu Weiguo kept urging him that he managed to write his name crookedly. For the first time, he felt that his handwriting was a bit ugly and didn't deserve the more than 70,000 yuan.
Seeing that the writing was finished, Zhu Weiguo's eyes were fixed on the money in Ye Cheng's hand, and he couldn't help but rub his hands together.
Ye Cheng didn't hand over the money immediately, but continued,
"Village chief, may I ask how you plan to use this money?"
"Huh? How do I use it?" Zhu Weiguo scratched his head, he really hadn't thought about how to use so much money.
"Oh, I see. This money belongs to your village, so don't worry, I won't interfere with how you use it. But I personally suggest that you repair the road into the village. The road is in terrible condition, making it difficult for vehicles to get in."
He'll be coming into the village to collect free-range chickens and eggs from now on, and this lousy road is a nightmare to drive on.
There's an old saying that goes, "If you want to get rich, build roads first," and there's truth to that.
"Yes, yes, we should repair the road first. Once it's repaired and leveled, it will be easier for everyone to get in and out," Zhu Weiguo replied repeatedly.
Judging from Zhu Weiguo's demeanor, he seemed genuinely interested in repairing the road, so Ye Cheng gave him the money.
As for whether or not it will be repaired later, he has no say in that.
Zhu Weiguo held such a large wad of cash in his hands, and his beard trembled with joy.
With the village committee matters settled, Ye Cheng returned to the Zhu family's home.
Aunt Li had originally asked him to stay for dinner, but Ye Cheng declined, thinking about his upcoming sea voyage in the afternoon.
He took out 10,000 yuan and placed it on the table.
“Auntie, this 10,000 yuan is for you to buy chicks and then build some fences or something on the mountain.”
“We don’t need that many. The chicks are only a little over 1 yuan each, so 1,000 yuan is enough. We can cut some trees on the mountain to make the fence, it won’t cost us anything.” Aunt Li said, as she tried to return most of the money to Ye Cheng.
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