Xu An drove the tricycle straight towards his second grandfather's house. Before the vehicle had even come to a complete stop, several people came out of the yard, grabbed Xu An and Xu Guosheng, and dragged them into the yard, not forgetting to close the gate behind them. The whole sequence of actions was fluid and incredibly skillful; it was unclear where they had practiced it.
“Anzi is here too, so everyone’s here. I won’t keep you in suspense any longer, let’s get straight to the point.” Second Grandfather stroked his goatee: “I just received a call from Professor Yu, saying there’s something wrong with that mudflat, but we’ll have to wait for professional equipment to test it to know for sure. This could be a good thing, or it could be a bad thing.”
"The reason we're telling everyone about this before the results are out is because the lease procedures for the mudflats are almost complete. We just need to go to the city tomorrow to get the signatures, and that'll be it. There's still a chance to withdraw the signature before it's finalized, so let's see what you all think?"
Is there something wrong with the mudflats? In my past life, the mudflats were perfectly normal before they were destroyed, with nothing unusual about them. So why are they acting strangely now that Professor Yu has come to these mudflats in this life?
Xu An's first reaction was that there was a problem with the test results, but in fact the mudflats were perfectly normal; his second reaction was the chain reaction brought about by Professor Yu's arrival. Some people thought that with Professor Yu in charge, the mudflats could make money, and they wanted to steal the deal.
But Xu An quickly rejected the second idea.
Although I don't know the exact identity of that simple-minded middle-aged man, he must be someone who has influence and whose words carry weight. Judging from the relationship between my second grandfather and him that day, if someone really tried to steal the prize, even if he couldn't stop it, he would probably have told my second grandfather.
But it's impossible for the mudflats to have any problems. At least before they were sprayed with pesticides in their previous life, they were managed very well without any issues. Including the years they were abandoned, they were perfectly normal for a total of six or seven years.
"That's one thing, and now there's another." Second Grandfather got up and went into the main room. After a while, he came out holding a document and a black pen, and said seriously, "The village collective industry loan is a bit different now than before. Now, if you want to develop a village collective industry, you need the consent and signature of the whole village."
"But that's not what I want to say. What I mean is that if our village's collective industry fails to make money after signing this, and we can't repay the loan in three years, then none of you who signed this will be able to get a personal loan until the loan is paid off."
Seeing everyone's bewildered expressions, the second grandfather sighed and explained, "It's like when you want to buy a house, a car, or start a small business in the future, you won't be able to get a loan through the bank's approval process."
As mentioned earlier, there might be problems with the mudflats; the following point is that after the village collective industry failed, villagers could no longer obtain personal loans.
In an instant, all twenty-odd people in the courtyard fell silent. The sounds of their breathing, the friction of their clothes against their skin, and the rustling of the leaves could be clearly heard.
There are still six years before the mudflats are destroyed. Now, Xujia Village plans to lease the entire mudflat for aquaculture. The output value that was originally shared by more than ten villages in the past will now be enjoyed exclusively by Xujia Village.
Based on the profits from mudflat aquaculture in Xujia Village in my previous life, with full-fledged development in this life, I should be able to pay off the loan in about a year, and the remaining five years will be pure profit. If problems really arise then, they can just refuse to renew the lease and stop paying.
Thinking of this, Xu An stood up without hesitation, walked to the small round table next to his second grandfather, picked up the black pen on the table, and was about to sign his name on the document when his second grandfather grabbed his right hand holding the pen.
“Anzi, you’re the one here who needs to think this through the most. The money you invested was borrowed from the bank. If this collective project fails, you’ll be doubly indebted.”
"Second Grandfather, I've made up my mind!" Xu An also put away his smile and said seriously, "My fast food restaurant is doing quite well, and the newly opened braised food shop is also doing well. A loan of one million seems like a lot, but I can pay it off sooner or later."
At this point, Xu An paused, cleared his throat, and continued.
"As for the mudflats, even if there really is a problem with the mudflats in the southeast corner, it shouldn't be that a whole 15,000 acres are affected, right? There must be some usable mudflats! Besides, from my brief interactions with Professor Yu, I know that he is a straightforward person. Now that he is being so vague, there are only two possibilities: one is that there is indeed a problem, but it's not a big one and won't have much of an impact; the other possibility is that it might be a good thing, and he's not going to elaborate because he's afraid we'll be disappointed."
Xu An's words were reasonable and well-founded. Furthermore, everyone was familiar with this mudflat area; countless fishermen worked there every day. If there were any problems or unusual occurrences, they would be the first to know, and would have already spread the word far and wide.
Grandpa let go of his hand, and Xu An successfully signed his name and pressed his fingerprint on the guarantee.
As soon as he returned to his seat, Xu Guosheng stood up, walked slowly but firmly to the round table, picked up a pen and wrote his own name next to Xu An's name.
Xu Guosheng returned to his seat, and Aunt Hong stood up; Aunt Hong sat down, and Xu Guoqiang stood up.
No one spoke, but one after another they signed their names on the guarantee documents.
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