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墨書 Inktalez
Taking the cart driven by the Cart Master to the Commune, I decided to experience the results of the road repairs. I must say, the newly repaired section of the road was indeed much smoother.
Yezhi pondered: Since there was no longer a worry about lime, after winter, even if the villagers were busy, they still had to ensure someone was available for repairs.
"Yezi, how much do you think contracting the mountain will cost? What if we can't gather enough money?" Zhou Village Head had thought about this all night and ran to Old Accountant early in the morning to check the Team's finances.
The Team's account book showed only five hundred thirty-one coins. Could this little capital really contract the mountain? Zhou Village Head felt uncertain!
"I don't know! Let's see what the Commune says, and we'll go from there!" She said it lightly, but Zhou Village Head looked troubled.
"Everyone isn't doing well this year..." The road repairs had drained their resources; they couldn't squeeze out any more funds. Yezhi wouldn't be thinking of using Rice Bran Oil money, would she? Everyone was hoping for that oil money for the New Year!
"I know!" Yezhi still smiled cheerfully, while Zhou Village Head clicked his tongue, "Then you...!"
"Uncle, contracting the mountain is our top priority. Once this is settled, we can really get to work," Yezhi thought Zhou Village Head was hesitating and emphasized again.
"I know that! It's just that can we wait until after the New Year to discuss gathering money for contracting the mountain? Look, it's almost New Year," he feared backlash from the villagers. When they collected funds for road repairs before, there were already some discordant voices, especially from those newly married into the village who didn't understand the situation and loved to voice their opinions.
Yezhi thought for a moment, "Let's decide after we talk with the Commune; after all, we need to assess the situation." Zhou Village Head nodded.
Under Zhou Village Head's guidance, they finally entered the Commune without being stopped. "Director Zhang is in that row of offices on the left."
Yezhi pulled Zhou Village Head aside as he led the way, "Uncle, we're not looking for Director Zhang; we need to find the head of this Commune."
"Let's find Old Jiang!" Zhou Village Head thought Old Jiang was difficult to deal with and liked to use bureaucratic language.
Yezhi felt that Director Zhang wasn't bad either; it seemed that although the Commune officials weren't very high-ranking, their "authority" was more impressive than that of county officials.
As soon as they met Old Jiang, Yezhi felt a sense of pretentiousness; such people cared deeply about their reputation. She thought her prepared funds might actually be useful.
Zhou Village Head explained their intentions tactfully. Old Jiang's focus was indeed different; instead of discussing whether they could contract the mountain, he only mentioned how challenging it would be.
"Secretary Jiang, isn't there anything in this world without difficulty?" Yezhi deliberately paused and added, "The key is how you handle it." After saying this, she felt like a villain from a television drama.
Secretary Jiang laughed heartily, "Old Zhou, your village girl is interesting. Indeed, where can you find something in this world that's easy?"
Zhou Village Head finally felt a weight lifted off his shoulders; it seemed there was indeed hope. "Old Jiang, even if we have to sell everything we have, we must contract the mountain." It was time to show determination.
Upon hearing this, Secretary Jiang felt even happier: it seemed that selling rice had brought in quite a bit of profit, and he had heard they were also involved in aquaculture. The better Zhoujiatun did, the more substantial his political achievements would be.
"Old Zhou, we leaders of the Commune need to discuss the matter of Contracting the Mountain. Now that life is better for you in Zhoujiatun, you should help your fellow villagers," Secretary Jiang suggested, thinking that if they could help surrounding villages achieve common prosperity, it would be even better.
Yezhi smiled and replied, "The Biluomi is almost fully planted throughout the county; we won't forget our fellow villagers." Upon hearing this, Secretary Jiang also smiled sincerely: the people of Zhoujiatun were selfless and cared for their neighbors, making them worthy of support.
She did not expect that the county-wide spread of "Bilo" rice would create a favorable impression of Zhoujiatun among the Commune leaders. When discussing Zhoujiatun Contracting the Mountain, everyone tended to agree.
Three days later, when Zhou Village Head heard the answer, he could hardly believe it; it had really happened!
Yezhi was overjoyed and genuinely admired the wisdom of the Commune leaders.
The contracted amount decided by the Commune was not high at all; for such a large mountain, they only charged Zhoujiatun ten thousand yuan a year. Yezhi felt this was an incredible bargain and genuinely wanted to offer more.
Upon hearing that it was only ten thousand yuan a year, Zhou Village Head was taken aback. Did these people from the Commune have no shame? Before he could protest, Yezhi agreed to it, and it seemed there might even be room for negotiation on the amount and duration.
Secretary Jiang found himself in a bit of a dilemma; land contracts typically lasted no longer than 15 or 20 years. The Commune, fearing responsibility and public dissent, specifically limited the duration to 10 years.
"Twenty thousand yuan a year for twenty years!" Yezhi began throwing money into the conversation. Upon hearing this, Zhou Village Head immediately lost his composure. "Yezhi, where would our village get twenty thousand a year? Are you trying to kill us?"
Secretary Jiang was also tempted; twenty thousand yuan a year for twenty years amounted to four hundred thousand yuan—a considerable sum that could accomplish so much.
However, Zhoujiatun certainly couldn't come up with that amount. "If your village can pay forty thousand yuan in one lump sum, then you can contract for twenty years."
"It's a deal!"
"Yez...hi...!" The voice of Zhou Village Head trembled as he spoke; he felt as if the sun was too bright and his head was spinning.
...
All the way home, Zhou Village Head was so angry that he didn't speak to her. Yezhi didn't rush to explain either; her mind was occupied with how to raise forty thousand yuan within a month.
Xiao Fang, their crafty advisor, suggested, "Sell ginseng!"
"If ginseng from two or three decades suddenly floods the market, do you think no one would find it strange?" In fact, any product that enters the market in bulk will cause an impact. She had considered selling abroad as well, but converting foreign currency into renminbi could be troublesome. Moreover, her background could be scrutinized; if she were labeled a spy or accused of collusion with foreign powers, that would be even worse.
"We clearly have the Cosmic Mall treasure trove that we can't use, and there's nothing I can do," Xiao Fang said while sending a message to Xingya, letting her know not to worry about calculating the available funds in the store.
Yezhi bit her finger, "Can you detect any treasures underground, Xiao Fang?" She was considering antiques, not believing that such a large mountain didn't hide any treasures. Of course, those treasures would ultimately belong to their Zhou family as heirlooms.
At that moment, the Cart Master's cart suddenly stopped. "What's wrong, Boss?"
"There’s a small car blocking the bridge at the entrance of our village."
Zhou Village Head leaned out to take a look, startled. Who could it be? Small cars were quite rare.
"Yezhi, it seems like a distinguished guest has arrived at the Village."
"Uncle, are you finally going to acknowledge me!"
Zhou Village Head shot her a fierce glare. "I'll settle accounts with you later. The person in that car is definitely not an ordinary individual."
Even Secretary Zhang, who is the top official in the county, hasn't been able to ride in a small car; this person might be from the Province.
The two hurried into the village and ran into Wednesday, who said that the guests were waiting at Team.
They quickly headed to Team, and as soon as they entered, Yezhi froze. "Miss Leaf, we meet again!"
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