That morning, Xiao Zhengyang received the village chief's news that most villagers were willing to rent their land at the back mountain. However, they wanted to know how the rental would be calculated. A small portion didn't give a concrete answer. A handful of families straight-out refused. They'd rather let their land rot than rent it to Xiao Zhengyang's family.
Therefore, Xiao Zhengyang and Xiao Lingyu decided to go to the village chief's house to find out the details and come up with a plan.
Xiao Zhengyang handed a cigarette to the village chief and asked, "Village chief, what did the villagers say?"
The village chief took the cigarette and frowned slightly, "Zhengyang, Yu 'Er, most of the villagers are willing to rent. The land there is sandy. You can grow peanuts, sweet potatoes, and melons, but the plot is far from the village. If the rental is reasonable, you'll be saving them some trouble."
After all, since the land couldn't provide much income, the villagers might as well rent them out to earn the rental.
Xiao Zhengyang immediately said, "Village chief, don't worry, we'll definitely give them a reasonable price."
The village chief nodded and said, "I believe you." He took a puff of the cigarette and continued, "However, a small number of them didn't say a thing, they seem to be waiting to see how the others would respond. Some of them wanted to work the land themselves. The biggest problem is the two or three families who stated they rather let the land run wild than rent to you."
Xiao Zhengyang and Xiao Lingyu got the gist of the situation. Xiao Zhangyang and Xiao Lingyu shared a look. Then, they fell silent.
At this moment, the village chief looked at Xiao Lingyu and said, "Lingyu, I heard from your father that you plan to rent the land to grow vegetables. However, the plot is sandy. Other than peanuts, sweet potatoes, and melons, you can't grow any vegetables. Have you really thought about this?"
The village chief didn't say Xiao Lingyu lacked common sense. After all, she was a university graduate. Furthermore, Xiao Lingyu grew up in Taoyuan Village, so she should know about the conditions here. Her actions were rather reckless.
Xiao Zhengyang smiled sadly. He had considered these problems.
Xiao Lingye smiled and said, "Village chief, to be honest, I plan to grow strawberries, watermelons, and dragon fruits there. For vegetables, I plan to rent normal farming plots."
Both the village chief and Xiao Zhengyang were shocked. Xiao Zhengyang wondered if something had replaced his daughter. His daughter always had many ideas but they never changed around so quickly.
The village chief said in surprise, "You plan to grow strawberries and dragon fruits? Can they even be grown here?"
Xiao Lingyu shook her head. "I don't know, but I want to try!"
When the village chief heard this, his heart could not help but freeze. This child was too daring!
She was spending so much money on things she was not sure of. What if the plan didn't take root? It would be a huge loss of money.
The chief didn't know what to say, "Child, do you think this is a game? You'll need a large amount of money to rent the land. Do you know how much you'll lose if the land can't grow anything?" Then, he turned to Xiao Zhengyang, "Zhengyang, shouldn't you advise your daughter instead of letting her do something like this?"
Xiao Lingyu immediately explained, "Village chief, I'm not playing. I have a friend from the Academy of Agricultural Sciences. I learned some planting techniques from him, such as soilless cultivation and the allocation of nutrients for various crops. I'm very confident that I'd be able to grow these crops."
Xiao Zhengyang supported his daughter unconditionally. "Village Chief, I want to give Yu 'Er this chance to try. It doesn't matter if she fails. We'll help with her debt as a family!"
Since Xiao Zhengyang said that, the village chief waved his hands and sighed. "Fine, I'll help you ask around. But do you have any idea how much the rental will be?"
Xiao Zhengyang nodded, "The paddy field goes for 800 RMB per Mu, and the upper-grade farming land is 600 RMB per Mu. The sandy land at the back mountain is lower-grade land, so it's worth about 300 RMB per Mu, but we'll pay 400 RMB per Mu!"
The price was very reasonable. Xiao Taiyang nodded.
He asked, "How long would you rent it for?"
Xiao Lingyu answered, "15 years. We'll pay the rental every three years. After every three years, the rental will increase by 20 percent!"
In other words, for one Mu of land, Xiao Lingyu would pay 1200 RMB for the first three years, 1440 RMB for the next three years, and 1728 RMB for another three years.
Xiao Lingyu was taking into account the devaluation of the currency. She didn't want to face a ruckus from the villagers in the future about rental prices.
Even though it was inevitable.
Xiao Taiyang took another puff of the cigarette. "Okay, I'll try to get everyone to agree to rent the land. If they still disagree, there's nothing I can do. You might have to persuade them yourself."
Xiao Lingyu nodded. "Thank you, village chief!"
...
Xiao Chengbang led a calf to his tomato field.
Many passers-by recognized the calf as the one Xiao Lingyu bought not too long ago.
"Chengbang, why are you leading the Xiao Family's calf? Are you bringing him to plow the field? It's still so young! Plus, Lingyu's father has a plow machine!"
"Chengbang, why did you steal the job from Little Loach?"
"Chengbang, why are you leading the calf to your tomato field? I heard that the calf ate your tomatoes a few days ago. The girl compensated you with her calf?"
The villagers joked with Xiao Chengbang.
Xiao Chengbang joked back, "I've already plowed my family's land. I have nothing to do so I plan to take this calf for a walk. Didn't they say walking a dog is good exercise? But since there's no dog, I'll walk a calf." Xiao Chengbang was not stupid enough to directly state his purpose.
Before they arrived at the tomato field, Xiao Chengbang fed Little Light with plenty of fresh grass and tender tomato seedlings. Zhou Yan prepared the feed in the morning.
When they arrived at the tomato field, he patted the calf's head and asked, "Little Light, do you want some tomatoes? I'll pick a few for you."
Since Little Light ate his tomatoes, then he must like tomatoes.
"After you have your fill, please walk around my field. You can pee and poop anywhere you like."
"Moo!"