Translator: Lonelytree
Every family in the village received a notice that they had to go to the village committee center to sign a land contract. After they signed the contract, they would get their rent immediately. Many villagers were happy when they received this news.
“Yu ‘Er, you should have your father and fourth uncle accompany you to the country town to get the money!” Mother Xiao advised. Xiao Lingyu was going to withdraw a large amount of money. Mother Xiao would be more at ease if her daughter didn’t go alone.
Xiao Lingyu nodded. “Okay.” She was also worried about being targeted when she had so much money. But with her father and fourth uncle around, she’d be protected.
Father Xiao rejected a few job offers to clear some time for Xiao Lingyu. Xiao Mingyang also skipped work for the day.
Xiao Lingyu rode on her father’s motorcycle, and Xiao Mingyang rode on his bike as they traveled to Xing An town. They parked before an acquaintance’s shop and took a bus to the county town.
Xiao Lingyu withdrew 48,000 RMB from the bank counter. She planned to withdraw 50,000 RMB initially, but for that, she had to make an appointment.
After the visit to the bank, the three went to order the materials required to build the farming shed. Xiao Lingyu’s fourth uncle had connections since he often came to the county town to work. He led Xiao Lingyu and her father to a few shops.
…
Back at the village, they guessed that she had gone to withdraw money when the villagers saw Xiao Lingyu travel to town. They discussed this animatedly, with envy in their eyes.
“Lingyu wants to rent so much land, and she’ll pay three years of rental in advance. She’ll need at least 30000 RMB.”
“Yes. On top of that, I heard she is renting the land to grow strawberries. To do that, she has to build gardening sheds. She will have to hire people to do that. The cost should be more than 50000 RMB. Just how much Lingyu has earned when she was working in the big city?”
50000 RMB was an astronomical sum for the villagers. Xiao Lingyu worked in the big city only for a few years. She not only helped her family pay off all the university debt but also managed to save up a lot of money. It was enviable.
“She wants to plant strawberries? But not one farm at Xing Yin County has managed to do that before. I doubt strawberries will grow here. If she fails, this will be a huge loss.” Someone said loudly. These people were the ones who were jealous of the Xiao Family.
“So what if they lose the money? Xiao Lingyu can just earn more by returning to the city. The loss will be rectified in two years. Unlike us, we’ll have to lose everything if we fail at something like this.”
“Yeah, Xiao Lingyu is capable. Perhaps she can get strawberries to grow here and earn a lot of money.”
“If she succeeded, we’d benefit from it too.” Some had high hopes for Xiao Lingyu.
“Benefit? At least you have to wait for the girl to succeed first!” Someone scoffed, “What if she failed? Will we have to return her the rental?”
“Of course not!” Someone said immediately, “The failure is hers, so what does that have to do with us? Why should we return her the money?”
“Yes, we have to clarify this when we go to sign the contract. If we have to return the money should she fail, then I’m not going to rent my land!”
“Yes, I agree.”
“You people worry too much. Did you forget how lucky Xiao Lingyu is? The calf she bought is the Little Cattle King. As long as she has the Little Cattle King, how can she fail?”
“That’s right. With the Little Cattle King on her side, she will make a fortune.”
“How can Xiao Zhengyang be so lucky? Both his children are clever and hardworking. Xiao Lingyu sent back tons of money after she graduated. His family’s life has improved exponentially in a few years. Now, they even have the blessing of the Little Cattle King.”
Speaking the Little Cattle King, someone thought of something and asked worriedly, “Xiao Lingyu is starting her own farm. Will she lend us the Little Cattle King in the future?”
The Little Cattle King’s manure was amazing. They had verified the results themselves. Some greedy villagers wanted the Little Cattle King to visit their fields every day.
“We’ll go ask Zhengyang and Qiuying.”
“Yes, that’s a good idea!”
…
For the past three days, Xiao Fuqi and Zhang Chunjiao had been waiting at home for Xiao Zhengyang or Xiao Lingyu to come to beg them by offering them the Little Cattle King.
They didn’t wait for that result, but they did receive the news of the contract signing.
Xiao Fuqi was anxious. “What does Xiao Zhengyang mean by this? Does he intend to skip over our land?” They didn’t care if the land was rented or not. It didn’t bring them much profit, and their real goal was the Little Cattle King.
Zhang Chunjiao was full of confidence at first. She was sure that Xiao Lingyu would definitely come and ask for their family’s land.
However, the lack of news for the past three days made her confidence waver.
In the face of her husband’s doubt, Zhang Chunjia still said proudly, “They will come. Their cost will skyrocket if they don’t rent our land. It’s cheaper for them to rent from us than not to. If they are smart, they will come.”
“But the village chief is already telling people to go to the village committee center to sign the contract tomorrow!” Xiao Fuqi was doubtful. “Should we go?”
“Of course!” Zhang Chunjiao said loudly, “I want to see what kind of contract it is! Xiao Lingyu, that wretched girl, thinks she can fool us after she worked in the city for a few years?”
“Yes. If there are some problems, we’ll expose them on the spot!” Xiao Fuqi agreed.
This pair forgot that they were the ones who needed help from the Xiao Family. They had pictured themselves as the agents of justice and the Xiao Family a family of criminals.
…
At that same time, many people came to the Xiao Family to probe for information.
“Qiuying, is Lingyu really going to contract the land to grow strawberries and dragon fruits?”
“Qiuying, how much money did Lingyu earn in the big cities? The initial rental alone is over 30,000 RMB. There are also other costs, right? We have worked our whole life, and we can’t earn that much. I envy your family for having such an outstanding daughter.”
“Qiuying, my family wants to follow Lingyu’s lead and grow some strawberries too. Can we borrow some money?”
Mother Xiao listened to them ramble. She would reply to those she thought she should and ignore the others..