latelenovela Chapter 31 A Visit from the Neighboring Village
Chapter 31 A Visit from the Neighboring Village
Their financial situation is indeed tight right now, and they came back for a reason, something difficult to say but necessary: to borrow money from her father.
Last year, my son started kindergarten, and my father-in-law accidentally fell into a ditch while working in the fields, injuring his leg.
The brothers should have split the money equally, but Jiang Huai'an's brothers said that he and his wife worked for a government-affiliated unit with stable jobs, unlike them who relied on luck for their livelihood and hadn't spent any money.
Who is Liu Meijun? She wouldn't misunderstand her brother's meaning; it's just asking them to contribute a little more.
She fought back on the spot, and luckily her husband supported her, otherwise she would have made a huge fuss with him!
In the end, the expenses were split equally, but even so, they still incurred a considerable additional cost.
With the Spring Festival approaching, visiting relatives and superiors all require spending money.
They hadn't saved much money over the years, and this unexpected event wiped out their last savings. The older sister's suggestion was truly a godsend.
In the end, Liu Meijun agreed to the part-time job without much hesitation, but she still told them that she wanted to hire some professionals in this field.
She could only help with things like checking the accounts when she had free time.
Yufei's mother said that was enough. They would definitely still need to hire people to set up a finance department, but it would be better for family members to take care of the core matters!
After the family reunion dinner, they went to the living room to play cards and chat about their ideas. Auntie and Grandma Yufei took over the housework and went to the kitchen to busy themselves.
That evening, Yufei kept her promise to her two cousins and brought out various kinds of fireworks and firecrackers from the storage room.
They took the fireworks to play in the front yard, and the village children who were out playing saw them and formed a circle around them. When the fireworks went off, they cheered enthusiastically.
A perfect atmosphere-maker has emerged, making Yufei forget that she's over 30 years old and act like a child, showing off to them.
The children watching looked at her with envious eyes.
She blushed slightly at their admiring gazes, but still shared some firecrackers with them.
Playing with fireworks is definitely more fun when there are many people, especially when a group of children are playing together.
You never know how wild their imaginations run; they've even invented a ton of combination techniques.
The fireworks were unexpectedly beautiful; some soared in the sky, others sprayed onto the ground, and they even resembled the fireworks displays of later generations.
A group of children jumped and played around the fireworks, and every now and then Yufei's grandfather could be heard calling out to them not to get hurt by the smoke. Yufei thought, this is what New Year's is all about! It's nothing like how quiet and desolate it is when I grow up!
On the third day of the Lunar New Year, the Liu family was leisurely enjoying breakfast when they were unexpectedly greeted by several village officials from a neighboring village who came to wish Yufei's grandfather a Happy New Year.
Grandpa Yufei exclaimed that this was absolutely not allowed; he hadn't even gone to wish them a Happy New Year, how could he trouble these people?
Grandpa Yufei quickly entertained them, bringing out the fine tea and cigarettes he had bought.
"Huazhang, no need to be so polite, Happy New Year! I'm a straightforward person, so I'll just get straight to the point."
I'm here today for two reasons: first, to wish you a Happy New Year, and second, to seek cooperation. Last year, everyone in Longyuan Town was incredibly envious, getting white jade radishes and golden corn all at once.
"Your village chief said this whole mess was caused by your family. We watched you and Xiao Gao grow up, and we hope you can help us from the neighboring village too."
The speaker was a village official from a neighboring village who, in an effort to secure this cooperation, had brought in a respected elder from the village to appeal to his emotions.
In fact, Yufei really disliked this kind of emotional blackmail, but there was nothing she could do; Daxia sometimes couldn't do without these networks of relationships. Fortunately, they were also willing to cooperate.
Many of the crops that Yufei has selected are too large for one village to consume. The more villages join, the more people there are, the larger the land becomes, and the more abundant the harvest will be, thus achieving a win-win situation.
"Old Li, look at what you're saying. There's no question of helping or not helping. We're all neighbors, this is about mutual benefit. Even if you hadn't come today, I would have gone to visit you anyway!" Grandpa Yufei said sincerely to the village officials from the neighboring village.
When the village officials from the neighboring village heard what Yufei's grandfather said, they knew there was hope, and they excitedly said...
"Hua Zhang! You decide whether we should plant white jade radishes or golden corn. It's up to you, and we'll follow your arrangements!"
"That's right. There are many agricultural products in the same batch as golden corn and white radishes. We plan to grow different kinds in each village. Then, several villages will combine their agricultural products to create a wider variety, giving customers more choices. This will also help us form a more positive cooperative relationship."
However, since the varieties are different, the annual yields may vary. Therefore, to ensure fairness, we will draw lots later to decide which village will plant which variety.
"It just so happens that we're in a lake area, so we'll have some aquatic products to offer. Since the people in charge from your villages are all here today, I'll go make some preparations. After I finish explaining some items, we'll draw lots."
As he spoke, Grandpa Yufei went into the bedroom and took out paper and pen, quickly writing down the crops they had received before the New Year.
"Our Junlin Company currently has five new projects, one of which corresponds to each of your five villages: oil-producing camellia trees, cotton, soft-shelled turtles, sesame seeds, and rock sugar tangerines."
Our camellia seeds have an extremely high oil content; 10 jin (5 catties) of seeds can yield at least 5 jin (2.5 catties) of oil. Moreover, this oil has a delicate tea aroma, making everything taste delicious. "Old woman, go and bring out that preserved fish made with camellia oil."
When the tea oil tree was introduced, Grandpa Yufei asked Grandma to bring out food made with tea oil. After all, words were useless; seeing the actual product would give them peace of mind.
Grandma Yufei didn't say much. She went to the kitchen and prepared the dish. She brought out the preserved fish stir-fried with tea tree oil, which she had originally planned to have for lunch. Then, she thought for a moment and put a bowl of turtle on the stove, intending to heat it up before bringing it over as well.
The leaders' eyes lit up after eating the cured fish. The oil had a subtle tea tree aroma that combined with the flavor of the cured fish, creating a unique and delicious taste.
Moreover, this oil is incredibly clear, clearly a top-quality oil. And in this day and age, Grandpa Yufei doesn't need to emphasize how important oil is; everyone knows that.
"We, the Li Family Village, will take this!" The village chief of Li Family Village quickly declared his stance after consuming the tea tree oil product.
"Hey! You old man Li, you think you're so capable, but you don't get to decide this!"
"Huazhang! This camellia tree looks so much more fitting for our Gaolingpo Village. If it's our village, we'll treat it like a precious ancestor! Don't listen to Old Man Li, let us plant it!"
"Ha! You old man Wang, you're the one who's dreaming!"
...As they were talking, these people started arguing like children. Grandpa Yufei found it amusing to see them, who were usually so serious, acting like this now.
I reluctantly repeated to them that, for the sake of fairness, the decision would be made by drawing lots.
To avoid situations where one product sells better than the others and people complain, you're responsible for your own luck.