Chapter 273: Contract the Mountains

Translator: Lonelytree 

After the university entrance exam was over, Xiao Lingye stayed in the county town to learn how to drive. His family was busy but they didn’t disturb him. However, Xiao Lingye would often go to the shop to help.

The shop had already made a name for itself in the county town. However, they were running out of stock. New vegetables had been planted but it was not yet time for harvest. The shop mostly sold strawberries.

Xiao Lingyu reserved the vegetables in the farming space for her old customers. Xiao Lingyu couldn’t go to the county town every day, so she transplanted the vegetables from the farming space onto the farmlands.

After the transplant, they didn’t taste any different from if they were grown in the farming space, provided that they were watered with the spring water every day.

This was the result of Xiao Lingyu’s many experiments. This way, she didn’t need to go to the county town every day. It also helped protect the farming space’s secret.

The management of this one Mu of farm was left to the people closest to Xiao Lingyu. Mother Xiao and Father Xiao harvested the vegetables daily.

The villagers were told that this Mu of land was experimental farming. The Mu of land used the most advanced scientific planting methods, as well as the nutrients developed by Xiao Lingyu’s friends from the Academy of Agricultural Sciences. The Xiao family said that if the experiment was successful, they would expand the operation.

The villagers didn’t doubt anything.

However, Old Master Gong and his grandson didn’t believe this. But they were on Xiao Lingyu’s side. They knew there was a secret but they didn’t attempt to expose it.

If anything, they helped Xiao Lingyu. Xiao Lingyu’s vegetables were special so naturally they would attract people’s attention. Old Master Gong and Gong Tianhao had stopped all of these people’s investigation.

These people only found out that Xiao Lingyu used special planting technique and the soil of Taoyuan Village was unique.

As for the matter of the Little Cattle King, the villagers kept mum on it to outsiders. They were using Little Cattle King’s manure on their own farmland to earn money. They were not stupid enough to share that secret with others.

The village chief also instructed the villagers not to spread the news about the Little Cattle King. It would not be good if others had ill intentions.

Even though the Little Cattle King belonged to Xiao Lingyu, the entire village benefited from it. The villagers naturally knew the importance of this matter. After all, it was related to their own personal interests.

…

“What?” When Xiao Lingyu’s parents heard Xiao Lingyu’s plan, they were surprised even though they had already heard Xiao Lingyu mention that she wanted to rent a whole mountain in the past.

Back then, the money they earned had been used to pay off the business debt so they didn’t have any extra money to rent a mountain. They would wait until they had more money.

This matter was only known to her family and not to others. They knew that if this matter was spread, it might cause some troubles.

After all, in less than half a year, Taoyuan Village had turned from the poorest village to the liveliest village in the county.

After a slight shock, Father Xiao asked calmly, “Yu ‘Er, how many mountains are you planning to contract?”

Xiao Lingyu said, “I want to contract the surrounding mountains.”

“Ah, all of them?” Father Xiao and Mother Xiao asked in surprise, “Yu ‘Er, why would you contract so many mountains?”

“To plant fruit trees and vegetables,” Xiao Lingyu said.

“But, will it work?” Father Xiao and Mother Xiao asked in confusion.

“It shouldn’t be a problem!” Xiao Lingyu said.

“Okay, I’ll talk to the village chief,” Xiao Lingyu’s father nodded and said. They would support their daughter no matter what she did.

“Thank you, Father!” Xiao Lingyu said gratefully.

…

Xiao Lingyu told the village chief about contracting the mountains

“Does Lingyu want to contract the mountains?” The village chief asked.

“Yes.” Father Xiao explained, “Yu ‘Er plans to contract the mountains to plant fruit trees.”

The village chief asked, “Then which mountain do you want to contract?”

Father Xiao said, “Yu ‘Er means to contract all of the mountains around Taoyuan Village. She hopes that the village chief will tell the villagers.”

“All of them?!” This time, the village chief was really surprised. “There are a total of six mountains in Taoyuan Village. That’s more than 10,000 mu.”

The rent alone was several million. It looked like the Xiao Family had really struck it rich.

The village chief persuaded, “Zhengyang, why don’t you talk to Lingyu again? This is not a small matter. Six mountains, the annual rent alone is over a million.

“What if the agriculture business doesn’t earn money? Why doesn’t she start with one or two mountains first?”

The village chief was really kind and considerate of them. Taoyuan Village had improved greatly thanks to Xiao Lingyu. So, he only wanted the best for the girl.

Father Xiao said helplessly, “Village chief, you also know how stubborn our girl is. Once she has made a decision, no one can change her mind. As her parents, her mother and I can only support her.”

“You two spoil her too much!” The village chief scolded with a smile, “In the village, your family is the best at spoiling children. Alright, since you have already decided on this matter, I will have a meeting with the villagers to discuss it. After everyone has approved it, I will go to the town to ask for official approval.”

Then, the village chief’s expression became somewhat serious. He reminded, “Zhengyang, you’re going to contract six mountains in one go. If you don’t take care of the natural environment and destroy them wantonly, the higher-ups will definitely not approve it.”

Xiao Zhengyang said, “Don’t worry, village chief. We will only use them to plant fruit trees and vegetables. We’ll not destroy the structure of the mountain.”

“Alright. I’ll go to the village committee first and discuss it with a few village elders. After that, I’ll have a meeting with the villagers.”

“Okay. Thank you, Village Chief!” Xiao Zhengyang said with a smile.

After Xiao Zhengyang left, Auntie Zeng’s eyes revealed a look of envy as she said, “It seems that their family has struck gold. To think they’d contract six mountains just like that. That’ll cost several millions.”

The village chief nodded and said, “Yes, they have indeed made a fortune. Anyone with a discerning eye can see it.”

Auntie Zeng asked doubtfully, “But why do they need so many mountains? What kind of fruit do they plan to grow? Peaches?”

Peaches were the most famous at Taoyuan Village.

In the past, when the traffic was inconvenient, the peaches that were planted would rot in the ground. But now, the peaches had been selling well.

Auntie Zeng’s eyes lit up and she said, “Old Man, shall we plant some peach trees too?”

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