Translator: Lonelytree
Old Master Gong and Gong Tianhao were having dinner at the Xiao family’s residence. When they found out that Xiao Lingyu wanted to contract the mountains, they were shocked beyond words.
Old Master Gong glanced at Xiao Lingyu’s stomach and said worriedly, “Girl, your stomach is already so big. This is very taxing. Can you handle it?”
Xiao Lingyu smiled and said, “Old Master, I won’t be working the mountains myself. I only need to move my mouth.”
Old Master Gong nodded and said, “Then you have to take care of your body.” After saying that, Old Master Gong turned his head and instructed Gong Tianhao, “Hao ‘Er, Lingyu’s condition is not convenient. You have to help her if she has errands to run!”
Gong Tianhao immediately replied, “Yes!”
However, he only knew how to invest and didn’t know how to farm. Then again, he could always learn.
Father Xiao immediately said, “Old Master, won’t this be too troublesome for Tianhao?”
Old Master Gong said indifferently, “Anyway, he has nothing to do here. Since he strolls around all day, he might as well help Lingyu.”
Gong Tianhao, “…”
That was actually not true.
Although he wasn’t in the capital, he was still commanding the company via video teleconferencing. He was busy every day. However, he would sacrifice all these to win back his wife. His wife and child were more important.
Old Master Gong asked, “Zhengyang, Lingyu, how many mountains are you going to contract?”
Xiao Zhengyang replied, “There are six mountains in Taoyuan Village. So it’s over 10,000 Mu.”
Old Master Gong nodded. “The rent won’t be low then!”
Xiao Zhengyang nodded and said, “The paddy fields are rented for 800 RMB per mu, the first-class drylands are 600 RMB per mu, and the second-class drylands are 300 RMB per mu, but the mountains are usually 150 or at most 200 RMB per mu.”
“In that case, the annual rent for those six hills is at least 1.5 million. I heard that when your family rented the sandy land, you’d pay the rent once every three years. If you’re doing the same for the mountains too, then it’s four to five million RMB every three years.”
When Mother Xiao heard that, her eyes widened in shock. She exclaimed, “Four to five million?”
That was so high. If this were two years ago, they wouldn’t even dare to consider spending four to five thousand RMB.
Mother Xiao turned to look at Xiao Lingyu and asked, “Yu ‘Er, do we have that much money on hand?”
Xiao Lingyu smiled and shook her head. “No. We only have three million.”
“Three million?” Mother Xiao asked worriedly, “That means we are still short of two to three million? But we’ll have to pay once the contract is signed. How are we going to raise that much money?”
When Old Master Gong heard this, he immediately said, “This old man still has some spare money. I can lend you three million.” He originally wanted to give them five million, but he was afraid the Xiao Family wouldn’t accept it. In fact, if the Xiao Family were willing to take his money, he would give them fifty million, much less five million.
He didn’t have money, but his grandson did. His grandson’s money was his granddaughter-in-law’s money anyway.
However, Xiao Lingyu didn’t want to take 300 RMB from the Gong Family, much less three million. She didn’t want to get mixed with the Gong Family. She didn’t want to owe anyone anything.
Xiao Lingyu shook her head and said, “There’s no need, old master. I can apply for a loan from the bank. With my current assets, it shouldn’t be a problem for me to borrow two to three million.”
Old Master Gong, “…” How can I forget that my granddaughter-in-law is not an ordinary farmer. She graduated from a famous university and is very knowledgeable.
Old Master Gong said with slight regret, “Alright then. Lingyu, if you need this old man’s help, feel free to ask. If you need some manpower, while this old man can’t help much, this brat can. You can just order him around.”
“…” Xiao Lingyu couldn’t brush off Old Master Gong’s good intentions, “Thank you, old master.”
“We’re a family. There’s no need to be polite!” Old Master Gong waved his hand and said very naturally.
“En?” Xiao Lingyu and her family looked at Old Master Gong suspiciously.
“Cough Cough!” Gong Tianhao put his fist to his lips to remind him.
Old Master Gong said, “What I mean is that I feel like we’re already like a family, so there’s no need for ceremony.”
“The old master is right. However,” Xiao Zhengyang cleared his throat and said, “Old Master, even brothers can’t take advantage of each other. We’ll ask for the old master’s help only if we need it. Thank you, old master.”
Old Master nodded and said, “Yes, of course.”
After Old Master Gong and Gong Tianhao left, Father Xiao and Mother Xiao revealed worried expressions and asked, “Yu ‘Er, what do you mean by the bank loan?”
Xiao Lingyu explained, “It means I’ll have to borrow money from the bank.”
Father Xiao and Mother Xiao were shocked. “Borrowing money from the bank?!” These rural people only knew how to deposit money in the bank, but they didn’t know that the bank could lend people money.
Father Xiao asked, “Yu ‘Er, can you do that?”
Xiao Lingyu explained, “Yes. But we have to pay interest. Just like how the bank will give interest when you save money with them, they will charge interest when you take a loan from them.”
“Oh, I see.” Father and Mother Xiao nodded and said, “But will the bank loan us so much money?”
Xiao Lingyu explained, “The bank will do an asset assessment before processing any loan. They will assess the investment and risk.”
“But will the bank loan us the money since we’re only using it to contract mountains?” Mother Xiao asked with some worry.
Xiao Lingyu shook her head and said, “I don’t know either. I’ll have to ask around.”
Her words were very conservative. She didn’t want her parents to worry.
…
When Old Master Gong returned home, he said directly, “I didn’t expect Lingyu to contract the entire mountain range. That is not easy.”
Gong Tianhao thought for a moment and said, “Yu ‘Er is very thoughtful.”
Old Master Gong nodded and said, “Yes, that girl is indeed a wiser thinker. But most importantly, she has a family that is tolerant and supportive of her.”
Gong Tianhao didn’t say anything, but he agreed with Old Master Gong.
In rural areas, most families were still misogynistic. It was rare for a girl to make a name for herself by studying. Most families believed investment in daughters was pointless. After all, she would leave the family to serve her in-laws.
However, the Xiao couple not only nurtured their girl into a talent, but they also supported their daughter’s willful return to the family to farm.
They cared about their children and never had such a preference for sons over daughters.
Therefore, Gong Tianhao liked the atmosphere of the Xiao family very much.
He was also eager to join this big family.
Old Master Gong glanced at the silent Gong Tianhao and said somewhat resentfully, “When did you become so useless? It’s been so long, but you still don’t have your wife back yet.
“People say that you’re the richest man in the world, and you can make anything happen. But now, you can’t even win over a woman’s heart. You haven’t even held her hands yet. What a joke!”
Gong Tianhao defended himself, “Grandfather, I have already hugged her!”
Old Master Gong immediately said in disdain, “Hmph, don’t think I don’t know the truth! You were only taking advantage of her! Both times were accidents!”
Gong Tianhao,”…”
In any case, in Old Master Gong’s eyes, he only valued his granddaughter-in-law and great-grandson. His grandson? Hah!
Old Master Gong thought of something and said, “Sigh, why is Lingyu so stubborn? We didn’t say we’d give her the money, we only wanted to lend her some, but she still refused us. What should we do? We have plenty of money for her to spend, but she doesn’t want to.”
The wealthy families were always worried about gold-diggers, but this family was the opposite. They were worried because their daughter-in-law wasn’t willing to spend their money.
Gong Tianhao thought for a moment and said, “Grandfather, since Lingyu isn’t willing to borrow money from us, she must have her own plans and considerations. Let’s not worry about these things for now.”
Old Master Gong rolled his eyes at him and said fiercely, “Such a slowpoke! No wonder you can’t get a wife!”
