Xiao Lingyu’s decision to contract the Mali Slope Reservoir surprised everyone in the village.
Someone had contracted the reservoir for fish farming in the past. The person did it for three years and lost money every year. This happened not only to one boss but three bosses. In other words, whoever contracted the reservoir to raise fish would suffer a loss.
But there were also people who believed in Xiao Lingyu.
In the past, people had failed to raise strawberries, but she had made a fortune from them.
“Yu ‘Er, are you really going to contract the reservoir to raise fish?” Father Xiao asked with a frown.
Xiao Lingyu nodded and said, “Yes! I’ve thought about this for a long time.”
“But Yu ‘Er, many people have contracted that reservoir before, and they all suffered a loss,” Father Xiao said.
Xiao Lingyu nodded and said, “Dad, just because others have failed, it doesn’t mean that I’ll fail too.”
Father Xiao suddenly thought of something. “You mean…” The spring water!
Xiao Lingyu nodded. “Don’t worry, Dad. This won’t fail.” After saying this, Xiao Lingyu said to Father Xiao, “Dad, I need you to discuss with the village chief and see who is willing to raise chickens, ducks, geese, and pigs. As for the cows, I plan to raise them myself.”
Father Xiao was dumbfounded when he heard this.
Father Xiao asked incredulously, “Yu ‘Er, how… how do you plan to do this? You can’t…” give the ranchers the spring water, right?
Xiao Lingyu said helplessly, “Dad, what are you thinking? Am I such a stupid person?” The spring water was her secret. How could she be so generous as to give it to others casually?
Xiao Lingyu said, “Dad, listen to me. I’m trying to form a circulation system.
“Think about it. We have planted so many vegetable fields. The only vegetables that can be sold are the fresh and tender ones.
“The old vegetables can be fed to the poultry. The manure from the poultry can be used to grow vegetables.”
Father Xiao frowned, but he said with some doubt, “But will the manure still be effective? If they aren’t…”
Xiao Lingyu shook her head and said, “They will be effective.” She had confirmation from Xiao Ling. Xiao Ling said that this world was too ordinary. The animals and people had poor physiques. It was difficult for them to absorb the Qi in the spring water completely. Therefore, Xiao Lingyu came up with this circulation system.
As for the fish farm, she would make the fish food herself. With such a large reservoir, it shouldn’t be a problem to raise tens of thousands of fish.
Father Xiao said, “Alright. Dad will always support you.”
Xiao Lingyu said, “Dad, once the reservoir is contracted, I need to hire a special person to look at the fish and feed them.”
Father Xiao nodded and said, “That’s no problem. I’ll help you look for a candidate first.”
…
The village chief came to the Xiao family and told Xiao Lingyu, “Lingyu, that reservoir doesn’t only belong to Taoyuan Village. It is also part of Shangshui Village. I brought Village Chief Li from Shangshui Village with me today.”
Xiao Taiyang pointed at village chief Li who was beside him.
“Village chief Li!” Xiao Lingyu greeted.
“Please come in!” Mother Xiao invited them. Father Xiao went to make tea.
After sitting down, Xiao Taiyang said directly, “Lingyu, village chief Li heard that you want to contract the reservoir. But, he wants to know the details of the contract.”
Xiao Lingyu asked, “Then, village chiefs, how did you have the contract with the other bosses in the past?”
Xiao Taiyang said, “We have rented the reservoir to three bosses before. The rent of 280 RMB per Mu each year. This reservoir has an area of 580 MU.”
At this time, village chief Li said, “However, I heard that the rent of the reservoir has increased. It’s 300 RMB per Mu.”
Xiao Taiyang then asked, “Li Changchun, who told you that the rent has increased to 300 RMB per Mu? Why haven’t I heard of it before?”
Village chief Li explained calmly, “There’s a reservoir in Ma Jia village in Tian Xin Town. It’s rented out for 300 RMB per mu. If you don’t believe me, you can go out and ask.”
Xiao Taiyang said a little angrily, “…You.”
Just as Xiao Taiyang was about to bargain with village chief Li, Xiao Lingyu said, “Village chiefs, I can pay 300 RMB per Mu, but I want a contract for ten years.”
“Ten years?” Xiao Taiyang and village chief Li were obviously surprised.
Xiao Taiyang reacted and said, “Lingyu, other people usually only contract for three years. Isn’t ten years too long for you? What if…” the business failed and lost money? It would be impossible to get the money back.
After all, the money from the contract had already entered the pockets of the villagers.
Father Xiao said, “Lingyu, why don’t we contract for three years first? We can always renew the contract after three years.”
Xiao Lingyu shook her head and said, “No, Dad, I want to contract for ten years, or at least ten years.” Xiao Lingyu knew very well that she would not fail with the spring water. She would make a lot of money. Then, she would definitely attract the envy of some people.
These people might pull some tricks in the background, like forcing the village chiefs to raise the rent during the contract renewal. Then again, the rental would rise naturally after three years.
Take Mo Li Slope reservoir, for example. A few years later, the rent would increase to 800 RMB per Mu. Some of the areas would even reach 1000 RMB per Mu. Xiao Lingyu knew about this, so naturally, she had to take advantage of it.
When village chief Li heard that Xiao Lingyu wanted to rent for ten years, his expression was happy for a moment, but then he asked sharply, “Ten years? I heard that when you rent those hills, the rent will increase by 20 percent every three years. If you were to rent the reservoir for ten years, will you do the same?”
As the chief of Shangshui Village, village chief Li had to fight for the best interests of his villagers.
Shangshui village was bigger than Taoyuan Village, with more than 200 households.
Due to the lack of transportation, Shangshui village was also a poor village.
Previously, Taoyuan Village was the poorest village in the county, but ever since Xiao Lingyu returned, everyone in the village had become rich.
Now, Shangshui village had probably become the poorest village. As the village chief, Chief Li felt shame.
Village chief Li’s request was actually very reasonable. Even Xiao Taiyang could not refute it.
Xiao Taiyang only looked at Xiao Lingyu.
Xiao Lingyu thought for a moment and said, “That’s not a problem. I will increase the rent by 20 percent every three years. However, within the ten years of my lease, party A and party B must compensate each other ten times if they break the contract. This clause must be written on the contract.”
Xiao Lingyu was preventing people from going back on their words in the future. She knew how the villagers would operate. If a contractor came to offer them a higher price than she did in the future, they wouldn’t hesitate to betray her. After all, these people only cared about money.
However, if the compensation for breaching the contract was high, who would dare to betray her? They had to pay ten times the violation fees!
When village chief Li heard Xiao Lingyu’s words, his brows furrowed. He was obviously not very satisfied.
The reason why village chief Li was not satisfied was the same reason Xiao Lingyu wanted to have this clause. He also wanted to renege on the contract when he got a better offer in the future.
At this moment, Xiao Taiyang chimed in, “Yes, that clause needs to be included. When we contracted the land and mountains, we had the clause. Li Changchun, this is only reasonable.”
Village chief Li thought for a moment and said, “I still have to go back and have a meeting with the villagers before I can give you a reply.”
Xiao Lingyu nodded and said, “That’s not a problem.”
Based on the current situation, no one else would be willing to contract the reservoir other than Xiao Lingyu. She was offering them money, and they would be eager to accept it. Why would they think about the future? They only wanted the money now! Therefore, Xiao Lingyu was not worried.
After village chief Li left, Xiao Taiyang said to Xiao Lingyu and the others, “Our village also has to have a meeting.”
Xiao Lingyu nodded and said, “Of course!”
Although the villagers of Taoyuan Village had already tasted the benefits of Xiao Lingyu’s businesses, they still had to go through the necessary procedures.
