RPAGF Chapter 169 Extreme Caution
Chapter 169 Extreme Caution
Seeing that Shuisheng was eager for his father to plant turmeric, Shen Che, always quick-witted, smiled and said, "Shuisheng, our Osmanthus Village is so big, with dozens of households, why don't you all persuade each other to plant it together?"
Shui Sheng chuckled awkwardly, “Our Guihua Village isn’t small, but if we rashly persuade everyone to plant turmeric, there will be a lot of gossip, and who knows what they’ll say about us. The village head has a lot of influence in the village, so Qingchuan and I have to ask him first if he’s willing to plant it. If he’s willing, we won’t need to waste any more words, and everyone will definitely rush to plant it, right?”
The village head thought to himself, "No wonder these two kids came to my door to persuade me to switch to growing turmeric. They value my position as the village head and want me to help promote it for free."
But he was the village head, bearing the responsibility for the villagers' livelihood. His family had a lot of land, so setting aside a few acres to plant turmeric wouldn't be too much of a burden. If Qingchuan and Shuisheng exaggerated, he could at most lose the harvest from a few acres of land. But many villagers only had four or five acres of land, and some even less. If everyone lost money because of him and couldn't eat, wouldn't he become a sinner in the village?
However, Qingchuan and Shuisheng are honest and capable people who never lie. If what they said was true, the money from selling an acre of turmeric would be more than three times that of an acre of rice. Because of his distrust, he missed a great opportunity to make money and regretted it deeply.
No, no, he has to find out as soon as possible whether to plant it or not, he has to make a decision soon!
So he took a deep breath and said, "Qingchuan, Shuisheng, if your uncle wants to grow turmeric with you, where can we find these seeds?"
Lin Qingchuan said somewhat nervously, "Currently, no one is selling seeds on the market. My family and Shuisheng's family have just harvested, and we can only afford to sell one sack each at the pharmacy. The rest can be used as seeds. If you are willing to plant them, we can sell them at a lower price for the first year, cheaper than the pharmacy. What do you think?"
Before you've even tasted the sweetness, you have to spend money to buy it?
The village head was still unsure of what to do.
Seeing the village head hesitate, Lin Xiaotang immediately offered a suggestion, "Grandpa Village Head, you know that my family supplies braised pig's trotters to restaurants after we moved to town. We're planning to negotiate with another restaurant to supply us. We're busy at home, and my mother is pregnant, so we can't farm the fields. If you're worried about not knowing what to do since it's your first time, my dad can rent the fields to you. The first season is rent-free, so you can test whether this kind of turmeric is worthwhile. If you don't want to rent it next year, can you help us find a good tenant that's easy to work with, and then my dad can start collecting rent properly? How about that?"
Can you get a season's worth of free land rent by buying seeds to grow turmeric?
This feeling is so good!
His brows and eyes relaxed considerably, and he said cheerfully, "Of course I'm willing to farm if you waive the rent for one season. But we already have so much land at home. If we want to plant another four acres, I'll definitely have to discuss it with the children. How about this, let's discuss it as a family tonight, and I'll let Shuisheng know as soon as I've decided tomorrow. Is that alright?"
He wouldn't give a direct answer; he wanted to go to Feng's Pharmacy in town to inquire before he could confirm. Since he wanted to ask, it would be good to do so, so that his family could feel more at ease.
Lin Qingchuan and Shui Sheng immediately agreed, "Okay, let's settle on this for now. Don't forget to let us know when Uncle Village Head makes his decision."
The village head nodded and had his son pour them tea.
Lin Qingchuan and Shui Sheng smiled and declined, then led Lin Xiaotang to say goodbye to the village head. The village head and his sons personally saw the three of them off.
When the village head and his sons returned to the courtyard, they glanced at the pile of rice and instantly lost their enthusiasm for threshing it.
The second son said, "Dad, let's hurry up and plant turmeric with Qingchuan and Shuisheng. One acre of turmeric can sell for more than three times the price of one acre of rice. The sooner we plant, the sooner we can make money. Qingchuan is even willing to waive the rent for one season. Let's plant on his land. Isn't that a great thing?"
The eldest brother, Shen Che, said, "Second brother, you can't rush things. You have to understand that there's no such thing as a free lunch. They're waiving a season's rent and selling seeds cheaply. They must have their own plans."
Yes!
The village head also considered this point. If he were an ordinary person, he would just plant one season's worth of crops. But he was the village head, and his small decision could influence many villagers to follow suit.
Therefore, he must be extremely cautious before making a decision.
He sighed and said, "Qingchuan's character is beyond reproach. He has always been kind and honest. Since he and Shuisheng have already gone to Feng's Pharmacy to sell, then this matter should be settled. However, we still need to inquire in person to be at ease. If they really sell it for 1.91 wen, then we will agree to their terms and plant seeds in their fields for one season without paying rent. We will grit our teeth and buy their seeds."
The third brother, who had been silent all along, said, "Dad, everyone in Guihua Village knows what kind of life Qingchuan and his wife lived in Old Shen's house before. Since the family split up, he built a truck to help our whole village solve the drought problem. Such a kind person would never trick us into planting turmeric. If he says it can make money, then it definitely can."
Look at him, his family supplies braised pig's trotters to restaurants, and they've even made enough money to buy a house in town and move there. He's so shrewd, his life is getting better and better. Let's listen to his advice, maybe we can get rich soon too.”
Shen Che nodded in agreement, "Yes, if they lie to us and make us work for nothing all season, what good will it do them? They'll just get a bad reputation and be drowned in everyone's spittle when they get back to the village."
The village head felt that his sons' analysis made sense, and he instantly became excited again. He remembered that an acre of turmeric could sell for more than three times the price of rice, and he was so excited that he felt like he had been injected with chicken blood, and he felt like the white silver was floating in front of his eyes.
Excitement is understandable, but reason must not be lost.
He cleared his throat and said, "Since we all think that planting turmeric is feasible, let's not wait until tomorrow. While it's still early, let's go to Feng's Pharmacy in town and ask them. No, let's go to all the pharmacies and ask them!"
Shen Che glanced at the table and noticed a packet of turmeric that Lin Qingchuan and the others hadn't taken with them when they left.
He smiled and said, "Dad, look, Qingchuan and the others left the turmeric at our house. We can take it to the herbal medicine shop in town to ask about the price."
The second and third sons hurriedly said, "Dad, we'll go with you too. Let's hear what the herbal medicine shop has to say before we make a decision."
The father and his sons were overjoyed and excited, and the large stack of rice piled up in the yard suddenly lost its appeal.
The group quickly tidied up, changed into clean clothes, and rushed to the town, heading straight for Feng's Pharmacy.
Shen Che took out a packet of turmeric and showed it to Manager Feng, asking, "Manager Feng, does your pharmacy accept turmeric?"
When Manager Feng saw the quality of the sacks, he realized they were the same as the two sacks that Lin Qingchuan and his group had sold. He immediately became suspicious. He then looked the father and son up and down. Their clothes and appearance were neither those of a wealthy household in town nor those of a poor villager. He guessed that they must be one of the wealthier families in the village.
He asked, "Where did you get your turmeric? Did you grow it in your own fields, or did you dig it up from the mountains?"