Chapter 146

Chapter 146

Their first thought was, "Are we being scammed?"

It wasn’t an unreasonable reaction—scammers were everywhere these days. A stranger’s friendly pat on the back could be all it takes to trick you.

Seeing their skepticism, the man rummaged through his pocket and pulled out an official seal. "I happened to bring our village seal with me today for some business in the city. Take a look—this can’t be faked. Forging a government seal lands you in jail."

They were still skeptical. After all, scammers could go to jail too.

But the bright red stamp and the paperwork looked legit.

The man brushed dirt off his pants and said, "If you don’t believe me, I can take you to our village. It’s not far from here."

Gaojia Village was roughly five miles away from the Second National Cotton Mill, but it was already in another district. The area was economically behind, still largely reliant on agriculture, with vast stretches of farmland visible everywhere.

People they passed along the way greeted him warmly. Gao Youcai tilted his chin at the two women. "See? I wasn’t lying. I really am the village head. Our village still depends on farming, but farming doesn’t pay much. When I heard you say you needed fifty workers for the first batch, I figured—if your factory actually opened here, not only would we earn from selling the land, but more importantly, it’d provide jobs for our people."

"Chief Gao, even if we hire, we’d have to prioritize your villagers, but they’d still need to meet basic requirements."

"Our village has over a thousand people. If some don’t meet the requirements, you can hire from other villages," Gao Youcai readily agreed. "Our villagers also work in other villages—we won’t stop you from hiring outsiders. But if you set up the factory here, hiring locals would be way easier. Come, let me show you the plot."

So Chief Gao led the way, taking them on a long detour through the village before finally arriving at the site he had in mind. Located at the far end of the village, the land was largely unusable for farming—rocky, sandy ground that was difficult to cultivate. Even laying foundations here would be tougher than on ordinary land, so the villagers had left it untouched, leaving a large stretch completely vacant.

A spot like this would cost more time and cash just to dig foundations.

"Chief Gao, is this the only land in your village suitable for building?"

"Of course not! There’s land for housing too, but we have to save some for our own villagers in the future. This plot isn’t bad—the key is that regulations here aren’t strict. Whether you want to set up a few stoves or even a chicken farm, I won’t interfere."

"How much does the land cost?"

Back then, there was no such thing as zoning regulations—rural land could be sold as long as the village approved.

Chief Gao waved his hand. "Ten grand per acre. I’ll personally grease the wheels at the land bureau for you."

Ten thousand yuan per mu was a sky-high price in smaller towns, but in the capital, it wasn’t too expensive.

Zhang Mingqing hesitated. "I need to discuss this with my young friend."

Chief Gao was stunned—he had assumed the girl was just an assistant, but it turned out she had a say in the matter too.

The two women began discussing the plot.

Xu Meng loved the idea because she knew how things would play out. This area would be among the later ones to undergo redevelopment, with relocation happening after the 2000s. By then, the real estate market would be booming, and land values would shoot up overnight. Even if they built a factory here, selling the land after demolition would still be highly profitable.

In other words, buying this land meant that even if the factory failed, holding onto it for a decade or two would still yield significant returns.

"Qing-jie, I think we should buy it," Xu Meng said earnestly, crunching the numbers. "Renting a place costs over thirty thousand a year, not to mention the uncertainty of lease renewals. Over ten or twenty years, that’s a huge sum. If we buy land here and build our own factory, construction costs in rural areas are low—a workshop of that size with minimal decoration would only cost tens of thousands. Add the land cost, and it’s just a few years’ worth of rent. The initial outlay might scare you, but in the long run, buying land and building our own place saves way more."

She worried Zhang Mingqing might refuse, but Zhang Mingqing was actually concerned Xu Meng might hesitate to spend the money—building here would likely drain Xu Meng’s savings.

To her surprise, Xu Meng was decisive. Zhang Mingqing gave her an impressed look. "Xiao Xu, you’ve got guts. I was thinking, if you were reluctant to spend the money, I could cover it all myself. So, how much land do you want to buy?"

Xu Meng was genuinely worried the village might later sell the plot to poultry or pig farms. Her uncle’s chicken farm turned the place into a fly zone. They were in the food business—hygiene was paramount. A constant fly circus was a no-go.

"We can’t buy the entire stretch—let’s just grab five acres."

Five acres of land would cost fifty thousand—Xu Meng really has nerve!

That’s what the two of them had agreed on, but Village Chief Gao wouldn’t agree.

"You two, I know you’re successful entrepreneurs, but our village really can’t approve that much land for you," Village Chief Gao said. "To put it bluntly, I’m not in this to make money from selling land—I want to create jobs in our village. Your current scale is planning to hire fifty people, right? At most, I can only give you two acres. The rest of the land needs to be reserved for attracting other manufacturers."

Village Chief Gao was a man with good business sense. Selling land was meant to boost the village’s economy.

"Village Chief Gao, we’re in the food business. We’re worried about chicken farms or chemical plants moving in nearby later. If that happens, our products will be affected too. So we’d like to secure the surrounding area first. And if our factory does well, we’ll definitely need to expand in the future."

"I was just giving an example earlier. Our village won’t actually set up chicken farms or chemical plants," Village Chief Gao pointed ahead. "See that? There are so many households living here, and this area isn’t near any water sources. What chemical plant would set up here? If I really allowed a chemical plant, I’d be remembered as a criminal."

His words were exaggerated but sincere.

Reassured by his promise, the two women relaxed.

But Zhang Mingqing still pressed on: "Fifty is just the first batch of employees. Our factory is growing fast. I guarantee that by next year, we’ll have at least a hundred workers."

Village Chief Gao’s face showed hesitation. "It’s not that I don’t want to sell you the land. Village matters require collective decision-making. I’ll need to discuss this with the others. How about this—leave me your contact info, and I’ll get back to you as soon as possible. What do you think?"

So Zhang Mingqing left her phone number with him, and Village Chief Gao gave his in return. They exchanged contact details.

Only after Zhang Mingqing left did Village Chief Gao wipe his sweaty hands—he’d been incredibly nervous just now.

After the reform and opening-up, the south developed first, but the north was still dominated by state-owned enterprises. Though Gaojiazhai was close to the city, its economy had always been weak. Their main income still came from the fields.

This wasn’t normal.

In the south, comparable villages had long since grown prosperous.

A single residential plot in the south could sell for a hundred thousand now!

Village Chief Gao had visited the south for research. Private enterprise flourished there, with many small factories built. At first, villages boosted their economies by selling land. As more factories appeared, the government would build roads. Gradually, villagers earned money and improved their lives. Once there was enough migrant population, they could rent out houses for extra income.

He wanted to replicate this southern economic model, starting by attracting factories.

Right now, Gaojiazhai only had one unpaved road connecting it to the city and the provincial highway. The village couldn’t afford to pave it, nor could they secure funding.

But what if the village had enough factories?

Even if the government didn’t plan to build roads, the factory owners would donate money. As a local official, he knew all too well the weight of the saying, "To get rich, first build roads." Gaojiazhai would prosper under his watch.

Residential plots couldn’t be touched—they were the villagers’ foundation. Contract farmland couldn’t be sold either. The only available land was a dozen or so acres of wasteland. He could identify a few more scattered plots, but most had to be kept as the village’s land reserve.

Thinking of all this, Village Chief Gao felt fired up with ambition.

With one factory would come a second, and slowly, the village would develop. Gaojiazhai would one day match the prosperous southern villages—even surpass Huaxi!

Zhang Mingqing’s car drove straight to the vicinity of Changchun Lane.

Xu Meng had felt carsick halfway and dozed off. By the time they got home, it was already past dinnertime.

After running around all day, Xu Meng was exhausted and had no appetite. The moment she got home, she saw Huang Xiaoying playing sandbag toss with a few kids in the yard—clearly the boss around here now.

Xu Meng greeted her and headed straight for the bedroom.

Huang Xiaoying immediately followed. "You okay?"

Xu Meng collapsed onto the bed without even taking off her clothes. "Tired. Carsick. I’m dying."

Huang Xiaoying said with disgust, "Go shower. You're filthy all over."

Xu Meng pointed at the ceiling fan, "Turn the fan on."

Huang Xiaoying tugged at her, "You're seriously dirty. Get up and take a shower—you'll feel better. Should I get water for you?"

Xu Meng sighed, "Alright."

She thought to herself, *Thank goodness Huang Xiaoying is here.*

After showering, she felt much better. Huang Xiaoying came back from outside, carrying a bowl of cold noodles. Xu Meng sat under the eaves, slurping the noodles while chatting with Huang Xiaoying, "Our factory might move to the village later. What about your commute?"

Huang Xiaoying’s workplace wasn’t too far for now.

"Where to?"

"Gaojiazhai," Xu Meng said, worried she wouldn’t know the place. "Roughly ten kilometers out. But once everything’s set up, there’ll definitely be staff housing. You could live there then."

Huang Xiaoying immediately looked horrified, "Not happening."

She was used to living here and had no desire to move out.

Xu Meng thought for a moment, "If you don’t want to live there, you’ll have to learn to ride a bike. We’ll get you learning that, and I’ll give you my used bike. But fair warning—ten kilometers is no joke."

Huang Xiaoying considered it, "Usually it'd be okay. But if it rains heavily, snows, or the weather’s bad, I can stay there. Hey, didn’t you say your factory would be near the second plant? Why Gaojiazhai now? Was I wrong?"

Xu Meng sighed deeply, feeling worried about the money she’d earned, "Every time I make a little money, it’s gone in a flash. Why can’t I save anything?"

Like a leaky bucket—no matter how much went in, it all drained out.

Huang Xiaoying, however, burst out laughing beside her.

Xu Meng’s business now paid her 600 kuai a month, working eight hours a day with a one-and-a-half-hour lunch break. She didn’t even have to handle the wok much anymore—mostly training apprentices and managing, which counted as a supervisory role.

Even if the factory expanded later and they hired someone specialized in management, her position as head trainer was secure.

Given that, even after receiving her first writing fee, Huang Xiaoying wouldn't dream of quitting. After all, this job provided steady income every month.

Noticing Xu Meng looking at her, Huang Xiaoying blurted out, "Of course I’ll keep working."

She still wanted to save money—how could she manage without a stable income?

She’d been writing for months, submitting many pieces, but only *Zhiyin* had ever sent her payment.

Xu Meng looked at her with satisfaction. It seemed her cousin had real potential.