Chapter 408 - 400: Discussing Contracting the Persimmon Forest

Yun Xiaoqi said, "That’s because you’re using the wrong methods!"

"How many people are there in our town, anyway? Besides, Shen Family Village isn’t the only place with persimmons. When too many sellers crowd into one place, of course you can’t sell much. Everyone just drives the prices down, and the fruit doesn’t last long, either..."

The Shen Family stared, dumbfounded, as a mere child like Yun Xiaoqi analyzed the situation so logically.

"Ripe persimmons are too soft. The slightest touch can break the skin and spoil them. Once they look bad, nobody wants to buy them. That’s why you can’t ship ripe persimmons very far.

"If you want a product with a longer shelf life, you have to rely on dried persimmons. Grandma Shen, the ones you make are delicious! Each one is a beautiful, clean orange-yellow, covered in that white frost. It would be a crime against your craftsmanship not to sell them!"

Yun Jiao nodded while shoveling rice into her mouth.

’Exactly! Brother Qi is right.’

Yun Jiao declared, "So, let’s lease the persimmon grove!"

A domineering declaration from the little rich girl.

The Shen Family: ???

They were baffled. How had the topic suddenly leaped to leasing the entire persimmon grove?

"Huh? Lease the persimmon grove?"

Uncle Shen looked completely lost. "Us?"

Aunt Shen was also dumbfounded. "Are we that rich? Rich enough to lease such a huge patch of forest?"

Shen Yunlian said, "I actually think what Jiaojiao suggested is a good idea. Brother, you and the others are just too timid."

’My daughter is about to lease an entire island,’ she thought. ’Compared to that, how big is a persimmon grove? Calm down.’

The Shen Family: ...

It was as if they were meeting their daughter and sister for the first time.

However, Grandma Shen was genuinely tempted by their proposal.

It wasn’t to brag, but in all the surrounding villages, her dried persimmons were the most authentic and the most delicious.

Her ancestors had made their fortune selling dried persimmons, though the business was later squandered.

But the recipe had been passed down through the generations.

That’s right, Grandma Shen’s ancestors had been the local landlords, but that was all back in the feudal era.

Fortunately, they lost their fortune early. Otherwise, her family would have been targeted during the struggle sessions against landlords.

By Grandma Shen’s generation, almost no one knew that the persimmon grove had once belonged to her ancestors.

Still, Grandma Shen lacked a bit of confidence.

’How much would it cost to lease that grove? What if I can’t make the money back?’

Shen Yunlian, ever her mother’s daughter, could tell what Grandma Shen was thinking with just one look.

"Mom, I have some money. I’ll lend it to you, and if you can’t make a profit, you don’t have to pay me back."

’Thanks to her daughter, she had plenty of her own private savings,’ she thought.

Grandma Shen said, "I can’t take your money."

Yun Jiao piped up, "Grandma, use mine. I have plenty of money. Pay me back if you make a profit, and don’t worry about it if you don’t."

Under this combined assault from Yun Jiao and Shen Yunlian, Grandma Shen grew even more tempted.

Finally, she grit her teeth. "Alright, then. This old lady will take a gamble for once."

Grandpa Shen voiced his support.

Uncle Shen said, "Then I’ll help too. We can lease it for ten years to start. This year, we’ll make a big batch of dried persimmons and try selling them to test the market."

"We should go find the village chief as soon as we finish eating and lease the grove. What if we start making money from the dried persimmons and someone else spots the opportunity and leases it out from under us?"

Grandma Shen’s heart was now blazing with enthusiasm.

"Alright. After we eat, we’ll go ask the village chief about the process."

And so, just as dusk was falling, Yun Jiao and her family arrived at the village chief’s house.

He was stunned to hear they wanted to lease the persimmon grove.

"You... you really want to lease that grove?"

The village chief said, "You need to think this through. The trees in that grove are all mature and produce a lot of fruit each year, so the lease will definitely be more expensive than for ordinary land. Plus, it’s a huge area—at least two hundred mu, which is over thirty acres. For a ten-year lease, you’d be looking at five or six hundred thousand yuan, at least."

The village chief couldn’t even imagine which family could afford such a large sum of money.

Upon hearing the price, Grandma Shen started to get cold feet again.

’HISS... That’s so much money.’

’Maybe we should lease a smaller section?’

The rest of the Shen Family was thinking the same thing.

Yun Jiao said, "Grandma, we’ll take it."

All eyes turned to the little girl.

Shen Yunlian chuckled. "We’ll borrow some money. If we pool it all together, we should be able to manage."

The village chief had also heard about the wealthy godfather Yun Jiao had. Rumor was, the man even owned a large ship.

The village chief felt a pang of envy. ’Why couldn’t his family have a rich, generous relative like that?’

The village chief said, "I’ll go and ask for you, but I doubt the price will come down much. However, the government is encouraging private leasing of forests and land, so there might be some favorable policies. You should be prepared."

"Or you could just lease a smaller portion."

Grandma Shen nodded. "Alright, we’ll go home and think it over."

Back at home, everyone sat in the courtyard, peeling firm persimmons and discussing the matter.

Yun Jiao could certainly come up with the money.

But she couldn’t just produce it that easily, or it would draw too much attention. They needed to find a good excuse.