Chapter 411 - 402: Contracting the Persimmon Forest

Contracting that persimmon orchard would cost three hundred thousand in total.

The village chief had asked on their behalf.

They were determined to secure the contract.

"Here’s the thing, Village Chief. We’ll help raise the money. Since the government has this policy now, we believe it must be for our own good."

The village chief looked at them in shock. "You really want to contract the entire thing?"

That was three hundred thousand, not thirty thousand or three thousand.

In this day and age, even coming up with three thousand yuan was a big deal.

Shen Yunlian put on a troubled expression. "We want to give it a try. You know my mother is skilled at making persimmon cakes. My younger brother’s youngest son is apprenticed to a master chef in the Capital, so he has some connections. If we can manage to sell these persimmon cakes, we won’t lose money on the contract."

"We’ll just have to scrape the money together from everywhere. My family has earned some money from fishing over the years, and we’ll lend it all to my mother’s side for now. We can also borrow from Jiaojiao’s master and godfather. Then there’s the fourth child’s master, and Little Eight and Little Nine have masters too..."

Shen Yunlian mentally ran through the list of all the masters her children were associated with.

Of course, her intention wasn’t really to borrow money, but to show the village chief that they had many avenues for borrowing. It was to make it clear that if they did produce the money, it wasn’t just from their own family but had been gathered with great effort.

After the initial shock, the village chief was filled with envy.

"You... Your kids have a lot of masters, don’t they."

’Don’t tell me every kid in their family has a master.’

Shen Yunlian smiled. "They’re doing okay. Plus, the oldest two are serving in the army. They can chip in some money too."

"If the persimmon cakes sell well, we’ll slowly pay back the money over time."

The village chief advised them to reconsider.

"If you’re really set on it, come find me when you’ve gathered the money. I’ll make a trip and get it done for you."

Shen Yunlian nodded quickly. "Thank you so much, Village Chief."

After returning, Shen Yunlian and the others discussed the best time to produce the money while peeling persimmons.

Grandma Shen had cleared out a special room for hanging the persimmons.

A good number were already hanging there.

"The sooner we contract the land, the sooner we can hire people to pick the rest of the persimmons. We can’t possibly pick them all ourselves in a few days. Once the persimmons get too ripe, we won’t be able to make them into cakes."

Yun Jiao said, "Get it done early, make the persimmon cakes early."

"If anyone has bad intentions, I’ll beat them up!"

Yun Jiao clenched her fists.

Seeing this, Grandma Shen laughed. "Our Jiaojiao is right. If we’re going to do this, we need to be decisive. Being so timid and hesitant won’t get us anywhere."

Shen Yunlian said, "Alright, then we’ll go back and raise the money today."

In the afternoon, Yun Jiao and her family went home, bringing with them many things they had found in the mountains.

Chestnuts, pine nuts, and walnuts.

The pine nuts were roasted, and there were also some homemade pine nut candies and candied walnuts.

Grandma Shen also packed a lot of eggs for them.

"Mom, we’ll be back as soon as we can."

Grandma Shen nodded, standing on the road and watching them leave.

After they got home, the Yun family also expressed their support for the Shen family’s plan to contract the persimmon orchard.

"Your mother’s persimmon cakes are delicious; they’ll definitely sell. If this really takes off, it could be a business for a lifetime."

Granny Yun said, "But this money... we can’t give it all at once."

Everyone’s eyes fell on her.

Granny Yun smiled and said, "You all are always trying not to owe favors, too embarrassed to trouble people. But our family has these connections, so why not use them?"

"Favors are a part of life. You owe me, I owe you. You help me, I help you. This back-and-forth is what deepens relationships. As long as we don’t cross any lines and handle it with the right measure, it’s good for everyone."

"Tomorrow, prepare some gifts—nothing too expensive, just like you’re visiting a relative. Then go find Little Wang and have him put in a good word. Our family can definitely pay it all at once, but we won’t. We’ll arrange to pay it in installments over several months, or even years. Or, we can secretly pay off the rest later, just so long as no one finds out."

Hearing this, Yun Linhe slapped his thigh. "That could work!"

"Mom, you’re a true master of strategy."

Granny Yun shot her son a glare. ’What kind of talk is that? Is that supposed to be a compliment?’

With a solution in hand, everyone relaxed.

But they had to secure that persimmon orchard as soon as possible.

So, the next day, Yun Linhai and Shen Yunlian took a gift and went to find Wang Jianlin.

This wasn’t a big deal for Wang Jianlin. Besides, it wasn’t like they weren’t going to pay.

Moreover, this would count as an achievement for Wang Jianlin.

Especially when he learned that the Shen family was contracting the orchard to produce and sell persimmon cakes. If they succeeded, that would be another achievement for him.

So, he personally took them on a trip to the Forestry Bureau.

With him there, the matter was settled quickly.

He even gave them a piece of news: to encourage economic development, the city would be holding a product exhibition next May. If the Shen family’s persimmon cakes were good, they could participate in the exhibition to build a reputation for their product.

Hearing this, Yun Linhai and Shen Yunlian were overjoyed.

They thanked Wang Jianlin profusely. After returning home, they immediately told everyone the news.

"Then we have to hurry up."

Yun Jiao said, "Mom, you can use my savings passbook to withdraw the money."

The whole family’s cash on hand didn’t even add up to a hundred thousand. Her account was the one with the most money.

Of course, if they sold the antiques and gold that Yun Jiao had given them, they would certainly have had that much money.

"Jiaojiao, Mom thanks you on behalf of your grandma and the others."

Shen Yunlian hugged Yun Jiao and kissed her chubby little cheeks.

Yun Jiao lifted her small chin. "I’m not short on cash!"

Of course, she wouldn’t help just anyone. But she was naturally generous to those who were good to her.

Early the next morning, Shen Yunlian and Yun Linhai hurried back to Shen Family Village.

The village chief hadn’t expected them to raise the money so quickly.

However, he breathed a sigh of relief when he heard that they had found a connection to smooth things over, and that they only needed to pay one hundred thousand now, with the rest to be paid off within five years.

’That’s more like it... my ass!’

That was a hundred thousand yuan!

Good heavens, he had never seen so much money in his entire life.

So, the village chief went on a trip with them.

When they came out of the Forestry Bureau, the village chief was in a daze.

It wasn’t just him; the other members of the Shen family were also in a daze.

"This... so that persimmon orchard is ours now?"

Shen Yunlian nodded excitedly. "That’s right! Mom, go back and arrange for people to start picking the persimmons right away. We need to make a lot of persimmon cakes. There’s some kind of product exhibition in May of next year, and we definitely have to go. We’re going to go find out how that exhibition is organized right now."

Grandma Shen was so excited her eyes turned red. "Okay, okay, okay. We’ll make more persimmon cakes, lots more."

Of course, along with the excitement, there was also apprehension.

’It’s such a huge sum of money. What if we can’t earn it back?’

But no matter what, the most important thing right now was to make the persimmon cakes.

On the way back, the village chief was also happy.

Because the money from contracting the forest was to be distributed to the village according to the contract.

It was for the common benefit of their village. The village chief had always wanted to repair the village roads to make travel more convenient.

This money was a truly timely blessing!