Chapter 107: Signing the Contract
Taoyuan Village’s villagers knew about Xiao Zhengyang’s character. He was easy to talk to as long as it didn’t involve offending his family. It was natural for him to have a temper when people were openly slandering his daughter’s name.
At Taoyuan Village, other than the village chief, Xiao Zhengyang’s family was the most prominent family.
Xiao Zhengyang was the richest family in the village. Other than that, he had two very knowledgeable children. One of them was a university graduate.
Xiao Zhengyang’s words were even, but they carried a severity that could not be ignored.
Some immediately smiled sheepishly and said, “Zhengyang, why are you so serious? We were just joking.”
“Yes, yes, we were just joking!”
It was not the right time to offend Xiao Lingyu or Xiao Zhengyang. Xiao Lingyu had just promised to allow the villagers to collect the Little Cattle King’s manure. Offending her was no different than shooting their own foot.
Xiao Zhengyang’s gaze swept over the guilty faces. He said indifferently, “I don’t like this kind of joke!”
No one dared to say anything. They only smiled guiltily.
Then, Xiao Lingyu added, “But I have to make something clear. My family only has two cattle, but Taoyuan Village has around 200 households. It’s going to be a problem when it comes to distribution.”
That was indeed a big problem. Many families at Taoyuan Village had their own cattle, but their manure was incomparable to the Little Cattle King’s manure.
However, there was only one Little Cattle King to about two hundred families. The ratio was not right.
“Yu ‘Er, what is your plan then?” Xiao Chengbang asked.
Xiao Lingyu said, “Each family can only come to collect the manure once every six months. Those who come will have to register with my family.”
Taoyuan Village had 186 families. So if one family had the chance every six months, then every family would have their turn. This arrangement was reasonable but…
Liu Chunxiu asked, “We can only go every six months? What if we have an emergency?”
Xiao Lingyu answered, “Each family will be given a fixed portion. You don’t need to use all the allotted portions in one go. You can pick a little at a time. In short, you need to monitor the ratio yourself. You just need to register every time you come. My family will make a manure collecting tool for everyone to use.” That way, no one would complain that someone had more than the others.
“That sounds fair.” The villagers knew this was not a problem. The Little Cattle King’s single piss could water a large field.
“Yu ‘Er, do we need to pay to collect the manure?” Someone asked. After all, the manure was extremely valuable. Many villagers were concerned about this issue. Their gazes were fixed on Xiao Lingyu.
Xiao Lingyu smiled, “Of course, it’s free.”
Many people were surprised. If the Little Cattle King were with any other family, they would charge people for it. They would get rich from it. However, Xiao Lingyu was so generous.
“Lingyu… You are too kind!” Zhou Yan was shocked. She thought for a moment and said, “Lingyu, I still think we should pay for it. We’ll pay you 100 RMB per bag!”
“That’s right, Lingyu. The Little Cattle King is amazing. I don’t know about others, but I don’t think it’s right for us to get the stuff for free. Lingyu, my family will pay for it.”
“I also think that it’s more appropriate for us to pay!” Some villagers felt bad taking such a big advantage of the Xiao Family.
“That’s right, let us pay to buy them!”
Most villagers agreed to pay. After all, they had to spend on fertilizers normally, and the fertilizer was not better than the Little Cattle King’s manure.
However, there were others who were just stingy and greedy. Since the Xiao Family was such a generous fool, they should be taken advantage of.
“Lingyu is being kind to us, so why should we deny her?”
“That’s right. We’re only allowed to go twice a year, and you want us to pay? That’s too much!”
“What do you mean? Your family buys fertilizers every week. Don’t you need to pay for those fertilizers?”
“That’s different. People have to pay to make fertilizers. Lingyu don’t need to pay her calf, right?”
These people always had reasons to justify their actions.
“Please quiet down!” Xiao Lingyu shouted into the microphone again. She continued, “You can come to pick the manure for free, but I have a small condition.”
“What is it, Lingyu?”
Xiao Lingyu said, “When everyone wants to sell their harvest, can you sell them to me first?”
Xiao Lingyu knew the effect the spring water had on crops. “Of course, I won’t take advantage of you. I’ll give everyone a fair price!” Xiao Lingyu added.
Many people were confused.
“To be honest, other than to start a farm, my family plan to start a business selling vegetable and fruit.”
Everyone finally understood.
“Lingyu, this is nothing. We’re still taking advantage of you.”
“That’s right. We’ll need to sell the harvest when we can’t finish it. If you can sell them for us, we’ll be thankful!”
“That’s right. You’re making things convenient for us! We’re taking such a huge advantage of you!” Many people echoed.
Xiao Lingyu smiled and did not say anything. She was clear about the value of the crops. Before their value was discovered, she needed to dominate the market.
“Lingyu, we agree to this condition!” Most people agreed without hesitation, “Do you have any other conditions? You should tell us now!”
“That’s right!”
Xiao Lingyu shook her head. “That’s all.”
Xiao Lingyu took out the contract and asked seriously, “I hope everyone has thought thoroughly about the contract. Does anyone still have any opinion?”
“No!” Some replied directly.
Some were silent.
Even though they didn’t understand what the contract was, they heard from the village chief that once they signed the contract, it would be difficult to get their land back.
Xiao Lingyu explained, “I have with me the land rental contract. If you have no problem, then please sign with your thumbprint. That means that you’ve officially rented your land to me.
“Also, I need to make this clear. Based on the contract, if you want to take back the land before the contract is up, you’ll have me pay me ten times the rental price as well as the total income you gain from the plot of land that year. In contrast, if I violate the contract, I will compensate you with ten times the rental price and the total income for the affected plot of land for that year.”
Xiao Lingyu continued to explain the contract clauses.