CH 69

On the Monday after the Mid-Autumn Festival, the office workers went back to work with sorrow. Wang Cheng decided to take another day off because of his relationship with Chu Yifeng, but he would go back in the afternoon. Last night, he directly gave Chu Yifeng an answer. He made the phone call without objection, so Wang Cheng decided to sleep until nine o'clock the next day.

Mama Wang left him breakfast: homemade pumpkin pie and glutinous rice dumplings, with white rice porridge. There was still heat in the pot. Wang Cheng swept away all the food on the table, and then went out.

The terrain of the Guan’s Village was flatter than that of the Wang’s Village, but they were surrounded by mountains on three sides. Due to the dense trees and deep roots, there were few natural disasters and the air was very fresh. The villagers lived and worked here in peace for centuries. What else mattered?

The wealth of some villagers in the Guan’s Village had a lot to do with the rich forest resources of the area.

Wang Cheng once heard Papa Wang say that the secretary of the Guan’s Village hoped to lead the village to become rich a few years ago, so he kept encouraging and encouraging villagers to contract the land. However, the villagers here were honest farmers for most of their lives; there were few who really dared to take the lead. Later, Secretary Guan urged his little sister-in-law to embark on this path, and the results were quite successful.

The villagers saw this gain, so they took out their money. Because the price of initiating the contract was too high, no one could take out so much at once. After a discussion, Secretary Guan asked them to cooperate and share the price of the contract, or let them borrow some money from relatives, before this method could be officially implemented.

(T/N: Land contracting is when they take the land and sell it without the mortgage [or a company] as a broker. There is a cost for the formalities when selling, which is what the villagers don’t want to pay. They’re not really selling their personal land, just the village’s land.)

Secretary Guan had also contributed a lot, but Guan Guancun, the sister-in-law, had caused most of the current situation. Wang Cheng looked at the mountains. Although it was a good idea to lead the villagers to become rich, it was not good enough to be worth squandering the unique resources of the Guan’s Village.

Grandfather once told Papa Wang that after some mountain forests were contracted by the villagers, the trees in the forests were severely chopped down, and the barren land could not be recovered. Some villagers reacted to this and told Secretary Guan, but the secretary had no special feelings at first value.

Even now, one shouldn’t look at some places that were still dense. In fact, they had already been sold. If not for the traffic to the Guan’s Village not being as convenient as in the city, the situation may have been even more serious.

Wang Cheng walked up the wet mountain road. Compared with Fengxia Mountain, the road here was flatter, and he didn’t know the way. There were few people on the road. On the first day after the Mid-Autumn Festival, everyone was still immersed in the festival atmosphere and had not yet eased enough to go out.

Only one or two villagers carrying hoes were seen on the mountain. Although they did not know each other, they nodded politely towards one another.

Walking onto the mountain, Wang Cheng saw many fruitful trees along the way. 

Right now, it had been autumn for over a month, and this season was the harvest season.

The Guan’s Village was rich in forest resources, but there were also many wild fruit trees. They were nearby several forests. A lot of mature fruits had fallen on the thick leaves on the ground. Some were intact and some were not. Because these trees had not been contracted out, villagers and children usually went up the mountain to pick fruits.

Wang Cheng probably knew why there were no villagers who contracted this mountain that had more fruit trees. The reason was actually very simple. His eldest uncle’s family fancied the rich forest resources here, and their construction material business earned more than the fruit farmers. The villagers who fancied this mountain could only look at it because they could not afford the expensive contract prices.

The climate in the mountain was relatively humid. After Wang Cheng walked for a while, his pants were wet. Just as he was turning back, a familiar voice came over.

Wang Cheng looked towards the direction of the voice and saw Wang Ningkai, who was blocked by a big tree, and his girlfriend Lisa beside him. They both got up so early and entered before him. In this humid mountain, he didn't think they were here to admire the scenery, and he heard Lisa complain. "Wang Ningkai, you are saying that you want to come see the mountain. Now my shoes are dirty and my skirt is wet. If you want to continue, I won’t be with you."

"Okay, then don't go, and we’ll come again someday." Wang Ningkai looked like a little wife and slave.

"I won't come here again another day." Lisa was reluctant to step in this kind of place again when she thought of suffering these hardships. She couldn’t understand the green life that this man pursued.

"I'll come by myself."

"You have to be optimistic. This is the task my dad entrusted to you. If you can't do this, our marriage will be difficult, so to say." Lisa slightly raised her eyebrows, and her words seemed to have another meaning.

Wang Ningkai immediately patted his chest and assured, "My father-in-law can definitely rest assured that this is our mountain. There is no one in the Guan’s Village who can compare with my family in terms of financial resources, and I will feel ashamed if I can't win over them."

"It's good that you have this confidence. As long as you complete the task he gave, my father will be more satisfied with you." After saying this, Lisa changed her tone again. "Well, let's go, I don't want to stay in this place any longer. "

Hearing this, Wang Cheng could basically confirm that they had the idea to make money off of the ​​rich forest resources in the Guan’s Village. Only a couple of people had this idea in the past two years because the demand was getting higher and higher. The contract price this year was higher than last year’s. As it more than doubled, the high price made many timid. Considering this, Wang Cheng didn't think about it anymore. His pace grew faster than Wang Ningkai and Lisa’s. When he got home, his father happened to be there.

"Cheng Cheng, have you visited the mountain?" Papa Wang smelled the damp forest air on him. Wang Cheng poured himself a glass of water to drink. "I went up to the mountain after waking up in the morning."

Papa Wang nodded. "If you are hungry, go to the kitchen to find something to eat. Your mother will be back after eleven."

"I'm not hungry. Dad, I have something to ask you." Wang Cheng put down his cup and sat next to Papa Wang.

"What's up?"

"What is Lisa’s family’s business?"

"When did you become interested in their affairs?" Papa Wang looked at him with surprise. Why was the second son suddenly interested in these things?

"Dad, leave it alone. If you know it, tell me."

"I heard that it's in the building materials business. Last night, when eating at the expensive restaurant, your eldest uncle and aunt could not wait to show this off.”

No wonder Lisa's father was interested in the Guan’s Village. Wang Cheng could finally be sure. The building materials business was also a very profitable industry in Shanhai City. At the time, the first business eldest cousin attempted making was building materials. Unfortunately, he did not do well, and coupled with bad luck, it failed.

"Did something happen?" Papa Wang still knew his son. It was impossible for him to ask about it for no reason.

Wang Cheng thought that it was not something he needed to hide, so he told Papa Wang about the conversation between Wang Ningkai and his girlfriend on the mountain.

After listening, Papa Wang was silent for a moment, then said, "I'm afraid it's not that simple."

"What do you mean?"

"I went to your grandfather's house the other day, and your grandfather just told me something. Because there were too many people complaining, Secretary Guan did not dare to sell the mountain in the Guan’s Village casually. The price increase was also a reason, but this was just a matter of expediency. If your cousin’s girlfriend really has money, it’s not difficult to buy a few hills. But it’s a pity that if they continue to develop that momentum, the forests in the Guan’s Village will probably all be cut down at the speed of light."

Once the mountain loses its forest, the peaceful days in the Guan’s Village would be over. In fact, the villagers also wanted to get rich, but the consequence of getting rich was the destruction of their hometown. Most people would rather not. For the elderly in the village, the big cities were not better than their hometown.

"Dad, why don't you find some time to find out what's going on. Which mountain is that cousin looking for? What's Secretary Guan’s idea? Our family must be the head of the Guan’s Village in the future. Later, if something happens in the Guan’s Village, we will also be implicated. Some things are better to prevent as soon as possible." Wang Cheng suggested this because, if he guessed correctly, the eldest cousin was likely to sell the Guan’s Village to please Lisa's father. If he really married Lisa in the future, his family would definitely not live in the Guan’s Village anymore, and what happened to the village would naturally have nothing to do with them.

Papa Wang thought about this and realized his son was right, this kind of thing must be prevented in advance. After Mama Wang returned, the two did not tell her about it, and Mama Wang did not know. After having lunch at home, Wang Cheng left at a bit past three o'clock.

Papa Wang really went to find someone afterward. He had no connections and could only go to the grandfather, who knew a lot. According to the grandfather himself, he had a friendship with Secretary Guan’s father. Soon, Papa Wang would meet Secretary Guan.

Because Lisa was going back to the city, Wang Ningkai also left the Guan’s Village in the afternoon. The uncle did not plan to go with them, so it was enough to have him for the forest. Because the uncle had not arrived yet, it was a good time for Papa Wang to leave. By the time the eldest uncle went to find Secretary Guan to have a meeting, Papa Wang had already left.