Chapter 72: Signing the Contract

“I’ll give you ten yuan per tree.” The village head didn’t want to waste any more time with Zhang Dahua.

Compared to those few fruit trees, the medicinal herb base was the top priority. He didn’t want to waste time on this.

“Ten yuan is too little. Those fruit trees are the fruits of my hard work. At least a hundred yuan per tree.”

This was a rare opportunity, so Zhang Dahua naturally wanted to ask for a lot and make a profit.

“Zhang Dahua, don’t be too greedy.” The village head said angrily.

Zhang Dahua didn’t care. She scoffed, “If you don’t give me a hundred, then no one can touch my fruit trees. I’ll fight anyone who tries.”

“Zhang Dahua, the land belongs to the village, not your private property. You can’t do whatever you want.”

 The village head was so angry that he trembled. His finger almost poked Zhang Dahua’s nose.

“I don’t care. I planted fruit trees. No compensation, no touching them.” Zhang Dahua sat down on the ground, acting like a scoundrel.

“Village Head, I’m the same as Dahua. As long as the village pays a hundred yuan per tree, I’ll cut down my fruit trees.

Otherwise, no one can touch my fruit trees.” Another villager chimed in.

“Me too.”

The village head was speechless. He pointed at Zhang Dahua and the other villagers, “You’re being unreasonable!”

“Uncle Village Head, don’t be angry. Leave this to me.” Ling Yao’s gaze swept over the villagers present, “Are there any others like them?”

Everyone looked at each other.

“My family has two fruit trees.”

“My family has three.”

Ling Yao nodded faintly, “If I remember correctly, your fruit trees should all be planted at the foot of the mountain, right?

 I won’t force you to cut them down. You can keep them if you want.”

What does she mean? The villagers looked at each other.

The village head was anxious, “Ling Yao, you’re not going to develop the medicinal herb base, are you?”

 He couldn’t let this fall through. It was related to the future of their Hongqi Village.

Ling Yao shook her head, “The medicinal herb base will be developed, of course. But we don’t need that much land for now.

 Since they planted fruit trees at the foot of the mountain, let’s leave that area for now.

Come on, Uncle Village Head, let’s go sign the contract.”

“Okay.” The village head nodded happily and walked towards his office.

“Wait!” Zhang Dahua jumped up from the ground and stepped in front of Ling Yao.

She was counting on those few fruit trees to make a hefty profit. She couldn’t let it go like this.

Ling Yao looked at Zhang Dahua with displeasure, “What else do you want?” This Zhang Dahua had gossiped about them, mother and daughter, countless times before.

Zhang Dahua gritted her teeth and stretched out her right hand, “Give me fifty yuan per tree, and I’ll cut down those fruit trees.”

She had indeed planted a few fruit trees on the mountain, but those trees never bloomed or bore fruit. Let alone making money from them.

Now that she had this opportunity to make money, how could she give it up?

“No, you can keep your fruit trees.” Ling Yao wasn’t going to indulge Zhang Dahua.

The main reason she chose this location for the medicinal herb base was to give back to the villagers and help them live a better life.

“Then forty-one yuan.”

Ling Yao ignored Zhang Dahua and walked into the office.

“Thirty-one yuan will do.”

Ling Yao didn’t even stop.

“Twenty-one yuan.” Zhang Dahua gritted her teeth, but no one paid any attention to her.

Seeing this, the other villagers walked up to Zhang Dahua.

“Zhang Dahua, it’s all because of you. Otherwise, I could have gotten ten yuan per fruit tree, and I would have made a few dozen yuan. Now I have nothing.”

“You have to solve this today, or I’ll never let you hear the end of it.”

“If it weren’t for you, I would have agreed to ten yuan. Now, what should I do?”

The villagers all blamed Zhang Dahua, each speaking over the other.

They had thought they would be satisfied as long as they got some compensation, but now that the other party wasn’t cutting down the trees, they wouldn’t get a single cent.

“How should I know? I wanted all that money for your benefit, didn’t I? Now you’re blaming me for everything?

Aren’t you all greedy?” Zhang Dahua was also angry. How could she have known that Ling Yao would just say no to cutting down the trees?

“I don’t care. You have to get us the money today, or we’ll never let you hear the end of it.”

“That’s right. Go tell the village head that we’re willing to accept ten yuan per tree.”

Zhang Dahua simply sat down on the ground and started wailing loudly, “Why is my life so miserable?

I was trying to help everyone, and now you’re all blaming me. What did I do wrong…”

The village head heard the commotion outside and got a headache. After the contract was signed, he went outside,

 “Stop crying and whining. Go home.”

“Village Head, I’m willing to accept ten yuan per tree.”

“Me too. As long as I get the money, I’ll go cut down the trees now.”

“Stop making a fuss. We’ve decided that we don’t need to cut down those trees. You can keep them.”

“Village Head, I’m willing to cut them down for five yuan per tree.”

“Three yuan per tree will do.”

The village head waved his hand impatiently, “Alright, all of you go back. Stop making a scene here.

 Otherwise, I’ll have the police station lock you up.”

After saying that, the village head ignored the villagers’ expressions and turned back to his office.

The villagers looked at each other, all with regretful expressions. They wished they hadn’t listened to Zhang Dahua.

“Uncle Village Head, I’ll rely on you to take care of the medicinal herb base from now on.”

 Ling Yao smiled and shook hands with the village head.

“Of course.” The village head nodded with a smile and, along with the village committee director, escorted Ling Yao and Zhao Kun out of the office.

They reached the car.

“Ling Yao, I’ll tell the villagers what you said.” The village head said.

“Okay, thank you, Uncle Village Head. We’ll go back now.” Ling Yao opened the car door and got in.

She waved to the village head and the village committee director and closed the car door.

The village head and the village committee director watched the car drive away before looking away.

“I can’t believe our village would produce such an amazing person.” The village head couldn’t help but exclaim.

The village committee director nodded in agreement, “Village Head, do you think the villagers will agree to invest?”

Ling Yao had told them that if the villagers were willing to invest in the medicinal herb base, they could receive dividends every year.

 This would allow all the villagers of Hongqi Village to live a good life.

The village head was unsure. He sighed, “This child is promising. She even thought of coming back to help the village.

But you know our village’s situation. Everyone’s struggling. Who would be willing to invest their hard-earned money?”

The village committee director nodded in agreement, “Let’s tell everyone the good news first, and then hold a village meeting to hear everyone’s opinions.”

“That’s all we can do. Hopefully, everyone will cherish this opportunity and work together to make our village a better place.”