Chapter 55

“Hello, hello. My surname is Huang, you can just call me Secretary Huang.”

Only then did the person with his back turned to him slowly turn around and respond calmly, “My surname is Qi.”

“Oh, it’s Comrade Qi,” Secretary Huang said enthusiastically, pointing to a chair in the modest office. “Please, have a seat.”

He took out his cherished tea leaves, which he had saved for a long time, and made tea, handing it over.

“Comrade Qi, don’t be too formal.”

Qi Yangyan took a sip of the tea. “Secretary Huang, you know why I’m here. I want to get a firsthand understanding of the farm’s basic situation.”

“Of course, of course.” Secretary Huang observed Qi Yangyan for a moment. “There’s not much to see here in the office anyway, let’s take a tour of the farm.”

Qi Yangyan nodded.

“Comrade Qi, we can talk while we walk.”

Secretary Huang didn’t know why the other party was interested in investing in this place, but since he was here, Huang was determined to make the most of the opportunity.

The weather was getting colder, and the farm workers had put on thick coats.

Qi Yangyan, in his suit layered with a long black overcoat, looked out of place in comparison.

The surroundings were bleak and gray, with only patches of green left on the land.

“Comrade Qi, we are the largest farm base in the country, supplying more than half of the nation’s cotton,” Secretary Huang said as he led the way, followed by Qi Yangyan’s bodyguards, some farm workers, and county and city officials.

A large crowd walking together like this was certainly eye-catching.

“The farm mainly produces cotton, red dates, and some other crops,” Secretary Huang continued, with a bitter expression on his face. “Those other crops are just to keep the farm running. They don’t bring in any profits.”

Indeed, there’s no market for those few vegetables.

The farm’s location was not ideal, and transportation posed the biggest problem.

Qi Yangyan raised his head, scanning the surroundings.

“Secretary Huang, are you saying that cotton is currently the main economic pillar of the farm?”

“Yes.”

Cotton prices were high, but so were the costs of harvesting it. The entire farm had only two cotton-harvesting machines. For such a large farm, two machines were far from sufficient. They still relied heavily on manual labor.

In addition, tasks like seed removal also had to be done by hand.

Secretary Huang led Qi Yangyan a little further, where they came upon a group of people working in the vast cotton fields. Their hands moved continuously, picking the cotton from the bolls, too busy even to wipe the sweat from their foreheads.

There were quite a few women and children working in the fields as well.

When they noticed the approaching group, they glanced up out of curiosity, then quickly resumed their work, picking the cotton as they chatted:

“Who are these people?”

“That man in the lead looks imposing. What kind of clothes is he wearing? They look expensive.”

“I heard they’re foreign investors coming to invest here.”

At these words, many expressed doubt.

“Really? Investing in a place like this? They’d be better off just giving us the money.”

“Do you even know what investment means? You really think someone would just hand you cash? You wish.”

“Of course I know! This place is so remote, what else do we have besides cotton… It’s exhausting, picking cotton day after day…”

“They don’t look so different from us. How could they be foreign investors? Don’t fool me. I’ve seen a few red-haired foreigners before.”

“Who said foreign investors have to be foreigners? You lot don’t understand, and I can’t be bothered to explain it to you…”

Though they talked, their hands never stopped picking cotton. The two groups were far apart, so their voices didn’t carry over.

Qi Yangyan looked around, but there was no sign of Father and Mother Ruan.

Before he left, Ruan Mingfu had specifically described what her parents looked like, so that Qi Yangyan wouldn’t mistake them.

“This way of picking is too slow,” Qi Yangyan remarked.

“Comrade Qi, you’re right,” Secretary Huang seized the chance to complain, “Last time, it took us seven or eight days to harvest just 100 acres of cotton, using both manpower and machines. Thankfully, it didn’t rain during those days, or it would have been a disaster.”

Secretary Huang was thinking clearly: even if the other party didn’t invest, he at least needed to secure two more machines for the farm.

Qi Yangyan nodded slightly.

Unable to gauge his thoughts, Secretary Huang kept quiet.

After passing the cotton fields, they reached a grove of jujube trees. The trees stood about the height of a person, with lush branches, and each was laden with tempting red dates.

Secretary Huang proudly introduced them, “These are our jujube trees. In about a month, when winter comes, the leaves will fall, and we’ll harvest the dried dates from the branches, providing another source of income for the farm.”

The jujube trees were well-maintained.

Each tree was neatly arranged, and the fields were free of weeds.

Secretary Huang picked a few large, red dates. “Comrade Qi, try one. The dates from our farm are very sweet.”

The dates were large, with a deep red hue, and looked sweet at first glance.

Qi Yangyan didn’t mind whether the date had been washed and took a bite.

It was indeed very sweet.

Using these dates just for dried jujubes seemed like a waste.

After finishing the date, Secretary Huang asked eagerly, “Comrade Qi, how is it?”

“They’re quite good,” Qi replied, glancing at the vast expanse of jujube trees. “Are all the farm’s jujube trees located here? How large is the plantation?”

“It’s nothing compared to the cotton fields,” Secretary Huang said after some thought. “In total, we have about 18,000 jujube trees.”

Qi Yangyan nodded.

“I’ll take it all,” he said, noticing Secretary Huang’s stunned expression. He added, “Make sure it’s fresh.”

Secretary Huang was completely taken aback.

Did he even understand what he just said?

Over 18,000 jujube trees! Even if the yield was a bit low, one tree could produce about 100 pounds. Together, that’s over a million pounds of jujubes.

Secretary Huang quickly did some mental math. Even at a wholesale price of 3 cents per pound, that would still amount to over 20,000 yuan.

His eyes lit up.

This is a fortune!

Although dried jujubes could also fetch 3 cents per pound, fresh jujubes sold better—they were much more profitable.

“Comrade Qi, are you serious?” Secretary Huang asked, trying to confirm.

Qi Yangyan signaled to one of his associates, who stepped forward.

“Secretary Huang, send someone over to sign the contract with him. We’ll pay half of the price upfront. Once the jujubes are harvested, the remaining half will be paid in full.”

“Understood, understood!” Secretary Huang was eager to please. “Deputy Secretary Liu, I’ll leave this task to you.”

“Yes, sir!” Deputy Secretary Liu was equally excited.

The farm had been struggling financially for so long, and they had never seen this much money before.

After the scandal involving Zhou Papi, Secretary Huang had been furious and completely overhauled the farm. Deputy Secretary Liu had been promoted after Zhou Papi’s brother-in-law was dismissed.

“Comrade Qi, please come this way!”

Secretary Huang’s attitude had warmed up significantly. As long as Qi Yangyan was willing to pay, Secretary Huang would gladly oblige—even if it meant dancing to entertain him.

Whoever pays is the boss!

Even if the investment didn’t pan out in the long run, with over 20,000 yuan in hand, the farm could at least enjoy a prosperous year.

As they walked past the jujube orchard, they approached a field where many people were busy working.

Secretary Huang proudly explained, “This is where we grow various fruits and vegetables. Comrade Qi, I’m not exaggerating when I say the fruits grown here are exceptionally sweet. Take a look at this—”

He stepped into the field and plucked a ripe cantaloupe.

“This is the last batch of cantaloupes for the year.”

The yield wasn’t large, and he had planned to sell it to the local supply cooperative. These cantaloupes were popular with locals, but transporting them farther wasn’t worth the effort.

At the end of the day, transportation was the main issue.

Of course, if they could sell them like the jujubes, that would be ideal.

Secretary Huang was about to find a knife for Qi Yangyan to taste the cantaloupe, but couldn’t locate one. One of Qi Yangyan’s bodyguards, however, efficiently pulled out a small knife and sliced the melon into several pieces.

Qi Yangyan took a bite, and under Secretary Huang’s expectant gaze, said, “Not bad, I’ll take all of these too.”

Secretary Huang’s eyes gleamed again.

This land was ideal for growing fruit.

The problem was that with the community still struggling to meet basic food needs, no one would prioritize buying fruit—it couldn’t substitute for real meals. This was why the farm primarily focused on crops like cotton.

After finishing his first slice, Qi Yangyan reached for another.

Maybe it was because the land was less polluted, but he felt that the fruit here tasted sweeter than what he would find 50 or 60 years in the future.

Secretary Huang was beaming, nearly bursting with joy.

Of course! Even though this batch of cantaloupes wasn’t large, it would still amount to around seven or eight hundred pounds. Once sold, it would bring in another nice sum… a real windfall!

He couldn’t believe his luck today—he had stumbled upon such a generous benefactor.

Ahead, the land became barren, prompting Secretary Huang to suggest, “Comrade Qi, there’s not much to see ahead. How about we head back the way we came?”

Along the way, they had already passed people dressed in tattered clothes, but the workers up ahead were even more poorly dressed. These were people sent by higher authorities for re-education, doing the heaviest and hardest labor.

Since taking charge, Secretary Huang had somewhat improved their living conditions.

During the farm’s overhaul, he had improved their housing so they no longer had to worry about freezing or dying from exposure in the harsh conditions.

Qi Yangyan shook his head. “I need to fully understand the entire farm in order to make a better investment.”

Upon hearing this, Secretary Huang promptly shut his mouth.

In this world, money talks!

If Qi Yangyan wanted to explore every corner of the farm, even the darkest places, Secretary Huang would happily oblige.

Secretary Huang eagerly led the way, “This field here supplies all the vegetables for the farm. It’s all self-sufficient, so we don’t have to spend money buying from outside.”

The temperature differences here were significant, and even in summer, only four or five types of vegetables could grow.

Qi Yangyan looked over at the plot of land Secretary Huang had pointed out.

There were quite a few people working in the field, but unlike the previous workers they had passed, these people looked lifeless, as if barely hanging on, like walking corpses.

Among them, however, a couple stood out.

They were full of energy, with a vitality that set them apart from the others. The woman was watering the plants, and the man was wielding a hoe. Occasionally, he would say something to her, and she would playfully roll her eyes at him. Despite this, neither of them slacked off in their work.

After all, there were supervisors nearby, and anyone caught slacking would be reprimanded.

Qi Yangyan took an instinctive step forward.

That familiar scene, that familiar dynamic… It had to be them. His heart raced as he realized it was his own parents. Even though he was overwhelmed with emotion, he couldn’t show it in front of the large group accompanying him.

He clenched his fists tightly to suppress the storm of feelings inside him.

Over on the field, Father Ruan had also noticed the group of people.

He glanced over, “What are they doing here?”

“Get to work,” Mrs. Ruan replied, rolling her eyes at him. “It’s none of your business anyway.”

Father Ruan was about to lower his head, but he saw the young man in the lead made a secret gesture to him.