Chapter Nineteen Plans

  After the fat man left, the old village chief found Chu Jiaqiang and asked him what his plan was. Judging from the current situation, it is correct for Chu Jiaqiang to stay behind, and making Chujiacun Village rich is not an idle dream.

  The Chu family's strong thought for a moment, then said to the old village chief: "Village chief grandfather, I have a plan, but it needs to be done slowly. First, the valley that was allocated to me at the beginning, I plan to plant a large area of fruit trees, which should keep me busy for a long time."

  The old village chief nodded and motioned for Chu Jiaqiang to continue. "Then," Chu Jiaqiang went on, "I'd like to take out a contract on the large piece of wasteland behind the old house, excluding my orchard. That is, from the edge of the orchard all the way to the riverbank, including the riverbank. I have plans for this land too, but let me keep you in suspense for now - this matter will require the village chief's careful consideration and discussion with the villagers."

  "Oh? I'll help you deal with this matter. That piece of barren land is a sandy area, and even if you privately reclaim it, no one will have any objections. However, to avoid future disputes, I'll gather everyone to discuss this matter. But, Jiaqiang, you must think carefully, that piece of land can't compare to your orchard." The old village chief's eyebrows were slightly furrowed, and the truth was that the land was actually a large crescent-shaped riverbank with many rocks and sand, making it impossible to grow crops, or else someone would have developed it already.

  "Hmm! I have a plan for this. And also the large reservoir next to the riverbank, I want to take it over and prepare to raise fish and shrimp. Like the riverbank, it's also a 70-year contract." The reservoir that Chu Jiaqiang mentioned was actually an abandoned reservoir.

  A long time ago, a businessman invested in building a hydroelectric power station. Just after the reservoir was built, the boss suddenly ran away for some reason. It is said that the businessman's company went bankrupt, and there was no one to take care of the power station anymore.

  "This is not a big deal! Anyway, it's empty and useless. The town government mentioned before that someone would take over the reservoir, but our village is remote and the risk is high, so no one dared to take it over. At that time, the contract fee was 3,000 yuan per year, and you had to pay the full 10-year fee at once, and then pay once every 10 years afterwards. The contract fee for wasteland should be even cheaper, I'll try my best to help you negotiate!"

  At this time, the second uncle and aunt were anxious, thinking that this kid was really not letting them off easy. That broken reservoir and that thin riverbank, can they make a living by contracting it? The fish farm has too many hidden dangers, worrying every moment whether it will run away, especially on rainy days when the river floods, it's really heartbreaking. Moreover, raising so many fish, is there a sales channel? Otherwise, the fish may grow bigger and bigger, but without a sales channel, they would really be worried sick.

  "Cough! Village elder uncle, let's put the contracting matter aside for now. We need to discuss it with Ah Qiang again." Second Uncle had no choice but to speak up.

  The old village chief looked at Chu Jiaqiang's second uncle deeply and said, "I know what you're thinking, but let Jiaqiang take a chance. Even I can see through it, how come you can't? Jiaqiang's knowledge, ability, and connections are not comparable to anyone in our village. Take the fruit garden for example! At first, you were also opposed, but this morning, a stack of real gold and silver, you should have seen that."

  "Ah..." Second Uncle was suddenly at a loss for words.

  After the old village chief left, Second Uncle again seriously discussed with Chu Jiaqiang for a while. Chu Jiaqiang did not speak the truth because that kind of idea was hard for Second Uncle and others to understand.

  He is preparing to plant a large area of yellow flowers, and when the time comes, the entire riverbank will be golden in color, contrasting with the emerald green of the reservoir, which will definitely be beautiful. Then, it will be spread online, but this is just a gimmick, mainly to attract outsiders to come in. The reason why Chujiazhuang has not developed is that there are no rich people coming from outside, so how can it become rich?

  This idea had occurred to Chu Jiaqiang a few days ago, and he even made a special trip to the reservoir. The reservoir is not wide, with the widest part being just over 200 meters. But it's very long, should be about two kilometers. In the middle there is an oval-shaped small island, at the tail of the small island there is a large palm tree, almost covering half of the small island. On the tree gathered many kinds of water birds, including the kingfisher that children love.

  Observing the surroundings again, this place is very suitable for building a leisure resort. The reservoir is crystal clear, with green aquatic plants growing at the bottom and many fish swimming in it. The riverbank is a stretch of fine sandy beach, which should be very popular in summer. On the other side of the reservoir is a towering mountain range, covered with maple trees, and when autumn arrives and the leaves turn fiery red, it will be a breathtaking sight.

  Taking advantage of the fact that it was still daylight, Chu Jiaqiang first turned over the empty land in the orchard.

  The next day, Chu Jiaqiang went to town. He got off the bus and rushed straight to the seed store to buy some melon seeds.

  In the countryside, there are many seed stores like this. Chu Jiaqiang chose one with more people and walked in. This is also particular, a seed store that's too quiet indicates that the quality of seeds in that store is not good.

  Inside the store there is a small blackboard on which is written the recent fluctuations in seed prices. It can be seen that the boss is a very thoughtful person.

  There are many seeds in the store, but they don't give people a messy feeling. The owner has categorized them, separating vegetables, melons and fruits. Moreover, each type of seed is displayed with a package attached to it, along with a note that lists its advantages and disadvantages.

  After a long while, the boss finally finished attending to the other guests and walked over to Chu Jiaqiang.

  "Little brother, want to buy some seeds? The cucumber you're looking at isn't very good according to everyone's feedback. It has a lot of leaves and dense seedlings, but not many cucumbers. Take a look at this one, the price is not expensive, and according to everyone, its vine is very long and produces more cucumbers, but the cycle will be a bit longer." The boss analyzed for Chu Jiaqiang.

  Chu Jiaqiang took a glance at the owner of the seed store and nodded to himself. This person is quite down-to-earth, no wonder this store's business is obviously better than others.

  "Is it a bit late to plant melons now?" Chu Jiaqiang asked. In fact, cucumbers and other melons are better planted in the spring, and can be harvested in summer and autumn.

  "Hehe! Don't worry, in our place, except for the coldest month in winter, all other times are suitable for plant growth. Of course, if you're worried, you can grow some short-cycle ones." The boss seemed very patient.

  Chu's family was strong and asked, as soon as he finished speaking, he felt that his question was redundant. Now it's only July, there is still a long time, and with the spiritual water in Shanhe Map, this problem is not worried at all.

  Chu Jiaqiang bought a package of each of the following under the introduction of that boss: cucumber, yellow crookneck squash, zucchini and calabaza. Then he also took some seeds for Chinese cabbage, beans, celery and so on.

  He didn't go back immediately, but instead bought several coils of wire and prepared to build a trellis for his melons.