A stunning mermaid dressed in the 1980s, the whole family lined up to pamper her endlessly.

Chapter 400 Discussing the Contracting of the Persimmon Orchard (Two Chapters Combined)
"So your family also bought two motorcycles?"

How can you be so extravagant if you don't have money?
"Hey, this is all thanks to my Jiaojiao..."

Yun Jiao's godfather has been used as a scapegoat again.

Everyone could only listen with envy.

Yun Linhai and the others quickly moved all their belongings into the house.

Yun Jiao and Yun Xiaowu distributed candy to the village children, and the group of children were overjoyed.

"Ah Lian, you can ride a motorcycle too? I saw you ride here, you're really amazing."

Shen Yunlian: "Hey, to make things easier, I asked my husband to teach me. When they're out at sea and need to go to town or county for something, I can ride my motorcycle there myself. It's convenient and fast."

Shen Yunlian simply grabbed a handful of melon seeds and sat down to chat with everyone.

Yun Jiao also brought over a small stool and sat down next to her mother.

When people get together to chat, they always end up talking about the latest gossip.

Sure enough, one of the aunties spoke up.

"You know that youngest son from the next village, right? I heard he got scammed."

"I know this. They say he met a beautiful girl in the city, and she didn't even ask for a dowry. The house was provided by her family. How did Zhao Xiaoshan manage to have such a windfall? They've only been married for less than a month, and the girl is already two months pregnant."

"This sudden fatherhood happened really fast. Both families have been making a fuss for days. I think Zhao Xiaoshan's family is a little reluctant to give up the good conditions of the woman's family."

"The other day, Erlaizi from our village stole all the money from his family to gamble. He was arrested by the police station. His parents came to see him crying and begging. I heard that he not only gambled but also stole and fought. He'll probably get two or three years in prison."

"They deserved it. That family favored sons over daughters. They treated their two daughters like maids, and another one was thrown into a cesspool and drowned right after she was born. But they treated their son like a treasure. And what happened?"

Yun Jiao listened with great interest, cracking sunflower seeds with gusto.

She was still a little reluctant to leave when everyone was leaving.

However, there's a lot of work to do in the village, and everyone has to go to work and cook, so there's not much time to chat.

"Jiaojiao, come quick, I have something good for you."

When Yun Jiao heard her grandfather calling her, she quickly responded and ran inside.

Then the old man handed her a few purple-skinned fruits.

It's an August melon!

Wild specimens of this fruit are not very large. When ripe, they split open to reveal fragrant flesh inside.

It tastes good, but it's a bit of a hassle to eat.

Because this thing has so many seeds.

However, it's also nice to eat slowly to pass the time.

"Grandpa, have you eaten?"

“You’ve eaten them. These are the late-ripening ones. I picked the batch that ripened a while ago and wanted to bring them to you, but I was too busy at home to get away.”

Yun Jiao carefully spat out the akebia seeds from her mouth.

"It tastes just as good now."

Yun Xiaowu and the others also ate, but they weren't as demure as Yun Jiao when they ate.

Grandpa Shen sat next to Yun Jiao, gently fanning away mosquitoes with a palm-leaf fan.

It's not so hot anymore at this time of year, but in rural areas where there are many plants, mosquitoes and other pests are still present.

The family sat together chatting and eating; these memories will be cherished forever, no matter when they come back to us.

"Come on, there are so many people today, let's take a picture."

Uncle Shen was fiddling with Yun Chenbei's camera, and after playing with it for a while, he wanted to take a picture.

Then I stood at the door and snapped a few pictures of everyone in the room.

Finally, everyone went to the courtyard. The two elderly people sat down, and the others stood around them, all with very happy smiles on their faces.

Click...

The picture froze.

Then Uncle Shen handed the camera to Yun Chenbei, and he also stood up and took two photos.

Knowing that Yun Jiao and the others had come to pick persimmons on the mountain, their older cousin Shen Kuan immediately offered to take them there.

Now that the busy farming season is over, although things aren't as busy in the fields, we still need to plant vegetable seeds, so the adults in the family aren't joining in the fun.

Shen Yunlian and Yun Linhai also stayed to help with the farming.

The others carried baskets on their backs and headed into the mountains.

There is a persimmon grove on a mountain near Shenjiazhai.

It was originally grown by a landlord who made persimmon cakes specifically to sell.

Later on, the landlords naturally disappeared, and the persimmon grove became collective property.

However, not many people eat persimmons, and there aren't many families that know how to make dried persimmons, so not many people buy them.

So that persimmon grove was left to decay and fall into disrepair.

If you want to eat persimmons, just go over there and pick some; that will last you a long time.

Most of them fall to the ground and rot, or are eaten by birds in the mountains.

As it happens, Grandma Shen knew how to make persimmon cakes.

But we don't make much each year, just enough for our own family, or we take some to visit relatives during the Lunar New Year.

"To make dried persimmons, you need those that aren't fully ripe..."

Having been exposed to it from a young age, Shen Kuan also knows how to make dried persimmons. He is currently telling Yun Jiao and the others which type of persimmon is best for making dried persimmons.

“These are already fully ripe and can be eaten directly. They’re very sweet. Here you go, Jiaojiao.”

These persimmons aren't very big, but when they're ripe and bright red, they look like little lanterns and are especially beautiful.

It's also very sweet.

Yun Jiao and the others had eaten persimmon cakes made from these persimmons before. They were delicious. Every time Grandma Shen and the others brought persimmon cakes, they would be devoured within a few days.

Yun Xiaoqi looked at the huge expanse of persimmons.

"Brother Kuan, are we just going to waste all these that we can't pick?"

That look in his eyes was clearly one of heartache over wasting money.

"Our homemade persimmon cakes are so delicious, why don't we sell them?"

Shen Kuan laughed and said, "It's not that easy. This persimmon orchard belongs to the collective. If our family makes persimmon cakes and sells them, the other people in the village won't stand for it."

It's natural that if your family takes something that belongs to the collective and sells it for profit, wouldn't others be envious?

Yun Jiao: "Then let's contract this persimmon orchard."

She wants to lease the entire island, and her first thought is to take over this persimmon grove.

If it belongs to you, then no one will say anything if you sell it for money.

This left Shen Kuan completely dumbfounded: "What? Contract the persimmon orchard?"

"That's unnecessary. How much would that cost? Persimmon cakes are much cheaper."

Yun Xiaoqi almost wanted to grab his head and shake him: "Brother, are you stupid? This persimmon grove is so big, you don't need to replant persimmons. It will bear fruit every year. This is a long-term business."

"Moreover, now that the policy has been relaxed, we seized the opportunity to be among the first to make our persimmon cakes famous and open up the market, so they will sell even better in the future."

"Not many people will buy it if you only sell it in town, but you can go to the city!"

"Moreover, persimmon cakes will definitely sell better around the time of the Lunar New Year. That's all money. If you contract the persimmon orchard, you can make money every year. You'll make that money back!"

Shen Kuan scratched his head: "But such a large forest, how much would it cost to contract it?"

Their family can't afford to contract this.

Yun Jiao patted her chest and said, "It's okay, I'll lend you the money."

"Okay, you can pay me back half when you make money, otherwise forget it."

Shen Kuan and Shen Xiuyuan both gaped in astonishment. Seriously? Their little cousin was that rich?
Yun Jiao: A little money, take it!
Shen Kuan: "We can't decide this. You should go back and talk to my father and grandfather."

Yun Xiaoqi: "The persimmon cakes that our aunt makes will definitely make money."

Shen Xiuyuan: How did you know?

Yun Xiaoqi raised her head and puffed out her chest: "I've done the research. Even the buns sold at the school gate that don't taste good are making money. How could such delicious persimmon cakes not make money?"

Yun Xiaowu: "Grandma's persimmon cakes are truly exceptional."

Although they were chatting, their hands didn't stop working.

The persimmons on the branches that were within reach had been picked, so Yun Xiaowu and his friends climbed the tree and started picking the persimmons from the higher branches.

Unripe persimmons were placed together, while ripe ones were put in another basket.

After filling all the baskets they had brought with their harvest, everyone went home.

But it's still early, and the people in the fields haven't returned yet.

So they went to the persimmon grove again and saw other villagers picking persimmons.

However, most of them were children.

I've picked persimmons three times, and now there are quite a few piled up at home.

As it was getting dark, Grandma Shen and Aunt Shen came back first to cook.

Because of Yunjiao's arrival, dinner tonight was very plentiful.

There weren't enough seats at one table at home, so they moved the wooden table to the yard, put two tables together, and then everyone sat down around it.

The only downside is that it's not easy for people sitting on the side to pick up food.

"Let's peel those persimmons and make dried persimmons after we finish eating."

Shen Yunlian nodded: "Sure, Mother can make more, otherwise it would be such a waste for those persimmons to fall on the ground."

Grandma Shen nodded: "The persimmons in our mountains aren't very big, but they're sweet. It's just that the price isn't high. Everyone works hard carrying so many persimmons to town to sell, but they don't make much money, and they're exhausted. They can't sell many of them."

Yun Xiaoqi: "That's because your methods are wrong!"

"How many people are there in our town? And Shenjia Village isn't the only place with persimmons. With so many people selling them, of course not many can be sold. The prices are also undercutting each other. And these things don't keep for long..."

The Shen family stared in disbelief as Yun Xiaoqi, a child, analyzed things so logically.

"Ripe persimmons are too soft; they easily break and spoil if touched even slightly. They don't look good, so no one wants to buy them. Therefore, ripe persimmons cannot be transported too far."

"If you want to sell a long-lasting batch, you still have to rely on dried persimmons. Auntie, your dried persimmons are delicious; each one is a clean, beautiful orange-yellow, covered in a white frost. It would be a disservice to your skill if they didn't sell!"

Yun Jiao nodded as she shoveled rice into her mouth.

That's right, Seventh Brother is right.

Yun Jiao: "So, let's contract the persimmon orchard!"

The young heiress made a powerful statement.

The Shen family: ? ? ?

No, how did the topic suddenly jump to contracting a persimmon orchard?
"Huh? Contracting a persimmon orchard?"

Uncle Shen looked bewildered: "Us?"

Aunt Shen was also dumbfounded: "Are we that rich?"

They can afford to contract such a large area of ​​mountain forest.

Shen Yunlian: "I think Jiaojiao is right. You guys are just too timid."

Her daughter is going to own an entire island, and that persimmon grove is so small, calm down.

The Shen family: …………

It felt like meeting my own daughter/sister for the first time.

However, Grandma Shen was genuinely tempted by their suggestion.

She's not bragging, but her persimmon cakes are the most authentic and delicious in the whole area.

Her ancestors made their fortune selling persimmon cakes, but the business was later ruined.

However, the method of making persimmon cakes has been passed down from generation to generation.

That's right, Grandma Shen's ancestors were landlords, but that was all in the feudal era.

Fortunately, she lost early, otherwise she would have had a chance to win at Dou Dizhu (a card game).

By the time of Grandma Shen's generation, almost no one knew that the persimmon grove belonged to her ancestors.

But Grandma Shen also lacked confidence.

How much money would it cost to lease that persimmon grove? What if we can't make it back?

Shen Yunlian, as expected of her maternal grandmother's daughter, could tell what she was thinking at a glance.

"Mom, I have some money here. I'll lend it to you. If you don't make any money, you don't have to pay it back."

Thanks to her daughter, she has quite a bit of savings of her own.

Grandma Shen: "How could I possibly take your money?"

Yun Jiao: "Grandma uses mine. I have a lot of money. I pay it back when I earn it, and I don't have to pay it back when I don't earn it."

Under the repeated attacks from Yun Jiao and Shen Yunlian, Grandma Shen's heart was moved even more.

Finally, gritting her teeth, she said, "Fine, then this old woman will be bold this once."

Grandpa Shen expressed his support.

Uncle Shen: "Then I'll help too. Let's contract for ten years first, and make more persimmon cakes this year to test the waters."

"Let's go find the village chief after we finish eating and contract the persimmon orchard first. What if someone discovers the business opportunity and takes over the orchard before we make money selling persimmon cakes?"

Grandma Shen's heart is now burning with joy.

"Alright, after we finish eating, let's go ask the village chief what the rules are."

So, as it was getting dark, Yun Jiao and her group arrived at the village chief's house.

They were stunned to hear that they wanted to contract the persimmon orchard.

"You really want to contract that forest?"

The village chief said, "Have you thought it through? The persimmon trees in that forest are all mature trees, and they bear a lot of fruit every year, so the contract price will definitely be higher than that of ordinary land. Moreover, it's such a large area, at least two hundred acres. If it's for ten years, it will be worth at least five or six hundred thousand yuan."

The village chief couldn't imagine that anyone could afford such a large sum of money.

Upon hearing the price, Grandma Shen hesitated again.

Wow... that much money.

Or, how about we take on a smaller contract?
The rest of the Shen family thought the same way.

Yun Jiao: "Grandma, I've wrapped it up."

Everyone looked at the little one.

Shen Yunlian chuckled and said, "Let's borrow some money; we should be able to manage."

The village chief also heard about Yun Jiao's wealthy godfather, who was said to be able to drive a large ship.

Even the village chief was envious; why didn't they have such a rich and generous relative?

Village Chief: "I'll go ask around for you, but I estimate the money won't be much less. However, the government is encouraging private contracting of mountain forest land, so there might be some policies in place. You should be prepared for that."

"Or it would be fine to contract a smaller amount."

Grandma Shen nodded: "Okay, let's go back and think about it carefully."

Back home, everyone sat in the courtyard peeling the hard persimmons while discussing the matter.

Yunjiao can definitely come up with this money.

But it can't be taken out so easily, otherwise it will attract too much attention. I need to find a better excuse.

(End of this chapter)