You were sent to participate in a transformation program, not to participate in poverty alleviation.

Time flies, and half a day has passed in the blink of an eye.

The courtyard of Old Li's house, shrouded in night, was now as bright as day.

Several high-wattage incandescent light bulbs were temporarily pulled out and hung on the tree branches, illuminating the entire yard.

The courtyard was bustling with people, almost every household had sent a representative.

What they were carrying in their hands and in their baskets were all fresh matsutake mushrooms that they had just picked from the mountains that day.

The air was filled with the fresh scent of soil and the unique aroma of matsutake mushrooms.

Of course, there is an even more intoxicating smell—the scent of banknote ink.

"Everyone, please be patient! Line up! We've prepared plenty of cash today, so everyone will get their money!"

Lin Feng sat at the large round solid wood table, sweating profusely from his work, but his spirits were extremely high.

He skillfully operated the abacus, and the clattering sound was even more pleasant to the villagers than the sound of firecrackers during the New Year.

Qin Hao stood beside the scale, personally overseeing the inspection.

"Uncle Zhao, this basket is great! It's full of big stuff! Net weight 4.2 jin!"

"Aunt Liu, you're really quick! That must weigh about 3 jin!"

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As Qin Hao announced the number, Lin Feng quickly calculated the amount.

Then they handed the bright red hundred-yuan bills to the villagers' calloused hands.

The incentive effect of yesterday's cash handout was truly enormous.

Those villagers who were initially hesitant are now fully mobilized by their entire families.

Even seven- or eight-year-old children are going up the mountain to look for mushrooms.

After the last villager left happily with the money, Lin Feng looked at the numbers in the ledger and couldn't help but sigh.

"We harvested so many mushrooms today, it must weigh about 100 jin (50 catties)."

"How much money was sent out?"

Qin Hao wiped the sweat from his forehead and asked.

"Nine thousand and fifty dollars!"

Lin Feng looked at the money bag in his hand, which was now more than half empty, and felt a pang of regret.

"The 20,000 yuan we just received yesterday has almost disappeared overnight."

Qin Hao smiled nonchalantly, picked up a bottle of mineral water, and took a big gulp.

"That's called investment. Money can only generate more money when it's spent and circulated."

"Just think about it, if we take these 100 jin of matsutake mushrooms to Yunzhou City tomorrow and sell them for 350 yuan per jin, how much will that be?"

Lin Feng's mind raced: "Thirty-five thousand yuan!"

"That's right! After deducting the cost of over nine thousand, we'll make a net profit of twenty-five thousand!"

Qin Hao patted Lin Feng on the shoulder.

"Add the few thousand dollars we still have."

After tomorrow's transactions, our available cash will reach around 43,000 yuan!

"Forty-three thousand..."

Hearing this number, Su Wan, who was standing nearby, realized that even though each of her handbags cost more than that, she was still surprised.

But even in this situation, she couldn't help but cover her mouth:

"This...this is an astronomical figure in the village!"

Indeed, in a poor village in the Daliang Mountains in 2010, more than 40,000 yuan was enough for a family to build a three-room brick house.

This is undoubtedly a huge sum of money.

Despite the impressive results, Qin Hao's expression gradually turned serious, losing the relaxed demeanor he had when distributing the money.

"What's wrong, Brother Qin Hao? We've made so much money, why are you still a little unhappy?"

Su Wan asked, somewhat puzzled.

Qin Hao shook his head, his fingers lightly tapping the table:

"The money seems like a lot, but when you actually spend it, it's not even enough to fill a tooth gap."

He pulled a piece of paper from his pocket, on which he had drawn a business plan he had been developing over the past few days.

This part of the business plan was a feasible plan he came up with after discussing with the production team about getting eliminated.

"We've been buying matsutake mushrooms all along and we're making a lot of money."

But we need to be clear about one fact—matsutake mushrooms are seasonal.

Qin Hao said in a deep voice:

"No matter how many matsutake mushrooms there are in the mountains, they are ultimately limited."

The matsutake mushroom season only lasts a few months. Once the season is over, or if there are continuous rainy days, the business will immediately plummet.

In other words, we must find a way to transform the mushroom industry before the matsutake mushrooms in the mountains are completely harvested.

"Second Uncle's mushroom sauce?" Lin Feng reacted quickly.

"Yes, this is the most feasible path at present."

Qin Hao nodded.

"Relying solely on selling primary agricultural products only earns a meager wage, and one is subject to the control of others."

Only through deep processing industries, branding, and packaging can sufficient profits be generated to ensure that villagers have food to eat all year round.

"Then let's do it! Uncle is such a good cook, we have money to buy oil and ingredients, let's just make it!" Su Wan said innocently.

Qin Hao gave a wry smile:

"Wanwan, doing business isn't that simple. Selling food online isn't something we can just do at home. Those are called 'three-no' products, which are illegal, and the platforms won't allow them to be listed."

"To become legitimate, an SC production license is required."

To obtain certification, you need a standard production workshop, disinfection facilities, and packaging production line.

Just building such a small factory, along with the equipment, would require at least several hundred thousand, or even millions, of initial capital.

"That's not the worst part."

Qin Hao pointed to the dark mountains outside the window.

"The most dangerous thing is the road."

"road?"

"Yes, the road."

Qin Hao sighed.

"To build a factory in the village, raw materials need to be able to come in, and products need to be able to be transported out."

The dirt road leading into the village is so bad that even large trucks can't get through.

If it rains, the wheels will get stuck in the mud, and the goods will all rot on the road.

"If you want to get rich, build roads first."

Building a paved road that's only a dozen kilometers long in these mountains can easily cost millions, or even tens of millions.

Hearing this, Lin Feng and Su Wan both fell silent.

Millions, tens of millions...

The joy brought by the 43,000 yuan was instantly washed away by this huge funding gap.

Faced with such enormous infrastructure costs, their small amount of money is truly like a drop of water thrown into the desert.

"Then... what should we do?"

Lin Feng frowned.

"Are we just going to give up like this?"

"Give up? The word 'give up' doesn't exist in my dictionary."

A glint of light flashed in Qin Hao's eyes, and he drew a circle heavily on the paper.

"The current funds are indeed insufficient for building factories and roads, so we cannot achieve everything in one step; we must take a roundabout approach."

"How do we take a roundabout approach?"

"The first step is to attract customers online and then generate sales offline."

Qin Hao pointed to the plan on the paper.

"We'll first rent a shop in Qingshi Town and get a license for individual food workshops."

This is very cheap; it can be done for just a few thousand dollars.

Then, leveraging the show's viewership, they'll draw people to the town to buy.

"The second step is to expand the product categories."

Qin Hao continued.

"Before we formalize mushroom sauce, we need other cash cows."

Matsutake mushrooms are delicate and difficult to transport, but our Liangshan Mountains have other treasures too!