Old Mrs. Song is reborn; get out of here, you scumbag husband and illegitimate child!

The village secretary quickly explained the situation to the brigade leader, saying, "For the sake of the villagers, we also need to discuss with Song Xianglan how to share the costs."

"Go to Song Xianglan's house." The old Party Secretary turned and left.

The brigade leader glanced at the Party Secretary.

The village secretary patted him on the shoulder. "Put down the bowl. Let's go."

The brigade leader put the bowl on the stone table in the yard, wiped his mouth, and followed.

When the three of them arrived at the gate of Song Xianglan's courtyard, the courtyard was quiet.

White smoke billowed from the kitchen chimney, and the sounds of pots and pans clattering came from inside.

Song Xianglan peeked out from the kitchen.

"Hey, what brings you three here?"

The old Party Secretary didn't sit down; he stood in the courtyard and spoke:

"Xianglan, I heard you invited an agricultural professor from the province?"

"Yes. Professor Chen, a professor at the provincial agricultural school." Song Xianglan wiped her hands on her apron and walked out of the kitchen. "What's wrong?"

The old Party Secretary glanced at the Party Secretary and the Brigade Leader, then cleared his throat.

"We've discussed it, and we're wondering if we could involve the whole village in your white asparagus and mushroom project? It's not just about you growing them; we want everyone to grow them together."

Song Xianglan brought out a thermos.

"Sit down and talk."

The three people sat on the stone bench in the courtyard.

Song Xianglan poured three cups of tea and brought them over.

The old Party Secretary picked up his teacup, took a sip, and put it down. "Whether it's seedling cultivation or technology, it definitely costs money."

Our village can cover part of the cost, and the rest can be shared equally among the villagers. Since it's for everyone's benefit, it's only right that everyone contributes some money.

Song Xianglan did not respond.

She crossed her arms in front of her chest.

"Old Party Secretary, I appreciate the suggestion, but let's forget about splitting the cost equally."

"Why?" the captain blurted out.

"This expense is not low. Inviting Professor Chen to come here involves round-trip travel expenses, labor costs, accommodation and meals, plus the seeds, fertilizers, and greenhouse materials for seedling cultivation. All these factors add up to a considerable sum."

Moreover, this isn't a one-off deal; Professor Chen and his students will have to pay each time they come.

Initially, there was no visible profit, and the villagers were unwilling to share the costs equally. In the end, they all thought I, Song Xianglan, was profiting from it.

"Who's so heartless?" The captain's voice suddenly rose.

Song Xianglan glanced at him.

"Captain, if you don't believe me, go back and tell everyone that you're suggesting we plant asparagus and mushrooms. The agricultural experts we've invited will need everyone's money for seedling cultivation and planting. See if they're happy then?"

The captain opened his mouth.

Not a single word came out.

It's obvious without even thinking about it.

A lot of people will definitely say that we need to spend money to hire professors to grow vegetables. Our ancestors have been farming for decades, how can we be inferior to a few young kids?

It would be better to use that money to buy a few bags of fertilizer.

The brigade leader had heard these words at least eight hundred times.

"Then you'll pay?" the captain asked tentatively.

Song Xianglan rolled her eyes.

"What else? Use the village's funds? That's collective property, and people will gossip about it."

Zhang San said, "Why should I pay for your experiments?" Li Si said, "This money should have been used to build roads, but you took it to grow mushrooms." Wang Wu said, "Officials are in cahoots with Song Xianglan. Can you stand that?"

The captain's lips twitched.

These words were all incredibly hurtful, yet every single one of them was the absolute truth.

Those people in the village are good at nothing but finding fault with everything.

The old Party Secretary listened silently from the side.

Party Secretary Lao Liu took a sip of tea but didn't say anything.

Song Xianglan pushed the teacup forward.

"But I'm not doing this for nothing. Anyone gets used to being taken advantage of after a while. I have my conditions."

The old Party Secretary looked up. "You speak."

"The asparagus and mushrooms grown in the first village, as well as the fruit that follows, must be sold to my factory first."

I can't pay someone to teach me the techniques and provide the seeds, only to sell what I grow to someone else.

No one disagrees with this.

Both the old Party Secretary and the Party Secretary nodded.

Song Xianglan paused for a moment.

"I rented out a piece of sandy land in the village near Tangjiazhuang that hadn't been rented to anyone else."

The brigade leader's eyebrows shot up immediately. "That piece of land is at least forty or fifty acres."

"Forty-five and a half mu, I've measured it." Song Xianglan held out one hand, her five fingers spread wide. "My factory needs to be expanded. Right now, the factory's orders are already booked until March next year, and the production capacity can't keep up."

I expanded the factory, hired people, and provided employment opportunities for the villagers.

Logically, as a company that provides employment and tax revenue to the village, the village should provide some support in terms of land use. However, the land I'm expanding on is still leased.

The brigade leader was a little embarrassed. "Well... I have to ask the villagers for their opinions."

Song Xianglan's face immediately turned cold.

"Then there's no need to ask."

It was decisive and efficient, without any hesitation or delay.

The captain was taken aback.

"What do you mean?"

"No need to ask. My factory is not expanding."

The courtyard was quiet for two seconds.

The team leader grew anxious. "Isn't expansion enough? You just said yourself that orders are booked until March next year."

Song Xianglan picked up her teacup and slowly took a sip.

"The secretary of Xiangzhi Town contacted me last month and said that they had a vacant lot there that I could use for free."

They don't want rent or land purchase fees, they just want me to build a factory there. They even said they could help me coordinate water and electricity, and waive various fees for the first three years.

As soon as these words came out...

The air in the courtyard seemed to freeze.

The brigade leader's face flushed red. "You're from our Xiaoquan brigade, so naturally you'll build the factory in our village."

Song Xianglan placed the teacup on the stone table.

"Team leader, I'm a businessman. I go wherever the conditions are better, and that has nothing to do with which team I'm from. You're a villager; would you be willing to do the team leader's work for free?"

The captain opened his mouth slightly.

Then it closed again.

He wanted to refute, but couldn't utter a single word.

The Party Secretary spoke up.

"If the town hears that Old Song is going to build a factory in Xiangzhi, will the mayor sit still? She'll be able to pick and choose any land in the town, and she won't have to pay a single penny. Do you believe me?"

The captain's expression changed repeatedly.

The Party Secretary continued:

"You know how much tax Sister Song's factory paid last year. You also know how many people are working at the factory now."

This isn't just a matter for one company; it's about feeding the whole village.

Were their conditions excessive? No, they weren't. Elsewhere, they'd be happy to pay her to come.

These words extinguished the last bit of hesitation the battalion commander had.

The old Party Secretary remained silent.

He spoke up at this moment:

"Old Wang."

The captain looked up at him.

The old Party Secretary's eyes widened in surprise.

"How many years have you been in this position? All you ever think about is being a nice guy. Not offending this person, not offending that person. What good is being a nice guy when the village is dirt poor?"

The captain lowered his head.

"If you become a cadre in the future, you'll have to learn to offend people. Those troublemakers in the village don't work and can't stand seeing others do. If you're even afraid of those kinds of people, you might as well quit being the brigade leader."

The old Party Secretary became more and more excited as he spoke.

He pointed his finger in the direction of the captain.

"How much did Song Xianglan do for the village? Did she pay for the road repairs? Did she pay for the primary school renovations?"

Half of the people hired by the factory are from our village. What's she after?

Does she want you, Old Wang, to kowtow to her or have a monument erected for her? You, on the other hand, are haggling over a piece of land with you.

"Once they're gone, it'll be too late for you to regret it."

The captain knew in his heart that none of the conditions Song Xianglan mentioned were excessive; in fact, they could be considered concessions.

He was just afraid of a few troublemakers in the village gossiping.

He was afraid that people would gossip about him, saying that he sold the village land cheaply to his own people.

He took advantage of his wife's good relationship with Song Xianglan.

It's okay to suffer a little loss with someone you know well.

But Song Xianglan was a woman of her word; she meant what she said.

The captain took a deep breath and spread his hands.

"Okay. I might not even be the brigade leader next year. Let me talk to the villagers. If anyone has any objections, come at me. I'll take it."

Song Xianglan glanced at him.

"Captain, you don't have to force yourself. I don't like to force people. If you feel uncomfortable, just pretend I never mentioned it."

These words hurt him even more than being insulted.

The captain's face flushed red and then turned pale.

Party Secretary Lao Liu chuckled.

"Sister Song's words have never lost." He stood up, cupped his hands in a gesture of respect to Song Xianglan, and said, "As the village secretary, for the sake of all the villagers, I beg you to stay in the village."

We are committed to serving businesses wholeheartedly. Please feel free to ask if you need anything.

Song Xianglan glanced at the Party Secretary.

He didn't say anything.

The old Party Secretary took out his pipe, filled it with tobacco, and lit it with a "click."

"The land issue will be settled today."

The old Party Secretary exhaled a puff of smoke. "That 45 mu of sandy land near Tangjiazhuang will all be leased to Xianglan for her agricultural company. The lease term is 50 years. In addition, the 15 mu of land that the food factory originally leased, plus the original 8 mu, will be purchased."

The Party Secretary nodded.

"I agree. The price should be in line with the town's standards, neither too high nor too low, leaving no room for argument."

The old Party Secretary exhaled another puff of smoke.

"If anyone disagrees, let him come find me."

The captain lowered his head and thought for a while, then said, "Okay. I'll go get the accountant."

"Let's go now." The old Party Secretary tapped the ash from his cigarette on the sole of his shoe. "Strike while the iron is hot and draft the contract today. Every day we delay, more things will change."