"Five thousand?" Upon hearing this price, Qian Yongcai found it acceptable.
But after guessing the price, Xiao Xian’s pretty little hand was still raised; she was truly shocked by the price tag. Five thousand—why five thousand? That’s more than what Mr. Xiao Hua makes in a year from planting rice.
"No way, fifty thousand?" Qian Yongcai’s heart bled; he had been swindled by a girl as fresh and lovely as a little jasmine flower.
"However, this is an imported tree that you really can’t buy dostically. Although fifty thousand is a bit much, compared to the landscaping money I’ll receive, there is still a profit to be made. Looks like I’ll have to pocket the workers’ wages," Qian Yongcai gritted his teeth, "Grandma, fine, fifty thousand it is. Just put your hand down; it’s giving a stomach cramp."
Qian Yongcai had no choice but to withdraw another forty-five thousand from the bank, adding it to the five thousand he had taken out earlier. He wrapped the neat stack of fifty thousand in a black plastic bag and handed it over to Xiao Xian.
Fifty thousand in 1998 had impressive purchasing power; in a tourist town like Bai Family Ancient Town, it could buy a nice, single-family suspension house. Xiao Xian had never seen so much money before, and she couldn’t quite react when she received it.
"Take it ho to your parents and deposit it in the credit union," Qian Yongcai said, even though it pained him to part with the money. After all, you can’t catch a wolf without a bait. Then he consoled himself with the thought of the money he would make by turning his hand, and he didn’t forget to remind Xiao Xian to save the money.
But going to the credit union to deposit money required an ID card, which back then was only issued to people over eighteen, and Xiao Xian was far from that age.
Moreover, she had already planned it out; the money would go in her space. After all, the sugarcane seedling disliked dirt and wouldn’t consu it all. There were benefits to upgrading space; back in the day when the garbage space hadn’t sprouted the sugarcane seedling, it gobbled up whatever went in, but now with the seedling, things had improved significantly as it had learned to selectively consu.
Occasionally, Xiao Xian also fantasized about turning her space into a treasured space with water and fields, filled with birdsong and fragrant flowers, like other Yunteng Commanders.
But such fantasies were imdiately dashed when she entered her space and saw the Little White Jiao and a four-leaf, oddly-shaped sugarcane seedling rolling around in the mud like a mud loach.
Xiao Xian counted out five thousand to the deaf old farr for planting the "red-bud." The old man had never seen so much money in his life spent planting saplings. After a thousand thanks, he took the money and left to enjoy his retirent in peace at his son’s ho near the suburbs of Guiyang.
Xiao Xian inquired about the waste recycling stations in Guiyang City and learned that copper cos in several types; commonly seen on the market were red copper, brass, white copper, and bronze.
Among these, red copper had the highest copper content, nearly pure, but consequently, it was also the most expensive. A kilogram of copper dross cost twenty yuan. Xiao Xian’s wallet was bulging at the mont, and she boldly ordered two hundred jin of red copper powder, eventually getting an extra twenty jin of brass as a bonus.
Two hundred jin of copper powder was too little to justify renting a truck. To avoid suspicion, Xiao Xian hired a human-powered tricycle to transport the money to a nearby unoccupied land, where she leisurely threw all the copper powder into her space.
"Two hundred jin should last about two months," Xiao Xian calculated the cost roughly and still felt a pinch. She was still a country kid without an inco, and two thousand a month for "food expenses" seed unbelievable if she said it out loud. Five thousand yuan would only last her a little over two years.
After acquiring the money-burning space, Xiao Xian felt pressure for the first ti, a matter she couldn’t let her grandpa know about. It was up to her to support herself.
"There are plenty of precious trees in the mountains; I can cultivate trees while selling them down the mountain. With Little White Flood Dragon, transportation isn’t a problem," Xiao Xian was inspired by today’s "red-bud" and had an idea. For high-end residences like Lanshan Apartnt, which used imported timber, it was both expensive and ti-consuming. She could take the opportunity to make a sales pitch.
In the face of "poverty," human potential is infinite.
Outside Lanshan Apartnt, Qian Yongcai barked and swore as he called three or four workers to bring over the freshly delivered, still moist "red-bud" one by one into pots. The original one hundred red-buds were uprooted by him and thrown away on the empty ground outside the apartnt.
"Be careful. If you touch the leaves or hurt the roots, you can forget about getting your wages this month," Qian Yongcai glared at the workers transporting them. It was just spring, and the sun was scorchingly hot, making people feel lightheaded and weary. Qian Yongcai had been nervous all morning and finally, in the afternoon, all the saplings were replanted. He went to his regular little restaurant and ordered several bottles of beer, humming and tapping the chopsticks cheerfully.
"Boss," an old worker with mud on his face ran into the restaurant, eyed the table full of dishes ordered by Qian Yongcai, and swallowed his saliva, "The Taiwanese are here to inspect the saplings."
"What, really precise timing, they co just after they’re planted. You guys go and water the saplings; make them look as fresh as a thirteen or fourteen-year-old girl. Then loosen up the soil and give so air to the fifty yuan each sapling," Qian Yongcai breathed out, trying to moderate the Alcohol sll in his mouth, and scurried off to Lanshan Apartnt.
In front of the workers, Qian Yongcai was boisterous, but he lost his spirit in front of the developer, being nothing but nodding and scraping along. The workers on the side felt contempt in secret.
Today, along with the developer, a senior Taiwanese Forestry Expert also ca. Taiwanese are ticulous in their work, and this district’s apartnt was aid at high-end custors, so the demands were inevitably more stringent.
The Forestry Expert first looked at the "red-bud" arranged at his feet and nodded.
At that mont, a hoe in the hand of a worker loosening the soil accidentally brought out so of the dirt from the pot, along with a dry pod that fell out.
"What are you doing?" Qian Yongcai scolded, snatched a cloth, and bent down to wipe the expert’s shoes with zeal as if the expert before him was his own father. In fact, Qian Yongcai didn’t have such warm feelings for his real father.
Whoever pays money is the father.
"Wrong, these are not red-buds; they are all fakes, Red Flower Locusts," the expert angrily stated.(To be continued. If you like this work, welco to Qidian (qidian) to vote for recomndation tickets and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation.)
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