My village can't be like this

Chapter 613 Negotiation
"Hehe, the places Grandpa gives us never disappoint us. Let's go to another place to pick up pecans. I found that place myself."

Huang Ming chuckled and said to the few people proudly.

After saying that, Huang Ming climbed up the largest chestnut tree like a monkey.

Children in rural areas have learned the real skill of climbing trees from childhood.

It’s just that many people regress greatly after they grow up and get married.

But Huang Ming seemed to be unaffected. He climbed to the top of the tree in no time and shouted down.

"Xiao Ange, please stand a little further away. I'll shake these big ones down."

Although there were a lot of chestnuts on the ground, Huang Ming picked them up for a while and compared them with those still hanging on the trees. He found that the larger ones were still hanging on the trees.

So he lost interest in the things on the ground. Although no one came to grab them, he had to pick up the biggest ones.

"Okay, just be careful and stand firmly before shaking."

Upon hearing this, Zhang An and the others immediately stood up and walked aside to make way.

After all, this is a chestnut, and the outer shell is like a hedgehog. If it hits your head, it won't be as simple as just getting a bump.

And Chen Ze, watching Huang Ming climb up the tree in just a few steps, had a look of envy in his eyes.

He has never had this experience since he was a child, and now it takes him half a day to climb a small tree.

Huang Ming definitely could not have climbed up a tree like the one he climbed by himself.

"Don't worry, my tree climbing skills are unmatched by many people."

When it comes to this, Huang Ming's face is full of confidence.

To be honest, although this guy was not very reliable before, he is really good at climbing trees.

After Zhang An and the others made some room, Huang Ming started to shake the tree branches.

Originally, most of the chestnuts on the tree were ripe and in a half-fallen state.

Huang Ming pulled the tree branch and shook it, and they fell to the ground one by one like dumplings.

After a short while, nearly half of the chestnuts hanging on the tree were shaken off, and Huang Ming came down from the tree contentedly.

"I didn't expect that I could shake so much down."

Looking at the chestnuts on the ground, Chen Ze's eyes widened.

There was already a lot of it on the ground just now, and after Huang Ming's action, a thick layer of it was formed on the ground.

However, these chestnuts are in a half-fallen state. Even if Huang Ming doesn't take care of them, they will fall off by themselves in a few days at most.

"Okay, let's pick them up quickly. Just pick the biggest ones. We don't want the small ones."

Huang Ming interrupted Chen Ze's sigh and squatted on the ground to start choosing.

In previous years, Huang Ming would definitely pick up all the chestnuts, bring them down the mountain and sell them. He has done this many times before.

But this year their fishing tackle shop business is very good, plus they made some money during the National Day holiday, so they have long disdained such a small profit.

Then everyone picked and shelled the chestnuts and put them into the backpacks.

After all, when it comes to chestnuts, the shell and the chestnuts inside are about 50-50.

If you put the chestnuts in the shells without removing the shells, you would only get half a basket of chestnuts at most when you carry a basket home.

Half an hour later, everyone's backpacks were full.

"Fuck, Dayang, why did you bring your pocket with you?"

When Huang Ming stopped picking up and stood up, he found that Zhou Yang had picked up the most. Not to mention that this guy's backpack was big, the key was that he also brought an extra snakeskin bag, which was very annoying.

Others only picked up one basket, but he picked up one plus one, so at least two baskets.

"Hehe, I didn't want to pick it up at first, but it's a waste to just leave it on the ground, so I'll pick up another bag so that when someone comes to my house for dinner, I can give some to them to pass the time."

Zhou Yang chuckled and put the money into his pocket.

"If I had known, I would have done the same as you and brought an extra pocket."

Looking at the many chestnuts left on the ground, Huang Ming immediately regretted it.

Zhang An and his companions did not sit idle after hearing this, and continued to help Zhou Yang pick up the pieces. It didn't take much time before they filled the entire snake skin bag.

"It seems that I can't pick pecans today. I can only come back another day."

Looking at everyone's backpacks that were filled to the brim, Huang Ming scratched his head and said.

He just said that after picking chestnuts, he would take everyone to pick pecans, but now I’m afraid there won’t be anywhere to put them after picking so many.

"Then let's come back another day. It's still early now and there's still some time before winter."

The few of them were not too obsessed with it. Now that their families all had businesses, crops were no longer that important.

It's okay to plant some millet in the summer, after all, it is a source of food, but when it comes to planting rapeseed in the winter, it's really optional.

After all, this stuff is mostly used to sell for money. No family will use all the rapeseed to make oil. It is definitely more profitable to save time and use it for business.

Moreover, in the Changqing area, vegetable oil is not used much, and lard is more popular.

When going down the mountain, Zhang An saw that Zhou Yang had picked up so many things, and thought several times about switching to carry the things with him, but was rejected by Zhou Yang every time.

Although that basket of chestnuts plus another bag weighed at least a hundred pounds, it was still within his tolerance.

On the contrary, Chen Ze, although there was only one basket, had never done such work before. He didn't feel it when picking up the baskets, but now he found it a bit difficult to carry it.

But everyone had a backpack on their backs, so there was no way to help even if we wanted to. We could only stop and rest more often when going down the mountain.

Back in the village, everyone went back to their homes.

"Hey, how come I picked up so many chestnuts today? They're all pretty big."

When Zhang An returned home, Wang Fang saw the basket of chestnuts that had popped out and couldn't help but smile.

"Mr. Huang pointed out a new place. If we go there alone, we won't be able to pick up all the items."

Zhang An put down the backpack on his back and explained to his mother with a smile.

Little Siqi, who was following his grandmother, came over immediately when he saw his father put the backpack on the ground.

Although he was still relatively short and his whole body was not even as tall as the backpack, he was still able to grab the chestnuts inside by stretching out his hand.

As a foodie, the most important thing is to judge what you can eat and what you can't eat.

It was obvious that the little guy was very talented in this area. After just a few glances, he knew that the chestnuts were edible.

At this moment, he was holding a few raw chestnuts in his hand and wanted to put them into his mouth.

"Oh my dear, don't be in a hurry to eat it. Wait until grandma takes it back and cooks it before eating it, okay?"

When Wang Fang saw it, she quickly stopped the little guy. Although raw chestnuts can be eaten, they have a different taste.

But Siqi was still too young, and she was worried that she would get an upset stomach, so she quickly took out a vegetable bowl from the kitchen, filled it halfway with the washed vegetables, and put them in the pot to cook.

In Zhang An's opinion, boiled chestnuts are more delicious than fried ones.

Because it is fresh, after being cooked, it tastes not only sweet but also very soft and sticky.

Seeing her grandson anxiously waiting to eat, Wang Fang directly used a pressure cooker and cooked a pot in no time.

The little guy was not satisfied until he ate the chestnuts peeled by his grandma.

Seeing that the sun was about to set, Zhang An collected the honeysuckle that had been drying in the sun for half a day.

The autumn sun cannot be compared with that in summer. These honeysuckle flowers cannot be dried in one go and need to be dried again tomorrow.

Later, it was almost time, so Zhang An took a shower and prepared to go to Zhang Ping's house.

Now that we have agreed to it, we must not let others come and shout at us again.

"Mom, I'm going to my uncle's house."

Zhang An said something to his mother and prepared to go out.

"Go ahead, and remember to drink less."

Wang Fang knew when Zhang Jianwen came during the day, and she just told Zhang An a few words.

When little Siqi heard that his dad was going to someone else's house for dinner, he couldn't free himself and kept pulling at Zhang An's pants, and his meaning was obvious: he wanted to go with him.

Originally, Zhang An didn't plan to take him with him. After all, he was still too young and it would be troublesome to take him to the host's house.

But no matter what he said, little Siqi just wouldn't listen.

In the end he had no choice but to compromise, otherwise this gentleman would definitely be angry with him all night.

"Xiao An is here, and we are all here too."

As soon as Zhang Jianwen saw little Siqi holding Zhang An's hand, he walked up to her and teased her.

"Grandpa~"

It's true that Xiao Siqi is absolutely flawless and has mastered the ways of the world when it comes to dealing with human relationships.

When I meet someone I know, I often take the initiative to greet them.

The crisp word "grandfather" made Zhang Jianwen's face turn red.

"Come on, come on, Grandpa, get Qiqi a chicken leg to eat first."

Zhang Jianwen was so happy that he immediately went to the kitchen, took out a chicken leg and handed it to the little guy.

Therefore, children who like to shout at people will always be treated well.

Soon, everyone arrived and Zhang Jianwen invited everyone to the table.

The little guy was originally next to Zhang An, but was soon taken away by the old aunt.

In her words, there are a lot of grown men at the table, so how can they pay attention to the little ones when they are drinking?

After three rounds of drinks, Zhang Jianwen told the story of Chen Ze coming to the village.

"The main reason I called everyone here today is to discuss this matter. If you have any ideas or opinions, please share them for reference."

After explaining the whole story, Zhang Jianwen looked at everyone and said.

Most of those present were village representatives, including Zhang An, because Zhang Jianguo had already abdicated and given the position to him.

Except for Zhang An, everyone else was stunned when they heard this. They had never encountered such a thing.

The last time they met was when Zhang An wanted to contract the loess slope.

But Zhang An is different from Chen Ze. First of all, Zhang An is one of the villagers, so everything is easy to talk to.

Secondly, Zhang An was merely a contractor, and the ultimate ownership of the land still belonged to the village.

However, the nature of Chen Ze’s case this time is somewhat different. It involves whether to sell the land, and if so, the price is also an issue.

If you ask for more, people are not stupid. If you ask for less, the villagers will suffer the loss.

But no matter what we do, we have to come up with a charter. This is the main reason why Zhang Jianwen called everyone together.

"I think this is a good thing for our village. You know, no other place in the whole town has received such treatment. If it is really implemented, when people mention Hongyan Town, the first thing they think of will definitely be our village. I quite agree with this."

Everyone pondered for a while, and the first person to speak was Huang Weimin. This accountant controlled the village's purse and reacted faster than others.

"That being said, don't forget, when it comes to accommodation, many families in our village have opened B&Bs, and when it comes to places to eat, there are also several in the village. If this hotel opens, will it affect everyone's business?"

With Huang Weimin taking the lead, others also began to raise their own questions.

There are many families running homestays in Changqing Village nowadays. Except for Zhang An and Zhang Jianwen, all the other families here have one.

During this National Day holiday, the occupancy rate of homestays in the village was very high, and everyone was very happy.

So now they are worried that if Chen Ze really opens this hotel, it will affect their own business.

There are many people who have such concerns, and when this was said, many people nodded in agreement.

"Zhang An, tell me your opinion too."

After listening to it, Zhang Jianwen finally looked at Zhang An who had not spoken yet.

At this time, everyone stopped discussing in a low voice and stared at Zhang An.

Today, Zhang An is the most successful person in the whole village, so when it comes to making decisions on major issues, everyone's opinions on him are somewhat filtered.

"Then let me just say a few words. First of all, I agree with Uncle Weimin. This is indeed a good thing for the village."

Being appointed by Zhang Jianwen, Zhang An did not hide anything.

"During this National Day holiday, quite a few people came here from outside, but many of them did not plan to stay in the village, but chose to book a hotel in the town. Have you ever thought about why?"

After saying that, Zhang An looked around at the other people present.

"Hey, isn't it because the B&B conditions in our village are not as good as those in other hotels, and the rooms are not as good as theirs, so those who have money naturally choose to go to hotels."

Obviously, this was not a secret. When Zhang An mentioned it, everyone knew what was going on.

Although the homestays in the village are okay, overall, they are still a far cry from those hotels.

"That's what I want to say. Think about it, everyone. So many people choose to stay in hotels in town. The B&Bs in our village are not empty either. There are still people living there."

"So I don't think that what everyone is worried about is a big deal. After Chen Ze came back this time, he had a thorough talk with me. His hotel is going to go the mid- to high-end route, targeting those wealthy people, and will not involve the affordable market."

"So I think it's the hotels in the town, or even the city, that need to worry, not us, because our target customer group is not those wealthy tourists. Instead of letting them go somewhere else, it's better for them to stay in our village. At least they are here and their money can be spent here."

"And there is another point. If we have this kind of tourists here, there must be others as well. When Chen Ze's hotel opens, they will definitely come here. This will undoubtedly attract more people to our place. What do you think?"

Zhang An finished expressing his thoughts before looking at everyone.

(End of this chapter)