The World's Richest Man: Start with the Daily Intelligence System

25: Chapter 25 Zhang Hong JoinsIn the blink of an eye, it was morning.

The peaceful village was awakened by the continuous crowing of roosters. The cold rain that had fallen all night had now subsided, leaving only a hint of dampness in the autumn wind.

Zhang Hong carried his hoe and walked towards his fields.

Er Gou, a villager, walked over from a distance and shouted, “Zhang Hong, I heard your second aunt came to your house from town yesterday? And she wants you to go to City Name to farm?”

In the village, any news would spread throughout the entire village in no time.

Zhang Hong nodded. Yesterday, his second aunt came to their house and said that his cousin, Zhang Wei, was doing well in City Name and that there might be an opportunity for him to go and help with farming. His parents were a bit hesitant, as they didn’t have much experience and wanted their son to stay closer to home.

But Zhang Hong felt that he was an unemployed wanderer now, so why not give it a try if there was an opportunity? Besides, he believed his cousin, who he had grown up with, wouldn’t harm him.

Er Gou laughed heartily, “She must be lying to you. I saw on TV that City Name is full of tall buildings. There are no fields for you to farm there. She’s probably tricking you into joining some… oh right, some pyramid scheme!”

Gold is everywhere abroad, and people in big cities are exclusive. People clearly don’t understand the actual situation, yet they are influenced by the outside world and form stereotypes. It’s truly a tragedy.

Zhang Hong didn’t argue with him and just buried his head in the field, digging.

The army often conducted weighted marches, and Zhang Hong’s physical strength was fully trained. He completed a day’s work in just over three hours.

He looked up and wiped his sweat. Zhang Hong was about to go home for lunch when he heard someone shouting at him:

“Zhang Hong! Your second aunt is here again.”

Zhang Hong was also surprised to hear that. His aunt had just visited yesterday; could there be something urgent today?

He quickly picked up his hoe and ran home.

As soon as he entered, he saw Zhou Huihong sitting in the courtyard, chatting with several elderly neighbors.

In the countryside, neighbors visiting each other is very normal. Zhou Huihong also grew up in the village, and they were chatting quite animatedly.

“Second Aunt, you’re here. I’ll pour you a glass of water.” Zhang Hong’s parents were visiting relatives today and were not home.

Zhou Huihong replied, “Child, why are you being so polite? Can’t I pour my own water?” Then she smiled and added, “The job I told you about yesterday has been finalized today. Your brother said to come over as soon as possible.”

An elderly woman next to them interjected, “Child’s second aunt, how much is the pay in City Name?”

“They said eight thousand a month, including food and lodging, and bonuses for good performance.”

The elderly woman exclaimed, “The salary for farming is that high?”

Nowadays, most of the people doing farm work in the countryside are elderly, while young people go to the cities to work. It can be seen that the income from farming is indeed not high.

Zhou Huihong smiled and nodded, then patted her head and said to Zhang Hong, “Look at my memory, you should call your brother later. There’s been a slight change on his end; he’s contracted an additional ten mu of land. Your brother wants you to find out if any of your retired comrades are willing to come along. The salary and benefits are the same.”

An ordinary farmer can cultivate ten mu of land. Someone with Zhang Hong’s physique could barely manage twenty mu, but Zhang Wei is not a capitalist who exploits labor. So, he decided to find one more person to help.

Zhang Hong thought about it. He really did have a few comrades who weren’t doing so well, so he nodded and agreed.

Time rewound two hours.

Zhang Wei was sleeping soundly when a phone ringing woke him up.

He groggily reached out and answered the call: “Hello?”

A hearty laugh came from the other end of the phone: “Xiao Zhang, you’re not up yet? Young people really have good sleep quality.”

The caller was Xue Zhongde.

Zhang Wei quickly sat up and apologized, “I’m sorry, Leader Xue. I went to bed a bit late yesterday.”

Xue Zhongde said indifferently, “It’s fine. I called to tell you that the factory director has approved the contracting report. If you have time, come over.”

Zhang Wei’s eyes lit up when he heard this. He didn’t expect things to be finalized so quickly. It’s indeed easier to get things done when you have connections.

After hanging up the phone, Zhang Wei saw that An Xiaoxi’s door was closed, so he figured she was still asleep and didn’t wake her. He had breakfast at the noodle shop downstairs and then rushed to the Light Industry Bureau without stopping.

Upon meeting Xue Zhongde, the two exchanged a few pleasantries before getting down to business.

“Xiao Zhang, the current contracted area is 20 mu of land, and the contract price per mu is set at 2500 yuan per year. The lease term is a minimum of one year. What do you think?”

Zhang Wei frowned. The current market price for contracting land is generally between 500-2000 yuan per mu per year. 2500 yuan is indeed a bit high.

Xue Zhongde also felt the price was a bit outrageous and explained, “This is the price set by the factory director, and I can’t really argue with it. However, I can offer some discounts in other areas.

For example, regarding housing, our branch factory still has a few temporary houses left by construction workers. Your people can move in there. Water, electricity, and internet are all ready, and these can be free of charge. In addition, considering that you will also need time to build greenhouses, I can give you a one-month preparation period, and the rent for this month will be waived. What do you think?”

Zhang Wei’s expression improved. He nodded and said, “Alright, let’s go with this plan. But one more thing needs to be added: I have the right of first refusal to renew the lease when the contract expires.”

Xue Zhongde nodded in agreement, and the two signed the contract. The cost for 20 mu for one year was 50,000 yuan. Zhang Wei paid directly at the finance office next door.

Afterward, he thanked Xue Zhongde again and made an appointment to have dinner together in a few days before driving away from the Light Industry Bureau.

The 750,000 from selling the graphics cards would probably take another day or two to arrive. At this time, Zhang Wei only had over 10,000 yuan left in his bank card, so he had to quickly find a way to make money.

The infantry cannon and the imperial seal of china were not things he could get his hands on immediately. Zhang Wei decided to first retrieve the player cards.

Player cards, as the name suggests, are genuine cards printed with star athletes. They first appeared in 1880 and gradually became a unique collectible with the development of the times.

Usually, a few cards are packed in a plastic card pack, and then dozens of card packs are sold in a card box. Customers who buy card packs have a certain chance to open special cards, and their value varies according to their rarity.

Taking NBA player cards as an example, in addition to ordinary cards, there are laser flash cards made with special techniques, limited edition numbered cards with global limitedissued, and even jersey cards that have pieces of the player’s game-worn jersey inserted into the card. The types are diverse. These rare cards are often very valuable.

It can be simply understood as stamp collecting, which is equivalent to customers spending money on a lottery with a chance to win very rare stamps with limited circulation.

Zhang Wei parked his car in the underground parking lot of Baochen Mall.

This is an old mall located near the outer ring, with basically no major brands. Most of the shops are vacant, and only a tenacious Mixue store at the entrance is still operating.

Zhang Wei searched for a long time. To save electricity, the mall’s elevators to the upper floors were shut down. He had no choice but to climb the stairs to the sixth floor.

If the first floor was so desolate, let alone the sixth floor. Looking around, the entire floor was dark, not to mention customers, there wasn’t even a single shop with lights on.

“Someone actually opened a shop in a place like this?” Zhang Wei was utterly puzzled.