Song Tan’s Chronicle - Chapter 92

Chapter 92: Contracting the Barren Mountain

Zhu Jun, who had managed to earn the villagers’ trust single-handedly, had a way with words:

“I see that your chestnut orchard, along with your back mountain and tea garden, totals about ten acres.”
“The fields are plentiful and concentrated, amounting to just under fifteen acres.”

“But the hill behind your back mountain, across the road, has a full twenty acres of slope. If you contract it, your land will be a complete stretch of this mountain range!”

Wow!
Wu Lan and Song Sancheng immediately understood: she saw that their farming was doing well and was trying to persuade them to contract the mountain!

Wu Lan was not pleased:
“Young Secretary, what are you up to? Have you not considered us farmers? My child has only been farming for a month, hasn’t even gotten a firm footing yet, and you’re already pushing us to contract more land.”

“What if we lose money? We’ll have nothing to eat!”

Zhu Jun thought, with your one-thousand-yuan-per-jin tea leaves, I’m certain you won’t lose money!
Originally, she hadn’t planned to bring this up so soon, at least not until next year when they had a more established scale. But after tasting the tea, she felt a surge of confidence and decided to mention it.

So, she continued to persuade them kindly: “Aunty, don’t rush to conclusions. Listen to me first.”

This time, Zhu Jun presented more detailed data:

“Our rural support program includes some substantial financial subsidies.”

“I heard that Song Tan graduated less than two years ago?”

Song Tan nodded.

Indeed, she was still six months short.

Zhu Jun smiled: “For college graduates who return to rural areas within two years to start a business, a family farm registered for six months receives a one-time subsidy of 5,000 yuan.”

Wow!

Wu Lan was instantly delighted.

Song Sancheng also chuckled: “Going to college really paid off.”

Zhu Jun adopted a strategy of initially presenting an unappealing plan, then gradually revealing its benefits.

“Additionally, for land that’s farmed in connected plots over twenty acres, there’s a subsidy of 300 yuan per acre. It’s an annual subsidy, paid for three years.”

“For fruit trees on the mountain, as long as there are more than eighty trees per acre and they are over three years old, the subsidy is also 300 yuan.”

“Aunty, do the math. Isn’t it worth it?”

“That’s why I suggested contracting the mountain. The mountain land belongs to the village, and with some adjacent fields included, your farming area will be more complete, and both mountain and field lands can earn this money!”

“More than 10,000 yuan a year. Isn’t that great?”

“Additionally, for fields planted with vegetables, there’s a subsidy of 200 yuan per acre. If you have greenhouses year-round, the subsidy is 500 yuan.”

“If you install monitoring systems, automatic irrigation, and similar equipment across the entire area, there’s a one-time subsidy of 20,000 yuan.”

With each number Zhu Jun mentioned, Wu Lan and Song Sancheng’s hearts raced with excitement.

And she wasn’t finished.

Zhu Jun noticed the chickens and ducks in the yard: “You also raise pigs, chickens, and ducks, right? This year’s policy provides a ten percent subsidy for infrastructure costs. But I see your current scale might not qualify, and your infrastructure costs may not be significant, so you might not be eligible for this one.”

But they were already ecstatic.

Although they hadn’t fully calculated the potential subsidies, Wu Lan was already convinced. She looked at their chickens and ducks and deeply regretted not building a chicken farm first!
This mindset of “missing out is a loss” seemed ingrained in her soul.

Zhu Jun then turned to Song Tan, speaking enticingly:
“I heard you planted golden brambles in your chestnut orchard? This qualifies as intercropping with medicinal plants, which gets a one-time subsidy of 2,000 yuan.”

“However, these subsidies have a cap. The maximum subsidy for a family farm can’t exceed 200,000 yuan.”

“Aunty, I’m genuinely considering your best interests. Otherwise, I wouldn’t bring this up until next year.”

“As you know, our financial resources are limited. Subsidies are granted on a first-come, first-served basis.”

“The funds are limited, but there are many applicants from nearby villages. If I delayed telling you, there might be no funds left, which could cause delays…”

She didn’t need to say more. Wu Lan was already restless.

Reflecting on the young secretary’s proposal, she felt a twinge of guilt — this was someone finding ways to bring them money!
She then graciously offered more tea: “Here, let me pour you more. Our tea is good, have some more.”

Song Sancheng, astonished at the extensive farming subsidies, felt as if they were receiving free money!
Only Song Tan remained rational: “How much is the contract fee for the twenty acres of mountain land and the fields below?”

Zhu Jun smiled: “You don’t need to worry about that. Yunqiao Town isn’t a hot spot, so the contract fees haven’t increased for years. I asked at the town meeting last time: 150 yuan per acre, with the first payment covering twenty years. After twenty years, another lump sum payment will cover the remaining years.”

“According to national regulations, land cannot be reclaimed during the contract period. But in return, the contracting family cannot switch to a non-agricultural household, or we will have the right to reclaim the land.”

“By the way, your household registration should still be a collective one, right? If you move back, the village can immediately accept it.”

“For village residents contracting the land, the maximum term can be extended to seventy years.”

She concluded, “This was hard to get approved before, but it’s possible now thanks to the new policies aimed at rural revitalization.”

Watching Song Tan’s reaction, Zhu Jun felt optimistic and pressed on:
“The fields below amount to over seven acres. There’s also a pond in the mountain hollow, a communal pond belonging to our village, which is also part of the contract.”

“The fields are 300 yuan per acre, and the pond is about three acres at 600 yuan per acre.”

“How about that? Isn’t it a great deal?”

“This price hasn’t increased in ten years.”

Song Tan did a quick calculation—

She had already inspected the large back mountain, which was essentially village land left unmanaged. It had no big trees, mostly shrubs and wild grass, making it easy to clear.

But it was already nearing April. If they wanted to apply for subsidies quickly, they’d need to hurry to clear the land, decide what to plant, and get started.

Time was tight.

Wu Lan and Song Sancheng quickly filtered the honey, then grabbed a calculator, trying to figure out the potential subsidies.

Though they couldn’t fully grasp the exact numbers, they knew that contracting the back mountain meant an annual subsidy of at least 30,000 to 40,000 yuan!
The contract fee for twenty years wasn’t much.

Twenty acres of mountain land at 150 yuan per acre.

Seven acres of fields at 300 yuan per acre.

Three acres of pond at 600 yuan per acre.

Altogether, the upfront twenty-year contract fee totaled less than 140,000 yuan.

But three years of subsidies would cover more than half of that.

At this point, even the frugal Song Sancheng and Wu Lan couldn’t help but be swayed.