Song Tan’s Chronicle - Chapter 93

Chapter 93: Deciding to Contract the Mountain

Should they contract the land or not? Song Tan had already made up her mind.

The question now was where to find the 140,000 yuan needed for the first 20 years of the contract.

She reviewed the money earned since returning home: part of it went to cover her parents’ 60,000-yuan debt, another portion went to labor, materials, and various miscellaneous expenses, and the rest was spent on the dogs.

Currently, the main source of income was the tea leaves. But even with the village secretary’s unpaid two catties, she had only sold 9 catties in total.

The honey could bring in 2,000 yuan, and selling vegetables daily could bring in one or two thousand yuan. However, that money couldn’t be touched because there were too many upcoming expenses.

This meant she still had a shortfall of at least 50,000 yuan.

However, she didn’t panic. She calmly looked at Zhu Jun and said, “I’m willing to contract the mountain, and I have plans for it.”

“But as the first young person in our village to respond to the call to return home and start a business, shouldn’t the village offer some support?”

“For instance, could the first payment be for ten years instead of twenty?” Song Tan suggested.

Zhu Jun was taken aback.

Song Tan continued, “Or we could include a clause in the contract stating that the remaining amount will be paid within six months. Doesn’t that sound fair?”

This sort of request was reasonable.

Zhu Jun reminded her, “If the payment isn’t made by the deadline, the village has the right to terminate the contract.”

Of course, the village didn’t want to cancel the contract. With limited funds and an abundance of uncultivated land, any interest in contracting the land was welcomed.

Song Tan had anticipated that her proposal would likely be accepted, so she didn’t show too much excitement. Instead, she reminded Zhu Jun, “The tea leaves you requested will be ready tonight. Remember to pay when you pick them up.”

Zhu Jun hesitated. Although she had the money, spending 10,000 yuan per catty was still a bit painful.

They wrapped up their discussion as voices and laughter approached from outside.

Wu Lan looked up, “The ladies are here to help pick the tea leaves.”

Qiao Qiao, engrossed in arranging the honey jars, didn’t pay attention to the adults’ conversation. As the women entered, one exclaimed, “I knew it! The moment I stepped into this yard, I smelled that sweet honey! It smells amazing!”

“Exactly, your bees are quite productive. They just settled in and already have honey!”

The yard buzzed with activity as everyone asked, “How much for the honey?”

“It’s always safer to buy honey from familiar sources. How much for a jar? Save a pound for me.”

Everyone chimed in with their requests.

Zhu Jun chuckled to herself but saw Wu Lan now wore a sincere smile, “Sorry, it’s all been pre-ordered.”

Song Sancheng added, “We already have buyers lined up. Otherwise, how could we afford to spend so much money upfront?”

The women agreed. If there weren’t buyers, how could a small family afford such investments?

They eyed the honey jars on the table. “Wow, that’s about thirteen or fourteen jars!”

A loud voice exclaimed, “Local honey is expensive now, going for 100 yuan a pound. That’s over 1,300 yuan right there!”

“Old Song, your family is really lucky this year.”

Song Sancheng coughed loudly.

Zhu Jun barely suppressed her laughter and stood up, “Alright, I’ll leave you all to your work.”

The women noticed the young village secretary and immediately surrounded her with questions:

“Secretary Zhu, what about the matter I asked you about last time? Any news?”

“I know a handsome young man. You’ll see once you meet him…”

Zhu Jun’s face froze, and she quickly made her escape.

Seeing this, Song Tan felt an impending doom and bolted for the house.

Sure enough, someone outside called out, “Wu Lan, your daughter is so beautiful! What kind of son-in-law are you looking for?”

Inside the dimly lit house, a figure sat up, illuminated by the glow of a phone screen.

“Tan Tan, are you contracting the mountain? Need any help for the summer?”

Zhang Yanping sighed, “I’ll be the foreman. Just don’t make me do fieldwork again. I’m really not cut out for it.”

Song Tan glanced at him and slowly said, “Yanping, I trust the quality of your work as a foreman. But I’m worried you’ll charge a commission when hiring workers.”

“How could I?” Zhang Yanping quickly rebutted, “It’s not a commission, it’s a referral fee.”

“And would you refund that fee?” Song Tan retorted.

Zhang Yanping fell silent.

Song Tan didn’t tease him further, “Alright, Yanping, I won’t be hiring summer workers.”

“Can summer workers handle farm work?”

She imagined them catching bugs or birds on the slopes, which would lead to more problems. Dealing with parents would be too much trouble.

Zhang Yanping reluctantly gave up the idea. He then suggested, “By the way, you can’t rely solely on manual labor to clear the mountain, right?”

Even for shrubs, some had roots entrenched for over a decade. Clearing them by hand would be arduous.

He planned to hint at this, but Song Tan’s indifferent expression made him realize she wasn’t taking the bait.

Determined to avoid fieldwork the next day, he pressed on, “How about hiring an excavator? I know a reliable operator.”

“For acreage, it’s 200 yuan per mu (a traditional Chinese unit of area, approximately equal to 0.0667 hectares or 666.7 square meters). For daily rates, it’s 600 yuan per day, with partial days charged as full.”

Song Tan raised an eyebrow, intrigued, “How many mu can the excavator clear in a day?”

“About five mu a day with a small excavator,” Zhang Yanping responded immediately.

He added, “Given our roads, it has to be a small excavator.”

Song Tan quickly calculated.

Clearing five mu a day meant it would take four to five days to clear twenty mu. After clearing, they’d need to fertilize, expose the soil, and transplant seedlings.

To ensure good fruit production within the year, they’d need to plant mature seedlings by the latest in May.

The timeline was tight and the tasks were daunting.
Hiring workers was expensive, but time was even more precious.

Song Tan nodded decisively, “Alright, check the operator’s availability. If possible, start clearing grass and shrubs tomorrow. We can sign the contract at noon.”