Song Tan’s Chronicle - Chapter 94

Chapter 94: The Benefits of an Excavator

Young people dealing with young people, quick action is just a basic quality.

By noon, just before everyone finished work, Song Tan’s land contract had already been signed. The first payment of seventy thousand yuan was transferred into the designated account. At lunch, she announced:

“Dad, the entire back mountain is ours now. Let’s start clearing it this afternoon.”

Clearing meant preparing a path for the excavator and removing layers of vines and branches.

Zhang Yanping suggested, “Tan Tan, why not spend a bit more? There’s a new land-clearing machine that attaches to the excavator bucket—look at this video. It’s super efficient!”

The video showed an excavator with an unfamiliar attachment at the front. With a small turn towards the trees and vines, the machine quickly sawed through the branches, grinding them into mulch.

Song Sancheng was impressed but hesitated, “No, no, this won’t do.”

“It’s not about the money, Zhang Yanping. You don’t understand. In rural areas, there are often old graves hidden by tall grass and vines. We can’t risk disturbing them with such a machine.”

Old graves, some known, some unknown, were scattered around. Some belonged to known families, some to unknown ancestors, and others were untraceable. Regardless, they weren’t ancient, as the mounds were still intact.

“This machine is powerful, but it could accidentally dig up graves. That would be a disaster.”

Song Sancheng, a native villager, valued this deeply. Zhang Yanping hadn’t considered this but acknowledged the machine’s efficiency. Song Tan, reluctant to let go of the idea, asked:

“Dad, can we find enough strong laborers to clear the mountain in a week?”

Twenty acres of wild land seemed endless when working manually. While an excavator could dig out a root in one scoop, several men would take half an hour.

Song Tan calculated: even hiring twenty people, it would take at least a month to clear and prepare the land.

Song Sancheng frowned, “Getting that many people… would be difficult.”

Song Tan had already decided, “Zhang Yanping, how much more for the additional machine?”

Zhang Yanping, prepared for this, said, “Same rate, 600 yuan a day. Two days should clear the surface, then normal excavation rates apply.”

“It would take a week to clear the mountain.”

Song Tan was satisfied. Without the machine, villagers would spend a week just on the surface.

“Zhang Yanping, contact them. Have them come tonight or tomorrow morning. We’ll provide food and lodging.”

She turned to Song Sancheng, “Dad, since there might be old graves, can you gather some people this afternoon to mark their locations? Also, clear a path from the main road to the mountain for the excavator.”

Once the excavator began, follow behind to remove debris. During excavation, have people move rocks and roots aside.

Song Sancheng calculated the plan and found no issues, except the cost. However, he realized that even manual labor would be expensive. “Alright!”

After a hearty meal and detailed planning, everyone left with renewed enthusiasm. Wu Lan discussed with Song Tan, “Should we plant more tea on the cleared land? Tea is profitable.”

Song Tan declined, “No, Mom.”

She remembered her goal: staple foods, drinks, vegetables, meat, and fruits. They had the first four, but no fruits. The new land had to be for fruit trees.

Wu Lan’s idea wasn’t wrong. More tea could be profitable, but Song Tan explained, “Mom, once something becomes too common, prices drop. Tea takes years to grow, and by then, the market might be saturated.”

Wu Lan, disappointed, said, “I thought tea grows low, and we could plant other trees above.”

Song Tan thought, Tea needs sunlight. Planting trees above would reduce yield.

She reassured, “Don’t worry, Mom. We’ll plant other things in the forest, too. It won’t be a loss.”

The Song family soon realized that signing the contract meant continuous expenses.

Zhang Yanping was the biggest winner. That afternoon, after villagers started clearing the mountain, the eager excavator operator arrived.

A reliable man, he assessed the work area and found no significant obstacles, feeling confident.

The young, single operator, lacking culinary skills, was nearly moved to tears by the Song family’s home-cooked meal.

As Song Tan sorted honey orders, she overheard:

“Zhang Yanping, you’re like a brother to me.”

“If I knew the food was this good, I’d have come yesterday to help.”

Zhang Yanping laughed, “How? By offering half a day of free excavation?”

The operator chuckled, “No, I’d have helped with the manual labor.”