I'm incredibly ambitious after being reborn.

Chapter 25 The Reasonable Young Man

"Ah Xiang, people have come from Tao Family Village. Several old men from the Tao family have come in person."

Before "Zhang Family Canteen" opened, Zhang Daxiang not only designed the machines, but also drew up some special food processing machines.

They're quite busy, so if there's anything important, Uncle Zhang Zhengqing will come to deliver the message. If you're just looking for someone in Zhangshi Village, it's best to go to Zhang Zhengqing first.

Actually, it would be better to find the old man Zhang Qihui, but recently he has been hiding at his daughter and son-in-law's house, making it very inconvenient to find him.

"They leaked it?"

"They said you can come and collect the vegetables in the future; the whole Taojiazhuang area is fine."

"What do you think, sir?"

"Taojiazhuang's strategy of retreating in order to advance is a dishonest tactic."

Zhang Zhengqing shook his head, not explaining further to Zhang Daxiang, since Zhang Daxiang would understand immediately.

What was clearly a minor conflict between Zhang Daxiang and Tao Xingfa escalated to the point that it affected the entire vegetable wholesale market in Taojiazhuang, offending far more than just a dozen or twenty households.

This directly implicated people in Taojiazhuang who didn't even have the surname Tao.

This kind of petty trick might fool some ignorant thugs, but it makes people think they're invincible and feared by everyone.

It's actually complete bullshit.

However, Zhang Daxiang also had his own plans. In fact, someone had already approached Tao Xingfa about compensation, but he hadn't agreed to it and hadn't given him the face.

As business at "Shizipo" became even more prosperous, the status of those who came out to smooth things over was raised again and again.

One village chief from Taojiazhuang is not enough.

Zhang Daxiang and others rely on the older generation to step in. Once they open their mouths, it's a matter of local customs and has nothing to do with the law.

"Uncle, this is what I'm thinking: I'd like to lease a plot of land in Taojiazhuang specifically for growing vegetables. As for the vegetables from Taojiazhuang itself, I won't be buying them anymore."

"You won't rent out your own family's land?"

"Keep it as a reserve, just in case. Renting land outside will give us more flexibility in our operations."

"Once you've made your decision, just call some people to Taojiazhuang to sign the contract."

The Zhang family's farmland in the second and third districts was 300 mu, but with the large-scale construction of houses in the new society, only 230 to 240 mu remain.

It's more than enough to supply ingredients for "Shizipo" and "Zhangjia Canteen".

We should try to increase the value of our own farmland as much as possible, and for other supplies, we should buy from other farms if possible, and rent if we can't afford to buy.

At this time, several old men from the Tao family came to visit and reminisce, bringing various gift boxes, as well as Tao Xingfa's three thousand yuan compensation.

Money is a minor matter; the important thing is to teach Tao Xingfa a lesson.

Zhang Daxiang had to admire Tao Xingfa's stinginess; he was the kind of person who would do anything for a pittance.

“Little Elephant, you know the old men of the Tao family. They’ve come here with Tao Xingfa to apologize…”

The older men of the Zhang family, whose generation has the character "之" in their names, generally don't meddle in the affairs of the younger generation. They are people who count down the days, so why should they rely on their age to act superior?
If someone is kind enough to call him "Grandpa," that's fine. If not, he'll still bask in the sun, listen to the radio, or doze off. As long as he doesn't go hungry, that's all that matters.

"Greetings, gentlemen."

Zhang Daxiang greeted them, then looked at Tao Xingfa and his brothers and cousins ​​with a half-smile. Tao Xingfa felt extremely uncomfortable standing there. He had actually lost a lot this time; he was supposed to load about 5,000 jin of vegetables specifically for making dried vegetables in July and August, but instead, he loaded them with rotten goods and quickly fed them to the chickens and pigs.

Adding to the fact that the supply to the "Jiangxiangli Agricultural Wholesale Market" was terminated, this year's work has basically been a complete waste.

If Zhang Daxiang is given 500 yuan less in breach of contract fees, he will probably lose 15,000 yuan.

Later, he did consider calling on some people to teach Zhang Daxiang a lesson, only to find out at this time that Zhang Daxiang had already taught countless people a lesson at "Shizipo".

This delay also delayed the harvest of two acres of small scallions. Jiyang City basically doesn't eat large scallions, and even medium-sized scallions used to have very little market. Only the dish "scallion stewed with tofu" allowed larger scallions to have a market. Normally, small scallions are used for noodles or as a garnish.

Normally, it won't delay the delivery of scallions, but these are just extras, given away for free when selling vegetables. There are middlemen in the market who specialize in getting them to distribute.

Since Tao Xingfa can't load the truck, he'll definitely choose someone else's material, since they're all common, readily available materials anyway.

However, there's a reason for this: once you start buying from another company, you basically keep buying from them, since switching back and forth is too much trouble.

Tao Xing realized that if he couldn't sell his scallions, then he shouldn't bother; they weren't some indispensable commodity.

This means Tao Xingfa will continue to lose money on two acres of scallions. Losing three or four thousand yuan is a minor issue; switching to other vegetables is physically demanding and can break a person's back.

Jiyang City is said to be a water town and plain. Apart from rice cultivation, which is relatively mechanized, vegetable cultivation is extremely mechanized, far less so than in the north, and is usually done by hand.

No farmer likes farming, not even large-scale vegetable growers. What they like is that the produce from the farm can fetch a good price.

Zhang Daxiang didn't even have to exert much effort, yet he still managed to make Tao Xingfa suffer for several months. The old men from Taojiazhuang were well aware of this, knowing that the young man had easily grasped Tao Xingfa's Achilles' heel.

"Zhang Xiang, to be fair, regarding your matter with Xingfa, it was Xingfa who acted improperly. So, we're here today mainly to act as peacemakers and get him to apologize. After all, our two sides have had ties for generations, and if this conflict escalates and gets out, it won't sound good, right?"

The old men who came from Taojiazhuang this time were all former officials. Although they were not high-ranking officials, they still had some prestige and influence in the countryside.

"What Grandfather said makes sense, but Tao Xingfa took advantage of me, a young man, by demanding a penalty of a thousand or so yuan, and in the end only gave me five hundred. I was polite and didn't hold it against him, but to say that he didn't respect the Zhang family's reputation... isn't that a bit much?"

"..."

"..."

Two of the old men from the Tao family were speechless. The young man in front of them had a slight smile on his face and spoke politely, but every word he uttered clearly indicated that he was about to launch a "village war."

It really makes people bald.

However, since he was retired from the government office, it was reasonable for him to bargain on the spot when others asked for exorbitant prices.

Then an old man chuckled and said, "Tao Xingfa is in the wrong, but he's still from our hometown. It's better to resolve conflicts than to let them fester. Tell me your plan, is it cash or some other form of compensation? If Tao Xingfa can't afford it, we Tao family members can chip in."

"Don't worry, Grandfather, I won't make exorbitant demands, nor will I be unreasonable. On the contrary, I'll try to strengthen the relationship between the two sides..."

It's much easier to do business with a retired old man who used to be an official than with someone like Tao Xingfa.

Zhang Daxiang then proposed on the spot to contract some fields in Taojiazhuang, not caring what to plant or raise, since he had a market for his "Shizipo" fields.

"Contracting farmland? That's nothing. How many acres do you need for 'Shizipo'?"

"Let's start with fifty acres."

"How many?!"

As people get older, their minds slow down a bit. One of the old men in the Tao family is ninety years old, but his eyes are wide open, as if he has returned to the age of nineteen.

Fifty acres!
Go first!
Does that mean there's more to come?!
(End of this chapter)