Returning to the small mountain village of '86, intelligence updated daily.

The man eventually just sighed and accepted the solution.

Seeing that the matter was resolved, Zhang Chengyun then began to compile a list of workers who met the criteria.

Since everyone is from the same village, there is no possibility of fraud.

Those whose families were slightly better off, though indignant, had no choice but to follow the crowd, because once voices of retreat appeared in the crowd, the clarion call to advance would be blocked, and the whole thing would eventually collapse.

This is also a common tactic used by some bosses and capitalists in later generations.

Often, the inside is the easiest place to attack.

For example, when discussing the simplest issue of compensation, there will always be someone who says: "I'll do it for xxx".

Then ordinary people who don't understand the situation are easily swayed by the crowd, thinking that since everyone else agrees, it seems like they can't disagree.

Zhang Chengyun counted the money on the spot and gave it to the four people he had identified. They were among the poorer households in the village, with many family members and little land.

They had little excess fat on their bodies, and their complexion was not as good as that of normal people, which was a sign of long-term malnutrition.

The wages were supposed to be half, so each person only received about ten yuan.

This small sum of ten or so yuan can sometimes be like the last straw; once it's gone, the family is gone, and the person might be gone too.

Zhang Chengyun promised everyone again that he would settle their wages after the tea was sold, and he also wrote a note.

And so, the large-scale demand for unpaid wages came to an abrupt end. Some workers went back to helping Zhang Chengyun pick tea, while others went home.

Zhang Chengyun felt no remorse for the workers who left. If they were gone, he could just hire more; there were plenty more...

After finishing his business, Zhang Chengyun noticed Zhou Rui standing outside the crowd.

He was about to speak to Zhang Sheng when he walked over.

"Isn't this Zhou Rui from the Zhou family? What's up? You're not here to work, are you? You just sold a water deer, so you probably won't be interested in this little bit of pay."

Zhang Chengyun pays the tea pickers very little because it's not physical labor and doesn't require any skills, and he even provides a meal.

Unlike Zhou Shiwei, a skilled worker on a construction team, who could earn two or three yuan a day, even doing odd jobs at a school didn't earn him much.

Zhou Rui looked at Zhang Chengyun walking towards him without showing any fear.

"Mr. Zhang, you're joking. I'm here today to discuss cooperation with you."

Zhou Rui got straight to the point, stating his purpose for coming directly. He didn't address Zhang Chengyun as "uncle," as it didn't matter much, because the confrontation was about to begin.

Faced with this straightforward reply, Zhang Chengyun momentarily forgot what he was going to do next. It took him a long time to repeat the sentence in disbelief.

"Discuss cooperation? Cooperation on what? Just you alone?"

Where are your parents?

Realizing what was happening, Zhang Chengyun thought Zhou Rui was talking nonsense and didn't take it seriously. He then continued:

"Uncle is very busy today and doesn't have time to amuse you. Go home."

He referred to himself as "uncle," presumably because he felt that Zhou Rui, despite his young age, was quite capable, and thus deliberately tried to build a closer relationship.

Zhou Rui ignored this, staring intently into Zhang Chengyun's eyes, and said in a calm but firm voice:

"Mr. Zhang, you may not have heard me clearly. I said I'm here to discuss cooperation with you, specifically regarding the tea plantation."

Zhou Rui repeated the sentence again.

Zhang Chengyun's gaze towards the younger generation changed, and he frowned.

"Why isn't your dad here? Are you all alone? Don't mess with me. If you want to talk about this, you're welcome to call your dad."

Although he was eager to transfer the tea plantation to get rid of it as soon as possible, he clearly doubted whether Zhou Rui had the ability and capital to do so.

"I'm from the Zhou family, I'm Zhou Rui. I'm here to discuss this with you. If you're unwilling, I won't force you. However... the tea plantation doesn't seem to be doing too well."

Zhou Rui continued to speak eloquently, and this time Zhang Chengyun couldn't sit still. He was first surprised by Zhou Rui's youth, and then he was overjoyed.

Finally, someone has been found to take over!

He was worried about what to do with the tea plantation after this year's harvest when someone told him that they wanted to talk to him about the tea plantation.

Zhang Chengyun was very excited because his reliable support had arrived. He immediately stopped doubting and didn't care about Zhou Rui's age.

"Zhou Rui, come in, let's go inside and talk. Let's make some tea and have a good chat."

He pulled Zhou Rui into his house, boasting as he went.

"Uncle knew I hadn't misjudged you. I even held you in my arms when you were little, hahaha. My nephew is really capable, managing to come out and discuss things all by himself."

"Don't worry, Uncle will definitely not let you suffer any losses. My tea plantations are all top-notch. You can take them and make a sure profit, hahaha."

Zhang Chengyun seemed to have forgotten that he was still suspicious of Zhou Rui just a moment ago, and now, in the blink of an eye, his attitude had changed so much.

He had no doubt that the Zhou family was wealthy, because everyone in the village knew that the Zhou family had just sold a huge water deer.

In addition, the Zhou family was quite wealthy at the beginning, so they might have had some kind of foundation.

Zhang Chengyun's suspicion stemmed from the feeling that this matter shouldn't be handled by a junior, as he feared Zhou Rui wouldn't be able to mobilize the funds, which is why he sent Zhou Shiwei to negotiate.

However, upon seeing Zhou Rui's confident demeanor, he immediately changed his attitude.

Whether you're Zhou Rui or Zhou Wei, as long as you can take over this hot potato for me, you'll be my savior, Zhang Chengyun.

Zhang Chengyun was all smiles, leaving even Zhang Sheng, who had just accepted his gifts and helped him, feeling left out.

However, when he reached his doorstep, he still didn't forget to say one thing:

"Mr. Zhang, thank you for earlier. Would you like to come in and have some tea?"

Zhang Chengyun didn't shout sincerely, because after he finished speaking, he pulled Zhou Rui into the house on his own.

Taoist Zhang Sheng watched the whole thing and was also surprised that someone would actually come to take on this hot potato.

Tea leaves aren't fetching good prices, but labor costs are rising year by year. The divination Zhang Sheng gave his family a few days ago wasn't all nonsense.

For Zhang Chengyun, the best solution right now is indeed to lease out the tea garden as soon as possible. If no one takes it over, it would be best to switch to planting other crops.

This way, at least some grain can be harvested, since crops like corn and potatoes don't require a lot of manpower to pick like tea.

Zhang Sheng picked up his pen to leave, after all, he had earned two packs of cigarettes just by saying a few words, so this trip was not a loss for him.

But after thinking about it, he decided to go in and see what the two were doing, since such a big event was rare in this day and age.

He then followed Zhang Chengyun into his house.

Inside the house, Zhang Chengyun dismissed his family members, leaving only the two of them sitting at the wooden table.

Zhang Chengyun politely poured Zhou Rui a cup of tea, which was tea he had grown himself. However, there was only one cup. Zhang Sheng, who came in after him, obviously did not receive this treatment.

"Nephew, this tea is excellent! You can tell just by smelling it—it has a perfect balance of bitterness and astringency, with an endless aftertaste!"