A small plot of land in a mountain village

The crackling sound of firecrackers.

Today is a great day for Zhangjia Village to open a bamboo processing factory outside the village. The village committee held a meeting to discuss the matter and received the approval of many people, especially the older generation of villagers.

Everyone in the village is very supportive of opening a factory. Everyone has bamboo on the mountain that they haven't used, and now that they have a bamboo factory, it really suits their needs.

The village women were very happy; they now had something to do, and they could chat while working together.

Of course, Zhang Niu and Chairman Zhang had to be invited. It was their idea that was proposed, and the instructor from the junior high school had already been sent over.

The bamboo factory is located next to an abandoned pond on the edge of the village, with the village's stream in the distance. The water source is not a problem, since the wastewater cannot flow directly into the stream, so the factory can only be built next to the pond.

Nowadays, many factories discharge wastewater into small rivers, which alters the environment.

The village has already purchased the five large bamboo sheds, cutting machines, slitting machines, and so on; the money was paid by the village committee.

Bamboo factories naturally don't build brick and tile houses. Cutting bamboo requires a lot of space, and this bamboo shed is just right. The shed was built in the village in just a few days, which is very fast.

I inquired at this place, and the workers all said it was good, especially the abandoned pond used to store wastewater, which is quite a distance from the village. The noise shouldn't reach the village much.

Overall, everyone is satisfied with the location of the bamboo processing plant. It would be more accurate to call this place a workshop.

"It's so lively, most of the villagers have come," Zhang Niu said with a smile, standing on the outskirts.

"The people in your village are quite proactive, arriving so early in the morning." Chairman Zhang naturally noticed this scene as well.

"Let's go inside and take a look. There are a lot of people outside." Zhang Niu frowned as he looked at the crowd outside.

"Forget it, let's just watch from the outside. It's quite lively. Don't go in and get involved." Chairman Zhang quickly stopped him, saying that watching from the outside was fine.

The village has already selected quite a few people to work here. They are all hardworking people in the village, and the wages are acceptable to everyone; they are not too low.

The village chief was in front, giving a long speech, which was nothing more than hoping that the factory could achieve success and that the village would become wealthy, so that the village chief could save face.

These words truly resonate with the villagers.

"Your village chief's speech is quite persuasive," Chairman Zhang said with a chuckle, listening to the village chief's inflammatory words. "Wasn't I the same way before?"

Zhang Niudang said this was commonplace; he'd heard it all the time. The village chief loved this kind of talk, and didn't care much about anything else.

"That's because you haven't stayed here long enough, otherwise you would have gotten used to it," Zhang Niu replied dismissively.

Chairman Zhang suddenly realized, "Yes, yes, I'm an outsider."

The speech lasted quite a while, and the villagers were full of enthusiasm for the bamboo factory.

When people are enthusiastic, their work efficiency improves, and the quality of their work increases significantly.

On the first day of work, the master will guide you on how to cut, what to pay attention to, and so on. There's no rush; your skills will improve in a few days anyway.

The foremen were all very friendly, explaining everything with smiles. The boss had already paid the wages, so of course the job had to be done properly. If it started strong but ended weakly, it would be difficult to explain.

Several people from other villages came to see the bamboo factory opening. It's no secret that this bamboo factory is being opened in the surrounding villages. They came to see if the factory has any prospects.

Many people come to build rapport, thinking that if they opened a shop in their village in the future, it would be easy to find skilled craftsmen.

The people from other villages were really scheming.

There are interests between people, and where there are interests, there will be conflicts.

These are all stories for later. After the factory officially opened, Zhang Niu and Chairman Zhang both went back home. The excitement had already passed. Seeing the village chief busy greeting people, they didn't go up to disturb him.

The two of them didn't go up to help; they just sent someone over to say something.

The two strolled slowly back to Happy Abode.

The weather is pretty good today. Lately, apart from that one heavy rain, the light rain has been negligible.

Otherwise, the fruit in Zhang Niu's orchard wouldn't be able to be grown now.

"Hey Niu, doesn't this gravel road need some repairs?"

Zhang Niu, kicking at the gravel, didn't immediately hear the exclamation, "What!"

This kid can even be lost in thought while walking; it would be strange if he didn't bump into a big tree.

"This mountain road needs repairing!" He repeated the previous sentence, this time in a slightly higher tone.

Oh, it's just a gravel road under my feet. Why bother repairing it?

"The road is perfectly fine, why bother building a dirt road? Isn't this just looking for trouble?" Zhang Niu blurted out without thinking.

Chairman Zhang, who likes to strive for perfection in the company, naturally grumbled a few words when he couldn't see the way forward. It's hard to know if Zhang Niu was even aware of this.

So he fully embodied the spirit of Tang Sanzang: "Don't underestimate this small road; this 'faceless' project is still quite large."

What? A vanity project? Something's not right here.

Zhang Niu stopped in his tracks. "What's the difference between this road construction and saving face?"

After hearing this, Chairman Zhang laughed heartily, "You're still young and don't pay attention to these small things. Look at this gravel road. It's not just hard to walk on, it's terrifying to ride a bike downhill. Don't you feel it?"

Zhang Niu was used to riding his motorcycle; with lots of gravel, he could just step on the brakes and that was it. Who would pay attention?

He scratched his head. "I'm just used to it."

"You sold a lot of cherries this time. It would be best if this road could be repaired. At least one layer of asphalt is needed, otherwise this road will be a dirt road with small potholes and difficult to walk on when summer comes."

That's true. It was pouring rain earlier, and I didn't even dare to ride this bike because the road was too slippery. Not to mention the future, I really hadn't thought about that.

Zhang Niu said gratefully, "That's a good idea. I never paid attention to it before, thinking that as long as there was a road, it would be fine. Now I almost had a problem."

Chairman Zhang appreciates people who can correct their mistakes. His former assistant, for example, is still serving a low-level post, showing no remorse, and it'll be very difficult for him to come back.

"When this road is being renovated, that parking lot above you will have to be paved with cement. Otherwise, it will be full of potholes and difficult to walk on when it rains. If people from the city come here, they definitely won't be able to stand it."

Chairman Zhang's words were very fair, and Zhang Niu naturally understood that the reason they hadn't built a cement road before was because they didn't have the money. They say even a hero can be brought down by a penny.

"Let's take advantage of this great weather and get to work. This fat guy seems to have a friend who owns a heavy machinery factory. He must know the road construction team. Asking him for help should be no problem."

Chairman Zhang's words reminded Zhang Niu that it was Fatty who had introduced him to help with digging the two ponds last time. Back then, he had thought, "Nothing's impossible if you don't have connections."

This matter suddenly became Zhang Niu's top priority. The cherries were almost sold out, the peaches would probably take a while to ripen, and the bayberries would be ready soon. However, the short mountain road should be repaired soon, so there was no rush.

They went back and pulled the fat guy who was teasing Xiao Hei back, asking him if he had any friends who did road repairs.

The fat man didn't understand why they needed to find a construction team. After listening to Zhang Niu's explanation, he realized that they needed to repair the road, and the fat man wholeheartedly agreed with the idea.

The fat guy who drives the work vehicle is particularly afraid of this gravel road. Going uphill is comfortable, but going downhill on this gravel road is a troublesome problem.

Seeing Zhang Niu repairing this road, the fat man was overjoyed. He quickly pulled out a phone number and dialed it with a smile.

All that could be heard was the sound of "Mmm".

After hanging up the phone, he said, "This will work out. They're on break right now and have nothing to do. I'll go pick up the foreman and take a look at the terrain."

Zhang Niu, of course, didn't know anything about road repair. When he heard the fat man say to pick up the contractor first, he said, "Then I'll trouble you."

Get in the car and head back to the county town to pick up the person.

Before going to pick up the person, Zhang Niu planned to go into the orchard to pick some peaches, and there were also quite a few ripe bayberries. Time to eat!

The little guy ate most of the newly ripened bayberries, probably because the cherries were too small, so he switched to larger bayberries.

I was just curious about this little cow. Could it be that it has a big belly? It eats every day, so why doesn't it grow bigger? It's just that the little bump on its head is sticking out a bit.

"Eat them if you want! That's Zhang Niu's idea. Let's see how many you can eat when all the bayberries are in bloom."

After taking a stroll, I discovered that the fruits under the trees were all blooming with small yellow flowers. Damn, even the watermelons are flowering! There were quite a few small yellow flowers on a small vine.

After walking around, I saw that the fruits under the trees were all in bloom, with many buds about to open.

The fat guy left quickly, and he came back quickly too!

Chairman Zhang sat in the bamboo pavilion, enjoying the High Mountain Beauty Tea. It was so comfortable; Zhang Niu had bought it for him in the village, and he paid for it himself.

High mountains and misty clouds produce fine tea. Chairman Zhang, who appreciates tea, enjoys brewing a pot in his spare time, especially in such a quiet environment, making it a daily ritual.

The car was parked in an open space, and the fat man got out with the people who had come.

This contractor wasn't the middle-aged man I'd imagined, but an old man in his fifties. With his messy hair and ordinary clothes, it seemed he lived a very simple life.

The foreman who came up was actually from a rural area. He used to work hard, which is why he aged so quickly. He's only in his forties now.

When the contractor told them his age, Chairman Zhang and Zhang Niu sighed at how quickly time flies.

Zhang Niu was very hospitable. After eating a few peaches, the foreman took out his notebook from his bag, ready to record the place.

"You guys lead the way! I'll check out the place first. Tell me if there's anything I need to do, so I can write it down."

This contractor is really dedicated; he got busy after only sitting for a short while.

Zhang Niu, along with the contractor, explained in detail the areas that needed to be paved. Later, Chairman Zhang even suggested replacing the mud steps in the pond with cement.

That place is comfortable to soak in, but every time I come back, there's a lot of yellow mud stuck to my feet, which is a hassle.

This place needs to be renovated. Zhang Niu plans to replace the small ditch with cement and make a cement slab to stand upright. It will be solid and sturdy, so that the blackfish will not have to worry about swimming upstream during heavy rains.

P.S.: It's past midnight. Feel free to leave any comments or suggestions in the book review section. All readers will check them out. (To be continued... For more chapters and to support the author, please log in and read the official version!)