Spring Breeze Twenty Years

Chapter 487 I'll raise 10,000 portions

Auntie said, "This is a big company from the provincial capital, they come here specifically to help farmers make money. They raise ants for them and pay them several hundred yuan in labor fees. This is Xiao Huang, this is Xiao Zhang, this is Xiao Liu. Xiao Huang is the big manager, he came all the way from this remote mountain village to us. Manager Huang, this is our nephew, he's also in the city. His business isn't as big as yours, but he's done quite well, he doesn't have to toil in the fields anymore. You all chat a bit."

The two young men nodded reservedly to Xiao Wei and the others. Manager Huang smiled warmly and extended his hand, saying, "Hello, hello! Brother, are you also in Fengtian? Where do you work? If you need anything in Fengtian, feel free to contact me. Our company is one of the top in Fengtian. Our boss invested 500,000 yuan to help these farmers get rich. 500,000 yuan. As long as you work hard, getting rich is a sure thing."

Xiao Wei shook hands and nodded to Manager Huang, then turned to introduce them to his fourth uncle and aunt: "These are my fourth uncle and aunt. Fourth uncle and aunt, this is my buddy, Chen Hui, Xia Maosheng."

Chen Hui and Xia Maosheng called out, and Fourth Uncle went to get cigarettes, saying, "Sit down, sit down, you're at home, don't be shy."

Xiao Wei took out a pack of cigarettes and said, "Don't take them, Uncle Si, I have some." Uncle Si didn't smoke, but people in the countryside are good at giving gifts, so he always kept some at home for guests. It couldn't be any fancy cigarettes; around here, a pack of Silver Elephant cigarettes costing one yuan is considered high-end, and Longquan cigarettes costing two yuan and fifty cents are just a legend.

Xiao Wei distributed cigarettes, and several people sat down on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed). Fourth Aunt asked Xiu'er, "Where's the money?"

Xiuer swayed her ponytail and said, "My sister-in-law was going to take it, but my second brother wouldn't let her, saying he was coming over to check." Fourth Aunt looked up at Xiaowei and Zhang Wang.

Zhang Wang asked, "Where are the ants? How do you raise those things? Is it difficult?"

Manager Huang said, "The ants are at our company's breeding base. If you decide to raise them, once we sign the contract and pay the deposit, we will immediately notify the base to relocate the ants. They can be delivered to you within a week. We will provide the feed. You just need to take care of raising them for us. We will come to collect them every three months to relocate them and settle the labor fees with you then."

Chen Hui asked, "Where in Fengtian is your company located? What's its name?"

Manager Huang took out a business card and handed it to Chen Hui, saying, "Our company is located in Heping, and our base is in Yuhong. Our company is called Tianyuan Ant Breeding Company. We export ants. These ants are all imported from abroad. After we raise them well, we export them to earn foreign exchange for the country."

Chen Hui glanced at the business card and handed it to Xiao Wei, saying, "There's no address on it, but the phone number is from Da Dong." The company address on the business card was printed as Fengtian Heping. As for the phone number, Heping's starts with two, while Da Dong's starts with eight, which is easy to recognize.

Xiao Wei said, "Why is your Heping company printing Da Dong's phone number?"

Manager Huang said, "Oh, the company was originally in Dadong, but later our boss bought a house in Heping and we moved here. We didn't change the phone number because we have too many customers and we were afraid that if we changed it, people wouldn't be able to find us."

Auntie said, "Of course! How are we supposed to find him if he changes his number? This boss is honest."

Xiao Wei laughed, glanced at Aunt Si, and asked Manager Huang, "Why do you give away your own breeding base to others? You're even paying hundreds in labor fees. Isn't that just giving money away for nothing? What's the point?"

Manager Huang said, "Yes, we could have raised them ourselves, but our boss wanted to help farmers get rich, so he gave up this great opportunity to make money so that everyone could get rich together. This is also for the people of our hometown, because farmers have a hard life."

Xia Maosheng couldn't help but laugh out loud. He quickly rubbed his nose and took a breath, saying, "Moving everything from your breeding base here, then coming back and transporting it back in three months, with you providing the feed and then paying for the labor—that's such a hassle. You can just give me the labor fee, three hundred, right?"

You can just sign the contract now and give the 300 yuan to my fourth uncle. Then you won't have to go through all that trouble, and the people won't have to travel back and forth. Isn't that great? It also saves on car and gas money.

Manager Huang said, "How can that be? We're doing this to help more farmers get rich, not to give money away for free. Raising ants is a process of getting rich through self-reliance. You can only get paid if you raise the ants well. You must be joking, buddy."

Xia Maosheng said, "What I said isn't right. How many families do you plan to help get rich?"

Manager Huang said, "This is a big project. Our boss invested 500,000 yuan at once. We welcome any farmer who wants to get rich. There's no limit to the number of people; we welcome anyone who wants to make money. The more people there are, the bigger the project can become, and the more money you'll make in the end."

Xia Maosheng asked, "Since it's about helping farmers get rich, and the ant feed is all yours, why are you collecting a deposit? You can just come and take it away when the time comes. Do you think they'd give up their houses for a thousand or two thousand yuan?"

Manager Huang said, "The deposit is mainly to urge the farmers to do a good job. After all, there's no such thing as free money, right? Only by doing a good job and raising the ants well can they receive their labor fees. If they don't do their best and the ants die, this deposit becomes a penalty. The cost of one colony of imported ants is quite high; this amount of money doesn't even cover the cost. If you don't do your best and the ants die, you can't expect us to bear the responsibility, can you?"

Chen Hui laughed and said, "You have no limit, right? Your boss is such a good person. How about this, we'll sponsor a thousand, no, ten thousand, okay? Where's the contract? Come on, I'll sign it with you, ten thousand copies."

Manager Huang gave Chen Hui a few uncertain glances and asked, "Hey buddy, where are you from?"

Chen Hui said, "Fengtian, my home is in Heping, you know Heping Square? It's right next door."

Xia Maosheng said, "I'll raise them too. I'm from Longcheng. Is Longcheng okay? I'll raise 10,000 portions."

Xiao Wei laughed too, then turned to Chen Hui and Xia Maosheng and said, "You two each get 10,000 shares, so the deposit is over 3.7 million. Earning 600,000 in three months is not bad, the return isn't low. Should I do it too?"

Chen Hui leaned back, bracing himself on the kang (a heated brick bed) with his hands, and looked up at the newspaper-covered ceiling. He did some calculations and said, "This doesn't make sense either. According to what you said, your boss invested 500,000 yuan, and the cost per ant colony is 189 yuan. Even if you do nothing but raise ants, you still won't get more than 2,700 colonies."

"How many portions are there if you take ten households and each household takes one portion? Besides, don't you get paid? Car maintenance and gas are free, right? Don't you get allowances for food and lodging when you travel for work? At most, if we calculate one portion per household, Xiang Datian can only attract about a hundred households, so how come there's no upper limit?"

(End of this chapter)