Chapter 50

To formulate a development plan for the Peach Village Farm, it was naturally necessary to conduct a site inspection. Peach Village was originally a tourist area, with very convenient transportation and equally beautiful scenery. Although it couldn't be called a fairyland, it at least had green mountains and clear waters. In the current context of increasingly severe smog, building a farm had a bright future.

"Unlimited investment? Ancient-style farm design? Luxurious renovation of the restaurant and guest rooms? My friend, you don't have enough three million to throw away on a dog!" After listening to Li Mang's grand vision, Ge Xuelin raised a different opinion.

"I have a piece of jade here. You can take it to auction; it's worth at least ten million." Li Mang was well-prepared and placed the bag he had been holding on the table.

"Ten million!" Ge Xuelin and Xiao Yangzhou were both startled, even hesitating to open the bag.

"Ten million is the minimum price. If handled properly, it could be even higher, possibly tens of millions." Li Mang emphasized.

"Snake, don't scare us? You just carried something worth tens of millions so casually? Aren't you afraid it might get damaged?" Ge Xuelin asked three questions in a row, then couldn't help but carefully open the bag on the table, his movements unusually gentle.

It was a jade mountain, smooth in some places and angular in others, clearly a natural formation. What caught the eye was its smooth, delicate texture, feeling like a young girl's skin when touched, and it was flawless.

Although neither of them understood jade, they had at least seen it before. By comparison, they could tell that this piece of jade was no worse than any other in the world. The only thing lacking was the absence of a master's carving, which might affect its price. But as Li Mang said, such a large natural jade mountain was worth at least ten million.

Li Mang found this jade mountain on the banks of the Lijishui River. It was a relatively ordinary piece, as a better one would be too shocking. This one was enough. In the past, Li Mang might not have dared to take it out, even if he entrusted Xiao Yangzhou to sell it, the Yanhuang organization could easily find out the truth. But now that Li Mang was an official member of Yanhuang, his freedom was much greater, and no one would pay attention to a piece of jade.

"Snake... Hao You, are you really going to let us take this jade to auction? Aren't you afraid we'll run away with the money?" Ge Xuelin's voice was already trembling.

"Of course. I have to go back to work tomorrow, so I'll leave these trivial matters to you." Li Mang said without hesitation, then added, "As for running away with the money, even if you escape to Africa, I can still have the blacks give you a good beating."

"..." Was something worth ten million considered a trivial matter? The two of them were stunned, feeling that the world of the rich was beyond their comprehension. As for the threat of a beating, although they felt a chill, they understood that Li Mang was joking. The fact that he trusted them with such an important task warmed their hearts.

"Snake, are you really going to invest all this money in the farm? You should know that even if it's well-managed, it will be hard to recoup the costs." Xiao Yangzhou's confidence was waning. Such an investment was beyond his imagination and beyond his capacity to bear.

"No problem, as long as we don't lose money." Li Mang waved his hand, showing no concern.

"..." Since Li Mang said so, what could they say in opposition? Out of safety considerations, Xiao Yangzhou carefully locked the jade in the farm's safe, not even telling his girlfriend, Zhao Lingyun.

"The design of the farm should be handled by professionals. We can't just mess around and end up with something that looks like a mishmash. It should be a unique ancient-style design, or it won't be attractive."

"Develop more leisure activities, such as fishing, hiking, picking vegetables, and barbecuing. We should also add some activities for children."

"We also need to create unique and distinctive dishes for the farm, which will be our main selling point."

"Wait, Snake, that sounds easy to say, but it's hard to implement. The first few points are easy, as long as we have the money, but saying we need unique dishes for the farm is just empty talk. How can we achieve that?" Ge Xuelin interrupted Li Mang's ideas, and Xiao Yangzhou, after some thought, nodded. Friends were one thing, but business was another, and they would also challenge impractical ideas.

"Don't worry, I'll provide these." Li Mang was very calm and confident. What might be difficult for others was easy for him, thanks to the *Classic of Mountains and Seas*. At present, he could provide the farm with a limited number of items, but not none.

Indeed, for confidentiality, he couldn't directly provide items from the *Classic of Mountains and Seas* to the farm, but he could dilute them. For example, the honey from Tangting Mountain, when mixed with ordinary honey, could produce a more fragrant and medicinal "Peach Village Honey."

The *Yan* fruit could be mixed with ordinary apples and oranges to make "Peach Village Juice," which would definitely taste great.

Even the snakes from Yuanyi Mountain, if not used whole, could be chopped up and mixed with ordinary snakes to make a stew, ensuring that the farm had a "specialty" that would attract wealthy visitors.

"Really?" Ge Xuelin asked, half-believing, half-doubting. Li Mang was becoming increasingly mysterious to him.

"Really." Li Mang nodded in confirmation.

"Since the boss has spoken, we'll follow his advice." Xiao Yangzhou joked, not pressing further since Li Mang didn't want to say more.

The three of them discussed for a while, and time passed unnoticed. Soon it was evening, and the setting sun cast a red glow, making the mountains and waters of Peach Village look breathtakingly beautiful. The spring breeze was intoxicating, a feeling impossible to find in the city.

"Help! Help!"

"Someone, come and help!"

However, the sudden urgent cries from the mountain broke the tranquility of the setting sun, instantly stirring the peaceful Peach Village. Villagers rushed up the mountain. The three men, who were discussing the farm's design, were also startled and, without a word, followed the cries up the mountain.

"It's the child of the A Chun family, he's drowning!"

"The children say he was pulled down by something, maybe a water ghost."

"Didn't I forbid children from playing in the mountain lake? Have they forgotten the lesson from a few years ago?"

"This isn't the time to talk about that. Quickly, go and save him!"

The shore of the mountain lake was in chaos, with the cries of children, the scolding of women, and the shouting of the elderly all mixed together. A few men had already jumped into the water to save the child. But since the child had sunk, and the mountain lake was quite large, they were searching blindly, like flies.

"Save him first!"

Li Mang and the other two, upon reaching the lake, didn't ask many questions. They had already understood the situation from the cries of the people. They took off their shirts and dived into the water, swimming quickly to the center of the lake.