Chapter 41

Seeing Xiao Fei turn and walk away, showing no signs of faking it, Liu Zhenhai became a bit anxious.

Just as Xiao Fei had guessed, there was actually no one who had come to request the lease of the hill. It was all fabricated by Liu Zhenhai, just to drive up the price.

Although the hill in Xili Village had loaches, scorpions, and hawthorns, and was also covered with locust trees and poplars, giving it some value, all the villagers knew that even if someone leased the hill, they couldn't really monopolize it. Others from the village would still go up to pick hawthorns, catch loaches, graze sheep, and gather firewood, and there was no way to stop them.

"Hey! Xiao Fei, why are you in such a hurry? Come back, come back! Let's talk some more!" Liu Zhenhai called out only when Xiao Fei had reached his front door.

Xiao Fei let out a sigh of relief.

He was actually taking a gamble.

Gambling that Liu Zhenhai was bluffing.

If he had walked out of Liu Zhenhai's front door and Liu Zhenhai hadn't called him back, things would have gotten complicated.

"Uncle Zhenhai, is there anything else?" Xiao Fei stopped, turned to look at Liu Zhenhai, his face calm, but his heart pounding.

Liu Zhenhai beckoned to Xiao Fei, "Come, sit down and let's talk about your family leasing the hill."

Xiao Fei walked back, but didn't sit down, and said with a smile, "Uncle Zhenhai, didn't you say someone else already wanted to lease it? What else is there to talk about?"

Liu Zhenhai looked a bit embarrassed and said with a smile, "Your uncle just wants to help you fulfill your wish. I think we get along well, so I should take care of your family, right?"

He really talked as if he was singing.

Xiao Fei sneered inwardly.

"Uncle, tell me, what are the conditions for leasing the village hill? Most importantly, I need to know the lease term and the price," Xiao Fei sat down opposite Liu Zhenhai.

Liu Zhenhai's eyes darted around, and he said with a smile, "I'll give you a price, how about it? The annual lease fee is 3,000 yuan. If you lease it for ten years, I'll give you a discount, 25,000 yuan. Is that okay?"

To be honest, the price Liu Zhenhai mentioned was not expensive.

25,000 yuan for ten years, but in less than half a year, when the Jichang Expressway starts construction, if he signs a contract with the expressway project department to sell the soil, he could make tens or even hundreds of times the profit.

However, given the current situation, he wouldn't agree to Liu Zhenhai's price.

If he agreed too quickly, the old fox Liu Zhenhai would definitely be suspicious!

In Liu Zhenhai's eyes, the hill was a tasteless chicken rib. Leasing it out and taking the opportunity to embezzle some money was in his best interest.

If it wasn't leased to an individual, the hill, though a collective asset, would bring no income.

What use was it?

Liu Zhenhai actually wanted to lease the hill. Now that he was in a hurry, he couldn't show too much eagerness.

"No, it's too high!" Xiao Fei said decisively.

Liu Zhenhai smiled and tapped Xiao Fei with his finger, "Xiao Fei, your family made over 10,000 yuan in just a few days by catching loaches on the hill. If your family leases the hill, you could earn at least 20,000 to 30,000 yuan every year just by catching loaches. There are also trees and hawthorns on the hill, all of which can be sold for money. I only ask for 3,000 yuan per year, which is already very low. Don't be too greedy, okay?"

When Liu Zhenhai heard that Xiao Fei's family had made over 10,000 yuan by catching loaches on the hill, he was also tempted and had the idea of leasing the hill himself, forbidding other villagers from going up to catch loaches, and making a fortune quietly. But after some thought, he realized this was absolutely impossible. If he did that, the whole village would become his enemy, which would be too costly.

So he gave up.

Now that Xiao Fei's family wanted to lease the hill, he thought they also had the idea of monopolizing the resources.

He sneered inwardly, thinking that with the Xiao family's influence in the village, they would be beaten up by the villagers soon. Xili Village was a place with many tough people.

Leasing the hill and monopolizing the loach resources was just a daydream.

"Ha ha! Uncle Zhenhai, if it were such a good deal, wouldn't you have done it yourself?" Xiao Fei said with a smile, mocking Liu Zhenhai.

Liu Zhenhai knew that Xiao Fei had already thought of this.

He was a bit curious about what this family wanted to achieve by leasing the hill. Even if they leased it, it was obvious that there would be no significant income.

Liu Zhenhai couldn't figure it out.

So he asked straightforwardly, "Tell your uncle, what do you want to do with the hill if your family leases it?"

Xiao Fei sneered inwardly, thinking that Liu Zhenhai was trying to get information from him. Don't even dream of it.

"I haven't decided yet, but I see potential in the hill, so I want to lease it first," Xiao Fei said casually.

So he didn't have a clear plan!

Liu Zhenhai felt relieved and said with a smile, "Xiao Fei, tell me, how much are you willing to pay to lease the hill?"

"3,000 yuan, for ten years!" Xiao Fei quoted his price.

"Are you joking with your uncle? Such a large hill, you want to lease it for 3,000 yuan for ten years? Do you think the village is short of your 3,000 yuan? Xiao Fei, if you really want to lease it, show some sincerity," Liu Zhenhai said.

Although Liu Zhenhai said this, in reality, the Xili Village committee was really short of money.

Xili Village had few collective resources and was a poor village. The village officials had few ways to make money, and they could only do some tricks with the village's retained funds and relief funds.

The village committee's account was empty, and they owed a lot of debt.

Liu Zhenhai was anxious!

If he could sell the lease rights of the hill, he could make a small profit.

"3,000 yuan is not little, Uncle Zhenhai, I can only offer this much."

"15,000 yuan for ten years, I'll give you a 10,000 yuan discount, Xiao Fei, this is the village's bottom line."

The two haggled, and in the end, Liu Zhenhai proposed a solution. He agreed to sign a ten-year lease agreement with Xiao Fei for 3,000 yuan, but Xiao Fei had to give him an additional 2,000 yuan as a benefit, which couldn't be written into the agreement.

Xiao Fei agreed.

He knew that Liu Zhenhai would definitely ask for a benefit, but he didn't expect him to be so brazen.

Xiao Fei was very satisfied with the result. He could sign a ten-year lease agreement for only 5,000 yuan, and the terms were very lenient. During the lease period, the Xiao family could dispose of the entire hill as they wished.

At Xiao Fei's strong request, the lease agreement included a penalty for breach of contract. If either party violated the agreement, they would have to pay the other party 100 times the lease amount as compensation.

This penalty was quite severe.

But Liu Zhenhai didn't take it seriously. Who would be a fool to breach the contract?

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