Chapter 21

Wang Xiaoqiang's crops had a great harvest, and his whole family was happy for him. The legs of Wang's parents, which had been treated by their son, had fully recovered, and they could walk just like normal people. In their joy, the elderly couple refused to idle and helped their son transport the crops home.

To facilitate the transportation of the grain, Wang Xiaoqiang spent over 4,000 yuan to buy a motorized tricycle. However, the grain from fifty acres of land was too much to fit in their large courtyard. Seeing this, the experienced Wang Kuishan reminded his son:

"Xiaoqiang, with the current high price of corn, it would be better to sell it all at once! The prices of soybeans and sesame seeds are low, so we should stockpile them and wait for the prices to rise..."

Wang Xiaoqiang, however, had a different idea from his father. The price of corn was on the rise due to the severe drought this year. Corn, which requires a lot of water, was greatly affected by the drought, even with multiple rounds of irrigation. Poor yields would lead to a supply shortage, causing the price of corn to soar. The current rise in prices was just the beginning, so Wang Xiaoqiang did not plan to sell the corn. On the contrary, sesame seeds thrive in dry conditions. Despite the drought, the sesame seeds in the fields were generally good. The current price of sesame seeds was reasonable, but it would likely drop after the harvest in about ten days. Therefore, it was best to sell them now.

Wang Xiaoqiang explained his thoughts to his father, and after careful consideration, Wang Kuishan found them reasonable. His son had a good business sense, but the harvested corn had nowhere to be stored, which was a source of worry.

Wang Xiaoqiang racked his brain, thinking of where in the village he could store the crops. Soon, he thought of the old village committee building. The old committee building was the only vacant building in the village, with six empty rooms.

The old committee building was far from the village and quite dilapidated. The village committee had built a new two-story building in the village, and after its completion, they moved there, leaving behind the abandoned building and courtyard.

Although the old committee building was old, it was not damaged, and it was windproof and waterproof, making it suitable for storing grain.

Wang Xiaoqiang immediately thought of renting it. When he mentioned this idea to his father, Wang Kuishan agreed.

At that moment, Old Niu and Big Smoker came. As soon as they arrived, they looked at the corn Wang Xiaoqiang had harvested with envious eyes and said with a smile, "Xiaoqiang, you've had a great harvest this year!"

Wang Xiaoqiang immediately understood that they had come to collect the rent for the land. Now, most of the young people in the village worked outside, leaving large tracts of land idle. Wang Xiaoqiang had easily rented fifty acres, including land from Old Niu and Big Smoker.

"Ah, Uncle Niu, Uncle Smoker, you're here..." Wang Xiaoqiang greeted them with a smile and said, "Don't worry about the rent. I'll send it to you once I've dealt with the grain..."

"No, no, Xiaoqiang, we're not here for the rent," Old Niu waved his hands and said straightforwardly, "We want to reclaim our land and farm it ourselves..."

"Yeah, Xiaoqiang, we've been busy all our lives, and it feels strange to be idle, so..." the honest Big Smoker also expressed his thoughts tactfully.

Wang Xiaoqiang hadn't expected that they would want to reclaim their land. However, he had no choice, as they were neighbors and no lease contract had been signed. He quickly realized that they were envious of his good harvest.

In today's economy, farming was far less profitable than working outside. For example, buying seeds, applying pesticides, and fertilizers, and watering during droughts didn't yield much profit. Many people preferred to rent out their land, earning about 1,000 yuan per acre per year.

However, Wang Xiaoqiang's harvest this season was clearly very profitable. Old Niu and Big Smoker, envious of his success, thought their land had become fertile again and wanted to reclaim it to farm themselves.

"Alright..." Although Wang Xiaoqiang was somewhat annoyed, he immediately agreed.

Old Niu and Big Smoker were suspicious of Wang Xiaoqiang's quick agreement. They thought he would be reluctant to give up the land, given its profitability. They didn't know that Wang Xiaoqiang's success was due to the Five Elements Spirit Spring in his body, not the land.

After Old Niu and Big Smoker left, several more villagers came, all with the same purpose: to reclaim their land.

Wang Xiaoqiang agreed to return the land to each of them.

"Nowadays, people are so materialistic!" Liu Juyi, Wang Xiaoqiang's sister-in-law, couldn't help but complain. She then comforted him, "Xiaoqiang, don't worry. My family has over ten acres of land. My brother and sister-in-law are working outside, so the land is idle. I can have them farm it for you for free!"

"No need, Sister..." Wang Xiaoqiang smiled at Liu Juyi and said, "I plan to return all the rented land and then rent a large plot of land. If I can't find one, I'll rent a small hill. That will be easier to manage."

Wang Xiaoqiang's calmness surprised and pleased Liu Juyi. She realized that her younger brother-in-law was planning something big.

That afternoon, Wang Xiaoqiang went to the new village committee building and found the village chief and party secretary, Liu Mingshan.

Liu Mingshan's attitude towards Wang Xiaoqiang had changed significantly.

Initially, he, like the other villagers, thought that after dropping out of school, Wang Xiaoqiang should have gone to work in the Pearl River Delta. However, when Wang Xiaoqiang unexpectedly leased fifty acres of land, Liu Mingshan was not optimistic. To his surprise, Wang Xiaoqiang's crops had a great harvest, doubling the yield of previous years. It looked like he would earn about 70,000 to 80,000 yuan, which was more than what a young person could earn working outside for a year (30,000 to 40,000 yuan).

Wang Xiaoqiang's income from one season of farming was twice what a worker could earn in a year. As his earnings increased, so did his status, making everyone admire and respect him.

"Xiaoqiang, come and sit down," Liu Mingshan, who was smoking, stood up and invited Wang Xiaoqiang to sit on the sofa. With a gleam in his eyes, he said, "You're really good at farming. I'm so envious that I want to lease land myself."

"Uncle Mingshan, don't even think about leasing land..." Wang Xiaoqiang smiled bitterly and said, "Guess what? Before I could even transport the crops home, people started asking me to return the land..."

"Really? That's outrageous! Those people are just jealous!" Liu Mingshan was indignant. "Xiaoqiang, do you want me to handle it?"

"No need, Uncle. I plan to rent a large plot of land for easier management."