Chapter 54

Don't mention it, Old Zhang's skills are truly unparalleled. Especially when paired with the vegetables from the greenhouse, which are actually picked by Wang Yong from his small world. There were over a dozen dishes, some well-known and some ordinary home-style dishes, but all were beautifully prepared, with excellent color, aroma, and taste. Wang Yong and his friends couldn't stop eating, mechanically stuffing their mouths, unwilling to put down their chopsticks.

After the group finished their meal, Old Zhang was called by Second Master to his house. Wang Yong and the others stayed to continue discussing the construction of the greenhouse eco-restaurant. Wang Yong's plan to build the greenhouse eco-restaurant around the mountain was approved. The remaining issues were the environmental and technical factors to consider for the specific construction, to ensure the safety, convenience, and practicality of the greenhouse after it was built.

The discussion continued until five in the afternoon when the sky turned dark. Manager Li and his two companions left Half Mountain Village at Wang Yong's insistence. They finally decided to build a greenhouse about 400 meters long and 200 meters wide, covering more than 100 acres, to test the effect. After all, it was their first time building such a large greenhouse, and they hadn't encountered many of the issues. No one could predict how the usage effect would be after it was built. Therefore, they decided to build a greenhouse about one-third the size of the total plan to test whether the actual effect of such a giant greenhouse could meet the expected goals.

"Wang Yong, what are you really thinking? This is an investment of tens of millions. If it fails, it will all be a waste," Da Wei said, unsure. After all, this wasn't a few hundred or a few thousand yuan, but a real investment of four or five tens of millions. If it didn't work out, he would have no face to live.

"Ha ha, so you're afraid too? That's rare!" Wang Yong joked with his childhood friend. In fact, Wang Yong wasn't worried at all. As for losing money? That was absolutely impossible. Not to mention anything else, just the delicious vegetables grown from the seeds he cultivated in his small world would make the restaurant a huge success. Additionally, Wang Yong had plans to expand the breeding farm. With the current fame and effects of the golden eggs, how could it not be well-managed?

"If you're not afraid, why should I be? It's not my money anyway," Da Wei said stubbornly, but his lowered head betrayed his lack of confidence. After all, he was also from this small mountain village. Although he had gained a lot of experience over the years, he had always been a chef. Suddenly being handed a company worth tens of millions, it was inevitable that he would feel a bit insecure. If he had been overly confident, Wang Yong would have been truly worried.

"Alright, stop worrying. Here's what I'm thinking: the village will provide the land, taking 30%, I will invest 40 million, taking 51% controlling shares, and Old Zhang will get 10% in technical shares. As for you, I'll lend you one million, and you will be responsible for management and invest one million, taking 5% of the shares. The remaining 4% will be reserved for future management and technical talent, or as an employee welfare fund, to give bonuses and buy things for the workers during holidays."

"That won't work. How can I borrow money from you? I have my own," Da Wei strongly disagreed with Wang Yong's proposal to lend him one million to invest.

"Isn't this to bind you to the project? Besides, we're close friends! Don't even think of it as a loan. Even if I gave you one million, what's the problem? I never intended for you to pay it back. I believe it won't be long before you won't care about one million. At that time, one million will be like one hundred, and you'll have ten or eight hundred in your wallet."

"Stop joking. But I'll take the one million. Let's do it your way. I'll talk to my master, and you handle the village." Da Wei bit his lip and agreed. This was his last chance; if it didn't succeed, he would have to face the consequences.

"Alright, I'll go talk to my uncle and get the villagers to have a meeting. You go talk to your master, and let's get this settled as soon as possible, so Manager Li can start the construction." Wang Yong stood up, ready to go to his uncle's house.

As he looked up, he saw his uncle standing at the door, staring at him with wide eyes, making Wang Yong feel uneasy. His uncle's intense gaze was like when he stared at the special tobacco and alcohol Wang Yong brought back from Beijing.

Wang Yong cautiously walked to his uncle, who didn't react, just standing there stiffly. Wang Yong and Da Wei looked at each other and shook their heads. Wang Yong waved his hand in front of his uncle's eyes, but there was no reaction. He waved again, and his uncle slapped his hand away. Finally, his uncle came to his senses. Wang Yong was relieved; if there had been no reaction, he might have had to use the trick of "Fan Jin's father-in-law" and give his uncle a hard slap.

"Is what you said true?" his uncle struggled to say a few words.

"Uncle, come inside and sit down. Let's talk," Wang Yong and Da Wei quickly helped his uncle sit on the sofa. They poured him a glass of water, and his uncle absentmindedly took it, still staring at Wang Yong, waiting for an answer.

Wang Yong, seeing this, said helplessly, "Uncle, everything we said is true. I'm not sure what you heard. If you didn't hear everything, I can repeat it."

"Is the 40 million real?"

"It's real, real money."

"Is the 30% share real?"

"It's real."

"Will this restaurant really make money?"

"Absolutely, I guarantee it."

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go to the village office and call a meeting right away." His uncle immediately came to life, acting like a different person. Wang Yong and Da Wei couldn't help but wonder if he had been pretending to be confused.

With doubts, the two were dragged by his uncle to the village office. Once there, his uncle left them and turned on the public address system. Each village had one, connected to a loudspeaker in the center of the village, which could be heard clearly in the surrounding three or four villages. Soon, his uncle's voice was broadcast throughout the village.

"Attention, villagers! Attention, villagers! Everyone, stop what you're doing and come to the village office for a meeting. Everyone, stop what you're doing and come to the village office for a meeting. There's an important matter to discuss, and everyone must be present. Those who don't come will regret it."

His uncle repeated this three times before turning off the loudspeaker. He turned around to see Wang Yong and Da Wei staring at the microphone, leaving him puzzled.

Speaking of the loudspeaker, it was a treasure in Wang Yong's childhood. A very mysterious treasure. Just by speaking into the microphone in this small room, the sound could be broadcast throughout the village through the loudspeakers on the power poles. And at that time, only the village chief and the party secretary had control over it; no one else could touch it. Of course, no one dared to touch it, for fear of breaking it and being unable to afford the repair. When they were young, Wang Qiang and Wang Bin once led a group of friends to break into the village office through a window to play with this magical device. They fiddled with the switches, but it wouldn't work, making them sweat profusely. Wang Bin was on the verge of tears, fearing that if they broke it, his father would skin him alive!

In the end, it was Wang Qiang who suggested they jump out the window and tell everyone not to mention the incident, or they would be expelled from the group and never play with them again. For the next few days, everyone was on edge, fearing a sudden outburst from their parents. The adults were puzzled by how well-behaved these naughty boys had become.

This situation only changed when Wang Yaowu's voice was heard over the loudspeaker. The group finally relaxed. Now, seeing this childhood treasure, though they had seen more advanced amplifiers, they still felt a deep connection and excitement.

It was dinner time for the villagers, but Uncle's authority was undeniable. People from the village started to gather one by one, some even with their dinner bowls. After about twenty minutes, the village office was filled with villagers and a bunch of children playing and chasing each other.

However, there weren't many young and middle-aged people in the village. Most were elderly or children, and the few young men were dragged by their parents. The villagers weren't stupid; Wang Yong had previously mentioned building twenty greenhouses, and Wang Dahai had discussed the rent and job arrangements with several families. Many people regretted that Wang Yong hadn't built more, as they couldn't farm much land and would rather rent it to Wang Yong than let it lie fallow. Now that Wang Yong had returned from Beijing with a fortune from selling antiques, he was surely going to finalize the plan. But why was a village meeting needed? Hadn't he already discussed it with those families? The crowd began to speculate, while Da Wei's father, Gao Guoqing, who knew a bit of the situation, stood there smiling, listening to the villagers' guesses.

"Alright! Quiet down, everyone's here. Let's start the meeting!" Uncle stood on the steps at the entrance and said. Once everyone was quiet, he continued:

"Today, we're here to discuss a matter of great importance to our village and all of us. Let our village chief speak, everyone, welcome him." Uncle led the applause and looked at Wang Yong.

There was no choice; as the village chief and the investor, Wang Yong had to speak. He walked to the front, looking at the crowd of villagers, the uncles and uncles who had aged prematurely from years of hard work, the ordinary-looking young women and girls, and the dirty children playing on the ground. Wang Yong suddenly felt an unprecedented pressure, especially from the eyes full of hope and expectation. These were people who had worked hard all their lives but were often called "country bumpkins"; these were people who had built skyscrapers with their hands but had never lived in one; these were people who longed for snacks and toys but rarely got them; these were people who wanted to buy beautiful clothes like those in the city but couldn't bear to wear them.

These were the farmers who had worked hard for the prosperity of the country, even though they didn't understand the significance of their labor, just wanting to live a good life.

These were the farmers, his fellow villagers, the uncles and aunts who had watched him grow up. At this moment, Wang Yong felt a deep sense of responsibility. He suddenly realized that he, society, and the country owed these people a lot, a lot...

Just as Wang Dahai was about to remind Wang Yong to speak, Wang Yong opened his mouth, and with one sentence, he stirred up a huge wave.