NOVPUB
Chapter 626: Chapter 616 How Much Money Did You Calculate?
The conversation with Director Bai went quite smoothly. Shen Yunfang had long known that Director Bai was an upright leader, one who got things done, not one of those leaders from later generations who engage in corrupt practices. So, when she went to talk to him, she didn’t beat around the bush and directly stated her purpose.
"You really want to lease a plot of land and start your own farm?" Even after hearing her say so, Director Bai was still somewhat incredulous. Firstly, he thought this girl was too young, not like the old farmers who enjoy toiling in the soil. Hearing her say that she was a college student at an agricultural college, and currently teaching classes there as well, he wondered how such a promising young person would want to lease land and farm herself. Although he was in charge of this area, he still couldn’t comprehend it.
"Yes, I feel I shouldn’t let the knowledge I’ve learned go to waste. So I was thinking about starting my own farm to put into practice what I’ve learned," Shen Yunfang found a reason for herself.
"Does your family know about this plan?" Director Bai remembered that she had a husband who was a war hero.
"Of course, they know. He’s very supportive of me," Shen Yunfang replied confidently.
Director Bai took a look at her and then asked, "Judging by your plan, you can’t just lease a few acres. I bet it’s going to be dozens or even hundreds of acres, right? Do you know that since you don’t have a rural household registration, you’ll have to pay a higher contract fee than the ordinary farmers to lease land? Also, by the end of the year, the public grain that the state collects will not be a grain less." These were not small amounts.
"I’m aware of all that, and if there’s land available, I was thinking of leasing two hundred acres," Shen Yunfang considered this figure for a long time as she wanted to build a substantial farm.
Director Bai was startled, "Two hundred acres, that’s quite large, isn’t it?"
"Mmhmm, it would be even better if there’s a mountain nearby, so I could lease that as well." This too had been carefully considered.
Director Bai took a sharp intake of breath—this young woman’s ambitions were not small.
"You know that in the initial stages, farms generally don’t see any profits, and it’s only after the whole farm has been developed and put on track that it might start making money. The pre-investment required isn’t a small sum," Director Bai couldn’t help but remind her.
To build a farm, without at least two to three years, one could hardly expect to see any results. Moreover, the labor and seed costs during the initial phase meant constantly pouring money in without seeing returns. Besides, once the land was leased, the state wouldn’t care when you could actually harvest crops from it—the country collects public grain annually, and if there was no grain, it had to be converted into money to pay the state.
Shen Yunfang nodded cheerfully, "I’m aware of all that, Director Bai, and I’ve thought it all through. I’ve come to you because I’m quite confident in my plan."
Director Bai fell silent, as he simply didn’t believe this young lady could support such a large operation on her own. He did a quick calculation in his mind; to start the kind of farm she had mentioned would cost more than just ten or twenty thousand—a minimum investment of several hundred thousand was necessary, and it could easily run into the millions. How would a young lady like her fund such an endeavor?
"Director Bai, I will definitely be able to get the money. Right now, I would like to ask if there’s any land available nearby that meets my requirements, preferably near the Z Province Military Region, so it’s also closer to my home. That way, I can take care of my family," Shen Yunfang didn’t worry about what others thought, as long as when the time came she could pay the lease.
The hall chief thought it over, walked to his desk, pulled out a map of Z Province, and spread it on the coffee table by the sofa.
Pointing to the map for Yunfang, he said, "This land should meet your requirements, but it is wasteland. If you contract it, you’ll have to clear it yourself. Moreover, the lease price I give you cannot be the wasteland price; it has to be the usual price for cultivated land. Over there is a deserted mountain, not very tall, but it covers more than a hundred qing of land, which is quite large." The land was conveniently located close to the Military Region, just a ten-minute drive away.
Yunfang did some quick calculations in her mind: one qing is equal to fifteen mu, so one hundred qing would be fifteen hundred mu. For an ordinary mountain range, this figure would be insignificant, but for someone looking to lease a mountain, it was certainly not small.
Now Yunfang frowned and asked, "What’s the lease price for this land, and what about the mountain?"
Her heart fluttered at the thought of leasing such a large mountain, but she didn’t know the price. She was uncertain if her savings would be sufficient to cover the lease.
The hall chief handed her a document from his desk, "These are the regulations from Z Province following the Household Responsibility System, leasing land will cost ten yuan per mu. However, since you do not have a rural household registration, the price for you will be fifteen yuan per mu. As for the mountain, although it’s not high, it covers a large area. The annual lease might cost seventy to eighty thousand yuan, but we still need to hold a leaders’ meeting to discuss and decide on the specific price."
Yunfang calculated again in her heart: fifteen yuan per mu would mean three thousand yuan for two hundred mu, plus the lease fee for the mountain, let’s say ten thousand yuan, so the total annual lease cost would be thirteen thousand yuan, a figure she found acceptable.
"This price certainly isn’t cheap," she said. "How about this, I’ll go back and discuss it with my partner, and could you also give me an estimate from your end? I’ll come back tomorrow to listen to the specific price for leasing the mountain, okay?" Yunfang had already decided to lease, but she couldn’t let on too readily. This was a negotiation tactic; if it became clear that she wasn’t short of money, she might end up paying a lot more than necessary.
The hall chief nodded upon hearing this, "Okay, you go back and have a good discussion. We’ll also have a meeting this afternoon to talk it over. When you come back tomorrow, we can discuss whether to proceed with the lease or not."
After spending an hour in the hall chief’s office, Yunfang left. She checked her watch. It was too late to go home to cook for the two of them, so she decided to see if she could find anything good to buy in the city’s sundries store instead.
She took the bus to the sundries store in the Xicheng District, the closest to the city government.
No matter when one visited such places, they were always crowded. Yunfang stood outside, watching several long queues, wondering what everyone was scrambling for.
Yunfang moved forward and finally saw what they were queuing for: one line was for fish, palm-sized crucian carp, limited to two per person, and another was for pork. Apparently, a whole large fatty pig had arrived that morning, and as news spread nearby on a first-come, first-served basis, those who heard swarmed with their ration books to buy the pork.
Her interest piqued by both items, Yunfang still had her meat quota for the month to buy. But seeing the length of the queues, she figured the pig would be sold out before her turn, so she decided not to join in the rush and went inside the store instead.
So instead of queuing outside the sundries store, Yunfang made her way through the crowd and entered the building.
