"It's the season for toon sprouts, haven't you sold any?" Lin Fan's interest was piqued by their words.
"We have, of course, we have," Xia Deya responded indignantly. "Guess how much we sell them for per jin?"
He immediately continued, "Never mind the surrounding villages. People just come and pick a bit, and they have enough to eat. We can't exactly chase them away. They're all folks from our village, and some are even relatives. It's too impolite to do that."
"Ten yuan a jin?" Lin Fan pondered for a moment and suggested a reasonable price.
In the countryside, toon trees were not rare. Many families planted one in front of or behind their houses, enough for the family and even their neighbors to eat without buying.
Xia Deya held up two fingers. "Once picked, all tender leaves, they sell for two yuan. Any more and people won't buy it. Some small vendors pick it themselves."
Lin Fan was speechless.
Toon, which sold for over a hundred yuan a jin in big cities, was only two yuan in Xiajiagou.
Just picking them from the trees was quite laborious.
In the city, the cost of hiring workers wouldn't even cover it.
"I doubt they'd fetch a good price in the county town either, maybe ten-odd yuan at most," Lin Fan remarked.
"Ten-odd yuan would be great! That's how many times over!" Xia Deya felt it was unfair to the villagers, though his ambitions went further.
"Secretary Tian is thoughtful, has foresight, and is capable. I'm not like her; I don't have her skills."
Xia Deya's attitude was sincere. "Xiao Fan, for Xue'er's sake, could you help the people of Xiajiagou?"
Lin Fan nodded. "How do you want me to help?"
"I've been thinking about it for a long time," Xia Deya said seriously. "But it's easy to say and hard to do."
He pointed with his chopsticks, explaining methodically, "First, we need to sell the toon sprouts in the county town. That alone would increase their value five or sixfold."
"Transportation is easy to arrange. If necessary, I can grit my teeth and buy a car for the village. The problem is whether we can sell them!"
Xia Deya began to pour out his troubles.
"I thought about going to the city to inquire, but firstly, I don't know anyone and can't find any connections. Secondly, toon is only available for a few days each year, and it's very delicate; it wilts in three days."
"Xiao Fan, do you have any ideas?" Xia Deya looked at Lin Fan for help.
Lin Fan remained silent.
Helping Xiajiagou sell toon was not as simple as lending money.
That was a one-time transaction, and whether it was repaid or not was of little consequence to him.
From Xia Deya's words, it was clear that he intended to market Xiajiagou's toon as a specialty product, placing great hope in it. It wasn't just about selling this year and next, but about gradually opening up sales channels and even making Xiajiagou's toon a brand.
Although Lin Fan had money, he knew nothing about selling fresh produce.
"If it's not possible, forget it. I'll think of another way," Xia Deya said, feeling dejected as Lin Fan remained silent for a long time.
"Uncle, how much toon can you produce each day?" Lin Fan asked carefully.
"Altogether, three to five hundred jin a day," Xia Deya replied truthfully.
"Not a lot," Lin Fan calculated. Five hundred jin a day meant an annual output of only fifteen thousand jin for the entire Xiajiagou.
At a purchase price of ten yuan a jin, he could buy out all of Xiajiagou's toon for a hundred and fifty thousand yuan annually.
"Uncle, I'll... right now, I'll help you inquire." Seeing Xia Deya's anxious expression, Lin Fan suddenly remembered that the toon season was very short, and every day's delay meant less income for the villagers.
"Thank you so much. If it works out, the people of Xiajiagou will be forever grateful," Xia Deya said gratefully.
Lin Fan took out his phone from his pocket.
Who should he call?
Five hundred jin of toon per day, not a lot, but not insignificant either.
After all, the usage was small. A plate of stir-fried eggs with toon wouldn't use two ounces, would it?
And toon fish, it was only sprinkled as a topping.
Never mind, he'd inquire first.
Lin Fan felt awkward about bothering others, so he called Su Yurou.
She had been running her beauty salon for many years and had connections across various circles, so she might have a way.
The ringtone kept ringing, but no one answered.
Borun Pharmaceutical.
Several electric bikes and seven or eight cars were parked outside the factory gate, including Su Yurou's sports car. Next to it was a champagne-colored Bentley.
"Ms. Su, ME Group's investment will bring us nothing but benefits, and moreover, it's the county's wish," Zhou Weiguo said impassionedly, his tone leaving no room for doubt.
Standing beside him was Zheng Yue, the fifth daughter of the Zheng family, an old acquaintance Lin Fan hadn't seen in a long time!
Su Yurou looked at this unexpected and unwelcome guest with surprise.
Especially the words they spoke, which were so unexpected that she couldn't react at all.
At this moment, a large number of employees were inspecting equipment and preparing materials to begin work.
Just as Su Yurou was in high spirits and eager to get to work, Zhou Weiguo suddenly arrived with Zheng Yue and got straight to the point about the investment.
This... wasn't this plucking the peaches?
Or rather, crossing the river and burning the bridge!
Su Yurou was full of reluctance.
With Lin Fan's technical support, Tian Mengyao's astonishing background, and her own considerable business acumen, they could have run the company prosperously like an iron triangle. How could they so easily cede it to outsiders?
Her secret weapon was the scar-removal beauty cream, which was more valuable than the entire Borun Pharmaceutical.
Now someone wanted to invest, wasn't that stealing their money!
Su Yurou gave a wry smile. "I'm sorry, the company isn't solely mine. I'm just a small shareholder. For what you're proposing, all our shareholders must agree."
She intended to push the official matters to Tian Mengyao.
She didn't believe that no matter how much influence Zhou Weiguo had in Shimen County, he could snatch Tian Mengyao's business.
"Uh, right." Zhou Weiguo pondered for a moment, then realized he had gotten carried away and forgotten to discuss this with Tian Mengyao.
It wasn't that he couldn't wait.
That morning, Zheng Yue had walked into his office and said she wanted to cooperate with Borun Pharmaceutical on behalf of ME Group.
Zhou Weiguo was so excited he nearly went mad.
This was a godsend, a piece of pie falling from the sky!
And it was filled with abalone and sea cucumber!
Zheng Yue was expressionless and presented her business plan.
Zhou Weiguo, halfway through reading, was already trembling with excitement.
This wasn't cooperation; it was poverty alleviation!
He knew the state of Borun Pharmaceutical well.
After operating for so long, there was no technical content, the products were all low-end, and they caused significant pollution.
Shimen County was poor and backward, so they could only turn a blind eye.
In a developed region, such an enterprise would have been shut down long ago.