"You know the previous village head was involved in pig farming, right? I was actually quite interested in investing in this project and have already taken on some of it. I wonder if you, as the new village head, are willing to continue cooperating with me."
Upon hearing Ye Tiancheng's words, Liu Lanying looked at him with surprise, her large eyes blinking innocently, appearing very bright.
"No way, don't you know that the pig farming project was just a way for the previous village head to scam money? It was because this project ran into problems that most of the funds allocated by the higher-ups were embezzled by the village head. That's why the pigpens couldn't be built, and they are now facing demolition. This project has been completely killed, and not a single cent will be allocated by the higher-ups anymore."
What Liu Lanying said was the absolute truth. He had spent nearly an hour cleaning up this mess today, and the thought of the pigpens still made him a bit angry. After all, they would have to hire excavators to demolish the already built pigpens, which would be a considerable expense.
"How about this, regardless of whether the higher-ups allocate funds or not, I will invest and we can continue with this project. I believe pig farming can lead to wealth. Look at most people now, they rely on their land for income, but the harvests haven't been good in recent years. I think it's better if we acquire all the land and build pigpens. You know, if pork prices rise, we can recoup our investment in a single year. That's no joke."
Actually, Liu Lanying also felt that what Ye Tiancheng said made some sense. She nodded and shared her views with Ye Tiancheng. Nowadays, farmers who cultivate land really don't earn much money. They don't rely on farming for income anymore; most of them lease out their land and go to big cities to work. Their income comes from working, unlike before when farmers simply lived by their land. Therefore, the land is not that important to them.
"You're right, Village Head Liu. So, we can definitely lease the land. As long as we offer a little more money, I believe the farmers will be very supportive. After they rent their land to us, I will invest the funds to build a large number of pigpens for unified pig farming. All the farmers can be hired by us as workers to raise the pigs."
"Mr. Ye, although what you're saying sounds a bit fanciful, I think it might be feasible. Because the pigpens have already been partially built, and money has been spent, demolishing them now would be a complete waste of resources, and we would incur new expenses. It's better to continue with the existing structures. Regardless of whether the previous village head embezzled funds for building the pigpens, he's gone now, and we can utilize these pigpens to continue raising pigs."
Liu Lanying spoke so eloquently that Ye Tiancheng was stunned. He felt fortunate to cooperate with such a college-educated village official. He thought he should discuss more matters with young people. The previous village head was incompetent and only thought about money all day. But this new female village head was completely different, showing great responsibility and thinking about how to make Dashan Village prosperous, rather than letting everyone remain poor due to its remote location.
As villagers moved to big cities, the population would gradually decline, and eventually, all these villages would disappear. It was a rather bleak prospect to think about.
"Alright, Village Head Liu, then it's settled. However, this is just a discussion between the two of us based on the current situation. We don't know if the farmers will agree to our proposal, so we still need to visit them. I'll need you to accompany me then. After all, you are the village head, and your words carry more weight than mine. To them, I might just be a capitalist looking to exploit them, and my words might not be persuasive."
Upon hearing Ye Tiancheng's request, Liu Lanying smiled and agreed, promising Ye Tiancheng that she would indeed prioritize the pig farming matter. Although pork prices had been low in the past two years, it was like investing in funds; prices were bound to rise after a period. Therefore, Liu Lanying also considered it a very good business opportunity.
The next day, Liu Lanying took Ye Tiancheng to visit various villagers. Liu Lanying was very eloquent, and she managed to appease every villager, making them extremely happy. As they left, they even brought various gifts for Liu Lanying.
The main reason was that the welfare of the village had improved. The previous village head had found ways to withhold money from the villagers. Now, all the subsidies from the higher-ups were reaching the villagers. Although it was only a few hundred yuan, everyone received a share. This few hundred yuan could serve as a month's worth of food. Naturally, the farmers were very grateful to Liu Lanying. If it weren't for Liu Lanying's appearance, they might still be under the rule of the stingy previous village head, akin to a miser, unable to even afford meals, and would eventually leave Dashan Village, where they had grown up.
After visiting nearly half of the households, no one objected to leasing their farmland to Ye Tiancheng for pig farming.
As they came out of the meeting, Ye Tiancheng couldn't help but exclaim, "Village Head Liu, your mind is truly remarkable. You truly live up to being a university graduate. You've managed to appease those farmers so wonderfully. I thought you were young and would speak so smoothly, but seeing your demeanor just now, you are truly a very seasoned veteran. If you were my roommate, I'd probably be out of a meal. You are simply too amazing."
Ye Tiancheng's praise was not just for show. Liu Lanying indeed had her strengths and was very approachable. No matter who she met, people felt that this girl was capable and not a bad person. She spoke in a well-organized manner. Such talent was truly rare.
Soon, all the villagers were persuaded. Then came the funding. Ye Tiancheng transferred the company's funds to lease the land and convert all the farmland into pigpens.
It could be said that no village dared to undertake such a large-scale pig farming operation, because any problem could lead to devastating losses. The farmers could not bear such economic pressure. Only entrepreneurs like Ye Tiancheng could afford to build so many pigpens.
A week passed in the blink of an eye. Ye Tiancheng spent a large sum of money hiring workers, and the pigpens were all completed. There were over a hundred pigpens, capable of housing nearly six thousand pigs. This was a scale that would inspire awe.
Ye Tiancheng was quite worried. He still had company matters to attend to, so he entrusted everything to Liu Lanying. Ye Tiancheng would occasionally go to check on Liu Lanying, both to supervise and to offer suggestions. After all, they were partners, and any communication breakdown could lead to significant difficulties.
However, when he arrived outside the village head's office, he found that Liu Lanying was not there. He peered through the window for a long time but couldn't see the person he wanted to meet.
He then went to the pigpen construction site to find Liu Lanying. To his surprise, he discovered many colorful flags, beautiful balloons, and even some promotional banners.
"What's going on?"
"This is a promotional event organized by our village head. Since Dashan Village is going to become a pig farming hub, everyone needs to know about it. We can't do it quietly. The more people know, the more people will come here to buy pigs, and some will come to sell piglets. As long as this information circulates, we can buy the best products at the lowest prices."
Liu Lanying was truly exceptional. Ye Tiancheng felt that choosing her as the village head was the best decision he had made in his life. The innovation of this university student was truly astonishing. Even building a pigpen was organized like a student union activity, but it was effective. Many media outlets and people from the industry came. After all, such a large-scale pigpen operation was a source of curiosity. The media eagerly sought interviews, wanting to hear the thoughts of this young village official, a girl barely in her early twenties, who dared to take such action.
The media interviews were in full swing, while Ye Tiancheng wandered around. The true boss preferred to remain low-key and didn't want to interact much with the media, as they often wrote sensationalized and baseless news. Ye Tiancheng preferred to stay silent. With Liu Lanying as the spokesperson for pig farming, Ye Tiancheng was happy to have some leisure time, just strolling around the site.
"Well, it's quite a coincidence that I ran into you here. Do you remember me? I remember you were fired by the Hou family's company. How did you end up here raising pigs?"
Ye Tiancheng turned around and saw a man in a suit speaking in a sarcastic and mocking tone. How familiar it felt.
Ye Tiancheng thought hard, his head starting to ache. He narrowed his eyes and then suddenly opened them.
"I remember now. You seem to be a former colleague from the Hou family company."
"Yes, that's me. It's okay if you don't remember my name. It's quite a coincidence that we meet again. I used to be your subordinate, and I never expected you to fall so low, coming here to raise pigs."
This person seemed to have ill intentions, and Ye Tiancheng didn't bother to give him face, simply snorting coldly, "Oh."
"Why aren't you more enthusiastic towards your old colleague? I'm here to look at the project, but what about you? Are you planning to work here raising pigs? It does suit your demeanor, though. Actually, I always felt you didn't deserve the Hou family's eldest daughter. You seem to exude a rustic aura from your pores, as if you were born a farmer and are perfectly suited for raising pigs. If you were still a financial director like before, we'd think you got the position through connections. Someone like you doesn't deserve it either."
The man rattled off a string of insults. Ye Tiancheng really wanted to call security to have him pinned to the ground and beaten severely, or to take action himself and punch that detestable face repeatedly. However, Ye Tiancheng maintained a smile on his face.
"Oh, if that's what you think, then I have nothing more to say."
"Don't pretend here. I know you're unhappy seeing me. I'm an investor now, while you're probably just a hired hand. What's the use of your unhappiness? This is your destiny; you're born to suffer, while I'm born to work in an office my whole life. Is it because you lost your job and couldn't find work that you came here to raise pigs?"