Rural Farming: My Buildings Can Be Upgraded

Chapter 39: Chapter 38: Lending Becomes Gifting

The adorably clueless Zhao Shiyun would instantly become sharp as a tack whenever food was involved.

For instance, when she learned that Hu Xia’s dad told Lin Feng not to borrow from a bank, she immediately figured out why.

So, after they left, she picked up her phone and called her grandfather. "Grandpa, Grandpa! Lin Feng needs to borrow money to develop Lin Xian Village, and he wants to get a loan from the bank.

Hu Xia’s father just found out and told him not to borrow from the bank. Is he planning to lend Lin Feng the money himself so he can have all the Jade Grapes?"

"Good girl! Your timing couldn’t be better. Someone was asking about the Jade Grapes in the county today. It was a pharmaceutical company.

I’ll have your mom send someone over in a bit. We can’t let these Jade Grapes slip away."

Having experienced the benefits of the Jade Grapes firsthand, there was no way Zhao Jianshe would let such a treasure slip through his fingers.

He had even been involved in suppressing news about the Jade Grapes, which was why it had gone so smoothly.

The whole point was to buy time to find a way to keep the Jade Grapes for themselves, and now, a solution had presented itself.

Upon getting the news, Zhao Shiyun’s mother, Wang Yuwan, didn’t bother sending anyone. She came rushing over herself, secretary in tow.

She had managed to coax half of her daughter’s share of Jade Grapes from her, and the cosmetic effects were simply incredible.

Unfortunately, she’d heard the supply was too limited and that many old-timers were vying for them, so she hadn’t felt it was right to make a move.

But now that they were being delivered right to her doorstep, she couldn’t be blamed for seizing the opportunity.

Meanwhile, after contacting his people, Hu Yousheng also sent someone over. With matters like this, it was best to act sooner rather than later; delays could lead to complications.

Unexpectedly, someone had arrived before his men—and it was Zhao Shiyun’s mother.

It was Lin Feng’s first time meeting Zhao Shiyun’s mother. The two looked very much alike, but her almond-shaped eyes were fixed on him, creating an intense pressure.

"Mom, what are you doing here?"

Wang Yuwan reached out, pulled her daughter aside, and said, "I told you to come work at the company, but you refused, insisting on coming all the way out here to work."

After speaking, she shot Lin Feng a glare, clearly blaming him for luring her daughter to work here.

Lin Feng felt wrongly accused. Zhao Shiyun had come to work here mainly on Hu Xia’s recommendation; it had nothing to do with him.

"Mom, I’m really happy here. There’s no backstabbing or office politics."

"As long as you’re happy." She turned to Lin Feng. "I hear you’re looking for a loan. How much do you need?"

"Hello, Auntie. I was just hoping to borrow 10 million to develop my little village."

Wang Yuwan frowned. "Ten million is too little. Let’s make it 20 million. I don’t need any interest, either. You can just repay the 20 million loan with Jade Grapes."

"Huh? No interest? I couldn’t possibly..."

Lin Feng didn’t mind repaying with Jade Grapes, though. After all, he had to sell them to someone.

Even though he now knew about the grapes’ benefits, he hadn’t considered jacking up the price. Some money was just too hot to handle.

"There’s nothing wrong with it. To be honest, I’m the one getting the better end of the deal."

As a company president, Wang Yuwan didn’t think for a second that Lin Feng was an idiot. The fact that he was maintaining the original price proved he had a very clear head on his shoulders.

"President Wang, President Wang, you can’t just take the whole lot! We won’t be able to answer to our boss when we get back."

The man Hu Yousheng had sent over, realizing he’d be left with nothing if he didn’t speak up, decided he had to intervene.

Wang Yuwan asked with a grin, "And how much did your President Hu authorize you to lend?"

"Five million. Our President Hu said we shouldn’t hog it all for ourselves. We have to leave some for others."

Just then, Hu Xia and Hu Zhiming also rushed over. Hu Xia shot a glare at Zhao Shiyun, feeling like this best friend was no longer worth keeping.

’She’s sharper than anyone when it suits her, actually thinking to notify her family.’

Steeling herself, Hu Xia said, "Aunt Wang, my dad just called me. You have to leave a little for everyone else."

Zhao Shiyun’s mother had too powerful an aura; Hu Xia hated dealing with elders who were both smart and influential.

"Fine," Wang Yuwan said. "I’ll take a 10 million share. You all can figure out how to split the rest."

Seeing Wang Yuwan’s expression turn serious, the manager who had come over had no choice but to call his boss.

Hu Yousheng never expected such a formidable competitor to jump out of the woodwork—and an upgraded version, at that.

"Agree to her allocation plan. Get the contract signed there before you come back."

"Yes, Boss."

Lin Feng, who had been clueless about the whole situation, ended up drafting a rather strange loan agreement with the help and negotiation of the two parties.

Zhao Shiyun’s mother would lend 10 million, and the Hu Family would lend another 10 million. The original 10-million-yuan loan had suddenly become 20 million.

However, the loan was interest-free. The only condition was that it had to be repaid with Jade Grapes, and until the loan was paid off, Lin Feng could not sell the grapes to anyone else.

Sensing their urgency, he grew a little suspicious. ’Have the Jade Grapes attracted the attention of an even bigger power?’ he wondered.

In any case, the money was his now, so it didn’t matter who was interested. This contract could even save him a lot of trouble down the line.

If anyone tried to force him to sell them the grapes, he could just use the contract to turn them away.

Each repayment would be 2,000 bunches of grapes. Without expanding the cultivation, it would take 12 harvests to repay the loan. Since the next batch of grapes was already spoken for, that meant 13 harvests were now accounted for.

No one knew that his Jade Grapes could be harvested four times a year, which meant it would only take a little over three years. It wasn’t actually that long.

The speed at which they operated exceeded Lin Feng’s expectations. As soon as the contract was officially finalized, the money was transferred to his company’s account.

The bank handling the transfer initially only knew it was a loan and was confused about the details.

But that evening, when the news got out, the bank president learned that someone who had been planning to get a loan from them had the deal snatched away. He was so mad he almost cried.

The truth about the Jade Grapes wasn’t really a secret within the influential circles of Wuyuan County.

The changes in some of the elderly people who had eaten the grapes were impossible to hide; it wasn’t like they could just stay indoors forever.

These people had formed a sort of tacit agreement to block the spread of any news about the Jade Grapes. They wanted to keep the good stuff within Wuyuan County, where they could then compete for it on their own terms.

With this new development, they were basically out of the game. Those with connections might still be able to get a small share from the new stakeholders, but that was it.

It wasn’t until the next day, when Lin Feng got the test data on the Jade Grapes from He Limin, that he seemed to understand why they had been in such a hurry to sign the contract.

In fact, after noticing the changes in his parents and sister, he had been wondering why all the buzz about the Jade Grapes had suddenly died down.

Now that he had the data, everything made sense.

’It doesn’t seem to have anything to do with me, though.’

Lin Feng thought to himself. He wasn’t planning to raise the price, and he was letting people study the grapevines, so no one should come looking for trouble with him.

He didn’t dwell on the matter any longer. Instead, he took the money he’d received and began ordering a large number of prefabricated houses.

At the same time, he started planning for livestock farming and fruit tree cultivation, as well as the other buildings the village lacked, intending to get it all done in one go.

Xue Hongzhi of Shanchuan Pharmaceutical never imagined that a single night’s delay could lead to such a drastic change.

Looking at the Jade Grape data in his hand and hearing about what had happened in Wuyuan County today, he was in a foul mood.

However, for the sake of his own promotion, he still sent the Jade Grape data back to headquarters.

A product like this was much easier to work with than developing new drugs, and it would be a breeze to market.

Before long, his phone rang. Seeing it was a call from the big boss himself, Xue Hongzhi was thrilled.

"Manager Xue, are you certain the data you sent back is authentic?"

"President Wang, I obtained the data from He Limin. Besides, something happened in Wuyuan County last night. Someone provided the owner of the Jade Grapes with an interest-free loan of twenty million, requiring only that he repay it with the grapes."

"You go to that village first and get a clear picture of the situation. Find out everything you can. The company will send people to handle this matter."

"Understood, President Wang. I guarantee I’ll complete the mission."

After hanging up, Xue Hongzhi straightened his clothes and hurried toward Lin Xian Village.

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