Chapter 127: The Villagers Make Money
To the village head, these words naturally sounded sarcastic, and he felt a bit embarrassed.
Naturally, no one had ever thought about this question before. They were only here for the money. This sudden mockery of the whole village left all the on - looking villagers, except the village head who understood the meaning, looking blank.
What was this man's purpose for coming to this village?
The on - looking men, women, the old and the young suddenly became curious.
"Xiao Wang, if you want to leave, we won't try to stop you," the village head said with a dark face and a stiff tone.
Huo Cheng smiled. He walked to the door and looked at the lush greenery outside. This small mountain village did have some resources that could be utilized.
"Because of the tea leaves," Huo Cheng said, ignoring the village head's anger.
Seeing that the people present were even more confused, he showed the shrewdness unique to a businessman. "As you all know, I'm a businessman. Naturally, in my eyes, everything can be divided into things that make money and things that don't." He paused, piquing everyone's curiosity, "So, the tea leaves..."
There wasn't much else in this small mountain village, but there were plenty of natural sceneries. The wild tea on the mountains grew in waves. The villagers didn't pay much attention to it. Every season, it covered the mountains.
"Can tea leaves make money?" someone whispered doubtfully.
In the eyes of the villagers, these green leaves were almost no different from other green grass and trees. Occasionally, a few people in the village would pick some back to make tea, but most of them would just wither and finally turn into soil.
"Tea leaves are much more valuable than grain, and it's definitely feasible to get rich from tea leaves," Huo Cheng said calmly.
But his words shocked others.
"Who would buy so many tea leaves?" asked one of the on - lookers who had participated in the woman - buying incident before. He looked honest and simple.
"Pack and sell them. Do you still worry about a businessman losing money?" Huo Cheng's tone suddenly became much colder, in sharp contrast to the enthusiasm around him.
Someone at the scene was tempted.
"So how should we do it?"
The village head's face was still dark and purple, looking extremely unfriendly, but Huo Cheng didn't care.
"If I understand correctly, the tea leaves on the mountains belong to everyone," Huo Cheng said, looking around and knowing his guess was right. He continued, "Well, each family just needs to pick the tea leaves and hand them over to me. I'll find buyers and sales channels for you."
"But," Huo Cheng changed the subject, "I'll take 20% of the profit."
Now, no matter how high a percentage he asked for, since something that was considered useless suddenly had value, people were tempted.
Moreover, this small mountain area was extremely poor. Huo Cheng was rich, and they could see that, which undoubtedly added more temptation.
The people present had different expressions.
Huo Cheng knew he couldn't make them make a decision right away.
He took a step forward, holding Gu Sisi's hand and was about to leave. He turned back at the door and said, "If you all reach a decision, let the village head tell me."
After walking a few steps, he seemed to remember something. "By the way, we still need a person in charge for these operations. I think the village head is the most suitable candidate!"
Without caring about the others, the two left the scene, and no one stopped them.
Gu Sisi patted her chest in fear. Her face was a bit pale. "Are we being monitored all the time?"
She now understood why Huo Cheng thought there were too many people and they couldn't leave. The people here were a bit taboo, and everyone knew exactly what they were afraid of.
Huo Cheng shook his head. "No. The people here are so closely connected that almost everyone knows what others are doing."
Gu Sisi bit her lips and said nothing, allowing him to lead her back to that "home".
"What if Mo Ting calls the police? Will it affect us?" Gu Sisi voiced her concern, and her palms were slightly sweaty.
It was quiet around them. The sounds of birds and insects in nature made it even quieter.
They hadn't left yet. If the police suddenly came to arrest people, Gu Sisi was very worried that they might be controlled by these people.
After all, this was their hometown. From the conversation she had heard, Gu Sisi knew that Huo Cheng hadn't been here for long, and they wouldn't consider him one of their own.
"Then it's their fate," Huo Cheng said.
"But what about us?" Gu Sisi looked up, frowning and looking worried.
Huo Cheng suddenly burst into laughter and tapped Gu Sisi on the forehead.
"You worry too much," Huo Cheng's smile gradually faded. "It's so poor here that no one cares."
Seeing Huo Cheng's expression, Gu Sisi knew she shouldn't ask more, and this matter was put aside.
Soon, they got a reply.
The once quiet and peaceful small village suddenly became noisy. Almost everyone rushed to the back mountain. The old and the young carried big baskets on their backs. Gu Sisi stood behind the house and could see clearly. A large group of people stayed on the back mountain from before dawn until almost dark, hardly stopping.
Gu Sisi opened her mouth wide, feeling confused.
"They're so hard - working!" she sighed to herself.
At this time, Huo Cheng walked to her side, with a faint smile on his lips. "Everyone hopes to get better. When there's a chance, they'll seize it. It seems that most people are no exception."
"Can they really make money?" It wasn't that Gu Sisi didn't believe what Huo Cheng said, but in this remote place, she found it hard to believe.
Huo Cheng flicked her on the head. "You're looking down on my ability."
Gu Sisi covered her head, grimacing in pain. "I didn't!"
Their bickering was seen by others.
A weak and delicate voice came.
"Brother Wang, this is the tea our family picked. It's all here."
The two turned around.
It was the little girl who had been delivering meals.
"Only this much?" Huo Cheng frowned. Although this basket was not small, considering it was the result of a whole family's labor for a whole day, it was a bit on the low side. If it was like this every day, the villagers wouldn't be able to make much money.
Was his estimate wrong?
"No," the girl lowered her head and explained in a small voice. "Our family went too late, so we could only find places with few tea trees. The other places were all occupied by others."
The girl's eyes were red.
Huo Cheng raised his eyebrows. "Okay, leave these tea leaves here first. When the village head comes to weigh them, I'll settle the payment with you."
"Okay," the girl's voice was so weak that it was almost inaudible.
Gradually, it got dark. The villagers carried baskets of tea leaves over. The village head weighed them, and then Huo Cheng gave all the money to the village head at once, and the village head distributed it on the spot.
Seeing that the verbal promise had been fulfilled, everyone was overjoyed. This was more money than they could earn in more than ten days, and it wasn't hard physical labor.
"Thank you, Brother Biao!" the people holding the money cheered.
Huo Cheng's expression was calm. "It's what you deserve. Get some rest early and continue tomorrow."
"Yes!" The joy brought by making money spread throughout the whole village. The lonely village was filled with laughter.
Everyone was about to leave.
"Xiaocui!" Huo Cheng called out to the little girl in the crowd.
The smile on her face froze, and she turned back in confusion.