Potatoes only cost a few cents a pound?
If the chrysanthemums she grows really sell for forty yuan a pound, the money from selling the flowers alone would be enough for her to buy a whole house full of potatoes, okay?
Besides, now that she's made money, why would she feed her daughters potatoes? Isn't white rice more appealing?
As a mother, if you have a little extra money, who wouldn't want to give their child a good meal?
"So, are these chrysanthemum seedlings expensive? Xiaoman, you know my family's situation. We're preparing to build a house, and after that, we're afraid we won't have much money left..." Lang Ying pursed her lips with difficulty, struggling to think about whether she should ask Jiang Xiaoman for a loan to buy seedlings.
If these chrysanthemums can really make money, according to Jiang Xiaoman, as long as you spend money to buy seedlings in the first year, you can grow seedlings yourself afterwards. Doesn't that mean that in the future she will not only not need to buy seedlings herself, but she can even grow seedlings herself and sell them to others?
That means you can earn money from two harvests on that one acre!
"Don't rush to buy the seedlings. If you're willing to plant with me, I'll include your land in the price list. We can then ask other people if they want to plant together."
“I checked online, and in recent years our county has had support policies for rural youth returning to their hometowns to start businesses, especially in the area of specialty agricultural product cultivation. I heard that you can apply for project subsidies.”
“My land isn’t enough. If I add yours and ask around, I’ll have to gather several dozen acres of land from other families. Otherwise, the project is too small, and people probably won’t even look at it.”
Jiang Xiaoman only learned about the many support policies the country has for rural youth entrepreneurship when she watched a program about new farmers starting businesses and getting rich!
Especially in remote mountainous areas like Langshan, which have just escaped poverty, I heard that in addition to financial subsidies, if the project is suitable, they will also provide free technical support and low-interest loans.
After leaving Lang Ying's house, he went to find Jiang Yu, but what he wanted to tell Jiang Yu was something he needed to seriously consider—
"Brother Xiaoyu, you guys will definitely be living down the mountain permanently from now on. Have you considered renting some land down there to do some business?"
"Huh? What are you going to do with this mountain land? Grow potatoes? They're not expensive, it's so convenient for us to just buy them." Jiang Yu didn't really like farming, especially growing potatoes. Digging potatoes was so tiring, it almost broke his back!
“But you can’t film fishing every day, can you? If it goes on for too long, your fans will get tired of it and you’ll lose followers,” Jiang Xiaoman reminded him. “I’m planning to put together a project in the village and apply for subsidies. If this goes well, it might not cost much, but it can create a lot of jobs in our village, and we can earn some money too.”
"What project? Tell me about it first!" Jiang Yu finally showed some interest when it came to making videos.
Jiang Xiaoman's project plan mainly consists of three steps:
The first step didn't actually require investment from other participants; it was mainly funded by his own family. He planned to use the hillside area around his Uncle Baichuan's old house as a "first-phase demonstration site" to plant chrysanthemum seedlings.
The second step, which is what he is currently doing, is to persuade families in the village who have mountain land and are ambitious enough to start a business to work with him. However, in Jiang Xiaoman's plan, they will not be required to contribute money or land at the beginning. Instead, their mountain land will be included in the "second batch" and "third batch" of entrepreneurial support recipients.
In this way, if the project is not approved, these people will suffer no loss and there will be no entrepreneurial risk.
If the first batch is approved, Jiang Xiaoman can use the government subsidies to support the next few batches of people to plant the chrysanthemum seedlings.
Growing chrysanthemums mainly involves some initial expenses such as purchasing seedlings and pest control. Chrysanthemum seedlings are prone to pests, so strict pest control is necessary during the mid-stage management to prevent the need for pesticides later when they bloom. Aside from these two expenses, other costs such as fertilizer are completely unnecessary!
Moreover, there is another advantage to planting chrysanthemums: you only need to buy seedlings in the first year. As long as you take good care of them after flowering, their rootstocks will sprout on their own in the second year and produce more new branches.
At that time, they will not only not need to buy seedlings, but they may also be able to sell seedlings to others, which would be another source of income.
As for the third step, that naturally involves tea production and sales. This is actually the most profitable part, and Jiang Xiaoman plans to involve Shan Yan and the others in it.
Firstly, because they had a good relationship. Secondly, the more profitable a business is, the greater the risk. With Jiang Xiaoman's small frame, if someone tried to steal his business, how could he possibly compete?
But Shan Yan is different. In the Langshan area, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call him a "local bigwig." Moreover, according to Jiang Xiaoman's secret observations, although this guy usually doesn't make a sound, he actually has a wide network of connections. He knows many bosses from their county to the city!
Although knowing each other doesn't necessarily mean having a very close relationship, for people from the mountains, this relationship alone is enough to deter some people from having any ulterior motives.
Most importantly—
"Brother Xiaoyu, I've heard that many scumbags like to buy houses before marriage, considering them premarital property. If the three sisters, Shancha and her sister, get married and their husbands are unhappy, they might tell them to get out of their homes. You and Brother Yan are too old to help them then, so what will happen to the three girls?"
Jiang Yu followed Jiang Xiaoman's train of thought and imagined the rest, silently clenching her fist.
Chapter 142
That evening, Shan Yan returned and listened to Jiang Yu's account. He then searched on his phone and, after only half an hour of consideration, decided to join Jiang Xiaoman's entrepreneurial army!
However, he thought further ahead than Jiang Xiaoman—
“Little Fish, nothing else can be grown in our old mountain valley. In my opinion, if we switch to growing chrysanthemums, we might actually be able to get Ah Hu and the others to make a lot of money with us!”
"Oh right! How come I didn't think of that?"
Jiang Yu did a somersault and sat up from the embrace of the mountain rock.
"The potatoes, soybeans, corn and the like that we used to grow were all grains, and the wild boars in the mountains loved to eat them. This chrysanthemum is a flower! I've never seen wild boars in the mountains eat wildflowers before."
"Yes, when you mentioned planting flowers, I remembered the clump of dendrobium we dug up and planted before. Wild boars stole so many of our sweet potatoes, but the dendrobium that grew by the wall was never disturbed by them."
"Chrysanthemums are worth much more than sweet potatoes!" Jiang Yu became happier and happier, wishing she could call Jiang Xiaoman right now and tell him not to go looking for anyone else tomorrow.
If they can really do this, there are several hundred acres of mountain land in their old mountain valley alone that they can cultivate.
What size projects will be ineligible for application at that time?
What can you do with these few dozen acres of land in the village?
"Xiaoman should still be awake at this hour. Why don't you give him a call?" I didn't expect Shanyan to take this matter so seriously. Normally, how could he possibly be calling someone at 10 p.m.?
When I called, Jiang Xiaoman, that night owl, was indeed still awake.
Hearing Jiang Yu say on the phone that Shan Yan had agreed to help him persuade the people in Laoshan Aozi to plant chrysanthemums together, he realized that if this could be done, there were several hundred acres of mountain land in Laoshan Aozi.
"Great! Is there anything I need to do?" Hearing this good news, Jiang Xiaoman was completely wide awake.
Shan Yan took Jiang Yu's phone.
“Xiaoyu didn’t explain clearly just now. Tell me your project plan again in detail. I’m going back to the mountains in the next couple of days to call them all together and ask them.”
“I’ll go and get a feel for things first, and also ask them to go home and discuss it with their families.”
"Didn't you tell Xiaoyu that you wanted to go into the mountains with us to pick wild vegetables in a few days? If they're willing to plant chrysanthemums with you, we can also go and see if their land is suitable for planting your chrysanthemums." Shanyan briefly explained his plan to Jiang Xiaoman.
In matters involving money and interests, it's best to have a third party act as a go-between, especially between acquaintances. Otherwise, if things don't go through, it could leave a lingering resentment on both sides, which would be undesirable.
Jiang Xiaoman nodded repeatedly and briefly explained to Shan Yan what she knew about chrysanthemum cultivation and the policies in their county that support local youth to return to their hometowns to start businesses.
"There's such a good policy? We must seize this opportunity no matter what!" After hearing Jiang Xiaoman's explanation, Shan Yan couldn't help but sit up. "Well then, there's no time to lose. I'll go into the mountains tomorrow. Wait for my news."
Opportunities to make money are fleeting and cannot be waited for even a moment.
This is Shan Yan's most profound experience from dealing with the wealthy people in the city over the years.
If it's like this in the city, then it's even more so in the mountains.
It's so hard for people in the mountains to earn a living!
Now there's finally a glimmer of hope. Even though Jiang Xiaoman kept saying on the phone that the project application might not be approved, Shan Yan decided that even if they didn't get the funding subsidies from above, as long as this project could really help the villagers in Laoshan Aozi make money, they wouldn't need the subsidies and they would still get it done!
After hanging up the phone, Jiang Xiaoman jumped for joy, wishing she could run out right now and set off a string of firecrackers!
Considering that her father had already gone to bed, Jiang Xiaoman had no choice but to regretfully give up the celebration plan.
However, even with Shan Yan's support, Jiang Xiaoman decided not to actively seek out investment opportunities. But if any villagers were willing to join them in planting chrysanthemums, he would not refuse, provided the conditions allowed.
However, we can consider these issues later.
The most important thing right now is, of course, to help his father grow the vegetable seedlings that he wants to plant in the spring.
Jiang Xiaoman can command the winds and rains outside, and whatever he wants others to plant, they have to plant.
But when he gets home, doesn't he still have to listen to his father's arrangements?
The people in the mountains eat vegetables that they grow themselves all year round. If someone has a vegetable garden and still buys vegetables from outside, they will definitely be criticized by their relatives and neighbors!
So, with the arrival of spring, seedlings of all kinds of vegetables and fruits, such as peppers, eggplants, tomatoes, winter melons, pumpkins, and gourds, need to be cultivated.
We also need to dig out and process the potato seeds we saved from last year. Once we start plowing in a few days, we'll have to plant the potatoes we'll eat this summer.
This year, in addition to their own vegetable garden, his family will also help plant vegetables in the vegetable garden near the guesthouse.
Tang Xinlan had already spoken to him and said that the renovation team would come over after the New Year. The renovation of the entire guesthouse would take about three months. During this period, the workers would have to eat and live here. There would be tents for accommodation, but they would have to find their own food.
What can you do if you're living in the mountains? If there are no vegetables to eat, you just have to grow your own!
Moreover, according to Tang Xinlan's plan, the guesthouse should start trial operations before October next year. In other words, they need to start planting the vegetable garden that is part of the guesthouse before the trial operation.
Growing vegetables isn't like building a house, where you can simply issue an order and, with enough money, speed things up. Vegetable cultivation is all about timing; once the season is over, even if you were a legendary figure reborn, without greenhouses, you're helpless…
Tang Xinlan's guesthouse focuses on the theme of "Zen meditation," so it's impossible for her to have a modern vegetable greenhouse at the entrance.
Therefore, Jiang Xiaoman needs to cultivate more vegetable seedlings this year so that she can help plant them in the vegetable garden near the guesthouse.
In particular, some autumn-ripening fruits and vegetables, such as pumpkins, winter melons, watermelons, and gourds, should be provided so that guests can feel the agricultural scenery of Langshan as soon as they open their windows after checking in.
Garden soil cannot be used directly for seedling cultivation. It must be raked into a fine texture and then mixed with fermented pig manure, wood ash, and the like before it can be used.
Villagers are used to laying seedbeds directly, but ever since Jiang Xiaoman bought seedling trays online one year, Jiang Youliang has really enjoyed them.
Although seedling trays are expensive, they can be reused after being washed!
Most importantly, using seedling trays allows you to carry the seedlings to the field, pulling out only the ones you need without any waste, and also reduces seedling loss—after all, seeds are really too expensive!
Moreover, since acquiring these seedling trays, Jiang Youliang has had an extra source of income every spring, which comes from selling various vegetable seedlings.
The seedlings that others dig out of their seedbeds are basically ruined if they aren't sold on the same day. But his seedling trays look beautiful and vibrant when he takes them to the market. Even if he doesn't sell them all on the same day, they won't die when he brings them back, and he can sell them for a few more days.
However, there are very few times when they can't sell out. After all, the locals sell seedlings in a very traditional way. They dig up the seedlings, wrap the roots in a layer of mud, and put them directly in a basket to sell. They don't look as good as the seedlings in the seedling trays, and they don't look as fresh as the ones from his shop.
So even selling seedlings doesn't make a lot of money, but ever since his son bought the seedling trays, Jiang Youliang has used up all the seeds he bought every year!
Honestly, seedling trays are really useful, but they wear out my son a bit...
Jiang Xiaoman spent half a day squatting on the ground helping her father plant seeds, and she felt dizzy and her back was almost too sore to straighten up.
Then look at his father, he's perfectly fine!
You have to admit it!
That evening, Jiang Yu saw a video of him and Jiang Youliang growing seedlings together that morning. Overjoyed, she immediately sent him a WeChat message, asking him to save some fruit and vegetable seedlings for her.
“Keep a little of everything, okay? I hate raising seedlings the most. I don’t know why, but when I scatter a handful of seeds, only a few grow.” Jiang Yu’s tone was full of resentment.
It felt as if I had encountered some unscrupulous seed factory.
"Pfft~" Jiang Xiaoman almost died laughing at his unreliability.
You didn't even till the land or prepare the soil, you just scattered the seeds directly on the ground. Even a god couldn't make them grow! They'll probably all be eaten by your chickens.
After the seedlings were planted, before the tea season arrived, Jiang Xiaoman quickly asked his father for help. He found a few men in the village who could hoe the land, went to the market to buy new farm tools and two hand-held plowshares, and Jiang Youliang borrowed two cows from a familiar family. The group, carrying their luggage and dry food, went directly to Jiang Baichuan's old house to stay.
The mountain land here is several times the size of his family's. Based on Jiang Youliang's experience, it would take at least a week to dig it all up, plow it again, burn two kilns of charcoal, and spread some wood ash on the ground. Once the chrysanthemum seedlings that Jiang Xiaoman ordered arrive, they can be planted directly on raised beds.
"Don't throw away the grass you cut. We've just run out of charcoal, haven't we? I see we still have a lot of hardwood here. Let's cut some to make two kilns of charcoal and burn the grass at the same time. The ash from the grass and wood can be used to fertilize the fields."