The Happy Farmer Wanderer-Chapter 249 The Strong-Willed Woman_1

Qin Wenjun’s eyes were bulging as she stared at Li Qing for a moment, then suddenly said, "Why are you so annoying?"

Wow!

Li Qing was completely stunned.

How could she have the nerve to say that?

"Village Chief Qin, shouldn’t you look at yourself first? I’m neither a village official nor your man, and certainly not a criminal, so why should I be looked down upon and then interrogated by you? That I can speak to you in this tone now is already quite generous," Li Qing said coldly.

With such a brain...

Li Qing really doubted whether she had been completely oblivious to the outside world before, focusing solely on reading the sage’s books.

Qin Wenjun was taken aback, her lips pressed tightly together, and tears welled up in her eyes.

Li Qing was completely baffled.

What’s this about?

Crying when you can’t win the argument, huh?

Just as Li Qing was somewhat at a loss, Qin Wenjun suddenly wiped away the tears that had not yet fallen and said earnestly to Li Qing, "If there was anything wrong with my attitude before, I apologize to you!"

"Alright, alright, cut the act and get to the point, I still need to go back for dinner," Li Qing said.

Nothing annoyed him more than a woman in tears.

Village Chief Qin said gravely, "I want us all to put our heads together and come up with an economic project. It will be run by the village collective, the profits belonging to the collective, and then use that money to help those poor families."

Li Qing nodded, this time choosing not to undermine Qin Wenjun, but instead spoke seriously, "Firstly, your idea is certainly more reliable than creating gender opposition, but it’s not without its problems."

"Whatever economic project you choose, it will certainly not please everyone. As for what our village can do right now, there’s breeding, medicinal herb cultivation, greenhouse farming, and then there’s the Wenguan Tree business I’m running."

"Moreover, who manages the business is also an issue. First, it’s got to be someone who knows the business, and secondly, that person needs to be reliable."

"These issues, to be honest, are the minor ones. In my view, the most important thing is that every villager thinks they’re the poorest. Why should they work hard when in the end the money goes to others and not to their own families?"

"Unless it’s those really impoverished, ignored by everyone, those who can’t even afford to lift the lid of the pot, they won’t make comparisons. Otherwise, you can never balance this bowl of water evenly, there will surely be people causing trouble."

Qin Wenjun immediately took notes in her notebook and said, "What you said today is much more useful than last time."

Li Qing rolled his eyes, "I’ve been to school too, you know. Those things you asked me the other day seemed to me just fluff!"

"Asking me about the whole village’s planting situation, income situation, where on earth would I know that?"

Qin Wenjun touched her fair cheek somewhat embarrassedly and consciously avoided this embarrassing topic, then asked, "Since you’ve pointed out so many problems, do you have any suggestions?"

Now that the conversation had come to this point, Li Qing had to say, "Two suggestions: first, hold a meeting and take your time to grind it out with the villagers. Find a fairly good project, choose a reasonably competent person to manage it, make the accounts public, and let the villagers know clearly where every penny is going."

"Secondly, find an existing one, with the village committee putting up some of the money to expand the business, and then allocate a portion of the profits for your poverty relief fund."

"My capabilities are limited, and that’s about all I can think of for now. For the rest, you’ll have to figure it out on your own. If you’re going to have a meeting tomorrow... I can come and call people for you."

He felt an odd sense of having been made a fool of.

In the end, he still ended up helping this woman.

But there was no helping it, who asked him to be soft-hearted, unable to bear seeing a woman cry.

Qin Wenjun stood up, her expression very solemn as she shook Li Qing’s hand, "Thank you!"

This pair of hands was clearly not used to any dirty work, delicately soft like a piece of high-quality silk.

Li Qing was caught off guard by the sudden attack, feeling a jolt at the core of his heart.

"If you can speak nicely, then from now on... talk more, villagers prefer a soft approach to a tough one, I doubt many of them like it when you talk with a stern face giving orders," said Li Qing. "Also, you can smile more."

Qin Wenjun actually did smile, it was like a fleeting blossom that vanished in an instant.

"I will," she said lightly with a nod.

Li Qing couldn’t help but brighten up at the sight; the woman actually had dimples, and her smile was quite sweet.

"Will, I won’t anymore," Qin Wenjun quickly reverted to a serious expression and told Li Qing, "The town has allocated thirty thousand yuan in funds, and I want to invest it all in you."

"Me?" Li Qing was taken aback for a moment, then instantly understood Qin Wenjun’s intention, "Look, Village Chief, can you not fleece a sheep to death? I don’t want my business to be entangled with the village in any way."

Qin Wenjun said, "It’s exactly those things you just mentioned, you only need to share a portion of the income. And only the village committee will review your accounts; it won’t be made public, you can be assured of that."

"That’s not what I mean. My business is different from others; I am basically a wholesaler! You are giving me thirty thousand yuan, but in return want a significant slice of my profit, isn’t this... blatant robbery?" Li Qing said irritably.

It had to be some kind of bad joke.

Thirty thousand yuan in exchange for a significant share in his income, with his current monthly revenue,

even a tenth would be nearly twenty thousand yuan, how was that any different from giving it away for free?

Moreover, he didn’t currently lack thirty thousand yuan for turnover.

Qin Wenjun was startled and quickly apologized, "I’m sorry, I didn’t think that thoroughly. Do you mean to say that your business cannot cooperate with the village?"

Her attitude this time was surprisingly good.

Not at all stubborn, with an apologizing speed like lightning!

After thinking for a moment, an idea suddenly emerged in Li Qing’s mind, "It’s not entirely impossible to cooperate, but definitely not with what I’m doing now. We can consider a different approach."

"The village has large tracts of wasteland. The village could contract those to me; I’ll cultivate medicinal herbs on the cleared land. From the earnings, I can give thirty percent to the village."

"You want to plant herbs? Aren’t Wenguan Trees suitable?" Qin Wenjun asked in surprise.

Li Qing shook his head, "It takes ten years to nurture trees, and a hundred to nurture people; it’s hard to see a short-term profit."

"The market for medicinal herbs has been very stable in recent years. Herbs like Codonopsis and Astragalus, some villagers are already growing them."

Li Qing wasn’t making this up; on his recent business trips, he had heard quite a bit about medicinal herbs.

After hearing this, Qin Wenjun thought for a long time before nodding, "I see, it’s not hard to contract the wasteland to you. What I’m worried about now is whether this venture can make money."

Li Qing couldn’t help but laugh, "There’s no business that’s a sure bet for making money. The villagers could work the fields for a year and still face losses, not to mention other endeavors. If you are not willing, you can find someone else; that would save me the hassle."

"No, let’s do it this way," Qin Wenjun immediately said, "I’ll go back and take stock of the village’s wasteland, and those suitable for growing medicinal herbs can be contracted to you, free of charge for the first three years."

It seemed she really was planning to fleece the sheep she had caught.

However, Li Qing still felt quite relieved by her words, at least knowing she had waived the cost of contracting the land.

Li Qing stopped Qin Wenjun and said, "Let’s talk about this in detail later; we can tentatively set it up like this for now. Think it over carefully after you go back, and don’t blame me if we don’t make a profit in the end."

"I trust you, you explained it very thoroughly and thoughtfully," Qin Wenjun happily said, "But I will consider it well. Your words today were very effective, so I’ll leave now. I’ll treat you to a meal when I have time."

She smiled again.

When this woman smiled, she wasn’t just less annoying; she was actually quite charming.