Li Yi didn’t attend the village meeting because he had more important things to do!
After filling the water jar at home, Li Yi began taking stock of his funds.
After all, whether he was heading to the capital to make his fortune or handling village affairs, he would need a lot of money, and he needed to know exactly how much his family had.
Over the past few months, Li Yi had indeed made a good deal of money, but he had also spent a lot.
Just in the mushroom business alone, he had invested at least 80,000 yuan.
If it weren’t for Huang Lixing repaying his kindness by giving him over 50,000 yuan, his net worth might still be in the red.
Additionally, Li Yi had taken out a 40,000-yuan loan from the credit union a while back. Aside from using part of that money to buy mushrooms and covering medical expenses for Long Zhanjun’s mother and sister, he had saved the rest.
Currently, Li Yi has 63,000 yuan in his savings account, and there’s also over 4,000 yuan in cash at home.
In addition, Tang Xue has about 2,500 to 2,600 yuan, and Third Sister has over 2,000 yuan.
However, Li Yi didn’t want to use their money unless absolutely necessary!
Sixty-seven thousand yuan—of which forty thousand was borrowed from the credit union—constituted Li Yi’s entire startup capital at the moment.
Although it seems like a decent amount, it’s actually a bit too little for what he plans to do.
Setting other matters aside, once the village agreed to his plan, purchasing cattle and sheep would be a significant expense.
Even if he were to buy only lambs and calves, it would still cost tens of thousands of yuan.
If possible, he’d need to scrape together 100,000 yuan just to barely make ends meet!
But there was no other choice; he couldn’t sell the dried mushrooms right now, so he’d have to make do for the time being!
At noon, my father returned from the production team meeting, accompanied by Feng Kai.
As soon as they walked in, Feng Kai cut straight to the chase: “Xiao Yi, the villagers have agreed to the plan you proposed yesterday!”
Hearing this, Li Yi wasn’t the least bit surprised.
After all, for the villagers, this arrangement was nothing but a win-win situation. The production team wouldn’t have to spend a dime on buying the cattle and sheep, and if the animals didn’t thrive, no one would have to cover the losses.
On the contrary, if they were raised successfully, they’d even get to split half the profits.
It was a windfall—a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Who in their right mind would turn that down?
“Since you’ve agreed, let’s sign an agreement,” Li Yi said.
“We need to sign an agreement?”
Li Yi nodded and said, “Uncle, it’s not that I don’t trust the villagers. It’s just that money can be a temptation. I’m investing a significant amount this time, and once the cattle and sheep grow up, there’s bound to be some envy!”
“You’re right. Let’s sign it then!”
Feng Kai was a veteran village party secretary; he knew exactly what the villagers were like.
When there’s no profit involved, things usually go smoothly. But if the venture succeeds and the stakes are too high, some people are bound to feel resentful. Signing an agreement early on would help put an end to any troublemakers’ schemes.
“Uncle, I’ll draft the agreement and bring it over to you shortly. For now, let’s discuss the specific plan!”
“Go ahead, Uncle’s all ears!”
“Uncle Feng, raising cattle and sheep isn’t a simple matter. First, we need a decent facility, and we also need enough forage. Plus, we’ll have to take them out to graze regularly!”
“I never would’ve guessed that you, who never sets foot in the fields, actually know quite a bit about raising cattle and sheep!” Feng Kai said with a laugh.
“Uncle, I may not have eaten pork, but I’ve certainly seen pigs run. After all, I was born and raised in the countryside!”
“Haha, you were born and raised in the village, but I’ve never seen you do a day’s work in the fields your whole life!” Feng Kai said.
Li Yi smiled slightly, a touch of embarrassment in his expression, then said, “Uncle, can we not bring that up?”
“Alright, go on!”
“Here’s the plan: as soon as we sign the agreement, I’ll send someone to the back pasture to buy cattle and sheep. As for you, Uncle, you’d better gather all the villagers and have them build the cattle and sheep pens right away while the weather’s still mild.”
Li Yi continued, “Since the lambs and calves we’re buying are all young, they won’t be able to withstand the cold very well. So these cattle and sheep pens can’t be as makeshift as the village’s large livestock sheds!”
“You mean build houses?”
“We don’t need to build actual houses, but they must be able to shelter them from wind and rain!”
Li Yi continued, “I suggest we get the villagers to dig up some grass sods from the small riverbed, mix them with mud to build a mud-brick structure, and cover it with straw. A cattle and sheep pen built this way should meet our needs!”
“Alright, leave that to me!”
“As for gathering fodder, most of the village’s straw is currently piled up in the field at the west end of the village, and no one’s watching it. My idea is to fence off all that straw as soon as possible.”
“Alright!”
“Also, find some time to organize the villagers to go to the forest behind the village and haul back some branches and deadwood. That’ll take care of everyone’s firewood needs and prevent them from resorting to burning the straw out of desperation!”
“Alright!”
“Also, taking care of these lambs and calves is delicate work. Make sure everyone pays close attention, divide into groups, and don’t cut corners!” Li Yi said.
“No problem, I’ll keep an eye on them!” Feng Kai said.
“Mm-hmm!”
…….
After seeing Feng Kai off, Li Yi immediately went back inside, grabbed some paper and a pen, and began drafting the agreement!
Even though he knew full well that this document would most likely never be needed!
But with decades of business experience from his past life, he knew he had to consider every single detail. He couldn’t cut corners just because his partners were fellow villagers—otherwise, he might really end up at a huge disadvantage.
Drafting a contract was no trouble at all for Li Yi, and in no time, he had put together an agreement that clearly defined the rights and responsibilities of both parties.
He then made a clean copy, signed it, and had his father take it to Feng Kai’s house.
He also told his father that once Feng Kai and the village chief had signed it, they should each keep a copy.
As for himself, he hopped on his bicycle and headed straight for the county seat!
Upon arriving in the county seat, Li Yi didn’t go into town but headed straight for the sugar factory.
The security staff at the sugar factory all recognized Li Yi and knew he was a friend of the factory director, so they didn’t stop him; they simply registered his visit and let him in.
Li Yi immediately went to the door of Liang Yukuai’s office and knocked!
“Knock, knock, knock!!!”
Liang Yukui, who was inside the office reviewing this month’s task progress report, heard the knock and immediately said, “Come in!”
“Squeak!”
The office door swung open, and a man walked right in.
When he recognized Li Yi, Liang Yuke immediately stood up and said with a smile, “What wind has blown you here today, young man?”
Li Yi smiled and said, “I’m here to ask Brother Liang for a favor!”
“Oh, what’s the matter? You look pretty urgent!” Liang Yukui asked right away.
“I need to borrow something from you, Brother Liang!”
“What do you need? Just ask—if I have it, it’s no problem at all!”
“I’d like to borrow a few vehicles from your factory, and a few people as well,” Li Yi said.
“Vehicles and people? What on earth are you up to, kid?”
Li Yi didn’t beat around the bush; he explained his plan to help the villagers raise cattle and sheep.
After hearing Li Yi’s explanation, Liang Yukuai immediately said, “That’s a great idea, but you’d better think this through. Cattle and sheep are really hard to raise—you might end up losing your entire investment!”
“Don’t worry, Brother Liang. We’re all farmers in our village—raising livestock shouldn’t be a problem!”
“Alright then, how many trucks do you need?”
“Three, I guess. Also, could you lend me my brother-in-law for a few days? He spent a few years in the border region and knows Mongolian!”
“Alright, I’ll go get him right now!”
“Alright!”
…….