After parting with Wu Guifang, Liu Ergou quickly returned home. The first thing he did was throw himself onto his small bed. In just a few minutes, he fell into a deep sleep, not waking until dawn.
When the sun rose, Liu Ergou tidied himself up and headed toward the village committee office. Today was a big day—it concerned the lease for the wasteland in Fengzhu Village.
He recalled what Wu Guifang had said. No one in the village wants to lease the wasteland, so it shouldn't be too hard to get my hands on it.
Soon, Liu Ergou arrived at the village committee office. Without the slightest courtesy, he strode directly inside.
The office was no longer empty. Liu Jingming and Lu Hongda had arrived at some point and were now sitting in the main seats. As soon as they saw Liu Ergou, they stared at him unblinkingly.
Liu Jingming spoke with irritation, "Liu Ergou, what are you doing here at the village committee? Are you looking for trouble?"
"Let me tell you, don't cause any trouble here. If you do, you won't like the consequences!"
Seeing Liu Jingming's condescending expression, Liu Ergou felt a surge of irritation. But today, he couldn't be bothered to argue. He got straight to the point.
"Liu Jingming, I'm not here to cause trouble. I'll be direct—I want to lease the wasteland in the village!"
"Don't give me any excuses. Just tell me if it's for lease or not!"
At these words, Liu Jingming and Lu Hongda exchanged a surprised glance, astonishment clear in their eyes. They hadn't expected Liu Ergou to actually want the wasteland. After a brief, stunned silence, Liu Jingming was the first to recover.
He cut straight to the chase. "First, you have to tell me what you plan to use this wasteland for. I need to make sure you're not up to anything illegal!"
Hearing this, Liu Ergou rolled his eyes dramatically.
"Illegal my ass. I just want to plant some medicinal herbs to make some money!"
After hearing Liu Ergou's response, Liu Jingming didn't say much, merely giving a cold snort. He turned to Lu Hongda. "Old Lu, tell him the quote for the wasteland!"
Lu Hongda immediately spoke up. "Er Gou, we have a total of fifty mu of wasteland here, and only one or two mu are currently leased out. The rent is 300 yuan per mu at most, with a minimum lease of ten years."
"If you want to lease it, I'll call a village meeting right away!"
Liu Ergou didn't agree immediately, taking a moment to calculate the cost. After some thought, he figured that 300 yuan per mu was a little expensive, but not outrageously so. It was acceptable.
At that moment, Feng Chunling, who was cleaning two mangled ducks, looked up. "Huh? Fifty mu of wasteland? Does this kid really have that much money?!" she said with surprise.
After a moment of thought, Feng Chunling dropped the ducks and headed straight outside to join the assembly at the village committee office.
Just half an hour later, the previously empty village committee grounds were jam-packed with people. They were all buzzing about Liu Ergou leasing the wasteland, wondering how he had suddenly come into so much money.
Amidst the discussion, Liu Jingming emerged from the office and stood at the front, with Liu Ergou following behind him.
As for Liu Yunxi, she was away on other business and not in the village, so she was absent from the meeting.
Gazing at the noisy crowd below, Liu Jingming raised his hand and pressed it downwards. The crowd instantly fell silent.
He nodded in satisfaction, took a deep breath, and loudly addressed the matter at hand.
"Alright everyone, you've heard the announcement. Liu Ergou wants to lease the wasteland in our village. Those fifty mu are just sitting idle anyway, so if someone wants to lease them, I'll naturally agree!"
"Leasing it out means more money for the village to improve our conditions!"
"If anyone has any objections, feel free to voice them. If they're reasonable, we'll take them into consideration!"
As soon as he finished, the crowd began whispering amongst themselves, but the murmuring only lasted for a few minutes before it quieted down. Everyone present had no objection to Liu Ergou leasing the wasteland.
Just as Liu Jingming was about to give the final approval, a dissenting voice suddenly cut through the crowd.
"I have an objection! I don't agree to Liu Ergou leasing the wasteland!"
At these words, everyone turned toward the source of the voice. The speaker was none other than Er Lu.
Though Liu Jingming and Liu Ergou didn't get along, leasing the wasteland was undeniably beneficial for the village. So when he heard Er Lu's objection, he snapped irritably, "Er Lu, shut your mouth! What gives you the right to object?"
"What, you want to lease the land yourself?"
"If you want it, I'll lease it to you right now!"
As he spoke, all eyes in the crowd immediately turned to Er Lu.