Chapter 67: The Unique Leisure Farm

Early the next morning, at exactly eight o'clock, Zhong Hui arrived at the orchard. This was the work schedule she had set for herself: at least eight hours a day, from eight in the morning to noon, and then from five in the afternoon to nine at night.

Zhong Hui had given this considerable thought; in agricultural production, it was best to avoid the hottest hours of the day. As for salary, she received a basic monthly wage of four thousand yuan, plus a year-end bonus. Originally, according to Zhong Di’s suggestion, his elder sister could also receive ten percent of the net profit—just as Shao Hong did—which was perfectly reasonable.

But his sister firmly refused. Unlike Shao Hong, she wasn’t fully invested in the project, and with a basic salary already provided, it simply wasn’t appropriate. A year-end bonus would suffice. Zhong Di agreed; after all, they were family, and he could compensate her in other ways.

For the handover of responsibilities, Zhong Di designated his own bank card as the orchard’s account, so all transactions would go through it. Other tasks included managing a small social media account and a music platform profile, responsible for product sales and promotion. As for launching an online store, that could wait for the right time. The main purpose of the specialty farmhouse was to receive tourists; if large volumes of agricultural products appeared later, online sales could follow. For now, focusing on local customers would be enough.

“Sis, our business license is ready, but we’re missing a sign. How about you handle this today to get acquainted with things?” Zhong Di remembered the paperwork Sun Miaomiao had helped with—the name was “Specialty Leisure Farmhouse”—and they needed a storefront sign. There was a place in Shache county that custom-made signs; it was just a quick trip.

At this early stage, there was no need for anything too formal—a simple approach would do.

“Alright, I’ll take care of it today.” After discussing a few more details, Zhong Hui set out to handle the task, and Zhong Di transferred ten thousand yuan to his sister for daily expenses.

He hadn’t kept close track of previous accounts; they were a tangled mess, and he hadn’t cared much about the details. He didn’t plan to fuss over it. Asking his sister to help was partly for this reason; if he had to pore over the accounts every day, nothing else would get done. With her here, things would improve, and even the old accounts could be sorted out over time.

“Zhong Di, are you there? It’s Old Li from the east side.”

Just as Zhong Di and Shao Hong were working, a voice, slightly aged, called out. Zhong Di went to open the door and asked quietly, “Grandpa Li, what brings you here?”

“Ah, young Zhong, do you still have any of that bait you used for fishing the other day... Ever since you fished here, the reservoir’s fish seem bewitched—not a single bite, not even a little one. I saw what you used for bait that day and it looked good. Where did you buy it? I’d like to get some. Haven’t caught anything lately, and my grandson is waiting for fish.”

The old man, advanced in years, explained everything in detail—unlike the younger generation, who can get straight to the point in just a few words.

“Sure, I’ll get you some.” Zhong Di thought for a moment, then went to the kitchen and brought some chicken meat for the old man. It was leftover from the fishing trip; he’d stored it in the fridge, with no intention of keeping it to himself.

“This is meat?”

“Yes, just meat.”

The old man weighed the small piece of meat in his hand and left.

After Qian Weining announced he’d leased the reservoir, he hadn’t prohibited others from fishing; fishing was still free, and the idle old men would certainly keep at it. Zhong Di didn’t give it much thought—it was their leased reservoir, they could do as they pleased.

Around noon, Zhong Di received a call from Wu Qi regarding the land contracted for reforestation. They agreed to meet that afternoon. After lunch and a brief rest, Zhong Di headed to the forestry bureau.

Wu Qi had already prepared all the paperwork; all that remained was for Zhong Di to sign. Wu Qi handled these matters efficiently, not at all the hassle Zhong Di had expected, with no need for repeated visits.

“The funds will only be released after you’ve planted the trees and passed inspection. There’s no other way—it’s the regulation. But don’t worry, there won’t be any issues,” Wu Qi explained, addressing the funding matter. It was unavoidable, meant to prevent misuse of project funds; previous policies had loopholes and could be exploited.

Now, with stricter regulations, it was much harder to take advantage.

“No problem. Let’s just follow the rules.” Zhong Di wasn’t concerned with such details. For six hundred mu of land, planting saplings would cost about three hundred thousand yuan. Regardless of the type, ten yuan per tree was inevitable.

The specifics lay in the details. For instance, if you wanted to plant fruit trees, saplings would cost six or seven yuan each, plus labor and losses from the ones that died; the average would come to ten yuan per tree. Even if you planted rootstock and grafted later, rootstock would cost one or two yuan each, but with labor, survival rate, and overall management, the cost would rise to six or seven yuan, and once you added the scion and grafting, it would still be ten yuan per tree.

Zhong Di had already calculated this and planned to simply purchase grafted saplings to avoid trouble. As for which trees to plant, he needed to consider this carefully. He couldn’t just rush into it. Orchards require at least three years to mature; pear trees, for example, take five years. He had to think it through.

There are two optimal periods for planting trees—early spring and late autumn into winter. Planting during these times yields the highest survival rates. Zhong Di planned to coordinate planting with his own orchard.

“By the way, a population of Pallas’s cats was discovered—forty individuals. But they seem to have been startled…”

“Forty? That many?” Zhong Di was taken aback. Even forty is quite a number, considering there are so few nationwide. Their main habitat isn’t even in the northwest, and here they were in such a small place like Shache county.

As for being startled, the authorities would handle it. No wonder he hadn’t seen any Pallas’s cats around at night lately; they must have been frightened.

Once the business was concluded, Zhong Di left the forestry bureau.

He went home first to check on his father. Whether it was the successful surgery or the effect of the local chickens, his father could now walk with the aid of a cane.

After checking on his father’s condition, Zhong Di went out to the fields. When his father had recovered enough, he planned to start buying materials for the greenhouses in batches.

He wanted his father to oversee the construction—since it was a greenhouse, only someone trustworthy could be counted on, and his father had experience in construction, having built houses in the past, making him the ideal candidate.

Back at the orchard, Zhong Di found a few people installing the sign, which read “Specialty Leisure Farmhouse.”

There was no elaborate design—just a simple, minimalist style.