While chatting with the village chief, Ye Yuan said that if he contracted the island, anyone in the village under fifty could come work there.
Ye Yuan would pay for a small ferry to serve as everyone's commuter boat, then build staff dormitories for those on night duty. The village chief was overjoyed when he heard this and wanted to thank Ye Yuan on behalf of the entire village.
"Village Chief, you're being too formal. Everyone is helping our family."
Father Ye looked at how successful his son had become and how he could even help arrange jobs for the villagers. It made him proud too, didn't it? Before leaving, the village chief agreed with Ye Yuan that they would go to the county first thing the next morning to settle the matter.
After seeing the village chief off, Father Ye said to Ye Yuan, "Do you think you could arrange something for your second uncle?"
After hearing that, Ye Yuan said to his father, "I thought it was something serious. How about this? Tell Second Uncle first that whether or not we can contract Fishing Bay Island, I'll definitely contract an island for aquaculture. When the time comes, Second Uncle's family can manage it for me. I'll provide food and lodging. What do you think?"
Ye Yuan had thought his father would be happy, but instead Father Ye glared at him. "If you let your second uncle manage it, what about me? Are you planning to make your old man work as an employee?"
"Now that your son can make money, why are you still going to work? Take Mom around the country when you have nothing to do. If you get bored, help Sis look after Niuniu. Wouldn't that be great?"
"No. I have to watch over the aquaculture farm first. We'll talk once everything has settled down. I'm still strong enough to help you now. Once your business is doing well, we can discuss other things. Niuniu hasn't started school yet, and our family has a boat, so getting to the county town is convenient. When there's nothing going on, Niuniu can stay on the island too."
Ye Yuan could not argue with his father, so he could only let him have his way.
His father was the type who could not keep things to himself. Before long, he told Second Uncle about it. Second Uncle was very grateful. His family had originally planned to take the money and have the old couple buy a house in some cheap village. Now, with Ye Yuan's promise, they not only saved on housing costs but also had stable jobs.
Before dawn had fully broken, the village chief arrived at Ye Yuan's house. Ye Yuan got up groggily, greeted him, quickly washed up, and headed out with the village chief.
Father Ye insisted on coming along, saying he wanted to visit his daughter. Ye Yuan could not exactly stop him.
When they arrived at the dock, Ye Yuan had Ding Yi start the boat. Ding Er made a simple breakfast, and the three of them ate aboard the boat.
It was the first time both the village chief and Father Ye had ridden such a high-end yacht. They were stunned by its luxury. "This yacht really is different. Look how fast it is, yet it's still so steady. Our little fishing boats can't compare at all," the village chief praised as he ate.
Father Ye felt immensely proud. "Of course. How much could a little fishing boat cost? Xiao Yuan told me this boat cost over ten million."
The village chief immediately praised Ye Yuan for being so accomplished.
Ye Yuan corrected him, "That price is for a new boat. Mine was secondhand, so it wasn't that expensive."
The Old Village Chief chimed in, "How is this boat not new? You can't even tell it's secondhand. Xiao Yuan, you really are capable. You're the most accomplished person Ye Family Village has produced in generations."
Well, that explanation had been for nothing.
When they arrived in Pinghai County, Ye Yuan drove Father Ye to his sister's home. Then he and the village chief went to the county government, where a deputy county magistrate received them.
After negotiations, the matter of Ye Yuan contracting Fishing Bay Island was settled simply and efficiently.
Ye Yuan contracted Fishing Bay Island for forty years at an annual rate of 200,000 yuan, with payments made once every five years.
Ye Yuan wanted to contract more of the surrounding waters. After a county meeting and deliberation, they decided to lease him five hundred mu of sea area at 1,000 yuan per mu, amounting to 500,000 yuan a year. Like the island, payment would be made once every five years.
The county government was delighted. They had never expected Fishing Bay Island, which had given them the greatest headache, to be the first island contracted out.
Once both sides reached an agreement, they quickly called in a lawyer to draft the contract. Because the government had granted Ye Yuan preferential terms, an additional clause was included: Ye Yuan had to provide jobs for more than twenty local residents. Ye Yuan agreed without hesitation. Even without that clause, he would have hired villagers to run the aquaculture farm.
After the contract was signed, Ye Yuan directly transferred 3.5 million yuan to the government's designated account. The county had not expected this young man to handle things so swiftly. The county magistrate personally came forward to highly praise Ye Yuan, a young man returning to his hometown to develop it, and said that the county would promptly push forward with the relocation work for Ye Family Village.
The village chief still had business in the county, so he did not return with Ye Yuan. Ye Yuan drove to the new house and found Father Ye, his sister, and brother-in-law all there. His sister and brother-in-law were discussing something with the renovation company inside, while Father Ye watched Niuniu.
Ye Yuan walked over and said to Father Ye, "Fishing Bay Island is ours now."
Father Ye was overjoyed.
Seeing how happy his father was, Ye Yuan voiced what he had been thinking. "Let Sis have this house. I'll build a villa on the island. If you and Mom like living in the county town, I'll buy you another place. What do you think?"
Father Ye did not even look at Ye Yuan as he replied, "Did you need to tell me that? Your mom and I already discussed it last night. This house is for Huihui. We'll even transfer it into her name. Consider it a little compensation from you. Before, we were afraid you wouldn't amount to much, so we kept some money to help you find a wife. Now that you've made something of yourself, there's nothing left for us to worry about."
Inside the room, his sister and brother-in-law were discussing changes to the renovation layout with the workers. They had initially known the elderly couple would be living there, but since they no longer would, the layout needed to be altered.
When Brother-in-law saw Ye Yuan, he warmly said, "Xiao Yuan, I never expected you to become so successful. It's only been a few days, and you've already made so much money. You're better than me."
Ye Yuan did not respond to that. Instead, he said directly to Brother-in-law, "Brother-in-law, I want you to quit your job and start your own company. Would that work?"
Brother-in-law froze for a moment, then realized that his brother-in-law wanted to help him. He gave a bitter smile. "Xiao Yuan, I appreciate the thought, but our county's development has lagged behind in recent years. There aren't many construction projects. Starting a construction company now won't make money."
Ye Yuan smiled faintly after hearing him. He pulled brother-in-law aside and handed him the contract. "Do you have confidence now? I don't plan to open my island to the public, but there are plenty of construction projects: staff dormitories, villas, cold storage, factory buildings, roads on the island, and some offshore construction. I'll give them all to your new company."
Brother-in-law looked at the contract and listened to Ye Yuan. His father-in-law had only told them that his brother-in-law had gone to Shangjing and made quite a bit of money selling stones, without specifying how much. He had never expected Ye Yuan to contract an entire island so quickly.
According to Ye Yuan, it would take several million, perhaps even tens of millions, to complete all those buildings. As long as those projects were given to him, it would be a substantial income even if he made less profit.
Brother-in-law nodded vigorously at Ye Yuan. "Don't worry, Xiao Yuan. I'll definitely get you the cheapest materials and labor."
"That won't do. I don't need cheap. Don't cut corners, including on what you deserve to earn. I only have one request: start construction as soon as possible, and I want the best quality." Ye Yuan spoke to brother-in-law half-jokingly and half-seriously.
"Alright, no problem. I'll go quit my job right now." Brother-in-law hurried off as soon as he finished speaking.
PS: Thanks to 08A and Law Supreme Saint for the rewards. Also, thanks to everyone who voted with monthly tickets and recommendation tickets. Your encouragement is what keeps Fingertip writing.
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