"Young Master Li, this is truly a wonderful thing!"
Old Master Liu sat upright in his rattan chair, holding the water Li Xingkong handed him. He took a sip slowly before continuing.
"Our village isn't much to begin with, so it's a blessing that someone is interested in our land. This is free money, we can't just turn it down."
The old man is quite old, and it's difficult for him to earn any income at this age. Moreover, unlike in the city, where everyone has a pension, the elderly in the village basically have to rely on the money they earned when they were young and the subsidies provided by the village for the elderly to make a living.
With the vegetables and fruits they grow in their own yard, they can barely make ends meet. As for the young people, they are all working in other places and rarely have time to take care of the elderly.
This money came out of thin air, so he was naturally very tempted.
Not only Old Master Liu, but all the elderly people in the village who had lost their source of income were very interested.
Although Li Xingkong did not want to sell, he knew for certain that this operation was aimed at him by the Cherry Blossom Wind Group.
This is also the insidious aspect of struggle in modern society: you don't even need to show your face; you rely solely on third parties driven by self-interest to persuade you.
If Li Xingkong hadn't known the whole story so clearly, he would already be in conflict with the villagers.
However, the current situation is that although he knows this is a tactic of the Cherry Blossom Wind Group, he can't persuade the elderly people in the village not to take the money. How can he possibly persuade people not to take money?
Don't be fooled by the fact that Old Master Liu is sitting here talking to him with a kind face. If Li Xingkong doesn't listen to advice, the next step will be dozens of old men and women coming to forcibly demolish his house.
The old man and woman are top-tier fighters these days. They can take down fairies and beat up brats, and when it really matters, they can collapse and not get up, directly dividing up half of the property.
Li Xingkong couldn't afford to offend this group of powerful people. The main reason was that these old men were also his neighbors. They had seen each other all these years, and it wouldn't be a good thing if things got ugly. He didn't care about them, but his parents had lived here for so many years, and even his ancestors had lived here for generations.
This is his hometown, his birthplace. He can't let this incident ruin the reputation of his entire family.
Therefore, we cannot disagree with this; it's a blatant conspiracy.
Unfortunately, although this affected Li Xingkong, the impact was not significant. His seeds had already been cultivated and did not even require any special soil preparation; Earthly Capital.
In normal agricultural cultivation, it may take several years to cultivate a new generation of plants, requiring suitable land and appropriate nutrient conditions. Reproducing such well-prepared land also requires considerable effort.
Cherry Blossom Wind Group intended to send Li Xingkong his first warning by seizing his plantation land.
Unfortunately, the punch was thrown, but it didn't hit Li Xingkong's flesh.
It didn't hurt, but his behavior was disgusting.
If they manage to get it done so easily, Li Xingkong will definitely be very unhappy; a few dollars can't buy him any peace of mind.
"Young man from the Li family, the reason I'm here to talk to you is because of the majority of people in our village. We'll have a small meeting tomorrow, and all the families who occupied your land will come. Our village won't take your land for nothing; there will definitely be compensation."
After finishing his speech, Old Master Liu had almost finished drinking his water. He stood up and still had the mind to take a few more glances at Li Xingkong's vegetable garden.
"I'm telling you, all you grow in your vegetable garden is lettuce. It doesn't sell for much. Why don't you listen to me? I'm doing this for your own good."
As the old man walked towards the door, he continued to offer his advice, his eyes lingering on Li Xingkong's dishes as if he wanted to say something.
Reaching the gate, the old man stopped, took a few breaths, and leaned against the gatepost, looking quite tired.
Li Xingkong naturally knew what he wanted to do; he simply wanted to see that his vegetable garden was full of vegetables and wanted Li Xingkong to give him a few before leaving.
Unfortunately, the whole yard was full of Body Tempering Grass, and Li Xingkong wouldn't give it away. Even if someone saw through his intentions, he would pretend not to know.
" Uncle Liu, you look so tired. If you're tired, just tell me, and I'll carry you back."
Li Xingkong pretended to be stupid and didn't mention sending him vegetables.
"It's alright, it's alright, I can go after resting for a bit. It's just that your vegetables look like they're growing very well."
Well, the old man still wouldn't give up. Luckily, this wasn't Granny Caidun, so Old Master Liu was too embarrassed to ask for it directly.
"It's really good, and I think mine turned out well too. Uncle, I'll come and see your vegetables next time I have time."
Li Xingkong just pretended to be stupid, standing at the door supporting him, but he wouldn't move.
"Okay, come visit my yard next time. I'll pick some for you if you like."
Seeing that Li Xingkong remained unmoved, Old Master Liu felt too embarrassed to stand there any longer. He stopped panting and became more energetic, so he pushed open the door and went out.
" Uncle Liu, slow down, be careful not to tire yourself out."
"Alright, alright, go back now. Don't bother seeing me off. Remember to come to the meeting tomorrow!"
Although he didn't get any real benefit, at least Li Xingkong didn't outwardly refuse. Getting money was a good thing, so it wasn't a loss.
After seeing Old Master Liu off, Li Xingkong began to think.
The situation has now become a problem between him and the other villagers, while the Cherry Blossom Wind Group has completely absolved itself of responsibility.
If they were to get their way, they would be unhappy, but refusing to rent out the land would make their family look bad in the eyes of the whole village. Refusing was not an option either.
Since that's the case, if I want to retaliate, I'll just have to make them bleed more.
Capitalists have plenty of money, so let them spend more. Even if we can't stop them, let them pay for their actions.
Li Xingkong already had a general plan in mind. He was determined to attend tomorrow's meeting, and he also needed to pay close attention to the subsequent discussions.
To complete his plan, the most important thing is to improve the Heavenly Eye Express Edition and add image recognition functionality.
As for how to continue cultivating his Body Tempering Grass, Li Xingkong already had a plan for the next step.
This vegetable garden is a bit too small. The amount of Body Tempering Grass that grows is barely enough for one person. I'll need to find a more spacious place to start a new vegetable garden.
This move merely accelerated the implementation of his plan to relocate the vegetable garden.
Li Xingkong also had some ideas about where to plant next. The most serious problem in Divine Land now is the aging population. Young people are flocking to big cities, and many small villages with inconvenient transportation have become deserted.
Near Li Xingkong's village alone, there are several small villages that used to have a dozen or so households, but now they are completely deserted. If it weren't for the advantageous location of Li Xingkong's village, with the train station nearby and only a 15-minute walk from the airport, their village would soon be empty as well.
The village was abandoned, and naturally no one cultivated the land. Large tracts of land were either naturally converted back to forest or left to lie barren, overgrown with weeds taller than a person.
Li Xingkong's target is these abandoned lands nearby. These lands cannot create value even if they are left uncultivated. If someone wants to rent them for farming, the township will naturally support them wholeheartedly. Not only will they be cheap, but they would also be happy for you to rent them.