Wang Xiaoqiang's contracted crops had a bumper harvest, and his family was happy for him. The legs of the Two Elders of the Wang Family had healed under their son's treatment and they could walk just like normal people. Happy about their recovery, they were unwilling to stay idle and helped their son transport the crops home.

To facilitate the transportation of the grain, Wang Xiaoqiang had spent more than four thousand yuan to buy a motorized tricycle. However, with the harvest from fifty mu of land, the vast courtyard couldn't hold it all. Seeing this, the experienced Wang Kuishan reminded his son, saying,

"Little Qiang, since the price of corn is high now, why not sell it all at once? The price of soybeans and sesame isn't high, so stockpile them for now and wait for the price..."

At this time, Wang Xiaoqiang's idea was the opposite of his father's. The price of corn was trending upwards, which was related to this year's severe drought. Corn, as a crop, requires a lot of water. Under the drought, no matter how many times it was artificially irrigated, the yield would be significantly affected. Poor harvests would create a supply and demand imbalance.

Under these circumstances, the price of corn would surely soar. Currently, it was just the beginning of the surge in prices. Therefore, Wang Xiaoqiang did not plan to sell the corn now. On the contrary, sesame, which prefers dryer conditions, was doing quite well in the fields despite the drought.

The current price of sesame was reasonable, but in about ten days, once all the sesame in the fields was harvested, the price would definitely plummet. So it was best to sell it now.

Wang Xiaoqiang shared his thoughts with his father, and after careful consideration, Wang Kuishan felt it made sense. His son had a good economic sense, but now there was nowhere to store the harvested corn, which worried him.

Wang Xiaoqiang wracked his brains, thinking about where in the village he could store crops. Soon, he thought of the old village committee building. The old village committee had six vacant rooms.

Because the old village committee building was far from the village and looked quite dilapidated, the committee had built a new two-story building in the village. After the new building was finished, the committee moved into the village, leaving behind an abandoned small building and a courtyard.

Although the old village committee building was run-down, it had no damage, was not drafty, and didn't leak, so it should be fine for storing grain.

Wang Xiaoqiang immediately thought of renting the place and discussed the idea with his father, Wang Kuishan, who was very supportive.

It was at this moment that Old Niutou and Big Chimney from the village arrived. As soon as Old Niutou and Big Chimney came, they looked at the Wang Family's harvested corn with envious eyes and said to Wang Xiaoqiang with a smile, "Little Qiang, you've had a great harvest this year!"

As soon as these two arrived, Wang Xiaoqiang understood they were here to collect the rent for the land.

Nowadays, the village's young people had all gone out to work, leaving many fields vacant, which is why Wang Xiaoqiang had easily rented fifty mu of land, including the fields of both Old Niutou's and Big Chimney's families.

"Uh, Grandpa Niu, Chimney Uncle, you're here..." Wang Xiaoqiang called out with a smile, saying, "Don't worry about the rent. Once I sell the crops, I'll definitely bring it to you..."

"No, no, Little Qiang, we didn't come to ask for the rent." Old Niutou waved his hands repeatedly and said directly, "We want to take back our land to farm it ourselves..."

"Yeah, Little Qiang, you see, we've been working hard for most of our lives. Suddenly being idle just doesn't feel right, so..." the straightforward Big Chimney also vaguely expressed his intention.

Wang Xiaoqiang hadn't expected that these two would actually want their land back. However, there wasn't much he could do since they were neighbors. When he rented the land, they didn't sign a rental contract, nor was there any agreement on how many years it was for. Now if they wanted their land back, he had no say in the matter.

But it quickly dawned on Wang Xiaoqiang that these two were envious of the harvest he had.

In the current economic society, farming was far less profitable than working outside. Taking the autumn crops as an example, one would have to buy seeds, spray pesticides, apply fertilizers, and water the fields if there was a drought. After the harvest, one wouldn't make much money, which is why many people preferred to rent out their land.

That way, an acre of land could still earn a thousand yuan in rent for a year.

It's just that Wang Xiaoqiang's harvest this season clearly made a tidy profit, which made Old Niutou and Big Chimney so jealous that they thought their land had gained strength and become more fertile, so they wanted to take it back and farm it themselves.

"Okay..." Although Wang Xiaoqiang was somewhat annoyed, he agreed immediately.

Old Niutou and Big Chimney, seeing how readily Wang Xiaoqiang agreed, were full of suspicion. They thought that since the land was profitable, Wang Xiaoqiang would definitely not give it up so easily. Little did they know that the reason for Wang Xiaoqiang's bumper harvest was not the land, but because he now had a Five Elements Spirit Spring inside him.

After Old Niutou and Big Chimney left, several other villagers came one after another, all with the same purpose: they wanted to take back the leased land.

Wang Xiaoqiang agreed to return the leases to each one.

"Why are people nowadays so mercenary!?" Sister-in-law Liu Juyi frowned in displeasure and couldn't help but complain, yet comfortingly said to Wang Xiaoqiang, "Little Qiang, don't worry, my family still has over ten acres of land. My brother and his wife have gone out to work. They are not using it, so it's just lying idle. I'll ask them to let you farm it for free!"

"No need, Sister-in-law..." Wang Xiaoqiang gave Liu Juyi a simple smile and said, "I'm planning to return all the leased land and then rent a whole piece instead. If that's not possible, I'll just contract a small hilltop for easier management."

Liu Juyi was surprised by Wang Xiaoqiang's calm demeanor but also felt a sense of pleasant realization. At the same time, she realized that her little brother-in-law was planning something big.

That afternoon, Wang Xiaoqiang went to the Village Committee's new residence and found the village head and party secretary, Liu Mingshan.

Seeing Wang Xiaoqiang, Liu Mingshan's attitude toward him had changed dramatically from before.

Previously, he shared the same opinion as the other villagers, thinking that after Wang Xiaoqiang dropped out of school, he should have gone to work in the Pearl River Delta area to seek a way out. Unexpectedly, this young fellow contracted fifty mu of land, a move Liu Mingshan did not view favorably.

Yet to his surprise, Wang Xiaoqiang's crops this season yielded a bumper harvest, almost doubling the usual annual income, and it looked like earning seventy to eighty thousand should not be a problem. To think, a young person working hard all year round outside only made thirty to forty thousand.

And Wang Xiaoqiang's income from one season's crops was double that of a year's income for a migrant worker.

As the tide rises so does the boat; with the increase in money earned, Wang Xiaoqiang's worth also rose, causing everyone to look at him with new respect and envy.

"Little Qiang, come sit down." Liu Mingshan, who was seated in an armchair enjoying his cigarette, stood up to greet Wang Xiaoqiang, and after they sat down on the sofa for guests, Liu Mingshan's eyes shone as he stared at Wang Xiaoqiang and exclaimed, "You've got a knack for farming, I'm so envious I'm even considering getting into contracting myself."

"Uncle Mingshan, let's not talk about contracting anymore..." Wang Xiaoqiang revealed a wry smile and said, "Guess what, even before I could transport the crops back home, they were already asking me to return the lease..."

"Eh, there's such a thing? Those guys are really dishonest, they just can't stand to see someone else doing well!" Liu Mingshan became indignant upon hearing this and said, "Little Qiang, do you need me to deal with it?"

"No need, Uncle, I'm planning to lease a whole piece of land for farming. It's easier to manage that way."

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