"I've already started purchasing the unused Hainan huanghuali wood from the villagers' homes," Yi Xiaolin continued. "Basically, every household has some, and it's all old lumber that's been stored for many years."

"Besides that raw lumber, I'm also targeting their old furniture. My plan is to buy new furniture from the cities outside the mountains and trade it with the villagers for their old pieces."

Yi Anguo nodded. "That's an excellent idea. I think it will work very well."

"Right! Since you've already started buying, what price did you set?"

"There's no specific pricing. If a piece is bigger, longer, and straighter, we offer a higher price. The smaller ones, some of which they just use as firewood, are obviously much cheaper. In any case, it's better than them burning it!" Yi Xiaolin said with a laugh.

"The price is so low it's beyond your imagination. We can get a piece of Hainan huanghuali weighing several hundred pounds for a thousand yuan, and the villagers are ecstatic."

"Generally, we price the whole lot together; it's too much trouble to calculate it piece by piece."

"We just have them bring out all the old wood they have, put it in a pile, and we'll estimate a price for the whole lot. It's simple."

Yi Anguo was greatly pleased to hear this. He told them to be careful while they were out there and promised to hold a celebration for them when they returned.

Yi Anguo had only sent Yi Xiaolin and the others to Haidao Province to try their luck. He never expected them to bring him such a pleasant surprise.

In fact, the price of Hainan huanghuali had only started to soar after the year 2000, especially in the last two years. The market price this year was already several times higher than last year, and the price in the second half of this year was already double what it was in the first half.

The Li people living deep in the mountains were cut off from the outside world. With limited access to information and no electricity, they naturally knew nothing of the true value of Hainan huanghuali. It wasn't surprising at all that they would chop it up for firewood.

Before the 1990s, this was common practice in many rural parts of Haidao Province. Hainan huanghuali wood is very oily, so it burns long and hot, making it popular for fires. The pleasant, clean fragrance it released while burning was another key reason everyone liked using it.

Even earlier, during the great steel smelting drive, countless Hainan huanghuali trees were burned to fuel the furnaces for steel production.

Yi Xiaolin hadn't gone to Haidao Province alone; he was with a group of seven or eight men. Their original plan was to go to a border city in western Gui Province to buy timber like Siamese rosewood, red sandalwood, and Vietnamese huanghuali directly from Vietnamese merchants.

However, after learning a little about Hainan huanghuali, Yi Xiaolin became interested in Haidao Province. He proactively suggested to Yi Anguo that they should go there and see if they could acquire any.

Yi Anguo had warned him that many buyers were likely already there, driving the prices up too high to be profitable.

But Yi Xiaolin argued, "There are always some forgotten corners that others haven't discovered. Maybe we'll get lucky and find one!"

Without giving it much more thought, Yi Anguo told Yi Xiaolin and his team to try their luck in Haidao Province before heading to western Guangdong.

As it turned out, their luck was incredibly good. They found a Li village deep in the mountains that had a large amount of Hainan huanghuali wood.

It seems we're really going to make a fortune this time.

After his call with Yi Anguo, Yi Xiaolin and his men went to the local county town and purchased a large batch of new, solid wood furniture. They hauled it back to the Li village to trade with the villagers for their dilapidated old furniture.

Yi Xiaolin was conscientious and responsible. He didn't purchase the cheap, attractive, but flimsy particle board furniture. Instead, he bought genuine solid wood furniture, even if it was made from more common types of wood. Solid wood furniture is far more durable than particle board, costs more, and is better suited to the rural environment where it's less likely to get damaged.

The villagers were naturally thrilled to learn they could exchange their old furniture for new pieces, and they eagerly made the trades.

After the furniture exchange, the next step was to trade for their old houses. Yi Xiaolin offered to demolish their old houses and build new ones for free. He had only one condition: he would get to keep the timber from their old houses.

With someone offering to tear down their dilapidated houses and build them new, multi-story homes at no cost, the villagers were, of course, more than willing.

Yi Xiaolin also discussed with Yi Anguo the idea of paying to bring electricity to the village and hiring a construction team to build a proper road.

The existing road was narrow and rough, only passable by tractors. It was prone to becoming slippery in the rain, making uphill climbs especially hard. As it was a winding mountain road, it became dangerously slippery when wet. During the rainy season, tractor drivers rarely dared to leave the mountain, fearing they wouldn't be able to get back. Moreover, transporting the Hainan huanghuali they were acquiring would also be difficult with tractors. Improving the road would allow larger trucks to enter, making it much easier to ship the timber out.

The upgraded road was significantly wider and paved with asphalt. It made travel much more convenient for the villagers, though it certainly cost a pretty penny.

But it was all worth it, and it was a good deed for the local people.

Initially, Yi Xiaolin felt a bit guilty for getting so much Hainan huanghuali from the Li village for such a low price, so he wanted to help them in return. As it happened, Yi Anguo also felt that since he had profited so much from the villagers, he should give something back. He agreed to the road, saying they should do it right and build a high-quality one from the start.

Yi Anguo donated the funds for the road out of the mountains in the name of his Anjing Online Supermarket. It was both a good deed and a way to advertise and promote his business.

The new road and electricity brought immense joy to the Li villagers. Not only was it easier for them to leave the mountain, but they could also transport their agricultural products out to sell. This opened up new avenues for the Li villagers to prosper. They could now take their local specialties and fruits to market, earn money, and improve their lives.

And Yi Anguo, of course, reaped a massive harvest of Hainan huanghuali. The profits from this venture were guaranteed.

What surprised Yi Anguo even more was that the most beautiful Li girl in the village had taken a liking to Yi Xiaoman, who was terrified and didn't know what to do.

Yi Anguo was at a loss himself. He asked Yi Xiaoman if he liked the girl and if she was willing to marry him and move back to his hometown.

Yi Xiaoman replied, "Her family doesn't have any sons. They want me to marry into their family."

Yi Anguo was speechless. "You're the only son in your family. Your parents definitely wouldn't agree to you staying in Haidao Province to marry into her family, would they?"

"My parents would never agree to me staying in Haidao Province! So it's impossible between us," Yi Xiaoman said. "Besides, I don't want to stay here myself. It's too remote and backward."

"Then there's no way around it. Since you don't want to stay, you have to find a way to take her with you!" Yi Anguo said.

"Taking her with me would be difficult, too! Her parents would never agree to let her leave with me!" Yi Xiaoman added.

"Then what do you want from me? I don't have any other solutions!" Yi Anguo said helplessly. "Why don't you ask her parents what their conditions are? How much money would it take for them to let her go? The only thing I can help you with is money!"

"Right! You still haven't told me, do you actually like the girl?"

"If you don't, then there's nothing to think about. Just come back. Come to Shenzhen. The girl isn't going to chase you all the way to Shenzhen and force you to marry her or go back to Haidao, is she?"

"We've already slept together!" Yi Xiaoman said, his voice full of shame. "I can't just leave without taking responsibility."

Upon hearing this, Yi Anguo was so exasperated he could have coughed up blood. What the hell is this mess?

Young people just can't control themselves. They only get scared after they've gotten into trouble.

The more backward, impoverished, and isolated a place is, the more seriously the local girls take these matters. To think he could sleep with her and then leave irresponsibly... where on earth could he find such an easy way out?

"You've already slept with her, so what other choice is there?" Yi Anguo said, frustrated by his poor judgment. "Your only option now is to convince her to follow you with all her heart. Otherwise, you're just going to have to stay there."

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