Chapter 100 - 101: Killing Two Birds with One Stone

Chapter 100: Chapter 101: Killing Two Birds with One Stone

The office was thick with cigarette smoke.

Both Chen Wenbin and Chen Yuan had their brows furrowed, though for very different reasons.

Chen Wenbin was trying to figure out what Chen Yuan could possibly do without the big pond, while Chen Yuan wasn’t worried in the slightest — his mind was still turning over the situation with the big pond.

"There’s always been a rule in this village — the big pond can’t go private, and the village committee can’t just do whatever it wants with it. Even if the committee raises fish in there to sell, that’s collective property. Every household gets a cut."

Chen Wenbin exhaled a slow breath of smoke.

Chen Yuan understood the situation perfectly. Every family in the village had a stake in that pond. Nobody could touch it — not even the village committee had absolute say over it.

"That said, you can’t please everyone. If someone comes up with a solid proposal and the committee thinks it’s workable, they can call a village meeting to discuss it. As long as two-thirds vote in favor, the committee can move forward."

Chen Wenbin tapped his cigarette over the ashtray, took another long drag, and gave Chen Yuan a look that was somewhere between a smile and a smirk.

"So what you’re saying, Uncle Bin, is that the big pond isn’t completely off the table?"

Chen Yuan’s head snapped up, his eyes suddenly bright.

"My original plan was to use the small pond and the Old Pond as a foundation — let you build up a track record first, give the villagers something real to see, something that actually benefits them. Then I’d help you go after the big pond. But clearly, now isn’t the time."

Chen Wenbin let out a long stream of smoke.

Chen Yuan wanting to skip the Old Pond and jump straight to the big pond was too big a leap.

The big pond wasn’t out of reach — but there were too many complications involved.

Take right now, for instance. The villagers could already see that the small pond was doing great business. So why would they hand over the big pond to him? What’s in it for them?

A leasing fee?

Nobody needed that kind of pocket change.

But if they followed the old village chief’s rules and split whatever was made from the big pond among every household, then Chen Yuan would basically be working for the entire village — and he sure as hell wouldn’t be happy about that.

So what Chen Wenbin was counting on was for Chen Yuan’s promises to actually materialize. Even if the villagers just got a small taste of the benefits, he’d have something solid to stand on when he made his move.

Right now, though? Pure wishful thinking.

"Uncle Bin, take a look at this~"

Chen Yuan’s eyes lit up. He stuck the cigarette in his mouth, pulled up his computer, opened the document he’d been working on earlier, and slid it across to Chen Wenbin.

"Livestock farming?"

Chen Wenbin frowned the moment he saw the title. With current regulations, the second the word "farming" came into the picture, there were endless hoops to jump through.

An absolute headache to deal with.

But as he kept reading, the clouded weariness in his eyes began to clear, and he straightened up in his chair, visibly more engaged.

Before he knew it, the cigarette had burned down to nothing. The sting of heat against his fingers snapped him back to reality, and he stubbed the butt out in the ashtray.

"Both options have their merits."

Chen Wenbin pushed the laptop back to Chen Yuan and reached for another cigarette from the desk, lighting it up.

"Let’s start with the first one — using villagers’ farmland to raise the chickens in scattered batches. It sidesteps the regulatory risk nicely, and since you’re doing all the work yourself, offering villagers thirty yuan per bird as a cut should get plenty of them on board."

Chen Yuan’s first plan was essentially to borrow farmland from villagers in exchange for a per-bird commission — a roundabout way of paying rent — while the villagers themselves wouldn’t have to lift a finger. Just sit back and collect.

And he wasn’t planning on going big. With a four-to-five-month cycle, roosters could reach over three jin and hens close to three jin — more than enough.

Run two or three rounds a year, and it would easily beat what anyone else could offer through a standard lease.

As for feed, his own vegetable plot was wide enough that scraps and greens could cover most of it. The feeding costs were low, and the hassle was minimal.

"The second option is leasing wasteland or low-grade land, hiring villagers to do the actual raising on a monthly wage. That’d probably draw even more interest — maybe even more than the first option. But the costs are a lot heavier."

Chen Wenbin leaned toward the second approach. After all, Chen Dequan and Liu Fang were living proof — plenty of villagers had been eyeing their situation with envy lately.

But the burden on Chen Yuan would be much heavier: the land lease, labor costs, and whatever infrastructure needed to be built. None of that came close to how cheap and easy it was to just fence off some farmland.

"The difference isn’t that big."

Chen Yuan shrugged, unbothered.

For one thing, he wasn’t planning a large-scale operation — just supplying genuine free-range chickens to his customers. For another, he had the system backing him up, so any construction work wouldn’t cost him a single cent in cash.

"If you’re confident, then I’ve got something to work with on my end."

Chen Wenbin could tell Chen Yuan was being serious. He gave a slow nod, then tapped the last section of the document. "What’s this ’specialty’ part about?"

"On a smaller scale, it’s about getting villagers together to sell authentic homegrown products to city folks — things like bean flour, whole grains, homemade fermented bean paste, that sort of thing."

Chen Yuan warmed to the topic as he spoke, taking a sip of water before continuing,

"And then there’s the question of whether any villagers have a signature dish or specialty snack — anything goes, really. Once we take on the other ponds, our current staff won’t be able to keep up with the food side of things. Bringing in more hands and expanding the menu is all upside, no downside~"

Chen Wenbin’s eyes lit up even more at that.

He’d been thinking just moments ago about how Chen Yuan could extend the benefits to more villagers — take what Chen Dequan and Liu Fang had going and scale it up — build real influence in the village so he’d have the standing to push for the big pond.

And now it looked like it was actually going to happen.

Not empty promises. A real, concrete plan.

"And on a bigger scale — what’s the vision?"

Chen Wenbin flicked his ash, genuinely intrigued by what Chen Yuan had put together.

"That ties back into what we talked about last time — linking the specialty angle with leisure, building out a distinct identity for Yu City Village. Think fruit countryside, Flower Sea attractions, that kind of thing. Give Yu City Village a brand — make it synonymous with a relaxing getaway~"

Chen Yuan was visibly excited as he laid it out. Recreation and leisure had always been the direction he’d mapped out for development.

He opened another document right away — one he’d put together a couple of days ago while thinking through the membership system, sketching out how the fishing grounds and Yu City Village’s broader development could all tie together.

Chen Wenbin studied the screen with a focused expression.

But the sharp gleam that had lit up his eyes a moment ago was noticeably absent.

"That’s a long road~"

They’d discussed this before. There were plenty of detailed ideas this time around, but at the end of the day, it was still a big-picture vision — nowhere near as grounded as the livestock plan.

"Better a long road than no road at all~"

Chen Yuan wasn’t fazed.

His past life in sales had taught him that — you don’t worry about a client who asks too many questions; you worry about the one who isn’t interested at all. Same logic applied to the fishing grounds. A path, however long, gives you direction. No path, and you’re going nowhere.

"Send me both of these documents."

Chen Wenbin didn’t offer any comments or suggestions — he just told Chen Yuan to get him copies of both plans.

Chen Yuan already had Chen Wenbin on WeChat. He logged in on the computer and sent them over right then and there.

"Come to think of it — your real play here is to use the livestock operation and the positioning around the Old Pond to dangle real benefits in front of the villagers, and use that to wear down Zhou Jianming’s resistance, isn’t it."

Once the documents were saved, Chen Wenbin leaned back and steered the conversation with a knowing smile.

"Smoke and mirrors, a bit of misdirection — it looks like you’re gunning for the big pond, but what you’re really after is the Old Pond. And in the meantime, you’re testing the waters with the villagers and getting a read on just how hard the big pond would actually be to crack. One move, multiple payoffs."

Chen Yuan didn’t deny it.

"Alright. I’ll handle it."

Chen Wenbin took it on.

"Thanks, Uncle Bin."

Chen Yuan grinned from ear to ear and immediately grabbed the thermos beside him to refill Chen Wenbin’s tea.

"You little~"

Chen Wenbin pointed at him, shaking his head with a quiet laugh. He didn’t quite know what to make of Chen Yuan’s savvy, street-smart instincts — but the smile on his face was as bright as ever.

"For the livestock side, I’m leaning toward the second option. If you’re going to do it, do it right from the start — cut out the complications and the risks. As for a site, I’ll find you a plot over in Hou Village."

Chen Wenbin’s expression turned businesslike as the smile faded.

"Whatever you say, Uncle Bin~"

Chen Yuan had no objections — though he was already quietly grumbling to himself that this was going to cost him more system points.

"Alright, go on — get back to it if there’s nothing else."

Chen Wenbin waved him off and turned back to the computer, hand on the mouse, clicking around — whether he was playing a card game or actually doing work was anyone’s guess.

"Sure thing, Uncle Bin. I’ll leave you to it."

Chen Yuan stood up with a grin, said his goodbyes, and headed for the door — pausing on his way out to pull two packs of Hua cigarettes from his pocket and set them on the desk.

"This kid~"

Chen Wenbin watched Chen Yuan disappear out the office door, shook his head with a helpless smile, then pulled open the desk drawer and tossed both packs inside.

There were already several packs in there.

Leave it to Chen Yuan to always show up with something in hand. Where the kid had picked up this kind of seasoned, know-how-to-work-a-room style, Chen Wenbin really couldn’t say.

"And then there are these plans~"

Chen Wenbin’s gaze settled back on the screen, switching back and forth between the two documents, a sharpness slowly building in his eyes.