PCJ – Chapter 196 To get rich, have fewer children and plant more trees

“This road will eventually be repaired. These fruit trees won’t bear fruit immediately after planting. In a few years, when they start bearing fruit, the road will probably be repaired as well. Nowadays, cement roads are being built everywhere. Perhaps in the future, the road in Meizi’ao Village will also be turned into a cement road. Are you still worried about not being able to transport the fruit?” Zhang Dechun said this without much confidence. The road in Meizi’ao Village is twenty to thirty miles long, and even making it a gravel road would cost a lot of money. How much would it cost to turn it into a cement road? Zhang Dechun didn’t even dare to think about it.

“Can I contract a barren hill to plant fruit trees?” Zhang Jiaohua asked.

Zhang Dechun was about to leave with his bucket of lime when he stopped upon hearing Zhang Jiaohua’s question, “What kind of kid wants to contract a barren hill?”

“My family has dozens of hunting dogs. When they grow up, there won’t be enough space in our yard. It would be perfect to contract a barren hill to raise the dogs.” Zhang Jiaohua wasn’t really interested in planting fruit trees.

“Which barren hill do you want to contract?” Zhang Dechun needed a pioneer to fulfill the task.

“I’ll take the barren hill behind our house. I’ll contract it all and plant fruit trees.” Zhang Jiaohua came up with this idea on the spot. After thinking for a moment, he made up his mind.

“But that hill isn’t suitable for planting fruit trees. You should choose another barren hill. Why don’t you contract the village’s horticultural farm?” Zhang Dechun genuinely considered Zhang Jiaohua’s interests. The horticultural farm was originally the village’s tea garden, with very good soil. However, due to poor management by previous contractors, the tea trees had been neglected. Last year, the previous contractors gave up, and no one had taken over since. If it could be contracted out, Zhang Dechun planned to extend the contract period and lower the fees. Besides, the horticultural farm still had buildings from the village’s pig farm, built in the 1950s and 1960s. With some modifications, Zhang Jiaohua could use them to raise dogs.

“Can you reclaim the horticultural farm? Don’t think I’m too young to understand. The fields there are already planted with crops.” Zhang Jiaohua knew that although the horticultural farm was public, it had been contracted out and was currently planted with crops by the contractors. The village wanted to reclaim it because they hadn’t received any rent. The fields had long been treated as private land by the contractors.

“Listen, you call me grandpa; would I let you suffer a loss? If someone else contracted it, it might be hard to reclaim, but if you contract it, no one in the village would dare to mess with you.” Zhang Dechun had this in mind. Indeed, if Zhang Jiaohua contracted the land, no one would dare to oppose it.

“Why are you so eager for me to contract the horticultural farm? What are you up to?” Zhang Jiaohua, though not familiar with the saying “unsolicited kindness must hide evil intentions,” understood that there’s no such thing as a free lunch.

“Uh.” Zhang Dechun was a bit embarrassed. He had no ill intentions, but the county had tasked each village with planting a thousand mu of fruit trees. The horticultural farm was two to three hundred mu, and reclaiming it would fulfill a third of the task. If a few more barren hills were contracted, the task would be completed. As for using these fruit trees to alleviate poverty in Meizi’ao Village, Zhang Dechun hadn’t considered it. In the mountains of Meizi’ao Village, if the roads were good, selling a few mountains of timber would have already alleviated poverty. With poor roads, even if fruits were produced, they couldn’t be transported. This was a reality that even Zhang Jiaohua understood, so naturally, Zhang Dechun did too. Anyone with a bit of sense in Meizi’ao Village would see it. On TV, they always say, “To get rich, first build roads,” but in Xintian County, they emphasize “To get rich, first plant trees.” It’s not that officials don’t understand this principle; it’s just that planting trees is easier than building roads.

“The higher-ups assigned us a task of planting a thousand mu of fruit trees per village. Actually, completing three hundred mu is barely acceptable. Since you said you wanted to contract a barren hill, I suggested the horticultural farm. The village hasn’t received any rent from it for two years. At most, you can pay a symbolic rent each year. What do you think?” Zhang Dechun was worried Zhang Jiaohua might disagree.

“Okay. But I still want to contract the barren hill behind my house. Anyway, the horticultural farm and the barren hill are connected.” Zhang Jiaohua thought for a moment and said.

“Alright. But what’s the use of contracting that barren hill? The dwarf pine trees there are almost twenty years old and still so short. Even if they grow in the future, they can only be used for firewood. If you want it, consider it an addition to the horticultural farm. That way, your parents won’t feel I deceived a child. But you need to discuss this with your grandparents. If they disagree, it won’t work.” Zhang Dechun added after some thought.

“I can pay you myself.” Zhang Jiaohua was worried that discussing it with Zhang Manyin would lead to another debate.

“That won’t work. How old are you? You don’t have full legal capacity yet. Your parents or grandparents must sign the contract.” Zhang Dechun shook his head.

“Alright then.” Zhang Jiaohua prepared to return to the classroom.

“Hey, Jiaohua. I heard your handwriting is good. Can you help me paint a slogan on your school’s new teaching building?” Zhang Dechun shook his bucket.

Zhang Jiaohua thought that if he wanted to contract the horticultural farm and the back hill, he might need Zhang Dechun’s help in the future, so he decided to help him paint the slogan today.

Actually, Zhang Dechun didn’t ask Zhang Jiaohua to paint the slogan because of his good handwriting. Zhang Dechun was once a proud proletarian fighter, and he had painted many revolutionary slogans and posters. He was good at it. The problem was that the new building at Meizi’ao Village Elementary School didn’t allow slogans. So, Zhang Dechun thought of Zhang Jiaohua.

Painting slogans, using a brush like a mop to scribble on the wall, is exciting for any kid. Although Zhang Jiaohua was different from other children, he was still a kid. The chance to write and paint was irresistible.

Taking the bucket of lime and brush from Zhang Dechun, he started painting on the school’s new teaching building.

“To get rich, have fewer children and plant trees first.”