PCJ – Chapter 647 The Manor

As Zhang Jiaohua was preparing to return to Yingpan Village, Mei Qing and Ji Jiaxin came to see him.

“Zhang Jiaohua, we’d like to ask you for something,” Ji Jiaxin began.

“You two should really think this through. Cultivation relies on talent. Without talent, no matter how hard you work, it’ll all be in vain. In the end, if you waste your time, energy, and even your youth on this path, only to blame me later—it’ll be too late,” Zhang Jiaohua said, already knowing what they wanted without asking.

“Then tell us—do you think we have talent?” Ji Jiaxin asked.

“If it’s called innate talent, how could ordinary people see it clearly with just a glance? Honestly, I don’t feel that either of you possess any particularly outstanding gifts. Whether you can cultivate or not depends on yourselves. Life is full of disappointment—who can see through everything at a glance?” Zhang Jiaohua shook his head, refusing to give a definitive answer. The two of them might not be extremely gifted, but that didn’t mean they were completely unsuited for cultivation. In truth, what mattered more than talent was comprehension. Talent was visible; comprehension was not.

“I’ve made up my mind. I want to try,” Mei Qing said firmly.

“Me too—but I still have to attend school and can’t stay here every day. What should I do then?” Ji Jiaxin asked with concern.

“If you’re truly serious about trying, you can come during your free time. Just let us know your schedule, and Deacon Zhu will arrange someone to pick you up,” Zhang Jiaohua replied.

“Then there’s no problem!” Ji Jiaxin beamed.

Once everything was arranged for Mei Qing and Ji Jiaxin, Zhang Jiaohua rushed back to Yingpan Village.

As soon as he left the village, rumors began to spread in the village and the nearby town, saying Zhang Jiaohua might never return. Though he had taken official leave through organizational channels, the villagers could tell from past events that Zhang Jiaohua was no ordinary person. A college student serving as a village official shouldn’t have been able to mobilize so many resources—that said enough about his impressive background. He’d already accomplished two major feats during his time in Yingpan Village: rescuing trafficked women and finding a way out of poverty for the village. Based on those two things alone, he could leave the post with a solid reputation.

So when Zhang Jiaohua showed up again in Yingpan Village, everyone was shocked.

“I knew Uncle Zhang would come back! Uncle Zhang, they all said you wouldn’t return. Some people were even eyeing your stuff in your room! I was the only one who believed you’d be back,” said Gu Chuangui as he ran excitedly toward him.

“The soil salinity problem hasn’t been solved yet, and Yingpan Village isn’t prosperous—how could I leave?” Zhang Jiaohua smiled.

“Uncle Zhang, will our village become as rich as those countryside places on TV one day?” Gu Chuangui asked.

“Of course. Yingpan Village has mountains, farmland, and hardworking people. Once we fix the salt-alkaline issue, there’s no reason we won’t become prosperous. When we can grow crops in the paddy fields again, do you think people here will go hungry?”

“No way! As long as the fields are usable, we’ll plant them full of crops. With a good harvest, we can even raise livestock. That way, we’ll never have to worry about food or clothes again,” Chuangui said, already dreaming of better days.

Zhang Jiaohua sighed softly. “Chuangui, we can’t just settle for having enough to eat and wear. We need to aim for true prosperity. You must keep studying hard and, one day, leave these mountains to see the world beyond. Understand?”

Looking out at the blue sky, Chuangui said quietly, “When I grow up, I’ll leave Tianbaqiao. I want to find my parents. I want to ask them why they never came back to see me.”

His words made Zhang Jiaohua’s heart ache. The boy might never see his father again, and his mother may never acknowledge him.

“Cadre Zhang, you’re back!” said Gu Baishui, surprised to see him.

“Business is done, so I came back. Normal, right? I heard people have been saying I wouldn’t return. Is it that you don’t welcome me back, Secretary Gu?” Zhang Jiaohua asked, glancing at him meaningfully.

Gu Baishui laughed awkwardly. “How could that be? The salt-alkali remediation isn’t finished. If you didn’t return, I wouldn’t be at ease. You’re a college graduate—you know more about this than anyone. If you weren’t here, I’d worry the county’s tech staff wouldn’t take it seriously.”

“That’s why I hurried back. What’s the current status? Has the water been drained?”

“Almost. The town is sending in excavators tomorrow to dredge the silt from the reservoir. The silt is highly alkaline, so we plan to bury it in that barren mountain valley over there. That’ll prevent future leakage of salinity,” said Gu Baishui.

“Be careful not to let the silt contaminate the water source. If that happens, everything we’ve done will be for nothing,” Zhang Jiaohua warned.

“Don’t worry. We’ve thought it through. The town’s technicians inspected the valley in person. There shouldn’t be any issues,” Baishui assured him.

“How are things in the village? Anyone going hungry?” Zhang asked.

“Not at all. Everyone’s working on the remediation project, so they’re getting paid. Plus, we’re providing meals on-site. No one’s going hungry these days,” said Gu Baishui.

“Secretary Gu, once we’ve solved the salt-alkali issue, I’d like to discuss some plans with you.”

“What plans? Cadre Zhang, just say the word,” Baishui said.

“I think we should make a long-term development plan for the village—figure out how we can speed up the path to prosperity.”

“You always have ideas, being a college man. Got another one now? Let’s hear it,” Baishui said eagerly. As the village secretary, he was naturally keen to see the village prosper—not out of pure altruism, but because his share in the benefits would grow too.

“All right. Secretary Gu, come inside. Let’s talk.” Zhang handed him a stool, then pulled up another for himself.

“How much paddy field, dry land, and mountain land does each person have on average?” he asked.

“Each person has over two acres of paddy field, about the same amount of dry land, and a lot of mountain land—at least twenty acres per household,” Gu Baishui calculated.

“And if we rely solely on farming, do you think Yingpan can become a wealthy village?” Zhang asked.

Baishui shook his head. “We might manage subsistence, but that’s it. And we can’t even cultivate all of it. There’s not enough labor left—only the old, weak, and sick. The young people are all out working. They’ve tasted life outside. Why would they come back to farm?”

“Exactly. That’s why I think we need to start planning. Many of our paddy fields are too saline to be planted for now. If we divide that land among households, there’ll be discontent. So first, we should assess how much arable land is still usable. Don’t divide it—pool it instead. Form a farmer-run cooperative. Once we have the capacity, we can mechanize the work. The government is encouraging mechanized agriculture, and there are subsidies for buying farm equipment.”

“Cadre Zhang, you know our situation. Who around here has money for farm machines? They’re happy just having food to eat,” Baishui said.

“Secretary Gu, hear me out. Just relying on farming won’t make us rich. I grew up in the countryside too. Even if you manage your land well, you might earn a few hundred yuan—maybe even lose money. Most households have a few acres. You can’t get rich on that. Young people won’t stay in a village where all they can do is scrape by. A village with no youth will die eventually—don’t you agree?”

Baishui thought for a moment and nodded heavily. “Who doesn’t know that? Cadre Zhang, let me have a smoke.”

He pulled out a cigarette, lit it, and puffed deeply. Smoke wrapped around him, obscuring his face.

“No matter how tough the work is out there, it’s better than digging food from the earth. Even low wages are better than what the land pays. The outside world is so dazzling. If I were 10 or 20 years younger, I wouldn’t stay here either,” he sighed.

“It’s not impossible to bring them back. If they can earn money easily at home, who’d go out and suffer? Everything’s hard away from home. I’ve got an idea—to turn Yingpan Village into a modern manor. We’ll form a joint-stock company; villagers can invest with their land. Then we attract outside investment and build the manor. We focus on tourism, farmhouse stays, and eco-agriculture. Once it’s running, tourists will come from all over, money will follow, and jobs will pop up. Then, why would young people want to leave?” Zhang Jiaohua explained.

“Sounds nice, but easier said than done,” Baishui frowned. “Who would invest in this remote, poor mountain place? We’ve got no infrastructure—why would tourists come?”

Zhang smiled. “Those aren’t real problems. We’ll find investors slowly—leave that to me. I’ll get them. As for infrastructure, it’s not an issue either. Check the province’s transportation plan—there’s a planned highway that will pass right near Yingpan Village, with an exit at Tianbaqiao. Once we get investment, we can apply for funding to build a road connecting the village. That solves everything.”

“What’s a highway?” Baishui asked, confused.

Zhang had to explain at length before Baishui understood what a highway was. In developed areas, highways were common, but in remote places like Tianbaqiao, they were still a novelty.

“Cadre Zhang, if we really build this manor, do you think it’ll make Yingpan wealthy?”

“Definitely. But it won’t happen overnight. Building a manor won’t be easy. And whether we get the villagers’ support is another issue. Plus, when investors come, the shares will depend on how much they put in. Everything will have to follow the law. But our villagers are still stuck in old mindsets. I’m not sure they’ll accept all these modern ideas,” Zhang said, worried.

“Don’t worry—I’ll convince them. Anything’s better than how things are now. If we get the manor running, young folks won’t need to go out and do hard labor anymore. Most of our boys didn’t go far in school—they can’t even get into factories. They just end up doing tough, dirty work outside,” Gu Baishui promised.