Chapter 13: Debts Must Be Repaid and Hiring More Staff

Chapter 13: Chapter 13: Debts Must Be Repaid and Hiring More Staff

Zhang Lin returned to the farm and immediately drove the three-wheeled cargo truck to the warehouse, then loaded the baskets of Sunshine Rose grapes onto it.

’First things first, I need to get these 500 catties to Lin Tuo.’

Just as he finished loading the 500 catties of Sunshine Rose grapes, he received a message on WeChat.

He opened it and, to his surprise, saw that Fu Yao, whom he had just added as a contact, had sent him her feedback.

"Boss, your Sunshine Rose grapes are amazing! I’ve never had Sunshine Rose grapes this delicious before!"

Beneath the message, she had also sent a selfie of herself holding a cluster of Sunshine Rose grapes, a sweet smile on her face.

Zhang Lin hadn’t expected Fu Yao to actually send him feedback. Moreover, the sweet smile of a high school girl could truly tug at the heartstrings of a 26-year-old man.

"Okay, got it!" Zhang Lin simply replied.

’Since the girl took this seriously, I can’t go back on my word when new products are available for wholesale.’

Meanwhile, Fu Yao only put down the cluster of Sunshine Rose grapes in her hand after receiving Zhang Lin’s reply on WeChat.

’The fruit from Li Yuan Farm, both the honey peaches and the Sunshine Rose grapes, is just too delicious. If he releases a new product, I really want to be the first to try it. I just don’t know if the feedback I sent will be selected.’

’In her mind, lots of people were probably participating in his event. She didn’t know how to use flowery language for her feedback, and she wasn’t good at taking photos. She didn’t feel very competitive.’

"Done with the pictures? Can we eat them now?" Lin Xin had been waiting at the side for a while. She’d only eaten a few of the delicious Sunshine Rose grapes and was nowhere near satisfied.

...

After messaging Fu Yao, Zhang Lin drove the 500 catties of Sunshine Rose grapes over to Lin Tuo.

Lin Tuo was already waiting with his men. When he saw Zhang Lin arrive, he greeted him enthusiastically and had his people unload and weigh the shipment.

Before long, Zhang Lin received the payment for the 500 catties of Sunshine Rose grapes:

"Account ending in ***... received 20,000.00 yuan. Current balance: 114,457.52 yuan."

When Zhang Lin got back to the farm, Guo Zhen was already in the steel-paneled building. Upon seeing Zhang Lin, he reported, "Boss, I’ve surveyed the terrain and location of the 500-mu area for the rapeseed cultivation. Tonight, I’ll start by pinpointing the spot for the reservoir. As for the detailed blueprints, I’ll need a bit of time, but I’ll draw them up as fast as I can."

"Good." Zhang Lin nodded, then told Liu De to arrange a room for Guo Zhen and get him a set of living essentials.

"Right away, Boss!" Liu De immediately responded.

After giving his instructions, Zhang Lin got on his scooter and headed home.

He had just entered his residential complex when he suddenly heard someone call his name. "Zhang Lin!"

He saw a young man in a Meituan delivery uniform approaching on an electric scooter.

"Zhang Dong? You’re out?" Zhang Lin’s face was a mask of astonishment.

"Yeah, I’m out." Zhang Dong sighed, reminded of unpleasant memories. "Never thought I’d run into you making a delivery here. We should get a drink sometime... On second thought, no drinks. We can just hang out!" He then glanced at the time and said hurriedly, "This order is about to be late. We’ll catch up later!"

Zhang Lin sighed as he watched Zhang Dong’s retreating figure. His childhood friend had once been so full of life, yet he’d ended up in prison for three years because of a drunken brawl.

But what man could stand by and watch his girlfriend get harassed? The problem was, Zhang Dong had been drinking. He didn’t hold back, hit the guy in a critical spot, and ended up crippling him.

As a result, Zhang Dong went to prison for three years, lost his job, and was left with a criminal record.

Of course, the guy who acted like he owned the world after a few cheap drinks and tried to force another man’s girlfriend to drink with him didn’t get off easy. Normally, inflicting that kind of injury would’ve earned Zhang Dong much more than three years. However, the other guy had instigated the fight, and it was all caught on surveillance, so Zhang Dong’s sentence was reduced.

Neither of them came out ahead. Both their lives were ruined.

Zhang Dong’s family were good people. When Zhang Lin’s father first started the farm, their family had lent him 50,000 yuan without hesitation.

Furthermore, after his father passed away, Zhang Dong’s family, just like the other creditors, knew that he and his mother were going through a difficult time and never brought up the debt.

Otherwise, after such a tragedy, the creditors would have been at their door, demanding repayment long ago.

That was one of the reasons he was determined to take on his father’s debts.

’What they lent was kindness. What I pay back can’t be resentment.’

He checked his balance: 114,457.52 yuan. ’I could pay back Zhang Dong’s family the 50,000 yuan now without any issue.’

’However, paying back the money wasn’t as simple as just handing it over. His family had more than one creditor.’

’As long as he hadn’t paid anyone back, the creditors, being good people, wouldn’t have any complaints or bring it up.’

’But the moment he paid one of them back while the others were still waiting, it wouldn’t matter which family he chose—the rest would inevitably feel slighted.’

’After all, even children squabble over who gets candy first.’

’In essence, the two situations weren’t any different.’

’So, the best approach was to wait until he had enough money, then find the right time to pay back all the creditors at once. He had to handle this cleanly and properly.’

’Besides, with 1,000 catties of honey peaches and 500 catties of Sunshine Rose grapes to wholesale every day, he’d be able to gather the money he owed the creditors soon enough.’

Lost in thought, Zhang Lin headed home.

Early the next morning, the first thing Zhang Lin did after waking up was purchase 1,000 catties of honey peaches, 500 catties of Sunshine Rose grapes, and a supply of rapeseed flower seeds.

"Card ending in ***: A payment of 9,500.00 yuan was made to China Merchants Bank on June 8, 7:30 AM. Current balance: 104,957.52 yuan."

After finishing the breakfast his mom had prepared, he immediately went to the farm.

As usual, Liu De was already there, directing the men as they loaded the goods.

’The daily wholesale volume is 1,500 catties now. This three-wheeled cargo truck can only carry 500 catties at a time, meaning it has to make three round trips. It’s taking too long.’

’I could buy two more used three-wheelers or light trucks. Then we could load all the fruit at once and have Lin Dawei, Lin Dayou, and Liu De each drive a vehicle to make the delivery together.’

’As for a large truck, the current volume doesn’t justify it, the farm roads aren’t suitable, and they’re expensive. I’ll put that idea aside for now.’

With that in mind, Zhang Lin got on his scooter, returned to You City, and found a dealership that specialized in used commercial vehicles.

"Hey boss, looking for a vehicle?" A salesman at the used vehicle dealership greeted him enthusiastically the moment he walked in. "Let me show you around. These trucks are perfect for hauling cargo—absolute money-makers!"

Zhang Lin chuckled at the introduction.

’Salesmen always called cargo vehicles ’money-makers’.’

’But could you really get rich just by hauling goods?’

’Not a chance. It’s a one-way ticket to a life of back-breaking labor.’

The dealership had a decent selection of used vehicles. After looking around for a while, Zhang Lin picked out two light trucks that were in good condition with reasonable mileage. One cost 9,000 yuan and the other 8,000, with registration included in the price.

He didn’t waste time haggling. Once the salesman guaranteed the paperwork would be finished that day, Zhang Lin signed the contract and paid the 17,000 yuan, leaving his balance at just 87,957.52 yuan.

However, by the time he got back to the farm and Liu De had finished delivering the honey peaches and Sunshine Rose grapes, the payment from Lin Tuo came through.

"Account ending in... received 44,000.00 yuan. Current balance: 131,957.52 yuan."

Zhang Lin walked into the steel-paneled building just as Guo Zhen came looking for him. "Boss, I’ve settled on the location for the reservoir in the 500-mu rapeseed cultivation area. It’ll be about 1,000 cubic meters. Before the blueprints are completely finished, we can have people start digging out the basin. Afterward, we can line it with cement bricks and channel water into it."

Zhang Lin frowned slightly. Digging the pit would require manual labor. Guo Zhen was a technical specialist; he wasn’t cut out for that kind of physical work.

Liu De and the other two were good workers, but the amount of developed land was about to reach 100 mu.

And developing 100 mu of land came with a milestone reward.

’It’s the fastest milestone reward I can get right now.’

’After this one, the next milestone for land development requires reaching 1,000 mu!’

’And the second profit milestone requires earning a total of 1 million.’

’So, it’s better to hire two new workers to dig the pit. I’ll have Liu De and the others focus on getting the developed land to 100 mu so I can claim that milestone reward first.’

With that decided, Zhang Lin focused on the recruitment market in his mind and spent another 15,000 yuan to hire two farmhands.

[Congratulations. You have spent 15,000 yuan to recruit 2 ordinary farmhands. Employment period: one month. The ordinary farmhands are now materializing...]

Two balls of light appeared, and a moment later, two farmhands materialized from them. At the same time, two contracts appeared on the office desk.

"Awaiting your instructions, Boss," the two farmhands asked in unison the moment they materialized.

Zhang Lin gave his orders directly. "The farm is building an automated irrigation system, and we need to dig the basin for a reservoir. Guo Zhen will show you where."

"Yes, Boss!" the two farmhands answered in unison.

Since Guo Zhen had also been hired through the game, he was unaffected by its rules and didn’t find it strange to see the two men materialize out of thin air. He simply led them outside to get to work.