Chapter 60: A Peach Tree at Last

Chapter 60: Chapter 60: A Peach Tree at Last

Wei Yuan was also staring in astonishment at the procession of construction vehicles. They were fully equipped with all sorts of machinery, and more importantly, there were a lot of workers.

The construction teams in You City had nothing like this setup. ’This must be a team from a big city.’

"Boss Zhang has really prepared well for this Bamboo Maze," Wei Yuan couldn’t help but remark.

"Indeed," Zhao Han affirmed.

A moment later, after all the construction vehicles had passed, the roadblock in front of the parking lot was finally removed.

Zhao Han returned to the Tourism Bureau immediately and held a brief meeting.

Since they needed to send someone to the Bamboo Maze project to film videos and document its creation, they naturally had to choose a person for the job.

In the end, the meeting decided to assign this task to Wang Yu, the acting section chief who had taken over after Chen Ting was demoted.

Zhao Han gave him a stern instruction, "Wang Yu, I’m sending you over there, but not to boss people around. You just need to be responsible for filming some videos and taking photos of the construction process. How they build it is their business."

"Director Zhao, I understand. I won’t cause any trouble," Wang Yu immediately promised.

He was well aware of how he’d become the acting section chief—it was an opportunity that only arose because Chen Ting was kicked out.

He knew even better how highly the bureau regarded Li Yuan Farm. He’d have to be out of his mind to go there and start meddling.

Zhao Han nodded and said, "The construction team for the Bamboo Maze just arrived. If you head over now, they should be surveying the site. It’s a good chance to film the preliminary preparation work."

"Alright, Director Zhao, I’ll head out right away!" Wang Yu left the office and went straight to Li Yuan Farm.

He had already seen the location of the bamboo forest contracted by Li Yuan Farm, so he knew where to go and headed directly there.

But when he arrived, the scene before him left him utterly stunned.

The bamboo forest was already a hive of activity, and even the weeds around the perimeter had been completely cleared.

’Are we sure the construction team just got here?’

’This speed is just too fast.’

Wang Yu took out his phone and immediately started a video call with Director Zhao. As soon as it connected, he said in disbelief, "Director, they’re moving so fast."

Seeing the bustling scene through the video call, Zhao Han was also taken aback for a moment.

He had thought that since the team had just arrived, they would only do prep and survey work today and start the actual construction tomorrow.

Who would have thought the construction team was already hard at work, developing the site with such fervor? Looking at the progress, it was hard to believe they had accomplished so much in such a short time.

But through the video, he quickly figured out why. The workers were clearly highly skilled, and moreover, they were all working at full capacity—or rather, it was like they were working as if their lives depended on it.

After watching for a while, he understood why their efficiency was so high.

’With that kind of life-or-death work ethic, wouldn’t every boss want employees like these?’

’I wonder which construction company Boss Zhang found this team from.’

...

When Zhang Lin arrived at the color steel-paneled office, a stack of documents was already sitting on his desk. They were the various construction permits and qualifications for the Bamboo Maze, materialized by the game system.

Just like before, the constructing entity was listed as Li Yuan Farm.

This was because when the building and facilities market in the game system unlocked, it had granted him qualifications for various types of agricultural construction, so there were no issues at all.

In other words, even though Li Yuan Farm was a farm, it was also a construction company holding various agricultural building permits.

The farm itself just didn’t have any construction capabilities; all building relied on the game system.

The advantage of this, however, was that if anyone came to inspect, all the paperwork was in order. He had nothing to fear.

Zhang Lin put the documents away and checked the Bamboo Maze’s construction status in the game in his mind. The Bamboo Maze was being built at a feverish pace, and the progress was still incredibly fast.

According to the game system’s work rate, construction continued even at night. They were like tireless machines working 24/7 without stopping. The Bamboo Maze should be completed very soon.

Zhang Lin looked away. With the Bamboo Maze under construction, there was something else he had to take care of immediately.

The issue of employee housing.

After recruiting security guards, some of the farmhands were already living four to a room. The color steel dormitories were becoming very crowded.

Now that the Bamboo Maze was being built, he would definitely need to hire service staff for it. That meant hiring more people, but he couldn’t even recruit game-system employees if the housing problem wasn’t solved, as it was a limiting factor.

Although he still had the five million in support funds, it was far from enough to build a dormitory building of adequate size.

So, he had to stick to the original plan: build more color steel dorms.

With that thought, he took out his phone, found a number, and dialed. As soon as the call connected, an enthusiastic voice came from the other end: "Zhang Lin! You came to see me once right after you got back, and now you’ve finally deigned to call me?"

"Huang Tao, are you free right now? I was thinking of stopping by to talk about something," Zhang Lin replied with a smile.

Huang Tao was his high school classmate, one he was on very good terms with. He was also the only high school friend he still kept in regular contact with.

As the pressures of life mounted, everyone else had gone in different directions. They had lost touch due to being busy, and some had even drifted apart and stopped talking over debts of a few hundred yuan.

He had thought about the reason, and it probably had to do with Huang Tao’s family.

Huang Tao’s family was quite well-off, and his current business in color steel buildings was thanks to his family’s connections. For him, life was stress-free. His path in life had been laid out for him since high school, unlike the rest of them who had to choose their direction only after entering the workforce.

On top of that, he had more free time and would often invite people for tea and ask how they were doing. They never went too long without contact, and it was even less likely they’d drift apart over a debt of a few hundred yuan.

In today’s society, maintaining relationships and friendships also came at a cost.

But under the pressure of daily life, most people could no longer afford that cost.

"Of course I’m free! I’m in the office. Just come on over," Huang Tao said with another laugh.

Zhang Lin hung up, left the farm, and headed for Jinmao Tower.

This was You City’s only relatively professional commercial building. Many companies in You City rented their offices here, and Huang Tao was no exception.

When Zhang Lin arrived at Huang Tao’s company, a pot of tea was already brewed. Huang Tao greeted him warmly, "I sent you a bunch of messages. You finally decided to show up?"

"Haven’t I been busy!" Zhang Lin explained with a smile.

Hearing this, Huang Tao nodded. "My condolences about your father. Have you finished handling his affairs? What are your plans now? Staying in You City to build a career, or heading back out to try your luck elsewhere?"

Zhang Lin smiled and said, "I’ve decided to follow your lead and stay in You City to develop my career. I recently started a farm, and since I have more employees now, the original dorms aren’t enough. I want to build a few color steel dorms first, and since you’re in this line of business, I came to you."

"You came to the right person for that. I’ll arrange it for you right now." Huang Tao immediately agreed, then said with certainty, "Starting a farm in You City... you’ve got a good eye and know how to seize an opportunity. That Li Yuan Farm in You City has blown up recently, so there’s already a market foundation here."

"Although you’re also running a farm, and you definitely can’t compete with their methods and capital, you can at least follow Li Yuan Farm’s coattails and get a piece of the pie."

As he spoke, he had already picked up an order form and started filling it out. Then he looked up and asked, "Zhang Lin, where is your farm located?"

"Li Yuan Farm," Zhang Lin said with a smile.

"???" Huang Tao was clearly stunned. He didn’t even register it at first and subconsciously wrote the words "Li Yuan Farm" in the address field on the order form. Then, his head snapped up to look at Zhang Lin. "Holy shit, *you’re* the one behind Li Yuan Farm?"

"Yep," Zhang Lin said, nodding with a smile as he watched Huang Tao’s reaction.

"Damn it!" Huang Tao suddenly swore. "Didn’t that bastard Chen Xiao say his buddy was behind Li Yuan Farm?"

"I don’t know any Chen Xiao," Zhang Lin said, shaking his head.

"Fuck, using my own old classmate to show off in front of me. Next time I see him, I’ll beat his face black and blue." Huang Tao said viciously. Still, the fact that Zhang Lin was behind Li Yuan Farm was incredibly surprising to him. ’This guy really didn’t let a single peep out.’

However, he didn’t dwell on it. He immediately became excited again. "Zhang Lin, this gives me new bragging rights when I go out drinking! ’Li Yuan Farm? My old classmate runs it. And their employee dorms? My company built them.’"

Zhang Lin just smiled at his words.

’It’s no big deal.’

As they chatted, Huang Tao finished filling out the order form and handed it to Zhang Lin. The specific quantity and specifications were still up to Zhang Lin to choose.

Zhang Lin directly chose the standard model—the same two-story, eight-room type that the game system built.

The game system’s cost was 35,000 yuan per building, but Huang Tao’s price was 40,000 yuan per building.

It wasn’t that Huang Tao was ripping him off. The game system used up a "buildable building slot" and didn’t include labor costs, whereas Huang Tao had to factor in various labor fees.

Zhang Lin chose to build five units to start, for a total value of 200,000 yuan. He paid the 20% deposit of 40,000 yuan directly from the support funds given by the Tourism Bureau.

After filling out the order, Huang Tao immediately arranged for his people to get started. Then, he turned to Zhang Lin with a huge smile. "Zhang Lin, you have to invite me over to your farm for a visit someday. I can’t believe I’m only finding out today!"

"Sure. Just give me a call when you want to come over," Zhang Lin agreed with a smile.

With business concluded, they spent the rest of the time just drinking tea and chatting, reminiscing about their high school days and recalling old memories.

Huang Tao sighed wistfully. "Ah, Zhang Lin, we’re in the same boat. Our high school romances all fizzled out, and now all that’s left is the ’white moonlight’ in our hearts."

"My ’white moonlight’ dream is already shattered," Zhang Lin said, shaking his head. He thought of his recent encounter with Lin Xin, then shook his head again. "Besides, you have a kid now. Treat your wife well. Forget about any ’white moonlight.’ That’s just a memory you use to fool yourself."

After they finished the pot of tea, Zhang Lin took his leave. But just as he stepped out of Jinmao Tower, a series of game notifications suddenly rang in his mind:

[Congratulations, your profit has reached 1,000,000. Upgrade conditions met. Your level has increased to LV3!]

[Congratulations, you leveled up! You have gained: Buildable Building Slots +1.]

[Congratulations, you leveled up! A new purchasable item has been added: Special Mature Peach Saplings (Quality 1). Daily purchase limit: 1,000 saplings!]

[Congratulations, you have completed the "Earn 1,000,000 in Profit" milestone! This shows you are beginning to achieve success. You can no longer ride that shabby old scooter; it’s time for a mode of transportation befitting your status. You have received a reward: Special Transportation Procurement Card!]

Zhang Lin’s eyes lit up when he heard these game notifications.

His profit had already reached over 830,000 yesterday. After adding this morning’s wholesale fruit profits, it was over 900,000. The Honeysuckle Tea must have sold well, pushing his total profit past one million.

And this level-up truly brought an unexpected surprise.

First, he got +1 to his buildable building slots.

This meant he could build another building with game-like attributes, just like the service center.

Crucially, this time, peach saplings had appeared.

This meant the lie he’d told before could now be partially made true.

’I’ve been waiting for this for a long time.’

However, what attracted him most was the reward for the one-million-profit milestone.

When he saw the words "mode of transportation," he initially thought the procurement card was for something like a luxury car. After all, the system had said he shouldn’t ride a shabby scooter anymore and should have a vehicle befitting his status. The first thing that comes to mind is a luxury car, right?

But when he saw the image of the "mode of transportation" on the card, he was truly astonished.

...

(The ranking battle has advanced to the third round, so read-throughs are very important. Please make sure to scroll to the very last page. Also, please vote with your tickets. Thank you, everyone! Lastly, what do you all want to see as the second building?)