Chapter 38 - 37: Everyone is Taking Action

Chapter 38: Chapter 37: Everyone is Taking Action

He Limin’s research hadn’t been kept secret at the hospital, so it was easy for Xue Hongzhi to find information on the Jade Grapes.

In fact, he had heard about these grapes when he first came from Jiangcheng City, but he had dismissed it as an elaborately planned scam.

Even now, after finding the information, he still believed it was a scam.

’If these grapes were really that amazing, the person selling them would have to be an idiot. 888 a bunch? It should be more like 88,888 a bunch.’

’I should keep digging,’ he thought. ’A man of He Limin’s standing wouldn’t falsify data on something like this just to help some scammers.’

He mobilized his employees in Wuyuan County to gather all information related to the Jade Grapes, while also trying to get his hands on He Limin’s research data.

He never imagined that his inquiries would immediately alarm the various parties in Wuyuan County who had a vested interest in the Jade Grapes.

No one who becomes rich and powerful is a fool. Of course they would have the grapes tested after getting their hands on them.

It was precisely because they had tested them and seen the data that they had all joined forces to suppress any news about the Jade Grapes.

Otherwise, with the Jade Grapes’ astonishing effects, news of them would have spread far beyond Wuyuan County long ago.

Furthermore, while the Jade Grapes had a brief moment of fame in Wuyuan County, the news was quickly suppressed. Aside from Hu Xia covering them on her livestream, virtually no one else reported on the matter.

On top of that, Lin Feng had allowed research on the grapes, but with no results yet and the research outlook not being optimistic, these parties decided to just wait and see.

Now, for someone in the medical business to suddenly start asking about the Jade Grapes... this was not a good sign.

Xue Hongzhi, for his part, quickly discovered that what he’d assumed would be easy to investigate was anything but. He gathered plenty of information about the Jade Grapes, but very little of it was useful.

He even found it impossible to find anyone selling them.

He personally reached out to some acquaintances to ask around, but all he got were vague pleasantries and no substantial information.

This strange situation only deepened his suspicion and curiosity.

’Since I can’t find anything out, I’ll have to approach this from He Limin’s side,’ he decided. ’He definitely has the data.’

He had also looked into the man named Wang Peng, who had spent three million on a grapevine, but unfortunately, he didn’t know him and couldn’t immediately find his contact information.

He could, of course, go directly to the man himself, Lin Feng. But without any hard data, he couldn’t very well report this to his company, which meant he had no grounds to start a negotiation.

Meanwhile, Lin Feng was completely unaware of the turmoil the Jade Grapes were causing.

At that very moment, he was getting a lesson from a visiting tourist that made him deeply aware of the limitations of his own thinking.

He had just left Zhao Shiyun and was planning to head back for some tea and a short rest.

But as he passed the village entrance, two tourists called out to him.

"Hey there, Boss Lin."

"Hello."

One of the tourists commented, "Boss Lin, your Arrow Tower and telescope are amazing, but there’s just not enough to do here."

"You can experience the Arrow Tower in about an hour, and the telescope is mainly for nighttime. There’s nothing to do for the rest of the day. Can’t you develop some more attractions?"

He wasn’t the first person to complain about this. Even Hu Xia, the village’s promoter, was getting grilled by viewers in her livestream chat.

The consensus was that while the Arrow Tower and telescope were indeed magical, there were too few attractions, which made for a boring wait until evening for the telescope experience.

"We’re working on it, we’re working on it! I’d love to develop more attractions, but I’m broke!"

The tourist asked in surprise, "Broke? Boss Lin, how could you possibly be broke?!"

Lin Feng was confused by his surprise. "Hasn’t my background been all over the internet? Why would you think I have money?"

"Boss Lin, is this your first time running a business?"

"Yeah, it is. I was a student, then I got a regular job right after graduation."

"Ah, that explains it. Your mindset hasn’t shifted yet. Who uses their own money to run a business? With a project this good, why aren’t you getting a bank loan?"

"Huh?"

"Can you name a single big company that doesn’t have loans? Some people have become billionaires by leveraging debt."

Lin Feng thought back, and it seemed to be true. Even the company he used to work for had taken out bank loans, despite being profitable.

"Look, with how unique this Arrow Tower is, you’ll never be short on tourists. Getting a ten million loan from the bank would be no problem at all."

Lin Feng was genuinely stunned. ’Holy crap, you can do that?’ It seemed he really could!

"Thanks. If you hadn’t pointed it out, I never would have thought of it."

"Haha, no need to thank me. I’m just hoping things will be a bit more comfortable the next time I visit. Just give me a discount next time and we’ll call it even."

"Buddy, forget a discount. Come on, let’s get a picture together. Next time you visit, it’s on the house."

He was truly inspired. So this was how business was done. He didn’t have to worry about money anymore.

If he’d actually had cash on hand, he would have expanded the development long ago. He wouldn’t be penny-pinching on every custom-built house like he was now.

After the tourist left, Lin Feng hurried back to the pavilion and started making calls to discuss the matter.

’Actually, I don’t necessarily have to go to a bank,’ he realized. ’The Jade Grape Tree is obviously far more valuable than the Arrow Tower.’

He had a sudden epiphany. If he’d thought of this back when he quit his job, he would have had so many more options for where to set up.

’A real shame,’ he mused. ’You never have any experience the first time around. And now, I can’t turn back.’

If he were to retract the Village Construction Order now and start building somewhere else, only for more strange phenomena to appear, it would be a dead giveaway that he was the cause of all these bizarre occurrences.

Hu Zhiming was the first to arrive, followed quickly by Hu Xia, and then Zhao Shiyun. If he wanted to borrow money, he definitely needed to consult with them.

"Brother Lin, you called us over. What’s up?"

"A tourist just told me I could actually get a bank loan to fund development, and I suddenly realized... he’s right."

"Oh, so it’s about that," Hu Zhiming said. "Brother Lin, I’ve actually been wanting to bring it up, but I was worried you weren’t thinking along those lines and it would be awkward."

Zhao Shiyun, sipping her tea, looked a bit confused. She had no idea Lin Feng was short on money.

Hu Xia said, "I always assumed you didn’t want to take on debt. With that Jade Grape Tree, you could borrow a lot of money from the bank."

Because Lin Feng had sold a vine from the Jade Grape Tree, she’d assumed he was against borrowing from a bank.

But it turned out this whole time, the thought had simply never crossed his mind. ’What a character!’ she thought.

Lin Feng blushed slightly. Well, it was his first time starting his own business; it was normal for things like this not to occur to him.

"So, Brother Lin," Hu Zhiming asked, "what did you want to discuss with us?"

"It’s about the loan. How much do you all think I should apply for?"

Hu Zhiming thought for a moment. "Based on your plans, a loan of ten million should be enough for the initial phase of construction."

"Once that’s done, we’ll see how things are developing. If all goes well, you can always take out another loan later."

For Lin Feng, who possessed the Jade Grape Tree, a ten million loan was no burden at all.

"In that case, can you help me get in touch with a bank? I’ve only ever read about this stuff online."

"Leave it to me," Hu Zhiming said, patting his chest.

With that, he picked up his phone and made a call. His family’s company dealt with banks for this sort of thing all the time, so naturally, he called someone there for advice.

But not long after he hung up, a call came in from his father.

"Why are you trying to get a bank loan? Spit it out! What did you do? How much debt are you in?"

"Huh? Dad, it’s not me! It’s Lin Feng from Lin Xian Village. He’s planning to get a bank loan to develop the village."

"Ah, then I misunderstood. If it’s for him, tell him to wait. Don’t go to the bank just yet."

Hu Yousheng hadn’t expected this. He had just learned that a pharmaceutical company was sniffing around about the Jade Grapes, and now Lin Feng wanted to borrow money for development. This could be the perfect opportunity to resolve the issue with the grapes.

The secret of the Jade Grapes couldn’t be kept for much longer. The question now was how to acquire more of them before the news broke. That was what they all wanted.

He picked up his phone and began contacting a few of his close associates. He wouldn’t dare try to keep this prize all to himself.