Chen Xiaobei, however, shook his head. Although he had some money on hand now, his current assets were nothing compared to Cui Dana of Cui Family Village, let alone others.
He was still far from his goal of becoming rich, so the revolution was not yet successful, and comrades still needed to strive.
His biggest problem now was the lack of a sustainable development project. He was doing things haphazardly, and his income lacked continuity.
Therefore, the only thing that could possibly have continuity was planting vegetables.
Moreover, he couldn't just make money himself. As the saying goes, it's not poverty but inequality that bothers people. If he made all the money, it would surely arouse the villagers' envy. He had to let them have some soup while he ate meat.
Chen Xiaobei seriously calculated. According to Xiumei, he would still need to collect a hundred jin of grain as rent for the entire plot.
The market price for grain was four jin per wen.
So, one hundred jin would be twenty-five wen.
Twenty-five wen was equivalent to twenty-five jin of vegetables.
Although this seemed like a good deal, it appeared uncoordinated. But this was how things were in an era of material scarcity.
Chen Xiaobei decided to seek everyone's opinion first.
He immediately instructed the village guard team to issue a notice: after dinner that evening, all villagers were to gather under the big locust tree for a meeting. He also specifically informed the Elder, as some matters required listening to the elders' advice; having an elder at home is like having a treasure.
Before dinner, he went to visit the homes of Chen Daqiang, Chen Dayong, and others, whose land was adjacent to Dachun's.
So, if Dachuan's land was not enough, a portion of their land could also be rented out.
After dinner, the area under the locust tree became lively.
Villagers gathered in twos and threes, all guessing what important matter it was that night.
Seeing the Elder arrive, someone took the initiative to greet him.
Chen Xiaowei briefly explained the situation to the Elder. However, the Elder was very discreet and acted as if he knew nothing until Chen Xiaobei announced it publicly.
As everyone was discussing, Chen Xiaobei arrived. The atmosphere instantly became much quieter upon his appearance.
Chen Xiaobei stood on a raised spot and addressed the crowd, "Everyone, please be quiet and listen to me. I've called you all here today for something."
"Harvest season is approaching. After the harvest, there will be fewer jobs in the city, and most of you will likely be confined to your homes with nothing to do."
Hearing this, the crowd nodded and began to whisper amongst themselves.
"Isn't that right? Stuck at home every day, not knowing what to do."
"Yeah, besides sleeping, it's really boring to go find Third Brother to play chess."
Hearing their murmurs, the Elder lightly tapped his staff and coughed.
The villagers understood immediately and fell silent, listening to Chen Xiaobei continue.
"Today, I noticed that the temperature in Brother Dachun's farmland is much higher than elsewhere. Vegetables can still be grown for some time. If anyone wants to plant them, they can come and tell me."
Upon hearing this, the crowd started discussing again. "Yes, it's so warm over there that they don't even need to wear padded jackets in winter."
"Isn't that true? We water our fields once every half a month, while theirs needs watering every three to five days."
"You're right, growing vegetables is indeed a good way. It's much better than staying at home doing nothing."
"Alas, it's easy for you to say 'grow vegetables.' Don't you need to water and fertilize them, pull weeds every day? Besides, how many can you grow by yourself?"
Chen Xiaobei listened to their discussions, everything unfolding as he had predicted.
He then spoke again, "Of course, you don't have to force yourselves. Those who want to plant can, and those who don't can rest at home."
"I'll offer you two plans. One is naturally to rent the land from Dachun. You plant vegetables yourself, and whatever you earn is yours."
"Xiaobei, the village head, what's the second plan?"
Chen Xiaobei knew from this question that the first plan hadn't gained much approval.
"The second plan is for me to rent the land, and you come to work for me. I'll pay you wages."
"Great, great! This is much better."
The crowd couldn't help but cheer.
At this moment, the Elder stepped forward, coughed, and slowly walked to Chen Xiaobei's side.
Seeing him about to speak, the crowd immediately stopped their discussions.
The Elder scanned the faces of the people present, sighed slightly, and then slowly began to speak.
"As soon as you heard about getting paid, you started getting excited again."
This single sentence made many people blush, especially those who had cheered the loudest.
"I'll make things clear from the start."
"When you work in the county town, even a strong laborer only earns five daizi a day."
"But is the work here for Xiaobei for a strong laborer?"
"I think even a woman can do it."
Chen Xiaobei immediately understood that the Elder was concerned he might offer overly high wages.
As expected, the Elder continued, "Growing vegetables isn't strenuous work, is it? At most, two daizi a day. If you're willing to do it, fine. If not, then don't."
The Elder's statement caused a silence in the crowd.
After a long pause, someone finally spoke.
This time, it was Chen Xiaobo who spoke, "Elder, please don't worry. Two daizi it is, I'm willing to do it."
With someone taking the lead, things became much easier.
"I'm willing too."
"I'm willing too."
Listening to the chatter, Chen Xiaobei looked gratefully at the Elder.
Chen Xiaobei had not precisely calculated how much labor was needed from sowing to harvesting the green seedlings.
Therefore, the lower the wages, the more beneficial it would be for him.
Hearing everyone's commitment, the Elder turned to Chen Xiaobei and smiled, "Xiaobei, don't be too nice to these brats. If anyone doesn't listen to you, just tell me."
Chen Xiaobei was filled with gratitude. He hadn't expected the Elder's support to be so strong, and his words had essentially set the tone for this matter.
After the meeting, as soon as Chen Xiaobei returned home, Chen Daqiang and Chen Dayong came to see him.
"Village head Xiaobei, can you rent both our lands together? We'll even give you a cheaper rent. As long as you have work, please remember us brothers."
So that was it. Chen Xiaobei couldn't help but smile. "Go back and finish harvesting your crops as soon as possible. Tomorrow, I'll go to the county town to buy some seeds and start sowing."
The two brothers left happily. Cui Hongyu, however, looked worried.
"Husband, their two families plus Dachun's family have dozens of mu of land."
"If we plant so much at once, what if we can't sell it?"