Chapter Forty


    "Vige Chief, something''s wrong," Long Fakui received a call from Ergou.


    He was rolling in the sheets with his mistress in the county when he heard Ergou''s words and immediately got up from the bed.


    "You''re saying, that kid is recruitingborers in the vige, and he wants to set up a farm? Everyone''s gone to work on thend he contracted?" Long Fakui said.


    "Yes, the kid offers fifty yuan a day. I heard the Lily Hotel from the county is investing in him," Ergou replied.


    "Damn it."


    Long Fakui cursed, "This reformed criminal has hit the jackpot, why would the Lily Hotel invest in him, are they blind?"


    This was the most infuriating. Originally, he thought the kid was just a destitute peasant who would be at his beck and call in the vige; Long Fakui was the local tyrant of Longyang Vige. But now, this little peasant had spoiled his ns and even connected with the big hotel in the county. This was like rebellion.


    If he had known that the mountainnd he contracted was to be invested in by the county''s big hotel, he would never have leased it for just ny thousand yuan.


    He would have definitely extorted a hefty sum from him, but the contract was already signed,


    He didn''t dare to just tear up the contract.


    After all, the kid had the Lily Hotel backing him.


    Moreover, with this kid hiring people in the vige and offering high wages, if the vigers had money, how could they still be at hismand?


    He had his way with the vige''s youngdies and married women because he held the purse strings.


    Long Fakui was very gloomy, but for now, he genuinely had no way to deal with Long Xiaoshan; he could only wait for an opportunity.


    Over there,


    Long Xiaoshan didn''t care about the fifty yuan a day, he hired everyone who signed up in the vige. Some were elderly, in their sixties or seventies, and it didn''t make sense to hire them from a business standpoint, as they were old and not good for physicalbor.


    But Long Xiaoshan''s primary goal was to benefit the vigers while umting merit, not minding these small expenses.


    He assigned the elderly to lighter tasks.


    So he hadn''t cared about whether or not it was a loss; he hired them all first and would deal with the restter.


    Still, he was not entirely charitable. He made it clear in advance that anyone who waszy would have to leave, no excuses allowed.


    No one opposed this condition.


    The vigers were rtively simple folks. With such high wages, if someone still cked off, the entire vige would despise them.


    In the vige, over a hundred people were busily working on Xishan.


    At noon,


    Severalrge tents were set up on the beach, and the Lily Hotel''s pickup truck delivered thousands of pounds of flour, rice, Golden Dragon brand oil, fresh pork, cabbage, and green onions. Long Xiaoshan had some of the older women bake pancakes and cook porridge right there in the tents.


    Golden pancakes stuffed with generous cabbage and pork filling, each half the size of a wash basin, were enough for each person to get one at midday. There was also arge pot of porridge that everyone could serve themselves and eat their fill.


    The vigers who worked for Long Xiaoshan were astonished; they couldn''t believe they were getting such good meals. The vige was poor; getting a couple of pounds of pork per month was difficult, and suchrge meat-filled pancakes were usually only avable during festivals.


    Some vigers felt awkward, insisting on going home to eat.


    Long Xiaoshan called them back and told them it was free.


    The delicious aroma was too tempting to resist.


    Half-heartedly, those intending to leave stayed and, wrapping up a fragrant pancake, slurped down bowls of warm porridge. They ate contentedly.


    Laughter abounded on the beach, nearly as festive as during the New Year celebrations.


    They were already happy with the day''s pay, but to get such a good lunch for free made everyone even more joyful, and they all praised Long Xiaoshan.


    Long Xiaoshan himself held a pancake and a bowl of porridge, eating while patrolling the beach. This was his own farm, the foundation of his start, so he definitely had to care for it attentively. Along the way, the vige''s young women and wives, who had shunned him like a snake or scorpion when he first returned, no longer looked at him that way.


    It wasn''t just enthusiasm that was radiating from them, there was even a hint of something else.


    Such is the power of money.


    Long Xiaoshan saw a delicate figure sitting under a tree carefully wrapping up a pancake in a cloth. He walked over and said, "Chun Tao, why aren''t you eating anymore? Is it not tasty?"


    Chun Tao looked up and hurriedly stood up, saying, "No, no, that''s not it. I''ve already eaten. I''m saving the rest to take back for Granny."


    "You''ve hardly eaten anything," Long Xiaoshan noticed that she had only taken a few bites, three-quarters of the pancake was still left.


    "You''re doing manualbor, eating so little won''t give you energy. You should eat it yourself, and I''ll ask the kitchen to set aside another one for you to take backter."


    "No need, no need, I''ve had porridge, it''s enough," Chun Tao quickly shook her head.


    "No, you must eat. If you don''t eat, I won''t let you work," Long Xiaoshan said, ring.


    "Little Xiaoshan, please no," Chun Tao''s eyes clouded with a mist as she took the pancake wrapped in cloth back out and took a bite, "I''ll eat, I''ll eat."


    "Now that''s more like it," Long Xiaoshan squatted down under the tree as well, eating his pancake and drinking his porridge.


    With Long Xiaoshan sitting beside her, Chun Tao didn''t dare to not eat, and she ate the pancake bite by bite until it was all gone.


    Long Xiaoshan smiled, patted his butt, stood up, and said, "Chun Tao, I''ll have my mother send some pancakes and porridge over to fifth auntter, don''t worry about it."


    "Little Xiaoshan, thank you," Chun Tao''s voice was soft, like the meow of a cat.


    As Long Xiaoshan walked away, he paused, turned back, and whispered, "Next time, don''t wear such light-colored clothes to work in, they''re see-through."


    After he quickly moved on, Chun Tao looked down at her attire and her face turned a fiery red. Hurrying to squat down, she reminded herself that it was July; working on the mountain meant breaking into a sweat, and once light-colored clothes were wet, they clung to the body revealing everything beneath.


    No wonder the working men in the vige kept ncing her way.


    Having had a full meal, the vigers worked with even more vigor in the afternoon.


    In one day''s time, Xishan had changedpletely; all the weeds and such were cleared away.


    Long Xiaoshan was quite generous. He let them off work at four o''clock in the afternoon, telling them that working eight hours a day was consistent with nationalbor standards.


    At Shieyan Beach,


    a table was set up with thick stacks of money on it. Long Xiaoshan personally handed out the money. The off-duty farmers each gathered around the table, eyes burning with desire for the money in Long Xiaoshan''s hands.


    "Uncles, aunts, line up one by one, no pushing, no chaos, you won''t miss out," Long Xiaoshan called out.


    He had his parents maintain order, and every person who had worked received a crisp fifty yuan note.


    Looking at Long Xiaoshan, they were filled with gratitude.


    After everyone was paid, a total of more than six thousand yuan was distributed.


    Once the vigers had dispersed, happy and content,


    He Xiangyue said with concern, "Little Xiaoshan, spending money like this, no matter how much you have, it won''tst. The day''s wages alone are so much, not to mention all the flour and pork."


    "Yeah, Xiaoshan, this day alone must have cost nearly ten thousand yuan," Long Dashan said, drawing in a breath.


    Havinge from a farmer''s background and fearful of poverty, seeing Long Xiaoshan spend money like pouring water made them very anxious.


    "Mom, don''t worry about it too much, it''s not that expensive. Besides, the rice and flour were sponsored by the Lily Hotel. It''s all hardbor; only when they''re well-fed will they have the strength to work hard and not ck off. Ultimately, it benefits me," Long Xiaoshan said with a smile.


    "Oh, I was just saying. You''ve been educated, I don''t know about these things," He Xiangyue said.


    Long Xiaoshan chuckled.


    He wasn''t afraid to spend money.


    Though he might spend close to ten thousand yuan a day, the Lily Hotel had ten million yuaning in, so money was not a concern for the moment.


    Moreover, umting merit was the most important thing. He hadn''t been wrong: today, indeed, some silver lights of merit had been absorbed. It seemed that not only treating the sick and saving lives could earn merit; helping vigers escape poverty and be prosperous was also a meritorious deed. Although it was very little now, just flecks here and there, time would umte them into a significant amount.