"Let’s go, let’s go. We’ll talk after we leave."

Liao Quansheng didn’t answer Du Heng’s question and just pulled him downstairs. Then he found a shady spot behind the building, lit a cigarette, and took a deep drag.

"Whew! So refreshing. I nearly suffocated."

Liao Quansheng, looking intoxicated and blissful, said this and then took two more deeply satisfying puffs.

Du Heng was even more puzzled. When Liao Quansheng had comfortably finished his smoke, he asked again, "So, are you going to tell me what’s going on? How did you, a businessman, get involved in the Township Government meeting?"

Liao Quansheng flicked the ash off his cigarette and said helplessly, "What else could it be? Of course, it’s about planting astragalus."

"What’s wrong with planting astragalus?" Du Heng, bothered by the smoke, took a few steps back to distance himself from the smoking Liao Quansheng.

After taking two more puffs, Liao Quansheng threw away the remaining half of the cigarette. "Didn’t we agree with Dong a while ago to let the villagers plant astragalus, and I would buy it when it matures?"

"Right, wasn’t that already settled? What else is there to discuss?"

"Who’s planting?" Liao Quansheng said frustratedly. "The two villages we selected are now worried. They’re concerned the medicinal ingredients won’t survive or grow well, so they’re unwilling to take the risk. They don’t even want to pay for the seeds upfront and only plan to plant a small amount."

"Dong and the others did a rough estimate. The number of farmers willing to plant is less than five households, adding up to less than one acre. With that little, what’s the point of me toiling away?"

This left Du Heng dumbfounded.

Only one acre of land in two or three years? Are they insane?

"So, what’s the Township Government’s opinion?"

"They want me to contract it and invest for two years. Then, when the villagers see the profits, I’ll withdraw and let them take over."

Liao Quansheng’s expression instantly contorted as if he were constipated. He ground his teeth and said, "I am a proper medicinal material purchaser, wholesaler, and processor. But coming to Central Lake, I’ve been turned into a planter.

Great. So now they’re trying to force me down the path of the full industrial chain."

The more he spoke, the angrier Liao Quansheng became. He turned to Du Heng and said, "Moreover, after two or three years, when I’ve grown everything myself, why should I give up my rented land and return it to them? Am I here to do charity? This is a complete joke!"

Liao Quansheng looked dissatisfied, his hands in his pockets as he paced back and forth in the shade.

Du Heng quickly tried to calm Liao Quansheng down. "This wasn’t Dong’s idea, was it?"

Hearing this, Liao Quansheng’s expression softened slightly. "Someone else said that. If Dong had said it too, I would have just packed up and left.

It’s only because of you and Dong that I’m enduring this now. If they really take me for a sucker, then you and Dong better not blame me for not giving face."

Du Heng chuckled. "My face doesn’t matter; give it or don’t. They won’t listen to me anyway, and what I say doesn’t count.

So, you should do whatever you think is best."

With that said, Du Heng also stepped further into the shade and asked, "So what does Dong think? Does he also agree with this idea?"

Liao Quansheng shook his head. "Of course, Dong wouldn’t agree to such a foolish suggestion. But he also proposed another very irresponsible idea."

"Let’s hear it."

"The situation is that many farmers don’t trust me or the Township Government. For one, they’re worried about the yield, and for another, they’re afraid that once they grow the medicinal ingredients, there’ll be no buyers.

So Dong came up with a bad idea. He suggested I pay some advance money to the farmers willing to plant, based on half or one-third of this year’s price and an estimated yield."

As he spoke, disdain appeared on Liao Quansheng’s face. "He said doing this would give the growers some confidence and ease their worries."

Upon hearing this proposal, Du Heng immediately shook his head. He knew better than anyone what the villagers of Central Lake were like.

There were good people and honest people in the village, and they made up the majority. But there were definitely also those with crooked intentions, and not just one or two.

If advance payments were made, what could you do if, after two or three years, those people simply didn’t plant? Or what if, after planting in early spring, the whole family went to work in the city, leaving the fields completely unattended?

Could you really go to the city and drag them back to work the land?

Seeing Du Heng shaking his head, Liao Quansheng also said, "The intention behind this idea is good; it does address some of the growers’ concerns.

But this approach just isn’t feasible to implement on a wider scale. If someone doesn’t follow the agreement, what can I do?

Sue the farmer?

That’s not realistic.

The key is, we’ve tried this model before, and it was a total mess."

Liao Quansheng’s mood had eased somewhat by now. He slowly took another cigarette out of his pocket; this time, his movements were much gentler, no longer as angry and irritable as before.

"Dong said to use this year’s purchase price as the standard and give half or a third of it as an advance. Okay, but what if the price of medicinal ingredients goes up later? Can I refuse to raise my price and stick to the agreed-upon purchase price in the contract? Will the growers agree to that? 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

And what if the price drops? Will the growers then demand that I *absolutely must* adhere to the contract?

Furthermore, what if someone else offers a higher price? Will the growers *definitely* honor the agreement and sell to me according to its terms?"