Chapter 71 Where are Your Medicinal Ingredients?
Gu Fangxia also wasn't idle. Xia Liu's request was to carve out the mountain within two months.
She had some connections in the city, and if the price was right, she could secure several large machines.
After understanding the situation, Xia Liu transferred three million to Gu Fangxia as initial expenses.
Xia Liu had not budgeted, but ten million should suffice to carve out the mountain, and the rest would be much simpler.
On the way to the city, Gu Fangxia was stunned for a long time. She had never met a boss so generous.
What's more terrifying was that this boss was a youth from the village, living in nothing more than a rundown house.
In the two days Gu Fangxia went to the city to mobilize machinery, Xia Liu had already settled the land issues on the mountain side.
For fields that might be affected by stones or dust, he would purchase them outright.
Thanks to Li Zhong's help, this matter was handled very smoothly, and the farmers whose land was expropriated were overjoyed.
Xia Liu wasn't paying for the land but borrowing it. Once the project was finished and everything was settled, they would still retain the rights to use their land.
On the third day, under the protection of the police chief, Chen Jin, Gu Fangxia led roughly ten large excavators to the base of the hill.
Also following were more than ten large dump trucks. This effort cost Gu Fangxia over a million, and she would cover any maintenance and servicing costs during the construction process.
By the time all the machinery was in place, it was already past four in the afternoon.
Li Zhong led many people from Osmanthus Village to the top of the hill, looking down at the numerous machines below.
Countless people shed tears. For over a hundred years, since the founding of their village, they were finally going to have a road of their own.
Li Zhong set off the firecrackers he had brought up the mountain on his back, and the atmosphere on the mountain range heated up.
That night Osmanthus Village was incredibly lively. Gu Fangxia's workers, who stayed in metal-roofed houses at the entrance to the village, felt the villagers' warmth and silently vowed to execute the project beautifully.
Late into the night, after the feast had ended, Xia Liu asked Gu Fangxia to tally up the expenses for this project.
Your journey continues at empire
"Because we're cutting through the mountain, the area we need to expand is quite large, and with labor and machinery, the costs might be somewhat high," Gu Fangxia said as she spread her hand-drawn blueprint on the table.
Looking at the blueprint, Xia Liu nodded with satisfaction. This girl was clever, expanding the area to reduce the risk of collapse.
Moreover, once the road was built, it wouldn't create a visual sense of oppression, and even if strong winds blew rocks down, they wouldn't hit the road.
"Proceed according to this blueprint. How much will it cost? How long will it take?"
"Roughly speaking, it would take twenty million and three months to guarantee completion," Gu Fangxia thoughtfully replied.
"Three months is too long. If possible, operate twenty-four hours a day in two shifts. How many days would it take at a minimum?" Three months was too long for Xia Liu to wait. Even though he didn't have that much money at the moment, he wasn't worried. As long as it could be completed quickly, even fifty million would be fine.
"I guessed you would say that. With two shifts, I guarantee it'll be done in a month, but the cost of the project..."
Gu Fangxia stopped there. Two shifts would require a lot of manpower and machinery maintenance, definitely costing more than the initial estimate.
"Don't worry about it; just tell me how much it's going to cost."
"Thirty million..." Gu Fangxia weakly held up three fingers, physically adding ten million more than expected, worried that Xia Liu wouldn't be able to handle it.
"Thirty million? That's very cheap. I'll transfer seven million to you right away. The remaining twenty million will be given during the construction process."
"Holy cow, you really are a big tycoon!" Staring at the text message confirming the transfer, Gu Fangxia's mouth hung open in astonishment.
She originally thought that Xia Liu was just joking, but she didn't expect him to give money so directly!
"Hehe, Sister Gu is kidding, I'm just a farmer," Xia Liu said with a slight smile. The word tycoon was too far-fetched for him.
"Hmm, the kind of farmer who can just whip out tens of millions on a whim," Gu Fangxia pouted her red lips and said softly, "I wonder if our farmer brother still lacks someone to warm his bed?"
"Pfft!" The tea Xia Liu had just swallowed sprayed out as he stared at Gu Fangxia, not having expected such words to come out of her mouth.
Unfortunately, before he could respond, Gu Fangxia had run away…
"Stay calm, stay calm!" Muttering to himself twice, Xia Liu got up to go home. He needed some peace, the women of this world were terrifying.
Luckily, by the time he came back, Zhang Xiaoxue and Zhang Xiaoman had already gone to sleep, otherwise he would definitely be miserable.
Normally at this time, he would be over at Zhang Qing's place, but not now, not with Gu Fangxia there.
Xia Liu shifted his focus to the remaining twenty million. He had promised to pay in full during the construction process.
If he waited for the next batch of chickens to mature and sell, it would definitely not be until next month, and with the time so pressing, there was no way he could have twenty million at once.
Even if Fang Fei was willing to give it, he would be too embarrassed to take it, after all, he already owed her several times.
The oyster route was even more prolonged, and as he rummaged through his options, dawn broke without him having found a perfect solution.
Just as Xia Liu was considering whether to ask Fang Fei for a loan, the phone rang.
It was Liu Lanxin calling.
Seeing the name noted, Xia Liu remembered that the supply of Atractylodes had been cut off for quite some time.
"Xia Liu, Boss Xia! It's almost been half a month, where are your medicinal herbs?"
On the other end of the line, Liu Lanxin's voice sounded somewhat urgent, as if she might be on her period.
"Miss Liu, the Atractylodes are all dug up, I can't supply you even if I want to," said Xia Liu, equally helpless about the situation. That patch of Atractylodes was gone, and it wouldn't reappear until next year at the earliest.
"Gone? You're telling me they're gone at this time!" Liu Lanxin roared.
"Er, sorry, there's really nothing I can do; they're all wild…" Xia Liu said with a wry smile. If it were anyone else shouting like that, he would have already gotten into a fight.
But Liu Lanxin was different. If it weren't for her, he wouldn't have gotten started in the first place.
...
"If possible, I hope you can sell me many more wild medicinal materials. I'll pay top dollar, I really need them," Liu Lanxin said calmly after a long silence.
Hearing Liu Lanxin speak like that, Xia Liu frowned. There must have been some incident; otherwise, she wouldn't be so desperate.
"Has something happened?"
"Er, no, it's nothing. Go about your business. If you find a large supply of wild medicinal materials, make sure to save them for me."
After saying that, Liu Lanxin hung up the phone, leaving Xia Liu with a puzzled expression.
"Ah, how annoying!"
Twenty million was already giving Xia Liu a headache, and now there was an issue with Tianluo Chinese Medicine Pharmacy. He definitely had to lend a hand.