Big Data Cultivation

Chapter 499: Chapter 499: Black-faced President Feng

Chao Ying had actually been prepared for her brother’s response, “Elder Hu, in his youth, was always clear about gratitude and grudges, taking pleasure in straightforward revenge.”

“Yeah,” Chao Gang nodded, “I didn’t expect him to be so easygoing this time… How well do you get along with Feng Jun?”

“Me and him… it’s alright,” Chao Ying glanced at her brother, a bit uncertain about his intentions, “Speaking of which, Xiao Bo gets along quite well with Feng Jun, and he really admires him too.”

“He admires Feng Jun?” Mayor Chao’s face showed an expression of bemusement, “Right now, he’s really not in a position to ‘admire’ anyone, it should be about whether Feng Jun admires him or not.”

“Brother, speaking seriously, having Xiao Bo in contact with him won’t do any harm,” Chao Ying spoke earnestly, “They’re both young, and if by chance we could connect with the Gu Family through Xiao Bo, it would be beneficial for you as well.”

Chao Gang was silent for a while before finally speaking, “It seems that we really need to work out a plan for this plot of land.”

...

Feng Jun had not anticipated that due to Liu Er’s influence, his lack of respect for Hu Changqing would be met with the latter’s intent to help him.

He was now on his way back to Zhengyang. They had set off early at around six in the morning, hoping to take advantage of the cooler weather for the journey — despite the air conditioning in the car, noon sunlight could still be uncomfortable.

This time, Gazi had not come back with them. There was still some work to be done at Dou Jiahui’s, and he could help out a bit more.

The two cars did not enter Zhengyang, heading directly for Luohua Manor, arriving just after eleven.

At the gate, several cars were parked by the roadside. Feng Jun glanced at the people burning incense not far away and chose not to bother with them.

But the tall guy at the gate waved to Feng Jun, and when he stopped, the guard spoke softly, “The people from the Forestry Bureau are here.”

The Forestry Bureau? Feng Jun’s eyebrows creased slightly, then he nodded, “Mmm, I know, make sure to keep an eye on the gate.”

The gates of Luohua Manor could keep out most people, even the likes of Mayor Zang and President Ge, but without a doubt, they couldn’t stop the people from the Forestry Bureau — after all, the land was contracted for afforestation purposes.

Driving their cars into the villa, they found only Li Shishi inside.

Feng Jun frowned and asked gravely, “Where are the people from the Forestry Bureau?”

“Brother Lei Gang is with them,” Li Shishi promptly answered, “Manager Wang’s mother had a sudden onset of gallbladder inflammation, and he went to accompany her at the hospital.”

It turned out that the people from the Forestry Bureau had been there for three days, reportedly to measure the national forest coverage rate, combining satellite mapping with field measurements— in short, there could be no opposition, only cooperation.

In fact, this was generally a formality, just taking a few photos was enough; it wasn’t possible to measure every single tree.

The comrades from the Forestry Bureau normally worked in the morning, and then took rest in the noon and the afternoon. It wasn’t clear if they received high temperature subsidies, but the weather was indeed too hot; even with the subsidy, it would be unbearable.

Xu Leigang and Wang Haifeng were no pushovers, but since the Forestry Bureau had a legitimate request, they warmly entertained them, and the relationship between them was quite good.

One afternoon, during a chat in the villa, someone said, “The bamboo in your backyard looks good. Shall we go take a look?”

When Feng Jun was present, the backyard was off-limits, but before he left, worried that the two couldn’t keep an eye on both Spirit Gathering Arrays, he had specifically dismantled the one in the backyard, allowing the Spiritual Energy to slowly dissipate.

Knowing this, Wang Haifeng and Xu Leigang discussed and decided to allow them to stroll in the backyard.

As a result of this tour, a relatively rare mushroom was found in the bamboo forest of the backyard—bamboo fungus.

Bamboo fungus is a mushroom that only grows in bamboo forests, and sizable bamboo forests were extremely rare near Zhengyang.

The Forestry Bureau folks might not be experts in other areas, but they were adept at identifying edible materials, and had particularly discerning tastes. They didn’t care much for things labeled as pure, natural, and unpolluted, and protected wildlife was also not a big deal to them — they were used to scouring the forest.

There wasn’t a lot of bamboo fungus in the backyard, and it was mostly in the seedling stage. They gathered a couple of small handfuls, which were shared between two people.

The next day, the two of them came by and unanimously declared that the bamboo fungus was delicious — “Do you have any more bamboo forests around here?”

After discussion, Wang Haifeng and Xu Leigang realized that the bamboo forest in the valley wouldn’t be able to stay hidden, since they had the technology of satellites.

The two straightforwardly led the four comrades from the Forestry Bureau to the bamboo forest in the valley.

In the valley, the bamboo forest was incomparably more lush than the one in the backyard, and the comrades were busy searching for bamboo fungus, not caring to take photos.

Just yesterday evening, they sloppily took some photos, considering their task done, with only a small area left unphotographed.

They mentioned they would come back in a few days to take more photos while passing by.

After sending them off, Wang Haifeng scoffed, “They’re probably hoping that in a few days, more bamboo fungus will have grown.”

In fact, he overestimated the dedication of these comrades; they had returned today — yesterday, the four had only scoured less than half of the bamboo forest, and the remaining part was mostly untouched.

The most frustrating thing is that today’s visitors weren’t just the four comrades, but these comrades also brought their families and children along—it is the summer vacation, after all.

Their families and children came not only because the bamboo fungus is delicious but also to experience life here.

Xu Lei’s timing couldn’t have been worse—just last night, Wang Haifeng received a phone call, learning that his mother had acute cholecystitis, and he had to leave in a hurry. Now, in the whole of Luohua Manor, he was the only one in charge.

But relations with the other party had been quite good these past two days, and he didn’t want to fall out with them abruptly. He said they could go to the bamboo forest, but they had to finish taking pictures first.

The situation now was that the photos had been taken, and Xu Lei, leading a group of people, was picking mushrooms in the bamboo forest.

Upon hearing the situation, Feng Jun lost his temper. Could he really deny the Forestry Bureau their right to survey the land? Or prevent Wang Haifeng from accompanying his mother?

So he let Feng Jing and the others take a break first, and he went straight to the bamboo forest in the valley with Gao Qiang.

Arriving at the bamboo forest, he blew up. More than a dozen people were digging and burrowing chaotically through the bamboo.

“Everyone out!” he shouted, his face darkening as he berated Xu Lei, “I’m trying to afforest this area and you’ve dug it up in patches… How are you managing this place for me?”

Xu Lei knew that the bamboo forest in the valley was a key area of Luohua Manor, and he shouldn’t have allowed the others to make such a mess. But, being someone used to smoothing things over, he didn’t have a choice but to allow it, did he?

He also wanted to restrict the visitors’ activities, but Wang Haifeng wasn’t there. How could one person stop so many?

With a pained expression, he replied, “President Feng, I can’t watch over them all…Alright, alright, everyone stop digging!”

A middle-aged man, seemingly guessing Feng Jun’s identity, stood up and spoke, “Bamboo roots are not so easily dug up. President Feng needn’t worry too much. We are experts here, just bringing the kids out for some activities.”

“I don’t object to activities, as kids nowadays do lack practical life experiences,” said Feng Jun, speaking earnestly, “but in this bamboo forest, there are snakes and centipedes… There are not only green bamboo snakes but also banded kraits. Whose responsibility would it be if someone gets bitten?”

Seeing Feng Jun stress the dangers, Xu Lei quickly went along, “Alright, everyone stop. I kept saying that the bamboo forest is dangerous. Now that our boss is here, don’t ignore his words.”

Convinced by Feng Jun’s warning about the dangers, everyone finally stopped their actions and began to emerge from the forest.

In truth, everyone knew Feng Jun was right, but many children showed reluctance on their faces, unwilling to leave, and the parents’ impression of Feng Jun also significantly diminished.

Seeing that the crowd had come out, Feng Jun gestured, “Lei Gang, take them back for lunch.”

No matter what, all were guests. Although he was annoyed by these people messing around on his property, they had come, and it would be counterproductive to ask them to leave now—wouldn’t all his prior cordiality be wasted?

Still, his attitude didn’t sit well with a woman in her thirties, “No need, if President Feng doesn’t welcome us, we’ll take our leave.”

Clearly, she was a family member of one of the employees. Hearing this displeased Feng Jun even more. So they came to his land, played around, made a mess, and now he was to blame?

But what could he say? He was born in the small county of Chaoyang, with its relatively developed forestry resources, and many people depended on forestry for their livelihood. So, he understood the feelings of the forestry bureau staff quite well.

They had seen many forests, and casually picking something in any of them didn’t feel like an offense—as long as it was for personal use, not for sale.

Honestly, there were so many good things in the forest—wild fruits, pine nuts, herbs, mushrooms and such. These things seemed rare to children from big cities, but for people who spent all year in the woods, they weren’t so special. Even if you didn’t collect them, countless would rot on the ground every year.

If a forest owner were too meticulous, it might give off an impression of “stinginess.”

Think about it, this is a four-square-kilometer wilderness area—if someone picks some goji berries, grabs a few handfuls of sour dates, or plucks some wild peaches and hawthorns, is it really such a big deal?

Perhaps it was because of this very reason that Wang Haifeng and Xu Lei didn’t stop them from picking.

So this family member felt that Feng Jun’s reaction was a bit excessive—it was as though no one had ever seen a forest before.

Feng Jun could not accuse them directly, so he had to address them seriously.

“This is the nursery base of the manor. I’m sure Manager Wang and Lei Gang have informed you. They consented to your picking, and I won’t say anything against it. But if anyone thinks that it’s our obligation to allow this, they are gravely mistaken.”

Although young, he was the owner of the manor, and over the recent days, he had developed a certain authority. Now that he spoke so formally, the others had no choice but to listen reluctantly.

Whether it’s the Forestry Bureau or other authorities that might theoretically cause troubles for the manor, in theory, Feng Jun had invested hundreds of millions in Luohua Manor. Was he someone that just anyone could bully?

Those who had come out to conduct surveys on such a hot day were errand runners in their departments—how influential could they be?

After he finished speaking, two people even smiled sheepishly, “President Feng is right; we didn’t think it through enough.”

(Update finished, calling for monthly tickets.)