I Got Rich in Period Fiction

Chapter 24: Chapter 24 Contracting Wasteland Chapter 24: Chapter 24 Contracting Wasteland Qiao Zhiyuan entered the room. He certainly knew what these two people wanted to hear, so he told them everything about Qiao Qingyu from start to finish.

Meanwhile, Qiao Qingyu, who was riding her bicycle, had already arrived at Director Xie’s office in the logistics base.

The forty-five mu of white cabbage had indeed all been planted.

The soil quality here was still quite good, at least much better than that near the residential compound.

Qiao Qingyu didn’t delay and directly inquired whether the wasteland near the residential compound had any other use for the logistics base?

Director Xie laughed, a glint of sharpness flashed in his eyes, but he spoke truthfully, “That piece of land has just been allocated for the base’s use, and we haven’t thought of what to do with it yet.”

“Director Xie, then just contract that wasteland to me,” Qiao Qingyu said crisply and straightforwardly.

Director Xie was taken aback, not expecting Qiao Qingyu to have such a request.

When he learned that Qiao Qingyu planned to plant thousand silk hemp and that Qiao Qingyu had already sold eight hundred mu of thousand silk hemp seeds, Director Xie paced back and forth in the room with his hands behind his back.

He couldn’t outright reject her for two reasons: the first was to save face for Chief Engineer He, and the second was because Qiao Qingyu had just provided forty-five mu of white cabbage seeds for free, which weren’t cheap – over one hundred yuan for forty-five mu.

Besides, that wasteland really had no use.

He had been thinking about how to exchange some benefits for Qiao Qingyu, after all, one couldn’t let her contribute for nothing; at the very least a certificate of merit or something similar had to be arranged.

“I’ll have to discuss this with the leaders since we don’t have a precedent,” he said.

“Director Xie, then I’ll take the risk of setting this precedent, but if it’s too troublesome for you, then forget it. The Northwest has vast lands, and I have thousand silk hemp seeds; I can plant them anywhere,” Qiao Qingyu said lightly.

Director Xie hastily said, “There’s no trouble at all; we just need to see what regulations are needed. Come, I’ll take you to the person in charge of this matter.”

At the same time, he was somewhat tempted. If the thousand silk hemp seeds were as good as Qiao Qingyu claimed, then perhaps the logistics base could also make a go of it.

It was known that the area allocated to them, in addition to the residential compound, included a radius of five hundred li around the experimental base. The base had a security boundary, and the land outside the boundary was about five thousand or more mu, all lying fallow.

If it could generate benefits, it would provide the best logistics support for these scientists and engineers.

So the following process was really smooth, but Qiao Qingyu knew that fifty percent of the reason was He Xiuyu, forty percent because of her own white cabbage seeds, and the land was fallow regardless, plus Director Xie wanted to be involved too.

In these times, especially in Xichuan where resources were still scarce, being a logistics director was not an easy job.

Of course, in addition to this, maybe it was also because of the Vice Director Qian of Xiaxi Commune’s generous gesture.

Anyway, within a day, Qiao Qingyu had contracted a thousand mu of land near the residential compound.

The contract period was ten years.

The total contracting fee was one thousand yuan.

Qiao Qingyu signed the contract on the spot, paid the one thousand yuan contracting fee, and obtained the right to use this land for ten years.

Although she and He Xiuyu were destined to go their separate ways.

But this did not affect Qiao Qingyu’s preparation to turn the thousand-li desert sand belt into thousands of mu of good farmland.

After all, the seeds for improving soil in the laboratory were most suited for the vast desert around Xichuan City.

After signing the agreement, Director Xie left the office with Qiao Qingyu. The early April wind was still chilly, slowly calming his previously excited mind.

He then realized a serious problem.

Could it be that Qiao Qingyu hadn’t gotten the consent of Chief Engineer He and had taken out all the savings from her home?

Would Mr. He have some thoughts when he came back, or was this all too childish?

“But the old leaders agreed as well.”

Director Xie looked at Qiao Qingyu with mixed feelings. This little wife was too persuasive. She claimed that not only would they have thousand silk hemp seeds, but they would also plant Willow Wood and Barley Grass to improve the environment.

She also said that given one year, she could ensure that the staff at the base would be able to eat fresh vegetables every day, regardless of the season.

And somehow, she gave off the impression that everything she said would come true.

So, on the spot, the old leadership decided and agreed to contract out the land to Qiao Qingyu.

Although they were in scientific research, it didn’t mean they were oblivious to the recent new policies.

Land contracting and economic development were already going full swing in the Southern region, so their practice wasn’t against the rules.

Moreover, Qiao Qingyu’s ability to persuade people was just too impressive. Director Xie thought to himself that it was a pity she wasn’t in charge of political ideology. No wonder He Xiuyu married her—it must have been a clear case of being sweet-talked.

“Comrade Qiao Qingyu,” he suddenly remembered something and hurriedly said, “the glass jars for the vegetable seeds have all been emptied. The base doesn’t have a spare vehicle today, but I’ll have Sun Dazhi deliver them to you tomorrow.”

Qiao Qingyu was in a good mood, as the plan was going smoothly. She smiled, “That’s fine, if I’m not at home, just leave them at Mr. Li’s place.”

Director Xie nodded, but someone called him at that moment, so he exchanged a few words with Qiao Qingyu and then hurried off.

Qiao Qingyu had just taken a few steps pushing her bike when she was stopped by Su Yunyao, who seemed to be carrying a stack of documents needing the old leaders’ signatures.

Su Yunyao’s gaze on Qiao Qingyu was heavy.

It proved once again that Qiao Qingyu was indeed different from her younger self in the previous life, not just in expression, but even her aura had changed.

In recent days, she had been restless, tossing and turning at night, and a bold thought crossed her mind—could Qiao Qingyu have been reborn just like herself?

Thus, Su Yunyao was tormented, the more she thought about it, the more likely it seemed. After all, if she could be reborn, why couldn’t others?

What should she do if that was true? Could she still be with Brother Yu?

With that thought, Su Yunyao’s voice was bitterly sarcastic as she asked, “Qiao Qingyu, what is a family member like you doing at the research base?”

Qiao Qingyu looked down at Su Yunyao, who seemed somewhat haggard.

This reborn main female character had likely been contemplating her own situation these past few days.

After all, from the moment she had transmigrated, her actions were starkly different compared to the original body’s owner.

But Qiao Qingyu didn’t want to pretend.

She figured Su Yunyao might suspect that she, too, was a reincarnator, but she would never guess that she was from a transmigration into a book.

Ha, that was amusing…

Even if Qiao Qingyu stood at the heavily guarded entrance of the laboratory and shouted, “Comrades, the world we live in is actually a book, a period novel to be precise. The male lead is your Chief Engineer He, the female lead is your colleague Su Yunyao, and me, I’m that cannon fodder first wife…
Everyone would probably take her for a lunatic.

Qiao Qingyu curved the corners of her mouth and suddenly stretched out her hand to press the bicycle bell.

“Ding-a-ling, ding-a-ling…”

That era’s bicycle bells were truly loud and clear, ringing out with a piercing sound.

The sound startled Su Yunyao so much that she stepped back several paces.

Qiao Qingyu showed off her pearly whites, “None of your damn business!”

Then she continued to push her bicycle forward.

Su Yunyao’s expression fluctuated wildly, and suddenly she blurted out, “Qiao Qingyu, have you come back too?”