One Friend Policy

“There’s nothing left in that orchard; the fruit trees that were there have all dried up and died. What is there to inspect?”

Wang Xilong said truthfully when he heard the young man’s words.

There really was nothing left to inspect there. The severely affected trees had already dried up and died, and even the leaves of the less affected ones had turned yellow, let alone bearing fruit.

“I just want to see the situation there. Big Brother, if you know the way, could you please lead me?”

Chen Mo said as he took two boxes of cigarettes from the passenger seat and handed them over.

He had bought these cigarettes at a supermarket on his way here.

He had long anticipated that he would need to ask for directions and information upon arriving, and to get help, paying a small price was naturally necessary.

Otherwise, some people would just give perfunctory directions.

Wang Xilong looked at the cigarettes Chen Mo handed over, hesitated slightly, then took them.

“I’m actually heading to that orchard anyway. Just follow behind me.”

With that, he started his electric bike and rode off, stuffing the two boxes of cigarettes into his pocket.

Each box of cigarettes cost about 30 yuan, and he usually couldn’t bear to smoke them.

Seeing this, Chen Mo also started his vehicle and followed closely behind.

About 10 minutes later,

an electric bike and a commercial van stopped at the foot of a mountain.

Chen Mo opened the door and got out, looking up at the slopes on both sides. He could already see the stretches of orchards, but in this season, these fruit trees should have been a lush green.

However, now they were a dull yellow.

“Those on the mountain are the affected fruit trees.”

Wang Xilong pointed to the slopes on both sides.

“Can we go up and take a look?”

Chen Mo nodded. Without Wang Xilong having to say it, he already knew this was the affected orchard.

Just looking at the scene was enough to convey its desolation.

“Since it’s already like this, what’s there not to see? My orchard is right there. If you want to see it, I’ll take you.”

Wang Xilong said indifferently.

If it were before, when there was fruit, outsiders coming to look might cause some fruit to go missing.

But now, besides the fruit trees with yellowing leaves, what else was there to worry about?

“Okay, then I’ll trouble you.”

Chen Mo was taken aback. He hadn’t expected that this orchard belonged to this Big Brother.

However, he didn’t say much else, just nodded.

Having no harvest in the orchard must be heartbreaking, but he didn’t know how to comfort him.

Moreover, they had only just met, and he had no obligation to offer comfort.

Because the slopes here were very steep, their vehicles couldn’t go up. The only way was to walk.

“Brother Wang, when there wasn’t a drought here before, how were the picked fruits transported down?”

Halfway up the slope, Chen Mo asked curiously.

“They were all transported down little by little using small handcarts. Of course, sometimes they were carried down manually.”

“Is that so?!”

Chen Mo rubbed his forehead; a slight sweat had already appeared.

He found it hard to imagine how tiring it must be to transport those fruits down to the foot of the mountain. He had only walked halfway and already felt a little sweaty.

However, thinking about this,

Chen Mo couldn’t help but think that if he took over this orchard, the cost of transporting the fruit down the mountain could also generate a significant amount of capital.

He secretly nodded to himself and continued walking through the orchard.

He casually walked through the orchard, looking at the withered fruit trees, and couldn’t help but sigh with emotion.

Because of the drought, this large area of orchards had completely lost its harvest.

He wondered what the owners of these orchards were feeling.

“Big Brother Wang, these orchards definitely won’t have a harvest this year. What are you planning to do?”

Chen Mo walked beside Wang Xilong and asked curiously.

For farmers, no harvest means no income, and he didn't know how they would cope.

“What else can we do? I, along with some people from the town, are already preparing to go out to work.”

Wang Xilong squatted under a tree in the orchard, his gaze fixed on the slope below, casually pulling out a cigarette, lighting it, and starting to smoke.

At the same time, he took out another one and offered it to Chen Mo beside him.

“Uh, I don’t smoke.”

Chen Mo shook his head at the sight.

Wang Xilong heard this, took the cigarette back, and put it back in the box.

He was slightly puzzled; he had just given him two boxes of cigarettes not long ago, but he himself didn’t smoke.

How strange!

“If there was a suitable job here at home, with a similar salary, would you still choose to go out to work?”

Chen Mo also sat down beside him and said calmly.

He thought again that if he invested in agriculture here, he would definitely need workers.

And these people, who were preparing to go out to work because their orchards were affected, weren't they the very workers he needed?

“If there’s a suitable job here at home that can earn money, who would want to leave their wife and children and move away from their hometown?”

Wang Xilong took a deep drag from his cigarette, his tone full of helplessness.

Chen Mo nodded upon hearing this, already having some ideas.

“I’ll talk to my friend when I get back. He’s quite interested in the orchards here. I wonder if the orchard owners would agree to lease out your orchards.”

“I don’t know. What does your friend plan to do after leasing the orchards, and for how long, and how much will he pay?”

Wang Xilong turned to look at Chen Mo.

“After leasing the orchards, he naturally plans to plant fruit trees, though he might change the varieties. As for the duration, it would be at least 5 years, and the price can be negotiated. Also, after leasing these orchards, he might recruit some workers. If you’re willing, you can absolutely come to work here and won’t need to go out to work.”

Chen Mo directly expressed his thoughts. After his recent contemplation, he had decided to invest in agriculture.

However, to avoid losing money, some preparations were still needed.

“Are you serious?”

Wang Xilong’s body trembled when he heard Chen Mo’s words, a glimmer of hope in his eyes.

If this affected orchard could be leased out, and he could also find a job here, why wouldn’t he be willing?

Moreover, the leased orchard would still be used to plant fruit trees, causing no harm to the orchard itself.

Such a good thing, probably no fruit farmer would refuse.

Especially with the orchards being affected by the disaster, they would even be willing to accept a slightly lower price.

After all, if they didn’t lease them out, these orchards wouldn’t bring them any income anyway.

“Of course I’m serious. I came here to investigate. I’ve already told him about the situation of the orchard, and he said he’s very optimistic about the orchards here. He’s already on his way and will probably arrive here tomorrow or the day after.”

Chen Mo continued to implement his “I have a friend” policy to the end.

At that time, he could just casually transfer someone from the group to manage things here.