Chapter 34: The Loan

The bean sprout banquet hosted by Officer Zhou gave the county executive a favorable impression of Yu Yang. Later, when the investment promotion in Shiliying proved to be a resounding success, Yu Yang was specifically highlighted. Consequently, the township head seized the opportunity to ask the leadership to expedite the registration of the Sanyuan Agricultural Company, which once again involved the major shareholder, Yu.

Just two days prior, Liu Danian, president of the county branch of the bank, had made headlines in the local news for using his connections to pay a self-imposed fine of 1,000 yuan to void a contract. When the county executive heard the name Yu Jianjun, he immediately thought of Yu Yang. Considering the investment promotion, the bean sprout seedlings, and Sanyuan Agricultural, he instructed his secretary to make some inquiries.

In the small confines of Pingdong County, the social circle was remarkably tight. Since the lawyer hired by Yu’s mother was a former classmate of the secretary, the county executive quickly learned the ins and outs of the brick kiln incident. This included the remarks Yu Yang had made to the bank: "If the old man goes in, so be it. Isn't it just a criminal record that affects the next three generations? Don't worry, I'm a businessman, not a government official. Once I make my money, I'll emigrate abroad. My son will be a naturalized foreigner, so he won't need that."

Initially, the county executive hadn't paid much attention to this statement. But after witnessing the vibrant energy of the bean sprout industry today, how could he afford to let such a high-achieving talent—someone who excelled at investment promotion, farming, and business—slip away?

"Young Yu," the county executive suddenly grabbed Yu Yang’s hand, "you absolutely must not emigrate!"

"???"

*When did I ever say I was emigrating?*

Yu Yang gripped the executive's hands in return. "Leader, my family has been loyal for generations, and I even had two uncles sacrifice their lives for our country. For you to say I'm emigrating—isn't that an insult? Don't worry, I am a brick in Pingdong County; I will be moved wherever I am needed!"

"Well said!" Officer Zhou of the County Armed Forces Department applauded. Seeing this, the other officials followed suit.

Relieved by Yu Yang's stance, the county executive said, "Your father's case involves a collective, which makes it complicated. Plus, with the news coverage Liu Danian stirred up, people at the municipal level are likely watching. For now, the county can only stall, but we will try our best to find a way to exempt him from liability."

"Thank you for the trouble, Leader."

Yu Yang knew that anything involving a collective was messy; you couldn't satisfy everyone. Otherwise, in his previous life, the case wouldn't have dragged on for three and a half years. This was the main reason he would rather have his father serve time than suffer in the detention center.

"Leader, if there's really no other way, just let my father go to prison."

"???"

"The conditions in the detention center are too harsh. Twenty or thirty people are crammed into one room with all sorts of characters. My father is an honest, somewhat timid man, and he’ll be bullied."

"This... well, while I cannot direct the case, I can have them arrange a transfer to a different room for your father."

"Thank you, Leader!"

"It’s all for the sake of Pingdong County."

As they chatted, they walked toward the greenhouse vegetable base located at the northernmost edge of the wasteland. These greenhouses, also known as glass houses, were constructed from steel frames and glass. The design and construction involved little technical complexity. Given Yu Yang's extensive experience with steel structure construction from his previous life, it was straightforward. As long as the glass and aluminum suppliers could keep up, he could build as many as he wanted.

However, in this poor, backward era—especially in the Yu Family Village, littered with broken bricks and crumbling tiles—the three buildings made of black metal frames and large panes of transparent glass provided a striking visual impact.

As they drew closer, the sight of lush green bean sprouts everywhere, accented by low-lying decorative greenery and irregularly placed mechanical thermometers, all encased in clear, bright glass, felt industrial, high-tech, and perfectly in harmony with nature.

"It truly looks like a work of art!" the county executive exclaimed.

The deputy executive added, "This scene is refreshing, like clear skies after a rain."

Officer Zhou opened his mouth, wanting to add something, but lacking the literary flair, he could only offer, "Good, very good!"

As the group chatted, Yu Yang took the chance to approach Officer Zhou. "I wanted to greet you earlier in the courtyard but didn't get the chance. Why are you here this time?"

"Shiliying is chaotic. With so many people, are those two police cars really enough?" Officer Zhou said, lifting a corner of his cotton coat to reveal a Type 85 submachine gun with a folding stock, along with a string of hand grenades around his waist. "When things get serious, you have to rely on these."

Yu Yang glanced down. "Leader, the chaos in Shiliying is all hearsay. It's really not as bad as you imagine."

"Yes, the locals all say that, but you only truly understand it once you've been robbed."

In truth, Yu Yang didn't think Shiliying was that chaotic. He had never encountered any road bandits. Of course, it was possible he was like the frog in the well, oblivious to the danger—just like their respected old village secretary, who always carried a Hanyang-style rifle for no apparent reason.

...

By midday, the group arrived at Greenhouse No. 2. Seeing the label, the county executive looked at another "No. 2" in the distance. "Young Yu, is the label wrong?"

"No. We had ten plastic greenhouses initially. The first one put into use in the courtyard was named No. 1, followed by this one, No. 2. But later, this one was used for hosting banquets, equipped with earthen stoves, tables, and benches, and used to store vegetables, meat, and poultry, so we couldn't grow bean sprouts here. Later, the remaining nine were used for planting, and for the sake of convenience, we designated another one as Greenhouse No. 2."

The county executive nodded, stepped into the old Greenhouse No. 2, and looked up. "Why is there another house inside?"

Yu Yang didn't know how to explain, so he said meaningfully, "Think about it."

The executive paused, looked around, and fell into deep thought. After a moment, he understood. "Pastoral style!"

He gestured with his hand. "I’ve often eaten in rural courtyards, but I could never find the pastoral atmosphere described in books. Coming here today—look at this chicken fence, this turning stone mill, these small vegetable patches, these blue-brick tile houses, the hollowed-out courtyard walls, and these benches and square tables..."

The deputy executive chimed in, "One must toast to this!"

Yu Yang called out to his sister-in-law, "Bring the wine, let’s eat!"

The farm cooking was truly excellent. Homemade tofu skin, blanched and seasoned with light soy sauce, sugar, salt, and MSG, topped with scallions and shredded green peppers, then drizzled with sizzling chili oil—*hiss*—before it was even served, the mouth-watering, fragrant aroma was already drifting out.

Yu Yang had his sixth uncle bring two cases of Five-Star Moutai. Just as he opened a bottle, the second dish arrived: their signature stir-fried bean sprouts. They used a method different from the outside world—hot lard in the pan, red chilies, scallion flowers, quick stir-frying, and salt and garlic added at the very end. The aroma of the sprouts mixed with a hint of garlic was intoxicating.

The third dish was a large soft-shelled turtle from Pingdong Lake, stewed in clear soup to ward off the cold. The fourth was lotus root from the lake, blanched, salted, chilled, and tossed with scallion whites, ginger shreds, warm soybean oil, and yellow mustard—a tangy, refreshing delight. The fifth dish was also from the lake: lotus seeds and gorgon fruit stewed with water chestnuts, a nourishing three-white porridge.

The dishes that followed were more substantial: braised meat, stewed chicken, soy-braised pork knuckles, and braised carp...

...

The meal lasted until 3:00 PM. Yu Yang checked the time and, thinking of the brick kiln loan, stood up. "Leader, I have another property at the brick kiln. Shall we head over now?"

"There's more?"

"Yes. If we don't go now, it'll be dark by the time we finish, and you'll have to head back to the county."

"Is it large in scale?"

"It's decent."

"The brick kiln... are you firing bricks?"

"No, it's also for vegetable cultivation."

The county executive hesitated slightly, handed the pile of proposals for supporting Sanyuan Agricultural to his clerk, and stood up. "Let's go!"

Yu Family Village was about three miles from the brick kiln. There used to be a small path cutting through the northern wasteland, but after the recent snow, it was difficult to traverse, forcing Yu Yang to take the dirt road near Shiliying. But since he was transforming the kiln into an industrial site, he had to repair the path. Yesterday, after his eldest brother returned from delivering lunch, he had arranged for a temporary red-brick road to be paved overnight.

Once he had money, he planned to pave a proper asphalt road leading straight to the highway exit.

Arriving at the kiln, the group, perhaps a bit tipsy and intimidated by the executive's presence, remained silent. Yu Yang had his second brother turn on the electric lights inside the kiln, revealing the massive super-fire-bed being constructed and the various well-planned zones: 20 square meters each for enoki mushrooms, shiitake mushrooms, wood ear greens, ginger, and white asparagus; 50 square meters each for leeks and garlic sprouts...

Near the kiln entrance, he had set up 50 square meters of water spinach, 100 square meters of spinach, 100 square meters of baby bok choy, and 100 square meters of small potatoes. A total of 866 square meters of planting area was packed with vegetables.

"Leader, what do you think of my brick kiln?"

The county executive only saw that there was a large variety of vegetables, but the area was too small; in terms of yield and profit, it couldn't compare to the bean sprouts in the plastic greenhouses and glass houses. "Tell me about it."

"Can't you tell? This is the vegetable experimental base for our Sanyuan Agricultural Company."

"Now that you mention it, it does look quite good."

"All the vegetables here are the future core products of our company. We are currently just breeding them. Imagine when they hit the market next winter."

The deputy executive spoke first, "It will blossom everywhere!"

The county executive nodded. "Using the winter to supply hot pot ingredients is indeed a great idea. This brick kiln is worth a million."

"Only a million?" Yu Yang was slightly displeased. "This is the future of Sanyuan Agricultural, containing a wealth of cultivation technology."

"Will the bank acknowledge that?" The county executive had long known Yu Yang wanted a loan. Regardless of the parking lot or the village roads, the company needed to build factories, office buildings, cold storage, garages, and dormitories. That all cost money. The problem was, ordinary greenhouses weren't worth much, and the glass houses could at most secure a 500,000-yuan loan. Even with the brick kiln, now exposed to potential issues by Liu Danian, it was valued at 1,000,000 at most.

"1.5 million. I can't do any more than that."

The executive finished his tea and walked toward a newly built dwelling in front of the kiln. He intended to find a thermos to pour more water, but upon reaching the door, he saw a crowd of strong men sitting on benches, two to a table, working hard on keyboards. There were eighty of them in total.

"So many computers?"

The second brother said proudly, "There are 89 more in the small foreign-style building. We just got them connected to the internet."

"This... if you put all these computers together, I can grant you another 3 million!"

Yu Yang had been worrying about the loan, as he desperately needed the capital. But hearing the executive's words, he was stunned.

*The industry I've been busting my tail over for half a month isn't worth as much as a few broken TVs?*