Siheyuan: Starting from 1958

When Wang Dong said that renting out the family's land could earn them an extra two hundred yuan, Tan Yong didn't immediately respond. Instead, he turned his attention to his second son.

The second son usually does the household accounting, so with him here to help with the accounts, Wang Dong definitely can't lie to him.

The second son seemed to notice Tan Yong's gaze and immediately replied, "Father..."

"Mr. Wang is right..."

“If we rent ten acres of land to Mr. Wang, we can indeed earn more than two hundred yuan a year.”

Seeing the look of interest on Tan Yong's face, Wang Dong continued, "Old comrade..."

"Besides the income we just discussed, there's another thing I haven't told you about."

“After you rent me ten acres of land, your family will only have four acres left. You won’t need so much labor to stay home and do the autumn harvest and spring planting every year.”

"In this way, the surplus labor force in the family can continue to work in Beijing."

“We’ll calculate the spring planting season and peak season as four months. If I earn more than 20 yuan a month working, I can bring in more than 100 yuan more for the family in four months.”

"in addition……"

"After my vegetable greenhouse was built, working 200 days a year is just the minimum requirement for each person."

“You’ve all grown vegetables before, so you should know that growing vegetables is a continuous process. Plus, the vegetables I grow are delivered to Beijing, so I often need help picking, washing, and packing them… all of these require manpower.”

"Once greenhouse vegetable farming is fully developed, it's possible to work 300 days a year."

"Then the two workers can earn six hundred yuan from me."

"in addition……"

“Working for me includes lunch. Even if each lunch is only discounted by two cents, five or six hundred lunches add up to more than a hundred yuan. That’s still money you earn.”

"One last thing: once greenhouse vegetables develop, you won't need to go out. You can work and earn money right at your doorstep, and you can also take care of your family at the same time."

“After getting off work, I can raise a couple more pigs, a few more surplus animals, or even a sheep... all of these are money.”

"If things were like before, with farmers busy with farm work every day during the busy season and spring planting, and those who were not busy going out to work during the off-season, leaving only one able-bodied person at home to look after the house, we wouldn't be able to raise so many poultry and livestock..."

"I sold off all the extra livestock and poultry I raised before the New Year. It was still income, and quite a lot of it..."

Seeing his second son nod in agreement with Wang Dong's analysis, the father, Tan Yong, was completely convinced and instinctively wanted to agree to rent the family's ten acres of land to Wang Dong.

His last shred of reason made him swallow back the words that were already on the tip of his tongue.

With a last shred of hesitation, he asked, "Mr. Wang..."

"Even if what you're saying is true, who knows if you'll keep your word? What if you're just making empty promises?"

"If we don't get paid and there's no harvest from the fields, we might not even be able to pay the grain tax."

"If such an accident were to happen, we'd have nowhere to turn for help."

Wang Dong confidently replied, "Don't worry..."

“I have already considered your concerns… To reassure you that you can confidently lease the land to us, we will sign a lease agreement with you…”

"As soon as you sign, I'll give you the first year's rent of four hundred yuan immediately..."

"You only gave me the land after the autumn harvest, so it won't affect this year's harvest at all." "If I don't keep my promise and don't hire two workers from your family to work in the greenhouse as agreed, you can take the land back by next spring. We promise not to say a word, and we won't ask for the rent."

"Of course……"

“If we keep our promises, and you, in turn, don’t keep your promises and want to take back the land within five years… then I’m sorry, you must return ten times the rent from that year.”

While Wang Dong was explaining his ideas to everyone, the second son of the Tan family was busy calculating the various hidden incomes that renting the land to Wang Dong might bring to the family.

After Wang Dong finished speaking, the second son of the Tan family put down his pencil and looked at his father and eldest brother, making a serious suggestion: "Dad..."

“I think we can rent out our land to Boss Wang…”

“A person can earn five or six hundred yuan a year working in Boss Wang’s greenhouse. Boss Wang provides lunch, which saves his family about a hundred yuan.”

"Two able-bodied people can stay at home and work, which can not only take care of the remaining four acres of land, but also raise an extra pig, two sheep, and dozens of chickens..."

"If I converted it all into cash, that would be over two hundred yuan in income..."

"Adding the money earned from working outside, the best I can earn is an extra seven or eight hundred yuan a year..."

"My third brother and I don't need to drop out of school, and my eldest brother will be able to get married in a year."

The second child is the most educated in the family. In Tan Yong's eyes, the higher the level of education, the more knowledge one has. As a result, although the second child is very young, he still has a considerable say in the family.

Seeing that his second son was very supportive of him renting the family's land to Wang Dong, the last bit of concern on his face disappeared.

Seeing Wang Dong's confident reply, "Boss Wang... as long as the rent and the two jobs you agreed to are fine, I agree to rent you my ten acres of land after the autumn harvest."

Seeing that Tan Yong had finally been persuaded, Wang Dong couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

Tan Yong's family was the fifth household I visited in Tanjiazhuang today, but the first to be willing to rent their land to me.

After Wang Dong entered the village, he first approached the poorest farmers, hoping to help them increase their income through his own efforts.

But these people valued the land too much, believing that the grain grown on it was their lifeline.

Upon hearing that I was going to rent their land, they acted as if they were afraid I would take it away from them, leaving no room for negotiation.

Even though he promised them all sorts of benefits and showed them that renting the land to him would be more profitable than farming it themselves, no one was willing to budge.

Everything is difficult at the beginning. Just when Jin Ting thought she would return empty-handed from Tanjiazhuang, she unexpectedly signed a contract for ten acres of land at the last minute before dark.

With the first person to try something new, Wang Dong was confident that he would reap huge rewards the next day.

…………

The next morning, the news that Tan Yong's family planned to rent ten acres of land to Wang Dong to grow vegetables spread like wildfire throughout the entire Tanjiazhuang village.

Most villagers were not optimistic about this.

They felt that Tan Yong was neglecting his duties by doing this.

In their eyes, farmers are born to cultivate the land, and now that the land is gone, how can they still cultivate it?

When it came time to pay the grain tax next year, where would Tan Yong, who had no land, get so much grain to pay the tax? Several elders went to Tan Yong's house to persuade him not to rent out his land. (End of Chapter)