Chapter 1667: Happy Little New Year

"You must find experts to get this heating pack out as soon as possible." Zhou Andong stood up. "I'm going to the experimental greenhouse to talk to my teacher about other things."

Zhang Chaoming sent Zhou Andong out of the office, and Huang Yali, who had been waiting outside, hurriedly followed.

The three of them walked out of the office building. Zhou Andong looked up and saw Li Jiutang and Zhao Quan walking in from the main gate.

"Old Jiu, Uncle Quan, you are in such a hurry, what happened?"

"Nothing happened." Li Jiutang said with a smile, "Someone in the village saw you came back, so we came to see you."

Zhou Andong smiled. "I was just about to go to the experimental greenhouse to find my teacher. If you have nothing to do, shall we go for a stroll together?"

"Let's go for a stroll." Zhao Quan said, "Don't drive, let's walk there; it'll take ten minutes."

"Okay!" Zhou Andong said to Huang Yali beside him, "You take the car, let Wentian drive and follow behind."

"I'll walk too, just to exercise."

Huang Yali shook her head. The boss was walking, but she, the secretary, was following in a car; that would be too inappropriate.

Zhang Chaoming said, "I have nothing to do either, I'll go with you to the experimental greenhouse to take a look."

A group of people walked toward the main gate, and they greeted the farm workers they met on the way.

"Brother Dong!"

"Uncle Dong!"

"Dongzi!"

These were the familiar ones; the unfamiliar ones all called him Chairman or Chairman Zhou.

Watching the prosperous and busy scene, Li Jiutang said with emotion.

"More than two years ago, even if I dreamed, I couldn't have dreamed that Tanghezi would have today."

"The firecrackers on New Year's Eve turned the sky over our Tanghezi red."

Zhao Quan had a smile on his face, looking very bright.

"That night, I stood on the roof for three hours, just watching."

"Yes!" Li Jiutang also smiled. "I also stood on the roof for a long time, and the firecrackers that night didn't just go off for three hours; they went off all night. By the morning of the first day of the New Year, they started again."

Zhao Quan said, "Just like Uncle Jiu said, on New Year's Eve two years ago, every household set off firecrackers, but this year can't compare."

Li Jiutang continued, "On the first day, I walked around the village, and every household had a thick layer of firecracker skins at their door. Even by noon, you could still smell the gunpowder."

Zhou Andong smiled and said, "Life will get better and better in the future."

Li Jiutang nodded. "Before, we lived day by day, but now, we look forward to every day, full of hope for the future."

Zhao Quan hesitated for a moment. "Dongzi, the few families that didn't buy shares before found me a few days ago, wanting to buy shares."

"Uncle Quan!" Zhou Andong said politely, "The farm's market value now is several times higher than when it was first established. Even if those villagers use the land in their hands to buy shares, they won't get many shares.

I think it's better to let them keep it. It's quite good to grow some corn and peanuts every year to sell for money, and they won't go hungry, so don't squeeze into the farm."

Zhao Quan sighed and didn't speak again. Back then, when they were asked to buy shares, no matter how they were persuaded, they wouldn't listen, and they even cursed Zhou Andong for being cheap, and mocked the villagers who bought shares.

At the end of the year, seeing the farm workers receiving bonuses and benefits, they started to get jealous, especially on New Year's Eve, when others were eating big fish and meat, all provided by the farm without spending money, how could they balance their hearts?

After eleven o'clock at night, the firecrackers started to go off, and by this time, those villagers who didn't buy shares regretted it deeply. If they had also bought shares in the farm, wouldn't they also be eating big fish and meat for free?

The money they made from selling the corn and peanuts they grew on the few acres of land they kept might not even be as much as the bonuses issued by the farm. If they had bought shares at that time, they wouldn't have felt the pain of buying a few firecrackers.

Because of this, two families started fighting on New Year's Eve, and it was quite a scene. The reason was simple: at the time, the men wanted to buy shares, but the women wouldn't let them.

Li Jiutang and Zhao Quan were exhausted from persuading one family after another, and then on the morning of the first day of the New Year, they were blocked at home by these villagers, wanting to use their land to buy shares in the farm.

Although Li Jiutang and Zhao Quan were also very dissatisfied with these villagers, especially when they heard these people badmouthing Zhou Andong behind his back, they were also itching with hatred.

But leading every villager to get rich and live a good life was also their responsibility and wish. So, they found Zhang Chaoming.

If it were other things, Zhang Chaoming would definitely have agreed without hesitation, because Zhou Andong had always been very respectful to Li Jiutang and Zhao Quan.

However, he had worked in Tanghezi for so long that he had learned many things, and these villagers were not very friendly to the Chairman.

Not buying shares before was a lack of trust in the Chairman, which was nothing; after all, using land to buy shares in the farm involved personal interests, so being careful was normal.

But these people had badmouthed the Chairman behind his back quite a bit. Now that they saw the benefits, they were licking their faces to buy shares. Without the Chairman's nod, how could he dare to agree?

Li Jiutang spoke up. "Dongzi, these villagers are indeed not very good, but they aren't that bad either. Now most people in the village have better lives and look forward to the future."

"You were born and raised in Tanghezi. You say everyone is rich, but there are still more than ten families living a hard life. Can you feel good looking at that?"

Zhou Andong laughed. "When you put it that way, I really don't feel good. After all, they all watched me grow up, and no matter what, they are my elders."

"Right!" Li Jiutang also laughed. "You are doing big things, there's no need to haggle with them."

"But!" Zhou Andong brought the conversation back. "That's what you say, but have you thought about it? If I accept their shares now, is it fair to those villagers who trusted and supported me unconditionally from the beginning?"

Li Jiutang opened his mouth, and finally just sighed.

"Doing business is not playing house; they can't just do whatever they want." Zhou Andong looked at Li Jiutang. "And, they want to buy shares, it's not something I can just nod and agree to.

This involves the redistribution of equity, which requires all villagers to nod and agree. Because there are new shareholders entering, they have to take out their own shares to distribute. Do you think they will be willing?"

"Ah?"

Li Jiutang and Zhao Quan had never thought it would be so complicated, and they didn't know that for these villagers to buy shares, other villagers would have to take out their shares for redistribution.

This involved fundamental personal interests, and no one would take out their shares to distribute to others. After all, even a fool knows that the more shares you have, the more dividends you get.

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Wishing brothers and sisters across the country a Happy Little New Year! ===== CHAPTER 1668 =====