Professor He arrived later than Yan Fei expected. In the meantime, the Sixth Miss Guo had already taken Xu Xiaoyan to visit almost all the places worth seeing in the surrounding counties, but they still haven’t run into him.
The medical factory sales representative named Chen Liqiang visited a few days ago. Initially, Yan Fei was not fond of him due to his lax work ethic and had even thought of avoiding negotiation with him. But, surprising Yan Fei, Chen had lost a significant amount of weight during their separation. Yan Fei noticed the striking weight loss, even though he doesn’t really pay much attention to such details.
But not only had Chen grown thin akin to a late-stage cancer patient, he even arrived on an old type of bicycle - the very sort rarely seen in the city, where people generally commute in vehicles now.
Moreover, observing his embarrassed smile, Yan Fei guessed that Chen might be in some kind of trouble at home. Feeling an unusual surge of sympathy, Yan Fei didn’t wait for him to explain further, instead, directly gave him the price of the earthworms he delivered to the Provincial City, and sent him off.
Two days after Chen Liqiang left, the person who was supposed to arrive still hadn’t, while someone who wasn’t supposed to had come.
While eating lunch that day, Yan Fei was arranging work: "Heizi, go and buy the northern plot in the afternoon. Ask Uncle Ming to hire some people to build a fence around it, we’ll store fodder there in the future. Now that we have installed transformers, we can use electricity as we need. Also, find a large straw shredder, it’s better to have separate areas for feed storage and cow breeding. We should be cautious about fire prevention."
With the wheat harvesting season approaching, the countryside has begun its fire prevention campaigns, we must heed the warning.
Heizi nodded and asked, "How much land do we need?"
"Purchase all the land up to the southern wall of the station. Let them measure it out, we may need it in the future. Maybe we’ll need to install a sewage treatment system, it’s better to secure enough land to raise a thousand cows." Yan Fei stated confidently.
Heizi was doubtful, "That plot is larger than our current farm. Do we really need so much land? If we build cowsheds all over the current property, we would have enough space for a thousand cows, right? Haven’t you also got power connected to the greenhouse? If necessary, we could use it as well."
Money indeed helps to get things done, the Power Management Office had quickly installed not only the transformers but also laid the power lines to the greenhouse. Yan Fei provided the timber for the power poles. It didn’t cost a thing. The outsides were charred to create a layer of carbon, then covered with bitumen for preservation, and they became power poles. Although the cost was incurred for many kilometers of wire, a thinner wire was sufficient for the greenhouse, which for now, wasn’t using much electricity -- the consumption was only a few light bulbs.
"If there is extra land, it’s good to occupy a bit more. What if the station becomes operational in the future? Perhaps someone foolish will decide to build a house across the station and we won’t have a large open space. It’s easier to centralize, only use that area for greenhouses, don’t put cows over there for now," Yan Fei explained. "You just go ahead with it, we’ll always find use for that land."
"Does the town plan to use the station?" Heizi, quick-witted, immediately thought of the question.
"Yes! But you guys should not idly gossip about it." Yan Fei did not hide it from them. "Hurry up and get it done this afternoon. In the next few days, an announcement will be made stating that vehicles will be banned from entering the town."
This information was deliberately leaked to Yan Fei by the town government, mainly because they saw his cow farm was expanding and might run short of land in the future. The town suggested he secure some more land in case the station was reactivated. Someone might build a house opposite to it, leaving no space for his future expansions.
Upon hearing this, Heizi’s eyes lit up and he thought of a new likelihood, "If we buy land there and build houses, we can make money by renting them out?"
Then, his enthusiasm faded, "Well, I need to save my money for my marriage, I can’t afford a house now!"
"As I just mentioned, only those out of their minds would build a house there, expecting to make a profit off this station. Suppose all of you decided to build houses, who would you rent them to? Look at the reality of the situation, and let’s think about it again later. If you can’t afford to build a house after working with me, what’s the point of having this cow farm? There is plenty of residential land in the town, you can build whenever you want," Yan Fei waved his hand.
Acknowledging Yan Fei’s sense in it, they thought that townspeople would directly go home after getting off at this station and wouldn’t buy anything near it. The country folks wouldn’t be willing to spend money here either. Considering the situation, even setting up a stall wouldn’t be profitable. The income could barely cover food for someone with a healthy appetite.
The only plausible option seemed to be to build a house and wait it out for a few years until the town developed further. But it was uncertain how many years that would take. It could either take two or three years or even up to ten or eight years.
Yan Fei was merely securing the land just in case someone with a half-baked brain tried to engage it. At the time the station was established, people had built two little two-story buildings next to it, but now even the locks of those buildings have rusted through.
Unexpectedly, Yan Fei came up with a new business idea, laughing as he said, "If you’re considering rental income, why not ponder over getting a tricycle for passenger service? People from the east side of town would find it a long walk. You can charge a buck or 80 cents per ride for a few passengers in a tricycle, maybe that could earn you some money."