Chapter 41: Making Use of Mountains and Rivers

Everyone was a bit stunned. Aside from Zhou Yimin and Zhou Zhigao, almost everyone present was a farmer. In a farmer’s mindset, making money always revolved around land—land was their lifeline.

Raising chickens, ducks, and pigs could also bring in income, but the village’s pig farming profits belonged to the collective.

However, livestock like chickens, ducks, and pigs all required grain. You couldn’t just feed them grass, right? Even cows needed something more than just grass now and then.

Look at the pigs in the village—how skinny had they become? But what could they do? There wasn’t even enough grain for people to eat. Who could afford to feed it to pigs? So, they had to make do with pigweed and whatever scraps they could find—just enough to keep the animals alive.

If the pigs didn’t meet the standard, at most, they’d be criticized. But if people didn’t eat, they’d starve.

“That’s right! Yimin, come up with an idea! But we can’t use farmland,” the brigade leader added.

If they could make money without using farmland, they had to try!

“As long as we don’t touch the land currently used for growing grain, it’s fine?” Zhou Yimin asked.

The old village chief thought for a moment. That seemed reasonable, so he nodded.

“Well, that makes it easy! As the saying goes, ‘live by the mountain, eat from the mountain; live by the river, eat from the river.’ Why not put the mountains and rivers to use? The rivers have dried up—why not plant something there? Ideally, short-growing crops, like vegetables.”

The moment he said this, the people around him lit up as if they’d just had an epiphany.

That’s right! The rivers had dried up.

Riverbeds were quite fertile—perfect for planting crops. More importantly, there were no regulations on using that “land,” meaning the village could take advantage of it.

The old village chief slapped his thigh. “Right! I almost forgot about the riverbeds.”

The brigade leader and others got excited too. The riverbeds covered a considerable area!

Zhou Zhigao, thinking more thoroughly, reminded the others, “But what if it rains and the river fills up again?”

Zhou Yimin laughed. “That’s why I said we should plant crops with short growth cycles to minimize losses. Realistically, what’s the worst that could happen? We’d lose some seeds.

And as for the seeds—I’ve got that covered.”

Goodness! He came prepared, even thinking about the seeds!

The old village chief and the others grew even more enthusiastic. This plan sounded solid. The riverbeds were naturally fertile, meaning they wouldn’t even need fertilizer. The only potential loss was the cost of seeds.

As for labor, was there ever a shortage of manpower in a rural village?

“Yimin, we’ll have to trouble you to get the seeds for us. However much they cost, the village will pool the money,” the old village chief said decisively.

Zhou Yimin nodded. “Now that we’ve covered the river, let’s talk about the mountains.”

The brigade leader immediately said, “That might not work. If we clear land in the mountains, it would be classified as farmland.”

Besides, mountain soil was poor—was it really worth the effort? It seemed like a losing battle.

The old village chief shot him a glare. “You think Yimin doesn’t know that? Let him speak first.”

“I’m not talking about clearing land. Medicinal herbs are always in high demand, right? We can scatter some herb seeds in the mountains, let them grow wild, and harvest whatever survives. That would still be an income stream, wouldn’t it?”

Huh?

Everyone was surprised and delighted.

That actually made sense!

“But getting herb seeds might be difficult. And we don’t know how many would actually survive. What if we can’t even earn back the cost of the seeds?” someone voiced a concern.

Zhou Yimin chuckled. “Since when does any venture come without risk? Even wheat crops in the fields can fail.”

Wasn’t that the truth?

Given the drought, if it weren’t for Zhou Yimin’s water well, no one knew how much their wheat harvest would have been reduced. In some places with even worse drought conditions than Zhoujia Village, entire crops had been lost.

“To take a step back—even if we don’t plant medicinal herbs, what about mushrooms? They might not sell for much, but they grow fast and yield a lot.

And when the time comes, I’ll buy them directly for the steel factory. It benefits the village, benefits me, and benefits the factory.”

The old village chief and the others exchanged glances, suddenly seeing the bigger picture.

How could they forget? Zhou Yimin was a procurement officer for the steel factory. If the village grew something, he could buy it directly, saving them a huge hassle.

“Yes, yes! That makes perfect sense. We need to think this through carefully,” the old village chief said, his mind working quickly.

“What’s there to think about? Just send some people to turn over the riverbeds. I’ll bring back the seeds tomorrow—earlier planting means earlier harvesting. Once the village has money, the school’s issues will be easily solved.

In fact, we could even set up a small cafeteria at the school so kids can eat for free. I refuse to believe parents won’t send their children to school then.”

Everyone was convinced.

They could already foresee that, when the time came, parents would be eager to send their kids—even those not yet old enough. If Zhoujia Village announced that schoolchildren would receive free meals, it would be like the school was helping raise their kids.

Who wouldn’t want that?

Xiaolan looked at her Sixteenth Uncle in admiration.

His plan connected everything seamlessly—not only solving the school’s problems but also increasing village income, boosting his own work performance, and supplying the steel factory with resources.

A win-win-win!

Most importantly, it didn’t violate any regulations. Even if word got out, no one could criticize them. Other villages would probably start copying them.

After all, who didn’t want to make more money?

“Village chief, I’ll go gather some people,” the brigade leader said, unable to sit still.

The old village chief waved him off. “Go ahead! Just don’t let it interfere with regular farm work.”

At the end of the day, these were “side projects.” The real priority was still the crops in the fields. They couldn’t afford to lose sight of that.

“Understood!”

The brigade leader got up and left to round up available laborers.

“Yimin, you really are quick-witted,” the old village chief sighed in admiration.

Zhou Yimin smiled. “That’s why we need to prioritize education.”

This time, the old village chief didn’t argue. He understood. Education had always been important—if people wanted to get ahead, they had to study.

Even Zhou Zhigao was fired up, thinking about how to strengthen Zhoujia Village’s school. The village’s stance was clear now: full support for the school.

“I’d better go clean up the school,” Zhou Zhigao said, also unable to sit still.

“I’ll go with you,” Zhou Yimin offered.

“Let’s go, then!”

Zhou Zhigao was happy to have Zhou Yimin visit the school—maybe he could offer more suggestions. He gathered his wife and the children who could work, and they all headed to the school together.

After being abandoned for so long, the school had definitely fallen into disrepair.

Zhou Yimin soon saw that the “school” was just a slightly larger house with three classrooms and a small office for the teacher.

The classrooms were tiny, barely big enough for 10 to 20 kids. There were only five rows of desks, all in terrible condition. A single small window made the room dim.

At the front was a blackboard, a little over a meter wide.

Overall, the place was as rundown as it could be.

Zhou Yimin touched a chair, and it immediately collapsed, leaving him feeling a bit embarrassed.

“I didn’t even use force.”

Zhou Zhigao laughed. “No worries! I’ll fix it later.”

(End of Chapter)