Chapter 146: Absolutely No Tolerance!

Chapter 146: Absolutely No Tolerance!

Tourism Bureau.

Zhao Han arrived at the office early in the morning and called Wang Yu to come in.

Naturally, he wanted to inquire about the spring water project at Liyuan Farm.

This project was now his top priority.

The panda project was county-led, with County Chief Liu personally overseeing it, so he didn’t need to worry about it.

But the spring water health resort project was different.

When Wang Yu arrived, Zhao Han asked, "How is the land acquisition for Linyuan Farm coming along?"

Wang Yu confidently reported, "Mr. Zhang, I have prepared all the necessary documents and contracts. I have also negotiated with the four families, and they are all willing to sign. I will go and finalize the contracts with them shortly."

"I’ll go with you," Zhao Han immediately said.

He wanted to be personally involved in this matter. Once the land acquisition documents were signed, he could head directly to Linyuan Farm to meet with Mr. Zhang.

The two of them left the Tourism Bureau, along with their team, and headed to Xiaochuan Village, located near Yucheng.

The four families were from the same village, which is why they had contracted a mountain for tea cultivation.

On the way, Wang Yu reported, "Director Zhao, I have arranged to meet them at the village office this morning. They should already be there."

"Good, that’s good," Zhao Han nodded.

They quickly arrived at Xiaochuan Village, inquired about the location of the village office, and drove straight there.

When they reached the village office, many villagers had already gathered.

The villagers who stayed behind were naturally curious, especially since they heard that the four families were being compensated handsomely for their land. Everyone wanted to see what was going on, fueled by envy.

"Leader, is the county planning to acquire land from other places?" one villager asked, clearly hoping for their own good fortune.

"Sorry, there are no other plans for land acquisition at the moment," Wang Yu politely responded.

Inside the village office, Wang Yu instructed the village officials, "Those who are signing the contracts, please stay. The rest of you, please step outside."

The village officials, naturally, complied and asked the onlookers to leave.

However, Wang Yu’s brow furrowed when he noticed that only three families had arrived. Ma Dacheng seemed to be absent.

He asked the other three families, "Where is Uncle Ma?"

The three families shook their heads.

"We haven’t seen him since this morning."

"Yeah, we haven’t seen him either."

Wang Yu frowned and immediately pulled out his phone, dialing the number Ma Dacheng had provided yesterday.

When the call connected, he asked, "Uncle Ma, this is Wang Yu from the county. We agreed to sign the documents today. Where are you?"

"Leader, I’m really sorry, but something came up at home," Ma Dacheng’s voice came through. "You can go ahead and sign with the other three families. Afterward, you can come to my place, and we’ll sign the documents there."

"Alright," Wang Yu agreed, hung up the phone, and said to the other three families, "Let’s sign the documents first. I’ll go to Uncle Ma’s place later to finalize his contract."

Zhao Han watched this unfold with a frown, sensing something was off.

When things like this happened, they usually didn’t end well.

The other three families, however, didn’t seem to notice anything amiss and happily signed the documents with Wang Yu.

Most people were content with the compensation, feeling grateful for the lump sum.

These were the most straightforward and honest villagers, and most people were like this.

After signing with the three families, Wang Yu inquired about Ma Dacheng’s location, and the group headed to his house.

Upon arriving at Ma Dacheng’s house, both Wang Yu and Zhao Han’s brows furrowed.

There was nothing wrong at Ma Dacheng’s place; instead, his family was leisurely eating watermelon.

"Uncle Ma, I’m here to sign the documents," Wang Yu realized something was amiss but still patiently placed the contract and documents on the table.

Ma Dacheng glanced at the documents and then looked at his son.

Ma Xiao smiled and picked up the contract, examining it. "Leaders, we’ve thought about it. Cultivating this land and growing tea has been a lot of work. We’re not willing to sell it. Could you consider acquiring land from somewhere else?"

Of course, they weren’t unwilling to sell; they were just trying to drive up the price. They wanted to make it seem like they were reluctantly holding out, hoping the other party would offer more money.

Ma Xiao had investigated Linyuan Farm last night. Each of their projects, just from ticket sales, could bring in a significant amount of money. For example, the flower sea project sold 5,000 tickets at 50 yuan each, generating 250,000 yuan per day.

By asking for an additional 300,000 yuan, the project could easily recoup that amount in a single day.

Since the other party was committed to this project, they wouldn’t change their plans. The sooner the project was completed, the sooner they would start making money. An additional 300,000 yuan was a small price to pay to avoid delays.

Otherwise, each day the project was delayed would cost Linyuan Farm a significant amount of money.

Wang Yu immediately understood what was happening and his face darkened. "Uncle Ma, we already agreed on the terms yesterday. You can’t change your mind now."

Ma Dacheng looked embarrassed but finally turned to his son. "This decision is up to my son."

Wang Yu was furious and was about to say something, but Zhao Han stopped him, saying, "Let’s go back."

"Director Zhao, but…" Wang Yu wanted to protest, but Zhao Han shook his head.

Zhao Han saw through the situation clearly.

The other party was clearly trying to drive up the price, and they were even delusional enough to think they could make him offer more money. This was a waste of time, and any further discussion would only embolden them.

It would be better to return and discuss the matter with Mr. Zhang. They could reroute the water channel and acquire a bit more land from others, which wouldn’t cost an additional 300,000 yuan.

This little bit of cleverness was a miscalculation of the value of their land.

Wang Yu reluctantly followed Zhao Han out, still fuming.

Initially, he had thought Ma Dacheng was a decent person, only to be betrayed.

Ma Xiao, seeing the group about to leave, grew anxious and blurted out, "Just add 300,000 yuan, and we’ll sign."

Zhao Han laughed with disdain.

In the end, he was just a commoner, a bit cunning but lacking the composure to hide his greedy nature.

After getting back in the car, Wang Yu couldn't help but curse, "Shameless, greedy, bastard."

He quickly apologized to Zhao Han, "Director Zhao, I'm sorry, I didn't handle the situation well."

Zhao Han waved his hand and said, "It's not your fault. No matter how well our country develops, there will always be people with deep-rooted vices. Ma Dacheng seemed hesitant, and the root of the problem likely lies with his son. Investigate their family's situation."

When Ma Dacheng saw that Wang Yu and Zhao Han had really left, he anxiously said to his son, "They just left. What if they decide not to sign the agreement?"

Ma Xiao was also anxious but remained firm, "They won't back out. The Liyuan Farm project has been delayed for too long; it's definitely losing money. For them, 300,000 encryption and security measures.

- Ensure all contracts have clauses for project cancellation due to uncontrollable factors.

- Publicize the incident to warn others.

- Mad Plant Doctor: One day, Zhang Lin recruits a mad plant doctor who claims he can develop crops capable of growing on the Moon if provided with a laboratory. This introduces a new level of innovation and possibility in Zhang Lin's agricultural projects.

Theme of Innovation and Real-World Impact:

The central theme revolves around Zhang Lin's innovative use of the game to achieve real-world results. He leverages the game's unique capabilities to overcome real-world challenges, such as planting seeds in the desert and developing crops that can grow on the moon. This theme highlights the potential for technology and creativity to transform and enhance agricultural practices, pushing the boundaries of what is possible.

---

Liyuan Farm.

Early in the morning, Zhang Lin arrived at the farm and poured himself another cup of the special medicinal wine to drink.

As the warm, pleasant sensation spread through his body, he got on his bike and headed to the peach tree planting area.

He drank this special wine every day, and who could refuse the benefits of strengthening one's constitution?

At the planting site, he dug holes, planted trees, and filled the holes, all while getting a good workout.

Over time, he could clearly feel the improvement in his physical condition. The process of planting trees now felt much easier.

When the effects of the wine wore off, he rode his scooter back to the office.

As soon as he sat down, Zhao Han, the tourism bureau director, walked in with a rather grim expression.

Upon seeing Zhang Lin, Zhao Han frowned and said, "Mr. Zhang, there's been an issue with the land acquisition for that mountain. Someone is demanding an additional 300,000 yuan."

"What?" Zhang Lin was taken aback. "I'm only building an irrigation channel and using a small piece of land. How can they ask for an extra 300,000 yuan? Has he gone mad? Does he not realize I can change the route of the irrigation channel to avoid his land?"

Zhao Han explained, "It seems they have a wedding coming up, and the bride's family is asking for over 300,000 yuan as a dowry. They were initially forced to sell everything they owned, but now they see an opportunity to make a significant profit from the land acquisition."

Zhang Lin was speechless. A 300,000 yuan dowry could drive anyone to desperation.

Nowadays, the ratio of single men and women is increasing, and more people are choosing not to marry. The reason is simple:

- Men: I'm poor.

- Women: Men are poor.

Zhang Lin could understand the desperation caused by the dowry, but he couldn't tolerate someone trying to take advantage of him.

Zhao Han added, "Mr. Zhang, the other party is very firm in their stance. I think it's better to change the route of the irrigation channel."

Zhang Lin shook his head. "No, we'll just take water from another mountain instead. We won't use this one."

"Ah?" Zhao Han quickly responded, "But that will increase the overall cost by several hundred thousand yuan."

"So be it. If we give in once, we'll face the same issue again. We can't compromise. If we encounter this, we need to set an example." Zhang Lin was resolute. He was willing to spend the extra money, but he wouldn't tolerate this behavior.

"Since Mr. Zhang has decided, I'll have Wang Yu stop the land acquisition process!" Zhao Han nodded. The contracts with the other three families had a clause allowing for project cancellation due to uncontrollable factors, giving Liyuan Farm the right to terminate the agreements.

Zhang Lin added, "Explain to the other three families why we're changing the route. They'll see the family that tried to extort us. Also, the county can help publicize this incident, making sure everyone knows that Liyuan Farm changed the location because of their extortion. This will prevent future issues."

"Understood. The Ma family will suffer, and their reputation will be ruined." Zhao Han smiled. He knew from experience that when a family tried to extort money during a village relocation, the project was canceled, and the family was later poisoned because another family needed the money for medical treatment.

While this situation wasn't as severe, the other three families would definitely target the Ma family, and their reputation in the village would be tarnished. Publicizing the incident would ensure the Ma family's reputation was completely ruined.

The outcome was predictable.

Such people didn't deserve sympathy. When someone tries to take advantage of you, and you have the means to make them suffer more, don't be a saint.

After hearing Zhang Lin's decision, Zhao Han left the farm and returned to the tourism bureau, where he called Wang Yu.

"Director Zhao, what did Mr. Zhang say?" Wang Yu asked immediately.

Zhao Han instructed, "Mr. Zhang has decided to change the irrigation route to another mountain. Cancel the land acquisition for this mountain. Find a time to inform the other three families in Xiachuan Village about the project cancellation, explaining that it's due to the Ma family's extortion. Take a video and post it on the county website to set an example."

"Understood, understood. Rest assured, Director Zhao. If I mess this up, I'll go back to watching the door." Wang Yu promised, feeling a sense of satisfaction.

He was still angry from the previous incident with Ma Dacheng, which had turned his confidence into frustration.

He wouldn't let this opportunity to set an example pass without making a strong statement.

As soon as he left the tourism bureau, he called his friend at the TV station to help with the video.

Soon, he returned to Xiachuan Village and gathered the three families, with many villagers watching curiously.

The three families were anxious:

"Director, we've signed the contract. When will we receive our money?"

"Yes, Director, when will we get our money?"

"..."

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end