I Got Rich in Period Fiction
Chapter 269: Earth, Where Did You Go?

Chapter 269: Chapter 269: Earth, Where Did You Go?

Qiao Qingyu was just about to speak when He Shan chuckled and said, "Mr. Wu, this sounds just like sub-contracting land; it seems like it has nothing to do with me, right?"

"There is, of course, there is." Wu Xiujie looked at He Shan, his smile deepening, "This sub-contracting is conditional."

"What conditions? Let’s hear them," He Shan still maintained a gentle demeanor.

Qiao Qingyu felt that Uncle He seemed a bit preoccupied today.

So, being clever, she did not interrupt but quietly stood aside.

Wu Xiujie glanced at He Shan; he was his main target.

"I am particularly interested in our country’s Dunhuang culture. It’s rare, during my time of residence, I even discovered precious cultural relics in the Buddha Cave. He Shan, I know Qiao Qingyu is your daughter-in-law, and you are a family. Qiao Qingyu surely wants to connect all these barren lands together. If you let me join your special group, I would transfer all these sandy lands to Qiao Qingyu."

Qiao Qingyu furrowed her brows; she had not expected this condition.

She was about to speak when He Shan turned and asked her, "Qingyu, putting everything else aside, is this barren sandy land of any use?"

"At the moment it’s of no use; my energy is limited, and there are still many things to handle at the base. Besides, I have already contracted a lot of land this year," Qiao Qingyu indeed spoke the truth.

Wu Xiujie smiled, "Lack of energy now doesn’t mean lack of energy in the future. You should know, I have already contracted here for thirty years; it’s not just a short time."

He Shan still chuckled, "If you transfer the rights to contract this land, I might consider letting you join the special group, considering this is also your great contribution to sand control and desertification prevention in the Northwest."

Qiao Qingyu felt that He Shan was speaking nonsense.

What kind of contribution was this?

Wu Xiujie clearly did not expect things to go so smoothly; he asked, "Are your words binding?"

He Shan frowned unhappily, "I, He Shan, never joke about such matters."

Wu Xiujie was just asking casually.

He told Wu Peng, "Take all the documents and files to Xiaxi Commune and transfer the land contracting rights to Qiao Qingyu."

He Shan waved his hand, "Public and private matters should be distinct; if that’s the case, I can’t agree to this."

"He Shan, didn’t you just say that this wasn’t a joke?" Wu Xiujie’s eyes narrowed, and his expression darkened.

He Shan, as if he hadn’t seen his expression, patiently explained, "Mr. Wu, as you just mentioned, Qiao Qingyu is my daughter-in-law. Both publicly and privately, she should not be involved in this matter. Regardless of whether this land will be contracted by Qiao Qingyu or someone else, first, you need to terminate your contract with Xiaxi Commune."

He paused then continued more soothingly, "Of course, this will also involve some expenses after you terminate the contract. However, I presume the land use fee stipulated in your contract must be extremely low, so I’ll send my assistant Xiao Wu with you to handle this specifically, and we’ll waive the penalty fee."

He Shan had met Vice Director Qian of Xiaxi Commune a few days ago, as he had come here, after all, to help maintain order. At that time, Mr. Qian was very angry, grumbling about this barren land for a long time.

Initially, he and Qiao Qingyu had a complete plan for this area, which now being forcefully disrupted, would definitely affect the continuation of the plan.

He believed that Wu Xiujie, going to dissolve the contract, would be more than welcomed by Vice Director Qian of the Xiaxi Commune.

Wu Xiujie did not bother to figure out why He Shan had so easily agreed.

But as long as he got in, he was happy, and as for afterward, they would play it by ear.

He waved, "Wu Peng, go ahead, and handle it according to the normal penalty fee."

Wu Peng did not understand why his father wanted to join this special team. Had he switched to archaeology?

But he did not ask, as long as the intention wasn’t to steal these items.

He wanted to live a few more years, after all.

Wu Peng left with his secretary accompanied by Xiao Wu.

Wu Xiujie asked He Shan, "Can I go and visit the site?"

"Of course!" He Shan nodded naturally and heartily.

Qiao Qingyu did not ask why; surely there were twists she was unaware of.

"Uncle He, I’ll go check on the seedlings over there."

"Go ahead." He Shan said with a smile, "I checked yesterday, and aside from a few, most seedlings are doing well. By the way, Wang Laogen is doing a fine job; he’s a reliable man whether in working or managing."

"It’s all thanks to him; otherwise, I couldn’t manage it."

"Go on, after today, you just wait for Mr. Qian’s call," he added, "Don’t push yourself too hard."

Qiao Qingyu nodded, exchanged a few words with He Shan, and walked towards her land.

Passing by the underground cave, she found old Wu Xiujie squatting on the ground, staring blankly at a pile of objects.

Qiao Qingyu suddenly remembered a serious issue.

Even if she wanted to fill up this underground cave, where would the soil come from?

With such an excavation carried out years ago, where had all the excavated soil gone?

She stopped, turned her head to look.

On the north side, a tall slope of land, could that be the accumulated soil from the past?

Fifty years had passed; if it was dug by locals, some should still be alive, but no one had ever provided this clue.

Where had all the digging laborers gone?

Qiao Qingyu felt a chill down her spine.

She hurriedly quickened her steps towards her corn field, which was adjacent to the grassland; she walked for more than half an hour. Then she saw Wang Laogen coming from the land with a dozen men behind him.

Qiao Qingyu greeted them cheerily and together they checked the sprouted corn and sorghum.

Indeed, not bad.

Of course, compared to North City, it fell far short.

It was still a matter of the soil.

Qiao Qingyu felt she could skip the chemical fertilizers and continue with the enhanced organic ones; for that, Xiu Yu’s biological science lab would be needed.

This walk also took over two hours. Qiao Qingyu prepared to head back.

Because by then, the sky had become overcast, the air humid, seemingly about to rain—great news for the crops.

Just sprouted, a rain would be perfect.

However, for those currently excavating artifacts, it would delay the schedule, but luckily, the work was nearing completion.

Qiao Qingyu’s round trip took over three hours.

She went straight to He Shan, unable to contain her concerns and suspicions.

Nor had she expected that He Shan had just extracted this information from Wu Xiujie.

He wasn’t supposed to tell, but after all, Qiao Qingyu was the one who contracted this grassland; he couldn’t let her be anxious and conflicted.

Besides, what if it scared her?

Even the most capable girls were timid in this respect.