Chapter 840 Jealousy
Zhang Jian never expected that the photography business he had come up with on a whim would be so successful.
With just a short stretch of beach and a few words written on some large rocks, the restaurant attracted quite a few customers on the first day of opening.
This is the beach with the best scenery, with many tourists coming and going every day. Now there is such a man-made "attraction". Who among those who come to Qiongdao to play would not want to take a photo here?
The Chinese are well-known for their love of traveling. In ancient times, there were travelers like Xu Xiake. Even when people could not even get enough food to eat, some people would squeeze out money from their teeth to go out for a few days of traveling on a budget, not to mention that the conditions now are much better than before.
When people's lives get better, they will pursue material and spiritual enjoyment, and tourism is one of the best manifestations of this.
Qiongdao is a famous scenic spot, and the beach contracted by Zhang Jian is the best part of the scenic spot. Moreover, Zhang Jian also wrote these big words on the stone. Standing next to the stone and taking a photo as a souvenir, you can know where you have been by looking at the photo in the future.
So, when this man-made attraction was built, the eyes of foreign tourists who were not familiar with the local conditions immediately lit up, and the first thought that flashed through their minds was to take photos here as a souvenir.
In the past, no one cared about this place, and tourists were allowed to take whatever pictures they wanted. But now, this place has been fenced off by Zhang Jian and has become his territory.
You can take photos, but you can only ask Zhang Jian to take them for you. It costs 30 yuan to take a color photo, which includes one photo and 5 yuan for postage. If you want negatives, it will cost another 5 yuan. So it costs at least 40 yuan for just one photo, which is really not a low price.
But for tourists, the cost of traveling thousands of miles to Qiongdao alone is much more than this amount of money. Since you are here, wouldn't it be a pity not to take pictures here? Even if the price is expensive, you have to bite the bullet and accept it.
Just like that, from the first day, Zhang Jian's business was better than he expected. After the sun set and he closed his stall, Zhang Jian had actually finished shooting more than one roll of film in a single day, with the actual number of photos reaching 42.
According to this figure, except for a few tourists who were reluctant to spend an extra 5 yuan on film fees, most tourists paid in full. In this way, Zhang Jian's daily income reached 1,630 yuan. Looking at the thick stack of banknotes, Zhang Jian was a little dumbfounded.
The cost of one photo is 0.35 yuan, and the cost of printing in large quantities is even lower, only about 0.3 yuan. For 42 photos, the cost is only 12.6 yuan at most. As for mailing, it is not expensive, even if it is sent by registered mail.
In other words, after deducting all costs, Zhang Jian earned a full 1,617.4 yuan in just one day. This speed of making money left Zhang Jian stunned.
After counting on his fingers for a long time, Zhang Jian was sure that he had not made a mistake and that he had really made so much money. At this moment, Zhang Jian was so happy that he cried out loudly. As soon as the sound fell, several yellow dogs in the village also cried out one after another, causing the villagers to curse loudly. Zhang Jian was so scared that he quickly covered his mouth for fear of being discovered.
After a while, the barking of the dog outside gradually stopped. Zhang Jian secretly looked out through the crack in the door and was relieved to see that no one was paying attention to him.
Patting his chest and making a frightened expression, Zhang Jian quickly gathered up all the money, wrapped it in oil paper, and temporarily hid it under a brick dug out from under the bed.
After finishing all this, Zhang Jian energetically took the film and camera and went into the inner room. This room had been converted into a darkroom for him. He wanted to develop all the photos as soon as possible, as these photos cost a lot of money!
In a blink of an eye, more than two months have passed, and Zhang Jian has been working in this place for a long time.
Except when the weather is bad, as long as the sun is shining, Zhang Jian's photo stall will bring him huge profits.
Generally speaking, he could earn at least 1,500 yuan a day. The most he earned on a single day was as high as 2,300 yuan. In just over two months, Zhang Jian earned wealth that he could not even imagine. Looking at the rising numbers in his passbook, Zhang Jian would smile in his dreams at night.
On this day, Zhang Jian had just returned to his rented courtyard after closing his stall when the village party secretary Chen Wu came to him.
"Brother Zhang! Brother Zhang!"
"Oh, Uncle Chen, why are you here?" Zhang Jian quickly hid the money he had just counted half of, then ran to open the door. When he saw that it was Chen Wu standing outside, he asked enthusiastically.
"I want to have a couple of drinks with you... hehe..." Chen Wu said to Zhang Jian with a smile, holding up two bottles of wine and a few packets of braised food that he bought from somewhere.
Zhang Jian quickly said politely that there was no problem with drinking, but Chen Wu was the elder and the branch secretary, so how could he invite him? He should invite him himself.
Chen Wu waved his hand and said that they were all non-outsiders and there was no need to be so polite, and then he walked into the yard as if he were at home.
Arriving at the yard, Chen Wu looked around and asked Zhang Jian if he was used to living there. Zhang Jian said it was quite good and he was used to it. Then Zhang Jian moved the table and chairs out , took out bowls, chopsticks, cups and other things, offered Chen Wu a cigarette, and the two sat down in the yard.
They sat there drinking, smoking and chatting, talking about a lot of gossip. After three rounds of drinks, Chen Wu suddenly asked Zhang Jian how his photography business was going. When Zhang Jian heard Chen Wu ask this, his heart sank and he had a bad premonition.
These days, although Zhang Jian has been hiding his business and not letting anyone know how much money he has made through this method, the problem is that his business is in broad daylight, and if there is someone who really wants to pay attention, he will not be able to hide it.
The simplest way is to find someone to stay near Zhang Jian's shop for a day and count how many tourists Zhang Jian receives in a day. As for how much Zhang Jian can earn, it is even easier. There is a price list posted on Zhang Jian's kiosk, and anyone who has learned elementary school mathematics can calculate the approximate amount.
"It's okay, just enough to make a living." Zhang Jian smiled on the surface, but he was muttering in his heart, guessing the real reason why Chen Wu suddenly came to see him today.
"Well, as long as you can make money, doing business is just like fishing. You have to work hard to earn money. I'm worried that you'll lose money doing this." Chen Wu said with a smile.
"Hehe..." Zhang Jian smiled and didn't say anything. Seeing that Chen Wu's cigarette was almost finished, he handed him another one.
After taking the cigarette, a heavy look flashed across Chen Wu's face. He sighed and said to Zhang Jian, "Brother Zhang, I came here today to tell you something. Speaking of this, I want to say sorry to you."
As he spoke, Chen Wu took out an envelope from his pocket, placed it on the table, and pushed it towards Zhang Jian.
"Uncle Chen, this...?"
Zhang Jian didn't take the envelope, but looked at it and asked in confusion.
"Hey, this is all my fault." Chen Wu said ashamedly: "To tell you the truth, the township does not agree to contracting the beach, so brother Zhang, you can't contract this beach anymore. This is the contract fee returned to you by the village, and there is also some compensation. I hope you can understand, brother Zhang..."
"Uncle Chen, this...what's going on? We have an agreement." Although Zhang Jian had expected this, he didn't expect this result. When Chen Wu told him the real purpose of his visit today, Zhang Jian was suddenly a little confused.
"Brother, this matter is not your fault, nor is it that the village does not want to help. Originally, this is not a big deal, but now the township says that this matter violates the rules and the original agreement must be invalidated. As the branch secretary, I have no choice but to come and talk to you about this..."
Chen Wu sighed and explained to Zhang Jian in detail. Chen Wu told Zhang Jian that it was true that their village and Zhang Jian had signed a contract agreement, but according to the policy, all contract agreements must be registered with the township. Chen Wu was busy some time ago and did not have time to do this. Yesterday, Chen Wu went to the township, but he did not expect that there would be a problem when registering.
Chen Wu said that after reviewing the agreement, the township believed that there were problems. According to policy, only people from the village could contract the land, but Zhang Jian was a foreigner and his household registration was not in the village, so the contract was invalid.
In fact, this is the same as the homestead. It is impossible for people who are not from the village to be allocated a homestead. This premise cannot be changed. Unless Zhang Jian is a resident of the village and has a registered permanent residence in the village, he is eligible. Otherwise, even if there is an agreement, it will not have any legal effect.
Speaking of this, Chen Wu sincerely apologized to Zhang Jian, saying that it was because of his low education and lack of understanding of the policy that this result occurred. Now the township has clearly determined that the contract agreement is invalid. As the village party secretary, Chen Wu certainly cannot violate the township 's decision. As the saying goes, the arm cannot twist the thigh. In addition, this is the way it was, so it is normal for the township to make such a decision.
So now, the contract signed between the village and Zhang Jian can only be invalidated, and it is impossible for Zhang Jian to continue to contract the beach. Of course, the village, including Chen Wu himself, feels very sorry for Zhang Jian, after all, Zhang Jian suffered a loss in this matter. Considering this, Chen Wu decided to compensate Zhang Jian financially, not only returning the full amount of the contract fee Zhang Jian originally paid to the village, but also returning the private benefits Zhang Jian gave to Chen Wu.
In addition, Chen Wu also said that he felt very sorry. Isn't Zhang Jian living in the yard of his second son's house now? He hasn't lived there for three months yet. If he wants to continue living there, he doesn't have to pay the third month's rent. It can be regarded as compensation from Chen Wu to Zhang Jian.
After hearing what Chen Wu said, Zhang Jian was so angry that his lungs were about to explode. He was not stupid and he knew that what Chen Wu said were all excuses.
Zhang Jian was also a leader and had a good ability to read people's expressions. Although Chen Wu looked ashamed and apologetic, Zhang Jian could clearly see greed and complacency behind his honest face.
For a moment, Zhang Jian really wanted to throw the wine glass in front of him directly onto Chen Wu's face, and then scold this old guy. It was obvious that he had set his eyes on Zhang Jian's business and deliberately found this reason to break the contract, and even made up a lot of reasons to cover it up.
