Volume 3 Comprehensive Film and Television Chapter 167 Yuan Xudong meets Gu Jia at night
In the afternoon, Luo Xi, who was feeling unwell, stayed in the room to rest. Yuan Xudong, along with Gu Jia and the village chief, prepared to go to inspect the tea garden and tea roasting workshop, followed by Xia Weijun and Accountant Zhang.
Walking on the mountain path, the terrain is undulating, the blue bricks and stone slabs are more moist after the rain, and the moss attached to them seems to wake up from a deep sleep, regaining its green vitality.
On both sides of the road are simple brick and wood houses. Women in twos and threes are sitting in front of the doors chatting about family matters or doing housework. Next to them is an old yellow dog lying on the ground with its head hanging down.
Hearing the footsteps, it looked up at Yuan Xudong and the others and started barking. After being scolded by its owner, it whimpered and ran away, hiding not far away and watching the strangers who broke into the mountain village with its companions.
"Hello, village chief, hello, Boss Gu!"
"Hello!"
The village chief and Gu Jia, who were walking in front, were greeting the women on both sides of the road. Yuan Xudong followed closely beside them, looking at the quiet mountain village with curiosity. This was his first time walking deep into the mountains.
From the bustling city to the quiet mountain village, his heart also calmed down. With a smile on his face, he enjoyed this rare leisurely and comfortable time.
Before they walked away, I heard a few whispers. They were the village women who were chatting about daily life. The subject of their discussion was Yuan Xudong, who appeared in the mountain village for the first time, and Gu Jia, the big boss of the tea factory.
"City people are good-looking. That young man just now was so handsome, just like he walked out of a TV show!"
"The embroidered pillow is good-looking but useless. He definitely can't do farm work and can only let others serve him!"
"He's so handsome, if I could marry him, I'd be willing to serve him for the rest of my life!"
"Don't dream. He's obviously a rich man. Didn't you see that the village chief and Boss Gu were both very polite to him?"
"Boss Gu is so beautiful, could he be Boss Gu's man?"
"I don't think it's possible. Boss Gu is about the same age as us. That guy is at most 23 or 24 years old, which makes him 6 or 7 years younger than Boss Gu, okay?"
"That's not necessarily true. A woman three years older than you is a rich girl. Maybe people just like older men?"
"That's right. Older people are good at taking care of others. Boss Gu is so nice. Which man doesn't want such a wife?"
…
Listening to the village women's whispers, Gu Jia blushed slightly. The village chief beside her said embarrassedly:
"You are all women, with long hair and little knowledge. You like to gossip when you have nothing to do. You have only been out of the mountains a few times in your life. I am sorry to make you laugh!"
"Village Chief, you are wrong to say that!"
Seeing that the village chief and Gu Jia were both looking at him, Yuan Xudong smiled and joked:
"First, I think there is nothing wrong with what they said. It basically conforms to objective facts. How can this be called gossiping? Second, they have long hair but little knowledge. Gu Jia's hair is also quite long. Village chief, aren't you indirectly bringing Gu Jia into this?"
Hearing Yuan Xudong say this, the village chief was slightly stunned. Before he could say anything, Gu Jia, who was standing beside him, slightly widened her eyes and glared at Yuan Xudong, saying angrily:
"Mr. Yuan, the village chief is over 60 years old, could you please stop joking with him?"
"Over sixty?"
Yuan Xudong looked at the healthy village chief and pretended to be surprised:
"Village Chief, is what Gu Jia said true? I see you look at most in your forties, less than fifty. How did you maintain such good health?"
"Mr. Yuan is joking. People in the mountains don't know how to take care of themselves. They just need to eat and drink what they like. The air in the mountains is good, and there is not so much car exhaust like in the city, so people's health will improve accordingly.
In our village, I am relatively young, 61 years old this year. There are several centenarians who are in good health, can eat and drink, and have clear minds. If you are interested, I can take you to visit them!"
Hearing the village chief say this, Yuan Xudong said with a little interest:
"Then I'll trouble the village chief to take us there to visit him later. I'll see if I can learn some health-preserving secrets so that I can live for more than a hundred years."
"Mr. Yuan, you're still so young and you're already thinking about health preservation? Are you feeling unwell somewhere, for example... Ouch..."
Before Gu Jia could finish, she slipped while going up the stairs and her body leaned backwards. Yuan Xudong quickly hugged her, holding her waist and said with concern:
"The ground is slippery when it rains. Be careful not to fall."
"Well, thank you!"
Being held in Yuan Xudong's arms, Gu Jia quickly stood up straight. When Yuan Xudong let go of her waist, she lifted her hair and looked at the village chief to change the subject:
"Village head, please tell Mr. Yuan about the specific situation of the tea factory."
"Okay, we're almost there, let's talk while we walk."
The village chief nodded slightly, and while leading Yuan Xudong and others to the tea-frying workshop not far away, he began to explain:
"We make tea purely by hand, and we only make good tea. We don't make the most common teas on the market, such as jasmine tea sprayed with essence, black tea dyed with sugar, and Tieguanyin tea to fade and deacidify.
Unfortunately, the production is low, and the original boss didn't value it, so it gradually became what it is now. I am the director of this factory and also the head of this village. The workers in the factory are all from the village. They only make about 10,000 yuan a year, and they all rely on this money to support their families. Our area is barren and mountainous, and we can grow tea but not grain. If this tea factory is gone, the kids will starve!"
When you walk into the tea factory, you will see many tea-roasting masters wearing simple work clothes, frying tea by hand on the stove used for cooking in the countryside, frying it over and over again just like frying vegetables.
Yuan Xudong didn't know much about tea, but that didn't stop him from seeing the simple conditions here. There was just an iron pot with charcoal burning underneath, and a worker standing beside it frying tea by hand. No wonder Mrs. Li ignored it. Thinking this in his heart, he looked at the village chief and asked:
"Village head, you said that everyone only earns about 10,000 yuan a year, which is less than 1,000 yuan a month on average. With such a low salary, are the villagers still willing to work?"
"You have to work even if you don't want to. When people have no choice, things become simple. For a family of two or three, the money earned is enough for basic expenses. Some young people don't want to stay in the mountains and go out to work, but they don't save much money throughout the year.
A small number of them stayed outside, but most of them returned to the mountains, started a family and a business, and then continued to make tea as their ancestors had done for generations. When I was young, I also went out to make a living, but I could never leave these mountains.
The mountains and the outside world are two completely different worlds. It is not easy to get out of them. I'm not afraid of you laughing at me, but in our village, if a child can be admitted to university, it will be a great honor to the family, just like the top scholar in ancient times. People from the whole village will come to congratulate them.
But outside the mountains, there are college students everywhere. The children in the mountains are not as hardworking as those in other places. They can only make ends meet. It is better for them to live peacefully in the village, picking and frying tea leaves when they are busy, and chatting about family matters when they are free, and feel relaxed and happy!"
I followed the village chief and took a tour of the tea factory. It was called a tea factory, but it was actually just a large open-air yard with a few large iron pots randomly set up. Excluding the workers responsible for frying tea, the only things in the entire factory that were worth some money were those large iron pots, which could probably be sold for a few hundred yuan.
Thinking that Gu Jia spent three million to take over the tea factory, and would have to invest several million more in the future, Yuan Xudong couldn't help but glance at her. Feeling Yuan Xudong's eyes that seemed to care for a mentally retarded person, and the smile on his lips, it seemed that she knew what he was thinking. Gu Jia couldn't help but glare at him, then looked at the village chief and said:
"Village Chief, there's nothing to see here. Let's go to the tea garden. That's where the tea factory is!"
"Okay, the road is a little difficult to walk on. The villagers are loosening the soil. I'll take you over there to have a look!"
Following the village chief into the tea garden, Yuan Xudong frowned and said, looking at the tea trees all over the mountain and the villagers busy loosening the soil, including some half-grown children.
"Village Chief, what's wrong with these children?"
Worried that Yuan Xudong might have some bad misunderstandings, the village chief quickly explained:
"We pay workers for loosening the soil according to the area, and it's the same for adults and children. These half-grown children are studying outside, and they come to the tea garden to help out when they have time, to earn some tuition and living expenses. The work is counted as the work of the adults, and we just pay them."
"Okay, village chief, why are you explaining so much to him?"
After rolling her eyes at Yuan Xudong, Gu Jia looked at the village chief and said with a smile:
"I want to help and learn how to pick tea leaves and make tea from start to finish. Village chief, can you arrange for someone to teach me?"
"Okay, no need to arrange for anyone else, I can teach you, let's start with picking tea!"
"Okay, thank you, village chief!"
"You're welcome. You're the boss. All of us in the village depend on you for our livelihood. If you really understand tea, it will be more beneficial to us!"
With a chuckle, the village chief demonstrated the tea picking method to Gu Jia:
"The mechanization level of those large tea gardens is getting higher and higher, but the best tea leaves still need to be picked manually. You need to identify the best and tenderest tea leaves and pinch them with your fingers. This step cannot be completely replaced by machines. Our tea leaves are all good tea leaves that can meet international export standards, but those large tea gardens cannot do that."
Picking tea leaves like the village chief, Gu Jia looked at him and smiled:
"I have always believed that mechanization and standardization can achieve quality control. Why can't those large tea gardens meet international standards for export?"
"Large tea gardens are highly mechanized and close to cities, with many people and cars and lots of pollution. The real organic and pollution-free tea gardens must be tea gardens like ours in the deep mountains where few people go. It's a pity that the tea fragrance is too deep in the mountains, so no one can smell the best tea leaves."
Looking at the tea trees all over the mountains, the busy villagers, and the surrounding mountains, Gu Jia said with a smile:
"Then we will try to spread the fragrance of this tea and let everyone know that our tea is good tea."
Hearing Gu Jia say this, the village chief said with a happy face:
"Boss Gu, do you have any solution?"
Looking at the expectant village chief and the nearby villagers who looked at her after hearing the sound, Gu Jia smiled and said confidently:
“I’ll try my best!”
As soon as the voice fell, the surrounding villagers thanked happily:
"Well done, Boss Gu!"
"Boss Gu, you are truly the benefactor of our village!"
"Thank you, Boss Gu!"
…
Looking at the excited villagers, Yuan Xudong leaned close to Gu Jia's ear and teased:
"Gu Jia, what can you do? The competition in the tea industry is so fierce. If you go for the high-end route, can you compete with the top ten famous teas? If you go for the low-end route, with small profits but quick turnover, the output of your tea garden is simply not enough. The only thing left is the mid-range route that is neither high nor low. There are so many teas on the market. If you want to stand out, you must do enough publicity. Three million for the transfer fee, three million for the fine and subsequent production. Do you still have money to advertise your tea?"
Also, the weather is getting colder this year. If there is a cold wave or something, how much money do you have to protect these tea trees in such a large area of tea mountains? You don't know anything, how dare you say such a thing? Are you a newborn calf who is not afraid of tigers? "
Hearing Yuan Xudong's words, Gu Jia was stunned. When she came to her senses , Yuan Xudong was walking back with Xia Weijun. She said a few words to the village chief and hurriedly chased after him, stopping Yuan Xudong and saying:
"Mr. Yuan, I want to talk to you alone!"
"OK!"
Nodding slightly, Yuan Xudong looked at Xia Weijun beside him and said with a smile:
"Old Xia, you go back first!"
"Okay, Mr. Yuan!"
After Xia Weijun left, Yuan Xudong led Gu Jia to a more secluded corner, looked at the towering mountains in the distance and said with a smile:
"Tell me, what do you want to talk about?"
After hesitating for a while, Gu Jia took a deep breath, looked at Yuan Xudong and mustered up her courage and said:
"Yuan Xudong, what do you want?"
"Angry?"
Looking at Gu Jia who called him by his name, Yuan Xudong smiled nonchalantly:
"Gu Jia, you look pretty when you're angry. Don't you know what I'm thinking? Divorce Xu Huanshan and become my girlfriend. I'll help you sell your tea, and you can continue to contract the tea plantation and make the tea factory bigger and stronger.
I will help you sell tea at Jingyan Group and Hongyuan Group. I can share a portion of the profits and tie more senior executives to the tea factory. I can use the brand of pure handmade, organic and pollution-free tea, make the packaging more beautiful, and set the price higher. It will be easy to make tens of millions of profits every year. Would you consider it?"
Hearing Yuan Xudong's straightforward words, Gu Jia gritted her teeth and said:
"Yuan Xudong, you are so shameless. I will divorce Xu Huanshan without you telling me. But don't be so foolish as to want to be your girlfriend, or lover. I will never agree to your request!"
"Are you really angry?"
Walking up to Gu Jia, Yuan Xudong took out his phone and took a photo of her, then he covered his stomach and laughed:
"Gu Jia, do you know what you look like now?"
He raised the phone in front of Gu Jia and looked at himself in the photo. His eyes were filled with tears and his face was full of stubbornness. Gu Jia blushed slightly and looked at Yuan Xudong who was bent over with laughter and said angrily:
"Yuan Xudong, delete the photos quickly, otherwise I will..."
"What about you?"
Putting away his phone, Yuan Xudong looked at Gu Jia and said provocatively:
"I just like to see you looking at me with displeasure but unable to do anything about it. It makes me angry!"
"Yuan Xudong, are you a pervert?"
Seeing Yuan Xudong's frivolous look, Gu Jia rushed to him and snatched his phone.
"Hurry up and delete the photos, you've become... um..."
After giving the phone to Gu Jia, without waiting for her to show any joy, Yuan Xudong directly took her into his arms and held her in his arms, kissing her slightly open lips. Gu Jia was stunned for a while with her eyes slightly wide open, and then she reacted and struggled hard in his arms, but it was a pity that Yuan Xudong held her too tightly and she couldn't break free at all.
After a long time, they separated their lips. Looking at Gu Jia, whose face was red, eyes were filled with tears, and she was breathing slightly, Yuan Xudong leaned close to her ear and said softly:
"Gu Jia, you are too strong. Wouldn't it be better for you to be a little woman and let me take care of you?"
Looking at Yuan Xudong hatefully, Gu Jia gnashed her teeth and said:
"Yuan Xudong, let me go!"
"Okay, see you tonight!"
Without waiting for Gu Jia to react, Yuan Xudong snatched the phone back and ran back. Seeing him running away like a rabbit, Gu Jia, who felt taken advantage of, was so angry that her teeth were itching and her face turned red and she was speechless.
She took a few deep breaths, slowly calmed herself down, and straightened her slightly messy clothes. Thinking of Yuan Xudong kissing her red lips wantonly, Gu Jia couldn't help but spit and secretly called him a hooligan. Then she went back to the tea garden to ask the old village chief questions, especially about the protection measures for the tea trees mentioned by Yuan Xudong when a cold wave came. As a result, the old village chief told her that if they really encountered a large-scale cold wave, they would need to burn mud to protect the tea trees, which would cost at least hundreds of thousands.
As night fell, Gu Jia returned to the tea factory office. She did not eat, nor did she go to trouble Yuan Xudong. She sat behind her desk to look up information, especially the information that Yuan Xudong mentioned. The more she looked, the more desperate she became.
All good hotels and shopping malls have fixed tea suppliers, and most of them are well-known brands. They will never use a new tea that has no reputation. If they want to promote their own tea, the advertising fees required are sky-high, starting from hundreds of thousands. Moreover, spending money does not necessarily guarantee sales. It is simply a continuous burning of money to obtain exposure with uncertain results. It is not suitable for small tea factories with insufficient funds.
After turning off the computer, Gu Jia couldn't help but hold her forehead against the desk. She didn't know what to do. One voice told her that it was not too late to declare bankruptcy, and another voice told her that she couldn't give up on those villagers and children easily. Gu Jia stood up in frustration, walked out of the office, sat on the steps in front of the door, staring blankly at the quiet mountain village in the dark night.
After a while, footsteps were heard. Gu Jia came back to her senses and said with a little fear:
"Who's there?"
"It's me. So you're afraid of the dark!"
Yuan Xudong walked out of the darkness holding the thermos bucket, and threatened Gu Jia, who was slightly relieved:
"I'm a bad guy. It's dark and windy here. Aren't you afraid that I might do something to you?"
After glaring at Yuan Xudong, Gu Jia said a little nervously:
"Yuan Xudong, don't mess around, or I'll call for help. Luo Xi is sleeping next door!"
Giving Gu Jia a blank look, Yuan Xudong handed her the thermos bucket and chopsticks and said:
"This is the egg noodles I made. Try it and see how it tastes. I was afraid the noodles would clump together, so I jogged all the way here. Are you touched?"
After opening the thermos bucket and taking a look, Gu Jia looked suspicious:
"You really put it there? You didn't put anything in it?"
"How about I taste it for you first to see if it's poisoned?"
"No!"
Giving Yuan Xudong a blank look, Gu Jia sat on the steps in front of the door, placed the thermos on her lap, and ate some simple egg noodles while looking at Yuan Xudong and smiling:
"I didn't expect you could cook noodles. They taste pretty good. Thank you!"
"It's okay, just consider it an apology. I apologize for my behavior this afternoon, and we're done!"
"Stop, let's put things in perspective. I will never forgive you!"
"Whether you forgive me or not is your business, whether you apologize or not is my business, it doesn't matter if you don't forgive me, I just need to forgive myself!"
"Yuan Xudong, can you be a little more shameless?"
"Are you sure?"
Seeing Yuan Xudong gradually approaching her, Gu Jia couldn't help but warily said:
"What do you want to do?"
"Don't you want me to be more shameless?"
"Get lost. I don't know why Manni and Xiaoqin like you. You are a mean, shameless, dirty bastard!"
Looking at Gu Jia who was scolding him while eating the egg noodles he made, Yuan Xudong took off his suit and put it on her and said with concern:
"It's cold in the mountains. Be careful not to freeze yourself."
"have a finger in the pie!"
She rolled her eyes at Yuan Xudong, finished her egg noodles, returned the thermos bucket and chopsticks to him, and tightened her suit and said sadly:
"Yuan Xudong, do you think I should persist? I remember you once told me that I was a self-righteous fox who took advantage of the power of others. I thought about it carefully and realized that I was wrong in this matter.
You said that if it were me in the past, how could I not come to the site inspection? I was like a madman, and I was so anxious to sign the contract. Just because Mrs. Wang recommended Ziyan Kindergarten, and you and Mrs. Yu gave the fireworks company an order, I thought that the things Mrs. Wang gave us were the best and most suitable. As a result, now it has fallen so badly, are you also laughing at me in your heart for not knowing my own limitations?"
"What happened to the fox?"
Looking at the depressed Gu Jia, Yuan Xudong smiled and joked:
"Just treat this as a tribulation. When you become a human, you will be a fox spirit. You can learn from your predecessor Su Daji and find a Shang Zhou who likes you to confuse him and make him infatuated. Isn't Madam Li's family rich? Can't you find someone richer than her?"
"You are the vixen!"
After rolling her eyes at Yuan Xudong, Gu Jia said seriously:
"Yuan Xudong, please be serious. I'm not in the mood to joke with you right now. I want to hear your true thoughts. Can you tell me?"
"My real thoughts?"
Seeing Gu Jia nod slightly expectantly, Yuan Xudong thought for a while and said seriously:
"It's actually very simple. You want to continue running the business, but you're afraid that you can't afford the risks and difficulties of failure. Let me analyze it for you. There are two choices. First, declare bankruptcy and close down. You will leave with a loss of three million. The villagers will lose their jobs and you will bear the self-condemnation of your conscience. Second, continue to invest money in the business. If you succeed, everything will be fine. If you fail, I will cover the bottom line for you and you will be my personal assistant. Weigh the consequences of the two choices. Which one can you accept?"
After listening to Yuan Xudong, Gu Jia looked up at him and smiled:
"Which one do you want me to choose?"
