Daily Life in the Countryside After Being Reborn
Chapter 152 - 90: A Rewarding Return

Chapter 152: Chapter 90: A Rewarding Return

Qian Yongcai’s scalp nearly exploded upon hearing this, but he still harbored a glimmer of hope, making excuses, "It’s not wrong,they are indeed the original red-bud trees."

The developer, upon hearing this, also took a closer look. From the perspective of plant growth and appearance, there was no difference from the batch of saplings he had imported.

"Are these saplings newly planted?" the Forestry Expert asked the workers, while Qian Yongcai was winking and gesturing on the side, so the workers didn’t dare to respond. However, their behavior was witnessed by both the developer and the Forestry Expert.

"I almost got fooled as well, if it weren’t for seeing the seed pods, I would have been deceived today too." Experts who conduct research and experiments like this despise deception the most.

Seeing that Qian Yongcai still refused to admit it, he picked up a seed pod mixed in the soil and also plucked a few leaves, "What’s planted in the pots now are Red Flower Locust trees. These two types of locust trees appear very similar in leaf construction. Clear-sighted people can hardly tell the difference,and even the blossoms they produce are identical in their purple-red, butterfly-shaped form. Red Flower Locust blooms once a year and produces pod-like fruits. Whereas red-bud trees bloom twice a year and produce no pods; they propagate through their roots. Look, there’s a base of regular Locust Trees underneath the leaves. All these Red Flower Locusts have been grafted. This is fraud, hanging a sheep’s head but selling dog meat. It’s a wonder you can stoop to such deceit."

The more Qian Yongcai listened, the less clearly he could hear what the Forestry Expert was saying, noticing only that the developer’s face had stretched long with anger. The workers who had been busy for no good reason all morning, upon hearing that they had been part of a fraudulent project, began to speak all at once to reveal the actual situation. Some even seized the opportunity to complain about Qian Yongcai withholding their wages and not providing them with the landscaping payment.

It could be said that today’s event was somewhat engineered by Xiao Xian, but it would be more accurate to say that it was fate catching up to Qian Yongcai, the evil man. Originally, the purpose of today’s visit was just to check on the landscaping progress, which involved only a few personnel responsible for the development of Blue Sky Apartment. If it weren’t for the developers who lacked expertise in forestry, the deceit might not have been uncovered.

However, it was just so happened that the developer’s head office in Taiwan had secured a greenery project from Guiyang City Government and needed to import a batch of high-priced ornamental trees from Yunnan. Therefore, they sent a Forestry Expert along. After a thorough inspection by the expert, Qian Yongcai was doomed to face early defeat.

"This is outrageous! Passing off inferior goods as prime is bad enough, but to delay the payment of the workers’ wages too— he’s smeared the reputation of Lantian Group. Call the community security, have Qian Yongcai handed over to the police immediately." The developer of Blue Sky Apartment was so furious that he almost wished he could bury Qian Yongcai and his counterfeit plants on the spot.

"Stop, I’ve been deceived as well, a young girl sold these saplings to me," Qian Yongcai protested unwillingly. "She assured me that these were authentic red-bud trees, and I even spent fifty thousand yuan on them. Why don’t you find her?"

Before he could even finish describing Xiao Xian, the community security had already escorted him to the police station without question.

"Where are the discarded saplings?" After inquiring with the workers, the Forestry Expert led the team to search for the discarded saplings.

The site developed by Blue Sky Apartment was part of a newly developed land area, which had been entirely a collection of undeveloped building wastelands. Come spring, the wasteland flourished with wild grass as tall as a person.

Nearby, some real estate developments would stealthily dump their garbage on the vacant land, making the area look messy. Apart from scrap collectors, there were few people seen walking nearby during the day.

"What a pity, the saplings had gotten root rot during the period they were dumped, and also suffered from black spot disease. Even if treated with Bai Junqing Powder, it’s not guaranteed that the leaf surface will recover to its beautiful state, making it inappropriate to plant in the community," the Forestry Expert found nearly a hundred discarded red-bud saplings and after brief examination, came to the same conclusion as Xiao Xian had arrived at earlier. With over thirty years of experience in forestry cultivation, when this Forestry Expert declared something unsalvageable, it was truly beyond rescue.

"It’s all Qian Yongcai’s fault. We can’t let him off lightly this time. He needs to know that the money from Lantian Group isn’t something he can just pocket," one of the developers muttered through clenched teeth. "No other choice now, with the residential units going on the market later this year, we urgently need to source a suitable batch of greening trees from Yanbian, even if it’s more expensive, we’ll have to accept the costs." Today’s high-end residents are picky. If the buildings are ready yet the landscaping isn’t up to standard, it will surely affect the reputation of the group.