Mountain Looting: Targeted by a Leopard at the Start
Chapter 296 - 295: Lease the Mountain, Hire Two Black Bears as Security Guards!

Chapter 296: Chapter 295: Lease the Mountain, Hire Two Black Bears as Security Guards!

The little wolf cub had completely integrated into the farm collective.

It might have thought it was just another dog, indistinguishable from Little Black and the others.

In the afternoon, Xu Yang came out to check on the farm’s condition.

Chen Juan had made some fruit tea again, sharing it with the employees.

With Niu Zhuang and Chen Juan managing logistics, farm life indeed had more variety.

Logistics are still crucial; the adage that ’the army waits for its grain before it moves’ applies everywhere.

Xu Yang had leisurely days, but the workers were still quite busy.

Raising pigs and ducks, for instance, required constant mucking out and cleaning of the pens.

In the greenhouses, weeds needed to be pulled, water needed to be sprinkled, and the outside fields had to be checked.

The farm was well planned.

These past few days had reached the moment of the peanut harvest.

Xu Yang went to the peanut fields, grabbed a peanut plant, and pulled up several peanuts from the ground to check on them.

The produce from his land was naturally good, big and full; they were obviously high-quality peanuts.

A portion of these peanuts would be sold to buyers, while another was taken to the market for sale.

Now there was no need to haggle deliberately.

His peanuts were trusted.

Typically, self-media savvy farmers and ranch owners would definitely develop their own brand foods, and then promote them on short video platforms or do livestream sales.

But Xu Yang never did that.

Turning on his livestream would never reveal an outdoor setting with a table and chairs, with him sitting at the table selling products.

Now that the peanuts were ripe, Xu Yang grabbed a bag of them, planning to take them back to his parents in the village.

After all, it wasn’t far.

It was easy for him to get there on his motorbike.

Passing by the entrance to the village, he saw a man who was somewhat dirty and scruffy with a stubbly beard, but whose eyes retained some naivety, standing there.

The man smiled foolishly at the sight of Xu Yang.

Seeing him, Xu Yang sighed softly.

In his previous village livestreams, Xu Yang had always avoided capturing the man on camera to prevent netizens from causing him harm.

This man was the village’s "village guard."

Strangely enough, many villages have these "village guards," which are usually people in pitiable situations.

Some are naturally simple-minded; others just haven’t fared well in life.

There always seems to be one to balance the village’s fortunes.

There are various theories about village guards, but Xu Yang never believed them.

Feeling sorry for the man, Xu Yang gave him the whole bag of peanuts.

Xu Yang occasionally gave him things, and the man always accepted them with a happy smile.

This village guard was kind-hearted and even came to Xu Yang’s farm occasionally to help out, clearing away construction debris and so on.

It was simply forming a good connection.

With nothing else to do, Xu Yang went back to rest at the farm.

During his evening walk, he spotted two black bears near the farm.

Xu Yang recognized both bears; one was a wild black bear that wanted to join the farm staff but never managed to get hired.

The other was the black bear that had escaped from the circus and, after Xu Yang removed its collar, began living in the mountain behind the farm.

Since there were originally black bears in the mountains, the police stopped concerning themselves with it.

The creature was completely free.

The two bears seemed to get along just fine.

"Black, coming for a visit?" Xu Yang called out to the bear as he saw it.

Black responded to Xu Yang by waving its bear paw warmly, looking forward with anticipation.

The circus bear, imitating Black, also waved.

These two guys were getting crafty.

Xu Yang went back and fetched several large apples for them, walking out to feed them.

The two bears were well-behaved; they sat on their behinds on the ground next to Xu Yang, eating the apples.

Though not exactly the boss of Changbai Mountain, Xu Yang could be considered the boss of the mountain behind the farm.

All the fierce animals were his underlings.

He could walk anywhere in the mountains without any trouble.

Looking at the two bears, Xu Yang thought they resembled the legendary generals Heng and Ha.

If he dressed them in security guards’ uniforms and caps, they would perfectly pass as two security guards.

"If I contracted a piece of forest, you two could be my security guards," Xu Yang asked the two bears.

The bears, who could only roughly understand Xu Yang’s words, nodded happily.

Xu Yang was contemplating contracting the front half of the mountain area behind the farm.

Contracting half a mountain was not an unusual venture in their area.

Especially the major ginseng cultivators, who contracted a lot of mountains.

Some impressive entrepreneurs even went to other places, looking for good mountains and waters to contract and plant ginseng.

When it came to cultivating ginseng, the local people were truly adept.

However, Xu Yang had no interest in growing ginseng, as Forest Undergrowth Ginseng was already too common in their area, with truckloads being sold off.

The profits from contracting a mountain come down to two aspects, either farming or breeding.

Free-range chickens, free-range pigs, and free-range geese were all options.

Xu Yang had discussed this matter with his employees.

At that time, Wang Wu said,

"Raising free-range chickens is great; just let them roam in the woods and scatter some feed every day. In three months, the chickens will be nicely fattened up."

Hearing this, Ma Wen shook his head first, his eyes holding a profound meaning.

"You’re thinking too simply,"

Ma Wen informed him.

"Thinking too simply?"

Wang Wu was somewhat puzzled.

Xu Yang, who was knowledgeable in the field, explained to him:

"If you really want to free-range chickens in the forest, you might lose three today and five tomorrow. Once the chickens are fattened up, they could all be stolen overnight."

"You can’t install surveillance everywhere in the forest, and farms need constant attention, not to mention the deeper parts of the mountain."

"So if you want to raise animals after contracting a mountain, the place has to be remote and you have to fence in the breeding area."

"This kind of theft is unstoppable, if you dare to raise them, others will dare to steal."

Hearing Xu Yang’s words, Wang Wu wanted to say something, but after thinking it over, he ended up saying nothing.

Because he knew what Xu Yang said was true.

Free-ranging chickens in the mountains, it would be strange if any survived.

This sort of thing had happened before.

Xu Yang then said, "So, animal husbandry is out of the question."

"Farm Director, if we don’t go into animal husbandry, then what do we do after contracting the mountain? Isn’t that just wasting money?"

Wang Wu asked again.

Xu Yang replied, "Isn’t there an open area in front of the mountain, all big slopes that obviously won’t support crops?"

"But you can plant trees there, the kind specifically grown for disposable chopsticks."

"They grow quickly and are harvested just as fast. The wood quality is poor, not good for furniture, so it’s used for chopsticks, straws, paper, and the like."

"Planting a forest isn’t a big problem."

Xu Yang’s words surprised everyone.

Nobody had any experience in this area, only one question in their minds:

Is this doable?

Contracting a mountain to plant trees?

How long would it take to break even?

In fact, Xu Yang had really looked into this industry.

Growing trees was completely feasible.

The trees grew exceptionally fast, and if you had to compare, it was no different than growing crops.

You could harvest every year.

And when the time came, it would be profitable.

Plus, the forest area was large, so if he wanted to raise some wildlife, that was totally possible.

He would be a true landowner.

Furthermore, it’s not easy for the average person to steal trees.

Even if someone managed to cut down a tree, it wouldn’t be easy to transport it; no one would bother going into the mountain to steal such cheap trees.

They’d be better off cutting down proper trees in the forest.

Xu Yang surely had ideas.

The employees couldn’t offer much in the way of advice or suggestions regarding his idea, they just felt admiration.

So, the next day, Xu Yang went to the local land department to discuss the contract for a piece of the mountain.

"You want to contract a mountain, that’s great."

The local government was also short of funds, and the mountain Xu Yang mentioned was bare in front, not an attractive option for contractors.

Earning a bit more money was naturally good, so there was no obstacle to the deal.

It was simply a matter of negotiating the price.

Xu Yang also mentioned the practical difficulties—the mountain was remote, the economic benefits low, and the soil not very fertile; if the rent was too high, he wouldn’t be able to afford it.

Governments always prioritize getting money first.

Using future money for today’s work.

As long as the procedures were legal, making the money first was the main objective.

Thus, after several days of communication between the land department and Xu Yang, they confirmed a contract for 70 years and 2,000 acres.

The price wasn’t expensive, not much more than his farm.

Xu Yang only rented the area in front of the mountain range.

But, the beauty was, this area was the entrance to the back mountain.

Having rented this area, others would have to go a long way around to access the back mountain.

And with leopards and black bears in the mountain, not many people would venture inside.

It was as if Xu Yang had contracted the whole mountain for very little money.

The negotiation went smoothly.

In the past few days, he had been visiting the local government departments, dealing with paperwork.

Each day, carrying a briefcase, Ma Wen would drive him to the city and town, which he visited many times.

The efficiency of institutional work is just like this, not very fast.

Occasionally, when the employees saw Xu Yang leaving, they would chat leisurely.

"The Farm Director has gone out to discuss matters again."

"Seems like he really did contract the mountain."

"Such a big move, actually contracting a whole mountain."

"The question is, can you make money planting trees? Trees grow so slowly, how many years would it be before they mature?"

"Isn’t it the same with planting ginseng? It takes ten, twenty years before you see significant income; it’s a long-term investment, just wait until the right time, and naturally, the money will come."

In everyone’s eyes, Xu Yang was very capable.

Even though he spent much of his time idly, looking after cats and dogs, no employee thought he was decadent.

On the contrary, everyone had great respect for him.

A real big shot is someone who knows how to live a colorful life.

For them, it’s enough to be busy with only the crucial matters.

After several days of this hustle, Xu Yang successfully obtained the contracting contract.

He began to plan for planting trees.

He also coaxed the two black bears over to guard the forest.

This time, they were truly enlisted.

Two black bear security guards.

Hopefully, they would accomplish their tasks successfully.