The village secretary's words instantly silenced the meeting room, and everyone sat obediently in their seats without making a sound.
Gone was the aggressive, confrontational demeanor from moments before.
Seeing that everyone had quieted down, the village secretary continued, "Mr. Shen is a good person. He specifically found the best quality herbal seedlings for you, aiming for you to get a good price for your cultivated herbs. He's also providing free planting techniques.
Once you've grown the herbs, he'll help you find buyers. Where else can you find such a good deal?
You tell me, after he's gone this far, is it too much to ask that you only sell your cultivated herbs to him? Speak from your conscience, is it too much?
Furthermore, everyone has lived as neighbors for half their lives. Do you really not understand what kind of person Shen Jun is?
Do you think he would really disregard the relationships with his fellow villagers for a small profit?
Alright, I'll ask again, does anyone still have objections? If you can't understand, you can leave now."
The village secretary's speech made everyone so ashamed they couldn't lift their heads, all of them lowering their gaze in embarrassment.
At the same time, his words also struck a chord with everyone. Indeed, considering his reputation as a good-natured person, they couldn't bring themselves to believe he would do such things.
Seeing that everyone remained seated without moving, the village secretary nodded with satisfaction.
It seemed they weren't irredeemably foolish.
"Good. Since no one has any more issues, everyone keep your mouths shut and continue listening."
After speaking, the village secretary immediately turned to Shen Jun and said, "Comrade Shen Jun, my apologies for what happened earlier. Please continue now."
With the power of speech back in his hands, Shen Jun didn't quite know what to say.
After all, he had just been considering abandoning the idea of having them plant herbs together.
"Dad, continue," Shen Huaijin quietly tugged on Shen Jun's sleeve, urging him to proceed.
Although he had been very indignant earlier, he wasn't so foolish as to argue with those people. After all, in the face of profit, even family members could turn against each other, let alone neighbors.
"Ahem..." Shen Jun cleared his throat and continued, "Actually, what everyone is most worried about is that if you all sell to me, whether I will deliberately suppress the purchase price. I can tell you very clearly:
No, not only will I not, but I guarantee that the price I purchase your medicinal materials at will be at least double that of others.
Moreover, planting herbs is a tricky business. While you're growing them yourselves, everyone who farms knows that anything planted or raised relies on the weather.
Therefore, I dare say that my purchase price is truly rare in this world."
The mention of double the price by Shen Jun's father caused an uproar.
After all, when it came to purchasing anything, the price was invariably much lower than retail.
But Shen Jun stated that his purchase price would be at least double that of others. If they continued to be difficult now, they would truly be ungrateful.
"That's great! I happen to have two forest plots at home, and I can work with Shen Dajun on this."
"I have quite a few forest plots too. If they're really buying back at such a high price, I'll call my son back this afternoon to join in the planting!"
"Yes, yes, I need to call my sons too. No matter how much we old folks learn, it's one thing whether we understand it. Who will inherit it in the future?"
"You guys are too slow! I already notified my son. He said he'll resign this afternoon and be back the day after tomorrow!"
"Hey, you boss, you're so cunning!"
Seeing that everyone had no further objections, the village secretary and village head took out a large stack of contracts and distributed them to each household one by one.
Fortunately, everyone knew this meeting was very important, so the people attending from each household were the decision-makers.
After the contracts were distributed, the village secretary explained the specific content to them. Although everyone listened with some confusion, seeing that the families of the village head and village secretary held the same contracts,
They knew that as long as the families of the village head and village secretary signed, they would have no problem following suit.
After all, they couldn't possibly deceive their own families, right?
The contract itself was quite simple, with no hidden traps. It merely emphasized that during the contract period, they were not allowed to sell the cultivated herbs to anyone other than the Shen family. Violators would be held legally responsible.
The villagers paid no mind to this legal responsibility, as they believed that as long as they didn't sell the herbs to others, this clause was as insignificant as a fart.
The contract period was only eight years, and whether to renew the contract after its expiration would be discussed then.
People like them carried their own seals, which were as effective as their personal signatures.
They all held legal validity.
After the contracts were signed, the Shen family took two large stacks of contracts, while the others held just a few small sheets of paper. The difference was significant.
Everyone understood the importance of this contract, so they held them very carefully, for fear of damaging them.
When Shen Jun and Shen Huaijin returned home and saw the two large contracts they were holding, they knew that the contracts had been successfully signed.
The agreement was now officially in effect, and they could begin planting the aa herbs once the land was prepared.
Because they had a general idea of the outcome early on, Shen Yao had already ordered a large quantity of herbal seedlings or seeds for herself.
She planned to purchase them and nurture them in her spatial dimension, so that when they were planted, their quality would naturally be better than those grown outside.
With a clear goal, the villagers immediately became energized, and the entire families went up the mountain to clear the wilderness and fallow land.
However, their own efforts were ultimately not as fast as hiring help. Therefore, some of the more well-off families with fewer members began looking for previous helpers everywhere.
Those who initially felt it wasn't worth spending money, upon seeing the large number of people working, immediately disregarded the cost of hiring and rushed to find people to assist them.