HCB Chapter 1257 Now that I've made money, how should I spend it?
Chapter 1257 Now that I've made money, how should I spend it?
The pearl purchase went relatively smoothly, with 90% of the households in the eight villages selling their pearls to Lau Tai Fook Jewellery.
Of course, a small number of them sold the pearls to other people, but at Xu Zhiqiang's request, they obediently paid the penalty for breach of contract.
Liu Meilan didn't say anything. Business is business, and since the other party had already paid the penalty for breach of contract, it was in accordance with business rules and regulations.
The situation was different in other villages. Some were sold to Dafu Jewelry, while others were not. They also refused to pay any penalty for breach of contract. At this point, the person in charge of Dafu Jewelry's acquisitions called the police.
When some people saw the police arrive, they didn't dare to try to get away with it and immediately handed over the penalty money!
Some people are unwilling to pay the penalty even after the police arrive, and are then arrested, detained, and forced to sign a notice of default on the penalty.
Some people were detained, but they obediently paid the penalty and were released. Others were detained for 15 days and still refused to pay, so they were detained for three months and then made to sign a notice of overdue penalty.
Of course, this group is extremely small!
The local government was responsible for the follow-up. Although it caused a great uproar locally, it was ultimately the breaching party's unreasonable behavior. After the case was reported, the higher authorities agreed to this punishment.
Liu Meilan focused her attention on the quality of pearls cultivated in each village and instructed her to seal and keep samples of each pearl.
A day passes in the blink of an eye.
The next morning, which happened to be the weekend, Ma Xiaoling brought a painting and gave it to Liu Meilan, saying, "Sister Meilan, thank you!"
This is a vivid and interesting painting of a little girl running on the grassland, herding cattle and sheep.
Liu Meilan took it and looked at the picture carefully. The golden sun, the lively and cheerful little girl, and the plump white lamb created a vibrant scene.
"Xiaoling, are you alright now?" Liu Meilan asked.
Ma Xiaoling replied, "Last week, my parents took me to the city hospital for a check-up. The doctor said I'm recovering very well! I should be fully healthy in another two or three years!"
Liu Meilan gave a thumbs up, "You're awesome!"
Ma Xiaoling smiled happily, "Thank you to the Little Bell Foundation for giving me a second life! I will study hard, and when I am able in the future, I will help more children!"
Liu Meilan nodded, "I look forward to that day!"
Ma Ruhui and Ma's wife specially prepared a table full of food and invited Liu Meilan and Liu Yibang to their home for dinner.
Their reason was very sincere: they wanted to personally thank Liu Meilan, and Liu Yibang and several village officials were just incidental.
Seeing that the table was full of farm-style dishes, Liu Meilan readily agreed and did not refuse.
Because Baxiang Village has a very high income this year, they can afford a good meal.
Today, Ma Ruhui's family earned a total of 9 yuan from selling pearls.
Even if they went out to work now, a whole family might not be able to save 9 yuan a year. But they did it!
Pearl farming doesn't require everyone to be busy every day. It allows you to manage your land, raise dozens of chickens, and sell eggs.
Because every household was making money, and all of them were doing so much, Liu Meilan didn't distribute the money on the spot this time, but instead transferred it to their bank accounts.
With money comes confidence! Even their voices have become louder.
"What are everyone's plans for hibernation?" Liu Meilan asked with a smile.
Ma Ruhui said with a smile, "We still have a son who isn't married yet and isn't good at studying, so we'll let him settle down and start a family as soon as possible! We can rest assured when he's living with just the two of them!"
Liu Meilan warned, "Third Brother, this is a pearl-producing area now, and many people have made money selling pearls! Now, the people here are easy prey in other people's eyes! This winter, you must launch a crackdown and crack down hard on prostitution, gambling, and drugs!"
Liu Yibang wholeheartedly agreed, "We've already considered this issue! The public security department, the joint defense team, and the militia are all mobilized!"
Ma Ruhui said with a smile, "Many people gamble, partly because there's so much money involved, and partly because it's boring in winter. This year, we've set up Yangko dance teams in every village to enrich our cultural and recreational activities!"
Yu Cuilian quickly said, "Enriching cultural and recreational activities is one aspect, another is weddings, and then there's the cost! Rather than losing money gambling, it's better to spend it!"
Xu Zhiqiang looked puzzled. "It's all been spent. Are you really willing to part with it?"
Yu Cuilian shook her head. "Of course we can't spend it all! We need to save some for emergencies! We can spend the other half! For example, building a house. Our cave dwellings have their drawbacks. We can buy bricks, tiles, and steel bars now and store them at our doorstep! Then next spring, we can start construction again and build a two-story house! We can't afford a car, but we can buy motorcycles or electric bikes! They're much faster than bicycles!"
Liu Meilan agreed: "That's a good idea. Since ancient times, people have built houses and bought land when they have money! Now it's public property, so we can't buy it. We can build houses! But it's cold here in winter, so we must consider keeping it warm in winter!"
Liu Yibang rubbed his hands together, eager to get started. "There are a lot of shops in the district. Go check them out when you have time! Buying things to take home is definitely better than gambling! If you find that you've been cheated, you can call me! There can be business competition in the market, but there absolutely cannot be cheating and deception!"
Then they started discussing how to spend money and what to buy for the house. They were all beaming with joy.
Just as Liu Meilan was about to leave, she received a report from the purchasing staff: someone was mixing fake plastic beads into the pearls and selling them.
Liu Meilan came over to inspect it herself. "Fortunately, our machinery and equipment are technologically advanced and can detect it! Anything that is detected will be rejected!"
The person in charge nodded, "It's General Manager Liu!"
The farmer who thought he was being clever and had adulterated the beads immediately panicked, "They're all beads, how could they be fake?"
Liu Meilan had sharp eyes. She grabbed a handful of pearls and then quickly separated them with a hairpin.
"This is a handful I grabbed at random, and a quarter of them are fake! You might not be able to tell the difference with one or two, but with a quarter of them in one pile and compared to another pile of real ones, isn't it obvious at a glance?"
It's fake. It feels very plasticky and is very light, lacking any quality.
It has a really high gloss, high density, and a very high-quality feel.
In cases of such fraud and deception, the police simply arrest the perpetrators and discard the pearls.
Liu Meilan patted the person in charge on the shoulder, "You are very conscientious and responsible in your work. There will be a bonus after this acquisition is completed!"
"Thank you, boss, I will work even harder!" the purchasing manager quickly assured him, as he would never dare to falsify anything in this regard.
If you receive fake pearls and they're shipped to headquarters, it will be discovered. The entire packaging is labeled so they can trace who bought them. You'll not only lose your job, but you'll also have to go to jail.