Daily Intelligence System: Financial Independence

Chapter 586 - 278: Because We’re Friends! (Part 2)

Four cars were already parked next to the wasteland, with quite a few people standing around.

Tian Jianhui, Liu Jiafu, Zhang Zengxi, and some other village officials were all present.

And there was also a familiar face to Jiang Tao, Liu Yuan.

"President Jiang, you’ve arrived!"

"President Jiang is here!"

"Jiang Tao."

Seeing Jiang Tao stepping out of the Mercedes G-Class, everyone approached him to greet him, all showing a respectful demeanor.

Jiang Tao greeted everyone back, one by one.

However, after receiving last night’s intel about these two guys,

Jiang Tao’s gaze at Liu Jiafu and Zhang Zengxi became somewhat meaningful.

This duo, did they really not know, or were they just playing dumb?

Of course, this wasn’t Jiang Tao’s concern, and he couldn’t be bothered to meddle.

"President Jiang, let me first introduce the boundaries of this piece of land, starting from the east..."

After exchanging greetings, Tian Jianhui began introducing Jiang Tao to the boundary and range of the 103 acres of land he leased.

The day before, everyone had only seen the map on the land ownership document; there was no on-site inspection yet.

Jiang Tao was also seeing the actual state of this land for the first time today.

Though this piece of land had been neglected for several years, overgrown with weeds, it was still relatively flat.

There were no trees or thorny bushes that would make clearing particularly difficult.

There weren’t many uneven areas either.

The condition of the plot was much better than Jiang Tao had imagined.

It wouldn’t be very difficult to develop.

The group walked around on site, inspecting for more than an hour.

"President Jiang, if there’s anything that requires the help of our village committee in the future, feel free to ask."

"Your investment in agriculture here at Xiaoshanhe will be strongly supported by us, and we’ll create the necessary conditions and conveniences for you!"

After the inspection, as they were about to part, Tian Jianhui reaffirmed his commitment to Jiang Tao.

During the inspection, Jiang Tao also shared his plan for leasing this piece of land with Tian Jianhui and the others.

It wasn’t necessary to hide anything, and it couldn’t really be kept secret anyway.

The village committee officials all expressed their support when they heard Jiang Tao was investing in agriculture here.

Starting a company and investing in agriculture involves hiring workers.

This can drive employment and promote economic development in the surrounding areas to some extent.

For a place like Xiaoshanhe Village, which was still quite weak in commerce, it was a good beginning.

After politely responding to a few words, Jiang Tao saw Tian Jianhui and the others off in their cars, leaving only Jiang Tao and Liu Yuan at the site.

"So, Liu Yuan, want to work with me? Name your salary."

Jiang Tao looked at Liu Yuan and invited her with a smile.

"Haha, aren’t you afraid I’ll ask for too much?"

Liu Yuan laughed loudly upon hearing Jiang Tao’s words.

"What I need now is a lion with leadership skills and rich experience to build and lead the team."

Jiang Tao noticed Liu Yuan’s talent in agriculture and business management through his [Bo Le] skill, making him willing to spend a lot to get her on board.

Although Liu Yuan was currently unemployed after divorcing her ex-husband, she received a substantial amount of property in the divorce.

She had a house, a car, and wouldn’t have to worry about her livelihood for the rest of her life.

Ordinary salary jobs might not appeal to her.

"Don’t sweet-talk me, Jiang Tao. I know my own worth."

"I’m no lion; I’m just a loser in life."

Thinking about it, Liu Yuan’s mood sank a little when recalling her unfortunate marriage.

She even doubted her abilities.

Outwardly, she seemed to have moved on from the failed marriage.

But in reality, it left a thorn in her heart.

That’s why, even though her relationship with Liu Zhiyuan progressed quickly, she was very resistant to talk about marriage.

"That’s a separate issue. I’m focused on your work skills, which everyone has seen."

Jiang Tao wasn’t a master at counseling, so he didn’t try to console Liu Yuan.

Such matters are best resolved by oneself, to come to terms with the past painful experiences.

"According to your plan, developing and constructing this land, building greenhouses here, will likely require an investment of over 10 million."

"For such a large project, are you really going to entrust it to me?"

Liu Yuan gazed into Jiang Tao’s eyes and saw sincere trust.

Jiang Tao smiled, "If you trust someone, you don’t doubt them; if you doubt someone, don’t use them. I’m confident our cooperation will be satisfying."

Liu Yuan asked, "Why... why do you trust me so much?"

"Because we are friends."

Jiang Tao said naturally, his smile earnest.

[Your friendship with Liu Yuan has increased by 3 points, your current friendship level is 90 points, congratulations on becoming Close Friends!]

[Congratulations! You’ve received a 1 million cash reward and a Friendship Boat!]

As soon as Jiang Tao finished speaking, two tips floated across his retina.

In reality, "If you doubt someone, don’t use them," was just a facade for Jiang Tao.

The friendship value between them was his main reason for trusting Liu Yuan!

Previously, he had alerted Liu Yuan about her husband cheating and transferring assets, providing immense help to Liu Yuan.

So, her goodwill towards Jiang Tao remained high.

Today, due to Jiang Tao inviting her to co-start a business and showing immense trust,

Liu Yuan’s goodwill increased again, and the friendship value grew simultaneously.

Now, it had reached the level of [Close Friend].

Being a Close Friend is a higher level than a good friend, representing the ability to grant her absolute trust.

Currently, there weren’t many friends who had reached the [Close Friend] level with Jiang Tao.

Besides Liu Yuan, there were just Du Enan, Bai Yulan, and Yuan Mengqi.

Even Zhang Chao, Liu Zhiyuan, and Shan Yufei, those hometown pals, only had friendship values around 80 points with Jiang Tao.

They still had some distance to cover to reach the 90-point Close Friend level.

Recognizing that his friendship level with Liu Yuan had reached Close Friend, Jiang Tao naturally trusted her more!

"Thank you, Jiang Tao, for trusting and valuing me so much!"

"I definitely won’t let you down!"

"As for the salary, I don’t have high demands. I just need some pocket money, leave it to you to decide."

"You’re also one of my few and very cherished friends, and I don’t want to ruin our relationship by discussing money."

"But, don’t misunderstand, this feeling is friendship, nothing more."

"Even though you’re much more handsome than that chubby Liu Zhiyuan, I’m not interested in your type; I couldn’t handle someone like you."

Settling her mindset, Liu Yuan eased up considerably, returning to her original self.

"Hahaha, everyone has different preferences; Liu Zhiyuan also has many merits and is a nice guy."

Jiang Tao first affirmed Liu Yuan’s taste, then steered the conversation back to the main point.

"Liu Yuan, let’s consider it settled. I’ll leave the plantation to you."

"Company registration, wasteland development, greenhouse construction—you have experience in all these; as a layman, I’ll refrain from interfering."

"I’ll be responsible for the funding, and you handle the tasks. Let me know when you need money; make your own decisions on everything else."

"Regarding salary... I’ll start you off with a base salary of 50,000 to begin with."

"Once our plantation is up and running profitably, we’ll discuss profit sharing."

"OK! Starting a plantation from scratch really does stir up some excitement!"

Liu Yuan was very satisfied with the compensation offered by Jiang Tao and agreed readily.

Jiang Tao said, "I’ll transfer 1 million in start-up funds to your account shortly; let me know if it’s not enough."

Liu Yuan jokingly replied, "Aren’t you worried I’ll take the money and run?"

"Hahaha, 1 million is nothing to a wealthy lady like you; no way you’d flee for such an amount."

From what Jiang Tao knew, Liu Yuan had received assets worth about 15 million post-divorce, making her quite a well-off lady.