Chapter 260: Finding A “nanny” For The Money Tree!
The “treatment” for the hairy walnut tree is complete.
Yu Shuai chatted with Jiang Tao for a few more sentences before bidding farewell and leaving.
Jiang Tao politely saw him off to the street where he parked and watched him get into his car.
“Taozi, was that boss Yu from the Old Soldier Farm who just left?”
An old man, about 60 years old, holding a large broom and wearing a reflective vest, walked up to Jiang Tao with a smile and struck up a conversation.
“Yes, it was him. Does Uncle know Boss Yu?”
Jiang Tao also greeted the old man with a smile.
The old man’s name was Jiang Shuisheng. He was from the same clan as Jiang Tao and belonged to the same generation as Jiang Tao’s father.
“Of course I know him! I often go to his farm to do odd jobs.”
“Boss Yu is a good person. He’s very prompt with salary payments, and they even provide free meals at noon.”
When Jiang Shuisheng mentioned Yu Shuai, he did not hold back his praise.
“Really? That’s quite good.”
Looking at Jiang Shuisheng, Jiang Tao suddenly remembered his childhood when Uncle Shuisheng’s family also ran an orchard.
He and his companions from the village had even sneaked into the orchard to steal peaches.
Thinking back now, that was also a part of his dark history.
The orchard Jiang Shuisheng ran back then was nowhere near as large as Yu Shuai’s current farm.
The couple would work hard in the orchard all year, earning only hard-earned money.
Later, with the wave of people moving to the city for work.
Seeing how much money other couples earned in a year of working in the city, which was more than they made from their orchard in three to four years.
The couple also gave up on the orchard and moved to the city, becoming migrant workers.
However, it was precisely this experience of working in the city.
That dramatically changed the lives of Jiang Shuisheng and his wife.
After her marriage of over ten years, his wife’s horizons broadened, and she gradually became infatuated with the glamorous world outside.
They didn’t earn much money in two years of working, and worse, he lost his wife.
Jiang Shuisheng’s wife found a rich old man in the city, and his daughter also left him to go live with her mother and stepfather and enjoy their blessings.
Jiang Shuisheng began a life of leisure alone in the village.
When he was short on money, he would do odd jobs; when he had money, he would eat and drink, repeating this cycle for decades.
Now, as he got older and it became harder to find work, the village arranged a job for him as a cleaner.
A monthly salary of around 1,000 yuan was enough for his daily living expenses.
【 Name 】: Jiang Shuisheng
【 Talent 】: Planting （ 4.5 Stars! ）
While chatting with Jiang Shuisheng, Jiang Tao used the 【 Bole 】 skill to check his talent.
Seeing that his talent was planting, Jiang Tao’s eyes lit up!
He was looking for someone to take care of the hairy walnut tree in his courtyard.
Uncle Shuisheng had delivered himself to his doorstep!
Moreover, his talent was perfectly suited for this job!
It was fortunate that his neighbor’s sister-in-law called to inform him, otherwise he wouldn’t have known that the hairy walnut tree was almost dead.
If he had discovered it a few days later, it might have truly died and only been good for firewood.
After this incident, Jiang Tao felt it was necessary to have a dedicated person to look after his mutant hairy walnut tree!
According to the intelligence provided by System Brother, during its mature fruiting period, the mutant hairy walnut tree’s annual output value would reach 600,000 yuan!
Spending one to two tens of thousands to hire a dedicated caretaker would still leave him with over 500,000 yuan in profit!
Better safe than sorry.
If something like today happened again and he didn’t discover it in time, causing the walnut tree to die, the loss would be huge!
A mutant hairy walnut tree with an annual output value of 600,000 yuan could be considered a money tree, and no amount of attention would be too much.
Moreover, although Uncle Shuisheng was known in the village for being lazy and fond of eating, his character was trustworthy.
Jiang Shuisheng was known as an honest person in Jiang Family Village.
This was exactly the kind of person Jiang Tao needed.
“Uncle, have a cigarette. I want to discuss something with you.”
Jiang Tao smiled, took out the Da Tian Ye cigarette case, removed two cigarettes, lit one for himself, and offered one to Jiang Shuisheng.
“Wow, Da Tian Ye, you’ve really made it, Taozi!”
“These cigarettes cost 100 yuan a pack, right? More expensive than Huazi. One cigarette is enough for me to buy several packs!”
“It’s a waste to give me such expensive cigarettes. I should save them to brag to others!”
Jiang Shuisheng usually rolled his own cigarettes with inferior tobacco.
In his sixty-plus years, this was the first time he had smoked a good cigarette like Da Tian Ye.
After taking the cigarette Jiang Tao offered him, he couldn’t bear to smoke it and placed it behind his ear.
“There’s more than half a pack left here. It’s all for you.”
Jiang Tao chuckled heartily and extended the cigarette case towards Jiang Shuisheng.
“It’s all for me? Then I won’t be polite with you, Taozi!”
Jiang Shuisheng’s eyes lit up upon hearing Jiang Tao’s words, and he happily reached out and took the case.
This time, he finally felt willing to take out a cigarette from the pack to taste.
“Tell me what it is, Taozi. If Uncle can help, I’ll do it without question!”
Jiang Tao’s small favors immediately won over Jiang Shuisheng, and his attitude towards Jiang Tao became more respectful.
“I’m returning to the Capital City tomorrow, and I don’t know when I’ll be back next.”
“In my courtyard, there’s a hairy walnut tree that a feng shui master advised me to plant to suppress luck.”
“Uncle Shuisheng, aren’t you cleaning the village every day?”
“So, I’d like to ask you to also take a look after that tree for me.”
“Come, come, I’ll take Uncle to see it.”
Jiang Tao said, making a gesture of invitation.
He led Jiang Shuisheng into the courtyard and to the hairy walnut tree.
“Sure! No problem!”
“It’s just… do you trust your uncle that much? Aren’t you afraid I’ll steal your things?”
Jiang Shuisheng glanced in the direction of Jiang Tao’s main house and jokingly asked Jiang Tao.
“Haha, if you trust someone, use them; if you doubt them, don’t. I’m entrusting this matter to you because I trust you, Uncle.”
“Of course, I won’t let you work for free or waste your time.”
“Here’s how it is, Uncle: I’ll pay you 1500 yuan a month to take good care of this tree.”
“Water it when it needs water, fertilize it when it needs fertilizer, and loosen the soil when it needs loosening.”
Jiang Tao didn’t waste any more time with Jiang Shuisheng and directly stated the purpose of bringing him home.
“Ah? What?”
Jiang Shuisheng was stunned upon hearing Jiang Tao’s words and looked at him with disbelief.
He could earn 1500 yuan a month just by taking care of a tree?
This…
Jiang Shuisheng only received a 1000 yuan monthly living allowance for sweeping the streets in the village!
To get 1500 yuan just for looking after a tree that doesn’t eat grass or feed, and doesn’t run around?
Could such a good thing really happen to him?
“Taozi, what you just said…”
Jiang Shuisheng swallowed and asked again, somewhat uncertainly.
“Yes, Uncle, you heard correctly. It’s to help me look after this tree.”
“Water it, loosen the soil, and so on. Just don’t let it die.”
“On the first of every month, I’ll transfer 1500 yuan to your mobile phone as salary.”
Jiang Tao smiled and repeated his previous words concisely.
This time, Jiang Shuisheng heard him clearly.
Although he still found it hard to believe.
He knew it was real; he wasn’t dreaming.
“Okay! Since you trust your uncle so much, I will definitely do this job to the best of my ability!”
“Don’t worry, Taozi. Even if your uncle dies, this tree won’t!”
Jiang Shuisheng accepted the task from Jiang Tao without hesitation, promising with a smile.
With the 1000 yuan salary from sweeping the streets and the 1500 yuan from Jiang Tao, his monthly income would be 2500 yuan!
This income might be insignificant to young people in the big city.
But for a rural elderly man like Jiang Shuisheng, it was very appealing!
His quality of life would greatly improve with this additional income!
“Haha, Uncle, you’re too kind. Just do your best.”
“I’m returning to the Capital City tomorrow. Starting from tomorrow, here’s a house key for you.”
Jiang Tao said, unclipping a main door key from his keychain and handing it to Jiang Shuisheng.
“Taozi, don’t worry. Your uncle can handle this! I guarantee I’ll make your tree grow lush and green!”
After receiving the house key, Jiang Shuisheng once again assured Jiang Tao.
Although he didn’t understand feng shui, he saw how much importance Jiang Tao placed on this tree.
He even specifically hired him for 1500 yuan a month to look after it.
He realized that this tree must hold some important significance for Jiang Tao.
Jiang Tao smiled and said, “I trust Uncle, or I wouldn’t have asked you.”
“Thank you, Taozi. Uncle knows you’re trying to help your uncle out.”
As Jiang Shuisheng spoke, his eyes suddenly reddened, and his heart’s softest spot was deeply touched.
In the village, he had no power, no influence, no money, and no status.
As an old bachelor, no one cared about him.
Even his own brothers and his nephews and nieces kept a certain distance from him.
This time, when Jiang Tao asked him to look after his tree, Jiang Shuisheng saw it as an excuse for Jiang Tao to help him out!
After all, trees were very resilient; why would they need a hired caretaker?
Jiang Tao, his great nephew, had become successful and was helping him out!
Jiang Shuisheng knew this very well in his heart; he saw it and fully agreed!
“Ahem, Uncle, you’re too polite…”
Hearing Jiang Shuisheng’s words, Jiang Tao was speechless and didn’t know how to explain.
He genuinely wanted to hire a “nanny” to look after his “money tree”!
“Thank you, Taozi. Don’t worry, you can return to the Capital City tomorrow.”
“I will take good care of the tree for you.”
“And I’ll take good care of the house too!”
Moved, Jiang Shuisheng also gave Jiang Tao his assurance.
Jiang Tao smiled and nodded, “Yes, I believe Uncle can do a great job.”
After discussing the main business and handing over the keys, they chatted for about ten more minutes.
Jiang Shuisheng then bid farewell and continued his work sweeping the streets.
Jiang Tao waited at home for about another hour.
Yu Shuai personally drove over the 200 jin of apricots that Jiang Tao had bought earlier.
Jiang Tao set aside a large bag to bring with him tonight when he went to Yuan Mengqi’s house for dinner.
The rest were placed in the trunk of the Mercedes-Benz G, ready to be brought back to the Capital City the next day for everyone to try.
Time quickly passed to around 6 PM.
Feeling that it was about time, Jiang Tao drove towards the southeast of Ping County.
While passing by the Baolian Youxian Supermarket in Ping County Urban Area.
Jiang Tao got out of the car and went into the supermarket to buy some cooked food, alcoholic drinks, and beverages, spending only about 1,000 yuan.
After buying the items, he continued driving towards Yuan Family Village.
It took about ten minutes for the Mercedes-Benz G to drive from the main street of Yuan Family Village into the village.
Yuan Family Village was similar in scale to Jiang Family Village, but the landscaping and hardening of the roads were better than in Jiang Family Village.
Various green plants were planted along the roadsides, with small flower ponds at regular intervals.
The living conditions in Yuan Family Village were also much better than in Jiang Family Village, and it was a model beautiful rural village recognized by the county.
Living in such a nice environment, apart from the inconvenience of going to school, seeking medical treatment, and shopping, the environment was superior to that of the city.
“Jiang Tao!”
As soon as Jiang Tao entered the village, he saw Yuan Mengqi waiting at the village entrance, waving to him excitedly.
“Class Monitor Yuan, get in the car.”
Jiang Tao stopped beside Yuan Mengqi, opened the front passenger window, and waved to her with a smile.
Click~
Yuan Mengqi didn’t stand on ceremony with Jiang Tao, pulled open the car door, and got in.
She settled into the front passenger seat and conscientiously fastened her seatbelt.
Even driving slowly in the village at only about 20 mph, safety could not be overlooked.
“I’ve finally been waiting for you. I’ve been looking forward to it. Keep driving forward, to the end of this road.”
After fastening her seatbelt, Yuan Mengqi turned to Jiang Tao, smiled playfully, and began giving him directions.
“Haha, really? Did you miss me that much?”
Jiang Tao also chuckled and teased Yuan Mengqi back while continuing to drive as she instructed.
“Who misses you? You’re conceited.”
Yuan Mengqi’s face suddenly flushed, and she softly chided him.
Over the past few days, as their interactions increased and they experienced some things together, they had gone from strangers to familiar acquaintances.
Jiang Tao and Yuan Mengqi had become even better friends than they were in high school.
“Haha, us men should say handsome, not conceited. What’s ‘conceited’?”
“Do you think you’re handsome?”
“I’d say I’m okay.”
“Hehe, you’re quite confident.”
Yuan Mengqi looked at Jiang Tao. To be honest, she also thought her old classmate was very handsome.
Even more so than when they were in school!
For a man like Jiang Tao, who, as he aged into middle age, had not become jaded but instead had become more mature, more handsome, and had a better aura.
It was truly a rarity.
At least, among the few old classmates Yuan Mengqi had seen, there was no one else like Jiang Tao.
“Turn right up ahead.”
“Keep going straight. See that apartment building? Go south from the apartment building.”
“Turn at the corner ahead, and drive straight into the alley. It’s quite spacious inside and cars can pass.”
“The big red gate ahead is my house. Just pull over.”
Under Yuan Mengqi’s guidance, Jiang Tao drove the car directly to Yuan Mengqi’s doorstep.
After parking the car, they both opened their doors and got out.
Jiang Tao walked directly to the already opened trunk.
“Class Monitor Yuan, come help me carry this.”
“Why did you buy so many things again? You’re spending too much.”
Watching Jiang Tao take things out of the trunk one by one.
Although Yuan Mengqi said it was too extravagant, she was very happy inside.
“It’s my first time visiting your home, I felt it would be rude to come empty-handed.”
Jiang Tao said, taking out a large bag of apricots from the trunk before closing it.
