Chapter 2281: Decentralize

Editor: Atlas Studios

“Let’s get down to business. Tan Jing has already been convicted. Zou Ming told me that she is sentenced to life imprisonment. What do you think?” Xia Wen asked.

“I’m surprised it’s not the death sentence,” Qiao Mei said in surprise.

Tan Jing was convicted of only the poisoning incidents at Li Gui’s restaurant and at Xia Guang’s wedding banquet yesterday and of poisoning the entire Huang family.

Qiao Mei’s land in the suburbs was hit in a different way from these three incidents. There was no witness or physical evidence, so there was no way to attribute the incident to Tan Jing. As they could not gather enough physical evidence, it was impossible to calculate the amount of pesticides used, so the final known amount did not justify her getting the death sentence.

“It can’t be helped. The bar is higher for a death sentence nowadays,” Xia Wen said.

“It’s fine. She has received the punishment she deserves. It doesn’t matter if she dies or not,” Qiao Mei said.

Xia Wen took out a folded report from his pocket and handed it to Qiao Mei. “This is a rough estimation of our losses. See if there’s anything else you want to add.”

Qiao Mei did a detailed review and in the end, she added in a big amount for monetary losses and an additional compensation fee for emotional damage. The total amount she added was 360,000 dollars. Even if Tan Jing and the Tan family sold themselves, they would not be able to pay it back.

“Will this piece of paper drive them crazy?” Qiao Mei asked.

“Even if they go crazy, it’s not our fault. Tan Jing brought it on herself and the Tan family deserved it. We just want to take back whatever belongs to us,” Xia Wen said calmly.

Qiao Mei clapped her hands in praise and said with a smile, “I didn’t expect Eldest Brother to be so firm now. Not bad, you’re about to graduate.”

“I learned that from you. Now that the family business is getting bigger and bigger, there are more and more things to handle. Our usual style of benevolence and forbearance will only make those local hooligans think that we’re weak. Things like manners are for people who respect us,” Xia Wen said.

“My methods are still the most effective against scoundrels!” Qiao Mei said smugly.

“Enough already. Don’t talk nonsense with me. Tell me about your plans. How’s the land in the suburbs? Can you still farm after the land is contaminated like that?” Xia Wen asked worriedly.

“Yes I can, but aren’t the higher-ups in a hurry to stabilize the seed supply? The land isn’t going to be productive for a while,” Qiao Mei said.

Something major had happened to that piece of land. Ordinary people might not be able to see any changes, but Qiao Mei could see everything clearly. At a glance, the entire ground was gold in color, as if it was emitting holy light.

She did not know how much ginseng juice was needed to offset the side effects of the pesticide, so she ended up putting in too much. At the current moment, whatever they planted in that piece of land would be of extremely high quality. If anyone found out, they would probably suspect that she knew “witchcraft”!

“They’ve approved my application for more land for you, but I didn’t ask for much though. The last time, you asked me for 1,000 mu of land but it’s really too much. The higher-ups are only willing to give you 600 mu. Take it first and I’ll try and apply for the remaining 400 mu again,” Xia Wen said.

“Where is it located?” Qiao Mei asked.

“Not far, quite nearby,” Xia Wen said calmly.

“What! Nearby! 600 mu!” Qiao Mei looked at Xia Wen in surprise and said loudly.

Qiao Mei was currently living in the most prosperous area in the city center. In the future, every inch of land here would be worth a lot of money. Comparing the current capital with the capital in her other life, only 10% of the land had been developed so far. The rest of the land was wasteland and farmland. The land that Xia Wen had obtained for her was the future financial district! That was something priceless!

“Eldest Brother, you’re too amazing!” Qiao Mei said happily.

“Those plots of land are on lease. You can’t buy them,” Xia Wen said.

“It’s fine, even a lease is good! How long is the lease? Can we have 100 years?” Qiao Mei asked.

“100 years? Only if you can live for 100 years! Why do you want such a long lease? You want the children to take over after you die?”

“No matter who takes care of it, the longer the lease, the better!” Qiao Mei said.

“It’s not that long. The lease is for 60 years. After 60 years, you’ll already be almost 80 years old! It’s really an eye-opener for me that you actually want to farm until you’re 100 years old,” Xia Wen said.

“60 years is fine too. I can always extend it later,” Qiao Mei said regretfully.

Qiao Mei looked at the map on the wall and fell into deep thought. An area of 600 mu was really huge and would attract attention. It would also be very difficult for her to find people to take over in the future. There were not many people who had the funds to take over such a big plot of land.

“Eldest Brother, can you help me cut them into different plots? About 100 to 200 mu for each plot,” Qiao Mei said.

“Isn’t it better to manage just one piece of land? Won’t you be tired from going to so many sites every day?” Xia Wen asked.

Back then, he had eyed this piece of land so that Qiao Mei could work closer to home. Then, it would not take her an hour to drive to the suburbs each way every day like what she had to do now. She could rest more and have more time and energy.