75: Chapter 75 Cave Dwellings

Sun Ning understood, more or less, the reason for Village Party Secretary Tian Lei's confusion.

People who had lived in the mountains for a long time were used to these cave dwellings and didn't think they could generate any economic value.

Sun Ning looked again at the rugged mountain road.

He said leisurely, "Village Party Secretary Tian Lei, do you think this little path has a sense of a 'winding path leading to a secluded spot'?"

Village Party Secretary Tian Lei looked at the bumpy, potholed path with confusion.

Wasn't this just a difficult country road, with chaotic trees and flowers on both sides?

There were ravines along the roadside from time to time, and looking down into them was truly frightening.

Snakes, insects, rats, and ants could also appear in the woods at any time.

He didn't see any artistic atmosphere; all he saw was the same danger that had existed for decades.

Ignoring Village Party Secretary Tian Lei's reaction, Sun Ning continued to explain as he climbed up.

"The pressure of city life is simply too great; after they earn money, they want to relax."

"The experience provided by those large scenic spots for certain niche groups is too poor."

"They love quiet, love the mountains, and love the freedom of the soul."

"We don't need a massive influx of tourists. We just need precise positioning and a small number of tourists to bring enough revenue to the surrounding villages."

"Our cave dwellings are warm in winter and cool in summer. While we lack stunning natural scenery, we possess the atmosphere of 'sitting alone in the secluded bamboo grove, playing the zither and whistling long tunes.'"

"People who love quiet are often prone to sentimental reflection, and they would appreciate the sentiment of 'the deep forest remains unknown, but the bright moon comes to shine upon me.'"

At this moment, Sun Ning was like a poet, engaging in sentimental reflection.

Perhaps there was a scholar's flair in his bones.

However, the poems he recited sounded merely pretentious to Village Party Secretary Tian Lei.

If Sun Ning weren't the Township Head, he might have just called him crazy.

For the common folk who scratched a living from the land, they couldn't possibly understand the thoughts of those pretentious people.

Yet, in this context, "pretentious" wasn't a derogatory term.

It was also about having feelings, a different way of understanding all things in the world.

"Who would stay in these broken cave dwellings? Who would come to this godforsaken place!"

Village Party Secretary Tian Lei stuck to his view, believing that no one would care for such dilapidated cave dwellings.

Who would want to live in such a dark, damp place filled with snakes and insects, with poor ventilation and lighting?

They had finally managed to move into spacious brick-concrete houses; who would want to go back to the past?

Therefore, this was the difference in values between people.

Sun Ning didn't intend to persuade him; he would let the facts teach him and let him realize it himself.

"Organize everyone to clean up the cave dwellings so they meet the conditions for occupancy."

"From now on, have every household raise chickens on a large scale."

"Put more fish fry into the village pond; don't just fish once a year at Spring Festival to satisfy your own appetites."

"You do as I say, and I'll figure out the source of the customers."

"We want tourists to experience our pollution-free country delicacies."

As the two walked, Sun Ning spoke incessantly, explaining his plan.

Sun Ning would also stop by the roadside from time to time to admire the greenery in the distance.

He still felt his development strategy was correct.

In later times, with the development of the economy and the convenience of transportation, the domestic tourism market grew larger and larger.

However, that type of superficial tourism—identical ancient cities and cookie-cutter scenery—made many people feel disgusted.

Instead, those niche, less-populated places became the top choice for many.

Therefore, Sun Ning prepared to create a cave-dwelling-themed leisure and entertainment destination in Mishui Township.

Mishui Township was located in the west of Zhongzhou, within a one-hour drive of the Zhongzhou metropolitan area.

With convenient transportation and a superior location, it was known as the "Back Garden of Zhongzhou."

Heyang Province was a major province of plains, and the geographical location of Zhongzhou was quite special.

To the west of Zhongzhou, there were mountains and water; to the east, there were boundless plains.

For Zhongzhou residents, the top choice for holidays and weekends could only be the counties to the west that had mountains and water.

"How much are these things worth? Why does this sound less and less reliable the more I hear it?"

Perhaps because Sun Ning gave Village Party Secretary Tian Lei a kind impression, he didn't hold back when speaking in front of Sun Ning, always being blunt!

Sun Ning also knew that one couldn't be too refined when dealing with these village chiefs and party secretaries.

Sometimes, the more vigorously you scolded them, the more obedient they became.

So, when Sun Ning dealt with these people, he would also use profanity.

"You don't know a damn thing! A corn pancake can sell for 3 yuan, a sorghum bun for 5 yuan, and a free-range chicken is worth at least several dozen yuan!"

"And a cave dwelling like this should go for at least 80 yuan a night."

It would have been fine if he hadn't said it, but after Sun Ning stated the prices, Village Party Secretary Tian Lei couldn't hold it in anymore.

Was this man completely out of touch with reality?

How much does corn cost per jin?

Corn is five or six mao per jin, yet you want to sell one corn pancake for three yuan.

Why don't you just go rob someone?

What fool would pay for that?

Isn't this just nonsense?

Village Party Secretary Tian Lei stammered, "Township... Township Head, this isn't appropriate, is it!"

"You're right, it is inappropriate—it's too cheap. Such healthy things are worth more. Let's sell the corn pancakes for five yuan and the sorghum buns for ten. The price for the cave dwellings remains the same."

Seeing Sun Ning's calm and indifferent demeanor, Village Party Secretary Tian Lei was so angry that his teeth itched.

He couldn't help but say, "Stop kidding around; this joke isn't funny at all."

Sun Ning looked at Village Party Secretary Tian Lei very seriously, his gaze earnest and firm.

"Who has the spare time to mess with you? I'm serious."

"Since the road isn't paved yet, we can try to attract a small number of tourists first."

"The motorcycles those young people have can also be utilized to ferry guests; these are all good ways to make money."

"You do as I say, and I'll figure out the source of the customers."

As the saying goes, values differ, and he didn't know from which angle to explain it.

Only when results were achieved would they fully believe that this could make money.

Next came the long mountain road and the endless slopes to climb.

However, Sun Ning was not satisfied with the scale of the cave dwellings in Mingyue Village.

In such a large area, there were only a few dozen scattered ones; how could one make money with that?

Two or three hours later, Sun Ning arrived at the Mingyue Village Committee on time.

Those attending the meeting included the Village Party Secretary, Village Head, Women's Director, Accountant, and others from Mingyue Village.

After everyone was seated, Sun Ning didn't waste time and explained the matter of developing a characteristic economy in Mingyue Village and the three nearby villages.

At the same time, he also laid out all the problems he had discovered.

"Comrades, let's have a discussion. What do you think about the feasibility of this matter?"

Sun Ning knew that most of the people here probably wouldn't agree with this.

However, he still had to ask for everyone's opinions as a matter of routine.

Some things are always like this; it's not that you can do whatever you want just because you want to.

Let everyone discuss it first, and then make the final decision.

Sun Ning called it a discussion, but in reality, the few of them didn't really discuss anything.

Just as Village Party Secretary Tian Lei had said, corn is five or six mao per jin, yet you want to sell a pancake made from it for five yuan.

These matters had actually already departed from the values of these people.

In the end, they couldn't come up with anything to discuss.

Everyone looked at each other, all speechless!