An Ning followed Sun Dazhuang into the room for processing land leases.

An Ning stood by the door, with Sun Dazhuang in front of her.

Before them was a long desk, where a man was looking over a map.

"I’ve found the mountain area you were talking about."

The man behind the desk held a magnifying glass, pointing to a spot on the map with one finger.

"This is indeed registered on the books. It belongs entirely to Shili Gou’s territory and is available for lease."

The staff member stood up, his smile very friendly.

Leasing out land was a good thing, especially mountain land, which nobody wanted these days.

Getting this mountain land leased out under his watch would also count toward his performance metrics.

"Don’t just stand there. Have a seat and we can talk."

An Ning didn’t move until she saw Sun Dazhuang sit down, then she followed suit.

"Which one of you is looking to lease the land?"

"That would be me," An Ning explained. "This is our village chief. He came along with me."

The staff member across the desk was a bit dismissive, looking at how young An Ning was. Still, she’d brought the village chief with her. ’She can’t be just fooling around, can she?’ he thought.

"Alright, let me explain the leasing terms to you."

"For a thirty-year lease, it’s twenty-seven yuan per mu per year. For a seventy-year lease, it’s twenty yuan per mu per year."

"The mountain land you’ve chosen is essentially two small mountains connected together. It measures one hundred and seventy-eight mu. This is calculated based on the horizontal area; the actual surface area, going up the slopes, is likely much larger."

"So how would you like to proceed with the lease? We require an upfront payment."

By the time the staff member finished speaking, An Ning had already calculated the price.

She would need to pay 286,580 yuan.

She had over five hundred thousand yuan in her account, which was more than enough. The remaining money would be perfect for development.

"That’s fine. When can we do the paperwork?"

The staff member was surprised by An Ning’s decisive attitude.

"Are you sure?"

"I’m sure. Seventy years. We’ll sign the contract, go through the legal procedures, and I’ll pay the full amount in one lump sum."

The staff member stood up and quickly did the math in his head, arriving at a rough figure.

"That’s over two hundred thousand yuan, you know. Not twenty."

An Ning, who was sitting across from him, also stood up and gave the staff member a faint smile.

"I know. And I happen to have my savings passbook with me." 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

In her hand, An Ning dangled a red savings passbook.

Sun Dazhuang, sitting to the side, felt his head spin. ’Two hundred thousand yuan? She was just handing it over, just like that.’

’Incredible, just incredible. He had really underestimated An Ning’s abilities.’

Seeing the passbook in An Ning’s hand, the staff member finally snapped out of his daze. He immediately rushed out the door and called over several colleagues to process the paperwork.

’Get it done! Even if it means working overtime, we have to finish this today! This deal must be finalized. Can’t give her a chance to back out.’

With several people working together, the paperwork was completed quickly.

An Ning took her passbook and followed a government employee to the savings office.

The two hundred eighty-something thousand yuan was transferred from her account, and she was politely escorted out.

Holding the brand-new lease contract, An Ning called out to Sun Dazhuang and An Sancheng, who were waiting outside.

"Dad, Village Chief, let’s go get something to eat. I’ve heard the state-owned restaurant here is excellent."

An Sancheng and Sun Dazhuang had no objections and followed An Ning to the state-owned restaurant she had mentioned.

It was already getting late when the three of them arrived.

The staff at the state-owned restaurant were already preparing to clean up and close for the day.

An Ning didn’t insist and was about to leave.

Just as they were about to go, three men walked in from outside, and one of them greeted the head chef like an old friend.

The head chef stayed behind, agreeing to make a couple more dishes for them.

Seeing that he had to fire up the stove anyway, the chef simply called An Ning’s group over and invited them in as well.

But An Ning, still by the entrance, stared thoughtfully at the men who had just walked in.

’Jiang Dongcheng... Why is he back in the county seat? Is he going after Jiang Xia again?’

Using Sun Dazhuang and An Sancheng for cover, she took a seat with her back to Jiang Dongcheng and his two companions.

"Dad, you go order the food."

An Sancheng looked at the still An Ning and the slightly bowed head of Sun Dazhuang, realizing there was something going on that he didn’t know about.

"I’ll go right now."

An Sancheng went to order. He had money on him.

An Ning’s attention was fixed on the three men behind her. Sun Dazhuang understood what she was thinking and tried to make himself inconspicuous; he had met Jiang Dongcheng once before.

However, the three men were deep in enthusiastic conversation and didn’t notice An Ning’s group at all.

"Congratulations, Designer Jiang, on designing three impressive new machines! You’ve made a great contribution."

"Not at all, not at all. It’s all just an accumulation of experience."

Jiang Dongcheng feigned modesty as they all toasted and drained their glasses.

With her back to them, An Ning heard the mention of "three machines" and thought it was too much of a coincidence.

Before she went south, she had given Director Jin the designs for three machines. Now Jiang Dongcheng had also designed three.

She didn’t believe it.

It wasn’t that she didn’t believe someone could be better than her; she just didn’t believe *Jiang Dongcheng* could be better than her.

An Sancheng returned from ordering and sat down.

An Ning was still listening intently to the conversation behind her.

"Jiang is just being modest. Everyone knows your father was the greatest mechanical designer of his time. You’re carrying on the family legacy, a perfect inheritor of Mr. Jiang Sr.’s talent."

"Of course. My father was truly brilliant. I admire him more than anyone."

Jiang Dongcheng played along with the men across from him, but inwardly he was seething with resentment.

’That old fool actually transferred all his assets to Jiang Xia. If it weren’t for that, I wouldn’t have come to this crappy little county seat to suck up to these guys.’

After a short while, the waiter brought their food.

Jiang Dongcheng’s group started eating and drinking and didn’t talk much more about the machines.

The dishes for An Ning’s table also arrived.

"Dad, Village Chief, let’s eat first."

The three of them began to eat as well.

There was a braised carp, a portion of twice-cooked pork, a portion of mapo tofu, and three bowls of white rice.

The three of them ate until their plates were clean, not wasting a single bite.

After finishing their meal, An Ning’s group left the restaurant first. She turned to An Sancheng and Sun Dazhuang.

"It’s too late today, and there’s no more transportation. We should find a place to stay the night and head back tomorrow."

"Okay, okay."

"Alright, alright."

Neither of them had any objections, so they followed An Ning to the local guesthouse.

There was only one guesthouse in the entire county seat, so there wasn’t much choice, let alone good service.

But luckily, the registration procedures weren’t very strict, so An Sancheng and Sun Dazhuang shared one room, while An Ning got a room to herself.

After they were settled, An Ning told An Sancheng that she was going out for a bit.

"Be careful."

"I know, Dad. Don’t worry."

An Sancheng closed the door and sighed. ’How can I not worry?’

Sun Dazhuang sat on a single bed, taking off his shoes.

"Your An Ning is destined to do great things. We just need to make sure we don’t get in her way."

An Sancheng sat on the other bed, facing Sun Dazhuang.

"Knowing it is one thing, but when the day actually comes, it’s still a little hard to accept."

"Look at today. I couldn’t help with anything at all."

It was fine when he didn’t leave the village, but once he was out, An Sancheng felt a huge sense of inadequacy.

"You’re just ungrateful. If you’re so worried, you can just let my family have An Ning."

"In your dreams!"