The smile on Deng Jiajie’s face grew even more respectful:
"These greenhouses in front of us do indeed belong to you, Mr. Li. However, the ones you purchased aren’t just this row. The two rows behind it also belong to you."
"In other words, you’ve purchased a total of 15 greenhouses."
"Each plastic greenhouse has a standard width of 14 meters and a length of 100 meters. Each one covers an area of 1,400 square meters, for a total of 22,000 square meters."
"According to the contract, you own these greenhouses, as well as the right to use the land within this fence. This right is valid for sixty years, and upon its expiration, you, Mr. Li, will have priority to renew the lease."
After hearing Deng Jiajie’s explanation, Li Xiao raised an eyebrow. He hadn’t expected the system to be so generous, gifting him 15 plastic greenhouses in one go. After all, the land alone here was nearly five and a half acres.
Even though this place was far from Yangcheng City Center, the land prices here wouldn’t be too low. A plot of land this large was already worth a staggering amount.
Li Xiao followed him into the nearest greenhouse.
Inside the plastic greenhouse were neat rows of stainless steel shelves, and on them sat individual mushroom cultivation bags.
As Li Xiao stepped into the mushroom greenhouse, he was immediately captivated by its unique and tranquil atmosphere.
Unlike a typical greenhouse, this one was covered with black plastic sheeting instead of transparent film, as mushrooms don’t require much sunlight.
To insulate the roof of the greenhouse, double-layered insulation panels had also been installed.
The insulation panels were even fitted with a misting system for cooling during the high temperatures of summer.
The moment he stepped inside the plastic greenhouse, Li Xiao noticed a change in the lighting.
The light inside was clearly softer than outside, but it didn’t feel dim.
Clearly, the translucency of the plastic roof had been professionally designed.
The air inside was filled with a faint, pleasant mixture of earthy soil, fresh mushrooms, and a hint of wood chips, creating a remarkably soothing scent.
The greenhouse was divided into two sections, left and right. Although both sides grew the same type of mushroom, the difference in size indicated they were at different stages of growth.
The mushrooms on the left appeared fully mature and ready for harvest, while those on the right had only just begun to sprout.
Seeing the two of them enter, a tanned, middle-aged man strode over.
He extended his calloused hands and shook Li Xiao’s.
"You must be Mr. Li!"
"My name is Pan Quanhong. I apologize for not coming out to greet you; I was busy with my work."
Li Xiao was slightly taken aback when the man introduced himself.
He had learned some information from Deng Jiajie just yesterday.
The previous owner of these mushroom greenhouses was Pan Quanhong.
He sized up the man before him. He was thin and wiry, with deeply tanned skin—clearly an old farmer accustomed to working the fields.
Li Xiao withdrew his hand and asked with some curiosity:
"Hello, Mr. Pan."
"The design of this greenhouse is excellent, and much of the equipment looks brand new. It seems like it hasn’t been in operation for very long. Why the sudden decision to sell the whole operation?"
Hearing him ask for the reason, a bitter smile flashed across Pan Quanhong’s tanned face.
"You don’t need to worry, Mr. Li. I assure you, these greenhouses are top-notch!"
"To be frank, Mr. Li, I’m just an old farmer."
"These greenhouses are my life’s work. I truly wouldn’t have wanted to sell them if my son hadn’t turned out to be such a disappointment and gotten hooked on gambling."
Hearing his explanation, Li Xiao immediately understood.
So that’s why he was willing to sell such a great mushroom farm. His own son had a gambling problem.
Gambling is a destructive vice. Losers want to win back their losses, and winners want to win even more. Once you’re hooked, there’s almost no way out.
Losing the entire family fortune was considered one of the better outcomes.
In his past life, he’d even seen tycoons worth over a hundred million who were targeted and ensnared by professional outfits, losing their entire fortunes in a matter of days.
It far too often ended in utter ruin, with families torn apart.
He felt some pity for the man before him—after all, it was his son who gambled, not him.
However, he had already decided to replace the man.
Even though the man had transferred ownership of all the greenhouses, he was still the general manager of the company, responsible for daily operations and managing over ten employees.
While it was his son who gambled, the fact that he’d lost enough to force the sale of more than a dozen greenhouses meant he was in deep. It was highly unlikely he could ever break free from that kind of debt.
If the son kept gambling, he would rack up more debt, and this poor father would likely be the one to pay for it.
Pan Quanhong no longer had any money; otherwise, he wouldn’t have sold the newly built greenhouses.
Desperate to help his son, Pan Quanhong might be tempted to do something dishonest with the greenhouses or the mushrooms.
Although this was just the worst-case scenario, he believed in the old adage: never plot to harm others, but never let your guard down.
Li Xiao had no intention of letting misplaced compassion cause problems for his new business.
Though he had already decided to fire the man, he gave no sign of it, instead following along casually to learn more about the greenhouse.
Pan Quanhong said:
"All of the greenhouses are equipped with semi-automated growing systems."
"The blue tubes are for increasing the humidity of the substrate bags, and the red ones are for spraying nutrient solution."
Following the explanation, Li Xiao noticed thin red and blue tubes running along each shelf.
In one corner of the greenhouse, a few workers were busy with routine maintenance.
They carefully inspected the growth of each substrate bag, occasionally touching them gently to ensure they were developing properly.
Soon, they reached the other end of the greenhouse.
Mounted on a pillar near the door was an LCD screen displaying various data for the greenhouse, like temperature, humidity, and substrate nutrient levels, all to ensure optimal growing conditions.
Even to a layman like Li Xiao, a single glance at the data on the screen made it clear that all the readings were excellent.
’I have to admit, the design and operation of this greenhouse are quite impressive.’
After a quick tour through a few more of the greenhouses to get the general idea, Li Xiao didn’t feel the need to see more.
He wasn’t planning on running these greenhouses himself, so a general overview was more than enough.