After leaving the cultivation greenhouses, Li Xiao didn’t drive straight back to the university. Instead, he headed to a subsidiary research institute under the Guangdong Province Academy of Agricultural Sciences.
The institute’s exterior looked a bit rundown. If it weren’t for the sign, he would have hesitated to even drive in.
But once he stepped inside, he discovered that the interior was a whole different world.
Unlike the dilapidated exterior, the institute’s interior was newly renovated, clearly having been refurbished within the last couple of years.
Since he had made an appointment in advance, Li Xiao simply explained his purpose to the receptionist and was immediately shown into an office.
A young researcher in his twenties was in charge of the meeting.
"Mr. Li, the batch of fungal strains you commissioned our institute to cultivate has had a breakthrough."
"Although the yields for these strains have all decreased to varying degrees, their texture and flavor have improved far beyond our expectations."
As he spoke, he opened one of the incubators and took out a very delicate mushroom cultivation bag.
On it were seven or eight button mushrooms, all growing splendidly.
The young researcher put on a pair of disposable medical gloves, took out a scalpel, and sliced off one of the button mushrooms.
He placed the mushroom in Li Xiao’s hand.
"This is one of the very successful strains."
"It has a unique, fresh fragrance, and it’s especially sweet and light when used in soups."
Li Xiao brought the mushroom to his nose and sniffed. His eyes lit up.
Just as the researcher had said, this ordinary-looking button mushroom was emitting an incredibly sweet and fresh aroma.
He then followed the researcher to inspect the remaining strains, even personally tasting a few of them.
They were prepared in the simplest way—blanched—but this method made the strains’ superior qualities all the more obvious.
Although, just as the researcher mentioned, the number of mushrooms on each cultivation bag was small, their flavor far surpassed that of commercially available mushrooms.
Li Xiao knew full well this was all thanks to the System, but he still praised the researcher’s results out loud.
He didn’t take the mushrooms with him, instead asking the institute to continue cultivating them for him.
After all, things at the plantation weren’t completely settled yet, and he didn’t want to transplant these precious, System-gifted strains over there.
Back at the university, Li Xiao immediately contacted the headhunting firm that had previously found Lai Chunjiao for him.
The headhunting firm was incredibly efficient. He had just finished dinner when a list of candidates was sent to his phone.
All the candidates were managers with extensive experience at large corporations. They had previously been in charge of massive cultivation operations spanning hundreds of acres, so managing a 30-odd-acre plantation shouldn’t be too much of a problem for them.
After a quick review, Li Xiao decided to choose a manager who had prior experience overseeing mushroom cultivation greenhouses.
After all, the plantation he owned would primarily be focused on growing mushrooms.
Hiring a manager specializing in other areas seemed like it would be a poor fit. Growing mushrooms was, after all, quite different from cultivating other fruits and vegetables.
Although this manager was already in his forties and would probably have to retire in a few years...
...Li Xiao valued his extensive experience. It was clear from his resume that he had been working in the field ever since graduation, rising from a low-level cultivator all the way up to a management position. This was exactly the kind of person he needed.
As for the ridiculous notion that it’s hard to find a job after 35, he paid it no mind whatsoever.
He got the candidate’s contact information and explained the situation at the mushroom plantation to him.
The man immediately said he could start work the very next day.
Li Xiao wasn’t surprised by his eagerness. A middle-aged man in his forties, unemployed and at home, was surely under immense pressure.
Now that he was offering a salary and benefits 30% above the market rate, if the man wasn’t enthusiastic, Li Xiao would have to consider someone else.
The next day, Li Xiao met with the man and confirmed there were no major issues.
He then brought the middle-aged man, whose name was Dong Guojiang, to the plastic-tunnel greenhouses.
When Pan Quanhong heard that his new boss had found someone to replace him, he was absolutely unwilling to accept it.
After all, even though he had sold these greenhouses, they represented his life’s work.
He had originally thought that even if the new boss bought the greenhouses, he would be kept on to work. He never expected to be kicked out on the second day after the takeover.
Ignoring the man’s desperate pleas, Li Xiao had no intention of letting his soft-heartedness create loose ends he’d have to deal with later.
Seeing that his begging was having no effect, Pan Quanhong, who had seemed so simple and honest just yesterday, completely changed his tune.
He pulled out a proof of employment certificate, which stated that he had worked at this company for over 20 years.
If they wanted to fire him, they would need to pay him 21 months’ worth of his full salary.
And according to the amount on this certificate, Pan Quanhong’s monthly salary was a hefty sum of over 30,000 yuan.
Seeing the certificate, Li Xiao didn’t feel much anger. On the contrary, he felt a sense of secret delight.
’As expected,’ he thought. ’A family that would let their son gamble away their entire fortune isn’t as simple and rustic as they appear.’
The fact that he could produce this so-called proof of employment meant that he had already been scheming to swindle the new owner even before selling the plantation.
A salary of over 30,000 yuan a month wasn’t actually that much for the top decision-maker of a decent-sized cultivation company. As the owner, he certainly could have paid himself that much each month.
But what normal person, being their own boss, would pay themselves a formal salary like that?
Clearly, this was all a meticulously planned conspiracy, just waiting for the right moment to be sprung.
But Pan Quanhong probably never imagined that Li Xiao would decide to kick him out on the second day of the takeover, causing this hidden scheme to come to light prematurely.
A salary of 30,000 a month wasn’t much to him now. Even for 21 months, it was only 630,000 yuan in total.
That amount was less than the cash reward Li Xiao would get for activating a single "Good" tier or higher item in his Gourmet Atlas.
He could easily give away hundreds of thousands, or even millions, as prizes during his livestreams.
But that was because he enjoyed it, because he was willing to share good food with his viewers—not because he was a fool.
This bit of money was truly nothing to him. If he wanted to, he would willingly give away not just millions, but tens of millions.
After all, with the System, he could earn tens of millions, or even hundreds of millions, just from eating a single meal.
As he continued to unlock more and more entries in the Gourmet Atlas, money had become nothing more than a string of numbers to him.
Receiving it didn’t make him any happier, but sharing that trivial happiness could bring immense joy to countless others.
This 600,000-plus yuan was truly just a drop in the ocean for the current Li Xiao.
He could indeed complete the transfer instantly using the spare change in his WeChat account, but he refused to do so.
He could give this money away as prizes in his livestream, or use it to open more milk tea shops.
But!! He would absolutely not use it as severance pay for a shameless scoundrel.
Faced with someone like this, Li Xiao certainly wasn’t foolish enough to confront him head-on.
One phone call later, Zhang Li, in his red BMW, had already appeared at Li Xiao’s side.
The "gold medal" lawyer was very reliable. After understanding the situation, he took the proof of employment certificate from Pan Quanhong.
Zhang Li meticulously examined the proof of employment and the plantation company’s transfer contract, then a confident smile spread across his face.
"Mr. Li, you do indeed owe him severance compensation."
Hearing Zhang Li’s words, Pan Quanhong, who had looked slightly worried a moment ago, immediately broke into a smug grin.
"You hear that, Boss Li?"
"If you want to fire me, fine. Just give me my severance pay and I’ll be out of here immediately. I definitely won’t hold up your business!"
Li Xiao’s brow furrowed slightly. ’Could the trap he set really be so perfect that not even a top lawyer like Zhang Li can find a way out?’