26. Purchasing Land

The woman had vanished.

Yang Fan sat in a daze for a while before slowly straightening his legs and sitting at the edge of the bed. There was truly no such thing as a free lunch in this world; every gift life bestowed had its price marked long ago. It was useless to dwell on it now. He had once thought he could shuttle back and forth indefinitely, leveraging the disparities between eras to reach the pinnacle of life. Now, it seemed he had been far too arrogant. He hadn't even had the chance to stir up much trouble before he was caught.

Yang Fan felt as though he had been cast back to that small mountain village, back to the moment he was fighting for his life against Bo Bai and his men. From here on out, he would be in constant danger. His top priority now was survival.

He began to audit his assets. Fortunately, those two scraps of cloth had fetched a tidy sum. He owed a debt of gratitude to Bo Bai. Three hundred million was enough to accomplish a great deal, but he had to spend it wisely; he had no idea what the situation regarding future transmissions would be. Every cent spent was a cent gone. He had already established two companies and a channel for Baoli.

The woman had said that garbage didn't require payment or energy loss. This felt like a glitch—modern trash might actually be useful in the late Ming Dynasty. Yes, he should establish a waste recycling company. He would put Er Lengzi in charge; his family had been in the scrap business for generations, and he knew the trade well.

If he were to set up a transmission point, the location had to be secure. Renting was too volatile and definitely out of the question. He would have to buy property. The real estate prices in the capital were truly staggering; even spending all three hundred million wouldn't buy much space. Residential land cost around a hundred thousand per unit, maybe enough for three thousand square meters, while industrial land went for three million per acre—he could barely afford a hundred acres.

Unable to sleep, Yang Fan got up and opened his laptop. He began searching for industrial land and factories for sale that included the deed. By dawn, he finally found a project that looked promising. It was located in a mountainous area just outside the southwestern border of the capital, technically in a neighboring county. It was near an expressway, making transportation convenient.

It was a defunct waste treatment plant, and the asking price was quite satisfactory: thirty million yuan. It included three hundred acres of land, along with factory buildings, processing workshops, office blocks, and dormitories. The surrounding walls were high and topped with dense barbed wire, with small watchtowers at each corner.

The facility was adjacent to an expressway exit, ensuring easy transport. Surrounded by wilderness and uninhabited, it offered excellent privacy. Looking at the pictures posted online, the factory and equipment were brand new and had never been put into operation. Due to the pandemic, the parent company’s capital chain had snapped, forcing them to sell.

Yang Fan looked into the business climate of the county. It was essentially a forgotten corner. It wasn't the capital, so regulations were lax, and there were few inspections or bureaucratic hurdles—perfect for someone like him, who had many secrets to keep. The local economy was underdeveloped, and the authorities paid little mind to enterprises, which were largely left to fend for themselves. There were countless "zombie companies" in the county that hadn't seen an inspector in a decade.

*The longer they stay away, the better,* Yang Fan thought.

Having made up his mind, he decided to go take a look that afternoon. Three hundred acres was more than enough; he could leave plenty of room for future expansion. Relieved, Yang Fan finally lay down and fell asleep.

When he woke up, it was already ten o'clock. After a quick wash and a bite to eat, he contacted the plant's representative, booked a car for the day, and headed straight for the site. Three and a half hours later, after exiting the highway, he spotted the high walls along the access road. In the distance, he saw the facility's caretaker waiting at the main gate.

Yang Fan got out of the car, and a short man in his thirties wearing work clothes greeted him enthusiastically. "You must be Boss Yang? Welcome, welcome!"

Though he seemed a bit surprised by Yang Fan's age, the sight of the Mercedes S600 put his concerns to rest. Yang Fan had no choice; at his age, he was clearly a "greenhorn," and people tended to view him as unreliable. Renting the Mercedes was a calculated move.

Inside the meeting room, a lean man in his fifties shook his hand warmly. "This is our Deputy General Manager Chen, who has been stationed here to handle the sale."

"Nice to meet you, Boss Yang. You are truly young and accomplished!"

"I have no choice. My father is forcing me to start a business. I'm basically being pushed into a corner." Yang Fan knew that because he was so young, he had to use a pre-rehearsed excuse. The others nodded in understanding—that made sense. He was just a rich second-generation heir being forced by his family to build a venture.

Deputy Manager Chen gave a detailed presentation using a PowerPoint, then walked Yang Fan through the site. The more Yang Fan saw, the more satisfied he became.

"Oh? And what is this?" In the northeast corner of the grounds, there was a man-made lake and a lawn, with several rows of wooden structures behind it that looked like stables.

"Ah, that was built for the owner. He loved horse riding and said he'd come here to ride in his spare time, so we built the stables. Who would have thought the pandemic would happen? Sigh! We acquired this land in 2017 and spent three years building it, only finishing early this year. Three hundred acres, over twenty thousand square meters of factory space, offices, and dormitories. The local government relations are all squared away. If it weren't for the group's capital chain breaking, we really wouldn't want to sell."

Yang Fan suddenly realized something he hadn't considered before: to ensure his safety in the late Ming Dynasty, he would need his own army, and the most effective force was cavalry. His hometown was in the Bashang grasslands, so he knew a lot about horses. China didn't really have many high-quality breeds; domestic horses were small, lacking in both speed and explosive power. True warhorses were Arabian horses, Don horses from Eastern Europe, or Marwari horses from India. The best draft horses were the British Shires.

Many superior livestock breeds simply didn't exist in the late Ming. It was the same as with agricultural crops. Mongolia and Manchuria primarily used Mongol horses. They were short-legged and slow, but their only advantages were that they were hardy, could survive on rough feed, and had great endurance. You could grab one off the steppe, and it could run for two hundred miles without food or water—though naturally, that would ruin the horse.

He could consider breeding superior warhorses and draft horses here. He could even breed high-quality goats and sheep. Fine-wool sheep for textiles were only introduced to China in the 20th century; before that, the sheep they raised only produced coarse wool suitable for felting.

He could task "The Swindler" with this. Livestock and supply procurement would be handled by him. He would put the recycling company under Er Lengzi and the waste processing under "The Monkey." He would move them all here; there was plenty of space. The large warehouse at the very back would serve as the transmission point—it had a back door and was very discreet.

"Boss Yang, what do you think? Are you satisfied?"

"Satisfied. Is there any room for negotiation on the price?"

"Boss Yang, there really isn't any room left. At this price, we are already selling at a loss."

"Fine. Let’s sign. How soon can the transfer be completed?"

Manager Chen was overjoyed. He had finally managed to sell it. This place was too remote, and with the current economic climate, there had been no buyers. Since someone was finally willing to buy, he wasn't about to let it slip away. "Whenever you are ready to pay! The contracts are all prepared. We can transfer the equity directly and head to the county's industrial and commercial bureau to handle the paperwork immediately."

Yang Fan returned to the meeting room, carefully reviewed the contract and all the documents, and signed them. He then promptly transferred thirty million yuan from his phone, buying the factory outright. Manager Chen and the others sighed inwardly—a typical rich kid, spending his father's money without a hint of heartache.

The handover was completed that same day, and Manager Chen's group vacated the premises, turning the facility over to Yang Fan. Yang Fan immediately called "The Swindler," Er Lengzi, and "The Monkey" to take over. He instructed Er Lengzi to establish the waste recycling company, and tasked "The Swindler" with sourcing high-quality livestock breeds—both domestic and imported—to start a small-scale farm on the grounds.

With all that done, Yang Fan let out a sigh of relief. It was time to go home and check in.