Chapter 17: Confidence Comes From the System

“Dexter, I have a suggestion that might not be fully thought out. Do you want to hear it?” George said after hesitating a little.

“George, in the United States, you could say you are the person I know best. You can talk to me freely about anything,” Liu Heming said with a smile.

“The overall land condition in Xiangshui Town is not particularly good, but your place is different from our other farms. We don’t have a water source. Now that there is a lake in your ranch and a tributary of the Xiangshui River nearby, you could say you already have many advantages.”

“From my experience, even if you encounter dry weather in the future, irrigation will be very convenient, and it will increase your yield. It’s not like our other farms, where even if we have dug wells, we still face water shortages in the summer.”

“I think you could buy the land next to your ranch. That piece is a bit larger than your ranch. You could slowly cultivate pasture grass for future grazing.”

“George, please don’t joke with me,” Liu Heming said with a bitter smile.

“I’ve seen that land over there. It’s called Bumper Farm, right? It seems to be about one hundred acres. Where would I get that much money to buy such a large farm?”

“No, Dexter, the land price in Xiangshui Town is not high,” George shook his head, his expression even more troubled than Liu Heming’s.

“In Montana, the normal price for good quality land is about two thousand US Dollars per acre, but here in Xiangshui Town, there is a lot of land, yet no one is buying it.”

“Bumper Farm is a total of one hundred and thirty acres, more than double the size of your place. And the land at Bumper Farm is flatter and more suitable for grazing. Do you know its listing price? It’s only fifty thousand US Dollars. I think they might sell it for forty-five thousand US Dollars now.”

“And the most important point is, they left here three years ago, so they probably still have some farming equipment. That would reduce your investment in that area. Also, their house is a bit better than yours here.”

Liu Heming quickly calculated in his mind. He had bought this sixty-something acres of land for one hundred thousand US Dollars. The neighboring one hundred and thirty acres was only forty-five thousand US Dollars. He suddenly felt like Sasha had really ripped him off.

He was very tempted. If there really was farming equipment left there, from a long-term investment perspective, it would indeed save him a lot of money.

Even if he bought small farming machinery, each piece would cost thousands of US Dollars, unless he bought used ones, but he wasn’t confident in judging used equipment.

But not having money was a big problem. His family had almost scraped together everything to get him this much money. The shortfall was not small.

“George, I really want to buy it, but I don’t have that much money,” Liu Heming said helplessly, shrugging his shoulders.

“Dexter, you could take out a loan. You wouldn’t need to borrow for too long. Now that you have the lake in your ranch, I think the bank would be very willing to help you with the funds,” George said, looking at Liu Heming curiously.

In the United States, taking loans had become common. In his view, since Liu Heming’s water source issue was solved, buying the neighboring farm was a really good idea. But he was a bit puzzled why such a young person hadn’t thought of getting a loan to solve his funding problem.

“But, what if my crops fail and I can’t repay the loan?” Liu Heming frowned.

“Haha, Dexter, as long as you have water, why worry about the crops not giving you returns?” George said with a laugh.

“If you were willing to sell the water rights to me, I would consider making that investment myself. You must know, the lake in your ranch is the most valuable thing.”

Liu Heming felt very conflicted. Liu Yi’s words still echoed in his ears: avoid taking loans if possible. If you really can’t repay, they will come to take your land. But George’s words made sense too. Plus, what if there really was leftover farming equipment? Thinking about it, this investment didn’t seem like a loss.

George’s suggestion and Liu Yi’s warning fought constantly in his mind, making Liu Heming’s head hurt.

“George, if I were to get a loan, how much could I borrow? After all, I still need to farm over there,” Liu Heming finally asked, his ambition overcoming his reason as he looked up from squatting on the ground.

“That doesn’t depend on how much you want to borrow, but on what you plan to do,” George said, frowning in thought.

“You need to give the bank a plan for how you will use the farm. Bumper Farm’s operation was relatively simple before; they mainly grew Hard Red Winter Wheat, with about one hundred acres of planted area. So, your investment in that farm would be around thirty thousand US Dollars.”

“The rest depends on how much funds you have, plus the price of the ranch, and then you make a plan with the bank. I think considering the condition of your ranch, the bank would be very willing to help you.”

“And I also suggest you use Bumper Farm mainly for planting. Your place here was used for grazing before, so the soil condition is worse than Bumper Farm’s.”

“Uh… George, let me ask you a question. Is Hard Red Winter Wheat the kind planted in autumn?” Liu Heming asked, feeling a bit embarrassed.

He realized an issue now: wheat was divided into spring wheat and winter wheat. From what George said, it seemed this area was suitable for winter wheat.

“Yes, the climate here is suitable for sowing Hard Red Winter Wheat. The wheat field in my farm is growing fairly well now; last year’s snow was good. What I’m worried about now is whether there will be enough rain before harvest,” George’s expression shifted from happy to worried.

If this year’s harvest was poor and the price was bad, he would have to rely on government subsidies. But he would rather have a better harvest and sell it for a good price.

Liu Heming started thinking. If winter wheat was planted here, even though the initial investment was the same, it would be spread out, giving him a buffer period of several months. If during this time, the vegetables he planted could yield some harvest, it would give him a chance to get familiar with the process.

Actually, the real confidence that made him dare to take this risk was that somewhat unreliable System. Although the System was unreliable and a bit proud, it was truly magical.

If he made the investment and ran into some problems, could he get some help from the System? He thought it was very likely. If he got friendly with it and said some sweet words, he might be able to squeeze out some magical effects.

The wealth gap between him and Sasha was too big. Wanting to give the baby a good life wasn’t just talk. This was an opportunity. If in the future, she saw that he got a good harvest thanks to the Small Lake, she might even raise the price.