classifiedscript Chapter 137 Family Gathering
Chapter 137 Family Gathering
Chapter 137 Family Gathering
After resting for a night in San Jose, Ernst headed south toward Tulary County. The scenery outside the car window gradually changed from the steel and concrete of the city to the green fields of the countryside. Sunlight shone through the sparse clouds onto the rolling greenery, as if draping the earth in a turquoise veil.
The two cars drove at a leisurely pace for more than two hours and finally arrived at the agreed-upon town before dinner.
Today is the day of the Arlington family gathering, and John called specifically to insist that he must attend.
Ernst knew perfectly well what he was up to. He simply wanted to show off his success to his brothers and sisters.
However, since the old man had personally spoken, Ernst couldn't very well refuse, so he had no choice but to come obediently.
"Hey, Paul, Diego!" Ernst was just about to call someone to pick him up when he unexpectedly ran into his two older cousins on the road.
On a nearly new large tractor, two men wearing cowboy hats and dressed in typical farmer's attire were driving the tractor along the road, making a "putt-putt-putt" sound. They did look quite like farmers.
"Ernst?" The two turned their heads and saw the person who came, and their smiles instantly brightened.
Diego quickly stopped the tractor, and Paul, even more impatient, jumped off before the vehicle had come to a complete stop. His movements were quite agile, showing no trace of a politician.
Ernst had no choice but to open the car door, get out, and give the two of them a big hug.
"Ernst, do you know what? A big shot with a donkey contacted me," Paul said, unable to hide his excitement.
"I have to thank you for this, otherwise I wouldn't have been able to become the head of Tuleli County so smoothly —"
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Not only did state legislators from the Donkey camp contact Paul Arlington and promise to fully support his campaign, but they also did so.
Although it's not time to vote yet, Paul Arlington's position is practically a done deal.
With the other side's full support, it means that no other influential or weighty figures from the Donkey camp can run for this position.
As for the elephant camp? This is California, the land of donkeys; they can't make any waves here.
Ernst was quite puzzled. He was a native Californian, and his whole family were supporters of Donkey. He had achieved such great success, but the first person to come to his door was Eric Prince with Anran.
In Ernst's view, he really didn't want to get involved in Enron's mess.
But to everyone else, it looked like the elephant camp was offering Ernst benefits in an attempt to win him over.
Enron, it's said that everyone wants to own its stock.
Now that Anran is taking the initiative to seek cooperation, what else could this be but courting?
It seems these guys aren't slow to react; they've already taken the family route.
Ernst didn't seem to care much about Paul Arlington's thanks. He reached out and patted the huge tire next to him, which was almost as tall as a person, and changed the subject, asking, "Is there a farm that's quitting?"
This tractor is clearly not Paul Arlington's; it even has the Erisk logo on it.
The two men must have taken over this big guy from another farm, which is actually quite common in the countryside.
However, there are usually two possibilities when this happens.
One possibility is that large farms are replacing their machinery, such as by purchasing larger agricultural machines. Another possibility is that some farms go bankrupt and can no longer continue operating.
It's clearly not the first scenario. The John Deere they were driving was obviously the largest model available, far from needing to be phased out.
"Red River Valley Farm is going bankrupt and being sold off." Paul Arlington said with a hint of regret.
Ernst was taken aback when he heard this.
Red River Valley Farm is a huge farm covering tens of thousands of acres. How could it go bankrupt just like that?
California is truly blessed with a unique and highly developed economy, with thriving industries such as entertainment, technology, finance, and tourism, and even agriculture.
California's Central Valley covers half of the state and is extremely fertile.
California's agriculture is primarily focused on vegetables and fruits, supplying nearly half of the United States' needs and earning it the nickname "America's food basket."
Therefore, California vegetables have never had trouble selling; they are always in short supply.
In California, as long as a rancher operates steadily, doesn't gamble or visit prostitutes, and doesn't have any bad habits, they can live a very comfortable life, much more so than many white-collar workers.
I often see reports saying how idyllic and wonderful it is to be a farmer in America, but that's all bullshit.
Except for California and a few specific farms, the vast majority of American farmers work themselves to the bone all year round and barely make any money.
Otherwise, why would young people flock to big cities, preferring to work in fast food restaurants rather than go back to farming?
The United States is a rather peculiar country; most farms grow grains, and ranches raise chickens and cattle.
However, the prices of these items are not determined by market supply and demand, but by Wall Street.
Because this is called a commodity, it needs to be measured based on the commodity price on the exchange.
Wall Street says the price of beef at the farm gate is three dollars. Even if a thousand rich people are scrambling to buy a pound of beef, the farm gate price will still be three dollars.
Wall Street can drive prices down to the extreme. As for the problem of no one being willing to plant or raise livestock because they can't make money, they've already come up with a solution: there are government subsidies, right?
The money Wall Street makes is theirs, but if farmers want to make money, that's the country's, the taxpayers'.
But vegetables are an exception, because they are something that the rich need.
Look at American supermarkets. Those reports show a large box of macarons for $1.99, and all kinds of large-package processed products are incredibly cheap. Those must be supermarkets frequented by the poor, because mechanized production has reduced the cost of processed foods.
But if you go to a supermarket for the wealthy, these things simply won't get in the door.
Inside, there were all sorts of expensive fruits and vegetables; three carrots could sell for $9.99.
Because wealthy people pursue health and need these things, if they are sold cheaply, no one will be willing to grow them.
Growing fruits and vegetables requires a lot of manual labor. If it's not profitable, everyone will grow grains and raise cattle. Who would still want to do this kind of work?
Therefore, in the United States, the prices of fruits and vegetables are truly determined by the market, and are even higher than the market average.
Rich people don't care about an extra two or three dollars for a bag of carrots. If businesses don't take the opportunity to make more money, who else will they make money from?
Therefore, in California, the land of fruits and vegetables, farmers are all doing very well, and the prices of California farm produce are at least three times higher than in other regions.
That's why Ernst was so surprised. How could Red River Valley Farm suddenly go bankrupt?
"What happened?" Ernst pressed.
"Old Carl's gone rabbit hunting," Paul Arlington said with a sigh.
Ernst immediately understood: "Hunting rabbits" was a local farmers' term, which meant that old Karl had been set up.
California farms are mostly located on flat plains, and hunting is mainly done with rabbits. It's like farmers setting traps to catch wild rabbits, so locals call this tricked behavior "rabbit hunting."
Simply put, they are professional agricultural scammers who go door-to-door selling seeds and fertilizers under the guise of new agricultural companies.
Because these are new products and they need to open up the market, they are often sold at very low prices.
But when you believe them and plant crops that yield no harvest, another group of people will come and buy your farm.
Of course, this is an old trick from the 1960s, and it has long since evolved into a variety of new variations.
Some scammers may even plan for several years, first losing money to gain publicity and get you to try planting on a small scale, then luring you with cheap long-term contracts, and finally catching you all at once.
Even more despicable methods involve using sexual seduction to target elderly men living alone.
Their goal is simple: to put you in debt, and when you can't repay it, you'll have to watch helplessly as your farm is sold off.
These acquired lands are then sold to food giants or chain store giants.
Then these places will be rented to you in return, making you work for these capitalists, all under the guise of pity.
"Let's go, get in the car, we'll go to Red River Valley Farm to check on things." A glint of shrewdness flashed in Ernst's eyes.
California is not like Montana. Although there is a lot of arable land, due to the price, large farms with tens of thousands of acres can be counted on two hands.
Now a super farm of over 10,000 acres has appeared. This is a great opportunity, and it would be a shame not to take it.