Chapter 232: Have You Heard of Pyramid Schemes?

The threshing ground was silent, with over two hundred villagers from Shenglian staring blankly at Zhou Ming. His words echoed in their ears, lingering for a long time.

"Thousands of yuan… can we really make that much money?" someone murmured.

"Absolutely certain!" Zhou Ming replied immediately. "As long as the township industrial park is established, thousands or even tens of thousands of yuan will be insignificant."

"It might be insignificant to you, the big boss, but why should we believe you'll actually give us this money?" someone questioned, although the tone was noticeably less hostile than before.

Zhou Ming smiled slightly and pointed at the speaker, saying, "You asked a good question. For me, thousands or tens of thousands of yuan are indeed trivial. It's precisely because this money is trivial for me that I have no reason to hoard it. Perhaps you still don't believe me. Do you remember the CCTV Spring Festival Gala this year? The exclusive sponsorship by Linyang Eight Treasures Porridge and the repeated advertisements? That Linyang Eight Treasures Porridge is produced by our Factory 760!"

The villagers of Shenglian gasped in surprise. Although they might have heard about it before, hearing Zhou Ming say it so openly was still astonishing.

Zhou Ming's revelations didn't end there. He continued, "You might have heard about the booming sales of Eight Treasures Porridge in other places and the CCTV interviews. Do you know how much Eight Treasures Porridge our factory has sold in total?"

Everyone shook their heads in unison. Zhou Ming held up five fingers and said, "Five hundred thousand yuan, just from the Spring Festival until now."

Even though the villagers had mentally prepared for a large figure, they still gasped upon hearing Zhou Ming's number. For those who only made a few hundred or a thousand yuan a year, five hundred thousand was unimaginable. How many years would it take for an entire village to earn that much? And that's just for one month's income—imagine half a year or a year. Wouldn't it be several million?

"So now you understand, I don't need to deceive you. Once you sign the agreement with us, you will plant the crops we need for our Eight Treasures Porridge factory. You won't have to worry about not selling what you grow, and because we process it into Eight Treasures Porridge, the prices will definitely be higher than the national purchase prices."

Zhou Ming paused and then asked, "You keep saying that Factory 760 is not good here or there, but don't you secretly wish to work there? Don't you want to have guaranteed income, without having to worry about the weather? Don't you want your children to attend the factory's school without having to pay additional fees? Don't you?"

As soon as Zhou Ming finished asking, over two hundred villagers of Shenglian shouted in unison, clearly stirred by his words.

People always aspire to a better life, and while they might complain about the factory, they deep down wished to be part of it. Higher wages, better living conditions, and access to better education resources made working at the factory attractive.

"Very well!" Zhou Ming said. "As the owner of Factory 760, I can assure you that once you sign the production agreement, you will become contract workers of the factory. If the factory expands in the future, you will be given priority consideration. So, what do you think? Do you want to sign the agreement and become factory workers?"

There was no need for further discussion. As soon as Zhou Ming finished his question, the villagers eagerly rushed forward to sign the contract, clamoring to get their hands on it.

For safety reasons, Zhou Ming stepped back and let his office director, Sun Jie, handle the paperwork.

Turning back, Zhou Ming saw Wang He, who was staring blankly, and smiled, saying, "Secretary Wang, I told you today's weather is perfect for communication."

Wang He snapped out of his daze and felt like Zhou Ming's words had slapped him in the face. He looked at Zhou Ming and said, "Boss Zhou, you truly are a wealthy and resourceful man. You have many tricks up your sleeve."

Wang He was frustrated, regretting not having stopped Zhou Ming from speaking. He had felt uneasy when Zhou Ming first mentioned "the power of capital," but he still held some hope. After all, he had done ideological work with the villagers, telling them that Factory 760 was not to be trusted, and the locals had a poor opinion of it.

These reasons gave Wang He confidence that Zhou Ming could not change the villagers' minds with just one meeting. But Wang He never expected Zhou Ming to come out with cash and offer it directly, which was irresistible to anyone.

Wang He felt a sense of defeat, but Zhou Ming didn't seem ready to stop. He asked, "Secretary Wang, do you think this is the end?"

Wang He, still feeling on edge, asked, "What else does Boss Zhou want?"

"Of course, I want the villagers to help build the entire township industrial park," Zhou Ming said. "By the way, have you heard of pyramid schemes?"

The answer left Wang He stunned. He couldn't keep up with Zhou Ming's thinking and didn't understand what Zhou Ming was really up to. Building a township industrial park? Was he planning to set up a construction site and have the villagers build houses? And pyramid schemes? What was that?

Zhou Ming quickly provided an answer. He asked everyone to quiet down and, since the villagers had already signed the contracts, he said, "Since everyone has signed, you're now part of our factory. I'm going to distribute several hundred yuan in benefits to you. Would you like that?"

"Of course we would!" everyone answered without hesitation.

"But you know I'm a capitalist, and capitalist money isn't given out for nothing. I need you to do me a favor," Zhou Ming said.

"No problem! Boss Zhou, just tell us what you need!" the villagers responded.

Zhou Ming gestured for silence and continued, "The favor isn't difficult. You all know that Factory 760 is the core of the township industrial park. To establish this park, we need more people and more villages to join in. Only a large-scale industrial park can truly be called an industrial park!"

"So, Boss Zhou wants us to be recruiters?" someone asked.

Zhou Ming nodded, saying, "That's right. Of course, I won't let you do it for free. For every household you persuade to sign a production agreement with the factory, I'll give you fifty yuan. Persuade two households, and you get one hundred yuan. There's no upper limit. If you can persuade an entire village to sign, the reward can be doubled! Are you in?"

"Sure!" The villagers had no other answer.

"Great. I look forward to your good news. The factory will open a special window for you. Also, the people you persuade should be those with land and from villages around Factory 760."

Once Zhou Ming finished speaking, the villagers of Shenglian scattered excitedly, eager to contact their relatives.

If Wang He could understand Zhou Ming's earlier method of winning people over with money, this new tactic of paying for recruiting was beyond his comprehension.

Offering fifty yuan for each household recruited and one hundred for two households—could money really be used this way?

Zhou Ming noticed Wang He's doubt and said, "Secretary Wang, this is the power of capital. As the saying goes, money makes the world go round. As long as there's money to be made, nothing is impossible. It's just about whether you're willing to think differently. The method I used today, which I call pyramid schemes, is simply giving you money to help me find more people to sign agreements."

"Boss Zhou, you really have a lot of money. Aren't you worried about not being able to pay if too many people come?" Wang He asked.

"Don't worry about that, Secretary Wang. I can't say I'm incredibly rich, but I can afford it. After all, our town has just over ten thousand people. Even if all come, it would be about fifty thousand yuan. Remember, I made five hundred thousand yuan just from selling Eight Treasures Porridge this month. Do you think I can't cover this?" Zhou Ming said, patting Wang He's shoulder. "So, Secretary Wang, many things are simple. As long as you think outside the box, you can make money. Just like when you transformed Shenglian from poverty to having surplus every year. I'm just taking it a step further."

"Boss Zhou, can I join too?" Wang He suddenly asked.

Zhou Ming was momentarily caught off guard but quickly responded, "Of course, Secretary Wang. It's even better if you're the village secretary."

"Great, I want to sign an agreement with the factory too. I want to participate and make money!" Wang He said.

"Alright, I understand," Zhou Ming said with a smile, turning to Su Han and He Qi, shaking his head in surprise. He hadn't expected such a big change from Wang He.

Su Han, having seen even stranger things, was relatively unfazed. He Qi, on the other hand, was stunned and could only give Zhou Ming a thumbs up, saying, "Boss Zhou, you're amazing. This trick is the most incredible thing I've ever seen!"