Koan.
It is a small town in the Great Lakes region of northern America, and less than 20 kilometers north of it is Canada.
Although environmental pollution is more serious on the east and west coasts of America, the environment in the northern Great Lakes region is generally good.
Of course, that's referring to now!
If you go back a few decades, the Great Lakes, which the American people were so proud of, were simply stinking ditches that everyone disliked. For this reason, the U.S. federal government spent tens of billions of dollars and more than a decade on their cleanup, only then did the Great Lakes regain their vitality.
"Boss, your farm is really beautiful, and its location is excellent. To the east is Lake Ontario, to the west is Lake Michigan, and to the south is a large forest. It's quite a large area."
Alexander stood in the soybean field, exclaiming in admiration.
A 500-acre farm is indeed not small, roughly 2.03 million square meters.
A football field is only 7,140 square meters.
And Kyle's farm is equivalent to 284 football fields in area.
"The area is indeed not small, especially this large forest, which is completely a good place for hunting. I, Howell, am a true Texan, and I've been hunting in the woods with my grandfather and father since I was a child."
Howell, male, 52 years old, with a big beard, a Texan, currently serves as the manager of Kyle's farm.
"It's not bad."
At this time, John Lasseter, who had come to visit with Kyle, felt the need to speak his mind.
Lasseter looked at the endless soybean fields in front of him and said, "Kyle, the farm you bought is really a bit expensive. I heard you spent 12 million US dollars."
As soon as he finished speaking, everyone around him nodded.
The price is a bit high!
You know, in the western part of America, a 500-acre farm, if calculated according to relatively standard planting area, lake area, pasture area, forest and mountain area, you could pick one for 6 to 8 million US dollars!
If it's just a farm of a few acres, the price would definitely not exceed 300,000 US dollars, or even tens of thousands of US dollars.
If it's in a barren and sparsely populated area, the price would be even lower.
For example, in the Wyoming region of America, a 2000-acre farm would at most not exceed 4 million US dollars in total.
In contrast, the farm in front of Kyle, covering 500 acres, cost 12 million US dollars.
The price difference is not ordinary!
"Kyle, I remember that the overall price of farms in this area shouldn't be high, right? You know, the Great Lakes region is not a good place for developing agriculture, after all, it's too cold here." Lasseter added.
Everyone around him nodded in agreement again.
The temperature in the Great Lakes region is very low during autumn and winter due to ocean currents, monsoons, and high latitude.
Mohe Town, the northernmost town in China,
its latitude is 53.5 degrees North;
and the latitude of Kyle's current farm is also 51.2 degrees North;
It can freeze people to death in winter!
This climate is very unfavorable for plant growth, which is also the reason for the scarcity of farms in the Great Lakes region of America.
"Lasseter, Alexander, I'm not someone who does business at a loss."
Kyle pointed to the distant forest and lake and said, "In addition to the 500-acre farm, that huge forest is also mine, and many of the animals and plants in it are protected species and very rare. If I didn't know some connections, let alone 12 million US dollars, even if I offered 20 million US dollars, the local government might not transfer it."
Upon hearing this, everyone was stunned.
Howell, the big-bearded old man who managed the farm, further explained to them about the rare animals and plants in the forest.
American elk, bears, wolves, and foxes... the lake often has American minks, water monkeys, and beavers.
Occasionally, extremely rare North American bison can also be seen.
"Everyone, you should all know that the Great Lakes region has rich mineral resources. The Appalachian Mountains to the east are America's most important coalfield, with reserves accounting for half of the country. The west and south of Lake Superior are America's most important iron ore producing areas, with reserves accounting for about 80% of the country."
"And Mr. Page's farm also has quite a few coal and iron mines underground, so the price wouldn't be low."
With Howell's introduction, Lasseter, Alexander, and others gained a basic understanding of Kyle's farm.
Many underground mines also mean that there isn't much land suitable for agricultural planting.
However... for Kyle, who now has an astonishing net worth, why would he care about a little agricultural income?
How much soybeans and potatoes can the profit of one movie be worth?!
...
That evening.
Kyle, Lasseter, Alexander, and their group enjoyed a very sumptuous dinner in the main villa on the farm.
Delicious beef, lamb, fish, shrimp, etc., were not bought from outside but produced on their own farm, all natural and pollution-free.
Extremely delicious!
"Boss, I've roughly planned tomorrow's itinerary. Would you like to hear it first?" The big-bearded Howell said.
Kyle nodded: "Yes."
Alexander also chimed in: "We should be able to ride horses tomorrow, I saw quite a few good horses today."
Lasseter also smiled: "I haven't hunted in many years, but tomorrow we can go boating and fishing, which would be great."
The others around them also agreed and began to imagine.
A huge farm with forests, mountains, lakes, swamps... there are simply too many places to play.
Kyle was very satisfied with owning a farm.
Of course, Kyle's favorite was still the island, one of the Bahamas, less than 200 kilometers from New York.
— The "White Pearl" island,
Kyle spent 42 million US dollars for it.
And White Pearl Island has a very pleasant climate, unlike the long and cold winters of the Great Lakes farm; it's almost always spring and summer there.
However, Kyle, with his tight cash flow, currently had no extra money to develop the island.
"No rush, no rush. In a little over a year, it will be 2000. By then, the dot-com bubble will burst, and I'll definitely make a fortune. Will I still be short of money then?"
As for a large toy like an island, not to mention Kyle, anyone in the world would love it.
If White Pearl Island hadn't been undeveloped and unbuilt yet, Kyle would undoubtedly be enjoying the sun, beaches, and bikinis at this moment...
At the same time.
At Pixar Animation, far away in Los Angeles, Steve Jobs, as the boss, was currently giving a speech to everyone, preparing for the upcoming release of "A Bug's Life."
"Huh?"
Jobs had spoken for a long time when he suddenly realized that his right-hand man, John Lasseter, was not there.
"Andrew, why didn't Lasseter come to the meeting today? You know, he and you, Andrew, co-directed the movie "A Bug's Life." Is he sick and taking leave?"
Although Jobs was arrogant, he still cared a lot about his right-hand man, John Lasseter.
Sick?
For a moment, everyone present had strange expressions.
"Boss, Lasseter should be in the Great Lakes region now. He accepted Kyle's invitation to visit his new farm." Andrew whispered.
"…"
At this moment, Jobs was almost driven mad with anger: "It's that bastard Kyle again! Why is he everywhere?!"