Chapter 25: Daha, Bite Her

After coming out of the Village Committee Courtyard, Wang Yuelan stopped her son: “Shujie, why do you need to invest so much money?”

“Mom, it’s not money for one year, it’s the total contracting fee for 30 years, and there are 78 mu of mountain fields, so it’s not a lot,” Cao Shujie explained to his mother.

Wang Yuelan was not an ignorant woman, but she still felt it was too much.

“This isn’t just the contracting fee, there are many other local expenses. Have you really thought it through?” Wang Yuelan gritted her teeth and said, “If you want to back out but are too embarrassed to say so, I’ll go talk to the people at the Village Committee.”

Cao Shujie didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, but was also deeply moved. His mother truly held nothing back for him.

“Mom, don’t worry, I know what I’m doing,” Cao Shujie emphasized again.

Wang Yuelan rolled her eyes at him: “What do you know? Fruit trees generally don’t yield anything for the first three years, and even if they do in the next two years, the yield won’t be much…”

“Mom, have you forgotten what your son studied?” Cao Shujie patiently explained to his mother.

He said, “Mom, don’t worry, this is what I’m thinking: I’ll start by planting some fruit trees, but I’ll also interplant some seasonal fruits that ripen quickly, like watermelons.”

There was one thing he didn’t tell his mother: as long as he could formulate the complete version of the nutrient solution, and use it in conjunction with other nutrient solutions that optimize the soil, this stuff could not only provide nutrients to the fruit trees, allowing them to grow robustly, but also shorten their growth cycle.

For example, fruit trees that typically start yielding after three years, after adding the nutrient solution, would only need two years.

Moreover, there would be significant changes in fruit quality and yield compared to ordinary planting methods.

…

After Cao Huifang and her classmate Deng Miaoshan returned from outside, as soon as she entered the door, Cao Huifang shouted loudly, “Brother, you’ve contracted a whole mountain! Are you going to be the ‘Mountain King’ in the village from now on?”

“You stinky girl, can’t you speak properly? Your brother contracted mountain fields to grow fruit,” Wang Yuelan scolded her daughter.

But she wasn’t prepared for her granddaughter to say, “I’m the princess!”

“Little doggy, go patrol the mountain,” Mengmeng came over, leading the blue-eyed Daha. She looked quite proud.

However, after seeing her aunt, she still instinctively ran around her.

But how could her short little legs outrun Cao Huifang? In the end, Cao Huifang scooped her up and held her in her arms.

The blue-eyed Daha saw its little owner being “abducted” and became anxious. It raised its dog head and howled ‘woof, woof’ at Cao Huifang. Its dog face was also baring its teeth, looking as if it was ready to duel with Cao Huifang.

“Daha, bite her,” Mengmeng, even though she had fallen into enemy hands, wasn’t timid and even thought of ‘taking them down with her’.

This scene was quickly captured by Deng Miaoshan, who was standing nearby, with her camera. She took more than a dozen photos, thinking that she would carefully select them later and definitely write an article titled ‘How Aunt and Niece Became Enemies, and an Arrogant Husky Aided and Abetted Evil’, to smear a big stain on Cao Huifang’s life trajectory.

How could Cao Huifang be afraid of a mere little husky? Just as she was about to kick away this ignorant dog, who knew a ‘meow’ came from the nearby rooftop. Cao Huifang looked up and saw the Little Wild Cat they fed at home staring at her. Its cat eyes carried a terrifying fierce glint, startling her.

“Huahua, scratch her,” Mengmeng shouted.

As soon as she finished speaking, Mengmeng felt a twist on her bottom. Then she heard her aunt’s voice: “Mengmeng, aren’t you being too arrogant? Don’t forget you’re still in my hands.”

“Mengmeng, come here quickly, don’t mind your aunt,” Wang Yuelan reached out and took her granddaughter from her daughter’s arms.

“Hehe, Grandmother,” Mengmeng hugged Wang Yuelan’s neck and wouldn’t let go.

Seeing Wang Yuelan take Mengmeng away, the blue-eyed Daha also turned and ran, and the Little Wild Cat Huahua on the rooftop also left.

Cao Huifang saw this scene and felt deeply hurt. She grumbled, “I can’t stay in this house anymore, I’m going back to school first thing tomorrow morning.”

“Huifang, we were supposed to go back tomorrow anyway, otherwise we’ll miss evening self-study, and Teacher Wang will take attendance then,” Deng Miaoshan burst that bubble.

“…” Cao Huifang glared at her roommate. What a fair-weather friend!

…

The next morning, a little after five, Wang Yuelan got up and made breakfast. After her daughter Cao Huifang and her classmate Deng Miaoshan had eaten their fill, Wang Yuelan took out another 500 yuan and stuffed it into her daughter’s hand: “Fangfang, don’t be reluctant to eat when you’re at school. Look how thin you’ve become.”

“Mom, I’ve gained 3 jin, okay?” Cao Huifang argued reasonably.

But Wang Yuelan ignored her and told her son, “Shujie, take them both to the long-distance bus station in town. There’s another bus to the city at 7 o’clock.”

“Mom, don’t worry, they’ll definitely make it,” Cao Shujie said with a smile.

After getting into the car, Cao Huifang and her classmate Deng Miaoshan sat in the back. As Cao Shujie drove away, he instinctively glanced at the rearview mirror and saw his mother still standing at the main entrance, watching them.

Just like before, when he would return for holidays and then leave again.

Fortunately, this time he wasn’t leaving.

Upon reaching the temporary stop of Qingshi Town Long-distance Bus Station, he dropped off his sister and her friend. Cao Shujie also told his sister, “Call me when you get to school. Study hard there. If you can pursue postgraduate studies, do it while you’re young. An undergraduate degree is fine now, but it won’t be as sought after in the future.”

Cao Huifang got a headache. She looked at her older brother Cao Shujie: “Brother, why are you even more nagging than Mom?”

The long-distance bus to Yiling City arrived. Cao Shujie gave the conductor 50 yuan in advance, which was just enough: “You two, hurry up and get on.”

Cao Huifang had been carefree just now, but now that it was time to really leave, she felt a little reluctant: “Brother, are you really not going to travel far away anymore?”

“Our parents are getting old, and who knows where you’ll marry off to in the future. Why would I go out?” Cao Shujie said this.

This sentence greatly touched Cao Huifang. She just felt that her older brother had changed into a different person, but there were some things she still couldn’t fully grasp.

…

When Cao Shujie returned home from town, his wife Cheng Xiaolin was already awake and eating breakfast.

Seeing him, she asked, “Shujie, Fangfang has left?”

“Yes, she’s gone. If she didn’t leave, the house would still be in chaos. It’s peaceful now that she’s gone,” Cao Shujie complained.

But Wang Yuelan, who usually found her daughter most annoying, wasn’t on his side this time: “Shujie, what nonsense are you talking about? Your sister is so honest and steady, don’t slander her.”

Cao Shujie rolled his eyes and grumbled inwardly, “When you were annoyed with her, you didn’t say that.”

But he could understand his mother’s feelings and said nothing more.

The Village Committee held a meeting yesterday and approved his contracting of that mountain field. Cao Shujie went today to sign the contract, complete the procedures, and register with the relevant departments, and then pay the contracting fee for the first ten years, totaling 106,149.68 yuan.

After breakfast, Cao Shujie went to the bedroom and took a look. His daughter Mengmeng was still asleep. Saliva from the corner of her mouth flowed down her cheeks and neck, soaking a patch on the pillowcase and bedsheet.

Her nose blew a bubble with each breath, and then the bubble retracted with each inhale.

“…” Cao Shujie felt helpless. He took a tissue and gently wiped his daughter clean.

Coming out of the bedroom, he told his wife and mother, “I’m leaving now, to take care of the procedures.”

“Go ahead, take your time on the road, don’t rush,” Cheng Xiaolin reminded him, “Make sure you have your ID card and bank card, don’t forget them. Call me if anything happens.”

“OK!” Cao Shujie made an “OK” gesture with his right hand, thumb and forefinger joined. He went off to get busy.

(End of this chapter)