Chapter 44: Daha Bullies With Backing

Upon hearing Cao Shujie say that the orchard on the mountain is also beautiful right now, Ye Beiwen promptly shot Cao Huifang a glare.

Her look seemed to say: “What did you say? What did your brother say?”

She now trusted less and less in anything Cao Huifang said, which made her even more excited about the orchard.

Cao Huifang was puzzled. “Brother, haven’t all the flowers in the orchard already fallen? What’s there to see?”

“Have any of you ever planted fruit trees yourselves?” Cao Shujie asked them.

Everyone shook their heads, even his own sister, Cao Huifang.

Although their family had been growing fruit trees for many years, his sister had never actually planted one herself.

People their age used to think planting fruit trees or working the fields was so boring—they would make every excuse not to go. But now it was different; they were genuinely interested.

“Jie-ge, can we plant one ourselves? What if we mess it up?” Huang Jingmin was both interested and a little apprehensive.

She was afraid of ruining one, and then not knowing how to explain to Cao Huifang.

Cao Shujie said with a smile, “Don’t worry—it just so happens we’re transplanting saplings up there right now. I can arrange for someone experienced to teach you how to plant, and you can experience it firsthand. In a couple of years, when the trees bear fruit, you can come back to pick them.”

With Cao Shujie’s description, a beautiful scene painted itself in everyone’s minds.

“Wow, that sounds awesome,” the outgoing Ye Beiwen said excitedly. She immediately lost interest in the orchard flowers and focused all her attention on the idea of “planting fruit trees.”

But as Cao Huifang listened to her brother, she couldn’t help feeling he was up to something. In her heart, she suspected a hidden agenda.

“Fangfang, why don’t we go have a look now?” she said.

Wang Yuelan stopped them: “The ribs are about to come out of the pot, and I’ve made some other dishes too. Eat first—it’s not too late to go after.”

“Right, let’s eat first,” Cheng Xiaolin agreed. “After we finish, we’ll all go together.”

Mengmeng heard they’d be “planting fruit trees” and chimed in, “Daddy, I want to go too!”

“Of course, you’ll go too.” Cao Shujie patted his daughter’s little head, his eyes full of affection.

Cao Zhenggang’s team had already finished building the house, so there was no need to consider meals for them anymore, which saved a lot of trouble.

After eating, Cao Shujie held Mengmeng’s hand. The father and daughter each led a little husky, strolling slowly toward the orchard on the mountain.

Cheng Xiaolin chatted with her sister-in-law and her four classmates at the back.

Looking at the father and daughter ahead, walking the dogs, Cheng Xiaolin was filled with warmth. She felt that this was just right. She didn’t ask for wealth or status—she only wanted her family to be happy together.

“Daha, slow down!” Mengmeng shouted loudly.

The blue-eyed Daha spotted a half-grown dog by the road, turned, and rushed over. Mengmeng was almost pulled off her feet.

“Owwoo!”

Daha was the one to start the provocation. The other dog, seeing Daha with a group of people behind, stuck to the principle that a wise dog avoids present trouble, ignored Daha completely, turned tail, and ran.

“Owwoo, owwoo!”

Seeing the other dog so afraid, Daha became even more arrogant, barking repeatedly. The larger dog didn’t even look back once—not daring to say a word in protest.

“Daha, you’re amazing!” Mengmeng cheered delightedly.

Cao Shujie teased, “Daha, I realize you’re really an expert at bullying with backing.”

Too bad he was speaking to the wrong party—Daha truly couldn’t understand this time.

Instead, he strutted over to his sibling, Erha, and started bragging as if to say, “Bro, did you see how cool I was? When it’s time to show off, you’d better step up. Otherwise, how will our little owner keep doting on you?”

“Woof, woof… woof, woof!” Erha called out a few times, and the two dog brothers walked along, chatting in their own way.

“Daddy, look, the dogs,” Mengmeng pointed at the pair communicating up ahead, her eyes wide with amusement.

Cao Shujie muttered, “This little rascal really knows how to borrow power for intimidation.”

“Daddy, what are you saying?” Mengmeng didn’t understand.

Cao Shujie shook his head. “Nothing, let’s go. I’ll carry you, and we’ll head up the mountain.”

Without realizing it, they’d reached the base of the mountain.

Ye Beiwen, Huang Jingmin, and the others also saw the unfinished two-story building at the foot of the mountain, but their minds were on planting fruit trees and their excitement left them uninterested in asking about the house for now.

They imagined what it would be like to plant their own fruit trees now, and then harvest fruit in a couple years—the anticipation was thrilling.

As they climbed, they noticed that this little mountain was not fundamentally different from others they had seen.

If there was a difference, it was that other mountains had rocky outcrops exposed, while this one was mostly covered with soil. In addition to fruit trees, many other plants grew on it.

It was early May—temperatures were rising, and wildflowers bloomed everywhere.

Wildflowers on the mountain grew in a somewhat chaotic pattern—a red blossom here, a purple one there, with pinks and whites not far off. The flowers hadn’t been trimmed, so they appeared uneven in height, but this only made the scene feel more natural and harmonious.

Cao Huifang, Deng Miaoshan, and Ye Beiwen immediately noticed people working in the fields and saw Cao Zhenggang’s team installing wire fencing. It felt special somehow.

The most bewildered were Cao Huifang and Deng Miaoshan. The tableau before them was worlds away from what they remembered last time. They exchanged glances, suddenly feeling that everything had changed.

“Brother, how did it change so fast?” Cao Huifang was especially surprised.

Cao Shujie didn’t make much of it and grinned. “Not bad, right? We’ve poured in a few hundred thousand. If we don’t hurry up and get it done, we’ll be left with nothing to eat but the northwest wind.”

No one could find fault with what he said.

Deng Miaoshan, Ye Beiwen, Huang Jingmin, and Xu Fang looked over at the lush orchard next to them. Just as Cao Huifang had said, there wasn’t a single blossom in sight.

But the leaves and vines were a deeper green, and Ye Beiwen and Huang Jingmin, curious, went over for a closer look. They could feel a surge of vitality just from those leaves and vines.

On the vines, they saw lots of tiny buds. Huang Jingmin asked excitedly, “Beiwen, look! Is this what the fruit looks like when it’s tiny? Haha, it’s so cute!”

“It must be,” Ye Beiwen said, equally curious, almost pressing her nose to the vine as she inspected it.

Cao Shujie came over and gave them an explanation.

Deng Miaoshan said, “Jie-ge, can we go plant fruit trees now?”

“Let’s go, I’ll take you to find someone who can teach you,” Cao Shujie responded readily, leading them down to the terraced fields, where they found Gao Fengting.

When they got there, Cao Shujie called out cheerfully, “Auntie, can you teach them how to plant fruit trees?”

Gao Fengting was working. Hearing this, she looked up at Cao Huifang and her friends, evidently delighted. “Fangfang, when did you get back?”

“Auntie, just this morning! My brother picked me up,” Cao Huifang replied, equally happy as she crouched down to chat with Gao Fengting.

She then introduced her four classmates to her.

“Come on, let’s go over there, I’ll teach you,” said Gao Fengting.

For someone with no experience, it’s actually easy to teach—as long as they follow the steps.

That was just the case with Cao Huifang, Deng Miaoshan, and Ye Beiwen. After less than 20 minutes learning from Gao Fengting, they got the hang of it, then asked Cao Shujie for saplings and went to the area he assigned them to plant new fruit trees.

It looked easy and didn’t sound hard, but once they actually did it themselves, they realized how much work it was.

While working, they noticed that everyone going their own way didn’t work—they had to cooperate. Even then, it took them nearly half an hour for each of them to plant two kiwi saplings.

“Here, let me put a tag on for you—write your name and date on it with this permanent marker, then hang it on the tree. That way, it’s marked as yours, and in a few years, you can come back to harvest your fruit.” At this, Cao Shujie spoke with gentle encouragement and enthusiasm. Deng Miaoshan, Ye Beiwen, and the others nodded repeatedly, promising they’d definitely return.

They even said next time they might bring more friends and classmates along.

Xu Fang pointed to the nearby orchard and asked Cao Shujie, “Jie-ge, when do the fruits over there ripen?”

“Around the Mid-Autumn Festival,” Cao Shujie replied. “When the fruit’s ripe, you should come over and try them—or have Fangfang bring some to share. I guarantee this variety is delicious.”

(This chapter ends)