Chapter 90 – Inspecting the Territory

Before long, Cheng Xiaolin had already drifted into a deep sleep.

Cao Shujie, however, was still awake. Sitting in the small room outside the bedroom, he worked in front of his computer screen. As he carefully studied the information he had just dug up, pieces of his hazy memories from his previous life began to fall into place, yielding new insights.

“This thing is actually pretty interesting. No wonder people are hyping it up so much,” he muttered under his breath.

After the “hacker attack on the trading platform” incident back in June, the price of Bitcoin had plummeted—from its peak of 198 yuan per coin down to just over 50 yuan now. Looking at the price chart, Cao Shujie judged that it would likely fall even further. The only question was: where would it bottom out? That, he couldn’t say for sure.

“Just wait a few more days. When it drops enough, I’ll buy in,” he calculated to himself.

He knew better than anyone—catching the bottom price was impossible.

In his last life, he’d never actually dabbled in this stuff. His only encounters had been through news reports he’d happened to glance at. For him, this would truly be his first time buying Bitcoin in his entire life.

He went through the transaction process carefully, making sure he understood it clearly. That was when he stumbled upon something interesting.

According to posts on the forums, as recently as June you could still trade Bitcoin through Taobao.

But now, at the start of this month, a domestic BTC trading platform had gone live. All you needed was to register with your real name, open a wallet, fund the account, make a purchase—and that was it. For someone like him, simple enough. After that, all that was left was to stash the coins with a little “faith” and wait to sell high.

As for whether this kind of thing followed regulations—Cao Shujie didn’t give it a second thought.

Before going to bed, he had already signed up for an account. All that remained was to wait for verification. Once that was complete, he could deposit money.

“Sleep!” he told himself, shutting down.

—

In Yiling City, at a garment factory, Cao Huifang was working alongside her classmates Deng Miaoshan, Huang Jingmin, and Zhang Na. The four of them had taken summer jobs there.

At the height of summer, the factory floor felt like a giant steamer.

The workshop they were in was called the “finishing section.” It handled the final touches of garment production—ironing the clothes flat, snipping off stray threads, attaching tags, and bagging them up.

Several large irons filled the air with hot steam, adding sweltering heat to an already suffocating space. On top of that, the clothes reeked of pungent chemical agents after treatment, and clouds of fabric lint floated everywhere. It wasn’t hard to imagine how harsh the working environment was.

Still, the four encouraged each other to push through and soon grew accustomed, sticking it out together.

That afternoon, after work, they washed up in the dorms, changed into fresh clothes, and headed out toward the night market.

“Fangfang, have you called your brother lately? How are those fruit trees we planted during May Day coming along?” Huang Jingmin asked casually as they walked.

Hearing the question, Cao Huifang answered with certainty: “They’re growing really well. My brother said they’ll start bearing fruit in at most three years.”

She at least knew that much.

But when Deng Miaoshan heard her say “three years,” she frowned. “Wait, that’s not what your brother told us. I clearly remember him saying those trees would start producing fruit in two years, tops.”

They were already sophomores now. If the trees wouldn’t bear fruit until three years later, by then they’d have graduated and been working for a year. Some of them might even be married and getting ready to have kids!

“No way. My parents have been growing fruit trees for over twenty years. If anyone knows this stuff, it’s me.”

Huifang spoke with conviction: “New saplings usually take three years to produce fruit. The first year of yield won’t be much. It’s generally only by the fifth year that you get real harvests.”

Hearing that, the other three stopped in their tracks, staring at her. The looks on Deng Miaoshan’s and Huang Jingmin’s faces in particular were full of doubt.

“Really?” Huang Jingmin asked skeptically.

Huifang nodded. “If you don’t believe me, go check on Baidu yourselves.”

So they did—pulling out their phones to search right there.

“Eh, she’s right. But then why did your brother tell us two years? Maybe your family planted a special variety? Some hybrid strain that matures quicker,” Deng Miaoshan speculated.

Huifang had only ever picked up hearsay from her parents, and had never planted anything herself. Hearing Deng’s reasoning, even she started to feel unsure.

Zhang Na, who had never been to Cao Family Village, muttered: “Why are you all arguing about this? If you really want to know for sure, why not just ask Squad Leader Liu for a two-day leave? Go to Fangfang’s house and take a look yourselves.”

She’d said it offhandedly, but Deng Miaoshan and Huang Jingmin immediately thought it sounded like a great idea.

They hadn’t had a break since starting factory work, and were tired anyway. This would be a perfect chance to relax.

Huifang also missed her little niece Mengmeng. Without thinking too much about it, she nodded. “Alright, tomorrow we’ll ask for leave, then head back in a couple of days.”

“Deal. It’s your house we’re going to, so we’ll follow your lead,” Deng agreed. She had already been with Huifang twice before, and felt familiar enough with the place.

Huang Jingmin herself was dying to check on those kiwi trees, to see if they’d fruit before graduation. She was definitely in.

Zhang Na, the one who hadn’t been there before, grew embarrassed. “Maybe you guys should just go. I’ll stay here in the dorm for a couple of days.”

“Nana, come on! We came here together for this summer job. We agreed to stick together—you can’t back out now,” Huang Jingmin objected flatly.

Then she added, with a hint of longing, “Besides, Fangfang’s hometown is beautiful. The scenery’s great—it’s right by the mountains and even borders the Yellow River!”

“You know about the Yellow River, right?” Huang Jingmin’s description painted a vivid picture in her friends’ minds. If not for the lack of formal planning and development, the area could easily pass for a tourist spot.

When they reached the night market, their attention was instantly captured by the stalls—unique trinkets, trendy clothes. Their hearts seemed to linger there, reluctant to move on.

“Nana, what do you think of this shirt? Would it look good on me?” Huang Jingmin held a pale yellow T-shirt against herself.

The shirt was printed with a few stylized English letters across the front—simple, but fashionable enough.

“I don’t think it really suits you. Try that black-and-white one instead,” Zhang Na suggested, pointing at another shirt on the rack.

Taking her advice, Huang Jingmin quickly pulled down a yellow-and-black spliced design. “How about this one?” she asked, holding it up eagerly.

Before Zhang Na could even respond, Deng Miaoshan and Cao Huifang chimed in together, “Jingmin, this dress looks great! Nana really has an eye for style.”

“That’s right, I think this dress suits you even better,” another added.

“Really? Well then, I’ll listen to you all—let’s take this one!” Huang Jingmin was always good at accepting good advice.

…

The next morning, a little after six, Cao Shujie rode his bike up to the orchard in the hills.

Taking advantage of the cool air, he made his rounds to inspect his territory.

Before he was even finished, two phone calls came in. One was from Song Zhichao, who gave him the number of a friend in the livestock business. Song told him to visit when he had time, to see how that friend’s calves were doing.

The other call was from his younger sister, Cao Huifang!

(End of this chapter)