Chapter 132

Wei Sheng, the master of persuasion, gave such a rousing and impassioned speech that the villagers of Huazhi Village were fired up, ready to follow him into battle—or at least into business.

But then—

“What about the money? We want to open farm stays and restaurants too, but where’s the investment going to come from?”

Now, others might not know the answer, but Wei Sheng? This was his bread and butter.

When it came to poverty alleviation and rural development, he was a seasoned pro.

He offered Huazhi Village two suggestions—

The first was the most traditional: let the wealthier households lead the way. Encourage families with better financial standing to take the first step in developing the village’s tourism industry. Once they start making money, others can follow by working for them, gradually saving up and building their own businesses.

The downside? It’s a slow process. And to be blunt, if those who get rich first aren’t willing to share the pie, there’s always the risk that some greedy folks might start scheming—using “partnerships” and other tactics to snatch up land and houses from poorer villagers, squeezing profits out of them in the name of cooperation.

The second method, which many places were already adopting, was for the village collective to establish a cultural tourism investment and development company. This company would then raise funds on behalf of villagers who wanted to start businesses but lacked collateral for bank loans. It was a practical solution for families with no assets to mortgage and no access to formal financing.

To put it simply: let’s say Wei Sheng had fifty thousand yuan in idle funds. If he put it in the bank as a one-year fixed deposit, it would earn maybe fifteen hundred yuan in interest.

But if he invested it in Huazhi Village’s development company, which then lent it to villagers, the return on investment could be several times higher than a bank deposit.

Back when J City was building its new district, there were several rounds of large-scale financing. Grandpa Hu had bought a few million yuan worth of local government bonds. At their peak, the annualized return rate hit a staggering 20%! Of course, that was during the real estate boom, when land sales were through the roof—investing in municipal bonds back then was practically a gold mine.

Thanks to that one investment, Grandpa Hu had secured enough retirement money for the rest of his life without breaking a sweat.

In the end, however, Huazhi Village opted for the seemingly risk-free first option.

The crew of *Nezha Reborn* spent nearly a month filming in Huazhi Village. Just as Wang Qun was about to blow a fuse and drag Wei Sheng back to the studio to resume filming, the outdoor shoot finally wrapped.

During that month, Wu Meiqiong, the newly minted livestreamer, managed—thanks to Wei Sheng’s help—to sell tens of thousands of boxes of Huazhi Village’s specialty: wild blueberries.

Grateful for the villagers’ support, Wu Meiqiong didn’t buy their blueberries at low prices and resell them at a markup. Instead, she made a simple deal: for every box sold, she’d take a three-yuan commission. Even with that modest cut, by the time the entire harvest was sold out, she had earned a whopping 200,000 yuan in commissions alone!

The villagers weren’t fools. Three yuan per box might not sound like much, but when you added up the total—roughly seventy thousand boxes sold, even after accounting for returns and refunds—it was clear she’d made at least 200,000 yuan.

In a tiny fishing village where the average household income was less than 50,000 yuan a year, earning 200,000 in a single month left everyone utterly stunned.

Then, out of nowhere, some nosy busybody went and told Wu Meiqiong’s long-absent husband, Liu Gao’an, about her livestream earnings.

This man hadn’t called his wife in over six months, hadn’t sent a single cent home, and yet that very night, he rushed back to the village.

“What are you doing back here?” Wu Meiqiong glared at the irresponsible man in front of her.

Liu Gao’an grinned shamelessly as he set down his suitcase. “Didn’t you keep asking when I’d be back? I quit my job out there. From now on, I’ll help you with the farm, and you can focus on your livestreaming.”

“Oh, and I heard you just made 200,000? Perfect. Hand it over—I’ll go buy a car. It’ll make it easier to take the kids to school.”

“No need,” Wu Meiqiong said coldly. “Xiao Qing and Xiao Ya live at school during the week. On weekends, they take the bus home just fine.” She stared at her husband, forcing herself to stay calm. She still needed his agreement for what she planned next. “The house is too old. The wiring’s shot, and the air conditioner can’t even run in summer. I want to save up and rebuild it this year. How much money do you have on hand?”

What? She was asking him for money?

Liu Gao’an jumped three feet in the air. “I’ve been busting my ass working outside just to survive! You think I’ve got savings? You’re the one living in my house, eating my food, not paying a cent in rent—and now you’re making big money livestreaming. If you want to build a house, figure it out yourself. I’ve got no money!”

Hearing her husband claim she was “living in his house, eating his food,” Wu Meiqiong’s vision went black with rage. She nearly fainted.

“Liu Gao’an, do you have any shame? What kind of man marries a wife and then complains about feeding and housing her? Even the magpie at the door builds a nest before finding a mate! I gave birth to two daughters for your Liu family! I never asked for riches—just enough to eat and live. And you? Have you ever bought your daughters a single outfit? A single can of formula? I ask you for five hundred yuan a month for living expenses and you won’t even give me that! What kind of man do you think you are, acting like you deserve a wife?”

Years of pent-up anger and pain exploded all at once. Wu Meiqiong’s eyes turned red as she glared at the man in front of her—dressed in trendy clothes, hair slicked with gel. Then she looked down at her own stained, worn-out apron, and a wave of sorrow crashed over her. Her gaze at Liu Gao’an was filled with fury, like she wanted to tear him apart.

Liu Gao’an was startled.

In his memory, his wife had always been soft-spoken, gentle, and timid. When did she turn into this fierce, sharp-tongued woman?

After a brief moment of shock, Liu Gao’an straightened his back the moment he remembered—this was his house, and this land belonged to the Old Liu Family.

“What are you yelling for? Keep it up and I’ll divorce you! Then this house, this land, and even the two girls—don’t even dream of keeping any of it!”

Having said that, Liu Gao’an looked smugly at Wu Meiqiong. So what if you’re capable? You still have to live in my house and farm my land, don’t you?

He knew full well that those two daughters were Wu Meiqiong’s lifeblood. She wouldn’t leave them, wouldn’t leave this home. In the end, she’d have no choice but to listen to him.

Liu Gao’an was no stranger to how much money streamers made these days. What he hadn’t expected was that Wu Meiqiong—a scruffy, unkempt rural woman who hadn’t even finished high school—would actually have what it takes to become an internet celebrity! But that was fine too. Once she started making money—whether it was two hundred thousand or two million—it would all end up in his hands anyway, wouldn’t it?

Just imagining himself lying at home with hundreds of thousands, even millions, rolling in every year made Liu Gao’an soften his tone. He started coaxing Wu Meiqiong in a gentle voice—

“Wife, I know I was wrong before. Please forgive me, okay?”

“I swear! This time I’m back for good. I won’t leave again. I’ll stay here and live a good life with you.”

“You don’t want Xiao Qing and Xiao Ya to grow up being called fatherless, do you?”

That last line hit like a precision strike—blunt and threatening.

“Bullshit! No dad is still better than having a shitty one!” A loud voice cut through the air as Liu Gaomei, Liu Gao’an’s cousin from next door, stormed in. She raised her sturdy arm and gave him a hard shove, sending him stumbling backward.

“Second Sister!” Wu Meiqiong, looking like a child who had just suffered a huge grievance, threw herself into Liu Gaomei’s arms and burst into tears.

Liu Gao’an was livid. He had almost succeeded just now!

“Liu Gaomei, are you out of your damn mind? You’re a divorced woman still shamelessly living at your parents’ house—don’t you feel embarrassed?”

Liu Gaomei was Liu Gao’an’s paternal cousin. She had a younger brother, and her husband had gambled away their house and racked up a mountain of debt. Without hesitation, Liu Gaomei divorced him. No matter how much her in-laws begged, she never looked back. She had been living at her family home ever since, and the village had plenty to say about it.

Clearly, Liu Gao’an hadn’t been completely out of touch with village gossip during his years away. In fact, he seemed to know all the juicy details. But then, why hadn’t he sent a single cent home while his wife and kids were starving, while Wu Meiqiong had been forced to scavenge and sell scrap just to survive? That was the real question.

“I didn’t let my wife and kids starve, so what’s there to be ashamed of? You, on the other hand—your wife asks for living expenses and you give her nothing. Now that you see Meiqiong making money, what? You come running back to cash in? You want to use your family’s survival money to buy a car? You’re the one who’s brought disgrace to the Old Liu Family’s ancestors!”

Liu Gaomei had no intention of saving face for her cousin. Her bond with Wu Meiqiong was far stronger than any loyalty to this lazy, good-for-nothing relative.

She used to think that being divorced and raising a child at her parents’ home was miserable enough. But then she looked at Wu Meiqiong—who had a husband—and realized her life was even worse.

Maybe it was that shared sense of hardship, but the two women had grown close like real sisters. Earlier, when Wei Sheng came looking for Wu Meiqiong, he hadn’t expected to overhear a heated argument between her and her husband. Worried something might happen, and knowing it wasn’t his place to step in, he’d rushed next door to get Liu Gaomei.

He’d thought having a relative present might help calm things down. What he didn’t expect was that the “help” he grabbed turned out to be a great white shark.

Liu Gaomei’s combat prowess was off the charts. She tore into her cousin like a storm, not giving him a shred of dignity.

Wei Sheng couldn’t help but feel a surge of satisfaction. He cleared his throat and called out loudly from the courtyard—

“Meiqiong-jie, are you home? We’ve got a company video meeting! Can you log in now?”

The moment Liu Gao’an’s eyes lit up, Wu Meiqiong felt a chill run down her spine. She didn’t dare hold the meeting at home like usual. She quickly responded and dashed out with her phone.

The three of them made their way to the temporary housing the production crew had rented.

Liu Gaomei, never one to beat around the bush, had barely sat down before she blurted out the question burning in her mind—what exactly was Wu Meiqiong planning to do?

“My cousin’s like a dog that can’t stop eating shit. He’s been lazy and greedy since he was a kid. He was the only son, so the family could’ve sent him to college if he’d just put in the effort. But he wouldn’t. Unlike me—I wanted to study, I was willing to work hard, but the family wouldn’t let me.”

“He’s only being nice to you now because he sees you making money. He’s after your cash, Meiqiong. Don’t let him fool you! That money’s better saved for Xiao Qing and Xiao Ya’s education than wasted on him.”

“I know. I don’t believe a single word he says,” Wu Meiqiong said with a bitter smile. “But you heard him just now. He’s threatening me with the kids. Said if I don’t give him money, he’ll divorce me—and then the girls, since they have his last name, will go with him…”

“Who says having his last name means they have to go with him?” Wei Sheng perked up the moment legal matters came up.

“In our country, custody in divorce cases isn’t decided by surname. If the kids are old enough, the court considers their wishes—who they want to live with. And they also look at which parent is more financially capable of supporting them.”

“Meiqiong-jie, your ability to earn money now is way beyond your husband’s. And let’s not forget, you’ve raised those girls since birth, through thick and thin. You’re the one they’re closest to. If they get to choose, they’ll definitely choose you!”

“Really?” Wu Meiqiong’s eyes lit up with a flicker of hope.

But that flicker faded just as quickly.

“No, I can’t divorce him yet. If I do, I won’t be able to stay in the Liu Family’s house anymore, and I won’t be allowed to farm their land either. Then where would I live with the two kids?”

If she weren’t facing homelessness, would Wu Meiqiong really hesitate to cut ties with that irresponsible man?

If she were on her own, she could get by—whether it was working in a factory or taking a job as someone’s nanny, as long as she was willing to work hard, she’d manage. But with two kids? Xiao Qing and Xiao Ya still had to go to school. Where could she possibly find a place for the three of them to live that didn’t cost money?

“There’s no place to live? Actually, I’ve got a project that might be perfect. I was planning to talk to you about it later, but since this came up, why not now? Meimei, why don’t you listen in too? If it sounds good, the three of us could pool our resources and start this business together,” Wei Sheng said slowly.

The two women—who had long since given up on love and were now laser-focused on making money—immediately lit up, eyes sparkling.

(End of Chapter)