Chapter 117: Continuing to Lease Mountain Land

There’s no way I can mess up my business in front of my brothers—this is the bottom line!

Cao Tiemin thought to himself.

Cao Shujie was unaware of this. He led four dogs, accompanied by his wife and daughter, as they left their new home. They turned onto the sloped road leading up the mountain to check on the orchard.

The kiwifruit in the old orchard area had all been harvested. Only two mu of apples remained hanging on the branches, emitting a faint apple fragrance reminiscent of childhood.

Compared to other apples that hadn’t been bagged and mostly grew misshapen, the apples on Cao Shujie’s two mu were quite decent in appearance.

Seeing the rosy apples, Cao Shujie felt an urge to take a bite.

Mengmeng followed him and, upon seeing the apples, clung to her father’s leg, bouncing with excitement, wanting to pick one to eat.

“Daddy, give me one,” she said, pointing to a slightly larger apple.

Cao Shujie told her, “Wait a bit longer. They’re not tasty now. In two weeks, they’ll be ready.”

Cheng Xiaolin, curious, asked, “Shujie, is this the difference between bagged and non-bagged apples?”

The bagged apples had entered the market alongside the mass harvest of kiwifruit. Some people had bought them; they looked beautiful but tasted crisp and astringent, lacking aroma and sweetness.

The worst part was that these pretty apples, despite being unpalatable, sold for six to seven yuan per jin , claiming to be premium apples, which naturally made them more expensive—truly infuriating.

Cao Shujie chuckled, “Wife, there’s no point in saying anything now. Just wait two weeks. Once they’re naturally ripe, you won’t need me to tell you if they’re good.”

“Hmph, look at you, so smug. What’s so great about it?” Cheng Xiaolin turned away, leading Mengmeng, who kept glancing back at the apples, toward the new fruit sapling area.

She had already spotted her mother-in-law, wearing a bamboo hat, busy over there.

Mengmeng moved a bit closer and shouted loudly, “Grandmother!”

“Mengmeng, Linlin, why are you here? It’s so hot. I told you to wait at home,” Wang Yuelan said.

“Mom, it’s fine. If you can come, why can’t we?” Cheng Xiaolin joined her mother-in-law, squatting down to work together.

Mengmeng played nearby on her own.

There wasn’t anything sharp on the ground, so there was no real worry about her getting hurt.

“Shujie is back?” Wang Yuelan straightened up, easing her sore back from bending over.

“Yes, he just got back. We went to check on the house renovations together. Brother Min said everything should be done by the end of the month,” Cheng Xiaolin said.

“Then you can move in before the New Year?” Wang Yuelan asked.

“Yes, probably. Shujie and I are planning to look at furniture and appliances in the next few days,” Cheng Xiaolin said, thinking about it. “If everything goes smoothly, we can move in before the Spring Festival.”

“Mom, where’s Dad?” Cao Shujie came over from the orchard, not seeing his father.

Wang Yuelan pointed toward where the calves were being raised. “Your dad went over there to mix feed. Go check on him.”

“Okay!” Cao Shujie nodded and headed in that direction.

As he got closer, he heard the sound of the mixer running.

Pushing open the warehouse door, he saw his father pouring corn, soybean meal, and other ingredients into the mixer. The room was filled with floating dust.

He walked over, not caring about his clothes, picked up a bag of corn from the floor, tore open the bag, and poured it into the mixer. Immediately, a wave of dust shot out from the mixer, covering his hair, face, and clothes.

“Shujie, why are you in such a hurry? You should change into appropriate clothes for work,” Cao Jianguo said, unsure how to address his son.

Cao Shujie hadn’t thought much about it. “Dad, I just got back. I came over without even taking a sip of water. Why didn’t you tell me you were mixing feed today?”

“Do I need to tell you about this kind of work?” Cao Jianguo asked.

Cao Shujie fell silent and continued working.

With Cao Shujie’s help, the father and son worked much faster.

Cao Shujie couldn’t remember how many bags of corn he had poured into the mixer. His hands were sore from holding the heavy bags, and the fertilizer bags had worn away a layer of skin on his fingertips.

He lost track of time, but once Cao Jianguo turned off the mixer, they finally took a break. Only then did Cao Shujie realize his arms and hands were sore and numb, as if they weren’t his own.

“Dad, I’m really worn out. Just this little bit of work, and I’m done for,” Cao Shujie joked.

Hearing this, Cao Jianguo raised his shovel as if to hit him. “Shujie, you’re just lazy. Do more work, and you’ll be fine.”

Cao Shujie ignored his father’s words.

After finishing up, Cao Jianguo brought up a topic. “Shujie, didn’t you say you wanted to lease another piece of mountain land for raising cattle, pigs, and sheep? I think you should lease the adjacent area now. While it’s not busy, hire a few people to turn the soil and plant special pasture grass. Let the pigs, cattle, and sheep graze there. It’ll save you from having to cut grass to feed them. What do you think?”

“Dad, you and I are on the same page,” Cao Shujie replied with a smile.

He continued, “I just visited a flower shop today and also checked out the agricultural machinery store in Qingshi Town. I ordered two lawn mowers, which should arrive in a few days.”

“Why are you buying flowers? Are you planning to grow them?” Cao Jianguo couldn’t understand his son’s thinking.

Concerned for his son, he asked a few more questions to understand the situation.

He was worried that his son might stray further down the path of neglecting his proper duties.

Cao Shujie didn’t think much of it. The father and son walked out of the warehouse together, both covered in dust, their faces and hair gray, but neither cared.

Pointing to a large area of exposed land, Cao Shujie said, “Dad, I plan to plant flowers all over there, all kinds of flowers. Once they bloom, along with the fruit tree blossoms, imagine how beautiful it will be.”

Cao Jianguo wasn’t easily swayed. He asked, “That’ll cost quite a bit, right? Do you think it’s necessary?”

In other words, if it’s not necessary, don’t spend the money. There are plenty of expenses ahead.

Cao Shujie disagreed. He said directly, “Dad, don’t underestimate the flowers and grass I plan to plant.”

“Let me put it this way,” Cao Shujie paused, then continued, “This harvest wasn’t perfect. I suspect many people, even if they find our kiwifruit delicious, won’t want to come back after seeing our environment. Do you believe that?”

Cao Jianguo instinctively wanted to say ‘no,’ but after thinking it over, he realized his son had a point.

Back when they were selling kiwi fruit, many people asked if there were better places nearby when they were weighing the fruit. The implication was clear: they felt the environment at the orchard on the mountain wasn’t good enough. If it weren’t for the opportunity to pick kiwi fruit, they probably wouldn’t have come at all.

Cao Jianguo understood this point and nodded, saying, “Buying it is fine too.”

“When should we plant flowers? I’ve never planted them before. Should we find a few more people?” Cao Jianguo asked.

Cao Shujie shook his head. “Dad, no need to find anyone. They’ll handle it themselves when the time comes.”

“That’s good, saves us some money,” Cao Jianguo said happily.

But then his son added, “Dad, you’re overthinking it. I’m still paying for it; it’s just that they’re sending professionals over.”

“That’s still better than hiring people from the village who don’t know anything. If they mess it up, the money would be wasted,” Cao Jianguo replied.

Indeed, some expenses are necessary, but they shouldn’t be wasted.

By the time they finished these tasks, it was nearly dark.

For the next few days, Cao Shujie and his father, Cao Jianguo, were busy in the orchard. They hired ten people at a rate of 35 yuan for eight hours to clear all the grass in the orchard. The grass was piled up to feed the calves, and with one glance, the area around the saplings looked much better.

When Cao Shujie went to Cao Jiangang’s house with two bottles of wine, he found him drinking alone. Puzzled, he asked, “Uncle Jiangang, what are you doing? Drinking should be done with company; drinking alone can be bad for your health.”

“Oh, Shujie, can you read faces now?” Cao Jiangang, not yet drunk, asked.

Cao Shujie shook his head and laughed. “Uncle Jiangang, to be honest, I’m not good at drinking, but I’m excellent at pouring.”

“You rascal, always up to something,” Cao Jiangang said, pointing at him and laughing heartily.

Truth be told, Cao Shujie had become quite a figure in Cao Family Village, something even Cao Jiangang hadn’t anticipated happening so quickly.

“Shujie, sit down,” Cao Jiangang said, waving him over.

“What brings you here today? Are you planning to use the loudspeaker at the Village Committee, or is it something else?” Cao Jiangang asked with a knowing look.

This amused Cao Shujie.

“Uncle Jiangang, to be honest, I’m thinking of renting the land next to my mountain plot for farming,” Cao Shujie said straightforwardly.

It was clear that this surprised Cao Jiangang. He asked, “You really want to lease that area?”

“Shujie, I think focusing on the orchard is better than anything else. Farming is tough, and if it doesn’t work out, you could lose a lot,” Cao Jiangang shook his head.

This puzzled Cao Shujie, and he asked instinctively, “Uncle Jiangang, did something happen?”

“Ah, I didn’t expect your Uncle Hua to run into trouble so soon,” Cao Jiangang said, looking a bit weary. He took a small sip from his glass and continued, “It’s a coincidence; if you had come two hours earlier, you would have bumped into your Uncle Hua.”

“What was he doing here?” Cao Shujie asked, not understanding.

Ever since Cao Jianhua rented the southern mountain plot for farming, Cao Shujie hadn’t paid attention to the situation there.

Seeing Cao Shujie’s curiosity, Cao Jiangang’s expression turned complicated, and he sighed, “Your Uncle Hua was too hasty. He expanded too quickly without a solid plan, and now he’s facing a financial crunch.”

This explanation left Cao Shujie speechless, unsure of what to say.