Chapter 152: This Is Just the Appetizer

Thinking of this, Ma Wenqian felt that all her efforts over the years were still worth it.

However, it was clear that Cao Shuchao wasn’t that perceptive. He didn’t notice the change in his wife’s expression, nor did he know what she was thinking.

He continued, “I didn’t expect Shujie to pay me at the end of the month, but according to what he told me today, unless something unexpected happens, I should be getting paid at the end of each month from now on.”

“I don’t have any other skills, so I’ll just work hard, do more work, and if that’s not enough, I’ll arrive earlier and leave later.”

“That way, by the end of the year, we’ll have two months’ worth of money. During the New Year, we can buy more supplies, get you a new dress, and have a proper celebration. What do you think?”

“Sure, sure!” Ma Wenqian responded repeatedly.

She was usually quite talkative, but now she didn’t know what to say. She was a bit emotional, her eyes turning red.

For the first time, Ma Wenqian felt that her husband wasn’t entirely useless. He could support this family.

Seeing this, Cao Shuchao reached over and wiped the corners of his wife’s eyes, smiling warmly. “Why are you crying? If I did something wrong, just tell me!”

“You didn’t do anything wrong. It’s just that I used to think you were useless, that you couldn’t earn money, and I always looked down on you…” Ma Wenqian felt somewhat ashamed and didn’t know what else to say.

Hearing his wife’s words, Cao Shuchao waved his hand. “Hey, I thought it was something serious. It’s true I can’t earn big money…”

Just as he was about to say more, he glanced up at the quartz clock on the wall and saw it was almost 1 o’clock. He panicked, “Oh no, it’s almost time. I need to hurry to the orchard.”

After saying this, he rushed out in a flurry, wishing he could grow wings and fly there.

Seeing him like that, Ma Wenqian couldn’t help but laugh.

…

The winter mountains had little aesthetic appeal.

If it weren’t for Cao Shujie asking Song Shuli to plant holly, there wouldn’t even be a hint of green on the mountains now.

Looking around, all you could see were lonely tree trunks and branches, silently enduring the cold, slowly building up their reserves, waiting to bloom again next year.

As winter set in, the mountains became even colder. People couldn’t stay up there for long without feeling uncomfortable.

Cao Shujie contacted Cao Zhenggang again and had him choose a flat spot in the orchard to build a house using a steel frame and color steel plates. In just a few days, the house was completed and put to use.

Cao Shujie then went to town to buy an air conditioner from an appliance store. Turning on the heat, a gentle warm breeze blew out, finally allowing them to warm up.

From that day on, they no longer had to stand in the cold wind after finishing their work, without any shelter from the wind or rain.

Right now, Cao Shujie, Cao Jianguo, and Cao Shuchao were resting in the small house, casually chatting as they looked at the gloomy sky outside.

“The weather forecast says it’s going to snow soon. It seems like it’s really going to happen this time,” Cao Jianguo said.

He muttered, “It’s been a dry year. If it doesn’t snow soon, the wheat seedlings in the fields will be done for.”

But Cao Shujie shook his head. The weather forecast had been saying ‘snow is coming soon’ since the beginning of last month, but over a month had passed, and not a single snowflake had been seen.

Looking at the sky, Cao Shuchao honestly hoped it wouldn’t snow.

In his mind, if it really snowed, wouldn’t they have to stop working?

If they couldn’t work, they couldn’t earn money. For him, the money in hand was what mattered most.

The three of them sat in the small house, enjoying the warmth from the air conditioner and sipping hot water. Once they felt warm enough, they headed back outside.

Cao Jianguo added, “Shujie, when you have time, buy a stove for the house. It’ll keep us warm, and we can also boil water and cook some food.”

This was a good idea, and even Cao Shuchao nodded in agreement. “Uncle Jianguo, I think that’s a good idea.”

“Alright,” Cao Shujie agreed.

Unconsciously, they arrived at the breeding area. Seeing the 50 cows eating their feed, Cao Shujie felt satisfied.

It had been four months since they bought them from Cui Jingguo. Since coming to Cao Shujie’s place, they had been provided with plenty of hay and high-quality feed, and their weight had doubled compared to when they first arrived.

Following this trend, they could consider selling them next summer or autumn.

“Good, very good. This year is just the appetizer. Next year will be the real harvest,” Cao Shujie thought to himself, feeling that life was getting better and more promising.

Compared to the busy yet aimless life he had in Beijing, Cao Shujie felt that he was truly living now.

As he was lost in these pleasant thoughts, Cao Jianguo called out to him, “Shujie, let’s go check the cattle shed. If it really snows, we need to make sure nothing goes wrong.”

With that, he pushed open the small gate in the wire mesh fence and headed straight for the cattle shed.

Cao Shujie and Cao Shuchao followed behind, arriving shortly after.

Looking at the simple cattle shed, Cao Jianguo expressed some concern, “Is this going to hold up?”

Hearing his father’s words, Cao Shujie slapped the H-shaped steel frame beside him. “Dad, don’t worry. Grandpa Zhenggang built the frame with H-shaped steel, and the color steel plates are tightly screwed on top. It’s not going to collapse under heavy snow.”

If this couldn’t hold up, then many factories wouldn’t meet the standards either.

This was no joke.

Cao Jianguo really wanted to kick his son. He said, “Who’s talking about it collapsing? I’m worried about snow getting inside. Who’s talking about anything else?”

Cao Jianguo’s retort left Cao Shujie speechless.

As for the fruit trees, even if it snowed heavily, Cao Jianguo wasn’t worried.

Fruit trees were incredibly resilient.

A cold wind blew, making Cao Jianguo shiver all over. It had been freezing these past few days.

The weather forecast mentioned a cold wave was coming. Thinking about this, Cao Jianguo felt a bit anxious. According to the original plan, his father was supposed to come next Saturday. He wondered if there would be any unexpected changes.

Cao Shujie hadn’t thought about this yet. He went to check the strawberry planting area. Protected by the plastic film and regularly supplied with nutrient solution through drip irrigation, the strawberry seedlings hadn’t shown any abnormalities so far.

Coming down from the mountain, the three of them parted ways at the foot. Cao Jianguo and Cao Shuchao headed south.

Cao Jianguo added, “Shujie, if it snows tonight, I’ll come back to check.”

“I’ll come too,” Cao Shuchao volunteered.

“Dad, Brother Chao, you don’t need to come. If it really snows, I’ll go check,” Cao Shujie said.

The house was nearby, and Cao Shujie was less than 500 meters away from the orchard along the sloping road. It was convenient for him.

“We’ll see,” Cao Jianguo and Cao Shuchao left.

Returning home, Cheng Xiaolin told him, “Shujie, I just saw the weather forecast. It says we’re going to have moderate snow here. Is everything okay in the orchard?”

“Don’t worry, nothing will go wrong,” Cao Shujie said with a smile.

“Alright, let’s eat,” Cheng Xiaolin had already prepared dinner, waiting for Cao Shujie to come back and eat together.

The temperature had been fluctuating a lot recently, and they were worried about Mengmeng catching a cold again. So, they had been keeping her at home these past few days, not letting her go out.

Wang Yuelan would come over every now and then to check on her and play with her for a while.

Seeing her father return, Mengmeng immediately ran over to play with him.

“Daddy, I want to go out and play,” Mengmeng said, looking listless after being cooped up at home for too long.

Cao Shujie chuckled and replied, “Alright, in a couple of days when it gets warmer, I’ll take you to the city for some fun.”

This time, they weren’t even going to the county town but would also visit Yiling City to see his younger sister.

His sister, Cao Huifang, hadn’t returned since leaving for school after the summer break. She occasionally called, but their mother, Wang Yuelan, was still worried.

“Yay!” Mengmeng exclaimed excitedly.

She completely ignored the “in a couple of days” part and immediately ran to her mom, clamoring for her to help her get dressed so they could leave right away.

Cao Shujie was taken aback and repeatedly emphasized, “Mengmeng, we’re not going now. Look, it’s already dark outside. We’ll go later.”

“Oh,” Mengmeng lowered her head in disappointment and walked away, refusing to talk to anyone.

Cheng Xiaolin teased her daughter, “This little rascal is used to being wild. Now that she has to stay quiet for a couple of days, she can’t handle it.”

“It’s fine. In a couple of days, if the weather’s good, I’ll take you all out for a break,” Cao Shujie said.

“Where can we go in such cold weather?” Cheng Xiaolin shook her head. She didn’t want to go out. Staying at home, warm and cozy, was much better.

Cheng Xiaolin felt like she was becoming lazy. Even if she were asked to go to work now, it would probably be difficult.

Indeed, the slow-paced rural life was highly addictive.

Cao Shujie didn’t say much more.

When it was time to sleep that night, Mengmeng kept reminding her dad not to forget to take her out in a couple of days.

Cao Shujie found his daughter’s persistence amusing but also felt a pang of guilt. He had been busy lately and had indeed been spending less time with Mengmeng.

Before going to bed, Cao Shujie deliberately checked the sky. Seeing no snow, he felt relieved.

The next morning, when he woke up, there wasn’t a single snowflake in sight. Cao Shujie started grumbling, “The weather forecast is never accurate.”

Cheng Xiaolin, who had also woken up early, heard her husband’s complaint and retorted, “The weather forecast hasn’t been accurate for years. Don’t you know that?”

“…” Cao Shujie had no response.

While his wife went to cook, Cao Shujie put on thick clothes and prepared to take the dogs out for a walk.

In the sub-zero temperatures, the two German Shepherds were reluctant to move, but Daha and Erha were particularly energetic.

Seeing how lively the third and fourth dogs were, Cao Shujie decided not to take the German Shepherds and instead led Daha and Erha out.

Turning east, they arrived at the Yellow River Dam. The cold wind howled, and Cao Shujie’s hands were so cold he didn’t want to take them out of his pockets.

Few people usually came to the dam, and in this dreadful weather, even fewer were around.

Cao Shujie let Daha and Erha off their leashes, allowing them to run freely.

Normally, Daha and Erha would calm down after running for half an hour, but today they grew more and more excited, seemingly enjoying the cold weather.

Daha and Erha occasionally tilted their heads back and howled at the sky, which puzzled Cao Shujie.

Even if their ancestors had wolf genes and they were supposed to howl at the moon, the moon had already set, and the sun was halfway up. What were they howling at?

Cao Shujie couldn’t understand it, but he didn’t mind watching Daha and Erha’s antics.

Before he knew it, over an hour had passed, and Daha and Erha finally calmed down. They ran back to Cao Shujie, rubbing their heads against his legs, showing increasing affection.

After bringing them home and having breakfast, Cao Shujie went to the orchard to meet his father and Cao Shuchao. He couldn’t help but complain, “Dad, the weather forecast is still wrong.”

Cao Jianguo glanced sideways at his son, too lazy to respond.

Cao Shuchao, standing nearby, said, “I checked the calendar. Tomorrow is the ‘Great Snow’ solar term.”

He was referring to the traditional Chinese solar term, and Cao Shujie knew it too. There were only 15 days left until the winter solstice, and the Spring Festival was just over a month away.

Cao Shujie asked his father, “Dad, did you call Uncle? Are they coming next week?”

Cao Jianguo nodded. “Barring any unexpected issues, they’ll all come next week.”

“Your eldest brother and second brother want to see your orchard,” Cao Jianguo said, feeling proud.

In all of Cao Family Village, few were more capable than his son.

After finishing his tasks, Cao Shujie called Cui Jingguo to discuss buying another batch of calves after the new year.

“Boss Cao, how many do you want to buy this time?” Cui Jingguo had been to Cao Shujie’s place and had some understanding of his financial situation and land.

He had a feeling this might be a big order.

Sure enough, Cao Shujie replied, “Let’s start with 100.”

What a start!

“Alright, I’ll prepare them in advance. When should I deliver them?” Cui Jingguo was straightforward.

Cao Shujie thought for a moment and said, “After the new year. There’s too much to do before then.”

That was understandable. Cui Jingguo also had a lot on his plate. They agreed to contact each other after the new year, exchanged a few blessings, and hung up.

Cao Jianguo, who had overheard the conversation, asked his son after he finished the call, “Shujie, are you sure buying so many is okay?”

“Dad, don’t worry,” Cao Shujie pointed to the 50 cows in the nearby breeding area. “Look over there. They’re all doing fine, aren’t they?”

“By summer, they’ll be ready for market.”

“Then we’ll have time to focus on the new ones.”

That was true.

Cao Shujie then pointed to the over 100 acres of land to the north designated for breeding. “Such a large area can’t stay empty forever.”

“I’ll buy the calves first, and later I’ll get some lambs.”

“As for pigs, I’ll raise fewer of them,” Cao Shujie had his plans.

Seeing that his son wasn’t making impulsive purchases, Cao Jianguo didn’t say anything more.

Cao Shujie had thought the weather forecast would be wrong again, but to his surprise, it started snowing in the afternoon.

Watching the dense snowflakes falling from the sky, Cao Shujie recalled his wife mentioning the night before that the forecast predicted moderate snow. It looked like the snow wouldn’t be light this time!

(End of Chapter)

Translator’s Notes

• Great Snow: The ‘Great Snow’ (大雪, Dàxuě) is the 21st of the 24 solar terms in the traditional Chinese lunisolar calendar, marking a period when snowfall becomes heavier and temperatures drop significantly.