Chapter 158: Mengmeng’s Healing Smile

Cao Shuxin, who ran his own business, was more down-to-earth and asked a straightforward question: “Brother, you must have invested quite a bit here, right? How much income do you make in a year?”

Cao Shujie didn’t hide anything. He pointed around and said, “Brother Xin, it’s hard to say.”

Cao Shuxin thought his cousin might not want to discuss financial matters and was about to change the subject when he saw Cao Shujie raise his hand and gesture around him.

“Brother, just looking at this area in front of us, I’ve leased a total of 78 acres. This year alone, including all the basic investments and seedling costs, I’ve already put in nearly a million yuan.”

After saying that, he pointed to the north and continued, “Over there, there’s another 117 acres of mountainous land with wire mesh fencing, which I’ve also leased. The rent alone is close to 700,000 yuan, and it’s not even officially in use yet. Just these scattered investments have already cost me several hundred thousand yuan. If I add more equipment and supplies later, the total cost will be hard to calculate.”

“…” Cao Shuxin fell silent.

Not just him, but even the eldest brother and the two sisters-in-law who were listening also remained silent.

Uncle Cao Jianlin was also surprised by the scale of investment in what seemed like an unremarkable orchard. He asked his younger brother Cao Jianguo, “Jianguo, I remember your investments weren’t this big back then, were they?”

“Brother, mine was different,” Cao Jianguo replied, pointing to the wire mesh fence around them. “Shujie alone has invested nearly 200,000 yuan just in this fence. He also spent tens of thousands drilling wells in the mountains and over 200,000 yuan on the pipes buried underground. There’s a lot more too. Back then, I didn’t need to do all this.”

Ren Jingjing, the second sister-in-law, also had over ten acres of land in her family, but they grew conventional crops like corn and wheat. They only needed to buy fertilizers and pesticides, nothing compared to the scale of investment Cao Shujie was talking about.

“Brother, your total investment is already over 2 million yuan. You must have made a lot of money during your years in Beijing,” the eldest brother Cao Shubin teased him.

Cao Shujie rubbed his forehead, half-laughing and half-crying, “Brother, what are you thinking? After leasing these two plots of land, I took out a loan of over 3 million yuan just to keep things running. I have to pay it all back in three years.”

It wasn’t true that he felt no pressure at all.

When they heard that Cao Shujie had taken out a loan of over 3 million yuan, which had to be fully repaid in three years, Zhang Yi and Ren Jingjing, the two sisters-in-law, immediately felt the weight of that pressure.

They both had mortgages at home, but only around 200,000 to 300,000 yuan. They used to think that was a lot, but compared to their cousin’s loan, it seemed like nothing.

Cao Shubin wasn’t just intimidated by the number. He became even more curious about one thing: “Brother, with such a huge investment, how much can you earn in a year? Can you recoup your investment?”

Cao Shujie shook his head, “It’s hard to say.”

“Brother, look at those kiwi fruit saplings and apple saplings over there. They were just planted this year and won’t bear fruit until next year. That means these fruit trees won’t generate any income for at least two years. But by the year after next, earning enough to repay the loan shouldn’t be a problem.”

“As for the strawberry garden, if nothing goes wrong, it should fetch a good price next spring. There’s also the kiwi fruit from the old orchard,” Cao Shujie was saying when he suddenly heard a “mooing” sound. It was Cao Shuchao feeding the cows, causing the dozen or so cows to start calling impatiently.

He then turned to the north and pointed, telling his eldest and second brothers, “And over there, I’m raising 50 cows. Coincidentally, beef prices have been rising steadily in the second half of this year. I’m thinking they should fetch a good price next year.”

When Cao Shubin and Cao Shuxin saw Cao Shuchao, they had a lively chat with him.

It was only then that Cao Shubin learned his cousin had also hired a long-term employee. From every angle, it was clear that his cousin was serious about long-term development.

…

As they came down from the mountain, they were still discussing what they had seen and heard in the orchard.

None of them had expected that such an unremarkable-looking orchard would involve such a huge investment.

Before it was even fully operational, their cousin had already poured nearly 2 million yuan into it.

If they hadn’t seen it with their own eyes, they wouldn’t have believed it.

On the other hand, Cao Shubin and Cao Shuxin thought that if they could earn a hundred thousand yuan a year in the countryside, they would also want to leave the somewhat oppressive city life behind and return to the countryside.

But they knew deep down that even if they returned, they wouldn’t be able to achieve what their cousin had done.

The eldest and second sisters-in-law had never seen the Yellow River frozen over, so they wanted to go to the dam to take a look.

Since Cao Shujie and the others had been drinking, driving was out of the question. Besides, it wasn’t far, so they ended up walking there.

Cao Zhenghu had spent his entire life by the Yellow River, even earning a living by ferrying boats on it in his early years to support his family. He wasn’t interested in going and went home to rest instead.

Having only been at the eldest brother’s house for a year, Cao Zhenghu couldn’t understand how the second brother’s family had undergone such a significant change.

When he returned home and stepped inside, Cao Zhenghu immediately noticed something different. He said, “The sun is almost down, but why is it warmer inside than it was this morning?”

“Dad, we have our own heating system. When the sun was strong this morning, we didn’t turn it on,” Cao Jianguo explained as he led his father and eldest brother to the small room where the heating boiler was installed. He pointed to the boiler inside and said, “When the sun isn’t strong, Shujie keeps the boiler running all day, so the house stays warm.”

At that moment, Cao Jianguo simply wanted to share everything his son had done with his father and eldest brother.

When Cao Shujie and the others returned from the Yellow River, Cao Jianlin looked at his nephew, feeling so impressed that he didn’t know how to praise him.

After walking to the Yellow River and back, the eldest sister-in-law Zhang Yi and the second sister-in-law Ren Jingjing felt tired and wanted to rest for a while.

Even Cao Yichuan and Cao Yixin, who were usually so lively, were exhausted and listless.

Since dinner was still some time away, Cheng Xiaolin led them upstairs to rest for a while.

As they walked, she told the two sisters-in-law, “Sisters, the house was just renovated not long ago, and the beds and bedding were bought recently from the home furnishing mall in downtown Yiling City. There might still be a bit of a smell that hasn’t completely dissipated.”

“Oh, we’re really causing you trouble,” the eldest sister-in-law Zhang Yi said apologetically.

Cheng Xiaolin waved her hand and said, “It’s fine. We’re all family. Why are you being so polite?”

Seeing the two nephews following behind, Cheng Xiaolin asked them, “Yichuan, Yixin, you two can also find a room and stay on your own tonight.”

This further highlighted the advantage of having many rooms in the house—it was simply convenient.

Even Mengmeng, who was following behind, heard her mother’s words and chimed in, “Mom, I want to stay on my own too.”

Hearing her daughter bring this up, Cheng Xiaolin told her, “Not yet, you’re still too young. Wait a bit longer.”

“No, I’m a big kid now,” Mengmeng insisted firmly.

Seeing Mengmeng widen her eyes and make a fuss, everyone laughed.

After looking through all the rooms, Zhang Yi couldn’t help but feel envious and asked her sister-in-law Cheng Xiaolin, “Linlin, how big is your house?”

“It’s over 300 square meters combined for both floors. I didn’t ask for the exact number,” Cheng Xiaolin replied.

Zhang Yi estimated it had to be around that size.

Moreover, the 300-plus square meters of their home is solid, unlike buying an apartment outside, where there’s at least a 10% or more shared area. If calculated based on 300 square meters, dozens of square meters of shared space would be lost, which is quite a rip-off!

Apart from the master bedroom, the remaining rooms are more or less similar.

Zhang Yi and Ren Jingjing definitely wouldn’t choose the master bedroom, so they ended up selecting two rooms near the north wall, which had heating and weren’t cold.

Cao Yichuan and Cao Yixin, the two brothers, chose one room together and even planned to chat all night.

When Cheng Xiaolin came downstairs with Mengmeng from the second floor, Mengmeng wasn’t happy, saying she was tired and wanted to rest in her bedroom for a while. But Cheng Xiaolin felt that Mengmeng’s intention to cause trouble was more likely.

Downstairs, Cao Zhenghu was sitting in the living room drinking tea. It was clear that his physical condition was quite good. He had been traveling since morning, went to the orchard after lunch, and still didn’t feel tired by now.

Perhaps he knew that his eldest son and two grandsons would be leaving tomorrow, so he wanted to take this time to chat with them more?

Cao Shujie was also sitting beside him, watching his grandfather chat with them. It was during this quiet conversation that he learned what his two cousins actually did for work.

According to Cao Shubin, he was a department manager in a foreign-owned factory with a fixed monthly salary of over 10,000 yuan.

The only variation was the year-end profit bonus.

In a good year, he could get around 100,000 to 80,000 yuan, but in a normal year, it was around 40,000 to 50,000 yuan. Additionally, his salary increased every year.

As his eldest cousin put it, as long as the company didn’t encounter major issues, his job was quite good—stable income regardless of circumstances, with the added bonus of a year-end profit bonus that occasionally brought pleasant surprises.

Combined, the two sources of income amounted to around 300,000 yuan. Not only in Anyi City but even among the ordinary class in the province, this was considered doing very well.

As for the 60-plus people he managed in his department, Cao Shubin knew it was just a fancy title with little substance.

In fact, it wasn’t as meaningful as his cousin’s sole employee, which was a completely different matter.

However, Cao Shujie was quite optimistic about his second brother’s business. When he heard his second brother’s complaints, he advised him not to focus solely on short-term gains and losses but to look at the bigger picture.

Taking a loss was just an early lesson and experience. At least the next time he encountered a similar problem, he would consider it more carefully.

Cao Shuxin also understood this principle. He was just upset about being tricked by the previous seller.

As for the money he lost, Cao Shuxin felt the pinch for a while, but with some stable procurement channels now, he would quickly make up for the loss. Cao Shuxin didn’t dwell on it much.

“Shujie, where do you sell your fruits when they’re ripe?” Cao Shubin was still quite curious.

Hearing his cousin say that they were usually picked directly, and that there were specialized dealers who came to buy premium fruits in bulk, Cao Shubin felt that his cousin had really made it.

Cao Shujie also took out the remaining apples for them to taste.

The apples had been stored for almost two months, but they were still juicy and tasted great. The two brothers crunched through two apples, and Cao Shuxin asked, “Shujie, do you have any more apples? Can I take some with me?”

“Second brother, don’t worry,” Cao Shujie assured him.

The remaining 400-plus kilograms were originally intended for personal consumption and sharing with relatives and friends.

By the end of the day, Cao Shubin and the others were quite tired. After dinner, they didn’t chat for long before heading upstairs to rest.

…

The next morning, after breakfast at home, Cao Shubin and the others prepared to leave.

There were still some matters to attend to in Anyi City, and Cao Yichuan and Cao Yixin had a lot of homework left unfinished.

Seeing that he couldn’t persuade them to stay, Cao Shujie informed his mother and began preparing things for his uncle and two cousins to take back.

Flour, cornmeal, noodles, homegrown apples—these pure local products were packed up. Wang Yuelan even added a bag of homegrown vegetables.

Cao Shubin and Cao Shuxin insisted they didn’t want to take them, but Wang Yuelan said, “Take them. We have plenty of food at home, but you have to buy everything outside.”

“Your brother also said he would grow more vegetables, so next year when you come back, you can take even more.”

“Auntie, take care of yourself,” Cao Shubin said.

His father and mother had divorced when he and his brother were very young. In a sense, they were from a single-parent family, with many regrets.

When they were young, it was Auntie Wang Yuelan who made clothes for them and prepared their food and drinks.

Some things might be forgotten, but some feelings would never fade.

As they were about to leave, Uncle Cao Jianlin suddenly walked up to his father, Cao Zhenghu, and without any warning, knelt down and kowtowed three times: “Dad, I’m leaving. I’ll come back to get you next year.”

“Go back. I’m in good health. Don’t just worry about me,” Cao Zhenghu helped his eldest son up from the ground. Cao Shujie noticed that his grandfather’s eyes looked a bit cloudy.

Cao Jianlin stood up and then said to his two sons and grandson, “You all go kowtow to your grandfather and great-grandfather too.”

“Don’t bother with these formalities,” Cao Zhenghu tried to stop them, but Cao Shubin and Cao Shuxin acted quickly, each leading their sons to kowtow.

A few minutes later, the car was already far away, but Cao Zhenghu still stood in place, unwilling to go home for a long time.

Just like when he returned to Beijing after the New Year, and his mother had watched him leave.

Cao Shujie stayed at the door, accompanying him, letting his parents go back first.

“Dad, I’ll stay with Great-Grandpa too,” Mengmeng looked up with her little face, her smile particularly cute and pure.

This heartwarming smile instantly lifted Cao Zhenghu’s spirits.

He bent down to look at Mengmeng and asked, “Little clever one, what do you want to do?”

“Great-Grandpa, I want to play with you,” Mengmeng said.

Being young, she didn’t think too much about her words: “Great-Grandpa, let’s play horse riding.”

Cao Shujie’s face turned dark at the thought. Even if his grandfather was in good shape, he didn’t dare let him bend over for too long. What was Mengmeng thinking!

(End of Chapter)

— Translator’s Notes —

• kowtowed three times: The kowtow involves kneeling and touching one’s forehead to the ground. Performing it three times is a traditional and profound gesture of respect, often reserved for elders, ancestors, or deities. Here, it signifies a son’s deep filial piety and formal farewell to his father.