Chapter 118: Buying a New Ride for Mengmeng

“Uncle, what’s going on with Uncle Hua?” Cao Shujie asked curiously.

He had previously discussed this issue with Cao Jianhua and advised him to avoid venturing into farming without proper knowledge. But Cao Jianhua didn’t listen, and there was nothing Cao Shujie could do.

Later, when Cao Jianhua sought his help, Cao Shujie obliged. For instance, he introduced Chen Xingquan, the owner of Chenzheng Protective Fencing, to Cao Jianhua, allowing him to purchase high-quality wire mesh fences at a very low price.

“Shujie, don’t just talk. Pour yourself a drink, and let’s have a drink together,” Cao Jiangang said, grabbing an empty glass from the long coffee table behind him and placing it nearby.

Cao Shujie obliged, taking the bottle and pouring a full glass for Cao Jiangang before filling his own. He raised his glass to toast with Cao Jiangang.

Cao Jianguo interjected, “Shujie, what’s the rush to drink? Eat something first to line your stomach. Let’s drink and chat slowly.”

Cao Jiangang shared the story of Cao Jianhua’s farming venture with Cao Shujie, helping him understand what had transpired recently.

Cao Jianhua had invested heavily since he started leasing the mountain land for farming. The rent alone was over 50,000 yuan, and he spent nearly 100,000 yuan on wire mesh fences, thanks to the introduction by Cao Shujie, who secured the lowest factory price through his acquaintance, Chen Xingquan.

To make water access easier, Cao Jianhua also hired someone to drill a well on the mountain. However, the area had poor water sources, making the drilling cost slightly higher than what Cao Shujie had experienced, which was understandable.

Thinking about future gains, Cao Jianhua felt these losses were insignificant. But when he started building pigsties and making other miscellaneous investments, the costs quickly exceeded 200,000, then 250,000, and 300,000 yuan.

These expenses were anticipated in his budget, and he didn’t think much of it initially. But as the spending continued, he realized things weren’t as simple as he had imagined. Moreover, he hadn’t even started buying piglets yet, and there were still future expenses for corn, feed, and soybean cakes.

Adding to the pressure, his wife Gao Hong noticed their savings dwindling, and the pig farm showed no signs of hope. She was hesitant to continue.

Faced with this dilemma, Cao Jianhua turned to Cao Jiangang for advice.

“Shujie, what do you think about this situation?” Cao Jiangang asked, holding his glass.

“Honestly, Uncle, I don’t have much to say,” Cao Shujie replied, shaking his head.

The main issue Cao Jianhua faced was insufficient funding and, more importantly, a lack of a comprehensive plan. Cao Shujie had pointed this out when Cao Jianhua first sought his advice.

At that time, Cao Shujie wasn’t bluffing. He had over 1.6 million yuan from selling a house as a safety net, and with the Nutrient Solution at his disposal, he believed in the potential of planting. All other projects stemming from planting were undertaken within controllable limits. He felt confident and wasn’t afraid to take loans.

However, Cao Jianhua lacked awareness of risk management. Taking a loan now would only increase his investment and potentially lead to greater risks later. Was that really a good idea?

“Uncle, what did you tell him?” Cao Shujie asked.

Cao Jiangang stretched and shook his head, “I couldn’t help him.”

Hearing this, Cao Shujie smiled. As expected, the old fox might not have had as high an education, but his insight was spot on.

Then, Cao Jiangang smiled at Cao Shujie and asked, “Shujie, are you still planning to lease mountain land?”

“Why not? Uncle, I have a complete development plan, a budget, and financial backing. I’m not like Uncle Hua,” Cao Shujie replied confidently.

“Considering I’m close with your father, I’ve told you everything I should. If you’re determined to go ahead, I won’t stop you. I believe in your capability,” Cao Jiangang said, raising his glass. “Shujie, let’s drink to your success.”

“Uncle, let’s have a proper drink another day,” Cao Shujie suggested.

But as soon as he spoke, Cao Jiangang teased him, “When are you actually going to start this drinking party?”

“You promised to invite me over once your house was built, but now that it’s almost renovated, I haven’t seen a thing,” Cao Jiangang joked.

Cao Shujie chuckled, “Don’t worry, Uncle. Once the house is finished at the end of this month, I’ll throw a party and make sure to invite you.”

“I’ve been waiting for half a year,” Cao Jiangang said with a stern face.

“This time for sure, Uncle. Just wait and see!” Cao Shujie said, downing the remaining Baijiu in his glass.

“Alright, about leasing the mountain land, you’ll need to follow the procedures. I’ll gather everyone for a meeting this afternoon, then hold a village-wide meeting. Once the process is complete, we’ll go to the town for record-keeping,” Cao Jianhua informed him.

Familiar with the process, Cao Shujie wasn’t in a rush. After chatting with Cao Jiangang for a bit longer, he headed home.

Cao Jianguo was in the yard, fixing a small cart for his granddaughter. Mengmeng had complained that the cart was uncomfortable, so her grandfather was determined to improve it.

When he saw his son coming in, Cao Jianguo didn’t look up and asked, “Shujie, how did it go with your Uncle Jiangang?”

“Hehe!” Cao Shujie replied, “Dad, it went smoothly.”

“Since there’s nothing else, come help me. Mengmeng says the cart is uncomfortable. Can you think of a way to fix it?” Cao Jianguo urged.

Cao Shujie nodded, “Just add a few more layers of padding.”

He took off his jacket, pulled up a small stool, and the two of them began to work on the cart.

Mengmeng, seeing her father return, happily ran over and leaned on his leg, “Daddy, let’s go fishing.”

“The water’s too high right now, we can’t,” Cao Shujie shook his head. It wasn’t the right time yet.

“I won’t.” Mengmeng pouted, glaring at her father, clearly defiant.

After speaking, she used her father’s leg as a pivot, pushing off the ground with her feet and swinging back and forth on Cao Shujie’s leg like a human seesaw, completely absorbed in her play.

Cao Shujie was worried she might fall, so he had to hold her with one hand, which meant he couldn’t help his father with the work.

Cao Jianguo, who centered everything around his granddaughter, said, “You watch Mengmeng. I can handle this myself.”

Seeing the small cart, Mengmeng pointed to her little bottom and said, “Daddy, my bottom hurts.”

“Isn’t your grandfather fixing it for you?” Cao Shujie recalled the first time he took his daughter out with the dog, turning to his father, “Dad, this cart has no suspension, and the material is hard. Just adding a cushion isn’t enough. We need to figure out how to add some suspension, or it’ll still be bumpy over small ditches.”

“How can you add suspension to a few planks of wood?” Cao Jianguo examined the bottom of the cart repeatedly, unable to think of a better solution.

After pondering for a moment, Cao Shujie said, “Dad, what if we find a piece of iron, install a shock absorber on it, and then drill two holes to connect it to the wood?”

“That’s a good idea. Maybe I should go to town and check. The repair shop there should be able to handle it.” Cao Jianguo took this matter seriously.

Cao Shujie quickly waved his hand, “Dad, don’t bother going to town. I’ll check on Taobao later. They should have ready-made ones that look even better than what the town could offer.”

“What is Taobao?” Cao Jianguo looked puzzled.

Even though Taobao had been around since 2003 and had developed for eight years, hosting three Double 11 shopping festivals, and even though Jack Ma’s distinctive face often appeared in the media, it was still an unfamiliar territory for Cao Jianguo, who lived in the countryside.

Cao Shujie understood this and patiently explained to his father, “Dad, when our family needs something, we always go to the market or the mall, right?”

“Right!” Cao Jianguo nodded.

Cao Shujie continued, “Taobao is like a market or mall. You can’t see or touch it, but it sells all those things, sometimes even more than what’s available at the market or mall.”

“Is it reliable online?” Cao Jianguo asked.

This was a tricky question. Cao Shujie knew it was hard to make someone who had never been exposed to a new field trust it quickly.

He patiently explained how it worked to his father.

Cheng Xiaolin came out from the house, heard them talking, and went to get the computer, calling her mother-in-law over. She logged onto Taobao and demonstrated how it worked step-by-step.

This made everything much clearer.

Cao Jianguo and Wang Yuelan found it fascinating. Wang Yuelan remembered something and asked her daughter-in-law, “Linlin, that dress you bought for me that I picked up from the post office, was it bought from here?”

“Yes, Mom, it was bought from here,” Cheng Xiaolin nodded. “Once we choose, the seller sends it to us by courier.”

“That really is convenient,” Wang Yuelan said.

Cao Jianguo had a different thought. He asked his son, “If others can sell things here, can’t we sell things on it too?”

“Dad, what do you want to sell?” Cao Shujie asked.

He never expected his father to catch on so quickly and immediately think of selling things.

“Can you sell anything?” Cao Jianguo pressed.

Cao Shujie nodded, “Dad, you can sell almost anything here.”

“Look…” Cao Shujie moved the cursor on the laptop, scrolling through the menu, “Dad, look here, clothes, shoes, food, drinks, even toys.”

“So comprehensive.” Cao Jianguo was amazed. “How come I never knew about this before?”

Wang Yuelan chimed in, “There are plenty of things you don’t know. This is just the tip of the iceberg.”

Cao Jianguo wanted to retort but swallowed his words when he saw his wife glaring at him.

Looking down at the small cart they were trying to improve, Cao Jianguo asked, “Does Taobao have this?”

“It should, right?” Cao Shujie replied.

“It’s either there or it’s not. What do you mean ‘should’?” Cao Jianguo vented his frustration with his son.

Seeing his son still not moving, he glared, “Why aren’t you looking it up? Why are you just standing there?”

“Do I have to teach you such a simple thing?”

Cheng Xiaolin watched her father-in-law scold her husband, amused.

Honestly!

In this family, it’s always her husband who gets the short end of the stick!

Cao Shujie didn’t argue with his father. He typed ‘small cart’ into the search bar, but only skateboard results came up, indicating a wrong search.

Thinking for a moment, he then typed ‘children’s wagon,’ and this time, he found what he was looking for, with various options available.

There were even imported ones from abroad, according to the store descriptions.

Cao Jianguo looked at the beautiful pictures on the webpage and then at the simple wooden cart he and his son had assembled. It seemed too basic, poorly finished, and not as attractive. The more he looked, the less satisfied he felt.

“There are so many here. If I had known, I wouldn’t have wasted the effort,” Cao Jianguo complained.

He said, “Shujie, find a good one for Mengmeng. I’ll pay for it.”

What else could Cao Shujie say? He finally found a cart with a suspension system that could also play music and placed the order.

This thing cost over 400 yuan, but Cao Jianguo didn’t hesitate. He even insisted his wife get the money to give to his son, but Cao Shujie and Cheng Xiaolin stopped him.

Setting this matter aside, Cao Jianguo was still pondering Taobao. After dinner, he pulled his son, Cao Shujie, aside to chat outside. He asked, “Can we sell our fruits on this platform too?”

“Of course, but there are many issues. It’s not as easy as it seems,” Cao Shujie said.

Cao Jianguo was unconvinced. He asked, “What are you saying? There are always issues no matter where you sell. Tell me what difficulties there are in selling here. I want to hear it.”

Cao Shujie seriously explained, “Dad, do you know why people buy things online?”

Cao Jianguo felt like giving his son a smack, “If you hadn’t mentioned Taobao today, I wouldn’t even know about it. What could I say? If you keep talking nonsense, I’ll really give you a smack.”

Cao Shujie chuckled and said, “Dad, most people buy online because it’s cheap and convenient.”

“If you sell it too expensive, people won’t buy much. Plus, with things like fruits that you can’t see or touch, they’re hard to preserve and can easily get damaged during shipping. It’s quite troublesome to handle.”

After listening to his son, Cao Jianguo pondered for a few minutes before shaking his head and saying, “No, Shujie, I don’t think what you mentioned is a problem.”

“I just checked too. The website sells items for hundreds or even thousands. Are our fruits really that expensive?”

“Besides, if they go bad, we can just replace them. What’s the big deal?”

Cao Shujie gave his dad a thumbs-up.

“Dad, do you want to give it a try?” Cao Shujie asked.

Cao Jianguo shook his head. “I’m just curious, that’s all. Besides, you’ve already sold out all those kiwi fruits. Even if we wanted to sell more, there’s nothing left.”

“I’m thinking this could be a potential avenue. If sales slow down in the future, maybe we can move some stock here.” Cao Jianguo was showing a bit of foresight.

Cao Shujie admired this about his father.

“It’s not impossible, but the volume has to be large,” Cao Shujie said.

Selling in small amounts and then running out of stock would be a joke.

Hearing his son’s words, Cao Jianguo gave him a glare. “If we’re going to sell, it has to be in large quantities. Why go through all this trouble for just a little bit?”

Cao Shujie fell silent.

(End of Chapter)