Chapter 120: What Is Cao Shujie Up To?

After putting down his phone, Cao Shujie said to his wife, “Sister Song is coming over, shall we go?”

“Daddy, I want to go too,” Mengmeng perked up when she saw her parents about to leave. She ran over and clung to her mother, Cheng Xiaolin’s leg, refusing to let go.

Seeing her daughter, Cheng Xiaolin felt a headache coming on and asked, “Your dad and I are going to work. What are you going to do there?”

“I’ll work too,” Mengmeng said with a determined little face.

“Mengmeng, your parents are going to dig holes. Do you want to dig too?” Wang Yuelan, the grandmother, reminded her.

As soon as she finished speaking, Cao Shujie thought to himself that this was trouble. His mother had brought up the wrong topic.

Sure enough, as soon as Mengmeng heard about digging, she quickly ran to her dad, saying, “Daddy, little shovel, bucket, digging sand.”

Wang Yuelan watched her granddaughter’s excitement and realized she had misspoken, but it was too late.

Cao Shujie looked down at Mengmeng, who was clinging to him, and said, “Let go, and I’ll find you a little shovel and bucket.”

“Really?” Mengmeng’s eyes were filled with suspicion, afraid her dad would leave her behind.

Cao Shujie felt a bit helpless, wondering where the basic trust between father and daughter had gone.

“Really!” Cao Shujie simply took Mengmeng’s little hand and led her to find the little shovel and bucket, which were essential tools for digging sand. He couldn’t understand why kids were so obsessed with it, but it certainly kept the vendors selling these tools in business.

Originally, Cao Shujie planned to take his wife on the electric scooter, but with Mengmeng tagging along, it became inconvenient.

Riding an electric tricycle, he brought his wife, daughter, and mother along. They stopped at the foot of the mountain, and Cao Shujie got off, letting his mother take the driver’s seat. “Mom, you go up first. I’ll wait here for Sister Song.”

“How long until she arrives?” Cheng Xiaolin asked casually.

Cao Shujie replied, “Sister Song just called and said she’s almost here. I’ll wait for her at the village entrance.”

“Then I’ll go with you,” Cheng Xiaolin said.

Cao Shujie didn’t mind, but Mengmeng was eager to ‘dig dirt,’ so in the end, Wang Yuelan took her up the mountain on the tricycle, leaving Cao Shujie and his wife to wait for Song Shuli.

It wasn’t long before Song Shuli arrived in a van with ‘Yingke Flowers’ printed on the side.

“Sister Song!”

As soon as she rolled down the window and poked her head out, Cao Shujie waved to her.

Song Shuli parked the van next to Cao Shujie, glanced at him, then at Cheng Xiaolin, and asked, “Brother Cao, is this your wife?”

“Sister Song, you have a good eye. This is my wife,” Cao Shujie introduced proudly.

Hearing his loud introduction, Cheng Xiaolin felt a bit shy and greeted, “Sister Song.”

“Hey!” Song Shuli responded crisply.

She asked, “Brother Cao, how far is your place from here?”

“Just up the eastern mountain. Follow the mountain road, and you’ll reach it,” Cao Shujie pointed to the area halfway up the mountain.

“Get in!” Song Shuli invited the couple into the van.

Without hesitation, Cao Shujie took his wife along, and under his guidance, Song Shuli drove up the sloped road to the parking platform.

Before they even got out of the van, Song Shuli exclaimed, “Brother Cao, this is truly a great spot.”

Cao Shujie had heard this compliment many times before and was somewhat immune to it. He smiled and said, “It’s just that there are fewer people, the air is cleaner, but the infrastructure on the mountain is still lacking.”

“Brother Cao, you’re too greedy,” Song Shuli said. “There’s no such thing as perfection.”

“Even if you plant flowers and trees all over, it won’t be perfect,” Song Shuli had figured out Cao Shujie’s plan as soon as she arrived.

Looking around, apart from the orchard in front, the surroundings were barren and monotonous.

“Brother Cao, are you planning to plant various flowers around your orchard?” Song Shuli asked.

Seeing Cao Shujie nod, Song Shuli said, “If that’s the case, you can’t just buy flower seedlings.”

“What do you mean?” Cao Shujie was puzzled.

Song Shuli explained, “I think you should intersperse flower trees with seedlings. It adds variety and depth.”

“Flower trees?” Cao Shujie pondered. He recalled the price list Song Shuli had given him, where flower trees were noted and were much more expensive than seedlings.

However, flower trees were ready-made. Once they survived the transplanting risk, they would thrive and bloom quickly.

Cao Shujie was eager to test the effectiveness of his Nutrient Solution on seedlings. If it worked, buying flower trees might be wasteful, but buying a few for variety seemed like a good idea.

Thinking of this, Cao Shujie nodded, “Sister Song, let’s mix in a few. The rest can grow at their own pace. I’m not in a hurry for them to bloom.”

“Alright then!” Song Shuli said. “I’ll mix in a few, and I’ll make a list for you to review.”

Cao Shujie agreed with her plan.

“Trumpet Creeper can be planted along the path from the base to the top. It climbs,” Song Shuli explained in detail to Cao Shujie and Cheng Xiaolin.

She also discussed Chinese Rose, Peony, Vitex, Mophead Hydrangea, and Clematis.

After she finished, Cheng Xiaolin suddenly asked, “Sister Song, do you have Plum Blossom?”

Song Shuli shook her head regretfully and said, “I don’t have any right now, but if you need them, I can source them from others.”

“However, the price won’t be cheap.”

Hearing this, Cheng Xiaolin smiled and nodded, “Price is not an issue. Sister Song, please get me a few. Once the house renovations are done, I’ll plant them in the yard.”

Song Shuli was always open to such orders.

After their discussion, Song Shuli drafted a list based on their needs. The list clearly detailed the prices and required quantities for various flowers of different sizes.

Cao Shujie and his wife, Cheng Xiaolin, carefully reviewed the entire list. Many of the flower seedlings were not expensive. For instance, peony seedlings, unless they were particularly rare varieties, were priced under 10 yuan each. Chinese rose seedlings were even cheaper, ranging from 0.5 yuan to 2 yuan per plant, depending on the origin. Since they were inexpensive, Cao Shujie ordered a large quantity.

Additionally, he asked Song Shuli to prepare some Chinese rose trees to be planted around the orchard. The price for these wasn’t particularly high either, though it varied significantly depending on the trunk size. Cao Shujie didn’t blindly choose the expensive ones; instead, he opted for those priced under 50 yuan per tree.

After all, he wanted to see if his nutrient solution could better promote their growth. If the experiment succeeded, the most cost-effective approach for him would be to purchase a large quantity of seedlings and young plants, then gradually cultivate them.

If the experiment proved successful and Cao Shujie decided to pursue this venture, he could even buy a large number of seedlings or seeds, use the nutrient solution to cultivate them, and then sell them for a profit.

“Indeed, the future of agricultural planting seems more reliable and promising!” Cao Shujie thought happily to himself.

But this was contingent upon his nutrient solution, developed through painstaking research, having significant growth-promoting value. Otherwise, relying solely on time to yield results would be a pipe dream; it would be better to earn some money honestly.

Excluding the plum blossoms, which were temporarily added and had an uncertain price, the total cost was 14,520 yuan, plus labor fees.

After reviewing the list, Cao Shujie asked, “Sister Song, with labor included, can I give you 20,000 yuan for the lot?”

Song Shuli hesitated; the price was a bit low. At that labor rate, she wouldn’t make much profit.

“Brother Cao, that’s too low. Could you add a bit more?” Song Shuli replied.

“I’m not lying to you; just digging holes for these large trees is quite labor-intensive.” Song Shuli pointed to the Chinese rose trees, mophead hydrangeas, and tree lavender on the list, explaining to Cao Shujie.

After a moment’s thought, Cao Shujie suggested, “How about this: I’ll find people to dig the holes, and you handle the rest, materials and labor, for 20,000 yuan.”

“Deal!” Song Shuli agreed readily.

She planned to hire a few diligent workers, ensuring she could still make a good profit from this deal.

When Song Shuli left, she took a 5,000 yuan deposit with her. Meanwhile, Cao Shujie began looking for people to start digging the holes.

After sending off Song Shuli, Cao Shujie immediately went to find Cao Jiangang, took the key to the Village Committee Office from him, and headed to the brigade headquarters. He planned to use the loudspeaker to make an announcement, as it was the fastest way to find workers in the village.

Watching Cao Shujie treat his home like his own, Cao Jiangang was both amused and exasperated.

“Shujie, come back to see me once you’re done. I need to talk to you about contracting the mountain land,” Cao Jiangang called out.

From afar, Cao Shujie responded, though he was already out of sight.

A few minutes later, the loudspeaker in Cao Family Village blared again, the familiar Beijing opera tones echoing across the village.

Some people busy in their yards couldn’t help but complain upon hearing the opera, “It goes off every few days. Where do they get so much nonsense at the brigade headquarters?”

A few others gathered on the street for a chat, listening to the opera from the loudspeaker. One of them began to grumble, “Doesn’t Cao Jiangang have anything better to do than shout about trivial matters all day?”

“Exactly! He’s over sixty, that old man. He should have stepped down ages ago. Does he plan to hold onto his position until he dies?”

“Watch your words, or he’ll make things difficult for you if he hears about it.”

But the next moment, they fell silent.

The loudspeaker broadcasted Cao Shujie’s voice, “Hello everyone in Cao Family Village, this is Cao Shujie. Please listen carefully. I need 10 people to dig holes and plant trees and flowers in my orchard. It’s 35 yuan for an 8-hour day, for two days. If you’re interested, come directly to the Village Committee to find me. We only need 10 people, no more.”

By setting a clear limit, he avoided a situation where too many people showed up, making it difficult to turn anyone away.

On the street, among the chatting crowd, someone exclaimed, “Oh, it’s not that old fool Cao Jiangang.”

“Cao Juan, if Cao Jiangang hears you say that, you’ll be in trouble!”

“Don’t talk nonsense.” He Guiying, who hadn’t spoken yet, asked, “Have you noticed that Shujie has used the loudspeaker several times recently?”

“Now that you mention it, Guiying, I hadn’t noticed,” Li Xiumei joked. “What do you think about Shujie becoming our Village Party Secretary?”

“Don’t say that. It could cause trouble for Shujie,” Gao Fengting said seriously. This was no laughing matter.

With that, the others dropped the subject.

Meanwhile, Gao Fengting wondered aloud, “Why aren’t you guys going to help Shujie with the work?”

“Why should I dig holes? Let the men do it. They’re always at home drinking or smoking, complaining about having nothing to do.”

…

Cao Shujie hadn’t expected that, unlike usual, people were slow to respond to his call for workers. Most of those who came were older men.

Several of them were people he had to address as ‘uncle’ or ‘elder.’

Fortunately, these men didn’t make things difficult for him. They worked diligently and seriously, completing the task in just two days.

When Cao Shujie called Song Shuli to inform her about this, she was so surprised she didn’t know what to say.

Meanwhile, the entire Cao Family Village was abuzz with the news that Cao Jianguo’s eldest son, Cao Shujie, was up to something unusual again.

Some people said he must have had a screw loose, deciding to plant flowers on the mountain just to make it look prettier.

Others speculated that Cao Shujie had ulterior motives, but he was keeping them well hidden. So far, no one had been able to discern any deeper meaning behind his actions.

A few days later, Song Shuli personally arrived with a team, bringing two truckloads of flower seedlings.

One by one, the seedlings were planted, and the flower trees were buried in their pits.

During the days Song Shuli’s team was working, many of the idle villagers came to watch, curious to see what was happening.

Seeing the workers actually plant each flower tree and seedling, they became even more puzzled.

What was Cao Shujie’s real intention?

Some even asked Song Shuli how much it cost to plant all these flowers.

Song Shuli wouldn’t say, but those in the know estimated it must have cost tens of thousands of yuan.

When this figure was mentioned, many believed it, but it only deepened their confusion.

They wondered if Cao Shujie really had so much money that he could afford to waste it on planting flowers and grass just for fun.

No matter how they thought about it, the whole thing seemed incredible!

(End of chapter)