Chapter 121: Mengmeng, Who Offended You?

Cao Jianhua, the owner of the North Supermarket in Caojiazhuang, was recently troubled.

He never expected his investment in livestock farming to turn into such a mess.

It was completely different from what he had planned.

He had leased mountain land, installed wire mesh fences, drilled wells, set up automatic irrigation, and built pigsties. These initial preparations alone had cost him nearly 300,000 yuan.

While this amount didn’t completely deplete his savings, it was still a significant blow to his family’s finances.

Cao Jianhua was now hesitant, unsure whether to continue. He couldn’t predict what the future held.

He knew that if he gave up halfway, the money he had invested would be wasted.

However, if he continued to invest, his wife had already tightened the purse strings, and the couple often quarreled about it.

From Gao Hong’s perspective, she had opposed her husband Cao Jianhua’s venture from the start.

When he had invested over 300,000 yuan without seeing any results, Gao Hong drew a line in her mind. To her, throwing more money into it was foolish, and losing everything would be disastrous.

Stopping the losses now would at least leave them with some savings.

Cao Jianhua pondered, “What should I do? Should I apply for a loan in town?”

He had asked the Village Party Secretary, Cao Jiangang, about it. Cao Shujie had secured an interest-free loan from the Rural Commercial Bank in town.

However, Cao Shujie had applied under the guise of agricultural planting. Cao Jianhua found that he could also apply under livestock farming, but the amount granted would be lower.

“Should I apply or not? How much more money will be needed?” Cao Jianhua was at a loss.

He had initially thought that 200,000 to 300,000 yuan would be enough to raise pigs, but he was far from that goal.

At this moment, Cao Jianhua recalled the advice Cao Shujie had given him when he sought his counsel.

The main advice was to avoid rushing into livestock farming without familiarity.

At the time, he thought Cao Shujie was against his farming venture, but now he realized that the advice was genuinely for his benefit.

As Cao Jianhua was racking his brain over this issue, his wife Gao Hong suddenly rushed in excitedly and exclaimed, “Jianhua, have you heard?”

This abrupt question left Cao Jianhua puzzled. “Heard what?”

“Oh, come on, Cao Shujie has spent tens of thousands planting flowers and grass on the barren hills. It’s all over the village, and you didn’t hear about it?” Gao Hong looked at her husband reproachfully.

Cao Jianhua was momentarily stunned before asking, “He’s planting flowers and grass; what’s that got to do with me?”

“How can it not be related? Haven’t you wondered why he’s spending so much money on these things?” Gao Hong asked, surprised.

Cao Jianhua was a bit bewildered by his wife’s words. He hadn’t really thought about it.

Besides, what connection could planting flowers and grass have with orchards and livestock farming?

“Jianhua, think about it. Why do others manage their orchards and livestock so well, but you can’t? There must be a reason,” Gao Hong said.

Cao Jianhua: “…”

What was he supposed to think about?

…

After a busy day, Song Shuli and his team finished planting all the flowers. He took a walk with Cao Shujie and said, “Brother Cao, now that the flowers are planted, you should water them several times starting tomorrow. Once they take root, they’ll be fine. If there are any issues later, just give me a call.”

“If any seedlings die, let me know, and I’ll replace them,” Song Shuli added.

Cao Shujie nodded in agreement.

After seeing off Song Shuli and his team, Cao Shujie looked at the not-so-healthy seedlings. He wasn’t worried and took out the stored nutrient solution, mixed it with water, and began spraying.

This task took Cao Shujie and his father, Cao Jianguo, two full days to complete.

Afterward, both father and son were exhausted.

Cao Jianguo said to his son, “Shujie, there’s automated equipment for watering. Isn’t there any for spraying?”

“Boss Song has so many flowers; they must need spraying too. Why don’t you ask her how they handle it?”

Cao Shujie was momentarily taken aback by his father’s question.

Then he realized he had overlooked this matter and said, “I’ll give her a call and ask.”

“Alright,” Cao Jianguo nodded, counting on his fingers. “You’ve installed an automatic sprinkler system for watering and bought a lawn mower for cutting grass. I think there should be an alternative for spraying too,” Cao Jianguo said.

His father’s logic was sound.

Cao Shujie realized he had indeed overlooked this point and proceeded to call Song Shuli.

Song Shuli initially thought Cao Shujie was calling to report the number of dead seedlings and request replacements.

When Cao Shujie explained his issue, Song Shuli realized she had misunderstood and said, “That’s simple. Just get a drip irrigation system. It’s not expensive and works well.”

As soon as she said it, Song Shuli remembered something and asked, “Brother Cao, I recall you have a sprinkler system in your orchard.”

“Yes, I installed an automatic sprinkler system,” Cao Shujie replied.

Hearing this, Song Shuli said, “In that case, you can have someone modify it into a combined sprinkler and drip irrigation system. It won’t cost much.”

“Is that possible?” Cao Shujie was unfamiliar with this.

Song Shuli laughed and said, “Brother Cao, it’s not complicated. How about this: I’ll introduce you to a factory that specializes in drip irrigation systems. They’re good at modifications too.”

“Sister Song, I’ll trouble you with this,” Cao Shujie said.

“It’s no trouble at all,” Song Shuli gave Cao Shujie a phone number and told him to mention her name when contacting them.

After hanging up, Cao Shujie repeated the name ‘Chen Lei’ and, without hesitation, called the number.

When the person on the other end answered, Cao Shujie asked, “Is this Boss Chen? I’m calling on the recommendation of Sister Song, Song Shuli.”

“It was Sister Song who introduced us. I’m Chen Lei. May I know your name?” Chen Lei appeared quite courteous.

After Cao Shujie introduced himself, he explained his purpose.

When Chen Lei heard that Cao Shujie was consulting about upgrading the sprinkler to drip irrigation systems, he understood the situation. He asked Cao Shujie about the specifics of the current sprinkler setup. After a detailed discussion over the phone, Chen Lei said, “Boss Cao, since you’re introduced by Sister Song, you’re not an outsider. I’ll give you a quote, and if it suits you, I’ll come over.”

Cao Shujie had no objections. Following Chen Lei’s suggestion, they planned to upgrade the orchard’s sprinkler system to integrate both sprinkling and drip irrigation, costing about 350 yuan per mu .

After a brief consideration, Cao Shujie agreed. According to Chen Lei’s quote, the total cost wouldn’t exceed 30,000 yuan.

If this could thoroughly resolve the issue of pesticide application, Cao Shujie felt the 30,000 yuan was worth spending.

After putting his phone away, Cao Jianguo, who was working nearby, asked, “Shujie, is everything sorted?”

“Dad, it shouldn’t be a big problem.” Cao Shujie explained the matter of drip irrigation and sprinklers.

Cao Jianguo kept muttering, “Such a convenient thing, how come I never heard of it before?”

Cao Shujie thought to himself that it wasn’t that his father hadn’t heard of it, but rather he was reluctant to spend the money. He probably believed that manual pesticide application was sufficient and saw no need for additional expenses.

Good things come in pairs.

Cao Shujie felt his luck had been quite good recently.

The kiwi fruit in the orchard had been successfully sold, the transformation of the entire mountain was proceeding in an orderly manner, and now the pesticide application issue was resolved.

Before they even descended the mountain, Cao Jiangang called Cao Shujie. He informed him that the matter of the second mountain land lease had been approved in the village committee meeting, and a village-wide meeting would be held the next day.

This was excellent news for Cao Shujie. It meant he would have more space to realize his ideas.

“Dad, just now Uncle Jiangang called to say that my continued lease of the mountain land was approved by the village committee, and there’s a village meeting tomorrow.” Cao Shujie told his father, Cao Jianguo.

Cao Jianguo was delighted to hear this. “That’s great news.”

When the father and son returned home from the orchard, Wang Yuelan had already prepared dinner and was waiting for them to eat.

As soon as Cheng Xiaolin saw Cao Shujie return, before she could speak, Mengmeng turned around, hugged her father, and shouted, “Daddy, package, car!”

“What do you mean?” Cao Shujie was confused, then heard his wife say, “The little trailer we ordered for Mengmeng a few days ago arrived. I picked it up from town this afternoon. It’s in the box over there. Assemble it for her after dinner.”

“Sure!” Cao Shujie readily agreed.

It was a small matter.

Cao Jianguo noticed the box under the eaves and was curious about what the little trailer looked like, but he didn’t rush to open it. After dinner, the father and son, along with an impatient Mengmeng, went to unbox it.

As the box was opened, a car body wrapped in a plastic bag was revealed.

Cao Jianguo curiously tapped the car body and said, “It’s plastic, but the quality seems good.”

“Why are you fussing so much? Just assemble it,” Wang Yuelan chided him.

Cao Jianguo fell silent.

Cheng Xiaolin stifled her laughter as she watched her husband take out all the parts from the box, check them against the manual, and confirm nothing was missing. They even included a few extra screws as spares.

Mengmeng, already impatient, shouted, “Daddy, hurry up!”

She urged Cao Shujie to assemble it quickly.

“Mengmeng, don’t rush. Daddy will have it ready for you soon.”

The car body, soft high-density elastic foam, shock-absorbing wheels, and the chassis support each had their unique function.

Cao Jianguo couldn’t help but comment, “Shujie, look, their design is more professional. Ours was too simple.”

Cao Shujie didn’t respond. The father and son spent about ten minutes assembling the little car, and Mengmeng was eager to take a ride.

“Daddy, hurry up,” Mengmeng urged.

“Mengmeng, don’t worry. You’ll be in it soon.”

After Cao Shujie double-checked all the connections to ensure there were no safety hazards, he lifted Mengmeng into the little trailer and said, “Sit tight, I’ll pull you around for a bit.”

“Daddy, the puppy,” Mengmeng insisted, wanting the puppy to pull the cart.

Looking at Daha, Erha, and the two German Shepherds outside, Cao Shujie thought, “Why are you so demanding?”

He wanted to help, but Mengmeng wouldn’t let him, so what could he do?

The little trailer, in terms of overall design and product detail, was far superior to their handmade cart.

Mengmeng sat in the little trailer, holding onto the surrounding railings. Daha and Erha pulled the cart with all their might. Afterward, Mengmeng said, “It’s soft, doesn’t hurt my bottom.”

“Alright, tomorrow morning, I’ll take you for a ride in this,” Cao Shujie said.

Hearing this, Mengmeng was excited and insisted on waking up early the next day.

“Shujie, don’t forget about the village meeting tomorrow morning,” Cao Jianguo reminded his son.

“Dad, don’t worry. I won’t forget,” Cao Shujie assured him.

Back in the bedroom, Cheng Xiaolin asked what the village meeting had to do with him.

“I’m leasing some mountain land for farming. The village committee approved it, and tomorrow’s meeting is just a formality,” Cao Shujie said casually.

Hearing this, Cheng Xiaolin didn’t ask further.

The next morning, Cao Shujie got up around five to walk the dogs.

He checked on his daughter, who was sound asleep on the bed.

The night before, she had repeatedly reminded her dad not to forget to wake her up for the morning walk, as she wanted to ride in the new little trailer.

But seeing Mengmeng sleeping so soundly, Cao Shujie decided not to wake her.

With that thought, Cao Shujie dressed, grabbed the leashes, and headed out with the four dogs.

When he returned from walking the dogs, as soon as he stepped through the door, he saw Mengmeng standing at the entrance with the new little trailer he had just bought for her beside her.

Seeing Cao Shujie come in with four dogs, Mengmeng’s face initially lit up with happiness. But then she remembered how her dad hadn’t called her in the morning and had sneaked out, so her expression quickly turned sour.

“Mengmeng, what are you doing?” Cao Shujie asked her.

“Hmph!” Mengmeng huffed, turning her face away. She didn’t want to look at her dad.

Cao Shujie chuckled. “Mengmeng, why are you upset? Tell Daddy who bullied you.”

“Hmph!” Mengmeng huffed again.

“Alright, alright, tell Daddy who bullied you, and I’ll get revenge for you.” While holding onto the four dogs, Cao Shujie crouched down and gently patted his daughter’s back, soothing her with a soft voice.

Perhaps moved by Cao Shujie’s tenderness, Mengmeng turned her face to look at him. “Dad, go away. I don’t like you.”

“…” Cao Shujie was a bit at a loss, feeling like he had somehow offended her.

“Then tell Daddy, why don’t you like me?” Cao Shujie asked seriously.

Then he heard Mengmeng say, “You said you’d take me with you to walk the dogs, but you didn’t call me and just left.”

“You’re just making things up. Anyway, I don’t like you,” Mengmeng said earnestly.

Cao Shujie didn’t know what to say to that.

(End of chapter)