Chapter 132: One Man, Four Dogs

A man was walking four dogs along the north-south street of Cao Family Village, heading towards the mountain at the northern end. Along the way, he encountered a few villagers who initially wanted to greet Cao Shujie and chat for a bit. However, upon seeing Daha and Erha with their heads held high, exuding a dangerous aura, the villagers quickly stepped back to maintain a safe distance from Cao Shujie.

“Owooo!” Daha let out its signature howl as the ‘enemies’ retreated, seemingly boasting of its victory.

Erha joined in with a few howls of its own, standing on its hind legs and flailing its front paws in the air, then hopping forward as if dancing.

The two three-month-old German Shepherds were not exactly small puppies anymore.

Dahei weighed over 30 jin , while Xiaohei was slightly lighter at over 28 jin. Both brothers stood 40 centimeters tall, just a fist’s height shorter than the two Huskies.

In terms of appearance alone, the two German Shepherds looked more fierce and robust.

Though they couldn’t mimic the antics of Daha and Erha, when they stood beside Cao Shujie, no one dared to approach him.

“Shujie, why do you have four such big dogs?” Lu Jiakun asked.

Seeing all four dogs looking at him, Lu Jiakun was so frightened he wanted to run home and shut the door, but he forced himself to say, “What are you looking at, you mutts? Look again and I’ll smash you.”

Cao Shujie saw him and, without revealing his fear, greeted him with a smile, calling him uncle.

In terms of relationships, Lu Jiakun was the uncle of Cao Shujie’s childhood friend, Cao Shulun.

In Cao Family Village, connections were that close.

Walking from south to north, while not everyone was a relative, more than half were considered ‘one of their own.’

“Uncle, there’s construction going on up the mountain. I’ll go check it out first,” Cao Shujie said.

Lu Jiakun quickly waved him off, as if shooing him away. “Shujie, you better go quickly. Next time, don’t bring these four. They look terrifying.”

“Alright,” Cao Shujie agreed.

He didn’t bother saying the dogs ‘don’t bite.’ If they didn’t, he wouldn’t have them.

In fact, Cao Shujie wasn’t satisfied with just these four dogs.

Once the newly contracted 117 mu of mountain land was fully developed, he planned to plant pasture and raise pigs, cattle, and sheep. Combined, these would cover over 200 mu. Patrolling such a large area would take a long time, and Cao Shujie couldn’t guarantee there wouldn’t be any incidents. A few fierce dogs were his last line of defense.

He was considering getting more if the opportunity arose.

…

Upon reaching the mountain, Cao Shujie immediately saw Chen Lei’s team still installing the Drip Irrigation system in the first phase.

After all the hard work recently, the transformation project was nearing completion.

Seeing Cao Shujie approach, Lu Beihai, the technician overseeing the project, nodded and greeted him politely.

“Boss Cao, you’re here,” Lu Beihai said with a smile.

Cao Shujie nodded and asked, “Engineer Lu, how’s it going?”

If it weren’t for the rain delay, the project would have been completed by now.

Lu Beihai pointed to a section in the southwest corner and said, “Just that part left. Once it’s done, we’re finished.”

“Then Boss Cao can start the machine to test the effect.”

“Alright, call me when you’re done,” Cao Shujie replied.

Instead of entering the orchard, Cao Shujie walked along the path outside the wire mesh fence towards the north.

As he passed the old orchard, a stronger scent of apples wafted over, making him swallow involuntarily.

He reminded himself, “Check the construction first, then come back for a few apples to take home.”

The four dogs pulled him forward. As they rounded the wire mesh fence, Cao Shujie saw a new row of fences being erected to the north.

Cao Zhenggang was leading his team of eight, diligently installing these barriers.

Seeing Cao Shujie approach, Cao Zhenggang let the others continue working and walked over to speak with him. “Shujie, how does this installation look to you?”

Following his gaze, the fence aligned perfectly with the concrete pillars. Cao Zhenggang, an experienced contractor, had no issues with this task.

“Grandpa Zhenggang, I think it looks great. By the way, I have another matter,” Cao Shujie said, pulling Cao Zhenggang along to a specific area. “That area is hardened; it’s for building a cattle shed.”

“You want to harden such a large area?” Cao Zhenggang questioned, thinking it unnecessary. “You could make it smaller, just enough for the cattle to rest temporarily.”

Cao Shujie didn’t take his advice, sticking to his own plan.

In reality, the area wasn’t that large according to his layout.

Xia Changhong also had people stationed here to oversee the construction. Cao Shujie was now a major client, and Xia Changhong didn’t want to lose him.

After making a round on the mountain with the four dogs, Cao Shujie descended from the other side along a newly compacted slope.

This was prepared by Tian Xinhua’s team, who specialized in road and bridge engineering. They compacted the ground first before paving the road.

The layout was almost identical to the south side, with a sloped road leading from the mountainside to the foot of the mountain. A large turning platform was also planned midway for vehicles to turn around.

Additionally, the northern road was over a meter wider than the southern one, reaching 4.5 meters, allowing two vehicles to pass each other comfortably.

When Tian Xinhua saw Cao Shujie, he instinctively tossed him a cigarette, only to remember that Cao Shujie no longer smoked. As he considered retrieving it, he noticed Cao Shujie had already tucked it behind his ear, indicating he accepted it.

Tian Xinhua stomped on the freshly paved road and said, “Boss Cao, how’s the quality of this road?”

“Can cars drive on it now?” Cao Shujie asked.

Tian Xinhua shook his head immediately. “Electric bikes and tricycles are fine, but not cars yet.”

“How long before cars can drive on it?” Cao Shujie pointed to over 20 people turning the soil and said, “I want to replace them with bulldozers soon to speed things up.”

“That’ll take about a week,” Tian Xinhua replied.

When Cao Shujie heard the time frame, he nodded and said, “That’s fine, it’s not too long.”

However, there wasn’t much ground left to clear. Cao Shujie suspected that the 117 mu of mountain land would be sorted out well before a week. If the work progressed faster, they might not even need a week to finish, and the construction vehicles would no longer be necessary.

After walking around the mountain with his four dogs, Cao Shujie headed home.

Passing by the Old Orchard area, he picked a few apples to take with him.

He was still pondering whether to call the clients who had previously come to pick kiwi fruit. But with only two mu of apples, it seemed there wouldn’t be enough to go around.

Who to call and who not to call became a bit of a conundrum.

While these thoughts clashed in his mind, Cao Shujie had already returned home with the apples.

As soon as he entered the door, he called out, “Mom, I’m back.”

“You’re back, so why all the noise?” Wang Yuelan couldn’t be bothered to scold her son. When her gaze fell on the apples in his hands, she was puzzled. “Why are you carrying apples?”

“Mom, I just picked these from the orchard. They’re finally ripe. I brought them back for you to try. I think they’re quite tasty.”

“Really? I remember them being just so-so.” Wang Yuelan was skeptical.

After washing all the apples, Cao Shujie gave one to his mother and one to his wife.

When it was Mengmeng’s turn, the little one reached out her hands, wanting to gnaw on an apple. But Cao Shujie knew she couldn’t handle it herself and might even choke on the peel. He smiled and said, “Mengmeng, how about I make apple juice for you?”

“Yes, please,” Mengmeng replied eagerly.

Hearing his daughter, Cao Shujie fetched a knife to peel and dice the apples. He then asked his wife where they had put the juicer they brought back from Beijing.

“It should be under the cabinet. Go check,” Cheng Xiaolin said, not entirely sure.

Since they returned, the family hadn’t been as particular about their food as they were in Beijing. They hadn’t been juicing fruits, preferring to eat them whole, which had its own charm.

Initially, Wang Yuelan hadn’t thought much of the apple her son gave her. But after she returned and saw him peeling and cutting the apples into chunks, her perspective changed.

“Shujie, are these really apples from our orchard?” Wang Yuelan asked.

Cao Shujie nodded. “Of course.”

He continued, “But unlike the methods you and Dad used before, I’ve adopted a more scientific and optimized approach. I didn’t use paper or plastic bags to cover the apples, allowing them to be exposed to sunlight longer, which increases their sugar content.”

It seemed to make sense. Wang Yuelan recalled that they usually harvested apples by late August. But now, in October, this batch was two months later than usual.

During those two months, the apples continued to absorb nutrients and bask in sunlight, enhancing their sweetness by at least two levels.

Wang Yuelan asked, “Shujie, will the orchard’s apples have a good harvest this year? When do you plan to sell them?”

“Mom, I haven’t decided yet,” Cao Shujie replied, as he went to find the juicer.

Soon, he returned with it. The juicer, with its dark green base, looked sturdier than ordinary ones.

After connecting it to the power, he rinsed a cup with hot water, placed the diced apples inside, and set it on the juicer base. With a press of the switch, the motor hummed to life.

Mengmeng watched eagerly.

As the apples were pulverized, many bits clung to the cup’s sides, making Mengmeng even happier.

She jumped and shouted, “Yay, I can drink apple juice! I’m so happy!”

Seeing his daughter’s joy, Cao Shujie felt content too.

That evening, when Cao Jianguo returned, Cao Shujie handed him another apple. “Dad, try an apple from the orchard.”

Cao Jianguo chuckled proudly, “I’ve already eaten a few in the orchard. You all enjoy them.”

“You old man, have some restraint. We haven’t even sold them yet, and you’re already sneaking bites. How unseemly,” Wang Yuelan scolded.

Cao Jianguo ignored his wife’s remarks.

After putting Mengmeng to sleep, Cao Shujie and his wife sat on the bed, discussing how to sell the apples.

Cao Shujie shared his ideas, but Cheng Xiaolin asked, “Will it work? Will those who came for kiwi fruit be interested?”

“It should be fine,” Cao Shujie replied.

Cheng Xiaolin rolled her eyes. “This is serious. You can’t be so unsure.”

Hearing this, Cao Shujie playfully slapped her. “You might be fierce during the day, but at night, who gave you the courage to act up?”

“Ouch!”

Caught off guard, Cheng Xiaolin felt a sting on her backside. Unwilling to let it slide, she lunged at him for revenge.

Unfortunately, her move was like a sheep entering a wolf’s den.

Cao Shujie didn’t hold back, determined to assert his authority, lest his standing in the family diminish.

That night, the air was thick with tension, and in the end, both were left exhausted.

The next morning, as Cao Shujie was about to take the dogs out, he received a call from an unfamiliar number.

Seeing the unknown number, not even local, he wondered who it could be.

He hung up, but the caller redialed immediately.

“Interesting,” Cao Shujie thought.

Holding the leashes with one hand, he answered the call with the other.

The caller introduced himself, “Hello Mr. Cao, I was referred by Mr. Cao Zhen.”

“Cao Zhen?” Cao Shujie was skeptical. “I do have a friend named Cao Zhen, but he’s in Xinjiang now. If you’re trying to scam me, do your homework first.”

The caller, Zuo Le, quickly clarified his identity.

Cao Shujie was surprised to learn about his childhood friend’s unexpected encounter on the train.

Even more surprising was that Zuo Le had gotten off the train early just to meet and chat with him.

This left Cao Shujie speechless.

He finally said, “Come to Cao Family Village. I’ll be waiting for you on the north side.”

“Alright, Mr. Cao, I’ll be there soon,” Zuo Le replied over the phone.

(End of Chapter)