Chapter 38: Life Took a New Turn from Here

“Eh? Where’s my phone?” Cheng Xiaolin couldn’t remember where she had put her phone.

Mengmeng tilted her little face up to look at Cao Shujie. “Daddy, call.”

She meant for Cao Shujie to call her mom’s phone.

Hearing that, Cheng Xiaolin reached out and gently patted the back of the little one’s head, praising her, “Mengmeng, you’re so smart.”

Cao Shujie was curious too—he had never told his daughter things like this. Where had she learned it?

Was she self-taught? The little one really did seem sharp.

He took out his phone and called his wife. Hearing the ringtone coming from the other room, Cheng Xiaolin was a bit embarrassed. “Oh, I went over there to get something and left my phone behind because it was inconvenient to carry.”

Before Cheng Xiaolin could go fetch it, impatient little Mengmeng had already run off on her own.

In no time, she came running back with her mother’s phone. “Mommy, music.”

Wang Yuelan watched her granddaughter’s series of actions with genuine affection. She thought her granddaughter was just too clever.

“Mengmeng, get ready.”

Cheng Xiaolin played a soft instrumental version of “Jingle Bells.” As the music started, Cao Shujie saw his daughter begin to wave her hands to the rhythm. Her movements were scattered and uncoordinated, but he noticed that she was consciously trying to follow the beat, and it really looked like she was dancing to the music.

“Mengmeng, you’re amazing!” Cao Shujie gave her a big thumbs-up.

Mengmeng’s smile grew even brighter. She didn’t stop until the music ended. Only then did she breathe heavily twice, standing in place and looking up at her dad.

Cao Shujie instantly understood what she meant. He opened his arms and called out, “Mengmeng, come here, Daddy’s going to fly you!”

Mengmeng ran over quickly, arms spread wide, waiting for her dad to grab her under the arms and lift her up. As he did, she shouted joyfully, “Flying! Flying…”

Wang Yuelan watched her son with a worried expression, nervous something might go wrong. “Shujie, be careful, don’t bump Mengmeng.”

“Mom, don’t worry.” Cao Shujie gripped her even more tightly.

…

The people arranged by Chen Xingquan arrived around 4 p.m. in a 4.2-meter-long truck, loaded high with rolls of wire fencing.

It looked like a lot, but the fencing Cao Shujie had ordered was two meters high, topped with barbed wire and a 30 cm forward-leaning extension. In reality, it wasn’t as much as it seemed.

The workers still on the mountain fields were called over to help unload the truck.

“Careful, Uncle, there are barbs on top—don’t get poked,” Cao Shujie reminded them while helping.

“I see them,” Cao Jianguo responded.

With eight people working together, they finished unloading quickly.

After finishing up and seeing the driver off, it was already six o’clock. Cao Shujie paid the thirty or so workers and watched them head down the mountain before turning to look at the land he had leased. Imagining the bountiful harvests in two or three years, he couldn’t help but smile.

“I wonder how long Manager Ma’s loan will take to get approved?” he muttered to himself.

Since returning from Beijing, Cao Shujie had no income. After selling their home and paying off the remaining loan, they had just under 1.7 million yuan left.

Including their limited savings, they had less than 2 million total.

At first, he and Cheng Xiaolin thought that was a decent amount, but after just over a month, expenses piled up.

The total construction budget was over 200,000. The lease for the 78 mu of mountain farmland totaled over 430,000, with the first ten years costing 100,000, which he had already paid.

The fencing cost 69,000.

Before they realized it, including budgeted expenses, they had spent over 400,000.

If money was coming in, that would be fine—but the problem was, there was none.

Cao Shujie thought to himself, “Once the bank funds come through, we really need to invest our savings to make some profit.”

By the time he finished inspecting the mountain and came back down, it was already night.

The countryside wasn’t like the city where streetlights came on at dusk.

Cao Family Village had streetlights, but outside of Chinese New Year, they were mostly ornamental.

The village committee was stingy—unless something major happened, they wouldn’t turn them on.

It was pitch dark now, with the occasional sound of barking dogs, giving off an eerie feeling.

Cao Shujie subconsciously tightened his grip with his right hand. He thought it was time to get two fierce dogs for safety.

His territory on the mountain would only grow—he’d need some courage while patrolling.

But finding good fierce dogs was a matter of luck.

Back home, his parents, wife, and daughter were waiting for him to eat. When he walked in, his father, Cao Jianguo, said, “Shujie, if I’d known you were up on the mountain, I would’ve come to find you.”

“Dad, it’s no big deal.” After washing up, Cao Shujie quickly sat down to eat.

After dinner, he told his family about the situation on the mountain.

Cao Jianguo replied, “The house is basically done. It just needs to air out before decorating. Your Grandpa Zhenggang said he’ll take people up the mountain tomorrow to dig pits and pour cement bases. They’ll handle installing the wire fencing afterward.”

“Dad, I need to buy two batches of good kiwi saplings and other fruit trees. Know anyone reliable?” Cao Shujie asked.

Without a second thought, Cao Jianguo pulled out a yellowed, curled phone book, flipped to a page, and pointed at a number. “This guy, Ji Guangyou, has a full range of saplings. Good quality, fair prices. Just call him.”

“Alright!” Cao Shujie didn’t rush to call. He thought it would be worth checking out the place in person after a couple of days.

After all, you don’t plant fruit trees one year and rip them out the next.

With proper care, kiwi trees could easily live thirty years.

“Alright, I’ll call him once I finish up these couple days,” said Cao Shujie.

That night, as he lay down, Cao Shujie kept complaining about his sore arms, legs, and back. Cheng Xiaolin massaged him for half an hour before his muscles finally relaxed and he got a good night’s sleep.

But Cheng Xiaolin’s hands were left numb and sore.

The next morning, Han Dingping called early again—something that earned Cao Shujie’s admiration.

As expected, Han Dingping arrived at the foot of the mountain with his crew and equipment.

When Cao Shujie hurried over on his electric bike, Han Dingping and six others were already carrying equipment up the mountain.

The larger drilling rigs had to be hauled up by vehicle. At this point, Cao Shujie was sweating nervously, afraid the truck might tip over on a turn or if the wheels slipped, which could be fatal.

Fortunately, they arrived safely, and Han Dingping’s crew got to work.

Meanwhile, on the same day, Cao Tiemin returned from Pingyuan County with two others to inspect the house and design a nice interior.

Also on this day, the two-story building that had taken over a month to build was finally completed. It was just a shell—no glass, doors, or windows installed yet. A long string of firecrackers, the kind used for big celebrations, went off.

Amid the shredded red paper and the smell of sulfur and gunpowder, smiles spread across the faces of Cao Shujie and Cheng Xiaolin.

They finally had their own home in Cao Family Village. It was different from living with parents.

Mengmeng broke free of her dad’s hand, trying to grab the floating firecracker debris in the air, but Cheng Xiaolin pulled her back just in time and gave her two swats on the bottom.

Crying wouldn’t help!

Cheng Xiaolin believed some things could be indulged, but some had to be taken seriously. What if, by bad luck, she grabbed an unexploded firecracker?

Up on the mountain, over thirty people were still weeding and leveling land.

Watching Han Dingping and his crew set up the equipment and begin drilling, and turning to see Cao Zhenggang and eight others digging holes around the farmland, everyone was impressed.

“That’s some serious efficiency.”

Cao Tiemin hurried to the foot of the mountain with two others and parked the car. When they saw the two-story house, to be honest, Cao Tiemin genuinely felt envious.

“Damn, this guy Cao Shujie is about to move into a little villa—this is just too nice. No matter how you look at it, it’s better than living in an apartment,” Cao Tiemin muttered to himself.

(End of chapter)