Chapter 42 Hearing My Aunt’s Name Makes Me Want to Run

When she saw her husband Cao Shujie return after finishing a phone call, Cheng Xiaolin was a bit curious. “Honey, who was on the phone?”

“It was Mengmeng’s aunt. She said some of her classmates want to visit during the May Day holiday and would like to go see our fruit trees in bloom up in the mountain.”

“Aunt?” Mengmeng was playing beside her mom with a toy gibbon hanging from her neck. When she heard her dad mention ‘aunt,’ she instinctively glanced around. She didn’t see her aunt, but she was still scared enough to burrow into her mother’s arms.

Cheng Xiaolin was both amused and exasperated. Patting Mengmeng’s shoulder with one hand and stroking her little head with the other, she comforted her, “Mengmeng, your aunt isn’t back yet. She’s still at school.”

“Really?” Mengmeng snuck a quick look behind her, verifying there was indeed no aunt around, and only then did she perk up. “Hee hee!”

Seeing how terrified his daughter got just at the mention of her aunt, Cao Shujie felt genuinely embarrassed for her.

What kind of psychological shadow did his daughter pick up from her aunt?

But getting back to the point, Cao Shujie scratched his head. “All the fruit tree blossoms up on the Mountain have already fallen off. What will they even see when they get here?”

“Branches? Leaves?” He shook his head. “That doesn’t sound very interesting either.”

“Uh!” Cheng Xiaolin also didn’t know what to say but, on the other hand, she instinctively thought it was a good thing.

The fruit orchard may have lost all its blossoms now, but next year they’ll grow back, and maybe at that time they could invite them over again?

Plus, in a few more months, when autumn arrives, the kiwi fruit and apples in the orchard will ripen—they’ll have to sell the harvest then too!

Would these people, or their friends and family, count as indirect customers?

Thinking of this, she shared her thoughts with her husband. “Honey, what do you think of my idea?”

“Nothing wrong with it!” Cao Shujie said.

“Right? Then let’s go with that plan.” Cheng Xiaolin prompted.

“Let me think.” Cao Shujie raised his hand to rub his temples, seriously pondering.

After a while, he mumbled to himself, “Should we get them to experience the joy of planting fruit trees?”

“Honey, what did you say?” Cheng Xiaolin heard her husband muttering and asked him.

Cao Shujie was slightly startled, then said, “Wife, since we’re moving saplings and planting fruit trees anyway, I was thinking—if there’s really nothing to see, when they come we could set aside a spot for them to try it out too. Then hang little name tags on the saplings, saying who planted which fruit tree and when.”

At this point, Cao Shujie paused and asked Cheng Xiaolin, “Wife, do you think that would make them feel more accomplished?”

“At least they wouldn’t have come for nothing, right?”

After hearing him out, Cheng Xiaolin gave him a new look. She really wanted to say, “Honey, are you the devil? Even this sort of sneaky idea comes to you.”

But she had to admit, her husband’s proposal was actually brilliant!

“How did you come up with such a… wonderful idea?” Cheng Xiaolin was quick to speak, almost blurting out the real adjective.

Cao Shujie was reminded of the many similar outdoor events he’d seen that charged for this kind of experience, and there really were a lot of suckers happy to sign up.

He remembered, back in Beijing, his wife was one of them. She’d gotten so into it—as if planting a tree with her name on a tag on someone else’s land gave her a huge sense of achievement.

Thinking of this, Cao Shujie gave side-eye, looking at his wife with a ‘foolish’ sort of gaze, which Cheng Xiaolin happened to catch. She instantly sensed his bad intentions and glared. “Shujie, what kind of look is that? Got a problem with me? If so, just say it.”

“No, I just think the more I consider it, the better the idea sounds. I’m thinking, after a couple years once our fruit business is well-known, we could develop a piece of land specifically for this. Bring in others to experience planting for a fee. Maybe the first year’s harvest would be all theirs, with us taking a modest management fee, and after that the fruit would belong to us.”

“Wife, what do you think of this idea?” Cao Shujie grew more excited as he spoke, believing it was really feasible.

Cheng Xiaolin rolled her eyes. “Who would be so foolish? Only an idiot would do something like that.”

But in his heart, Cao Shujie thought, “You actually did, you just don’t know it.”

Out loud, he said, “Wife, I think our fruit does have a big advantage. The nutrient solution I developed isn’t just for increasing the trees’ growth—compared to other fruit, the taste is a whole different level.”

“No one’s tasted it yet, so you can brag all you want,” Cheng Xiaolin teased, and burst out laughing.

Cao Shujie couldn’t be bothered to argue. He glanced outside and said, “Honey, it’s getting late. Let’s have an early night. There’s a lot to do tomorrow.”

…

On April 30th, Cao Shujie went to Pingyuan County Town and called out Cao Zhen. He also got in touch with Chen Xingquan, the boss of ‘Chen Zheng Fencing,’ and invited them to the best hotel in town for dinner and drinks.

During the meal, Chen Xingquan repeatedly promised to finish the remaining wire fencing as quickly as possible.

“Boss Chen, let’s not talk business tonight. Here, let me toast you again,” Cao Shujie said, raising his glass.

“Cheers!” Chen Xingquan was straightforward, downing half his glass in one go.

Seeing this, Cao Shujie had no choice but to do the same.

Cao Zhen was just as bold, taking a big gulp in the blink of an eye.

Putting down his glass, Cao Shujie asked his old friend, “Did your factory’s loan get approved?”

“Not yet, it’s not that easy,” Cao Zhen shook his head. “The economy’s just not doing well, nothing’s easy these days. We’ll have to wait.”

Chen Xingquan shook his head as well. “It’s unusually tough.”

This year’s economy, looking at the big picture, could be summed up in four words: ‘internal and external troubles.’

The impact of the previous financial crisis was still far from over.

To resist the effects of the crisis, countries had all adopted loose monetary policies, which only pushed inflation further.

Prices of oil, grain, and gold soared.

The international futures and financial markets were a mess, with hot money spreading like a plague among major commodities, making ordinary people’s lives even harder.

Speaking of this, Cao Zhen shook his head and sighed, “It’s tough this year. Let’s hope things get better next year.”

“Guys, there are still seven months left in the year. Let’s not worry too much—let’s just drink,” Cao Shujie said, raising his glass to challenge them both.

That night, they stayed until nearly ten o’clock. Though they didn’t actually drink that much, they talked a great deal, with each sharing their views on future prospects.

At one point, Cao Zhen looked at Cao Shujie and couldn’t help his envy. “Shujie, choosing to come back home and start developing now—that was perfect timing.”

Cao Shujie mulled it over. From what they’d just said, his decision seemed more and more like the wise move of retreating just in time!

(End of chapter)