usatvline Chapter 117 Planting Fruit Trees
Chapter 117 Planting Fruit Trees
Two days later, Zhou Yuntian took Zhou Qi away from Lijia Village and returned to Bozhou Prefecture.
At noon, Li Lan arrived at Liujiawan. Both banks were bustling with men, working furiously. With the sound of a gong, the men stopped their work and began to gather in groups of three or five, chatting and laughing, to eat and rest in the tents set up nearby.
Cao Zhixing was about to go to dinner when he was suddenly stopped in his tracks by a clear shout. He looked in the direction of the voice and saw Li Lan standing not far away, smiling. He was startled at first, then seemed to understand something and walked towards her.
"Mr. Cao, thank you for your hard work. Let's have a quick meal together."
Looking at the pretty girl in front of him with a sweet smile, Cao Zhixing nodded and said with a smile: "Okay, then I'll trouble you, Mr. Xiang."
The two of them walked into the two-story "Li's Hot Pot" restaurant at the entrance of Liujiawan Village. Before entering the door, Cao Zhixing smelled the fragrant aroma and couldn't help swallowing.
At this time, the hot pot restaurant hall was full of people, eating heartily in this hot summer. When the waiter saw the newcomers, he hurried over to greet them and took them to the private room on the second floor.
After they sat down and ordered their meals, Cao Zhixing took a sip of tea and looked at the layout of the private room, which he found quite elegant. After a moment, he put down his teacup and looked at the woman across from him who was slowly sipping her tea. He smiled and said,
"My dear, do you want to ask about Huai'an?" (Zhou Yuntian's courtesy name is Huai'an)
Li Lan's eyes flickered slightly, and the image of that cold and handsome face emerged in his mind. He slowly put down the teacup in his hand and said seriously, "Yes. I want to know what his life was like before. Can Mr. Cao tell me?"
Cao Zhixing smiled and said in a deep voice, "Since Huai'an calls me brother, then you can call me that, Xiangjun."
"Okay, brother."
At this time, several waiters came in carrying pots and dishes. After the door of the private room closed again, Cao Zhixing sighed softly and said, "Huai'an has been very sensible and hardworking since he was a child. Since he was five years old, several different teachers have come to the Zhou Mansion every day to teach him.
I remember one day when he was five years old, my mother suddenly ran back to our yard crying with a slap mark on her face. When she saw me playing, she asked me to go find Huaian immediately.
When I arrived, I heard the mistress complaining to the master, saying Huai'an was disrespectful to his stepmother and had contradicted her over a nanny who had committed a crime. Seeing the mistress's face pale with anger, and Huai'an's unwillingness to explain, his face full of stubbornness, the master simply took up a cane and whipped his calves hard. Afterward, he was punished to kneel in the courtyard for an hour. His so-called stepmother watched helplessly as his calves were whipped to pieces, watched him kneel in the courtyard with his injured legs, ignoring his pale face and the bloody lips he had bitten, and didn't even look at him as she left.
Later, I learned from my mother that my mother had not done anything wrong. It was just that the lady was uncomfortable seeing Huai'an being too close to my mother, so she took her anger out on my mother. Later, when she saw Huai'an protecting my mother like this, she felt even more unhappy, and the scene at the beginning happened.
After that, the Madam never visited Huai'an again. Later, when she gave birth to a son and a daughter, she no longer cared about their food, clothing, and expenses. However, Huai'an was the Master's most cherished son, so no one in the mansion dared to neglect him.
But every time we went to the main courtyard for dinner during festivals, Huai'an would be left alone watching the master, his wife, and the young ladies chatting and laughing. Every time, my mother and I would make him his favorite dumplings to cheer him up..."
Cao Zhixing was about to continue speaking when he heard a "crack" and the teacup in Li Lan's hand shattered.
"Xiangjun, your hand?"
"nothing."
Li Lan patted the crumbs in his hand and said indifferently.
At this time, Cao Zhixing suddenly smiled and said: "But that kid is lucky. With you accompanying him in the future, his life can be considered complete."
"Yes, brother is right. I will definitely stay with him until we grow old."
Li Lan said seriously with a firm look in his eyes.
Li Lan returned home at 5 p.m., feeling rather down. He returned to his room, picked up a charcoal pencil, and began to ponder his next steps. Suddenly, an idea struck him, and he dove into the Space Farm.
Looking at the fruit trees in the garden, some have borne fruit and some have not, there are peach trees, pear trees, and apple trees. They are growing very well, which is very pleasing.
"Xiaobao, can I dig up any of these trees?"
"Yes, host. You only need to use your mind, and the fruit tree will automatically be pulled out."
"Okay. Xiaobao, aren't you going to a meeting today?"
"It's not time yet, host. Hehe. Host, if you get a promotion, you will be the biggest contributor."
Xiaobao shouted excitedly.
"I don't dare to be called a great hero, but if you really get promoted, I will be happy for you."
"Thank you, host."
Listening to Xiaobao's excited tone, Li Lan couldn't bear to criticize him. How could a main god who could change the rules at any time and exploit and oppress workers keep his word? She didn't believe it anyway.
After deciding to plant fruit trees, Li Lan stood up and walked out of the courtyard, heading towards the farmland. During this period, the entire village was very busy, and in order to keep himself busy, Li Chunping would go to the farmland to tend to the crops at dawn every day.
"Dad, Daddy."
Li Chunping, who was tidying rice in the fields, heard his daughter's voice and quickly stopped. He washed the mud off his hands with water from the rice paddies, then turned and walked toward the ridge of the field. He washed his feet in the canal, put on straw sandals, and walked towards Li Lan.
"What's wrong? Girl."
"Dad, come with me to the back mountain to take a look."
"What are you going to see in the back mountain?"
Li Chunping was puzzled.
Li Lan smiled and said mysteriously, "You'll know when you get there. Let's go, Dad."
"Oh, okay." Knowing that his daughter was a person with her own ideas, he didn't ask any more questions and walked towards the back mountain with her.
The two of them climbed to the top of the mountain behind them. Looking at the trees that had died from drought and had been cut down, as well as the grass and small trees that had grown prosperously thanks to the recent abundant rain, Li Lan said, "Dad, a while ago I asked the village chief if this mountain could be bought and sold. He told me it could be bought and sold, and all I had to do was go to the county government office and pay the money to get the land deed."
Li Chunping was stunned. Seeing the smile in his daughter's eyes, he understood. He swallowed and said cautiously, "My daughter, do you mean that our family should buy this mountain?"
"Yes, Dad. Not only do we want to buy this mountain, we also want to buy a mountain each in Wangjia Village, Chenjia Village, and Liujiawan."
"what?"
Li Cunping couldn't help but widen his eyes. After a moment, he said in disbelief, "Daughter, come here and pinch Daddy. I want to see if I'm dreaming."
Li Lan chuckled and said, "Dad, it's true."
"Does our family have so much money now?"
"What do you think, Dad? We have a few workshops at home, and we also have the franchise fees and order fees from the investment conference. We can still make some money to buy a mountain."
After hearing what his daughter said, Li Chunping swallowed his saliva and said, "Daughter, what's the point of buying a mountain?"
Li Lan looked at his father's cautious expression and said with a smile, "Dad, there's no need to be so cautious. Nowadays, any family in our village can come up with dozens of taels of silver. I'm going to buy a mountain and plant fruit trees. I'll let you manage it in the future. How about that?"
"Really? But, my girl, don't spend all this money just for your dad. He's not that valuable."
"Dad, I don't like what you're saying. You're Xiangjun's father, and you're very valuable. Besides, you have to help me take good care of these fruit trees.
Let me tell you, when the fruit trees bloom, we can allow outsiders to come and enjoy the flowers, and we can take the opportunity to charge an entrance fee. When the fruit is ripe, we can allow outsiders to pick it, and we can sell it, and we can make money again. And when the fruit is ripe, I am also planning to launch a new product in my food workshop, so won’t this also make money?"
"This, this, how can I make money?"
Seeing his surprised and unbelievable look, Li Lan said seriously, "Yes, Dad, so you have to take good care of our orchard."
Li Chunping looked at Li Lan with a determined look and said sternly, "Don't worry, my daughter. Dad will take good care of these hills."
"Okay, Dad. I believe you."
The father and daughter began to discuss what to do next, sometimes with serious expressions, sometimes with laughter... The afternoon sunlight was a bit dazzling, shining through the lush leaves, casting spots on the ground, and stretching the shadows of the two people very long.
Late at night, Li Lan, who was sound asleep, was awakened by the sound of crying in his mind. He frowned, paused for a moment, and said helplessly, "What's wrong? Xiaobao."
"Wuwuwu, host. The Lord God lied to me. He told me in the meeting that I hadn't met the conditions for promotion yet. He said the deadline was to complete the infrastructure construction by the end of the year, and that the two were parallel conditions. Wuwuwu."
Li Lan couldn't help but roll her eyes. She said, "Some people just don't behave like humans." She scoffed, thinking, "They're even playing word games." "Lord God, huh?" "Just wait, my system, Li Lan, isn't that easy to mess with."