Back to 1984: I built a chicken farm on a barren mountain.

Han Laosi hasn't been doing well lately. Firstly, with the freezing weather, the soy sauce factory mainly gets its water from the reservoir, but now it's the dry season in winter, and the reservoir's water volume is a bit insufficient.

The second thing that bothered Han Laosi was Qin Xiaofen. Qin Xiaofen went to the county town before the snow, and she was in a bad mood after she came back.

Qin Xiaofen wanted to continue targeting Zheng Dali, but after Han Laosi and Chen Shouxin's failed gambling scheme last time, Zheng Dali was determined not to fall for it again.

The inconvenience of getting water, coupled with Qin Xiaofen's low spirits, made Han Laosi a little upset.

That evening, Han Laosi sat under the lamp, took out paper and pen, and for some reason, he began to sketch the river in Chenjiazhuang.

The river partially encircles Chenjiazhuang, flowing from north to east, forming a reservoir to the east of the village, and then flowing towards Qiwang Town...

After sketching the river, he drew the location of the soy sauce factory on the paper, followed by the surrounding area...

Then, he drew the brick factory diagonally opposite...

Just as he was about to move on to drawing other places, the pen unconsciously drew a small circle at the location of the brick factory...

It's like searching high and low without finding it, only to have it come to you effortlessly.

Han Laosi felt the dark cloud over his head dissipate, because he suddenly remembered that there was a deep well in this abandoned brick factory!

When I was discussing setting up a soy sauce factory with Zheng Erli, I only thought about being near a reservoir. But reservoirs are subject to seasonal restrictions, while this well is not affected.

Han Laosi didn't sleep well all night. When he and Qin Xiaofen were being intimate, he always wished that the day would break slowly, but now he wished that the day would break quickly.

He listened to the howling north wind, and even the north wind sounded better than usual.

He didn't fall asleep until the early hours of the morning, probably because he was too excited the night before. He even overslept the next day.

When he woke up, it was already ten o'clock in the morning. He pushed open the door and saw Qin Xiaofen standing in the yard, as if she had something to say to him, but he was a little annoyed by this woman.

Ignoring the hesitant Qin Xiaofen and without eating breakfast, Han Laosi jogged off to the old brick factory to check on the situation.

The brick factory was desolate and deserted. The large iron gate was locked at the entrance, and the slogans printed on the long wall had all fallen off. The weeds at the base of the wall were withered, and there were still some white snows in the shady places.

Han Laosi figured he could rent this place first, since nobody wanted it anyway and it wouldn't cost much.

He stood in front of the big iron gate for a while longer, and when he went back, he was in a much better mood, his steps were lighter, and he was humming a little tune.

The return journey was slow. Although it was cold, the warm morning sun felt quite comfortable on my skin, like a gentle massage.

Upon entering the soy sauce factory courtyard, Qin Xiaofen was still standing there, her cotton-padded coat still unable to conceal her figure. Perhaps in a better mood, Han Laosi was no longer annoyed with Qin Xiaofen. He took the initiative to approach Qin Xiaofen and said:

"Xiaofen, I think if Zheng Dali is too difficult to handle, we can look at other girls."

When Qin Xiaofen heard that Han Laosi's attitude towards her had returned to what it used to be, the weight lifted from her heart.

She had no choice but to go to the county town this time. The other party had already gone to her family home. She originally thought that women held grudges, but she didn't expect that this man was also petty.

This time, after much pleading and solemn promises, she finally convinced the other party to introduce her to a beautiful young woman, someone even prettier than herself, before they finally relented and agreed to give her a final deadline.

She returned home feeling anxious and sought help from Han Laosi, but Han Laosi was somewhat indifferent because of the water source issue at the soy sauce factory.

Qin Xiaofen knew that now was not the time to fall out with Han Laosi. She regretted arguing with him, so she had been reflecting on it these past two days.

I can't lose my temper. I've been with this old man for so long, I can't let him lose money!

Now that Han Laosi had suddenly become enthusiastic towards her again, Qin Xiaofen gave him a sweet smile and breathed a sigh of relief.

Interpersonal relationships are exhausting.

......

At the Chenjiazhuang Village Committee, Accountant Wang was preparing to go to the brick factory to tidy up, as the village chief had specifically instructed him to do so.

According to village chief Chen Youwei's idea, as long as the village has a stake in the feed mill, it will be more convenient for them to do whatever they want, since everything requires money.

He pulled out a bunch of old keys from the drawer, examined them closely, and finally found the key to the old brick factory.

"Is the village chief here?"

"Is the village chief here?"

Through the frosted windowpane, Accountant Wang saw Han Laosi walk in from outside, carrying a chill with him.

Accountant Wang disliked Han Laosi very much.

Especially after Han Laosi and Qin Xiaofen got together, he inexplicably thought of his wife, Li Cuie.

"The village chief just went out. Fourth brother, what do you need?"

"Accountant Wang, I can talk to you about this."

Han Laosi stomped his feet in the room, shaking the mud off his shoes. Accountant Wang frowned because of the floor he had just swept.

Han Laosi didn't think much of Accountant Wang; apart from Chen Youwei, he didn't think much of the village cadres.

Chen Youwei's previous assessment of Han Laosi was very accurate:

Those who need people should be put forward, and those who don't need people should be put backward.

Therefore, Chen Youwei was not close to Han Laosi, the first person in the village to earn 10,000 yuan and who became rich by opening a factory. On the contrary, he especially hoped that Chen Wenfeng could succeed.

Chen Youwei's attitude will naturally influence Accountant Wang.

Moreover,

Accountant Wang is highly respected in the village, and he can feel it.

Han Laosi was quite disrespectful to him, and he could certainly sense it.

"What is it? Let me hear it first. Big matters need the village chief's decision, but I dare not make decisions on small matters lightly."

Once someone becomes wary, even someone who is normally harmless can become verbally confrontational.

Han Laosi had no time to ponder the implied meaning in Wang the Accountant's words, because he didn't consider Wang the Accountant an opponent at all. He had no opponents in Chenjiazhuang before, and now only Chen Wenfeng could occasionally spar with him.

(Accountant Wang: You hurt someone...)

(Chen Wenfeng: You're bragging...)

"Let me tell you first, whether you can make the decision or not, it doesn't really matter. Anyway, it's pretty much a done deal. Even if the village chief comes, it'll be the same."

Han Laosi took out his pipe and smoked cigarettes for a while, but ultimately felt that the pipe was stronger than cigarettes. Besides, there was no need to pretend in front of Accountant Wang, nor was it worth it for him to pretend.

As the tobacco in the pipe burned, the room was instantly filled with a pungent smell of smoke.

Accountant Wang frowned again; this guy really didn't take him seriously!

This time, Accountant Wang didn't respond. A minute of silence followed before Han Laosi continued:

"The old brick factory diagonally opposite the soy sauce factory, the one used to belong to the production team, nobody uses it anymore, so why don't you rent it to me? It's just sitting there anyway, and if I rent it, the village committee will at least have some income!"

Holy crap, they're actually eyeing that place.

Even though Accountant Wang was a kind and gentle person, he started cursing under his breath.