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

As the weather gets colder, soy sauce factories are experiencing slower shipments these past few days.

But Han Laosi wasn't in a hurry. He had made money during this period, and although he hadn't fully recouped his investment, based on the current sales volume, he should be back to full capacity after the Spring Festival.

These days, the bold get rich, and the timid starve.

This is the secret to Han Laosi becoming a millionaire. Now he runs a soy sauce factory, and he still relies on this secret.

However, the workers are somewhat resentful because it is inconvenient to use water from the reservoir.

I originally planned to rent the old brick factory, where the deep well would be the perfect solution, but then that strange thing happened.

Forget it, the master already said:

Losing money can avert disaster; good fortune will come.

Indeed, things have been going more and more smoothly lately.

He was a little surprised that his wife, Li Dahua, came back without crying or making a fuss.

Li Dahua didn't cause any trouble, and Qin Xiaofen helped him look after the factory.

At this moment, Han Laosi felt that he was a winner in life.

In the adult world, there's no need to choose; he'll take both the flowers at home and the flowers in the wild.

The morning wind was a bit chilly, and the gray clouds hung low, a sign that it was going to snow.

Li Dahua arrived at the soy sauce factory early in the morning. She usually comes in the morning to help out and prepare lunch.

It was cold today, and she woke up in bed feeling cold.

She's now willing to burn coal, but since Han Laosi doesn't know how to care for others, she's learned to care for herself.

The coal had just been bought, and the newly built stove hadn't been used to yet, so it probably went out in the middle of the night.

She put on her clothes and went to the stove, only to find that the iron stove was ice cold.

Sure enough, we still need to make some honeycomb briquettes, which are both convenient and clean. These small pieces of coal are just inconvenient to use.

Now Han Laosi treats the factory as his home, and Li Dahua doesn't care about him anymore. She made noodles for herself and put three eggs in them all at once.

In the past, postpartum confinement wasn't this bad; now I can eat three poached eggs whenever I want.

They've been there for Han Laosi through the tough times, but now Han Laosi has changed.

Thinking of this, she added another egg.

After eating and drinking her fill, Li Dahua wrapped her cotton-padded coat tightly around herself, put on a headscarf, and went to the soy sauce factory.

As she passed by the old brick factory, she saw Chen Youwei, Zheng Erli, and Chen Wenfeng. She had held a grudge against Chen Wenfeng before because of the egg-buying incident, but now she suddenly felt that Chen Wenfeng was a very spirited young man.

He is smart and capable. At only twenty years old, he was able to contract barren mountains to raise chickens. Moreover, in his several contests with Han Laosi, Chen Wenfeng never lost.

Well done! Your aunt will support you from now on. Follow Han Laosi!

When Li Dahua arrived at the soy sauce factory, the workers began to arrive one after another.

Neither Han Laosi nor Qin Xiaofen had gotten up. Seeing that Han Laosi's room was locked, she knew that the old man had slept in Qin Xiaofen's room that night.

However, Li Dahua wasn't angry at all. She had already vented her anger, and whenever she felt like losing her temper, she would remember her uncle's advice:

"The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind."

She wanted to be that free oriole.

When Han Laosi came out of Qin Xiaofen's house, he saw Li Dahua tidying up in the yard.

I feel a little uneasy for no reason, but not too much.

He pretended to return to his office, and hiss...ha!

It's fucking cold!

Fortunately, he put on another coat, found a thermos, poured a large cup of water, and drank a few sips while it was still scalding hot, which warmed him up considerably.

Li Dahua was making breakfast, and she was much nicer to the workers after she came back.

It wasn't that great, but compared to Han Laosi and Qin Xiaofen, the workers thought Li Dahua was pretty good.

Workers usually eat breakfast at home.

Li Dahua made it for Han Laosi, but some workers didn't eat enough at home, so they would come over for a little more.

Eating out is equivalent to saving a meal at home.

Li Dahua made egg drop soup with four eggs, but at home she eats four eggs by herself. Here, she scrambles all four eggs and puts them in a pot of water.

Then I heated up some of the leftover cornbread from yesterday.

The workers were used to eating very poor food, so they were quite satisfied with Li Dahua's meal, which included both soupy and dry dishes.

So that morning, all the workers, whether they had eaten at home or not, came to eat.

Han Laosi also ate quite a lot.

When Qin Xiaofen got up, there wasn't much left. She glanced at the bottom of the pot; it was just clear broth and water, and she didn't want to eat anymore.

Anyway, with Li Dahua around, the lunch wouldn't be bad, so she thought she'd eat lunch later.

Little did she know that this would be her last meal in Chenjiazhuang.

As the snow began to take shape in the sky, it fell softly like grains of sand.

Guests have arrived at the soy sauce factory.

To be precise, a group of guests arrived.

The guest at the head of the group was Old Wang.

Old Wang still had that harmless look, but his harmlessness didn't mean that the people behind him were the same.

"Excuse me, is Qin Xiaofen here?"

Old Wang walked to the entrance of the soy sauce factory courtyard and politely asked a person at the gate.

Hou Laizi replied with a grin:

"Yes, that's our second boss's wife!"

Old Wang found Hou Laizi's way of addressing Qin Xiaofen extremely grating, but he was very well-mannered and didn't show it, continuing politely:

"Could you please call out to Qin Xiaofen for me, young man?"

"Who are you to her? Where are you from?"

Hou Laizi had already guessed who the person in front of him was. He had heard Chen Wenfeng's instructions, but he couldn't show that he knew. He still needed to follow the proper procedures and put on the show.

"I'm her cousin, my surname is Wang, and I'm from the county town."

"Okay, then you wait while I go call her!"

When Li Dahua wasn't around, Hou Laizi would directly call Qin Xiaofen "Auntie" or "Boss Lady." Since he couldn't call her that when Li Dahua was around, he would call her "Sister Qin."

Seeing Hou Laizi's nonchalant attitude, Qin Xiaofen asked:

"Who's looking for me?"

He said he was your cousin, surnamed Wang, from the county town.

"Go and tell him right away that I'm not here."

In a panic, Qin Xiaofen didn't have time to tell Han Laosi before she found a place to hide.

Hou Laizi slowly came out again and said to Old Wang:

"The person you're looking for isn't at the soy sauce factory."

"Not here? Where did she go?"

"I don't know either. Maybe they'll be back soon, or maybe they'll be back in a few days."

Old Wang became impatient, and his younger brother, who had long been unable to contain himself, said:

"Brother, she's definitely here, she's just hiding!"

Old Wang's younger brother rushed towards Hou Laizi, grabbed Laizi's collar, and said:

"Tell me the truth..."

"I really don't know. I'm just a worker. Why don't you ask the boss?"

Seeing Hou Laizi's defiant attitude, Old Wang's younger brother knew that this man was not to be trifled with. Not wanting to cause any trouble, he said to Old Wang:

"Brother, let's go inside and look, we're sure to find it!"

At this moment, the workers heard the commotion and came out one after another.

Han Laosi was the last to come out.

Han Laosi adopted the demeanor of a factory director. He knew these people were there to see Qin Xiaofen, and looked at Lao Wang and the others with considerable displeasure, saying:

"This is a soy sauce factory! What are you doing here! The person you're looking for isn't here..."

Old Wang's younger brother saw that there were quite a few people on the other side, and he wasn't afraid of trouble, but if Qin Xiaofen didn't cause a scene here, it would be pointless.

Just as the two sides were at an impasse, Li Dahua came out wearing an apron. She dusted off the apron and said:

"What are you doing here? We heard you're looking for someone?"

"Looking for Qin Xiaofen? I'm her cousin."

"Xiaofen, she was just in the yard a moment ago..."