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

Hou Laizi and Fatty saw Chen Wenfeng carrying a basket and striking a strange pose, and they thought this guy was incredibly stupid.

They released Zhou Zhiming and headed towards Chen Wenfeng.

As if granted a pardon, Zhou Zhiming quickly shouted:

"You two, Fatty and Leper, are outnumbered two to one. That's so embarrassing."

Zhou Zhiming's words implied two things.

Firstly, they were afraid that Chen Wenfeng would suffer a loss, and they didn't want Hou Laizi and Pang Xiao to gang up on Chen Wenfeng.

Secondly, he himself really didn't dare to go up, knowing that he couldn't handle either Lai Zi or Fatty.

Hou Laizi and his companion didn't intend to go it two against one; they felt that even if they won, it wouldn't be honorable.

Chen Wenfeng certainly understood Zhou Zhiming's meaning, but he wanted to fight two against one.

Because he had the idea of ​​recruiting Hou Laizi.

This scoundrel Hou is a sly and unruly fellow who looks like a troublemaker, but he's not a bad person at heart, and he was quite sensible in his past life.

Recruit more underlings, and you'll have more helpers in the future. They're strong, capable, and readily available—good quality at a low price, not to be missed.

Thinking of this, Chen Wenfeng laughed heartily and said:

"You two should come at me together. If it's one-on-one, people might say Brother Feng is bullying you!"

Hou Laizi and Pang Xiao were so skeptical of Chen Wenfeng's boastful words that they even dared to challenge him to a fight.

They were being incredibly disrespectful, but the two were honest and straightforward, and very receptive to advice. Since you're telling us to come at each other, we'll come at each other!

Zhou Zhiming stamped his feet anxiously to the side, "Brother Feng, this is not the time to brag!"

He wanted to move forward several times, but dared not. Finally, he couldn't bear to see Chen Wenfeng fight two against one, so he prepared to launch a sneak attack from behind.

Seeing Zhou Zhiming's cowardly yet adorable appearance, Chen Wenfeng knew that he was afraid of being bullied by Hou Laizi and Pang Xiao.

He didn't mind, thinking that as long as his brother had the intention, that was enough, and called out to Zhou Zhiming:

"Brother, no need for help. You handle the water. I'll take care of the land matters myself."

Hou Laizi gave Pang Xiao a wink, and the two of them rushed towards Chen Wenfeng from the left and right.

In fact, fighting in the countryside doesn't require any kung fu or skills; it's all about brute strength and the ruthlessness to strike.

Chen Wenfeng was naturally strong and had a good foundation. After being beaten up by his second aunt for five days, he wrestled and grappled with Hu Zi every day, and the moves and techniques had long been ingrained in him.

Looking at Hou Laizi and Pang Xiao now, I wonder why they are moving so slowly.

Before Hou Laizi and Fatty could even get close, Chen Wenfeng shot out in a flash, and the two brothers only felt a blur before their eyes before they instantly fell to the ground.

Impossible, absolutely impossible, this can't be true!

Hou Laizi and Pang Xiao stood up one after another, feeling no pain anywhere on their bodies, and insisted that they had accidentally fallen.

They refused to admit that Chen Wenfeng was behind it and insisted on continuing the competition.

Chen Wenfeng smiled and nodded at them, saying:

"If you're not satisfied, then let's do it again. But this time we have to bet something. If you lose again, you'll help my family harvest their wheat!"

"If you lose, you'll have to collect for both of us!"

"It's a deal!"

This time, Hou Laizi and Pang Xiao abandoned all tactics and charged forward shouting.

Instead of retreating, Chen Wenfeng lunged forward and pounced into Hou Laizi's arms, pressing his feet together with Hou Laizi's, instantly disrupting Hou Laizi's balance.

Hou Laizi panicked and felt unsteady on his feet. He felt Chen Wenfeng give him a light push and lost his balance, falling to the ground.

Before Hou Laizi could fall to the ground, Chen Wenfeng bent down and kicked Pang Xiao's knee. Pang Xiao couldn't bear the pain and also fell down.

Both times it took less than three seconds, and he finally made up for the loss he suffered at the hands of Tiger.

He kicked each of them again, to let them know how much it hurt.

The two men finally realized that they had lost to Chen Wenfeng twice in a row.

They saw Chen Wenfeng strike the same pose again, with the hen in the basket behind him clucking.

This pose may look ugly, but it works really well. We should definitely use it next time!

"Are you convinced now?"

Chen Wenfeng looked down at him and asked:

"I'm impressed."

"From now on, you can all call me Brother Feng."

"Brother Feng, Brother Feng."

Chen Wenfeng said that Hou Laizi and Pang Xiao would follow him, and that they could come and help when the Jimingshan chicken farm became larger in the future.

This was during the early stages of reform and opening up, when many economic sectors were just beginning to take off. For farmers, there were few opportunities to earn money besides working hard in the fields. As a result, many unemployed laborers went out to work but didn't earn much, and some of these jobs were simply for meals.

Hou Laizi and Pang Xiao readily accepted Chen Wenfeng's invitation, and thus Chen Wenfeng's Chen Family Troupe gained two more key members.

Zhou Zhiming hadn't expected Chen Wenfeng to be such a good fighter. Not only did he teach Hou Laizi and Pang Xiao a lesson in just a few moves, but he also took them in as his underlings.

He no longer cowered; instead, he straightened his back, swaying his little round head as he came over to complain:

"Brother Feng, it was those two who were talking badly about you."

"It wasn't us who said it, it was what we heard from the small stage, it was Aunt Zhao and the others who said it."

Upon hearing that he had now become the focus of attention on the small stage, Chen Wenfeng couldn't help but become interested and asked:

"What did Aunt Zhao and the others say about me?"

Lai Zi and Pang Xiao hesitated and were embarrassed to speak, so Chen Wenfeng laughed and said:

"We're all brothers, so feel free to say whatever you want."

Hou Laizi then said:

"Brother Feng, they said you're a bit greedy, paying too low a price for the eggs. They even said that the villagers raise chickens to lay eggs, but you're the one making all the money."

Before Chen Wenfeng could even speak, Zhou Zhiming had already protested, cursing:

"These ungrateful bastards! Brother Feng bought eggs for a much higher price than the supply and marketing cooperative. They're just being hypocritical after getting a good deal!"

Chen Wenfeng chuckled. It was common for people in rural areas to be prejudiced against the poor and favor the rich, but he wouldn't be morally coerced. He said:

"Calm down, brother. When you're doing business, you're bound to encounter all sorts of things."

"Not only that, I heard that Han Laosi also buys eggs and delivers them to town. He offers half a cent more than you do, paying 10.5 cents per egg."

Fatty added.

Chen Wenfeng suddenly became interested. Business is something anyone can do, and people naturally have a herd mentality; if someone succeeds in something, others will naturally follow suit. He'd only been away from home for five days, and he already had a competitor. He asked Zhou Zhiming:

"Brother, have you collected any eggs in the village these past few days?"

"Brother Feng, you went to Shuiqian Village to collect goods on the second day, and it hasn't even been four days yet, so you haven't collected any more. You should probably collect them tomorrow. If Han Laosi gets involved, should we raise the price?"

"No price increase, even with a lantern—it remains the same!"

In fact, since the last incident involving rotten eggs, Chen Wenfeng has developed a complete set of egg collection procedures, including random checks, marking with wood ash, cleaning eggshells, and classifying eggs by size.

He originally intended to postpone the implementation, but now that there were competitors, he needed to be more careful in every aspect to ensure that there were no mistakes.

Thinking of this, he said to Zhou Zhiming:

"Take these two chickens back with you. I'm going to the county town now. We'll meet up with Niu Da and Niu Er tonight. See you there!"