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

With the wheat harvest in Chenjiazhuang finished, summer planting has already begun in full swing.

Chen Wenfeng wasn't home these past two days, but Chen Shouyi is a master at farm work, and Niu Da, Niu Er, and Hou Laizi all came to help, so the summer planting went quite smoothly.

As the old ox pulled the plow and harrow to weed the field one last time, the soil in the field became even softer and finer.

Chen Shouyi and his team planted the corn seeds in the field, covered them with soil, and gently tamped them down with their feet. All that was left was to wait for the corn seeds to sprout.

If summer planting was arduous yet enjoyable for Chen Shouyi, then it was a long and agonizing process for Han Laosi.

This torment stems not only from the hardship of farming itself, but also from the anger over the failed speculation.

But looking at the thousands of eggs piled up in the yard, that was worth more than five hundred yuan, which was equivalent to more than ten years' wages for a farmer at that time.

At this moment, saving face meant nothing, and Han Laosi ultimately chose to seek help from village chief Chen Youwei to mediate.

Chen Youwei was quite surprised by Han Laosi's visit, as Han Laosi rarely came to the village committee.

"Village chief, I have a favor to ask!"

Han Laosi briefly recounted the whole story to Chen Youwei. Even though he tried to embellish his own story, Chen Youwei had already figured out the truth: Han Laosi had stolen Chen Wenfeng's business, and Chen Wenfeng had outmaneuvered Han Laosi.

Chen Youwei smiled and promised Han Laosi that he would help him, but this promise was delayed for two days.

In just two days, almost every household in Chenjiazhuang had completed their summer planting. However, for Han Laosi, the pile of eggs in the yard was an eyesore, like a small mountain.

"Brother Feng, he heard from the village chief that Han Laosi wants to talk to us." Zhou Zhiming tore off a roasted chicken leg and asked while eating.

Niu Da and Niu Er also shared the roast chicken.

When Chen Wenfeng and Zhou Zhiming returned from the county town this time, they brought back several roast chickens as usual. He originally thought that eating the same thing all the time would be a bit tiring, but Zhou Zhiming told him that he wouldn't get tired of it.

That's true. These days, people don't have much oil in their stomachs, so they'd love to eat roast chicken every day. How could they complain about it being too greasy?

Chen Wenfeng broke off a piece of chicken wing, ate it slowly, and said:

"Han Laosi probably understands what's going on now. It seems he wants to make peace. We've already stalled him for two days, and the time is right. Let's talk to him tomorrow."

"Where should we talk?"

"Since the village chief has intervened, let's go to the village committee! Oh, and we need to tell the village chief to have Han Laosi bring the eggs to the village committee; I don't want to go to their house!"

......

In the meeting room of Chenjiazhuang Village Committee.

Han Laosi smoked a cigarette and chatted casually with Chen Youwei.

The agreed time was 10 o'clock, but he arrived at 9 o'clock and brought that bunch of unlucky eggs with him.

For breakfast, Li Dahua had prepared two fried eggs for him with lard, but he found them annoying and didn't eat a single one, letting Li Dahua eat them all.

Around 10 o'clock, Chen Wenfeng arrived with Zhou Zhiming.

Originally, Han Laosi wanted Chen Shouyi to come as well, but Chen Wenfeng refused outright, implying that he was not worthy to talk to my father.

In the past few days, Chen Wenfeng had also been subtly inquiring about Han Laosi and his father Chen Shouyi. He asked many people but they didn't know anything. It wasn't until he asked Grandma Zhou that he finally got her to tell him. At first, Grandma Zhou didn't think there was any conflict between them. However, she later mentioned that Han Laosi had feelings for his mother Wang Guizhi in his younger days, but that was many years ago. Besides, the two of them only knew each other and didn't have much contact.

If it really is because of this, then Han Laosi is truly a ruthless man. Chen Wenfeng called out as he entered:

"Uncle Youwei, Fourth Uncle Han, you've arrived so early!"

Chen Youwei said, "Wenfeng, you two talk. I'll go get Accountant Wang to get some water!"

Han Laosi also greeted Chen Wenfeng politely:

"Wenfeng, I'm sorry to trouble you with this matter, Fourth Uncle."

"Fourth Uncle, what do you need me to do? We're all from the same village, so just tell me what's on your mind. You're busy, and so am I!"

Han Laosi had hoped to get closer to Chen Wenfeng and take advantage of his seniority, but Chen Wenfeng wasn't buying it at all, so he had no choice but to say:

"The eggs I have right now, you've been delivering them to the city, right? I'd like to transfer them to you."

"I collect eggs, but I collect them directly from each household. I never buy from middlemen because I know the quality and origin of the eggs from each household."

"Uncle, these eggs were collected from individual households, so I guarantee they're safe and sound."

"So how much are you planning to sell it for?"

"I bought it for 12 cents, so you can buy it for 12 cents too."

Upon hearing this, Chen Wenfeng laughed and said:

"Fourth Uncle, I collect from each household for one cent each time. You've suddenly increased it by two cents. I can't accept it."

Han Laosi certainly knew Chen Wenfeng's purchase price and selling price, but he was still unwilling to give up and said:

"It's 11 cents!"

"Fourth Uncle, I only make 12 cents a day selling to outsiders. After deducting labor costs, 11 cents is practically nothing. You know my regular customers well, and you know the prices, so I don't want to say more. I'm only here today to talk to you properly because of the village chief. If you were in that situation, and someone tried to steal your business and asked for your help, would you agree?"

Just then, village chief Chen Youwei walked in and said:

"Wen Feng is a benevolent man. He told me long ago that if you, Han Laosi, weren't from Chenjiazhuang, he wouldn't care about you. Laosi, I think you should just listen to Wen Feng. Just agree to whatever price he says."

Han Laosi was ultimately in the wrong and, having been caught by Chen Wenfeng, had no choice but to admit defeat, saying:

"Then one cent, is that alright?"

Chen Wenfeng, without any expression, said:

"The one cent is only if the eggs are okay. Zhiming, go check them!"

Zhou Zhiming had been itching to sit still for a while. He wasn't as composed as Chen Wenfeng and wanted nothing more than to beat up Han Laosi. Hearing Chen Wenfeng's words, he went out, rummaged through the egg basket, picked out two eggs, took them back to the meeting room, and gave Chen Wenfeng a wink.

Chen Wenfeng said:

"Uncle Youwei, let's find a bowl and check the quality of Uncle Han's eggs together."

Chen Youwei brought a broken bowl from another room, and Zhou Zhiming cracked open one of the eggshells and poured the contents into the bowl.

Several people looked over and saw a black clump in the egg liquid, the yolk scattered like cotton wool, and a fishy stench.

Chen Wenfeng's face immediately darkened, and he said:

"Fourth Uncle, these are your eggs, I don't want a single penny!"

Han Laosi hadn't expected the eggs to be like this either. He quickly took two more eggs from the egg basket, cracked them back into a bowl, and the yolks were intact with no fishy smell.

What's going on here! Did this scoundrel tamper with the eggs?

Feeling utterly humiliated, Han Laosi quickly explained:

"Wenfeng, my nephew, these eggs are definitely fine, maybe one or two are rotten. Look..."

"Why don't we knock on them one by one and check them one by one?"

"If we knock them open one by one, we won't be able to sell them."

"You know that once we break it open, we can't sell it anymore. There's only one way now."

Chen Wenfeng glanced at Zhou Zhiming, signaling him not to be smug, and said:

"Eight cents each, I'll buy them all, good or bad."