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

"Hey, you bunch of scoundrels!"

"How annoying!"

"Grab him!"

"..."

As Li Cuie stepped down from the stage, some old bachelors in the audience were provoked and took advantage of the commotion to sneak into the group of women and try to take advantage of them.

Such things are not uncommon in the village. Whenever there is a play or a movie, there are always some shameless bachelors who try to take advantage of the situation under the guise of joking. As long as it's not too outrageous, people usually just laugh it off and move on.

Judging from the commotion tonight, it seems someone has gone too far with their pranks.

Aunt Zhao started shouting and cursing:

"It's one thing for them to make a fuss with us old fogies—we've seen it all—but what's the point of making a fuss with those unmarried girls!"

"Yes, that's outrageous, they have no sense of propriety."

"That's right, that's right."

"I just grabbed him, and I regret not grabbing him harder!"

"Me too!"

The other women echoed this sentiment.

This sense of propriety is the rule. It's like how a younger brother-in-law can joke with his older sister-in-law, but an older brother-in-law can never joke with his younger brother's wife.

Seeing that the leader wasn't from Chenjiazhuang and was sneaking towards them, Chen Wenfeng and his group called to Zhou Zhiming and Niu Er to wait in the dark and block the man, pinning him down. When the group of women saw that Chen Wenfeng had subdued the man, they swarmed over, some spitting at him, some kicking him, and some grabbing him, creating chaos.

But the women were weak and disorganized; they only relaxed their strength slightly in the middle, and the man took advantage of the chaos to run away with his head in his hands.

Chen Wenfeng recognized the man's face but noticed a scar on his forehead. He also saw Zheng Xuejiao in the crowd, her face pale and her two long braids hanging over her shoulders. He suddenly thought of something from his past life, but couldn't quite recall it.

The man ran past Chen Wenfeng, his steps a little unsteady, as if he were a cripple, but Chen Wenfeng was too stunned to react and grab him.

"Brother Feng, what's wrong?" Zhou Zhiming noticed that Chen Wenfeng was acting strangely and asked.

"It's nothing. I just thought of something, it just flashed through my mind and then it was over."

Chen Wenfeng saw the women cursing and swearing for a while, then slowly went back to watch the show. Only Zheng Xuejiao, holding Xiaodouzi's hand, kept looking in his direction.

Chen Wenfeng walked over and asked:

"That person didn't bump into you, did they?"

Zheng Xuejiao, her face pale with shock, said:

"That person just came over and almost touched me, but an auntie next to him grabbed him. That's how it didn't happen... but Little Bean tripped over it."

Chen Wenfeng saw that Xiaodouzi's mouth was bleeding and sunflower seeds were scattered all over the ground, but he was very strong and did not cry. He stood in front of Zheng Xuejiao with his fists clenched, looking like a little man.

Chen Wenfeng patted Xiaodouzi's head and said:

"Good job, lad. I'll take you and your sister home now."

Xiaodouzi liked Chen Wenfeng very much, so she readily agreed.

Chen Wenfeng spoke with Zhou Zhiming and the others, then sent Zheng Xuejiao and Xiaodouzi back.

On the way to Zheng Xuejiao's house, Chen Wenfeng was still thinking about the scar on that person's forehead. It was a feeling that he was about to think about it but couldn't quite place it.

At night, Chen Wenfeng tossed and turned, unable to sleep. He vaguely thought of something, but forgot about it by dawn.

Forget it, I'll think about it slowly later!

The next morning, Niu Da continued to guard the mountain and manage the flock of chickens.

Chen Wenfeng took Zhou Zhiming and Niu Er to town.

Niu Er knew how to drive a cart, so the three of them hitched up to the oxcart. Niu Er raised his whip, shouted "Giddy up!", and the oxcart slowly started moving.

Once they left the village, the country road became wide and flat, and the old ox started running freely, making the oxcart much faster.

Qiwang Town, Damin Chicken Farm.

The so-called chicken farm was just a vacant lot on the edge of town, with a few temporary tile-roofed houses built there.

The chicken farm owner, Sun Damin, gave Chen Wenfeng and his group a tour. The chicken farm wasn't very big, and there was an old man named Sun who looked after the farm and helped manage it.

The chicken coop is a simple brick building with asbestos tiles on top. Inside are three-tiered chicken cages, four in total. One cage is empty, and the other three are filled with hens that were ordered.

Seeing that Chen Wenfeng, despite his young age, had the air of a leader with two people in tow and spoke with maturity, Sun Damin explained the situation to him very seriously.

After getting a general understanding, Chen Wenfeng said:

"Brother Sun, I know you're eager to sell, and I don't want to beat around the bush. In short, I want all the chickens here, and the chicken coop too. Name your price."

Sun Damin didn't expect Chen Wenfeng to offer to buy out his entire chicken farm, but judging from his expression, he didn't seem to be joking. He said:

"Young man, even though I'm selling it off, it's still worth quite a bit of money!"

Chen Wenfeng replied, "I'm sincere about wanting it, and you have to be sincere about your offer. You've probably been waiting for a while now, so just don't let me get away with it."

Sun Damin considered it for a moment and said:

"300 laying hens, at 3 yuan each, that's 1050 yuan. The chicken coops were 300 yuan when we bought them, now they're 200 yuan each, so 3 sets would cost 600 yuan. All together, it's 1650 yuan."

Chen Wenfeng knew the price was high, but he still felt that over a thousand yuan was a large sum. However, he currently had less than 400 yuan and needed more than 1200 yuan, so he said:

"Brother Sun, these laying hens are culled no matter what. I don't want them; most people will just slaughter them and eat them anyway. Let's say 3 yuan each. The chicken coops have been through so much jostling to get here, and they'll need repairs, so let's say 180 yuan a set. That's 1440 yuan in total, so I won't try to lower the price any further. But you can have all your chicken troughs and other unused items. How about that?"

Sun Damin saw that Chen Wenfeng was quite knowledgeable, but little did he know that Chen Wenfeng was just cramming for the exam at the last minute.

Chen Wenfeng had previously asked Zhou Zhiming to find chicken-raising materials at the supply and marketing cooperative, which he studied in his spare time. In addition, he consulted the technician who had previously taught the villagers how to raise chickens, and gained a general understanding of the chicken-raising market.

Since he couldn't intimidate the other party, Sun Damin readily agreed, saying, "Let's go with the price you suggested, brother. Apart from the chickens and the chicken coop, you can take whatever you want from here."

"Sure, but Brother Sun, that's over 1,600, which isn't a small amount. I'll have to work on it when I get back. Is that alright?"

"No problem. But I have one request."

"What are your requirements?"

"Old Sun has no children and has been with us for many years. He knows how to raise chickens. You can take him with you. Whether you pay him or not is fine, but you must provide him with lodging and three meals a day."

"Oh?"

Sun Damin's request surprised Chen Wenfeng. He turned around and saw the old man, hunched over, head down, sweeping up trash with a broom, seemingly unaware of what was being said. Yet, Chen Wenfeng found the old man quite endearing and said:

"Can!"

After saying that, Chen Wenfeng and Sun Damin continued to discuss the details. Old Sun looked up and gave Chen Wenfeng a meaningful look.