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

"And then!"

Chen Youwei put down his chopsticks, drank a bowl of beer, and continued:

"Then he couldn't stand anymore and collapsed in the field. Luckily, other people working in the field saw him and carried him back. He got an IV drip from Sun Fugui and that's when he recovered. That's what Sun Fugui told me."

"They've been given a second chance at life!" Everyone couldn't help but exclaim.

"It's unlikely to kill you, but if it goes on for too long, there will inevitably be some aftereffects," Chen Youwei continued.

"I'll visit my third aunt's husband sometime and bring him some eggs to help him recover."

Chen Wenfeng said, but what Chen Youwei said next stirred up Chen Wenfeng's memories again.

Chen Youwei said:

"Yeah, it's only because they're healthy that they still eat the peaches even though they know they've been sprayed with pesticides. If it's been raining, it's fine, but if it hasn't rained, they'll eat the pesticide-sprayed fruit one by one without making a sound..."

"Wenfeng, you really know how to handle things. You managed to calm people down by filling half the room with sand."

Chen Youwei then steered the conversation back to the issue of salt hoarding.

It turned out that the bags in the village committee meeting room were all filled with sand, with only the two outermost bags containing salt.

In fact, Chen Wenfeng borrowed this approach from how banks deal with bank runs: displaying banknotes to reassure people and discourage them from rushing to withdraw their money.

Of course, it's difficult to stop a bank run, but hoarding salt is a different matter altogether.

"Do you know why I'm in such a hurry this time?"

Chen Youwei then said:

"It's because we're worried that hoarding salt will affect the lives of some families. Many families in our village have just finished eating, but they don't even have white flour for the New Year, so they can't even make dumplings. We're afraid people will laugh at us for using a kitchen knife to chop cabbage on a cutting board, pretending to chop meat filling, so that the neighbors can hear us."

"What's even more worrying is that these families are even more superstitious. They would rather borrow money to stockpile enough salt. I understand this mentality; they're terrified of poverty."

"Old Han's family used to be poor too. He's a shrewd man and understands these people's thoughts best."

When Han Laosi was mentioned, Chen Youwei sighed again.

Chen Youwei stayed on Jiming Mountain until evening before returning to the village with Hou Laizi and Pang Xiao.

Chen Wenfeng took out the newspaper that Chen Youwei had brought him and looked through it. He saw a news article about a rape and murder case that had been solved in Northeast China.

Pesticides, rain, scars, rape and murder... Chen Wenfeng felt he was about to recall a small but seemingly important thing from his past life.

Li Dahua looked at the pile of salt in her house. The pile of salt was like a small mountain, pressing on her chest, making it hard for her to breathe.

Those were bought at a high price. Now the village has no shortage of salt, so even if someone wanted to buy them, they would be selling them at a loss.

Li Dahua thought she could make a small fortune by buying eggs and hoarding salt, but she didn't know why Han Laosi hadn't worked for her these past two times, even though Han Laosi was always so confident.

She cooked absentmindedly, and for the first time ever, she added extra salt.

Han Laosi wasn't home, so she ate a meal with a lot of salt. For some reason, the extra salt made it taste delicious.

As the sun set behind the western mountains, Li Dahua locked up the chickens in the yard, but Han Laosi did not return.

The moon rose, cicadas chirped, and the air grew cool, but Han Laosi still hadn't returned.

She sat in the room and pulled the light cord. The dim, yellowish light from the incandescent bulb, with a layer of yellow mist, tinged everything in the room with a faint yellow hue.

This light bulb has too low a wattage; I'll buy a higher wattage one tomorrow.

As the courtyard gate creaked, Han Laosi finally returned, reeking of alcohol.

Seeing that Han Laosi was drunk, Li Dahua knew that her husband liked to drink but had a low alcohol tolerance, so she thought he would go to bed early.

Unexpectedly, Han Laosi asked Li Dahua to pour him a glass of water, which he drank every time he ate, and he immediately perked up.

Han Laosi looked calm and composed, showing none of the dejection he had displayed when he went to the village committee.

Li Dahua asked tentatively:

"Honey, who did you go out drinking with?"

"Zheng Erli!"

"That's what Han Laosi said."

Zheng Erli is Zheng Dali's cousin. The Zheng family is a small family in Chenjiazhuang, but the Zheng family members are not the kind of people who are content to farm. Instead, they like to do business.

Zheng Dali slaughters pigs in the village, while Zheng Erli helps out at the soy sauce factory in town.

Zheng Erli's personality is different from Zheng Dali's. He is also a very shrewd person. He and Han Laosi have been close since childhood. This time, he returned to the village thinking of cooperating with Han Laosi to start a soy sauce factory.

The location for the soy sauce factory has been chosen, or rather, Zheng Erli has already chosen it; it's located at the granary of the production team at the easternmost end of Chenjiazhuang.

After the land was contracted out to farmers, the granary was gradually abandoned. It was located next to a small reservoir at the entrance of the village, which was very convenient in terms of both location and water source.

Perhaps because he'd had a few drinks, Han Laosi started talking more with Li Dahua and continued:

"Let's build the factory together with Erli, a partnership, with a budget of 30,000. We'll split it 40/60, with us contributing 40% and him 60%. We'll contribute 12,000, and he'll contribute 18,000. And so on..."

Han Laosi coughed a few times after a mouthful of wine.

Li Dahua asked:

"So, will the profits be split the same way afterward?"

"Of course not!"

Han Laosi said smugly:

"When we put in the money, it was 40/60, but when we split the money, it was 60/40. We got 60%, and he got 40%."

Upon hearing this, Li Dahua was overjoyed, feeling even happier than if she had drunk chicken soup, but she said aloud:

"Erli is a capable man; would he agree to this division?"

"Of course I agree! He'll provide the money, and I'll provide the labor. I'll handle everything. The extra money will be my wages!"

Han Laosi suddenly lowered his voice and said:

"Besides, the money Erli invested wasn't his own; he found someone else to invest."

Hearing what Han Laosi said, Li Dahua felt much less of the burden she had been carrying, but she still felt the pain of losing money twice and couldn't help but say:

"But, husband, what are we going to do with our salt? It costs a lot of money."

She thought that saying this would surely earn her a tirade from Han Laosi, but to her surprise, Han Laosi smiled and said:

"In business, wins and losses are common occurrences. Salt doesn't spoil easily, so let's use it up slowly. If anyone runs out later, we can gradually send more out. Once our soy sauce factory is built, we'll make a lot of money, so don't worry about this small amount."

After hearing this, Li Dahua wanted to say a few more words, but found that Han Laosi had already fallen asleep, his even breathing accompanied by deafening snoring.

She pulled the light cord, and the room went dark instantly, but she couldn't fall asleep no matter how much she tossed and turned.

That night, Chen Wenfeng on Jiming Mountain also couldn't sleep, still thinking about that little incident from his past life.

In fact, he had already roughly sketched out the cause and effect of that incident in his mind by combining his memories.

Some things may not affect you personally, but if they can help others, why not do them?

"I need to confirm one more detail in the next couple of days," Chen Wenfeng thought to himself.