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

Seeing that Han Laosi looked exhausted, Zheng Erli learned that Li Dahua had also told him about the eggs. Zheng Erli was a smart man and knew that Han Laosi had lost money again.

Han Laosi composed himself, his dejected mood vanished, and asked:

"Hey Erli brothers, what happened at the soy sauce factory?"

Zheng Erli said:

"Fourth Brother, the investment I found hasn't materialized yet. My part of the money will need some time to come through."

"That won't do. I've already paid my share. We agreed on your share at the beginning, but now I'm the only one paying for it."

Zheng Erli looked quite embarrassed and said:

"Fourth Brother, I've thought about it, and I have two options. If you want to continue building the factory, the first option is for me to find more investment, but you'll have to wait. The second option is for me to withdraw and you to run it yourself."

"That won't do, brother. If you quit, I won't have enough money."

"Fourth Brother, do you have any ideas?"

Seeing Zheng Erli's helpless expression, Han Laosi said:

"Erli, if you can't raise the money, are you really thinking of quitting?"

"Yes, if we can't raise the money, we'll have to withdraw."

"How about this, you go find some more money, and I'll go find some too. If you manage to raise the money, we'll still go ahead and do it together as brothers. If you can't raise the money, and I find a partner, then you'll just have to... Of course, I still hope to partner with you."

"I know, Fourth Brother, I understand."

"Erli, we need to set a time, how about half a month?"

"Isn't half a month a bit too short?"

"But this factory can't just wait indefinitely."

"Alright, Fourth Brother, I'll do as you say. I'll try my best to find it again."

After the two finished discussing, Han Laosi saw Zheng Erli off. Watching Zheng Erli leave, Han Laosi stood at the door. Just then, Li Dahua returned from outside, carrying the meat she had bought, and said:

"Honey, has Erli left? I've already bought the meat."

"I'm gone."

"And this meat..."

"Go make it, we'll eat it ourselves."

Li Dahua took the meat to cook, and Han Laosi closed the courtyard gate and went inside.

Li Dahua heard Han Laosi suddenly burst into laughter in the room; the sound was quite eerie.

"Honey, what's wrong? Is it about the eggs or the soy sauce factory?"

Han Laosi continued to laugh, and Li Dahua panicked, not knowing what to do. Just as she was about to go out to call for help, Han Laosi grabbed her.

"Honey, are you alright?"

"I'm fine. I'll go cook and I'll tell you in a bit."

Seeing that Han Laosi had calmed down, Li Dahua grumbled to herself but dared not disobey him, so she went to cook.

When the food was placed on the kang table, Han Laosi sat cross-legged on the kang and ate with relish. After a few bites of food, he asked Li Dahua to get some wine.

When Li Dahua brought the wine, Han Laosi poured himself a drink.

"Honey, Erli came over today and said there was some trouble at the soy sauce factory. Later, I went to buy meat. What did you two talk about?"

"Zheng Erli has failed to secure investment, so he may have to withdraw."

What if he quits?

"We'll build our own factory!"

"We don't even have enough money to set up our own factory, and besides, he was the one who initially suggested building it."

Han Laosi drank one glass of wine, poured himself another, and said:

"They say women are all talk and no action. I just discussed it with Erli. We'll each go find investment opportunities. If he can't find any money, he can withdraw on his own. It's his choice."

Where should we look for investment?

"No need, that's just an excuse. Our family has enough money. I've already thought it over countless times. We can't invest that much in this factory. We don't need to follow Erli's advice on many things. We should save money wherever we can. Although the cost will be reduced, the efficiency will not be bad."

Hearing Han Laosi say this, Li Dahua was happy; she was about to become the factory director's wife.

At the Chenjiazhuang Village Committee, Chen Youwei took out his beloved tea leaves again.

Chen Wenfeng was among those drinking tea this time, but the other person was Zheng Erli.

"Village chief, you don't need to bother."

"No way, you all have to try my jasmine tea. I fully support your collaboration this time."

It turns out that Zheng Erli had been in contact with Chen Youwei all along. During the preparation stage of the soy sauce factory, Zheng Erli discovered that Han Laosi was a bit dishonest. Although he was a shrewd businessman, he had to have a bottom line in doing business. He was pursuing long-term profits, not just short-term gains.

When he talked to Chen Youwei about this, it suited Chen Youwei's wishes perfectly. Chen Youwei did not want Zheng Erli to cooperate with Han Laosi in the first place, and since Zheng Erli had spoken first, he told Zheng Erli about what Han Laosi had been doing during this period.

Upon hearing this, Zheng Erli realized that Han Laosi, who had grown up with him since childhood, was not just stingy in the past, but now it was a situation that was not as simple as just being stingy.

He then began to consider leaving the soy sauce factory.

When Chen Youwei talks about Han Laosi, he inevitably mentions Chen Wenfeng, who had fought Han Laosi twice, and he speaks highly of Chen Wenfeng.

Zheng Erli never expected that the Chen family would produce another Chen Wenfeng after Chen Shouren. According to the village chief, this Chen Wenfeng was quite remarkable, so he wanted to see for himself.

Zheng Erli left Chenjiazhuang many years ago. He knew that Chen Wenfeng was Chen Shouyi's eldest son, but he had not had much contact with him. When the two met this time, Zheng Erli found that although Chen Wenfeng was a generation younger than him, he was only twenty years old, but he was very mature and insightful.

What's even more remarkable is that Chen Wenfeng possesses both a whimsical and a down-to-earth side, which is quite commendable.

Seeing that Zheng Erli was very satisfied with Chen Wenfeng, Chen Youwei was also very proud, after all, Chen Wenfeng had his support in contracting Jiming Mountain.

"Erli, you've been working hard outside all these years. If you come back to the village and build a factory, I will strongly support you."

"But now I'm preparing to withdraw from the soy sauce factory, and I haven't thought of any other suitable projects. And as you know, I've always preferred to partner with others, but I don't get involved in the specific management. Besides the project, you also need people."

What do you think of Wen Feng?

Chen Youwei asked.

"Wen Feng is certainly suitable, but there needs to be a suitable project first."

Chen Wenfeng interjected:

"Uncle Zheng, are you really planning to go back to the village and build a factory?"

"Yes, do you have any suitable projects?"

"I do have some ideas; we can discuss them."

Zheng Erli was surprised that Chen Wenfeng had any ideas, so he asked, "Really? What project?"

Chen Wenfeng took a sip of jasmine tea and said slowly:

"Feed mill".

Zheng Erli's eyes lit up upon hearing this; it was indeed a good project. Many people were raising chickens, but there weren't any feed mills in Zunxi County or even Tang City. He then said:

"That's a good idea."

"However, most of my funds are in the chicken farm, and I don't want to invest in this feed mill. I can arrange it, and you can give me a share of the profits. Uncle Zheng, what do you think?"