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

"Brother Feng, Fatty and I successfully entered Han Laosi's soy sauce factory."

Hou Laizi recounted the events of the day to Chen Wenfeng.

Chen Wenfeng had already dismissed the others, and the two of them remained around the fire. The fish Zhou Zhiming had caught from the river were already roasting and smelling delicious. Chen Wenfeng picked up two roasted fish, handed one to Hou Laizi, and ate the other himself, saying:

"Okay, then you and Fatty should both be careful. We all know that Han Laosi is too ruthless with his people. If you can't handle it, try to rest."

Hou Laizi took the fish, took a bite while it was still hot, and his mouth was full of fishy flavor. He ate it in big mouthfuls, not even having time to spit out all the bones. A fish bone got stuck in his throat, and he quickly coughed. Chen Wenfeng quickly patted his back, and Hou Laizi coughed hard and coughed out the thin fish bone.

"Eat slowly. The food on the mountain is always very good. If you feel that the food at the soy sauce factory during the day is not good, come here for dinner. I'll ask Zhiming to save some dishes for you," Chen Wenfeng said.

"No need, Brother Feng. Han Laosi didn't arrange too much work for me and Fatty, but he offered the highest wage, 15 yuan a month." Hou Laizi explained to Chen Wenfeng in detail that Han Laosi wanted him and Fatty to help keep an eye on the workers.

Chen Wenfeng was furious when he heard this. In his previous life, he had encountered some strange companies and managers. He felt extremely disgusted by such unscrupulous bosses. He never expected that Han Laosi was so good at this without any instruction.

Chen Wenfeng said:

"You'll gradually become familiar with the soy sauce factory. Pay special attention to certain production processes, such as the use of water and raw materials."

"Brother Feng, now that you mention it, I've got an idea. The soy sauce factory is currently using water from the reservoir. I heard from Han Laosi that he wanted to dig another deep well so that it could be used during the dry season, but he's a little reluctant to spend the money on it."

Using water from the village reservoir was within Chen Wenfeng's expectations, but it was a bit odd that Han Laosi hadn't dug a well to prepare for the dry season. However, given Han Laosi's shrewdness, he shouldn't have been unprepared. Chen Wenfeng couldn't guess what Han Laosi was planning, but this water source still deserved close attention. Thinking of this, Chen Wenfeng said to Hou Laizi:

"Keep a close eye on this water source, especially during the dry season or when production is high. If the reservoir doesn't have enough water, find out where they're getting water from."

Hou Laizi, holding the grilled fish, nodded in agreement.

......

The people of Chenjiazhuang have a saying: in years with abundant rainfall, the vegetation grows well, and where the vegetation grows well, there are more grasshoppers and locusts. And the largest and most delicious locusts in autumn are the "Dengdaoshan" locusts.

The scientific name for the cotton locust is *Hemiberlesia lataniae*. It is a "giant" among locusts, with a bright green body and an appearance comparable to a man with a lasso pole, both of them "majestic and imposing". The hind legs of the cotton locust are particularly well-developed, with two rows of sharp spines on the outer edge. If you try to grab it and are hit by its powerful hind legs, your hand will be very painful.

People often say, "Grasshoppers don't have many days left to hop around after autumn," but Dengdaoshan is most active in autumn. In the past two autumns, outsiders have come to Chenjiazhuang to buy Dengdaoshan.

Early that morning, Chen Shouyi got up and opened the courtyard gate. Aunt Zhang from across the street shouted loudly at Chen Shouyi:

"Hey Chen, eldest son, has Guizhi gotten up yet? I heard they've come to harvest the 'Dengdaoshan' (a type of wild boar) this year. Apparently, they're from town, and the purchase price is 15 cents a pound. There are people all over Nanshan now. I'll ask my husband to catch some too. If we catch a lot, we'll sell it for money; if not, we'll just roast it. Ask Guizhi if she's going. If she is, we can go together."

Wang Guizhi had just come out of the house when, without waiting for Chen Shouyi to speak, she said to Aunt Zhang:

"Let's go together. Shouyi, go find two small snakeskin bags, and also find a sickle. Just one sickle will do. We'll go to Nanshan after breakfast."

Zhou Zhiming arrived at Jiming Mountain early in the morning for breakfast, which was tomato and egg noodles. Even though he didn't live on the mountain, Zhou Zhiming would often come here for breakfast.

Chen Wenfeng was particular about food. He insisted on one principle: everyone had to eat well in order to do a good job, especially in this era of material scarcity.

The two brothers, Niu Da and Niu Er, ate until their bellies were round and full. Niu Er said:

"The food we've been eating has made us two brothers fat."

Niu Da also said:

"It's not just about gaining weight. The other day I heard from the workers at the soy sauce factory that their lunch isn't as lavish as our breakfast. It's just pickled vegetables with cornbread and egg drop soup that's so watery you can't even scoop up the broken egg pieces."

Chen Wenfeng then thought of Hou Laizi and Fatty Xiao, and said:

"When there are fewer people around at night, I'll bring some braised tomatoes and eggs to Lai Zi and his gang so they can cook some noodles."

Zhou Zhiming laughed:

"Brother Feng, you're the best! You always think of your brothers. By the way, Brother Feng, the loudspeaker announced this morning that people from town are coming to buy up mountain goosefoot again. The price is 15 cents a pound, which is a bit cheaper than last year's 18 cents a pound. Maybe it's because of the good rainfall this year that the mountain goosefoot is growing a lot."

"That 15 cents a pound is a bit low. I'll go to the county town later to ask about the situation there. Actually, I don't need to go to the county town; I can just call the Jiuzhou Hotel."

"By the way, Brother Feng, there's one more thing. On my way here, I heard that Han Laosi is also planning to buy Dengdaoshan. Apparently, the price will go up a bit. Shall we get involved?"

Zhou Zhiming knew that Han Laosi had been making trouble for Chen Wenfeng several times, and he was also very dissatisfied. He hoped to have another showdown with Han Laosi.

After hearing this, Chen Wenfeng did not answer immediately, but instead asked Old Sun, who had been eating with his head covered, a question:

"Master Sun, are the laying hens doing well right now?"

If Niu Da and Niu Er saying they've gotten fat is a figure of speech, then Old Sun's recent appearance on Jiming Mountain truly embodies the saying, "A man changes a lot as he grows up!"

The once withered old man has gained weight in his face and looks much better than before. In Old Sun's words, he is now living a more comfortable life than the landlords and rich people of the old society.

When Old Sun heard Chen Wenfeng ask him this question, he roughly guessed what Chen Wenfeng wanted to do, and said:

"The laying hens are laying eggs very steadily now, and even the 100 chicks from before have started laying eggs sporadically. The weather is getting cooler, so I don't think there will be any problems."

Hearing this, Chen Wenfeng felt relieved. Since his core business was secure, he could consider challenging Han Laosi to another duel. But the duel itself was secondary; wouldn't it be even better if he could earn some extra cash along the way? With that in mind, Chen Wenfeng said to Zhou Zhiming:

"Brother, your suggestion is good, we can give it a try. After lunch, we'll divide up the tasks. You go check out Nanshan, Niu Da and Niu Er go check Dongshan and Xishan to see if there are many collapsed hills. I'll go to the village committee to make a call. We'll meet on the mountain at noon."

Zhou Zhiming, Niu Da, and Niu Er had just responded when Old Sun said:

"There are quite a few people who have collapsed while climbing Jiming Mountain!"