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

Hearing the impatience in Qin Xiaofen's tone, Li Cuie said:

"You still remember I'm your cousin? I advised you not to come, did you listen to me? Now you're asking me what to do!"

Seeing that Li Cuie was a little angry, Qin Xiaofen said:

"Cousin, I've offended someone since I came back from the county town. They want compensation from me, but I have no choice. Either I get some money from Han Laosi, or I find a woman to take the blame for me."

It turns out that Qin Xiaofen had an affair with a man when she was in the county town and received a lot of money from him.

Later, the man's wife found out and divorced him. But by then, Qin Xiaofen's affair had been exposed, and she became a pariah among the wives in the county. She was forced to leave the county, but the man later threatened her: either go back with him, pay him money, or find him another wife. Otherwise, he would never let her off the hook!

Going back to the county town is impossible; the only options are to pay compensation or find someone to help.

Qin Xiaofen had previously tested Li Cuie's attitude, but Li Cuie had always disagreed. Today, she brought up the idea again, which angered Li Cuie, who warned her:

"Hmph, then you can try to get money out of Han Laosi. Anyway, don't even think about messing with the women of Chenjiazhuang!"

Although Li Cuie maintained contact with Accountant Wang and Chen Shouxin behind their backs, she had her own bottom line, and Qin Xiaofen's actions had far exceeded that line.

Although Qin Xiaofen verbally agreed to Li Cuie's promise not to target the women of Chenjiazhuang, she still wanted to use this as a final bargaining chip. However, it seemed Li Cuie wouldn't help her now, so she had to ask Han Laosi for help. After thinking for a moment, she said to Li Cuie:

"Cousin, Han Laosi doesn't know about our relationship, does he? You have to keep this a secret for me. He's a very meticulous person, and if he finds out, he'll have a bad impression of me."

"I don't know. He originally wanted to find Chen Shouxin, but Shouxin wasn't home, so he wanted to ask me about Shouxin's whereabouts. Besides, he's the one who asked you to contact me more often."

"That's good, but Han Laosi is too cautious with money, so I'll need to spend more time on him."

Li Cuie glared at Qin Xiaofen and said:

"I hope you don't end up losing everything. If there's nothing else, I'll be going now."

"Okay, I'll see you off!"

Qin Xiaofen saw Li Cuie off from the soy sauce factory. Li Cuie walked a long way before turning around and waving to Qin Xiaofen, who waved back and smiled.

After Li Cuie had walked away, Qin Xiaofen spat and cursed:

"You're no better than me, yet you put on airs in front of me. I, Qin Xiaofen, am prepared to make my move on the women of Chenjiazhuang, so what!"

She stormed back to the soy sauce factory courtyard and went straight into Han Laosi's office.

Han Laosi was smoking a pipe. He wasn't concerned about the money spent on cigarettes; he was just used to smoking a pipe and found it more enjoyable.

Qin Xiaofen disliked the way Han Laosi smoked his pipe, finding it old-fashioned and ugly. She picked up a cigarette, lit it with a match, took a deep drag, and the tobacco glowed. Then she yanked Han Laosi's pipe off his head and put the cigarette in his mouth, saying:

"Mr. Han, you're a big boss now, so please stop smoking that."

Han Laosi, smoking the cigarette Qin Xiaofen offered him, noticed her unpleasant expression and said:

"I knew Li Cuie was a tough woman to deal with. Has she brought up some demands again?"

"Let's not talk about her for now, Mr. Han. I've thought of something, could you give me some advice?"

"What is it? Just say it!"

Li Cuie knew she could get money from Han Laosi, but it would take time. However, the man she had offended before was pressuring her, so she thought she could introduce a wife to him from Chenjiazhuang so that he would stop bothering her.

Since Li Cuie wouldn't help, then let Han Laosi help. Thinking this, she said to Han Laosi:

"Mr. Han, I have a cousin in the county town. He's handsome and his family is well-off. But even the best families have their troubles. My cousin's wife is unfaithful and ran off with someone else, so my cousin has been single ever since. Now his family is pressuring him to find a wife. They know I'm in Chenjiazhuang and want me to help them find a wife from there."

Han Laosi said with a smile:

"This is great news! I never thought I, Han Laosi, would be a matchmaker. Your cousin is such a good catch, does he have any requirements?"

"Of course, they want someone young and beautiful!"

Young and beautiful, Han Laosi began to think about the unmarried young women in Chenjiazhuang, but this one wouldn't do, that one wouldn't do.

Chen Shuyan is the right age and will be beautiful when she grows up, but she was a tomboy when she was little and she is still stubborn now that she is older, so she can be ruled out.

Zheng Xuejiao from Zheng Dali's family is the right age. She doesn't have a boyfriend either. She's even prettier than Chen Shuyan and has a better personality. This is the one.

Han Laosi said to Qin Xiaofen:

"I've been thinking about it for a while and I've come up with a pretty suitable one: Zheng Dali's daughter from Chenjiazhuang. She's the right age and looks."

Qin Xiaofen knew that Han Laosi had a good eye for people, so she asked again:

"What's this girl like? My cousin likes girls with gentle personalities."

"She has a good temperament. There are many girls around her age who are quite pretty, but in terms of temperament, this daughter of Zheng Dali is the most suitable."

"What's her name?"

"Call her Zheng Xuejiao!"

Hou Laizi had been keeping an eye on Qin Xiaofen in the factory, but it was inconvenient to eavesdrop in Qin Xiaofen's room, and Li Cuie had closed the door tightly, so he couldn't hear anything the two women were saying in the room.

Seeing that Qin Xiaofen had seen Li Cuie off and entered Han Laosi's room, Hou Laizi finally had a chance to eavesdrop.

It turned out that Han Laosi's office was located on one side, next to the warehouse where soy sauce was stored. There was a small window on this side, which was not usually opened, but Han Laosi liked to open it for a while before going to bed at night to let in some fresh air. After the two chatted for a while, Han Laosi closed the window.

Hou Laizi was standing on the rim of the large vat, peering through the small window to listen to the sounds inside.

Although Han Laosi closed the window, Hou Laizi could still hear most of it, especially when they talked about arranging a marriage for Zheng Xuejiao. He listened very attentively, carefully memorizing every word Han Laosi and Qin Xiaofen said.

This is really important information!

When the voices inside the room gradually subsided and the lights were turned off, he slowly climbed down from the vat, nearly falling over in the process.

It turned out that he had been standing on the edge of the vat for too long, and both of his legs had gone numb. But he didn't dare to stomp his feet, so he could only rub them secretly. It took him a long time to recover.

Hou Laizi tiptoed out of the factory. The big yellow dog knew it was Hou Laizi and didn't make a sound, but just lay on the ground and symbolically wagged its tail a few times.

The soy sauce factory gate was already closed. Hou Laizi climbed over the iron gate and jumped over it. Once he was out, he took off running towards Jiming Mountain.