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

Seeing Hou Laizi reporting on the soy sauce factory to Chen Wenfeng, everyone tactfully left.

Chen Wenfeng threw the wooden stick in his hand into the fire and said:

"What's going on? Tell me!"

The stick, having dried out completely and served as a fire poker for a while, burst into flames the moment it was thrown into the fire, making a crackling sound.

Hou Laizi recounted everything he had heard at the soy sauce factory to Chen Wenfeng, especially when he talked about Zheng Xuejiao, he repeated it almost word for word.

This Qin Xiaofen is a real menace. She and Han Laosi are a match made in heaven, and she's even more vicious than Han Laosi.

Based on Hou Laizi's retelling, Chen Wenfeng deduced that Han Laosi was unaware of Qin Xiaofen's intentions. However, through the information provided by Chen Shuyan, he had essentially pieced together Qin Xiaofen's purpose: she had offended someone in the county and incurred debts, so she needed to find a way to pay them off.

Chen Wenfeng even analyzed that Li Cuie probably didn't get involved in this matter, because if Li Cuie helped Qin Xiaofen, then Qin Xiaofen wouldn't need to ask Han Laosi for help anymore.

They set their sights on the girls of Chenjiazhuang, especially Zheng Xuejiao. This is truly intolerable.

We need to find a way to get rid of this menace, otherwise Chenjiazhuang will likely never be peaceful!

The firelight cast flickering shadows on Chen Wenfeng's face. His expression remained blank for a long time before he finally spoke:

"Laizi, starting today, go to Zheng Dali's house every day and buy one pound of pork. After each purchase, go to the small stage and listen carefully. I'll reimburse you later!"

"By the way, keep an eye on Qin Xiaofen from now on, not only to see who she meets, but also to keep an eye on her if she leaves the soy sauce factory."

Hou Laizi had never seen Chen Wenfeng so serious before. He swallowed hard and said repeatedly, "Okay, okay."

......

The electrification work in Heihu Valley has already begun. Chen Wenfeng approached the village chief, Chen Youwei, and proposed the idea of ​​bringing electricity to Jiming Mountain.

Chen Youwei was very supportive when he heard this, so he helped him get the certificate, provide the materials, and contact the power supply station.

At that time, the town's power supply station happened to be located in Heihu Valley, so it was quick for them to send someone to Jiming Mountain. Two people from the power supply station came to Jiming Mountain. They walked around the mountain, and one of the older men said:

"Young man, the price of electricity here is not low. There are no subsidies now, and it all depends on individuals and collectives to raise funds themselves. If you are going to raise livestock here, just opening an account will cost one or two thousand yuan. Then, if you add cement poles, aluminum wires, transformers, labor costs, etc., it will cost at least ten thousand yuan."

Chen Wenfeng knew that connecting electricity to barren mountains was expensive, but 10,000 yuan was still far beyond his expectations. Besides, he didn't need electricity for his livestock farming yet; he could worry about that later once he had the equipment. For now, it was mainly for lighting. Thinking of this, he said:

"Master, please don't treat this place like a chicken farm. Just think of it as a family's house in Black Fox Valley. Pretend that I don't raise any animals here right now, and I don't use any equipment yet. It's mainly just lighting. I'll come back to you for upgrades when I get the equipment."

After hearing what Chen Wenfeng said, the worker basically understood his needs and said:

"If what you say is true, then the price is much lower."

"Yes, I'm just hitching a ride on the way to Black Fox Valley. Don't let my remote location fool you; the North Slope is right next to Black Fox Valley. I saw the transformer you installed, and I don't need to add one here. As for the concrete utility poles, there's no need either. Just put up two wooden poles, heat them over a fire, and they'll last for years. What do you think?"

"We still need to put up the cement poles; it's safer that way, since it's windy up here. Let me calculate it."

The older worker called to the younger worker, and the two of them took out pencils and notebooks and calculated carefully for a while, then said:

"You can usually get it for 1,200 yuan."

Chen Wenfeng found the price acceptable and said:

"Then let's do it according to this standard!"

Chen Wenfeng calculated his income over the past few months, which was just enough to repay the credit union loan. However, after spending more than a thousand yuan, he was basically out of money. It was as if he had spent all the money he had earned before, and he was back to square one.

Not only will the credit union loan be delayed, but this month's salary will also be paid later.

The loan is secondary; it's a one-year loan anyway, so I can just pay two more months of interest. But I need to talk to everyone about the salary.

Chen Wenfeng immediately convened a small meeting with Zhou Zhiming, Niu Da, Niu Er, and Lao Suntou. He said:

"As you all know, the power supply station came to take a look at our area today, and the power supply issue has been discussed to a large extent. However, there is one thing I need to discuss with you all."

Then Chen Wenfeng explained that the wages would be paid later, at most one month later, meaning that the next payday would be two months' wages paid at once, and he hoped everyone would understand.

Zhou Zhiming was the first to speak, saying:

"Brother Feng, everyone is happy to have electricity. We eat and live on the mountain, and electricity will make things more convenient. It doesn't matter if the wages come early or late."

Niu Er said:

"Brother Feng, don't worry about it being delayed, or even if we have to deduct a portion of our wages, it's fine. Zhiming is right, with electricity, life on the mountain will be even better."

Niu Da nodded in agreement, but Old Sun shook his head. Seeing Old Sun's expression, Zhou Zhiming immediately became angry and asked in a huff:

"Master Sun, do you have any objections?"

Old Sun continued to shake his head and said:

"Money doesn't matter, my old bones won't cost much. I just want to ask Boss Chen, will our meals be on par?"

"No price reduction, and there's meat every day!" Chen Wenfeng replied with a smile, not expecting Old Sun to also have a bit of humor.

This was equivalent to a unanimous vote. Chen Wenfeng quickly communicated with the power supply station, which had already finished the work at Heihuyu, so they soon began connecting the power lines on Jimingshan.

Actually, the process was quite simple. After all, from the moment Chen Wenfeng took over Jiming Mountain, he had already considered very detailed issues such as where to connect the electricity in the future.

As the utility poles were erected on the north slope of Jiming Mountain, one, two, three...

The power line was then connected from the foot of the north slope to the foot of the south slope, and Jiming Mountain now had electricity!

When Chen Wenfeng hired an electrician from Chenjiazhuang to lay the wiring and install lights in advance at the power supply station, he arranged for the wiring to be laid in various places, including the stone house and chicken coop.

Once all the wires were connected, the workers switched off the circuit breaker, and Jiming Mountain lit up instantly.

After testing the power, Zhou Zhiming asked Chen Wenfeng:

"Brother Feng, have we turned off all the lights?"

"Keep driving, keep driving until tomorrow morning! We're drinking all night at Jiming Mountain!"

That night, more than a dozen incandescent lights on Jiming Mountain stayed on all night, and Chen Wenfeng and his friends drank until the wee hours. Jiming Mountain finally said goodbye to the days without electricity.