Zhao Qing said unhappily, "Dad, what do you mean by 'death'? You're such a good person, you'll definitely live a long life!"
"What's the point of living so long? When I can't move anymore and am bedridden, I'll just be a burden to you!"
"How could that be? You raised us when we were little, and we'll take care of you in your old age. No matter what happens to you in the future, Dad, you'll always be my dearest father!" With that, Zhao Qing hugged her father's shoulder, just like she did when she was a little girl.
"You're all grown up, still acting like a child!" Zhao Dewang said, though his eyes were full of smiles.
The next morning, Liu Yifeng was already wandering around the village.
He was looking for a suitable location to build a farmhouse inn.
This matter couldn't be delayed any longer; Du Ziheng was waiting for his reply.
As he passed by the bridge, he saw Liu Xincheng talking with several construction workers wearing hard hats.
Nearby, sand, bricks, and other building materials were piled up, indicating that construction was about to begin.
Liu Xincheng, who had been talking, immediately stopped when he saw Liu Yifeng and walked over with a smile. "Yifeng, where are you going so early? I'm really sorry, but the land you liked is now mine. But you can't blame me; it's because I have good connections that most people voted for me."
"It's okay. The land is yours, that's true. But what's most important is whether customers will come to patronize it after it's built. Otherwise, the money invested here will be wasted," Liu Yifeng said with a smile that didn't reach his eyes.
Liu Xincheng's smile immediately vanished. "What do you mean? Are you cursing me to have no business?"
"Don't misunderstand me; I'm just giving you a heads-up. After all, I've done thorough preparations for opening a farmhouse inn. But this is a spur-of-the-moment decision for you, so you should think more about how to attract customers," Liu Yifeng said.
"Hmph, my farmhouse inn will definitely be a hit. I've hired a professional team!" Liu Xincheng was still quite confident.
Liu Yifeng smiled faintly. "Is that so? Then I wish you success. I have other matters to attend to, so I'll leave you to your work!" With that, Liu Yifeng left.
Watching Liu Yifeng's retreating back, Liu Xincheng showed a look of disdain. "Why are you so arrogant? When my farmhouse inn opens, you'll regret it. You actually think you can compete with me."
Afterward, he continued to direct the work.
Liu Yifeng didn't dwell on the brief encounter and continued his search for a suitable location.
He unknowingly walked to his crayfish fields and saw the young crayfish growing at a visible rate.
They had been the size of sesame seeds, but now they were as big as his little finger. In another week, they would reach normal size, and within ten days, they would be ready for sale.
However, the crayfish field seemed a bit small. He planned to rent the ten mu of land next door to raise more crayfish.
The adjacent land was shallow, so it would need to be dug deeper and filled with water suitable for crayfish. Then, some of the young crayfish could be moved to the other field.
At this moment, Liu Chasheng also walked over. He was no longer surprised by how fast the crayfish were growing.
After all, they were Liu Yifeng's crayfish. It would be strange if they suddenly stopped growing or couldn't grow any bigger.
"Yifeng, the crayfish are too crowded. It's difficult for the ones at the bottom to move around, and they can easily suffer from oxygen deprivation and die. Wouldn't it be better to expand the scale of cultivation?" Liu Chasheng said.
Liu Yifeng had the same idea. "I plan to buy all the nearby fields, merge them, dig them deeper, and fill them with water. This way, I can continue to raise crayfish without worrying about insufficient space."
"Yes, your crayfish are selling so well that you can raise and sell them for a lifetime. The money earned from selling crayfish could be millions a year. That's enough to buy how much land! And if you buy them now, if there's any demolition later, you'll make a profit too," Liu Chasheng strongly agreed with his idea.
"Alright, this can't be delayed. I'll go rent the neighboring fields now." Liu Yifeng was a man of action; he had to do what he thought of immediately.
With that, he went to find his father because he had forgotten whose land it was.
Liu Chunsheng listened to his idea and agreed. "The field you're currently using for crayfish is indeed a bit small. With so many fry now, it will be even more crowded when they grow up. Many crayfish won't get enough to eat and will starve to death or fail to grow. I know who those fields belong to. Come, Dad will take you to negotiate buying them."
It took Liu Yifeng a full day to buy the land. He bought a total of eleven mu, spread across six plots.
The price per mu was sixty thousand, so eleven mu cost six hundred and sixty thousand. He paid the money on the spot after signing the purchase contract. (Note: In reality, land cannot be privately bought or sold, only rented, but this is a novel, so please be lenient!)
Then, he hired people to merge the fields and deepen them.
Liu Chunsheng took on this task because he knew his son was very busy and he wanted to help in any way he could.
The road leading to the watermelon field was also repaired by him. Now, vehicles could drive directly to the field, making it easier to load the watermelons onto trucks.
This saved Liu Yifeng a lot of trouble. The next day, he finally found a suitable location for his farmhouse inn.
It was an open space at the foot of Meng Mountain, covering more than six thousand square meters. It was also adjacent to Meng Mountain, a local tourist attraction, which would help attract customers to each other.
Meng Mountain was for hiking, while his would offer parent-child activities and home-style cooking. They wouldn't interfere with each other but could attract customers simultaneously.
"However, this area is not managed by Liu Family Village. To rent it, you'll need to find the person in charge here."
After inquiring, he found the village chief's house.
The village chief of Wangjia Village was relatively young, in his early forties, and seemed easy to talk to.
Upon learning Liu Yifeng's intentions, he was surprisingly enthusiastic. "Mr. Liu has a good eye. This open space in our village is in an excellent location, next to Meng Mountain. There aren't many tourists now because it's the off-season. But during autumn and winter, the daily tourist traffic is no less than two hundred people. These people are walking advertisements. However, renting it might cost a lot of money, considering its size and prime location," said Village Chief Wang.
Liu Yifeng had his heart set on this piece of land; he felt it was even better than the one by the bridge. There was also a free parking lot here for visitors to Meng Mountain.
"I'm willing to rent it for at least three years. How much would it cost?"
"I can't give you an answer right now. I need to discuss it with the village secretary. Please leave me your phone number, and I'll send you the results once they're finalized!" After all, it was such a large plot of land, and even as village chief, he didn't have the authority to make such a decision unilaterally.
Liu Yifeng nodded. "Okay, this is my phone number..."
After they exchanged phone numbers, Liu Yifeng returned home.
The distance between the two villages was only about a ten-minute walk, not far at all.
Back home, he made a simple breakfast. He planned to go into the deep mountains after eating to pick some wild mushrooms as a thank-you gift for Elder Zhao.
However, he still felt a bit apprehensive, remembering the time he encountered wolves.
He had never imagined he would encounter wolves in his life. Fortunately, with the spray developed by Tongtong, a spritz on his body could scare away fierce wild animals. Otherwise, he and Tongtong would have been in trouble last time.
"Dad, I'm going to the mountains later to get some wild mushrooms. I don't know if I'll be back for lunch, so you'll have to trouble yourself with making dinner," Liu Yifeng said as he shoveled noodles into his bowl.
Upon hearing that Liu Yifeng was going to the mountain again, Liu Chunsheng immediately put down his chopsticks. "Why are you going again? Your hand injury hasn't even healed properly yet. You've really forgotten the pain after the wound has healed."
If only Liu Yifeng hadn't mentioned encountering wolves in the deep mountains, his father would have definitely tried his best to stop him from going.
"It's alright, I'll be careful. Tongtong was able to attend the Aerospace Kindergarten so smoothly this time, thanks to Elder Zhao and his daughter. So I want to pick some wild mushrooms as a token of gratitude," Liu Yifeng explained.