Three days passed in the blink of an eye, and the group returned home in high spirits.
Zhou You had originally planned to continue traveling to Pattaya and Phuket, but he received a few calls in between—one from Professor Li and another from Zhang Yiming.
Professor Li hoped Zhou You could come back and take a look; the main framework was set up, but he wasn't too sure about the next steps.
Zhang Yiming was hesitant on the phone, saying the product was ready and hoping Zhou You could come try it out. There were probably other unspoken difficulties. Zhou You thought it over and figured it might be funding trouble—after all, in his past life, no one had been optimistic about it.
Anyway, he'd be coming to Thailand often from now on—two vacations a year wasn't too much, was it?
He could take his time with the rest, no rush.
He briefly instructed He Mei not to rush—if there were individual tourists, take them on; if not, just wait patiently.
Then he boarded a plane and flew straight to Luzhou.
Back in Luzhou, Zhou You took Wang Fangfang along and bought another car, a Volvo XC60, for daily commuting.
His obsession with the Wrangler had passed; he'd never even taken it off-roading. It could just sit at home for occasional fun.
The Volvo was more comfortable and safer overall.
After finishing the paperwork and getting the license plate, Zhou You headed straight back to his hometown.
It was peak season for swimming, and Wang Fangfang was swamped with work every day, so Zhou You didn't bother her much.
The Volvo's comfort, especially on the highway, was far superior to the Wrangler's. Once past 80 km/h, there was no wind noise, and the cabin was well-sealed.
For Zhou You, cars over 500,000 yuan didn't differ much. Many luxury cars relied on gimmicks like power, handcrafting, and fancy trims—crystal, diamonds, gold—but the actual difference was negligible.
Back home, Professor Li Baoyin was waiting for him.
Zhou You noticed his skin had darkened a few shades. Though a bit haggard, his spirit was full of energy and positivity.
Seeing Zhou You get out of the car, Li hurried over and grabbed him: "Teacher Zhou, you really are a hands-off boss, aren't you? Not a bit of oversight. Now we're seeing results, so I invited you to come check it out."
Zhou You looked up. The entire hill had changed dramatically. Fenced-off areas circled around in sections, housing chickens, ducks, geese, and some sheep. Down on the leveled ground, several large greenhouses had been built.
Chickens clucked, ducks quacked, geese ran around everywhere. A breeze carried the faint smell of organic manure.
A small villa had also been constructed, with a large yard and three floors, enough to accommodate forty to fifty people.
There was also a vegetable patch.
"Professor Li, why did you plant vegetables?" Zhou You was a bit puzzled. Vegetables were cheap in the countryside—why bother?
"The chickens, ducks, and geese produce too much organic fertilizer. It'd be a waste not to use it. Growing some organic veggies makes it convenient for us to eat," Li explained casually.
Looking at this thriving scene, Zhou You had to admit he was genuinely moved. Investing was just investing, but this—though also an investment—felt like a foundation in his hometown.
In his past life, the crosstalk performer Yu Qian knew how to enjoy himself, setting up a zoo in the suburbs. That was true leisure.
Zhou You gazed at the vast woodland and felt a bit of regret, but since they were just starting out, he didn't say much. Later, they'd gradually expand and raise everything they could. He wasn't after anything else—just the fun of it.
He could even raise a few horses and ride them himself.
Even at his worst, he'd still earn more than Yu Qian, wouldn't he?
Zhou You had once watched the documentary *Clarkson's Farm*—it was hilarious and enviable, super funny. A wealthy British TV host bought a big piece of land and started farming, leading to all sorts of amusing situations. It was entertaining and enjoyable.
Zhou You himself came from a rural background and had a soft spot for the countryside. As long as he didn't have to do the farming himself—or just occasionally dabbled in it—pastoral life was a lot of fun.
In the future, when he could buy land in Thailand and the U.S., he'd get more.
To be honest, land was an eternal means of production. Look at any wealthy person—they all own land. Bill Gates, for instance, was basically the biggest farmer around.
They circled around the hill. Below was a large pond, stocked with some semi-wild fish, enough to meet daily farming water needs.
Professor Li introduced everything with excitement. Seeing this land transform from nothing into this setup, Li Baoyin was filled with a sense of accomplishment.
"Professor Li, I feel like you're more into this than teaching now," Zhou You teased.
"I'm into both. Besides, it's all the same thing. Being able to go all out this time and experiment with all sorts of ideas—that's rare. For someone in agriculture, it's a chance to realize their ambitions," Li Baoyin said with some emotion.
Agriculture couldn't just rely on pure theory; it had to be combined with practice. But funding was scarce now, with most big money going into large-scale farming. This area required heavy investment with slow returns, so few were willing to take it on.
Zhou You was happy. As long as someone was willing to do it, he could just invest more money.
His parents were also delighted to see him, especially his mother: "Professor Li is really a good man. Seeing we weren't professionals, he specially hired an accountant to manage our books. She's even a college graduate."
Li Baoyin scratched his head sheepishly: "She's actually one of my graduate students. Coincidentally, she originally studied accounting and was interested in agriculture, so she switched majors to study under me. It worked out perfectly."
Zhou You was surprised too. It was the first time he'd heard of someone switching to agriculture for graduate studies. "Professor Li, we need to raise her salary and benefits—not just give her a stipend. If she's doing two jobs, she should be paid for both."
They had to keep this talent, especially in the early stages of the startup. In this small village, where else would they find someone to handle finances? Even outsourced bookkeeping wasn't available.
Lunch was held in the villa's courtyard. Someone was specially hired to cook—whatever they wanted to eat, they just caught it from the fields. Though the free-range chickens weren't fully grown yet, they were still edible. They'd just have to kill a few more.
After the meal, Zhou You lay down. This was the pastoral life he'd imagined—clothes handed to him, food brought to him, all-natural, pollution-free, green farming, green vegetables.
His parents looked much better too. His mother, Li Fengying, couldn't see the businesses elsewhere and felt uneasy, but now this was tangible.
Professor Li and Zhou You sat on the sofa. Li briefly summarized the recent work: "Everything's pretty much sorted now. I've contacted the school and the county's agriculture bureau and animal husbandry bureau. All the vaccine protocols and permits are done. I heard there might be some subsidies, but we're still applying, and it probably won't be much."
"You're amazing, Professor Li. A true industry veteran. If I had to handle this stuff, I wouldn't even know where to start," Zhou You said sincerely. With Professor Li around, he barely had to worry.
"But we're about to start selling gradually. I only have some simple sales channels. Do you have any other channels, Boss Zhou? Otherwise, if we raise them and can't sell them, we'll take a huge loss," Li pointed out the difficulty directly.
Organic farming was different from traditional farming, and the sales channels were different too—almost incomparable.