Wang Fangfang was an expert at curing Zhou You's pretentious literary tendencies, handling it with practiced ease. Unfortunately, things weren't like before. Back then, it was a case of killing a thousand enemies while losing eight hundred of your own. Now, it was luring the enemy in only to be captured yourself—they were no longer on the same level.
Zhou You liked to listen to music while driving and had specially bought a genuine copy of Li Zongsheng's album.
*We are all mortals, born into this world, toiling away all day, never a moment's rest.*
This song, *Song of the Mortal*, had once been Zhou You's favorite, every word striking a chord. We're all ordinary people—why play the savior? Brother Li was also a master of the scumbag archetype, his songs brimming with heartfelt emotions. It wasn't easy for him to craft such beloved tunes, forcing himself into countless relationships, all for the sake of art. If he ever got the chance, he'd still go to Brother Li's concert—consider it a contribution.
The car drove straight to the farm. Ever since he'd taken up this line of work, it was basically non-stop all year round. If you took a break, the animals would go hungry. Once the scale grew a bit bigger and he hired more people, they could start rotating shifts. Otherwise, having money but no time to enjoy it was its own kind of tragedy.
As the year-end approached, Professor Li and his students had all gone home for the holidays. For now, they only needed to maintain basic operations. With a steady base of regular customers, sales were no worry at all—just focus on raising the livestock.
He turned off the engine and got out of the car, noticing that the road had been repaired. Probably to make transport easier, an extra stretch had been built leading to the farm. The hills were bare of the usual chickens, ducks, and geese—it was too cold in winter, so they'd all been moved into sheds for warmth, to be let out again in spring.
Li Fengying spotted her son returning and let out a joyful shout, rushing over to Zhou You and landing a slap on him. "You're back at last, boy! The whole family's been talking about you every day."
As she spoke, a group of people emerged from the house, showering him with concern, once again making Zhou You feel the warmth of a big family.
Zhou Bencheng was even more spirited than before. Walking through the village, he'd nod at nearly everyone he met—he had to return the greetings, after all. If people said hello, he had to be polite. His word in the village carried more weight than the village chief's.
"Dad, how many people are working at the farm now? Can you all handle it?" Zhou You asked.
"We can. We've hired a bunch of new people. After the expansion, our own family couldn't keep up, so we brought in folks from the village," Zhou Bencheng said, brimming with entrepreneurial spirit.
"Good. Don't let you and Mom overwork yourselves. The main thing is to have something to do—work if you want, rest if you don't. No rush," Zhou You repeatedly urged.
"Tired? Not at all. Professor Li handles daily management, and your cousin takes care of transport and deliveries. I'm just a figurehead. There was a small issue before, but it's sorted now," Zhou Bencheng said smugly.
"What issue?"
"That old loafer in our village, always into petty theft. Back when the village was empty, there was nothing to steal. But once we opened the farm, he'd come snooping every few days, and we lost a few chickens and ducks." Zhou Bencheng looked at his son, pausing slightly, hoping Zhou You would catch on and play along—otherwise, talking to himself would be boring.
Seeing his father like that, Zhou You played along: "And then?"
"Then, as we expanded, we hired more people from the village, starting with those we had good relations with. We installed cameras everywhere and stepped up patrols. That gave us enough manpower. One time, we actually caught him red-handed!" Zhou Bencheng paused again.
Before Zhou You could chime in, Li Fengying slapped him. "What kind of habit is that, learning to be a tease now!"
Li Fengying took over the story. "After we caught him, we were going to call the police. But the kid wasn't that old, and if we really reported him and he got detained, it would ruin his life. Besides, his parents aren't capable—they haven't even found him a wife yet. We talked it over and figured, since we're all fellow villagers, we should leave some leeway."
"So we didn't call the police. Instead, we hired him as a farm worker, put him in charge of patrols, and told him if anything went missing, he'd be responsible."
"That really moved him. Now he works diligently every day, and the whole village praises our family for being righteous."
After hearing this, Zhou You gave a thumbs-up. Brilliant, absolutely brilliant—this was survival wisdom. Turning an enemy into a friend—how clever. The stolen goods weren't worth much, but they were a nuisance. Now they had an extra employee and far fewer conflicts. The jealous types in the village had dwindled too.
Now the village praised Zhou You even more—not only was he talented, but he'd also brought in a professor from the university to lead everyone toward prosperity. Especially those working at the farm, who sang his praises to the skies.
The farm mostly employed middle-aged rural women, who had almost no other job opportunities and could only pick up odd jobs. Now they could find work close to home with decent pay. Some found that working half a year was more worthwhile than migrating to cities for jobs—saving on food, lodging, and living costs, they could put all their money aside.
Especially in the countryside now, women held much higher status than men. By controlling female opinion, they basically steered the entire village's conversation trends.
After half a day back in the village, Zhou You could feel the difference from last year. People greeted him when they met, and there was more genuine warmth. Before, it was because he studied well—they saw him as a role model, the "other people's kid." Now, by bringing direct benefits to the villagers, he'd earned more respect and become their own kid.
He never thought he'd end up as the brightest star in the village.
When the village chief heard Zhou You was back, he rushed over in a hurry. This year, he too was full of swagger. In this day and age, what industry did rural villages have? Now their village had a sizable farm, and it was bringing in economic income. At meetings, he walked with his head held high.
"You're here at last, Zhou You. There's something I've discussed with your parents, but they weren't sure, so they wanted you back to decide," the chief said, panting, getting straight to the point.
"Go ahead," Zhou You replied politely. The chief was a decent man, not too selfish or exclusionary.
"Your farm's not small now, and you've hired a lot of folks from the village. Everyone's grateful. Are you planning to expand further?" The chief stared at Zhou You without blinking.
"That depends on the market. If we can expand, of course we will!" Zhou You nodded.
"Well, the village hopes you'll keep expanding, so everyone can benefit. A lot of land's been left fallow—there's still plenty of collective land near the hills that no one's farming. If you want to lease it, we'll rent it to you at the same price as last time." The chief had clearly tasted the sweetness of turning waste into treasure.
Zhou You chuckled. This was a good thing—it wouldn't cost much anyway, so he'd just take the lease first.
"No problem. I'll have my uncle sign the agreement."
Seeing his goal achieved, the chief didn't linger, only hoping Zhou You would look out for the villagers when he had the means.
Zhou You readily agreed. In rural work, you had to keep the fellow villagers on your side. Otherwise, you'd run into jealous types who didn't know the law—some might even poison an entire pond of fish. Though they'd face legal consequences, the loss would be real.