Chapter 29: Eldest Brother's Home

Yu Yang certainly wanted to pull Liu Danian down from his position, but he had no intention of finishing him off. After all, his own business was destined to grow and prosper; there was no need to accumulate a dark history over such a trivial matter.

He patted the driver’s seat of the AMG Mercedes-Benz “Tiger Head” and advised, “We are running a legitimate business with a promising future. Don’t be so aggressive in your actions from now on.”

The county branch business manager nodded solemnly upon hearing this. In truth, he felt a sense of relief. With Shiliying being such a chaotic place, he had always felt the need to act tougher than he was. Otherwise, how could he earn the respect of the locals or integrate into the community?

“Boss Yu, any other instructions?”

“We’re all family; what instructions could there be? I’ll have Sixth Uncle transfer the 200,000 yuan loan to your bank. If I recall correctly, the annual interest rate is 6.85%, which means an extra 13,700 yuan, right?”

“That should be correct. I’ll double-check when I return.”

“Good. Also, this car hasn’t been registered yet. Just drive it back to the county seat, and when you have a moment, take it to Tai City and get it sorted for me.”

“Rest assured, Boss Yu. I’ll definitely get you a license plate you’ll be pleased with.”

“That doesn’t really matter.”

“This is an opportunity for me to demonstrate my competence.”

The business manager had come to press for debt repayment naturally because he was closely tied to the county branch president, Liu Danian—he could even be considered a trusted lieutenant. To defect to Yu Yang this time, he needed to present a token of loyalty to draw a clear line. Since taking down Liu Danian wasn't realistic, he had to start with small things.

The business manager added, “Thank you for your trust, Boss Yu.”

In this era, a super-luxury car meant more than just face; it signified crossing a certain threshold. Even if it didn’t belong to him and he was merely acting as a temporary driver, it still couldn't stop the officials and businessmen who, for the sake of deals, commerce, or other motives, would proactively greet him or curry favor. If he were to throw his weight around, in a small place where information lagged and people lacked exposure, he might take flight without needing Yu Yang’s help. Of course, the business manager wouldn’t do that, but it did prove the trust Yu Yang had placed in him.

“Boss Yu, shall I be going then?”

“Drive slowly on the road; this car has quite a bit of power.”

“Understood!”

...

The AMG Mercedes gradually disappeared along the provincial road. Yu Yang watched for a long time, crushed his cigarette butt, and beckoned his eldest brother to head to Yu Family Village together. First, he had Sixth Uncle free up the funds to transfer to the county agricultural branch. Then, he went to the north of the village to check on the plastic greenhouses. Several days had passed; the new greenhouses were already in production, and the assembly-line planting method was becoming increasingly mature.

Today, Greenhouse No. 1 was being harvested; tomorrow, No. 3; the day after, No. 5... The daily output had reached 2,500 crates times three. Of course, the public narrative was that this was the output of ten plastic greenhouses. Meanwhile, the expansion project continued, with ten new sunrooms made of tempered glass being added. The tempered glass was ordered from the Shiliying Glass Factory, which counted as supporting local industry. The thermal-break aluminum frames were customized from Quanpu, which served as a return gesture to the owner of the semi-trailer who had helped transport equipment from Liao City.

Once the ten sunrooms were built, powered, and equipped with heated brick beds, they would be classified under Sanyuan Agriculture as a high-tech industry. Yes, high-tech industry was just that simple; one shouldn't overcomplicate it. In other words, every region wanted to establish high-tech industrial parks, but the East was currently too far behind—where would all these high-tech projects come from? To meet performance targets, various regions had repeatedly lowered the tech threshold, or even abolished it entirely; as long as there was a hint of technical content, it was high-tech. Some even claimed to be overseas returnees capable of R&D and manufacturing chips, only to buy one from abroad, file off the logo, and claim it was self-developed—and the locals would believe it.

“Once we have a high-tech industry, it will be easier to cover up the bean sprout output...”

“But my brothers were looking at me strangely today—a bit resentful, as if to say, ‘You’re playing favorites.’”

“The problem is, everyone got a computer; no one was left out.”

“Could it be because I bought the AMG Mercedes, and the brothers want one too?”

“This could be troublesome...”

Yu Yang pondered this, preparing to return to the small Western-style house, when he couldn't help but sniff the air. “Whose house is stewing chicken? It smells so good!”

Following the scent, he arrived at Greenhouse No. 2. He lifted the curtain and looked up. Standing beside the earthen stove—the same one left over from when the whole village held a banquet—was a robust-looking auntie. A row of translucent characters floated above her head.

Before Yu Yang could see clearly, his eldest brother spoke up. “This is my wife.”

“???”

[Farm Wife, wife of Zhao Qian, proficient in agronomy and culinary skills.]

Yu Yang was stunned. “When did sister-in-law arrive?”

“Not long after the dwellings were built.”

“Dwellings...”

Yu Yang summoned the translucent page.

Dwellings: 1, Population limit +1.
Farmers: 156/156, of which 67 are on the way.

“I remember there were 89 brothers before. This time 67 more are coming, making exactly 156.”

“But one dwelling was built this morning, increasing the population limit by an extra 1, so there should be one more brother on his way.”

However, the person who arrived wasn't a brother, but a sister-in-law. Yu Yang looked around and spotted the dwellings, courtyard walls, gates, watchtowers, and mills built in the innermost part of the greenhouse area for experiments. He suddenly understood. The dwellings were the farmers’ homes. The men came out to work, and the wives stayed behind to keep house. Now that their homes had been moved here, the wives naturally followed. In other words, with 156 farmers, as long as he built 156 dwellings, an equal number of wives would be automatically recruited.

Yu Yang glanced at his eldest brother, who was beaming with happiness, and finally understood why his brothers had looked at him so strangely today. They all wanted wives! The problem was that the land in Yu Family Village was limited. Where could he find enough space to accommodate 156 dwellings?

“To the east is Pingdong Lake; no building there.”

“To the south is wheat fields; they can only be rented, not traded.”

“To the west is the highway; beyond that is the territory of Hangai.”

“To the north is wasteland, but the area is limited, and further north is the brick kiln...”

As Yu Yang thought this, he pictured the massive field used for drying bricks and storing finished bricks, but immediately dismissed the idea. The brick kiln used to be a collective asset. After it was privatized, the villagers who had held shares felt they had received too little and had caused trouble several times. If he were to take over the kiln, those villagers would surely come looking for money again...

“Then again, who in Shiliying would dare ask me for money now?”

Yu Yang weighed the pros and cons and decided to go check out the brick kiln. But for now, he sat on a bench, grabbed a pair of clean chopsticks, and plucked a piece of chicken with mushrooms from the plate.

“Tender and juicy, rich in flavor... Sister-in-law has great skills!”

Yu Yang felt that Sixth Aunt could retire; he immediately began to feast. While eating, he noticed a knee-high fence beside the dwelling, where many little chicks were being raised. He also saw his own little donkey, which had been idle for so long and had grown quite plump, blindfolded and walking in circles in the mill. The stone mill was grinding soybean flour—no, it was grinding soy milk. Because in the pot on the earthen stove, uncurdled soy milk was rolling and churning, and under the eaves of the dwelling in the distance, there were stacks of wooden tofu molds...

After looking around, Yu Yang turned his attention to the second dish: tofu with scallions. There were also several hot steamed buns and two large bowls of corn porridge.

“Is having a wife really this good?”

“Yes, and she keeps the bed warm too,” his eldest brother replied honestly.

Yu Yang was silent for a moment, then set down his chopsticks. “I’m going out for a walk.”