Chapter 286: The Oil-Rich Deng Clan of Naye [Subscription Request]

Chapter 286: The Oil-Rich Deng Clan of Naye [Subscription Request]



Bobai People's Park.

Facing this thorny issue, Zhu Junjie didn't panic. He said, "This situation is impossible."

Deng Yunzhen blinked and asked, "Why is it impossible?"

Zhu Junjie laughed heartily. "Did you forget that I'm a government employee? The country is implementing family planning now, and everyone, regardless of gender, can only have one child. If I want more, I'd have to quit my job."

Deng Yunzhen couldn't help but chuckle. In their village of Naye, people often had multiple children, so she had momentarily forgotten about the family planning policy. The issues she was worried about weren't really issues at all.

The two strolled and chatted as they made their way around the park. By the time they finished, the sky was getting dark.

Although the county's security had improved significantly since the strict crackdown last year, it wasn't entirely safe. There were still potential dangers, so Deng Yunzhen and her companions never went out alone, especially not at night.

If she were with anyone else, Deng Yunzhen would have gone home long before the sky turned dark. But with the deputy chief of the Public Security Bureau by her side, and him in uniform no less, she felt secure. At the very least, she didn't have to worry about any unwanted advances.

As they walked back from the park, just before reaching home, Zhu Junjie asked, "Aizhen, would you like to have breakfast with me tomorrow?"

Deng Yunzhen smiled. "Sure!"

...

The Next Morning.

Sui Feng Restaurant.

It was still early, and the restaurant hadn't opened for breakfast yet. Deng Yunzhen played hide-and-seek with Xiaodong'er.

This time, Xiaodong'er was hiding, and Deng Yunzhen was looking for her.

Deng Yunzhen had already seen Xiaodong'er hiding behind the cash register, but she pretended not to notice and walked around, calling out, "Xiaodong'er, where are you hiding?"

"Xiaodong'er, Auntie sees you. Don't hide anymore, come out, okay?"

"Xiaodong'er, Auntie really sees you. Are you hiding in the bathroom?"

Most children would have revealed their hiding spot by now, but Xiaodong'er had played this game many times before. She was well-versed in the tricks and remained silent, even waving at her mother to keep quiet. Her adorable gesture almost made her mother burst into laughter.

Deng Yunzhen tried several more tricks, but none of them worked. In the end, she had to find Xiaodong'er for real.

Xiaodong'er giggled when she was found. The game of hide-and-seek, though simple, was incredibly appealing to her at this age.

Deng Yunzhen hugged her and laughed, "Xiaodong'er, you're getting better and better. Even Auntie can't trick you now!"

Xiaodong'er beamed proudly, "Even Dad can't beat me at hide-and-seek."

Deng Yunzhen nodded, smiling, "That's right. Our Xiaodong'er is so smart. Auntie can't trick you either."

Xiaodong'er said excitedly, "Auntie, let's play again. It's your turn to hide!"

Deng Yunzhen laughed, "Let's take a break first. We can play again later. Your grandfather said he'll take you to kindergarten to play with other children. Do you want to go?"

Xiaodong'er asked, "Auntie, where is the kindergarten? Are the children there fun to play with?"

Deng Yunzhen smiled, "The kindergarten is very close. There are many children there, and they play games together every day. It's a lot of fun."

Xiaodong'er's interest was immediately piqued. She said eagerly, "Then I want to go to the kindergarten."

Deng Yunzhen smiled warmly, "Okay, when you're a bit older, Auntie will take you to the kindergarten every day to play with other children. But you'll have to play with them alone. Auntie has other things to do and can't stay with you."

Xiaodong'er asked hesitantly, "Only by myself? If Auntie is busy, can Mom stay with me?"

Deng Yunzhen laughed, "Mom also has work to do. You'll play with the other children at the kindergarten, and when Mom, Dad, or Auntie finishes their work, they'll come to pick you up. Then you can tell us about the games you played. Isn't that great?"

Xiaodong'er, who had no concept of time, thought it would be like playing for a bit and then going home, so she nodded, "Okay!"

Deng Yunzhen knew she was just temporarily soothing her niece. Once they sent Xiaodong'er to the kindergarten, she would probably start crying as soon as they left.

By her reasoning, Xiaodong'er didn't need to go to kindergarten. They could wait until she was six or seven and send her directly to preschool, just like their generation. Sending a child under three to kindergarten was bound to make her cry.

However, her father had said that in the future, all children would attend kindergarten, not just those in the city but in the countryside as well. Kindergarten would likely become an integral part of the national education system.

Deng Yunzhen admired her father's foresight. Since he said Xiaodong'er should go to kindergarten, it must be beneficial.

So, Deng Yunzhen was preparing Xiaodong'er in advance, trying to spark her interest in the kindergarten.

...

Time flew by, and soon it was the fifth month of the lunar calendar.

Every year in the fifth lunar month, the lychees in Bobai ripened in large quantities.

In the Shuangwang area, there were many wild lychee trees. Some of these trees were over a hundred years old, and many were several decades old. These towering trees could yield hundreds or even thousands of pounds of lychees when they bore fruit.

With more and more individual households in the countryside, people could openly do business without the need for secrecy. The practice of pre-purchasing lychees (as mentioned earlier, this involves negotiating with the owner of the lychee tree to buy the season's crop in advance) was now entering its harvest season.

On this day, the village's lychee tree, which grew from a seed, was ready to be harvested. Children from the village who heard the news rushed to the tree, ready to snatch any lychees that fell.

When harvesting lychees from such a tree, the villagers used bamboo tongs to pick the fruit. Occasionally, the adults would make mistakes, and the lychees would fall to the ground. The children below would then race to grab them, and whoever got them first would keep them. Since only a few lychees would fall at a time, no one really minded who got them. After all, they were all village children, and it wouldn't be right to deny them a few lychees to eat.

As the lychee harvest began, the Guimi lychee trees belonging to Deng Shirong and Deng Yunqiang were also ready to be picked. This was the third year the trees had produced fruit, and as they grew larger, the yield had increased significantly.

Last year, Deng Yunqiang's lychees sold for 2,180 yuan, but this year, the income soared to 2,895 yuan. Deng Shirong's trees produced just as much fruit, but he set aside a few hundred pounds for his family and relatives, so he only sold 2,578 yuan worth.

After the lychees were sold, the entire clan's watermelons were next. This year, the Deng clan planted even more watermelons than last year, as everyone had tasted the benefits. The minimum income for each family was at least 1,000 yuan, and the most successful households earned up to 4,000 or 5,000 yuan.

With such high returns, who wouldn't want to plant more? So, this year, many clan members not only filled their orchards with watermelons but also used the sloping land, usually reserved for grains, to grow more watermelons.

Even other villages in the Bangjie brigade, belonging to different surnames, followed suit and planted watermelons. As a result, the watermelon planting scale in the Bangjie brigade reached a new historical high, totaling nearly 20,000 tons.

To handle this massive harvest, the supply and marketing cooperative dispatched dozens of large trucks to transport the watermelons around the clock.

In the end, Deng Shirong's family sold their watermelons for nearly 4,500 yuan. Adding the money from the lychee sales, their total income was over 7,000 yuan. If you also consider the income from the brick factory throughout the year, it came to around 14,000 yuan.

Last year, the profit from the longan fruit was 255,405 yuan. After spending 1,760 yuan on monkey tickets, he had 253,645 yuan left. Adding this year's 14,000 yuan, he had 267,645 yuan. After deducting the year's expenses and the 3,000 yuan deposit for the Dongping farm, Deng Shirong currently had about 262,000 yuan in cash.

This amount seemed substantial, but it might not be enough. He needed to buy pineapples from the Dongping farm and reserve some money to buy longans from the Baiping farm, which made the funds quite tight.

However, his eldest daughter-in-law had several thousand yuan saved. If he really needed more money, he could borrow from her.

...

As dozens of trucks continuously transported the watermelons out of the Bangjie brigade, Deng Shirong boarded a bus to Dongping.

Upon arriving in Dongping, he searched for a while and eventually found an abandoned grain warehouse that could be rented as a temporary storage facility. After securing the warehouse, he headed to the Dongping farm.

While walking, Deng Shirong felt that this was a waste of time. He thought to himself that after selling the longans and pineapples, he should buy two identical motorcycles—one to keep at home and the other to store in his spatial ring. This way, he could easily retrieve the motorcycle whenever he needed it while traveling, making things much more convenient.

By the time he reached the Dongping farm, it was around 4 PM. Seeing the arrival of the big boss, the farm manager, Mr. Feng, was delighted and said with a smile, "Mr. Deng, I knew you would come these days. Our pineapples are ripe and ready for harvest at any time."

Deng Shirong smiled and replied, "Then I'll leave it to you, Mr. Feng, to organize the harvest."

Mr. Feng asked, "We have the workforce ready. Do you want to start the harvest tomorrow?"

Deng Shirong nodded and said, "Since they're ripe, let's start tomorrow."

Mr. Feng agreed, "Alright, I'll inform the workers to prepare for the harvest tomorrow."

Deng Shirong added, "Mr. Feng, once the pineapples are harvested, please arrange for trucks to transport them to the abandoned grain warehouse in Dongping."

Mr. Feng smiled, "No problem, that's our responsibility."

After discussing the details, Mr. Feng had someone notify the workers to start the harvest the next morning. He also instructed the chef at the farm canteen to prepare a feast to entertain their distinguished guest.

Deng Shirong couldn't refuse the hospitality and stayed to drink with Mr. Feng and other farm leaders. He spent the night at the farm.

...

The next day, the workers at the Dongping farm began harvesting the pineapples.

Ten days later, the harvest was complete, yielding a total of 1,206 tons, a substantial amount.

According to the signed contract, the price was 0.1 yuan per pound, so 1,206 tons amounted to 241,200 yuan. After deducting the 3,000 yuan deposit, Deng Shirong still needed to pay 238,200 yuan to the farm.

This left him with only 23,800 yuan in cash, which was clearly not enough to buy the longans from the Baiping farm. He would have to borrow from his eldest daughter-in-law.

After settling the payment, Mr. Feng had the chef prepare another large feast. As they drank, he asked, "Mr. Deng, will you continue to purchase pineapples next summer?"

Originally, Deng Shirong planned to buy more pineapples to sell gradually. However, he was short on cash, so he decided to visit a few more places to sell the 1,206 tons of pineapples. Therefore, he still planned to continue purchasing pineapples next year.

When Manager Feng asked, Deng Shirong confidently replied, "Manager Feng, if the purchase price remains the same, we can sign the contract for next summer's melon harvest right now."

"Mr. Deng, you're a man of your word. Let's drink first, and we'll sign the contract afterward."

"Sure thing, thank you for your hospitality, Manager Feng. I'll raise a glass to you."

"Mr. Deng, you're too kind. It should be me raising a glass to you. May your business flourish and your wealth grow."

"Thanks for the good wishes, cheers!"

"Cheers!"

...

It took a full forty days from the start of the watermelon sales until the last one was sold.

Once all the watermelons were sold, the entire village of Naye Deng was filled with laughter and joy, as if it were a grand celebration. This year's watermelon harvest had been another great success.

Last year, the Naye Deng clan sold over 11,500 tons of watermelons, generating a total income of nearly 1.9 million yuan. After deducting the planting costs, each household made an average profit of 2,500 yuan, which was a significant windfall.

However, before the money had even cooled in their pockets, the clan members had invested it all into the passenger transport company, even putting in their savings.

As a result, the Naye Deng clan had only been enjoying a facade of prosperity for the past year. In reality, life had been tough, and many clan members were struggling more than ever.

But things were different now. This year, the Naye Deng clan sold over 12,000 tons of watermelons, generating a total income of more than 1.9 million yuan. After deducting the planting costs, the average profit per household was even higher than last year.

With this substantial influx of money, it felt like a long drought had finally met with a refreshing rain. Clan members who had been living hand-to-mouth suddenly became affluent.

Houses were being built, weddings were being planned, and there was a constant stream of good news. The entire clan was thriving.

Other villages, inspired by the Naye Deng clan's success, also planted watermelons and reaped profits. They celebrated by slaughtering chickens and ducks and inviting friends and family to feasts.

In short, the entire Bangjie Brigade was immersed in the joy of the harvest.

...

As the saying goes: "There's no rain without clouds in the sky, and no marriage without a matchmaker on the ground."

The importance of matchmakers is undeniable. Since the establishment of the marriage system in China, matchmakers have played a crucial role.

In rural areas, there are professional matchmakers who make a living from their craft, as well as amateur matchmakers who do it out of passion.

Professional matchmakers travel between villages, scouting for unmarried individuals and facilitating matches. They are rare, with some villages not even having one.

Amateur matchmakers, on the other hand, are mostly women with a passion for matchmaking. They enjoy helping familiar people find their matches and do it purely for the satisfaction of bringing a couple together, not for profit. They are numerous and active.

Cai Sangu, an amateur matchmaker from Hengmenkou Village, was currently at her hometown, Bitian Village, matchmaking for her niece.

Cai Sangu asked, "Second Sister, isn't your sixth daughter, Liulu, 22 this year?"

Cai Erjie nodded, "Yes, she's 22!"

Cai Sangu said, "We have a young man in our village who is quite decent. I want to introduce him to your sixth daughter. What do you think?"

Cai Erjie's eyes lit up, "Sangu, what's the young man like?"

"Sister, I'm not exaggerating. Our Hengmenkou Village is no longer the poor village it was two years ago. Even the poorest families in our village would be considered wealthy in Bitian Village."

Cai Sangu said proudly, then continued, "The young man I'm talking about comes from a poor family. Actually, every household in our village was poor two years ago, including mine.

However, since last year, under the leadership of our clan head, we started growing watermelons and then pooled our resources to start a passenger transport company. Our village has completely transformed.

Let me tell you about this young man's family. His three brothers are now drivers for the passenger transport company, earning a combined monthly salary of over 200 yuan. They also own four shares in the company, which will definitely bring in a lot of money in the future.

This year, they made nearly 4,000 yuan from growing watermelons. They are currently building a new house. In Bitian Village, how many families can match their conditions?"

Cai Erjie was amazed. In just over a year, a once-poor family had turned into a wealthy one, and this wasn't an isolated case but a widespread phenomenon throughout the village and the entire clan. It was truly impressive.

"Sangu, this young man has money and a job, but will he be interested in my sixth daughter?"

"Sister, let me explain. The young man has a flaw: he's a bit older, 29 this year."

Cai Erjie's brow furrowed slightly. At 29, he was indeed a bit old. If their family conditions were similar, she would have immediately ruled him out. But his family was much better off, and as a mother, she understood the significant difference between a wealthy and a poor household.

"That is a bit old, but given his good conditions, it's not a problem."

Cai Sangu smiled, "I'm glad you see it that way. We've both been through this, and we know the difference between a wealthy and a poor household. If your sixth daughter marries him, she will have a life of comfort, free from the worries of daily necessities. Her life will be better than many others."

Cai Erjie nodded, "You're right. The difference between wealth and poverty is indeed significant."

"Sister, if you agree, I'll arrange for them to meet."

"Sure, you go ahead and arrange it!"

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end