Chapter 375: Turning Bangjie Village into a Tourist Attraction

Chapter 375: Turning Bangjie Village into a Tourist Attraction

  Hubei Province.

  A family compound in Jingzhou.

  Around one o'clock in the afternoon, Lu Wei and Gu Caixiao returned home.

  As soon as they entered, Gu Caixiao called out, “Dad, Mom, we're back!”

  In truth, given their family's financial situation, Lu Wei and Gu Caixiao could easily afford to live separately and didn't need to live with their parents. However, while some people prefer not to live with their parents, others, like Lu Wei and Gu Caixiao, are more than willing to live with their parents.

  Seeing her daughter-in-law return, Lu Mother immediately greeted her with a beaming smile and asked, “Caixiao, have you eaten? If not, I'll cook you a bowl of noodles.”

  Gu Caixiao smiled and replied, “Mom, Mom  Lu Father was sitting in the living room, sipping tea, and with a smile, he asked, “Caixiao, is GrandmaGrandma's hand better? If she can't lift heavy objects, it should be fine.”

  Lu Wei put down their luggage and invited his wife to join him for tea. He then sighed and said to his parents, “Dad, Mom, this trip to my sister's fiance's family was a real eye-opener.”

  Lu Mother glanced at her son and asked, “What kind of eye-opener?”

  Lu Wei bitterly smiled and said, “I thought I was doing pretty well, having accumulated a million or so in assets, but I never expected that my sister's fiance's father, a rural native, would have earned several million in just a few years after the country's economic reforms. It's a real shock.”

  Lu Father was surprised and asked, “That's quite impressive. What business does this fiance's family run?”

  Gu Caixiao replied, “I heard they led the whole clan in opening two companies, one for transportation and another for food. The instant noodles by one brand is one of their food company's products, and they even have a factory in Wuhan, my hometown.”

  Lu Father and Lu Mother exchanged glances, as they had often enjoyed the Red Braised Beef Flavor Instant Noodles, never realizing it was a product of the fiance's family's food company, which had expanded from Guangxi to Wuhan. It was indeed a large-scale operation.

  Lu  Lu Wei sipped his tea and continued, “Dad, Mom, you can't imagine how beautiful my sister's fiance's home is. To put it mildly, it's like an ancient palace.”

  The house itself covers three thousand square meters, all decorated with precious woods and intricate carvings. It was the first time I had seen such a magnificent house; it was truly an eye-opener.”

  Lu Mother, hearing her son's praise, was curious and began inquiring about the future brother-in-law's family.

  Lu Wei and Gu Caixiao took turns recounting the details of their trip to Guangxi, leaving Lu Father and Lu Mother in awe. The Five Peaks Square alone cost several million, with the lower floors used for business and the top floor as a residence, all beautifully decorated in the ancient palace style.

  It seems that his future in-laws are quite remarkable people!

  ...

  Bose County.

  While adding canning equipment to the mooncake factory to start producing eight-treasure porridge, the county launched a large-scale rat extermination campaign, using 210,000 kilograms of poison bait to eliminate over 5.1 million rats, significantly reducing the rodent problem.

  Rats have a strong reproductive capacity, and if left unchecked, they can cause serious damage, especially field rats, which feed on crops and grains, posing a major threat to agriculture.

  When Deng Shirong returned to the village, he saw the villagers also engaged in rat extermination, not just house rats but also field rats. He felt a bit sorry for them.

  Field rats are highly nutritious, and in some places, there's a saying that eating one field rat is equivalent to eating three chickens.

  Especially in Guangxi and Fujian, people eat them year-round, using various methods, such as steaming, stir-frying, or grilling.

  Here, it should be clarified that some northerners mistakenly think field rats are the same as house rats, which is incorrect.

  Field rats and house rats belong to different families; field rats are in the Cricetidae family, while house rats are in the Muridae family.

  The field rats eaten in Guangxi and Fujian, typically live in fields and specialize in destroying crops, while house rats in other provinces are often found in homes, sewers, or garbage heaps, making them hard to look at, let alone eat.

  As long as someone eats them, there's a market for them.

  In the mid-1990s, in Shuangwang, many people started buying field rats, and the price was not low, causing a surge in rat trap sales. Young people in the villages would buy several traps to catch field rats for pocket money.

  At that time, Deng Yunhua and Deng Yunheng, the younger sons, also participated, catching and selling field rats for pocket money.

During that period, rat traps were scattered all over the village's fields, set out in the evening and collected in the morning. At first, everyone had good catches, and the traps never came back empty.

However, as more people started setting traps, the field rats became fewer and fewer, and the catches gradually diminished. It became common for the traps to come back empty.

Now, with no one buying field rats, using poison bait to kill them seemed like a waste.

In the afternoon, while Deng Shirong was smoking at the door, Deng YunGui walked over.

After exchanging greetings, Deng YunGui said, "Uncle Jiu, the brick and tile factory isn't making much money anymore. I'm tired of traveling every month, so I'm thinking of shutting down the business. What do you think?"

Deng Shirong lit his tobacco with a lighter, took a few puffs, and then said, "If you want to stop, go ahead. Continuing would just be a waste of time. However, the brick and tile factory has been with me for so many years. I plan to lease it out and keep it around. Whenever I feel nostalgic, I can go there and experience the old days of making bricks and tiles."

Deng YunGui laughed and said, "Only Uncle Jiu would have such leisurely thoughts."

Deng Shirong replied, "After all, I've been dealing with bricks and tiles for decades. When I get old, I want to have something to remember. Even if bricks and tiles fall out of use, I'll have a place to show the old crafts to my grandchildren."

Deng YunGui, being just the owner of the brick and tile factory and not a master brickmaker, naturally didn't share Uncle Jiu's sentiment. He agreed with Uncle Jiu's idea and then said, "Uncle Jiu, after we finish the last batch of goods, I'll announce the closure to the workers."

Deng Shirong stuffed the tobacco into his pipe and said, "Go ahead and announce it. Most of the workers are from our clan, and they don't need the money anymore."

Deng YunGui nodded and didn't bring up the matter again. The income from the brick and tile factory was already negligible for both of them.

...

A week later.

At the brick and tile factory.

Deng Changbiao (Deng Shirong's apprentice) finished the batch of large jars he was working on, picked up the water pipe, took out his lighter and tobacco from his pocket, and prepared to have a smoke before going home.

Since his master and Uncle YunGui leased out the brick and tile factory and he became one of the master brickmakers, his family's living standards had drastically improved, making him one of the most economically well-off people in the village.

Later, when his master led the establishment of a passenger transport company, out of trust in his master, he invested all his savings and secured a significant share. The dividends from the transport company naturally brought him substantial returns.

He also invested heavily in the food company, which eventually bore sweet fruit.

The transport and food companies brought Deng Changbiao enormous profits. If an ordinary person had such income, they would likely have quit being a master brickmaker. After all, being a master brickmaker was indeed lucrative, but it was also very hard work.

However, Deng Changbiao continued to work diligently at the brick and tile factory.

The only change was that he made about a third fewer large jars than before, not working as hard as he used to.

Just as Deng Changbiao was about to have a smoke, Deng YunGui walked over.

Deng Changbiao greeted him, "Uncle YunGui."

Deng YunGui sat down opposite him and said, "Abiao, after we finish this batch of goods, the brick and tile factory will be dissolved."

Hearing this, Deng Changbiao's hand paused as he stuffed the tobacco into his pipe and asked, "Uncle YunGui, is the brick and tile factory really unsustainable?" Everyone knew the factory's business had been poor recently, and it was only a matter of time before it closed, but he didn't expect it to happen so soon.

Deng YunGui said, "You know how the business has been lately. It's getting harder and harder, and I'm tired of the hassle."

Deng Changbiao stuffed the tobacco into his pipe and asked, "Uncle YunGui, does my master know about this?"

Deng YunGui replied, "I talked to Uncle Jiu a few days ago. He also thinks it's best to dissolve the factory. However, he plans to lease it out individually and keep it as a nostalgic place. After all, Uncle Jiu has been dealing with the brick and tile factory for decades and has deep feelings for it."

Deng Changbiao lit his tobacco with a lighter, took a few puffs, and said after a while, "Then, after we load the last batch of goods into the kiln, I can take a good rest and not have to work so hard every day."

Although he said this, he felt a bit empty inside at that moment.

He had started as a small apprentice and eventually became a master brickmaker, envied by everyone in the village. He had been there for a full fifteen years. How many fifteen years does one have in a lifetime? Working in one place for such a long time, it was impossible not to have feelings for it.

Deng YunGui understood his feelings, patted his shoulder, and comforted him, "Although the factory will be dissolved, it will still exist. When your master leases it out, you can come over whenever you feel nostalgic."

And now, you're not short of money anymore. There's really no need to do such hard work anymore. Relax and enjoy yourself. If you want to start a business, go to your master and ask him for some advice."

"I understand, Uncle YunGui. After working for so many years, I am indeed tired. I'll go back and rest for a while. We can talk about starting a business later."

"Alright, go back. Remember to come and help when we load the last batch of goods into the kiln."

"Sure."

...

After returning to the village, Deng Shirong would secretly release a few large boulders along the newly dug riverbanks every night. He didn't place the boulders randomly but used his spatial abilities to move the boulders on both sides of the river in a coordinated manner, then insert new boulders in the middle. This way, the clan members wouldn't notice any changes in the boulders.

The boulder project was massive. Despite the clan members working diligently to transport boulders from the stone mountain, only about one-third of the riverbanks had been filled so far. At this rate, it would take at least until next year to complete the filling. Deng Shirong didn't want to waste so much manpower, so he adopted this method to quietly speed up the process.

The 60-meter-wide village road had already been prepared with a base and sub-base, and only the concrete hardening of the surface remained.

The construction of the villa complex was currently at the foundation digging stage. Once all the foundations were dug, the brick-laying would be done uniformly.

In Bobai, laying the foundation bricks is a significant event. It involves inviting a master to choose an auspicious date and inviting friends and relatives to participate. For the villa complex, all the relatives and friends of the Naye Deng clan would be invited, making the event even larger than the previous ancestral hall dedication and ancestral worship ceremonies.

After all, whether it was the ancestral hall dedication or the ancestral worship, only aunts, sisters, and clan members from various regions were invited, which couldn't compare to the number of relatives and friends of the entire clan.

...

As the lunar month of June drew to a close, the brick and tile factory sold its last batch of goods, settled the workers' wages, and officially announced its dissolution. The brick and tile factory, which Deng Shirong and Deng YunGui had jointly contracted in May 1980, had been in operation for over nine years. During this period, it had made significant contributions, bringing in an income of around 60,000 to 70,000 yuan for Deng Shirong and Deng YunGui.

After the dissolution of the brick and tile factory, Deng Shirong signed a new 40-year lease contract with the village. He was now implementing his vision for Bangjie Village. The villa complex, the village road, the luxurious ancestral hall, and the clan's lychee mountains were all important attractions. In the future, he planned to develop more attractions to draw visitors.

He intended to keep the brick and tile factory operational. When the village became a well-known tourist destination in the future, demonstrating the large jar-making technique to visitors would not only broaden their horizons but also turn the factory into a village attraction. This would be a great addition.

Not only the brick and tile factory, but also the village's bowl factory, he planned to lease it out when it was no longer viable. These small rural factories are insignificant in the current era, but in the future, they would be rare. Preserving them would allow visitors to experience traditional arts and even participate in the production process, which would attract many interested tourists.

The more attractions in the village, the stronger its competitiveness. More tourists would benefit not only the Naye Deng clan but the entire Bangjie Village and even the surrounding areas.

Thinking about the Bangjie Village of his past life, it was a desolate place. Those clan members who worked and lived in the city often brought their families back during holidays, only to have their wives and children complain about the village. Many city-born clan members, if not urged by their grandparents or fathers, wouldn't even want to return home.

In this life, if Deng Shirong could turn Bangjie Village and the surrounding areas into a tourist attraction, not only would the clan members working and living outside think about returning during holidays, but tourists from all over the country would be eager to visit.

If that day ever came, just thinking about it was exhilarating.

...

As the brick and tile factory was dissolved, the village road began its final concrete surface hardening. With the help of machinery and the many clan members working, five-sixths of the road was hardened in just five days. The remaining one-sixth would have to wait until the concrete surface was ready for traffic.

This was indeed not as fast as the asphalt roads of the future, which could be used almost immediately after the asphalt cooled slightly.

Along the village road and in the middle, tree pits had been dug according to Deng Shirong's requirements. Once the time was right, ginkgo trees would be transplanted.

Before long, it was July 14th, a day still highly regarded by the people of Bobai.

In Bobai, it is customary to pay respects to the Ancestors during festivals, and clan members would try their best to return home unless they were truly unable to do so.

Deng Shirong was back in his hometown, and his children and their spouses naturally returned to celebrate the festival as well.

On July 14th, people in Bobai would slaughter ducks to celebrate, a tradition that had been around for a long time. However, in the past, due to financial constraints, many families would opt for more economical options like making gaihe (a type of rice cake). Over time, eating gaihe on July 14th also became a custom.

Now, with no one in Naye Village lacking money, every household could afford to slaughter ducks for the festival. Some families, not minding the extra effort, would also steam gaihe to eat.

This year, Deng Shirong was too lazy to make gaihe. After slaughtering a free-range duck, he simply boiled it whole.

According to local customs, raw meat should not be used to pay respects to the Ancestors. The meat must be cooked at home, and a pinch of salt should be placed on the duck (or other meats like chicken or pork). Six bowls of rice, chopsticks, tea, and alcohol should also be prepared.

Finally, with gold and silver paper, one could go to pay respects to the Ancestors.

Since the duck Deng Shirong had slaughtered had been raised for a considerable time, it required a bit longer to cook, otherwise, it would be too tough to eat later.

While Deng Shirong was busy in the kitchen, Deng Yuntai was boasting to his younger siblings under the longan tree: "I stayed in Liuzhou for quite a while this time. Do you know what impressed me the most there?"

Deng Yunzhu blinked and joked, "Big Brother, is it that the girls in Liuzhou are very pretty?"

Deng Yuntai glared at her and quickly turned to his wife, saying, "Pinglei, don't listen to this girl's nonsense. You know what kind of person I am."

Zhang Xiuping smiled and asked, "So, what impressed you the most about Liuzhou?"

Deng Yuntai exclaimed, "A bowl of noodles called luosifen. The taste is truly amazing, and the more you eat, the more you crave it. During my time in Liuzhou, I almost ate a bowl of luosifen every day."

In this era, luosifen was not as famous as it would become in the future. It had only been popular in Liuzhou, its place of origin, for a few years and was not available in other cities.

Zhang Xiuping was surprised, "Luosifen? Why is this noodle named so strangely?"

Deng Yuntai laughed, "These 'luosi' are actually the snails we have here. In Liuzhou, they call snails 'luosi,' hence the name luosifen."

Deng Yunzhu was puzzled, "Big Brother, noodles made with snail broth, how can they be that good?"

Deng Yuntai laughed, "I don't know the exact recipe, but the snails are just a seasoning in the broth. It's hard to describe the taste of luosifen, but it's definitely the most unique noodle I've ever had."

Deng Yunhua asked, "Big Brother, how does it compare to laoyoufen in Nanning?"

"Each has its own merits."

Deng Yuntai thought for a moment and added, "However, compared to laoyoufen, luosifen has a more distinctive flavor. Besides the noodles, it comes with a variety of toppings like pickled bamboo shoots, shredded black fungus, peanuts, fried tofu, and daylily flowers. It's really satisfying to eat."

Deng Yunzhu couldn't help but swallow, feeling frustrated, "Before we went to Nanning, Second Brother and Third Brother kept raving about laoyoufen, making us crave it so much. Now that we've had laoyoufen, you're raving about luosifen. The worst part is, we can't even try it. It's really frustrating!"

Zhang Xiuping agreed, "Exactly! You know we can't try it, yet you keep raving about it. It's so annoying!"

Deng Yuntai laughed, "It's not that far from Nanning to Liuzhou, and we have a supermarket there. If you want to go, it's not difficult at all."

Deng Shirong happened to walk out and asked, "Who's going to Liuzhou?"

Deng Yunzhu laughed, "Dad, Big Brother is telling us how delicious luosifen is. When it's convenient, we should make a trip to Liuzhou. Anyway, I already have experience running the hotpot restaurant, and it's time to open a branch."

Deng Shirong said, "Luosifen is indeed unique. It's probably the most distinctive noodle in Guangxi. Its taste is polarizing; those who like it love it, and those who don't can't stand the smell."

Deng Yunzhu was surprised, "Dad, you've also tried luosifen?"

Deng Shirong laughed, "Of course, I have. There's no noodle in Guangxi that I haven't tried."

When founding the food company, Deng Shirong had considered promoting luosifen nationwide but ultimately decided against it. The popularity of Luosifen in the future largely owed to the spread through short videos and the convenience of online orders.

Currently, such conditions did not exist. Not to mention the difficulty of mass-producing Luosifen, convincing people to accept it was a significant challenge.

There were many other products they could focus on, so there was no need to choose Luosifen.

...

PS: Wow, the subscription numbers have broken the record again, and it's a big breakthrough. I need to write a special chapter to commemorate this! ^_^

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end