Chapter 649: Helping the Village Get Rich

Chapter 649: Helping the Village Prosper

Jiang Yu and her brother hadn’t left yet when Auntie Du arrived with Wang Pandi.

Looking closer, Lai Zhijie was also there.

Jiang Yu listened quietly and only then learned that Wang Pandi had actually remarried Lai Zhijie.

If she wanted to play the fool, there was no need for others to persuade her otherwise.

"Captain, my son-in-law is from the city—he finished high school, you know?"

He Youfu had no patience for her and cut straight to the point: "Spit it out."

Liu Junmei looked skeptical. "But I remember Pandi got divorced, didn’t she?"

Wang Pandi had indeed divorced, receiving a hefty compensation before returning to Nanhe Village—this was no secret.

Auntie Du covered her mouth, barely holding back laughter.

"Pandi and Zhijie were just young and hot-tempered, shouting about divorce in the heat of the moment. Now they’ve come to their senses and remarried!"

Jiang Yu rested her chin on her hand and arched a brow skeptically.

She was simply curious: "Since you’ve remarried, what about Mao Huihui and the child she bore?"

Liu Junmei immediately asked, "Who’s Mao Huihui? What does her child have to do with Pandi?"

Jiang Yu: "..."

So the village still didn’t know about this.

Auntie Du shot her a fierce glare and snapped half-heartedly, "None of your damn business! Shut up!"

Wang Pandi gritted her teeth and forced a smile. "The child is Zhijie’s own. Even if it’s a girl, she’s still a child of the Lai family. Of course I’ll raise her as my own."

But Lai Zhijie had assured her that he’d broken it off completely with Mao Huihui.

He Youfu and Liu Junmei exchanged a glance.

So there was more to this—now that’s some gossip!

Out of kindness, Liu Junmei offered Wang Pandi some advice: "Pandi, since you’ve decided to remarry, I shouldn’t interfere. But think carefully—a man who strays is like a dog that’ll always return to its vomit. There’s no such thing as just once. If he could knock up someone today, he could just as easily kick you to the curb and marry someone else tomorrow."

This incident alone was enough to reveal Lai Zhijie’s character.

The Lai family was a dumpster fire, yet Auntie Du was willing to let Wang Pandi jump right in.

Wang Pandi forced a thin smile. "Auntie, Zhijie treats me well. He even wrote me a pledge promising he’d never do it again. I believe him."

Jiang Yu remarked coolly, "Some promise? Do you even know how to read? For all you know, he could’ve scrawled whatever to snow you, and you wouldn’t even realize it."

Wang Pandi’s eyes widened as she shot her a death glare.

"What I do is none of your business!"

He Youfu couldn’t care less about Wang Pandi’s marital affairs. They were all adults and had to live with the consequences of their own choices.

"Since you’ve made up your mind, we’ll butt out. What brings you here?"

Auntie Du quickly interjected, "There is something! My son-in-law has a money-making scheme to help our village prosper!"

He Youfu: "...What money-making idea?"

Lai Zhijie confidently declared, "Growing cotton!"

Jiang Yu asked, "You mean, like Yunjiao Village does?"

"Yes! Pandi's sister married into Yunjiao Village, and they raked in a fortune from cotton last year!"

He had only recently learned that the market had seen a large supply of cotton this year, partially filling the cotton shortage.

Later, he discovered that this cotton actually came from Yunjiao Village!

He then had his eye on Wang Yunshan, hoping to use her connections to tap into Yunjiao Village's success and get a cut of the profits.

Otherwise, he wouldn’t have remarried Wang Pandi.

He Youfu shook his head, "Our situation is different from Yunjiao Village's. Don’t just look at how close we are—the lay of the land is completely different. What works for them won’t work for us."

He found it strange—what was wrong with raising chickens and ducks? Why did these people always have such grandiose schemes!

Lai Zhijie disagreed, "Captain, we haven’t even given it a shot. How do you know it won’t work?"

He Youfu waved his hand dismissively, "It just won’t. Scrap the idea."

Such a small village, yet dreaming of doing everything—utterly unrealistic.

Auntie Du protested indignantly, "Why not? Zhijie said Yunjiao Village struck gold with cotton! When you insisted on raising chickens, no one’s objections mattered. Now that we propose growing cotton, you refuse again. You’re clearly not working for the villagers—just lining your own pockets!"

He Youfu slammed the table hard, his rage so fierce his veins bulged.

"I haven’t held this position for just a day or two. If you’re unhappy, go ahead and rally everyone to vote you in as captain! If you can’t, then shut your trap!"

Jiang Yu quickly intervened, "Uncle He, don’t be angry. Actually, growing cotton isn’t entirely impossible. Growing crops is farming, and so is growing cotton."

Auntie Du perked up, "See? Even Jiang Yu agrees—that proves Zhijie is right!"

Jiang Yu continued, "Since you’re encouraging everyone to grow cotton, you must have a plan—where to plant, how to cultivate it. Write up a proposal and submit it to Uncle He for feasibility assessment."

Lai Zhijie stammered, at a loss. How could he possibly write a proposal?

Auntie Du exclaimed, "Why all the red tape!"

Jiang Yu tapped the notebook by He Youfu’s hand. "Do you know what this is?"

Auntie Du muttered, "It’s just a notebook. What else could it be?"

Jiang Yu flipped it open and tossed it over, her voice firm, "Since you can’t read, let me tell you—this is the homework Uncle He’s put in since Nancun Village started its collective sideline! How to raise chickens and ducks, selecting pens based on their habits, feed mixes, disease prevention, how many months until they’re ready for sale, and where to sell them. Every single aspect requires careful consideration."

"You think money grows on trees? Just flap your gums, and cotton will sprout from the ground? Do nothing, and the cotton will sell itself, money falling into your lap?"

Jiang Yu rapped the table, jolting Lai Zhijie back to reality.

Her gaze was sharp as she stared at him. "Your mother-in-law is raving about you, calling you smart for coming up with this idea. Surely, you’ve thought all this through. So tell me—where exactly do you plan to grow cotton?"

Lai Zhijie stammered, "In... in the village... There’s plenty of space. Just clear a plot for cotton!"

Jiang Yu snorted. "Every scrap of village land is for growing food. Which plot do you propose clearing? How many acres? How much cotton do you plan to grow? What’s the start-up costs? What’s the net profit?"

The flood of questions completely threw Lai Zhijie off.

He only knew that Yunjiao Village was making money, but he didn’t realize they had actually been growing cotton for many years.

They'd spent years learning the ropes, accumulating ample experience and securing sales channels.

Others just saw their success without considering how difficult their journey had been.

"Don't come talking about cotton again until you've worked through all these problems," He Youfu scolded.

Lai Zhijie's face fell. "Captain, you're just giving me a hard time! If we grow cotton, it's not just on me—we'd all need to chip in, right?"