C9 Beautiful Woman with Big Sunglasses

"Xiaolong, your dad makes a good point. Farming vegetables is tough work. Plus, around here, doesn't every family have a few plants in their fields just enough for themselves? Who has extra cash to spend on fresh veggies every day? We only manage to sell a bit during the holidays. Otherwise, we put in all this effort, and the land still goes to waste. We're better off sticking to corn," Liu Mei said, her eyes lingering on the corn with a hint of reluctance. She had never enjoyed such delicious corn porridge before.

"You're not getting it," Zhang Xiaolong laughed lightly. "I don't just want to plant vegetables; I want to do it on a large scale. I plan to convert all our land to vegetable cultivation. If we have more than we can eat, we can sell the surplus to the city. As long as our produce is top-notch, we won't lack customers. Imagine, no more waking up at the crack of dawn for the market. I'll have the city trucks come directly to our fields to pick up the veggies. We'll just sit back and count our earnings."

"No way!"

His father's immediate rejection caught him off guard. With a sigh, his father said, "Xiaolong, you mentioned needing a break, so let's take it easy. We're not counting on you to bring in a fortune. If you're set on growing vegetables, I won't hold you back, but taking over all our land for it? Absolutely not. Our land is our livelihood. What if it doesn't pay off? Are we supposed to live on vegetable leaf porridge? And what about your college tuition next year? I can't agree to that."

Seeing his father so resolute, Zhang Xiaolong turned to his mother for support.

But Liu Mei, who usually stood by him, also shook her head. "Your dad's right. I support you if you want to try, but taking all our land is too risky. How about this: we set aside one acre of our cornfield for you to experiment with vegetables. Take this year to rest properly and don't worry about anything else."

"Cough, cough..." Zhang Xiaolong was coughing incessantly. "One acre? That's hardly enough!"

He harbored the lifetime of knowledge from the Great God Shennong and was eager to expand on it. His goal was twofold: to uplift his entire village to prosperity and to earn enough money in one year so his parents wouldn't have to toil so hard in the future.

But with just one acre, unless he was planting gold, the earnings would be meager.

"If you manage to make money off that one acre, I'll let you farm the five acres of cornfield," Zhang Daniu finally conceded.

"Alright," Zhang Xiaolong pondered briefly before accepting the offer. "One acre it is. I'll head to the city tomorrow to get some supplies. Give me five thousand yuan to start."

"Five thousand?" Zhang Daniu's eyes bulged. "What on earth are you buying? Old Wang might not even make five thousand yuan from his vegetables in a whole year, and you're already spending so much?"

"To grow top-quality vegetables, you have to start with the best seeds, and that's just for starters. Plus, it's getting colder, and we need to set up a greenhouse to keep the crops warm, or we won't have any vegetables come winter," Zhang Xiaolong explained, anticipating the question.

"But five thousand yuan seems excessive, doesn't it?" Zhang Daniu was skeptical. "I've seen greenhouses before. They're just some bamboo and plastic sheeting, not that costly."

"You're thinking of a basic greenhouse. I'm planning to use glass, which will..." Zhang Xiaolong elaborated on his vision.

"Isn't that just squandering money?" Zhang Daniu was lost in the details and ultimately shook his head, convinced it was a sheer waste.

"Fine, I won't use the family's money. I'll find another way to raise funds," Zhang Xiaolong said, massaging his temples with a pained expression. "Ouch, my head is starting to ache..."

"You stubborn old man, can't you see the boy is struggling? Where do you expect him to find the money? And what if it causes him more stress? Are you saving your money for offspring or something?" Liu Mei couldn't contain herself and lashed out at Zhang Daniu.

"Come on, can't I just pay you?" Zhang Daniu said with a hint of exasperation.

Zhang Xiaolong couldn't help but smirk to himself. It looked like this tactic was pretty effective.

...

Clear River Village was quite secluded, but it was only a few miles away from a highway. To catch the bus, however, you had to be early since there was only one service per day. Miss it, and you'd be waiting until the next day.

So, bright and early, Zhang Xiaolong flagged down the bus headed to the city. He hopped on with enthusiasm and found an empty seat to claim.

Beside him by the window sat a girl. Noticing someone taking the seat next to her, she instinctively shuffled closer to the window.

Despite being on the bus, the girl wore large sunglasses and a rose-red baseball cap pulled down low, almost concealing most of her face.

Zhang Xiaolong took a quick look at her. She appeared very young, not much older than himself, with fair skin and seemingly attractive features. He didn't dwell on it much though.

The rest of the ride passed peacefully. As he gazed at the meandering road, Zhang Xiaolong's thoughts drifted to a pressing issue. He was confident that his vegetables would be in high demand, but the real challenge was figuring out how to transport them to the city.

He wasn't planning on being a small-time farmer, peddling a few vegetables by bicycle. He aimed to go big – to turn not just his own land but all of Clear River Village into thriving vegetable fields. He had received the legacy of the Great God Shennong, and if he couldn't sort out this minor issue, he'd probably provoke the deity's wrath enough to come down from the heavens.

Yet, the harsh reality was that the finest products were worthless if they couldn't reach the market.

Considering the cost of constructing a proper road in the village, Zhang Xiaolong knew it was no trivial amount of money – certainly more than he could muster at the moment.

Furrowing his brow in thought, he suddenly had an epiphany and burst into laughter.

He was already pondering events that were years away. If anyone found out, they'd surely think he'd gone mad with greed.

The girl next to him shifted slightly. Zhang Xiaolong glanced her way. Despite her attempt to hide it, her slightly unnatural expression gave away that she had caught his frown and goofy grin. Embarrassed, he scratched his head and offered a sheepish smile.

Seeing Zhang Xiaolong's sincerity, the girl's demeanor softened. She returned his smile, flashing a set of pearly whites.

Out of nowhere, the bus screeched to a stop, sending everyone lurching toward the seats in front.

"You're trying to kill us!" the driver yelled, livid.

"Sorry, so sorry, we were just rushing to board!" Two men in simple attire, each donning a gray cap, quickly boarded the bus, scanning the passengers as they made their way inside.

Zhang Xiaolong noticed a brief hesitation when their gaze landed on the girl beside him.

Though they played it cool, Zhang Xiaolong's heightened senses didn't miss a beat. He was certain they had paused, their eyes betraying a flicker of interest. He became extra vigilant.