Chapter 45

Seeing their surprised expressions, Qin Yi was reminded of winter and quickly warned them, "Also, in winter, you always need to build vegetable greenhouses. It costs a lot, but by then you should have sold several batches of vegetables, so it shouldn't be a problem. If it really isn't enough, just tell me; your younger brother isn't short of money!"

Qin Yi put on a proud look, which made everyone grin. Li Guilan also smiled and playfully slapped her son.

Hearing his uncle say he wasn't short of money, Yangyang, who was dealing with the last few slices of cucumber, suddenly lifted his head. "I'm not short of money either! Look, I have money in my pocket!" He took out two coins from the pocket on his shirt and showed them to everyone, making everyone laugh heartily.

Qin Yi also laughed heartily and patted his little head. "Yangyang, you should play more with your friends at kindergarten. Lele should do the same. When the New Year comes, Uncle will buy you toys and give you a lot of New Year's money, okay?"

The two little boys smiled and said in unison, "Okay!" Then they quickly cleaned the plate and looked at their grandmother, saying they wanted more. Li Guilan was very happy. "Of course, eat as much as you want! There's plenty!" Thus, everyone moved to the kitchen again.

Taking advantage of everyone leaving, even the two little ones, Qin Yi called his eldest sister and didn't let her follow. He had some things to say that were bothering him. The others also knew what Qin Yi wanted to say. His second sister, Qin Feng, stayed behind, while the rest went to the kitchen, not wanting to disturb the three siblings.

"Eldest Sister," Qin Yi said softly when everyone had left, looking at his eldest sister, Qin Li, who was looking down. "Now it's just the three of us, so I'll speak plainly. Since we were young, the three of us have been close because we've all experienced hard times. We understand that if we don't care for each other, no one else will."

Qin Yi looked at Qin Li, his expression becoming more serious. Although it felt a bit awkward for a younger brother to speak to his sister this way, with no older brother in the family, he had to take on the responsibility of being the older brother and protect his sister.

"I know your temperament. You keep everything inside, even from our mother. But if you don't say anything, who will know? Who can help you if they don't know how you're doing?" Qin Yi looked at his eldest sister, whose eyes were red, and felt uncomfortable, but he had to make this clear today. "I'm saying this because I want you to know that no matter what, our parents and your younger brother and sister are always behind you. If anyone makes you suffer, we won't just stand by! Even if we don't have money now, I can gather a group of people in the village to beat him up so badly he can't get out of bed!"

"Ha!" Qin Feng couldn't help but laugh, not because he was mocking Qin Yi's big talk, but because she remembered a few years ago when she and Liu Feng had an argument, and Qin Yi had wanted to beat up Liu Feng.

Qin Feng also knew her brother wasn't exaggerating. Without mentioning the distant past, there were the two brothers, Yan Kun and Bao Hua, the two cousins from Aunt Qian's family, and the two nephews from Uncle Chang Rui's family. They would come at a call, and there were also Qin Yi's childhood friends like Zhang Fei, Jun Ling, and San Bo. Despite his poor family background, Qin Yi had excellent connections and could easily gather a dozen or twenty people. If her second cousin from their uncle's family were home, he could gather dozens of people in no time. The Qin family had always been numerous and powerful in the area, but they had fallen from their grandfather's generation.

"Don't laugh. If you hadn't stopped me that time, I would have beaten him up!" Qin Yi, reminded by his second sister's laughter, also thought of the incident a few years ago. He couldn't keep a straight face and looked at Qin Feng with a mix of amusement and frustration. He then continued, "As long as it's reasonable, do what you want. Don't just endure it. Also, here are two cards with 100,000 yuan each. Use them to plant vegetables. Don't be so formal with me. If you feel uncomfortable, you can pay me back later, but don't refuse now!"

Qin Yi took out two cards and handed them over, with the passwords already attached. Qin Li and Qin Feng didn't want to take them, thinking it was too much after he had already given them a car. Even close family members don't take so much from their younger brother!

But Qin Yi insisted, pushing the cards into their hands. "Second Sister, I won't interfere with you and your husband, but I have to say this to Eldest Sister. If he wants to help, let him. If you don't want to, do it yourself. Keep the money you earn, and use it as you see fit, but don't give it to him. I'll talk to him myself later!"

Just as he finished, Li Guilan came over. Although she hadn't heard, she knew what Qin Yi would say. She looked at Qin Li and lightly slapped Qin Yi's back. "That's enough. Your sister understands." Then she looked at Qin Li. "What Qin Yi said is right. Your temperament isn't good. We don't bully others, but we also don't let others bully us..."

She stopped Qin Yi from speaking but then started herself, getting more and more excited, almost losing her temper. Qin Feng quickly intervened, "Mom, that's enough. Qin Yi already said it. Lele and Yangyang are coming over!"

Sure enough, mentioning Lele and Yangyang made Li Guilan stop. Discussing these matters in front of the children wasn't good for them.

Qin Li rubbed her eyes, her expression returning to normal. She smiled more brightly, and the awkwardness in her eyes was gone. Qin Yi had been paying attention and was very happy to see these changes, indicating that his eldest sister had taken his words to heart and was opening up.

After playing with the two little ones for a while, it was time to prepare lunch. Qin Li helped Li Guilan prepare the beef, Qin Jun entertained the two little ones, and Liu Feng took care of Qin Feng. Seeing the family happy, Qin Yi, a contented bachelor, felt satisfied.

Taking advantage of everyone being busy, Qin Yi went outside the village and called Yang Bin, explaining the income from the vegetables and the argument. He warned him that if anyone tried to take the money or caused trouble, he would slap them in front of everyone! The words were harsh, but for his eldest sister's peace, he was willing to be the bad guy!

After a happy lunch, Qin Yi explained the details of planting vegetables, such as leasing land and not using pesticides, and called Ye Fang to arrange for someone to pick up the vegetables. With that, he felt a weight lifted off his shoulders.

In the afternoon, his two sisters took the beef and seeds and went home. The car stayed, making it easier for Qin Yi to go out during his stay.

With some free time, Qin Yi thought about the puppies and chicks. The chicks would be raised in the pasture and eventually used for meat, while the puppies would be used for herding, replacing the current Queensland Heeler. Although the Heeler was energetic and durable, Qin Yi just didn't like its appearance. Maybe it was because he was used to local dogs, or maybe it was his down-to-earth nature that made him unable to appreciate it...

Currently, there were few cattle in the pasture, but as the herd grew, more herding dogs would be needed. It would be more troublesome to replace them later. Finding some puppies now and feeding them with spirit fruits, spirit herbs, and spirit water would make them strong and intelligent, easily dominating the herding dog world!

"Mom, who has puppies? The dogs in the pasture need to be replaced with better ones," Qin Yi said, sitting on a stool in the yard, watching his mother work under the pomegranate tree.

"Who has them?" Li Guilan, busy sweeping fallen pomegranate flowers and fruits, thought hard but couldn't come up with anyone. "I haven't heard of anyone having puppies. I'll go ask around."

"Don't bother. I'll go to the market tomorrow. It should be easier to find there," Qin Yi said. Unlike the chives seeds, it would be too much trouble to ask around for puppies.

"Okay," Li Guilan agreed. If her son was going to the market, she wouldn't ask. The market was good; maybe he would even meet a pretty girl there!

Qin Yi didn't know what Li Guilan was thinking and continued to drink his tea leisurely.

The next day, he drove to town, driving around, and many people looked enviously at his expensive car.

Qin Yi drove around for a while but couldn't find any puppies. Instead, he found a copper hot pot in a general store and bought a couple of different sizes. He imagined eating hot pot in the snow in winter and felt very excited!

Not finding puppies, Qin Yi wasn't worried. He asked around and found a seed store, buying seeds for cinnamon, star anise, fennel, and Sichuan pepper to plant in the pasture, ensuring a steady supply of spices for cooking meat.

After that, he asked around again and finally found puppies in a small alley at the edge of the market. These were local dogs, with various breeds, known as Chinese rural dogs. They were in baskets, only a few weeks old, some playing, and others whining, either hungry or missing their mothers, sounding very pitiful.

Qin Yi walked down the alley, and several middle-aged men and old men looked up, trying to sell their puppies, praising them as good, active, and strong. Qin Yi glanced at them but didn't stop, walking past.

Finally, he saw a strange stall. The stall owner was an old man with a scruffy beard, wearing a slightly yellowed white vest, a coarse cloth belt, misshapen black pants, and half-worn handmade shoes. A broken cloth bag with some tobacco and a tattered book lay beside him, likely for rolling cigarettes.

In the basket in front of him were six puppies. They looked clean but were very thin and weak, lying quietly, lacking energy. Unlike other stall owners, the old man didn't shout when he saw someone. He just lowered his head and smoked a homemade cigarette, "puff, puff," the smoke circles rising and enveloping his weathered, dark face, then gradually dispersing in the breeze.

Qin Yi noticed that people who saw this strange stall would stop and say a few words, but the old man, seeing no reaction from the puppies, would just shake his head and continue smoking.

Looking at the strange stall, Qin Yi inwardly praised it. Could this be the ultimate technique for attracting girls, the cold and aloof approach?

In romance dramas and novels, beautiful girls often ignored boys who fawned over them but were very interested in those who didn't pay them much attention.

The enthusiastic stall owners, the aloof old man, and the proud buyers—it was a perfect fit for the plot!

A master! Qin Yi never thought the old man could apply the art of attracting girls so effortlessly to his stall!

At this moment, Qin Yi had completely forgotten about the puppies and was engrossed in the old man's masterful technique of attracting girls!

Qin Yi even felt a strong urge to become the old man's disciple, thinking that with such a refined cold and aloof approach, the old man must have been a ladies' man in his youth. Who knew what other skills he might have? If Qin Yi could learn even a fraction of them, he would be unstoppable in his pursuit of girls!

Just thinking about it made Qin Yi's heart race. Could this be his lucky break?