Chapter 38

Over the next two days, Xiao Fei was much calmer.

The scandal of Old Liu recognizing his son spread quickly, and many people in the surrounding villages knew about it. Everyone was talking and mocking the absurdity of the Liu family. This incident also caused a great stir within Liu Zhenhai’s lineage. The four households of Liu Zhenhai’s clan were like a pot of boiling water, arguing with Old Liu, saying that he had disgraced them and that they wanted to drive the stray dog, Xiao Dacheng, out of the Liu family.

However, under Old Liu’s protection, Xiao Dacheng finally stayed in the Liu family and changed his surname to Liu, officially recognizing his ancestral roots.

This was not an easy feat.

People in the countryside were particularly wary of such things. Suddenly having an additional brother meant he was there to divide the family property, right?

Moreover, children born out of wedlock were often seen as illegitimate in the countryside, with no social standing and little respect.

If a family had such an incident, it was as if they were nailed to a pillar of shame, to be laughed at for many years.

Therefore, for Xiao Dacheng to be recognized by Old Liu, it could only be said that Old Liu was very fortunate to have several filial children. This showed that even fierce and domineering people often had their bright spots in life.

During these two days, Xiao Fei’s life also began to have a routine.

During the day, he wrote articles at home, and in the evening, he went to Lin Chunli’s house to learn music theory and play the guitar. In the early hours of the morning, he would go to practice martial arts with Xiao Jianxiong.

Xiao Fei found that after his rebirth, his comprehension and memory had significantly improved.

When it came to learning music theory, Lin Chunli’s explanations were easy for him to understand, and he picked things up quickly. On his first visit, he could play standard notes according to Lin Chunli’s guidance.

This earned him much praise from Lin Chunli, who complimented him on his musical talent.

In terms of martial arts, Xiao Jianxiong initially told him that starting at 19 was a bit late and could only be seen as a way to cultivate the body and mind, not to have high expectations.

However, Xiao Fei’s performance exceeded his expectations.

Xiao Fei learned quickly and was very hardworking, quickly grasping the techniques he was taught. After just two or three evenings of practice, he could perform the Shaolin Fist with fluidity and without any hesitation.

For Xiao Fei, another significant piece of good news was that the replanted corn had sprouted, and the seedlings were growing well, almost changing every day.

His father had stayed in the village health center for three days and had mostly recovered.

He had wanted to stay a couple more days to consolidate his recovery, but he insisted on going home.

So, they had to take him back home.

On the day his father was discharged and returned home, Hong Dajun arrived in Xili Village in a Changhe minivan, accurately finding Xiao Fei’s home.

A loudspeaker on the roof of his car broadcast: "Buying dried soil beetles, 36 yuan per kilogram! Discounts for large quantities, open for purchase!"

His arrival caused a stir in Xili Village.

In the past few days, under the leadership of the Xiaos, many families in the village had started using roasted bran as bait to catch soil beetles.

Although their harvest was not as large as the Xiaos', they still had some success.

Thus, people flocked to Xiao Fei’s home with their dried soil beetles.

This time, the Xiao family sold over 380 kilograms of dried soil beetles, earning more than 13,800 yuan. Adding the 3,276 yuan from the first batch, their total earnings reached over 17,000 yuan.

This was a huge sum of money.

It was more than the Xiaos’ income from farming over three years.

Everyone in the village was envious, and the congratulations were endless.

Compared to the Xiaos, other families were far behind, with the best earning only a little over a thousand yuan.

Hong Dajun was clearly well-prepared, bringing over 20,000 yuan in cash, which he immediately handed over to Xiao Youjin.

Holding the thick stack of cash, Old Xiao was so excited that his whole body trembled, and his face was beaming.

The benefits of this money were many. Some women in the village even offered to help find a match for Xiao Yang.

After depositing the money in the rural credit cooperative, the father called a family meeting that night to discuss how to use the money.

The family gathered around a square table in the courtyard, some sitting and some standing.

According to the father’s plan, they would start building a new house after the wheat harvest.

If they were to build a new house, they needed to start preparing now, buying bricks and tiles, and preparing the beams and rafters. They needed to get everything ready gradually so that when construction began, they wouldn’t be rushed.

With 17,000 yuan, they could build a new house in 1996, and even build a wall and a gatehouse.

This would turn the Xiao family’s fortunes around.

Xiao Yang’s marriage would also be easier to arrange.

Building a house was the top priority, and the whole family should support it. However, to everyone’s surprise, Xiao Fei disagreed.

“Dad, my suggestion is not to build a house yet. I think this money should be used to make more money,” Xiao Fei said with a smile.

“Huh? What’s your idea? Tell us in detail,” the father raised an eyebrow, suppressing his anger.

The father was very dissatisfied with many of Xiao Fei’s recent actions, thinking he had made many mistakes. However, he still listened to Xiao Fei because he believed that the family’s success in making this large sum of money was due to Xiao Fei’s ideas.

This youngest son had a lot of good ideas.

Let’s hear what he has to say.

If it’s unreasonable, we can reject it.

“Dad, I think we should sign an agreement with the village to lease the hill,” Xiao Fei calmly stated his idea.

Xiao Yang’s eyes lit up, and he quickly said, “Fei, this is a great idea. If we lease the hill, we can have exclusive rights to catch soil beetles. No one else can go up there to catch them. If we do it ourselves, we can easily make two or three thousand yuan a year just from soil beetles. That would be a real windfall. Is that what you’re thinking?”

Xiao Fei, however, smiled bitterly and shook his head.

He hadn’t expected Xiao Yang to think this way.

Leasing the hill to make money from catching soil beetles was not realistic.

Even if they leased the hill, it would be impossible to stop other villagers from going there to catch soil beetles. If they tried to drive people away, they would make enemies. It wouldn’t take long for the whole village to turn against them.

Before Xiao Fei could speak, Xiao Yan said, “Brother, this idea won’t work. If we really do it, the whole village will be against us.”

The father also grunted, “This idea is too naive!”

“If you’re thinking like Xiao Yang, forget about it.”

Xiao Fei quickly said, “Dad, that’s not what I’m thinking. I have other ideas for leasing the hill.”

“What ideas?” the father looked at him skeptically.

The father’s gaze made Xiao Fei uncomfortable. It didn’t seem right to tell the family about the upcoming construction of the Jichang Expressway and the fact that the project team would need to take soil from the hill in the coming months.

First, the family might not believe him.

Second, his brother or someone else might blab, and if the wrong people heard, it could complicate things.

How should he explain it to his father and convince the family? Xiao Fei hesitated, his mind racing as he organized his thoughts.