Chapter 30

"2010 was a year of success, a year of abundance."

This was what Liu Tianlai said at the 2010 village-wide meeting in Kaoshan Village. Liu Tianlai had been the village chief for over twenty years, and he had never felt so proud and elated. On that day, every household in the village received 1,350 yuan. Since Liu Yunxuan's chicken farm gained a good reputation, the first batch of 30,000 roosters had been sold out before the New Year. When he first contracted the mountain, raising chickens was just a side business, mainly because Zhao Yan loved to eat. Unexpectedly, the chicken farm had now made a profit of 12 million yuan.

Liu Yunxuan generously distributed the village's share of the profits, ensuring that everyone could have a prosperous New Year. He also donated 500,000 yuan to the village for the care of the five-guaranteed households and the maintenance and renovation of the village primary school.

The poor households were not given money unless they had lost their ability to work. Those who could work were encouraged to join Liu Yunxuan's company. Currently, among all of Liu Yunxuan's agricultural projects, only the peach trees would yield profits next year. However, Liu Yunxuan was not worried, nor were the villagers or anyone who knew him.

In the short year since Liu Yunxuan returned, he had created too many impossibilities. Growing watermelons earned him 4 million yuan, planting cabbines on idle land earned him 400,000 US dollars, and contracting a mountain for a chicken farm earned him 7.8 million yuan. The pig farm, which he started earlier, earned the least, only 1.3 million yuan.

As for how much he had earned now, the villagers no longer had the time to care, as the Spring Festival was approaching.

This year, the villagers had plenty of money, and they bought New Year's goods without restraint, making the neighboring villages envious.

Liu Yunxuan did not distribute too much of the profit to the village just because he had earned a lot. On the Little New Year, he gave each household two chickens, 20 pounds of meat, and 5 pounds of eggs. Money is money, and goods are goods.

Now, Liu Yunxuan was a household name. Not only did everyone in Kaoshan Village, from adults to children, know him, but even in the entire town, it was hard to find someone who didn't know him, except for the toddlers who were just learning to speak. Why? Because he could help everyone make money. Those who had returned from working outside the village no longer left. Those with less land applied to work for Liu Yunxuan's company, while those with more land took care of the cooperative greenhouse projects. It was said that the year-end bonus for the company's employees was 5,000 yuan.

One could say that Liu Yunxuan was now working with the entire town, and he was a god of wealth. If you didn't recognize the god of wealth, how could you expect to get rich? Dream on.

Wang Mingyuan was also unsurprisingly transferred to the county, becoming the deputy county magistrate. He was now in charge of more affairs and no longer came to Liu Yunxuan's house to freeload as often as before.

Liu Yunxuan personally delivered New Year's gifts to the Li family in Jintian, the Wang family in the provincial capital, and Uncle Zhao in the county. Uncle Zhao was particularly pleased. As he put it, it was a double joy: one, he was going to have a grandson, even though he wasn't born yet; and two, Zhao Yan had learned how to make money. His son had earned over a million yuan working with Liu Yunxuan. Although Old Zhao was worth tens of millions, this million was not much in comparison, but one had to understand that Liu Yunxuan's business was just getting started. If he could earn this much in one year, what would the profits be like in a few years? It seemed that the future truly belonged to the young.

Today was New Year's Eve, and the family was busy preparing the New Year's Eve dinner. Pork, chicken, and fish were essential.

Fangfang now had a new toy, a king crab in a water basin. This was a gift from Li Xinyu before the New Year, and it was still alive, kept in seawater. Thanks to Liu Yunxuan occasionally adding some space water, it had survived. It was too big for the family to eat, so they decided to wait until after the New Year to have guests over and eat it. In the meantime, it became Fangfang's toy, and she would often stretch her little arms to play with the crab's large claws.

Not only did humans celebrate the New Year, but the small animals in Liu Yunxuan's home also celebrated. Da Huang and Banli were dressed in little red jackets, and the three little foxes were a bit tricky since they naturally had red fur. The solution was to give each one a little red hat.

Liu Yunxuan was outside with little Fangfang, putting up Spring Festival couplets and the character for "blessing."

"Big Big, Big Big, move this one a bit to the left."

"Big Big, Big Big, move this one a bit up."

"Big Big, Big Big, you stand over there, let me see if it's crooked."

"Yunhai, what do you think your big brother likes? He's so fond of kids, but he doesn't seem to be in a hurry himself." Liu's mother said, watching Liu Yunxuan playing with Fangfang outside.

"Big brother is deep in thought; who knows what he thinks about all day. But I think you shouldn't worry, Mom. He might meet the right person any day now. And after the New Year, he's going to America, maybe he'll bring back a foreign wife." Liu Yunhai teased his mother.

"Finding a foreign wife is fine, but I wonder if I can understand what my daughter-in-law says." Liu's mother said to herself.

Peng Li rolled her eyes at Liu Yunhai, thinking, "You know Mom has been worried about Big Brother's marriage, and you suggest a foreign wife? Can't you see that the old lady is already daydreaming?"

"Is there anything else to do?" Liu Yunxuan asked as he walked into the house after finishing the couplets.

"Nothing much, the meat is already in the pot, and we just need to fry some meatballs and cook a few dishes. Big Brother, wash your hands and go in to chat with Mom. Yunhai and I can handle it." Peng Li said.

Liu Yunhai listened and inwardly gave his wife a thumbs up. She was indeed impressive, as she had just sent Big Brother to his mother right after she mentioned his marriage.

Actually, Peng Li hadn't thought that far. She just wanted Liu Yunxuan to rest inside because it was dry and dusty in the winter in the north, and Liu Yunxuan had been playing with Fangfang outside for a long time. It wasn't until after she spoke that she realized she had put Big Brother in a difficult position.

Sure enough, as soon as Liu Yunxuan entered the house, he heard his mother say, "Finding a foreign wife is fine, maybe the child will be smarter."

Liu Yunxuan was confused and later found out that it was a trap set by Liu Yunhai and Peng Li. He glared at the two of them as he came out of the house.

"Mom, I want to eat fried vegetables." Fangfang shouted at Peng Li, who was frying meatballs.

This was something Liu Yunxuan and Fangfang had enjoyed when they visited the Li family and met their former colleagues. Since Wang Tao and the others had been working on a New Year's task and hadn't had a break, they hadn't been able to come to Liu Yunxuan's place for the New Year's Eve dinner. This time, when they went to Jintian, Liu Yunxuan brought them some pork and frozen roosters.

The gathering place was the Korean restaurant they used to frequent, and their fried vegetables were delicious. Fangfang had loved it after trying it once.

"Little glutton, I know you like it, but we have to fry it last, or it won't be as tasty when it cools down." Peng Li said, tapping Fangfang's little nose.

After setting off two strings of ten thousand firecrackers with Fangfang, the family reunion dinner officially began.

The table was full of dishes, with several types of meatballs: jujube meatballs, pork meatballs, apple meatballs, pear meatballs, and sweet potato meatballs. Of course, the fried sweet potatoes and the fried vegetables that Fangfang loved were also included.

There was steamed fish, stewed chicken, braised meat, and vegetables from their own garden's greenhouse, making for a very sumptuous meal.

Actually, with the improved living standards, people no longer cared much about what they ate during the New Year. The main thing was to gather as a family, chat, and forget all the unhappy things.