Chapter 22

"Uh, so you came today for this matter, right!"

"This is one of the reasons," Wang Xiaoqiang was straightforward and said directly, "The other reason is that I have no place to store my fifty acres of crops. I want to rent the old village committee building to store the grain."

Liu Mingshan thought for a moment and said, "Oh, no problem. It’s just sitting there idle. If you want to rent it, go ahead."

After saying that, Liu Mingshan's eyes flickered, and he added, "Right, you mentioned wanting to rent a whole piece of land. The land in front of the old village committee building, a total of forty acres, belongs to the village. I can rent it all to you. Unfortunately, that field is quite far from the Eighteen Mile River, making irrigation difficult..."

Wang Xiaoqiang was very familiar with the land in front of the old village committee building. It backed onto Mantou Mountain and had a pond in front, but the pond was too small to irrigate the field. Moreover, the field was far from the Eighteen Mile River, making it impossible to draw water for irrigation. Since someone leased it two years ago to plant a season of yuzhu yam, the field had been idle ever since.

Thinking of that field, Wang Xiaoqiang said without hesitation, "Uh, no problem, I'll take that land!"

"Xiaoqiang, you need to think carefully. That land was planted with yuzhu yam two years ago, so the soil quality has definitely declined..."

"It’s fine..." Wang Xiaoqiang said. With the Five Elements Spirit Spring, he didn’t care about the fertility of the land or the soil quality.

"Alright, since you want that land, I’ll also give you the small pond next to it for free. You can raise fish there..." Liu Mingshan waved his hand.

"Then let’s sign a lease contract," Wang Xiaoqiang said. He said this to avoid similar issues like today’s lease cancellation in the future.

Liu Mingshan, however, said nonchalantly, "If it’s a short-term lease, there’s no need to sign a contract."

"Of course, it’s a long-term lease," Wang Xiaoqiang said, revealing a bitter smile, "I originally planned to lease it for three years, but I don’t have enough funds..."

"Three years." Liu Mingshan’s eyes lit up, and he immediately waved his hand, "No problem. If you don’t have enough funds, you can owe it for now."

Now, the young people in the village were all working outside, and no one valued the land at home, making the land increasingly worthless. Since Wang Xiaoqiang was willing to lease the land and use it to make money, Liu Mingshan supported him. This way, the village committee would also have an additional source of income, which was a good thing both publicly and privately.

"Since Uncle Mingshan is willing to let me owe it, I’ll lease it for three years. I just don’t know the lease price for that land..."

"The lease price will be cheaper than the village’s price, 800 yuan per acre. What do you think?"

Wang Xiaoqiang leased the land from Daniu Tou and Uncle Yantong for 1,000 yuan per acre per year. Liu Mingshan’s offer of 800 yuan was clearly 200 yuan cheaper, and Wang Xiaoqiang had no reason to refuse. So he nodded directly, "Alright, 800 yuan it is. But I can only pay for one year’s rent now."

Forty acres of land, 800 yuan per acre per year, totals 32,000 yuan. Wang Xiaoqiang had 80,000 yuan, so one year’s rent was no problem. However, paying for three years would leave him short.

"Alright, just pay for one year first." Seeing Wang Xiaoqiang’s straightforwardness, Liu Mingshan was also direct and immediately got up to prepare the lease contract. After Wang Xiaoqiang paid one year’s rent, he received the lease contract stamped with the village committee’s seal. Wang Xiaoqiang then went to the old village committee building, walked around the old courtyard, and found that the courtyard was empty except for the dilapidated gate. The two-story building, with three rooms on each floor, was in perfect condition. It was more than enough to store the grain, and the remaining rooms could be used for living. However, Wang Xiaoqiang thought that since the place was far from the village, to prevent theft, he needed to find someone to rebuild the gate.

That afternoon, Wang Xiaoqiang found the village construction team and proposed rebuilding the gate. The team leader, Wang Sanqiang, agreed to rebuild the gate after the autumn harvest.

That afternoon, Wang Xiaoqiang and his sister-in-law, Liu Juyi, cleaned up the old village committee building and moved the grain inside. The six rooms, three upstairs and three downstairs, were more than enough to store the crops, occupying only four rooms. Wang Xiaoqiang cleaned out one of the remaining rooms for himself, planning to stay there at night to guard the grain.

"Sister-in-law, come over after dinner to take over for me and bring the old yellow dog from home!" After finishing the work, Wang Xiaoqiang said to his sister-in-law.

"Don’t worry, I’ll bring your dinner over..." Liu Juyi wiped the sweat from her forehead and smiled at Wang Xiaoqiang.

The weather was hot, and after a while of work, Liu Juyi was drenched in sweat. Her pink sweatshirt clung to her body, outlining her slender and tight figure, her slim waist, full chest, and the white, tender legs below her seven-eighths pants, which looked as if they could be pinched and squeezed.

Her fair face was flushed with a healthy red, making her look very comfortable. Especially when she smiled, her radiant smile was very charming, making Wang Xiaoqiang feel a bit dizzy. He thought that since the autumn harvest, his sister-in-law had not only cooked but also helped in the fields, yet her face had not tanned but had become even more fair and tender.

"Alright, but Sister-in-law, I’m troubling you again!" Wang Xiaoqiang said with a hint of apology.

"We’re family, don’t be so formal!" Liu Juyi waved her fair, delicate hand and smiled.

She enjoyed this busy and fulfilling life, as it helped her forget her inner pain. Moreover, she found that she increasingly enjoyed being with her young brother-in-law, which made her feel a bit ashamed.

After saying that, Liu Juyi went home.

At dinner time, as the sun set, Liu Juyi brought the food over, followed by the old yellow dog from home. The dog had lived with the Wang family for seven years and, being old, already showed signs of aging.

Wang Xiaoqiang, on the second floor of the village committee building, saw this scene from afar, and a warm feeling rose in his heart.

"Xiaoqiang, come and eat," Liu Juyi brought the food to the village committee building, set it on the table, and said, "It’s hot, so I made you some cold noodles. Try them and see if they suit your taste..."

As she spoke, she took out the food: a bowl of cold noodles, a bowl of cold cucumber, and a bowl of mixed vegetables. Although it was just a cold noodle dish, it was refreshing, and the two dishes were well-balanced with meat and vegetables.

Wang Xiaoqiang picked up the bowl and started eating voraciously. Liu Juyi had to clean up the dishes, so she had to wait for Wang Xiaoqiang to finish eating. She sat down and watched him eat.

Wang Xiaoqiang’s eating manner was not very elegant, but to Liu Juyi, it was a kind of enjoyment. She felt that men should eat like this, and she enjoyed watching Wang Xiaoqiang eat, finding it happy and warm.

But happiness and warmth were fleeting. In a short while, Wang Xiaoqiang had eaten all the food she brought. Liu Juyi said somewhat wistfully, "You finished so quickly?"

Wang Xiaoqiang, seeing his sister-in-law staring at him, felt a bit awkward and touched his mouth, "Uh, yes, Sister-in-law, it’s all your fault for making such delicious noodles..."

"Alright, stop flattering me. You’re getting a bit cheeky now..." Liu Juyi felt sweet inside and gave Wang Xiaoqiang a playful glance, "Are you full? If not, I can bring you another bowl."

"Full, full..." Wang Xiaoqiang quickly said, but he was captivated by Liu Juyi’s playful eyes.

He quickly turned his head to pretend to look at the sky. At this time, the sun was setting, and it was nearly dusk. Wang Xiaoqiang said, "It’s getting dark. Sister-in-law, you should go home quickly..."

"Uh..." Liu Juyi glanced at the sky outside, feeling a bit disappointed, "Alright, you rest. I’m going home."