Chapter 48

After a wait of more than three months, the price of corn finally reached its peak. In previous years, the price of corn would top out at 2.9 yuan per pound, but now it had soared to 3.2 yuan. Wang Xiaoqiang felt it was time to act. After all, keeping around 50,000 pounds of corn in the old village committee building required constant vigilance, which was quite troublesome.

In the end, Wang Xiaoqiang sold his corn to a corn collection station in the county at 3.2 yuan per pound. The 50,100 pounds of corn fetched him over 180,000 yuan. When this news spread, the people of Sanmiao Village and the surrounding villages were secretly amazed. They envied him while also praising his good luck. Although he didn't have a good year, he had a good price. If he had sold at last year's highest price of 1.6 yuan per pound, his income would have been halved.

Now, a rough estimate showed that the 50 acres of land Wang Xiaoqiang leased had yielded 80,000 yuan from soybeans and sesame seeds, and 180,000 yuan from corn, totaling 260,000 yuan. People often said that farming didn't pay these days, but Wang Xiaoqiang was making a fortune.

Working outside for a year would earn only 30,000 to 40,000 yuan, while 180,000 yuan was equivalent to five or six years of a worker's income. And this was just the income from one season of crops. The local area had two crop seasons per year, so if calculated this way, Wang Xiaoqiang's annual income would be over 500,000 yuan. Of course, costs had to be deducted. Even if the costs were 80,000 yuan, Wang Xiaoqiang would still net over 400,000 yuan!

Envious of Wang Xiaoqiang, the villagers began to consider leasing land. However, they didn't know that Wang Xiaoqiang had the Five Elements Spirit Spring inside his body, which made his crops disease-free, drought-resistant, and flood-proof, with yields doubling. Who could achieve such results?

In fact, Wang Xiaoqiang was not satisfied with an annual income of 400,000 yuan. His goal for the next year was one million yuan.

After selling the corn, Wang Xiaoqiang focused entirely on his 40 acres of yam fields and the two large and small golden sand tree chrysanthemums. The golden sand tree chrysanthemums, nourished by spiritual energy, were hard to grow poorly. Relatively speaking, the larger yam field was more difficult to manage.

Wang Xiaoqiang's 40 acres of yam fields were adjacent to two mountains. One was Mantou Mountain, which resembled a steamed bun. Due to poor soil quality, Mantou Mountain looked barren and desolate, hence its name. The other was Daqing Mountain, which was much larger and more majestic, with lush and dense forests.

These two mountains were rarely visited. Mantou Mountain was barren, with only some wild chickens and birds. Daqing Mountain, on the other hand, was home to various animals, including wild goats, wild boars, wolves, and venomous snakes. In the past, hunters would go up the mountain to hunt, often seeing these animals. However, due to the dangers and low income, no hunters were seen anymore. Only when the wild animals came down to the fields to destroy crops would someone take out a hunting rifle to deal with them.

Recently, Wang Xiaoqiang noticed wild chickens coming down from the mountains to forage in the yam fields.

Wang Xiaoqiang was afraid the wild chickens would damage the yam fields, so he decided to use a hunting rifle to deal with them. However, his family didn't have a hunting rifle, so he went door-to-door to borrow one. Eventually, he borrowed a rifle from Liu Guifu's house.

Liu Guifu's real name was Liu Xianghong. Her husband, Wang Baoshan, was a hunter who loved guns. He had two hunting rifles and a gun license. He used to go hunting on Daqing Mountain every day, catching wild chickens, wild goats, and wolves, and sometimes even wild boars.

Encountering a wild boar had two outcomes: one was that Wang Baoshan would kill the wild boar and sell it for a good price, and the other was that the wild boar would kill Wang Baoshan and leave his body in the wilderness.

The first outcome was common, but the second occurred only once. In that single instance, Wang Baoshan was killed by a 600-pound wild boar. When his body was found, it was already mutilated.

Thus, Liu Xianghong became Liu Guifu. She had already given birth to a daughter, and to raise her, she never remarried. Her daughter, Wang Chunyan, attended the village primary school. As a single mother, her life was hard.

When Wang Xiaoqiang came to borrow the gun, Liu Xianghong was alone at home. She had helped Wang Xiaoqiang plant the yams, although she had slacked off, Wang Xiaoqiang still paid her the full two days' wages, which made her very grateful. Therefore, she readily took out both of her hunting rifles for Wang Xiaoqiang to choose from.

In fact, since Wang Baoshan's death, the two hunting rifles had been idle, and even if Wang Xiaoqiang took both, Liu Xianghong wouldn't mind.

While Wang Xiaoqiang was selecting the rifle, Liu Xianghong brought out a plate of boiled eggs from the kitchen and offered them to him.

Wang Xiaoqiang, focused on the rifles, waved his hand and said, "No need to be so polite, I don't eat."

Liu Xianghong picked up an egg and forced it into Wang Xiaoqiang's hand, saying, "Eat, eat what you need... hehe~"

"Eat what you need, eat eggs to replenish eggs," Wang Xiaoqiang wasn't stupid; he could tell Liu Xianghong was joking with him.

"Then you eat, and replenish yourself..." In terms of seniority, Wang Xiaoqiang was a generation younger than Wang Baoshan, so he should call him "Uncle" and Liu Xianghong "Aunt." However, the two families were not related. According to village customs, elders couldn't joke excessively with juniors, but juniors could joke with elders. Since Aunt Liu Xianghong was joking with him, Wang Xiaoqiang, as a nephew, could naturally joke back.

"I don't have anything to replenish... hehe~" Liu Xianghong, living alone, rarely had men visit. She was lively and outgoing, and seeing Wang Xiaoqiang's honest and boyish charm, she couldn't resist teasing him.

Wang Xiaoqiang glanced at her, seeing her laugh with a charming sway. Last time, in the dark, he hadn't seen clearly, but this time, he saw her clearly, and his face turned red. At the same time, the Five Elements Spirit Spring in his heart quickly moved to his abdomen, releasing waves of warmth... Wang Xiaoqiang quickly averted his eyes.

The more Wang Xiaoqiang avoided looking, the more Liu Xianghong insisted. She peeled an egg and offered it to him with a seductive look, saying, "Why don't I feed you, nephew?"

If he didn't eat, he would be missing out. Wang Xiaoqiang snatched the egg, which was as smooth as jade, and chewed it quickly, finishing it in a few bites. After eating, he showed a look of enjoyment and asked in surprise, "Aunt, these aren't home-raised eggs, are they?"

"Hey, you have a sharp tongue, you can tell these aren't home-raised eggs..." Liu Xianghong stared at Wang Xiaoqiang's mouth and said, "These are wild mountain chicken eggs..."

"Wild mountain chicken eggs..." Wang Xiaoqiang smacked his lips, recalling the fragrant and smooth taste of the egg, and immediately took another one from the plate. He then realized that these were indeed not home-raised eggs; they were larger, with a greenish shell, clearly wild mountain chicken eggs.

"Aunt, where did you get these wild mountain chicken eggs?" Wang Xiaoqiang asked.

"Ah, they're from the wild mountain chickens your Uncle Baoshan caught before he died. I've been raising them..."

"Uh..." Wang Xiaoqiang was lost in thought for a moment before saying, "These wild mountain chicken eggs must be quite expensive in the market, right?"

"Of course, I don't even eat them myself. I usually boil them for my daughter, and if there are any left, I take them to the county to sell. Each egg can fetch five yuan!"

"Really?!" Wang Xiaoqiang exclaimed in surprise. Home-raised eggs didn't even sell for one yuan each. Wild eggs were five times more expensive.

"Of course, these are genuine wild mountain chicken eggs, not comparable to home-raised eggs, and even better than hybrid chickens!" Liu Xianghong said confidently.

Wang Xiaoqiang knew that the hybrid chickens she referred to were the offspring of wild mountain chickens and home-raised chickens.

"Uh, if you raise wild mountain chickens, you could make a lot of money, right?" Wang Xiaoqiang mumbled.

"Cut it out, Xiaoqiang. I advise you to give up that idea," Liu Xianghong warned earnestly. "These wild mountain chickens are as difficult to raise as old-time ladies. They get sick easily. Your Uncle Baoshan caught ten, but now only one is left..."

"Uh, I see." Wang Xiaoqiang nodded, but in his heart, he had already decided to raise wild mountain chickens. With the Five Elements Spirit Spring, he wasn't afraid of the chickens getting sick. He then asked, "By the way, how did Uncle Baoshan catch those wild mountain chickens?"

Liu Xianghong said, "He mixed alcohol with cornmeal and placed it where the wild mountain chickens often appeared..."

Before she finished, Wang Xiaoqiang understood. He had known this method all along but had forgotten it.

"Thanks, Aunt. I won't borrow the gun then..." Wang Xiaoqiang was about to leave.

But Liu Xianghong grabbed him, saying, "Why not borrow it? Take it, it just sits idle in my house..."

"Alright!" Wang Xiaoqiang pulled his hand back from Liu Xianghong's and picked up a hunting rifle from the table.

Seeing Wang Xiaoqiang's imposing figure with the rifle, Liu Xianghong's eyes became misty, and she murmured, "So manly!"

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