While Bai Maomao was worrying about his make-up exam, Lang Junxian was busy running around to support the family’s livelihood.
His partnership with Tongrentang had always been pleasant, but he never liked putting all his eggs in one basket.
Besides the medicinal herb business with Tongrentang, he sought out a couple more ways to make money for extra security.
The money saved from selling medicinal herbs had accumulated quite a bit.
After keeping aside some for the family’s daily expenses, he divided the rest in half and invested it in the stock market.
The domestic stock market was gradually declining, but if you bet on the right stock, the returns could still come quickly.
Lang Junxian observed for a week, then made a bold move and bought a stock.
Among the many stocks, this one had always had a weak presence; it rose and fell with the market, never plunging, but showing no signs of rising either.
After watching for a few days, Lang Junxian used half of his money to buy into this stock.
The remaining half of the funds, he planned to use to open a poultry ranch.
That’s right, a ranch.
The little vine wasn’t an ordinary plant.
If Bai Maomao wanted to keep raising it, he’d need a large amount of food in the future.
If they kept buying poultry in bulk over the long term, it would eventually attract the attention of those with ulterior motives.
It was safer to open their own ranch.
The connection for the ranch was thanks to Wang Jingli’s help.
The ranch was located in Xijiao.
Lang Junxian went to Xijiao with the person Wang Jingli introduced, checked out the place, and quickly got a rough plan in mind.
That night, the two brothers huddled under one quilt, their heads close together, discussing things intimately.
“If we open our own ranch, the little vine won’t go hungry anymore.”
“Mm,”
Lang Junxian snuggled closer to Bai Maomao, taking in the faint scent of shower gel on the boy, his eyes narrowing in contentment.
“We can also put some in your Space to raise. With so much spiritual energy in the Space, even if no one looks after the chickens and ducks, they should still grow well.”
“Then we can also plant some Lingyao. Isn’t the land in front of the Bamboo Hut Xirang? I tested it; one day there is equal to a year outside. The Lingyao will definitely grow well.”
“Alright, I’ll go talk price with them tomorrow,”
Lang Junxian lowered his head, his eyes full of tenderness.
“If the price is right, we’ll buy that piece of land and open a chicken ranch.”
“Okay, and we should raise a few pigs too,”
Bai Maomao counted on his fingers.
“We can also have a dog, and raise a few cows. Beef is also—”
Lang Junxian looked at him, muttering and counting on his fingers, and felt a tickle in his heart.
He simply pulled Bai Maomao into his arms, pressing him underneath.
“Let’s sleep early. I’ll take you to see it tomorrow.”
Bai Maomao, held in his arms, squirmed and whined for a while before reluctantly falling asleep.
Morning.
Bai Maomao was woken up by a poke.
A hard, stiff stick poked straight into his belly.
Bai Maomao, uncomfortable, batted it away.
Lang Junxian, still asleep, was nudged twice and, half-awake, felt annoyed, so he pressed closer to Bai Maomao and kept sleeping.
Bai Maomao pushed him away a bit and saw that Lang Junxian’s pajama pants were pushed up in front.
He quickly pushed him harder.
“Xiao Hei, Xiao Hei, get up, you’re going to wet the bed!”
“……”
Lang Junxian had just opened his eyes when he heard Bai Maomao’s urgent voice.
Helplessly pressing his forehead, Lang Junxian let out a small laugh, glanced teasingly at Bai Maomao’s quiet lower half, and thought to himself, still just a kid.
Bai Maomao, not understanding, kept urging him to hurry to the bathroom.
He also sneaked a few glances at Xiao Hei’s bulge, secretly compared it to his own, and decided he was bigger.
Satisfied, he went off to wash up.
When Lang Junxian finished handling his physiological needs and came out, Bai Maomao was already done getting ready.
The two of them quickly tidied up and drove to Xijiao.
Lang Junxian had already checked out the ranch last time.
It used to be mainly for raising chickens and ducks.
The terrain and climate were suitable, and if not for the original owner’s family emigrating, the ranch would never have gone up for sale.
This time, Lang Junxian mainly went to negotiate the price and handle the transfer paperwork.
The ranch covered about 120 mu, with well-equipped sheds and semi-new farming equipment.
If Lang Junxian took over, he’d just need to buy chicks, hire workers, and could start right away.
“You see, all the equipment is here. Once you have the staff, you can start operations immediately,” said Yang Tiezhu, the ranch owner introduced by Wang Jingli, with enthusiasm.
Lang Junxian nodded slightly, his face calm and steady as he made an offer.
“Equipment and land together, fifteen million.”
Yang Tiezhu was stunned, his endless sales pitch coming to a halt.
He realized he was dealing with a professional.
“Young man, I can sell you the ranch, but I never said the land was for sale.”
Lang Junxian smiled.
“I heard your whole family is emigrating. If you leave the land here, sooner or later you’ll have to sell it anyway.”
Yang Tiezhu shook his head.
“You can buy the ranch, but the land, I need to keep for two more years.”
“Eighteen million.”
Lang Junxian held up three fingers, his tone flat and unreadable.
“That’s my highest offer.”
Yang Tiezhu choked, his eyes darting as he waved his hand.
“Young man, even for eighteen million, I can’t sell you all this land.”
Lang Junxian glanced at him, curled his lips, and handed him a business card.
“Here’s my card. If you change your mind, you can contact me.”
With that, he took Bai Maomao and left.
Bai Maomao: ???
Weren’t we here to buy the ranch?
Why are we leaving?
Once in the car, seeing Bai Maomao’s curious face, Lang Junxian took the initiative to explain.
“When Wang Jingli made the connection, he told me the owner wanted to sell the ranch and the land together.”
“Then why did he just say he’s not selling?”
Bai Maomao asked, puzzled.
“That’s just how businessmen operate,”
Lang Junxian smiled.
“First, he saw I’m young and probably thought I was some rich family’s son, so he wanted to take advantage. Second, he was playing hard to get to raise the price.”
Bai Maomao nodded, half-understanding.
“So are we buying the land or not?”
“Of course we are, but we’ll wait for him to come to us.”
Less than a week later, Lang Junxian received a call from Yang Tiezhu.
Yang Tiezhu’s voice was enthusiastic on the phone, but Lang Junxian was lukewarm, no longer as eager as before.
Yang Tiezhu chatted for a while before finally asking, hesitantly,
“Lang Gongzi, does your offer of eighteen million still stand?”
“Of course…it doesn’t anymore.”
Lang Junxian lazily drew out his words.
“I lost some money in stocks these past days, so I only have fourteen million left.”
“This…”
Yang Tiezhu hadn’t expected him to change his mind so quickly.
Regretting his earlier play, he thought about his impending departure and couldn’t afford to delay.
Gritting his teeth, he said,
“Fourteen million it is. Let’s just be friends, Lang Gongzi.”
Lang Junxian lowered his eyes, his voice on the phone still lazy.
“Alright, then get your documents ready. I’ll come by again tomorrow.”
Yang Tiezhu hurriedly agreed, afraid this young master would change his mind again, and happily went off to prepare the transfer documents.
It took over a week to complete the ranch and land transfer procedures.
The other party had connections, so everything went smoothly, and Lang Junxian paid up promptly.
Yang Tiezhu, after receiving the money and handing over the documents, left in a hurry.
Instead, Lang Junxian and Bai Maomao wandered around the chicken ranch for half a day.
The ranch had been vacant for a while, but it was very clean, not messy at all.
Besides the chicken coops, there were large grasslands and small groves.
Since they’d raised ducks and geese, there was even an artificial river.
At that moment, three Dabai’e were leisurely swimming on the river.
There were two big Dabai’e and one small one.
The two large ones were plump and strong, gliding on the water with their long necks held high, looking quite proud.
The Xiao’e was sandwiched between the two Dabai’e, having just molted.
Its feathers were still patchy in color, and it was clumsily following the big geese, learning to swim.
Bai Maomao exchanged glances with the Dabai’e on the river, his eyes immediately turning red.
He rolled up his sleeves and charged forward aggressively.
In his more than ten years of life, Bai Maomao had never met anyone who dared to challenge him for territory.
Bai Maomao stood on the riverbank, chest out, staring down the Dabai’e.
The slightly larger male goose raised its neck and let out a long hiss, paddling fiercely toward the shore.
Bai Maomao lifted his chin, eyes disdainful, spread his arms and changed back to his original form.
His wings flapped twice in a show of force, and he let out two loud cries.
A great battle was about to erupt.
“Maomao…”
Lang Junxian held his forehead, watching Bai Maomao transform and confront the Dabai’e.
He was at a loss for words.