Chapter 11 – Preparations

Wang Yi leased five plots of land near her family’s best farmland—altogether about two shang of land. The rent was cheap: just twenty thousand yuan a year for all of it.

She contacted professionals who specialized in building greenhouses. They measured out the fields to calculate exactly how much material would be needed.

Since the Northeastern weather hadn’t yet turned truly cold, they had to hurry and get the greenhouses erected.

After discussing with her parents, they decided to build five greenhouses in total. Wang Yi planned: one for strawberries—milk strawberries and Dandong 999 strawberries; one for fruits—peaches, cherries, dragon fruit, and pomegranates; one for vegetables—eggplants, peppers, beans, scallions, strawberry tomatoes, and regular big tomatoes; one for greens—lettuce chrysanthemum, dandelions, small garlic sprouts, and bitter lettuce; and the last one for celery, cabbage, lettuce, spinach, and chives.

Later, the empty spaces between the fruit trees could be used to plant leafy greens. When the fruits ripened, the greenhouses could be opened for fruit-picking activities.

Her father was out in the fields overseeing the greenhouse construction, while she and her mother stayed home planting seedlings in the “space” (her personal growing space), so they could later be transplanted into the greenhouses.

When it came to fruit trees, Wang Yi immediately thought of her brother, who was working in Xiamen. He could help her source them.

“Yiyi, what do you need from me?” Her brother’s hearty voice rang through the phone.

“Brother, I need a favor. Can you buy some fruit trees for me? I’ll send you the list on WeChat, and you can just ship them to me by SF Express.” Wang Yi explained.

“Sure! But why don’t you come visit for a few days? I’ll show you around.” His booming voice really took after their mother.

“Brother, I’m busy building my future here! Don’t distract me from making my fortune—or else I’ll come after you for compensation.” Wang Yi teased.

Her brother burst into loud laughter. Wang Yi could almost picture his wide-open mouth, so big she joked you could see straight down to his stomach.

Rolling her eyes, Wang Yi said, “Don’t underestimate me. When your sister becomes a rich woman, just wait—offending me now means you’ll suffer later, boy.”

“Hahaha, mercy, Lady Heroine! I wouldn’t dare,” her brother played along.

“Hmph, that’s more like it. By the way, are you coming home for the New Year this year?” Wang Yi asked.

Her brother quickly replied, “Yes, it’s been two or three years since I last went back.”

“Good, Mom will be overjoyed. Alright then, I’ll let you get back to work. Just let me know when you’ve bought the trees.” Wang Yi reminded him.

“Got it, stop nagging, will you?”

“Wang Yang, you’re dead meat!—” beep beep beep

Wang Yi glared at her phone, puffing her cheeks in frustration. This brother of hers…“I don’t want him anymore.”

“Pfft—” Her mother burst into loud laughter.

Wang Yi felt wronged.
“Mom, your son is useless. You’d better throw him away!”

That made her mom laugh so hard she nearly doubled over. Wang Yi could only helplessly hold her up, staring speechlessly at the sky—without her, this family would fall apart.

When her father came home and saw the state of mother and daughter, he thought something serious had happened.

Wang Yi quickly poured her mom a glass of water, urging her to take a break before she laughed herself sick.

“Dad, I want to build a brick fire wall,” Wang Yi said seriously. “In winter we can burn firewood or corn cobs. That way the greenhouse will stay warm—it’s much better than just burning a stove.”

Her father immediately turned to her and nodded.
“That’ll work. The cost isn’t much higher either.”

“In that case, how long will it take to finish?”

“About half a month, and it’ll be done,” her dad thought aloud.

Her mom, seeing father and daughter discussing serious business, stopped laughing and added:
“Then we’d better let everyone know now. They can save the corn cobs they husk for us—those will be our fuel for the whole winter.”

“I’ll talk to your uncle later, have his brother-in-law deliver a few truckloads of timber. I’ve already arranged it in advance,” her father said as he headed out.

Wang Yi felt her father truly had a drive for big undertakings.

“Mom, your husband is impressive! One look at him and you know he’s made for big things,” Wang Yi teased.

Her mother smacked her lightly.
“You little rascal, why are you always looking for trouble? Looks like I didn’t beat you enough as a kid. Keep this up and I’ll fry you with a broom handle instead of pork—let’s see if you still crack jokes then.”

After saying that, her mom went back to her chores.

Wang Yi stared in confusion. What did I do wrong now? I didn’t provoke anyone! But she didn’t dare argue—if her mom really did “fry her,” she’d be doomed.

Quickly, she shouted toward her mom:
“Tonight let’s have hot pot! We can also discuss opening the farmhouse restaurant.”

“Just admit you’re craving hot pot. Don’t use the restaurant as an excuse,” her mom shot her a glance.

Wang Yi sighed inwardly. So this is what they mean by ‘distance makes the heart grow fonder.’ When I first came home, everything was ‘my dear daughter this, my dear daughter that.’ Now it’s all scolding.

“If you want hot pot, then go buy some meat. Invite your grandparents, your uncle and aunt, and your eldest cousin with his wife. The fieldwork’s all done—time for everyone to relax together,” her mom said.

“Alrighty! I’ll go buy meat right away. But first, Mom, come into the space with me—we’ll pick some fresh vegetables to use,” Wang Yi suggested.

Her mom, once inside, picked a little of everything: spinach, lettuce, bok choy… making sure each type was included, evenly shared by the “rain and dew.”

Wang Yi went to the market and bought 2 jin (about 2 pounds) each of beef and mutton. Things were very convenient now—even fresh meat could be sliced in just two minutes with the machine.

For Northeastern-style hotpot, you dip the food in sesame paste. She bought two bottles of freshly ground sesame paste, some chive flower sauce, fermented tofu (red type), Haichiwang spicy dipping sauce, and a hotpot base from Grassland Red Sun. She also bought glass noodles, enoki mushrooms, lotus root slices, bamboo shoots, wide noodles, kelp, all kinds of meatballs, and three jin (about 3 pounds) of prawns.

Looking over everything, Wang Yi was sure she hadn’t missed anything, so she carried it all home.

Once their homemade pickled cabbage was ready, she was already planning to make a Sichuan-style hotpot base next time—that flavor would be unbeatable.

She hadn’t even eaten this meal yet but was already planning the next. No wonder her mom said she was greedy. She felt so wronged—totally innocent!

When she got home, it was right as her relatives from the other two households were around. She told them they were all coming to her house for hotpot dinner.

Her eldest uncle said, “But your dad just passed by, and he didn’t say anything about having a meal!”

Wang Yi puffed out her chest and replied, “Uncle, this was a high-level decision. My dad’s not qualified enough to decide!”

“Alright, alright, stop joking around,” her uncle said as he waved his hand and walked off.

Back at home, Wang Yi started making preparations. She noticed her dad’s hesitant, wanting-to-say-something look—and guessed immediately what it was about.

In their village, the most famous thing was the pure homemade liquor—not mixed, but truly brewed from real grains.

Her mom always kept an eye on her dad, never letting him drink too much.

“Dad, I’ll help you out. Next time Mom scolds me, you step in and take some of the fire, okay?” Wang Yi said, acting like a buddy sharing a secret.

But when her mom’s sharp gaze swept over, her dad immediately defected.

“Honey, this kid talks too much—I didn’t agree to anything. If I want to drink, I’ll just tell you directly. I don’t need her sticking her nose in. Besides, since Mom, Dad, and big brother are all coming today, even if you don’t say anything, you’ll definitely let me drink. My wife is always the most reasonable one.” He said this while fawningly massaging her shoulders.

Wang Yi was dumbfounded. That pathetic, bootlicking attitude—she couldn’t even look at him. How had things turned out like this in just a few seconds?

“This silly girl really does talk too much. You can drink today, but not too much,” her mom said calmly.

“Yes, ma’am. As you command, my dear wife.” Her dad was already officially certified as a bootlicker.

Wang Yi looked up to the heavens in speechless despair. Fine, fine, you two are true love, and I’m just the accident, huh?

“Dad, Mom, am I the free gift that came with the cooking oil you bought at the market?” Before she could finish, her mom tossed a vegetable stalk at her.

Wang Yi ran off in a hurry. Life was simply unlivable like this.