"I hear you talk of sunrises and sunsets..."
His phone rang. Lin Feng glanced at the name on the display. ’Time to face the music.’
"Hello, Dad."
"Your fifth uncle called me today. He said you’ve returned to your hometown and even contracted the village’s land?"
"Uh, well... um... I did come back home."
"Why aren’t you at your job in Shanghai? What are you doing back home? That place has nothing to offer, and the village has already been relocated. What do you plan to do by contracting land there?"
"Don’t speak to Xiaofeng so harshly. Give me the phone."
Hearing his mother’s voice on the other end, Lin Feng felt a glimmer of hope.
"Xiaofeng, are you really back in the old village?"
"Yeah."
"Then why didn’t you tell us? You returned but didn’t come visit? By the way, your fifth uncle said you’re selling grapes for 888 a bunch. Is that true?"
Lin Feng gathered his thoughts for a moment. "I just didn’t want you to worry. And the story about the grapes is true. They’re a special product."
"Your father and I will head over to see for ourselves in a little while."
"Great. You and Dad can come over and give me some advice. I’ll be waiting for you here in the village."
Lin Feng breathed a sigh of relief. With the Jade Grapes, he should be able to get past this hurdle with his parents.
Back in Wuyuan County, after confirming the news, Lin Feng’s parents got in their car and rushed over.
Forty minutes later, Lin Feng stood at the village entrance, watching his parents get out of the car.
"Dad, you were driving way too fast. Don’t speed like that next time, it’s dangerous. Mom, look what I found over here!"
"WOOF, WOOF WOOF..."
"Mo Yu, stop barking. These are my parents, which makes them your masters, too."
Lin Dongyue glanced around. The place looked utterly desolate, and his anger flared.
"Have you lost your mind? Why would you lease this dump?"
"Dad, don’t be angry just yet. The place isn’t that bad, and more importantly, it was cheap."
"Oh my! There’s actually a Well here!" Liu Chunyan stood beside it, finding it incredible. "The village was always so desperate for water, yet we never found any."
After all, back when the village was short on water, they had dug countless holes trying to find it.
Even Lin Dongyue was drawn to the Well. Having grown up in Linshan Village, he was all too familiar with the frustrations of water shortages.
"This is truly amazing. I can’t believe there’s actually water here."
Lin Feng added from behind them, "Dad, the old village might be remote, but it actually has good resources."
Lin Dongyue used a nearby ladle to scoop up some water and took a sip.
"This water is pretty good. It’s a little sweet."
Hearing this, Liu Chunyan took the ladle and had a sip herself. "It really is good. I never thought there’d be water in the village, let alone such high-quality water."
"By the way, Xiaofeng, where are those grapes of yours planted?"
Her main reason for coming today was to see the grapes that sold for 888 a bunch. What kind of grapes could possibly be so expensive?
"This way, Mom. Let me get you some to try."
Lin Feng walked over to his van and pulled out a box of grapes he had placed inside after learning his parents were coming.
"Oh, my! Dear, look how beautiful these grapes are!"
When Lin Dongyue saw the grapes Lin Feng brought out, he was also surprised. You could tell just by looking at them that they wouldn’t be cheap.
Thinking about his son selling them for 888 a bunch, he was suddenly at a loss for words.
"They certainly are beautiful."
"And they taste wonderful! So sweet and fragrant. You have to try one."
"The flavor really is something else. Much tastier than ordinary grapes."
Remembering that the grapes cost 888 a bunch, Liu Chunyan quickly told Lin Feng to put the rest away, insisting one bunch was more than enough for the two of them.
’I’ll just give them some more to take home when they leave,’ Lin Feng thought.
"Mom, this is the area where the grapes grow. They’re a very special type; I haven’t found a way to transplant them successfully yet."
Liu Chunyan looked at the plot of grapevines, which covered about a mu of land, and asked doubtfully, "Dear, there were never any grapes here before, right?"
Lin Dongyue also stared at the grapevine in curiosity. "No, this used to be one of the village’s private plots. I think it belonged to the sixth family. Xiaofeng, did you plant this?"
"Yeah. I found the sapling in the mountains, and it would only grow when I planted it here. All my attempts to transplant it elsewhere failed. Even the cuttings I cultivated died."
Lin Dongyue walked a circle around the vineyard and realized this vine was truly something special. The main trunk was as thick as a thigh, and all the other vines were offshoots from that single plant.
Moreover, the vine was thriving. There were no withered branches or yellowed leaves, indicating it was perfectly healthy.
"So you leased the entire village just for this one grapevine?"
"Yes, that’s part of the reason. I was worried there might be trouble over it in the future." His father had just handed him a perfect excuse, and Lin Feng readily took it.
"With this grapevine here, leasing this place is definitely a good investment. By the way, I see you have a lot of building materials and some farm machinery over there. What are your plans?"
Lin Feng explained, "I’m planning to renovate one of the houses to live in first. I’ve also cleared ten mu of land. Six mu will be for greenhouses to grow vegetables, and I’ll plant wheat on the other four."
Hearing that his son had a plan, Lin Dongyue relaxed a little. "Why not plant vegetables on all of it?"
"I’m worried I won’t be able to sell them all. I want to test the market first. If the vegetables sell well, I’ll clear more land and expand."
"That’s a smart idea. You can’t just blindly plant things, especially greenhouse vegetables, since you don’t have the technical skills."
"Dad, do you know any builders in town? I want to hire someone to get the house built and put up the greenhouses at the same time."
Lin Dongyue thought for a moment and said, "I hear your Uncle Dazhuang is doing some construction work. I’ll ask him for you in a bit. As for the greenhouses, I’ll call a few people to help you put them up. I’ll have your mom call a restaurant in town and book a table."
"Okay, I understand."
Liu Chunyan added, "Son, you could also build a small livestock farm here. You could raise some chickens, ducks, sheep, or cattle."
"That’s all in the plans, but I can’t manage it all by myself."
"Have your father help you. And you should install a large gate on the road at the village entrance to stop people from sneaking in and causing trouble."
Lin Dongyue agreed. "A gate is a must. The price of those grapes is just too conspicuous."
He knew all too well what some people were like. When they see you have something good that they can’t get, they’ll try to destroy it.
As long as that grapevine is properly cared for, the income from it won’t be low, even if the price of the grapes falls in the future.
"I honestly didn’t think of that."
In truth, Lin Feng had an alert system. He would be notified immediately if any stranger entered or caused any damage to the village.
"You don’t have electricity here yet, do you?"
"No."
"When I go find those people later, I’ll also look for the town mayor and ask him what can be done about your situation."
The corners of Lin Feng’s mouth lifted into a small smile. ’It’s great having my parents’ help.’ Many things he had thought would be difficult to resolve, his father could handle for him.
He wasn’t very familiar with the people in town, but if his father got involved, he could leverage many connections there.
Lin Feng chatted with his mother about what he had been up to and his vision for rebuilding the village.
Meanwhile, Lin Dongyue started making calls to relatives and friends in town. The Lin family’s closest relatives and friends were actually all working or running businesses out of town.
They only returned to their hometown for gatherings during the New Year, which was why Lin Feng’s parents were only just now finding out about his return.
Otherwise, someone would have surely notified them when the rumors were spreading through town.
Following that string of phone calls, a number of people from Mountain Ridge Town began heading toward Lin Xian Village. It was only then that they also learned Lin Dongyue hadn’t even known his son had returned home.
They all thought to themselves, ’This kid has some real nerve, not even discussing something this major with his parents.’
Lin Feng was happy. With his parents’ support, it seemed his development plans could be accelerated.