Before long, Li Weidong's yard was packed with people, three layers deep.

Those who arrived late had nowhere to stand, so they stood on the wall or climbed up the tree.

This is even more lively than a wedding in the village.

In the 1990s, Taohuayu had little entertainment, and any slight disturbance in the village would attract a large crowd.

At this moment, in the center of the courtyard, a staff member wearing a "Post Office" uniform is busy with pliers.

The other party was clearly used to being watched by so many people and was not affected at all, skillfully laying the telephone line.

After working for more than an hour, the installation of the lines and the testing of the telephones were finally completed.

After handing a handwritten receipt to Li Weidong, the installer rode away on his motorcycle.

As soon as the other party left, the villagers who had come to watch the commotion rushed into the main room.

They all stood on tiptoe, eagerly eyeing the red telephone in the center of the main room.

"Weidong, you must have spent a lot of money installing this phone, right?"

"Of course, this thing is expensive. The initial installation fee alone is several thousand. Weidong, how much did it cost in total for this whole setup?"

"A little over four thousand," Li Weidong said with a smile.

The initial installation fee is 2500, the material cost is 1000, and the labor cost is 550. All in all, it comes to just over 4000.

"Over four thousand?!"

People gasped in shock.

They farm, a whole family, and after a year of hard work, they only earn a thousand or eight hundred yuan.

Li Weidong just casually installed a telephone, and it cost them four or five years' worth of food.

"Wei Dong, you're really... really wasting money."

"With that money, you could do something better than install such a tiny, broken thing."

"That's right, there's a phone at the convenience store near Qianjin's house, why would we need to install another one? It's a complete waste of money."

When the village elders heard that a telephone cost more than four thousand yuan, they all clicked their tongues in disapproval.

However, the young people supported Li Weidong.

"Third Grandpa, you don't understand. Weidong installed telephones to help our whole village get rich. Didn't you see the slogan on the roadside? If you want to get rich, install telephones first, then build roads."

“I think Brother Weidong did a good job. When doing business, you have to be practical. The phone at the convenience store is used by the whole village, which is too inconvenient. I heard that people who drive big trucks have landlines installed at home.”

"Third Grandfather, Wei Dong is rich, so you don't need to worry about him. It won't cost you any money."

"By the way, Weidong, Uncle Baotian said you're going to take us mushroom planting, is that true? When does it start? I can't wait."

"Yes, yes, Weidong, you absolutely have to include our family in this batch. We're so poor we're almost starving."

Li Weidong's installation of telephones completely irritated the villagers.

That's four thousand yuan!

Li Weidong actually started pretending without hesitation.

At that moment, they clearly realized Li Weidong's financial resources.

This further strengthened their resolve to continue growing mushrooms.

"Er Mao's mother, come on! Your family is far from poor. If we're talking about poverty, it's our family. Wei Dong's nephew, our family definitely has to be in this batch. I even held you when you were little."

"Weidong, I'm your fourth uncle. We should be in this batch, right?"

“Weidong, I’m your Uncle Liu. I was very close to your father back then, and we were in the first batch…”

Everyone was eager to get on Li Weidong's good side, afraid of falling behind.

Li Weidong was getting a headache from their noise.

So he gestured with his hand and said, "Everyone gets one, no one will be left out. But who goes first and who goes last is up to the village chief. It's no use telling me."

It's getting late, everyone should take a break. We should all rest now.

After Li Weidong finished speaking, people filed out of the main room and went home in groups of three or five.

Among them was Wang Dahua and her family, who had come to watch the excitement.

On the way back, the three remained silent.

Only after returning home did Wang Dahua finally say, "Look at Li Weidong's smug look. He's only made a few stinking bucks, and he doesn't even know who he is anymore..."

It's just a telephone installation, yet the whole village knows about it. Why doesn't he just use the village loudspeaker to announce it so that other villages can hear it too?

I truly despise his nouveau riche attitude; it's disgusting!!!

“I’m also annoyed with him. Mom, didn’t I say we should install a telephone? But you wouldn’t, and Li Weidong has stolen all the limelight!”

"Pretend? What's the point of pretending? Are you going to go out drinking with your cronies every day? And aren't you going to marry Cuihua? Aren't you going to prepare a dowry for her?"

"That...that's true!"

Speaking of Cuihua, Hu Zi became depressed again: "Mom, what are we going to do with these mushrooms? We can't sell them. Why don't you apologize to Li Weidong? There's no such thing as a grudge that lasts overnight between relatives. If I can't give her the bride price, Cuihua will really make trouble for me."

"Apologize? You want me, an elder, to apologize to him? What are you thinking? I'm not going! Go yourself!!"

"But Mom..."

"Alright, shut up!" Wang Dahua poked Hu Zi's head angrily. "If you were half as clever as Li Weidong, we wouldn't be struggling to sell these mushrooms."

"Didn't you deliver goods with him a few times before? Think carefully about where you delivered them. If all else fails, we can secretly deliver the mushrooms under Li Weidong's name."

"I do remember which store it is, but will this work? Won't it give us away?" Tiger said hesitantly.

"What's wrong with that? If this brat hadn't turned against us, all these restaurants would be ordering our mushrooms anyway. We're just taking back our rightful market share."

"That makes sense." Tiger realized his mistake. "Then I'll quickly find a car and deliver the mushrooms to the restaurant?"

"Hurry up, before Li Weidong brings more mushrooms from Yinan, let's send the mushrooms back quickly."

"Okay, okay, I'll go right away. Mom, you're so smart. If you had thought of this earlier, we wouldn't have wasted that whole truckload of mushrooms."

"Alright, stop flattering me, let's hurry up and find the car. The sooner the better!"

"Okay, I'll go right away."