"I won't tell you what we're going to do right now. You need to do some preliminary work first."

Hu Yuan called the two people into the courtyard and handed them two Ashima (a type of herbal tea).

This surprised and delighted Wang Lun and Wang Jing, who were usually happy to draw the Red Plum Blossom.

The two didn't take them directly, but instead smelled them before putting them in their pockets with expressions of delight.

Seeing the two of them like this, Hu Yuan was both amused and exasperated.

She then threw the half-box of Ashima in her hand to Wang Lun.

"Is it really necessary? Just two cigarettes and you're acting like this! Have some self-respect!" Hu Yuan said, shaking his head and laughing.

"Hehe, brother-in-law, you don't know. My mom is very strict. It's a miracle if the two of us can even buy a pack of Hongmei cigarettes. Just smoking Hongmei makes everyone else in the village envious. Most of them roll their own cigarettes!"

Wang Jing looked at Ashima in his second brother's hand and rubbed his hands together with a look of surprise.

"Are the villagers all living in a state of constant tension?" Hu Yuan asked with a curious expression.

"Feeling... stressed?"

Wang Lun and Wang Jing didn't understand the classical Chinese word Hu Yuan was using, and looked at him blankly.

Hu Yuan immediately understood what they meant by "hungry," and then shook his head to explain, "What I mean is, don't people in the village have much money?"

"What money could there be?" Wang Lun shook his head, pursing his lips. "In these mountain gullies, there's nothing but rocks and dirt. It's really too difficult to make money!"

"Are there many young and middle-aged people left in the village?" Hu Yuan took a puff of his cigarette and then asked, "Doesn't anyone go out to work?"

“Working? Some do, but after a few people got scammed out there, most of them stopped going out,” Wang Lun said with a sigh.

"Didn't you two ever think about going out and making your own way in the world?" Hu Yuan asked with a smile.

"Why venture out? We know nothing about this place, and we don't know anyone here. Instead of going out to try our luck, we should stick to our family business. At least this is a familiar environment for us!"

Although the two seemed to be doing something unproductive, Wang Lun's words made Hu Yuan look at them in a new light.

“Some people are arrogant and reckless, always thinking about making trouble. We know we don’t have much ability, so we just want to stay at home,” Wang Jing said in a low voice.

"Brother-in-law, you don't look down on us, do you?" Wang Lun, with a touch of cunning, looked at Hu Yuan.

"How could that be? It's only natural for you to think that way, so why would I look down on you?" Hu Yuan shook his head and said.

"That's good, that's good. As long as you think highly of us, brother-in-law, we'll work hard for you!" Wang Lun immediately expressed his opinion.

"Alright! Since you're willing to work with me, I guarantee you'll make a fortune if you do your job well!" Hu Yuan patted the two men on the shoulders and laughed.

"By the way, brother-in-law, you haven't told us what preliminary work we need to do yet?" Wang Jing pressed.

Hu Yuan nodded without saying anything, but instead took out two 100-yuan bills from his pocket.

Upon seeing these two old men's heads, Wang Lun and Wang Jing's eyes widened in astonishment.

Hu Yuan stuffed two hundred yuan into Wang Lun's shirt pocket.

Wang Lun swallowed hard and stammered, "Brother-in-law... what do you mean by this...?"

You should know that Li Sufeng usually holds onto her money very tightly, and the largest denomination she gives them is only ten yuan. Now Hu Yuan actually stuffed two hundred yuan into their hands.

For these two people, this was undoubtedly a huge sum of money.

Seeing their expressions, Hu Yuan chuckled and said, "This money isn't for you to spend however you want; it's for your activity expenses!"

"Activity funds? What does that mean?"

"Take this money and buy some cigarettes and alcohol, then gather all the young people in the village together and have a good talk with them," Hu Yuan said directly.

"Chat? What should we talk about?" Wang Lun still didn't quite understand.

"What do you think is most important to you?" Hu Yuan asked.

"The most important thing?" Wang Jing scratched the back of his head, not quite understanding what he meant.

Seeing Hu Yuan rub his fingers together, Wang Lun's eyes lit up, and he immediately spoke up.

"Brother-in-law, you mean money?"

"That's right! It's all about money! What era are we living in? What can you accomplish without money? Get them together, and you can provide them with free cigarettes and alcohol, but you need to make one thing clear. Ask them if they want to make money!"

"The key is whether you want to make money with me!" Hu Yuan added.

"Make money with you?"

Wang Jing glanced at Hu Yuan, then muttered under his breath, "Brother-in-law, didn't you promise to help us make money? Why are you looking for someone else now? Don't you want us anymore?"

Although Wang Lun didn't say anything, he looked at Hu Yuan with a constipated expression, and Hu Yuan could tell that they both meant the same thing.

"Don't worry, how could I not take you with me!" Hu Yuan shook his head with a smile.

"Let me put it this way: the more people we have, the more money we make, so you don't need to worry about that!"

Seeing Hu Yuan's confident demeanor, the two exchanged a glance, unsure whether it was a good or bad thing.

"By the way, brother-in-law, what exactly are we going to do to make money?" Wang Jing asked.

"Selling things!" Hu Yuan said.

"Selling things? What are you selling?" Wang Lun and Wang Jing frowned.

"Cleaning and toiletries!"

The sales department office of the chemical processing plant.

"How's it going, Section Chief Feng? How's the collection of treasury bonds going these past two days?"

After staying at Wang Man's house for two days, they hurriedly returned to Jiangkou.

After all, Hu Yuan still needs to continue acquiring treasury bonds, and this matter is quite complicated.

Seeing Hu Yuan's overly familiar manner, Feng Qian rolled her eyes.

Feng Qian picked up a large travel bag from under the table and tossed it onto the table with great effort.

"It's all here, take a look for yourself!" With a cold snort, Feng Qian crossed her arms and leaned back in her chair.

Hu Yuan didn't look at the treasury bonds immediately because he could tell that Feng Qian was angry.

With a smile, Hu Yuan said, "Section Chief Feng, what are you doing? I haven't done anything to offend you these past few days, have I?"

With a cold snort, Feng Qian rolled her eyes at him and turned her head away.

"Section Chief Feng, if people see us like this, they'll definitely say we're a young couple having a tiff!" Hu Yuan joked.

"Pah! Shameless! Who said we're a married couple?" Hearing Hu Yuan's words, Feng Qian blushed and then retorted.

"Yes, yes, it was my shamelessness. Section Chief Feng, please don't hold it against me," Hu Yuan said to Feng Qian with a grin.

Seeing Hu Yuan's expression, Feng Qian burst out laughing.

"Fine! I won't stoop to your level!" Feng Qian turned her head away haughtily.

"Hehe, I knew you were a magnanimous person, Section Chief Feng, thank you! Could you tell me how many treasury bonds there are?"

"You'd be horrified if I told you!" Feng Qian pouted, then said, "There are 454,200 yuan worth of treasury bonds here!"