Upon hearing the man's voice, Guo Mingxin shuddered in fright. He covered his backside and muttered to himself, "Oh no, oh no, my dad's back!"

Wu Yuanxiu quickly took out a pair of clean shoes from under the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), then turned and went out.

Li Xiangdong knew that the famous Guo Xunmin had returned!

Although Guo Xunmin later suffered disgrace and imprisonment, Li Xiangdong was deeply impressed by the magnanimity, keen insight, and formidable execution that this peasant entrepreneur, who came from a poor background, displayed when leading the entire brigade in starting their business.

Li Xiangdong walked out the door and greeted Guo Xunmin with exceptional respect.

"Uncle Guo, hello! I'm Mingxin's classmate!"

Guo Xunmin is tall, estimated to be 1.89 meters, but he is extremely thin, with dark skin and many wrinkles on his face, making him look like a large mantis.

Yet his demeanor was extremely calm and powerful, and his gaze was exceptionally sharp and keen.

He was washing his feet with water in the yard; his calves and feet were covered in mud.

Suddenly, a handsome young man dressed neatly greeted him. He was taken aback for a moment, then immediately responded, "Hello, hello! Come in!"

Li Xiangdong and Guo Xunmin got along very well, which was evident at noon when Guo Xunmin loudly called out to Wu Yuanxiu from inside the house, "Honey, make something nice for lunch! I want to treat Xiangdong to a good meal!"

Then he asked Li Xiangdong, "Can you drink alcohol?"

Li Xiangdong shook his head. "I can't drink it."

Guo Xunmin nodded in disappointment, "No, no, you're still young!"

Guo Mingxin jumped around excitedly beside him, "Dad, I can drink! I'll drink with you!"

Guo Xunmin threw a broom at him and yelled, "Get out!"

Lunch consisted of a large pot of stewed cabbage and tofu with soy sauce, a dish of pickled radish greens, and a shallow, dark, bun-shaped staple food.

Li Xiangdong sat down on the kang (a heated brick bed) with Guo Xunmin. He noticed that the kang in Guo's house was covered with a thin reed mat, and the edges of the mat were folded into a mess.

Guo Xunmin greeted Li Xiangdong warmly, "Xiangdong, this is all the family can offer, don't mind!"

Li Xiangdong agreed verbally and picked up a piece of tofu.

Guo Mingxin watched him finish eating, swallowed hard, and asked, "Was it good? My mom put soy sauce in it!"

Two little girls were standing under the table, their fingers in their mouths, their big eyes staring longingly at the food on the table.

Wu Yuanxiu called to the two little girls from the outer room, telling them to hurry up and not delay the guests' meal.

Seeing the little girl's greedy look, Li Xiangdong really couldn't eat anymore. He put down his chopsticks and asked directly, "Uncle Guo, the conditions in our village are a bit lacking!"

Guo Xunmin's face darkened, and he put down his chopsticks without saying a word.

Nothing is more humiliating than having the head of the brigade stripped of his dignity in front of everyone like that.

Li Xiangdong said sincerely, "Please don't think I'm being harsh. Our village was poor all along. I just saw some young women and it reminded me of how my sister looked a few years ago. It really breaks my heart."

Guo Xunmin sighed, "You saw our mud huts before you came, didn't you?"

"I saw it."

“These past few years, our Hamaowo village has been plagued by either drought or flood. Our brigade was flooded just two years ago. Every mud-brick house was washed away, and people are too lazy to rebuild. They say they don’t know when another flood will come and wash away their homes. They’ll just live in a mud-brick house for now!”

Guo Xunmin slammed her hand on the table, making the plates and bowls tremble. "Xiang Dong, tell me, can we just make do with life? Isn't life all about having spirit and energy?"

"We are too poor. Every family is doing their best to have enough to eat and wear."

Guo Xunmin's voice suddenly turned sorrowful, "Xiangdong, your village is doing so well now. I also want to clean up Hamawo, repair the irrigation canals, and open up several hundred acres of orchards. I also want to develop the remaining five thousand acres of saline-alkali land, but I don't have the money!"

"His father!"

Wu Yuanxiu's voice came over, and Guo Xunmin seemed to suddenly wake up. How could he have lost his composure in front of a child he was meeting for the first time!

Seeing that Guo Xunmin quickly composed herself, Li Xiangdong got straight to the point, "I have an opportunity to help Hamaowo make money. I wonder if you'd be interested?"

"What?"

"What!"

...

Li Xiangdong didn't linger. Things went more smoothly than he had imagined, and now that the matter was settled, he went home.

Guo Xunmin had already smoked more than a dozen cigarettes, and the whole room was filled with white smoke. When Wu Yuanxiu lifted the curtain, she was choked by the smell of smoke and coughed.

"Dad, stop smoking! Aren't you afraid your lungs will explode?"

"Damn it, where's Mingxin? Bring him in here!"

Guo Mingxin sat upright on the small stool, legs together, hands on his knees. He was no longer the same person he had been joking around with Wu Yuanxiu. He respectfully asked Guo Xunmin, "Dad, what do you want to ask me?"

Guo Xunmin tapped his pipe twice. "How did you and Li Xiangdong meet?"

"Uh, it was when I went to a sports meet for a long-distance race..."

The poor child has been completely brainwashed by Li Xiangdong.

Guo Xunmin suddenly stood up, cursing, "Damn it! Let's do it! It's just a little work digging a hole, right? It's free anyway!"

He considered so many options, but none of them were easy. Zhao Da had previously told him that the Juedian Leather Factory bought sheepskin and cowhide. They could buy live sheep and cows from the market, slaughter them, and resell them to the leather factory at the original price, making a profit from the meat!

He was so excited he almost jumped for joy, but after inquiring further, he learned that the Juedian Leather Factory had recently secured a large and stable supply of goods, and the factory no longer needed so many.

Guo Xunmin gritted her teeth. Even a fly's leg is still meat. Let's do it!

But a later remark from the leather factory extinguished the fire in his heart!

They said, "Because the supply of goods has been stable recently, we're no longer implementing the policy of settling accounts daily; we're settling accounts every three months now!"

Guo Xunmin was broke. He was hoping to borrow some money to get his business up and running so he could pay off his debts immediately!

However, he simply couldn't afford to delay the payment period of three months!

And so, the slaughtering business, which was originally the source of his first pot of gold in his previous life, turned into a chicken rib that was neither tasty to eat nor worth throwing away.

Life is like riding a bicycle. Once you get the pedal turned, life will be great. But why is it so hard to get that pedal turned?

Regardless, since Li Xiangdong had spoken, Guo Xunmin decided to go to Lijiapo to take a look.

If what he said is true, then even giving Li Jiapo 50% of the net profit would be a good deal!

Li Jin was unaware at home that his son had not only bought land, but also gone out to "colonize" it!