Lu Chaoli had already picked up a hat from the stall.

"Would you like to buy a hat, young man?"

The stall owner, who was sitting on a small stool, stood up and walked over after seeing Lu Chaoli. Tiezhu then noticed that his boss had stopped in front of the stall selling hats.

Looking at Lu Chaoli's shaved head, Tiezhu chuckled.

He reminded the boss to wear a hat before coming, but the boss refused to listen. Now he must be sweating profusely in the sun! He thought Lu Chaoli was going to buy a hat for him, but when Tiezhu saw the hat he picked up from the stall, his eyes widened! "I want this one."

"This one is fifty cents!"

Before Tiezhu could react, Lu Chaoli had already taken out money from his pocket and handed it to the stall owner.

Lu Chaoli looked at the hat in his hand, raised the corner of his mouth slightly, and continued walking forward.

Tiezhu came back to his senses and pinched his face fiercely.

“Hiss, it hurts!”

He was not mistaken, the boss just bought a women's hat!

Judging from the style of the hat, it's not something Aunt Lu would wear. Could it be...

Thinking of something, Tiezhu's eyes lit up and he quickly chased after him!

"Boss, who did you buy this hat for?"

Tiezhu's eyes lit up as if he had discovered some new continent, and he looked at Lu Chaoli without blinking.

"Don't ask questions that you shouldn't ask."

Lu Chaoli raised the corner of his mouth, did not answer Tiezhu's question, and quickened his pace towards the brick kiln.

"Boss, Boss, just tell me! Is there anything that cannot be said between us brothers?"

Tiezhu followed with a smile, and no matter how he tried to inquire about Lu Chaoli, Lu Chaoli remained silent. Lu Chaoli raised the hat in his hand in front of him, and the smile on his face deepened.

Tiezhu, who had been staring at him, naturally did not miss the expression on his face. Tiezhu's eyes rolled around and an answer popped up in his mind.

"Boss, you're not buying this for your sister-in-law, are you?"

Tiezhu said something shocking and looked at Lu Chaoli with a sly look.

After hearing Tiezhu's name, Lu Chaoli paused, then raised his eyebrows, as if he was very satisfied with the name.

He looked at Tiezhu beside him with a smile in his eyes. Just when Tiezhu thought he was going to confess the truth, Lu Chaoli uttered two words lightly.

"you guess."

After saying that, he continued walking towards the brick kiln, and Tiezhu stamped his feet anxiously.

"Boss, Boss, wait for me!"

Tiezhu kept asking questions all the way until his lips were almost worn out, but he still couldn't get the answer. He never expected that the boss, who was always thick-skinned, would actually become shy about this matter!

Tell him what's wrong? He's not an outsider, really!

But in fact, it was not that Lu Chaoli was shy, but that he knew the temperament of these brothers too well. If they knew that he liked Comrade Xiao Jiang, he guaranteed that this group of people would block the educated youth station tightly! Before there was any news, he did not want to bring burden to Comrade Xiao Jiang.

But there is no wall that is impenetrable. The brothers were like Sherlock Holmes. After noticing Lu Chaoli's abnormality, they started staring at him.

Finally, Lu Chaoli and Tiezhu visited three brick kilns and selected one with suitable price and quality. They planned to go back and discuss with Lu's father and mother to start buying bricks to expand the pig farm.

After Lu Chaoli returned to the village, he did not go to the Youth League Institute to give the hat to Jiang Li, but went straight home. There was nothing he could do because Tiezhu was staring at him like a thief all the way. He could only find another opportunity to give the hat to Comrade Xiao Jiang.

Just after getting rid of Tiezhu and returning home, Lu's mother came to bother him again.

After seeing Lu Chaoli through the window, Lu's mother quickly waved to him.

Lu Chaoli hid his hat behind his back and looked suspiciously at his smiling mother: "Mom, what are you so happy about?"

"Come in quickly, I have something to ask you!"

At the urging of Lu's mother, Lu Chaoli walked to the main room, hid his hat, and then went to the room of Lu's father and mother.

Mr. and Mrs. Lu were sitting cross-legged on the kang. Mr. Lu had a pipe in his mouth and Mrs. Lu was holding a half-finished shoe sole in her hand.

"What's wrong, mother?"

"Chao Li, where is your hat?"

Mother Lu looked straight at Lu Chaoli, and even the crow's feet at the corners of her eyes exuded anticipation.

Lu Chaoli said calmly, "I went to Huzi's house to help yesterday and ended up at Huzi's house. What happened, mother?"

As soon as she finished speaking, a hint of suspicion appeared in Lu's mother's eyes. Could it be that she was wrong?

Seeing that Lu Chaoli was still waiting for her to reply, Lu's mother said casually, "Nothing, I just asked casually because I didn't see your hat."

"Oh, I'll take the hat back when I go to Huzi's house."

Father Lu was smoking a cigarette with little change on his face, but he knew it was his mother who was mumbling and thinking about things all day long!

"Mom and Dad, I have something to discuss with you."

"I heard from Hu Zi that you and Tie Zhu went to the brick kiln together just now. You wanted to discuss the expansion of the pig farm, right?"

After learning that Lu Chaoli had just been to the brick kiln, Lu's father had already guessed what he was going to say.

Lu Chaoli nodded: "That's right, Dad, I want to expand the pig farm before the policy is issued, and then go to the town to apply for a breeding license after the policy comes out. I heard that I can get a lot of subsidies!"

"Chao Li, but the policy is just a rumor now, and there is no definite information on when it will be issued. Isn't it too early to expand the pig farm now?"

Mother Lu was a little worried that the rumor was inaccurate. If it was inaccurate, there would be no subsidy. Without the subsidy, expanding the pig farm would be a considerable expense.

"Mom, this is not just one person talking about this. I believe the policy will be issued soon."

Lu Chaoli had a confident look on his face. He had a very strong premonition that an unprecedented and grand change would take place soon.

"I can't make up my mind about this matter. You should discuss it with your father. I'm going to feed the chickens."

The chickens in the yard were clucking. Mother Lu put her shoe soles on the kang and got up to go out of the yard.

"Dad, what do you think about this?"

Lu Chaoli sat on the kang and looked at his father who was smoking a pipe.

Father Lu frowned and said, "Chao Li, expanding the pig farm is not a trivial matter. The pork market has not been very good recently. If we make a wrong bet, all our family property will be lost."

"Dad, I understand what you said, but in business, there are gains and losses. Although it is stable now, when the policy is implemented, more and more people will raise pigs, and we will not have any advantage."

"This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. If you miss it, you'll never get it again. Dad, don't rush to give me an answer now. It won't be too late to give me an answer after you've thought it through."

Father Lu lowered his head and fell into deep thought. Lu Chaoli did not rush him, giving him enough time to think.

Lu Chaoli knew that this move was quite risky, but he had already done a risk assessment before making the decision. Once the policy was issued, there was a 70% chance that their pig farm would become bigger and stronger.

As the cigarette in his hand burned out, Father Lu finally raised his head.

(End of this chapter)