"Uncle Three, don't be angry. I'll drive the car to town and wash it clean for you later, then return it, okay?" Liu Yifeng immediately said.
"Yifeng, it's not that I'm being unreasonable or stingy, it's just that I don't even let dogs ride in this car, for fear of any unpleasant smells. And you, you just loaded it up with more than ten baskets of crawfish, making my car smell so bad. If your aunt finds out, she'll start nagging me again." Liu Chasheng's expression softened considerably when he saw Liu Yifeng washing his car.
Liu Yifeng nodded understandingly, "Uncle Three, this was my oversight. I should have told you beforehand. Don't worry, I won't use your car to transport crawfish again. Once the crawfish are well-raised, I'll get some for you to taste. Please don't be upset, Uncle Three."
"I don't understand, why would you buy crawfish that are almost dead to raise? Crawfish are already difficult to raise, and you, for the sake of being cheap, buy crawfish that are barely breathing. I think you should prepare yourself for a complete loss!" Liu Chasheng shared the same opinion as others; they didn't believe Liu Yifeng could successfully raise crawfish.
"Whether they live or not, Uncle Three will know in time. It's almost evening, why don't you stay for dinner before leaving?" Liu Yifeng did not mention anything about Tongtong's medicine that revived the crawfish. Some things shouldn't be spoken of lightly. Even though this was his uncle, one should not harbor ill intentions towards others, but one must guard against them.
Liu Chasheng waved his hand, "I won't have dinner. Just quickly help me wash the car and bring it back." With that, he left.
"Yifeng, it seems unlikely we'll be able to borrow your Uncle Three's car in the future. Without a car, it's inconvenient for you to get things done. Why don't we buy a used van?" Liu Chunsheng suggested.
"If we're buying, we'll buy a new one. But we don't have a lot of money on hand right now. How about this, I'll go find Qiangzi later. His family has an old van that's been retired. I can borrow it to drive for a while, and once we make money, we'll immediately buy a new one," Liu Yifeng said. Seeing that Liu Yifeng had his own plans, Liu Chunsheng didn't say anything further.
After dinner, Tongtong got busy with his painting. Liu Yifeng went to Qiangzi's house. Upon learning of Liu Yifeng's intention, Qiangzi handed over the van keys without a second word.
"Good brother, thanks!" Liu Yifeng took the car keys and patted Qiangzi's shoulder.
"Thanking me? That's being too formal," Qiangzi feigned displeasure.
Liu Yifeng chuckled, "I was just being polite. I knew I could count on you in crucial moments."
"You kid, I heard you bought several thousand catties of crawfish to raise. Raising crawfish is one thing, but why buy those that are nearly dead?" Qiangzi genuinely couldn't understand his friend's actions.
"Don't worry, I have the farming techniques. I'll definitely raise them successfully. I'll let you taste my crawfish then," Liu Yifeng said with a smile.
Qiangzi, however, felt he was too optimistic, "Crawfish are really not that easy to raise, especially the nearly dead ones. Once crawfish die like that, they become worthless, and no one will eat dead crawfish. I'm saying, if, if this batch of crawfish dies, you shouldn't bother raising crawfish anymore. You're not alone now, you have a child to raise. You need to consider things carefully, understand?" Having started a family earlier, he was much more mature in his words and actions than Liu Yifeng.
Liu Yifeng nodded, "Okay, I understand!" Liu Yifeng knew that nothing he said would matter; only when Qiangzi saw his raised crawfish alive with his own eyes would he believe him.
The next morning, Liu Yifeng helped Tongtong mail out quite a few paintings. The child's paintings were quite popular, with orders coming in almost every day. Although Tongtong enjoyed painting, seeing him paint several pictures every day made Liu Yifeng's heart ache. At such a young age, he was already earning money and investing it in him. If he didn't achieve anything, he would be letting the child down.
After washing his uncle's car clean, Liu Yifeng refilled the gas tank before returning it. Liu Chasheng, seeing that Liu Yifeng not only washed his car but also filled its gas tank, immediately declared that as long as Liu Yifeng wasn't borrowing it to transport crawfish, he could borrow it anytime. However, Liu Yifeng had already borrowed Qiangzi's old van, so he naturally wouldn't borrow his uncle's anymore.
During the day, Liu Yifeng fed the crawfish with plenty of water hyacinths. In the countryside, there was no shortage of anything, and floating plants like water hyacinths were everywhere. Before he could even finish feeding them, he was pleasantly surprised to find that the crawfish had grown considerably. It turned out that there were many snails and earthworms in the pond, which the crawfish had eaten, causing them to grow so much overnight.
Indeed, the effect of the Huan Hun San was quite remarkable. He wondered who this "old man" Tongtong spoke of was, to possess such ability. If he had the chance to meet him in the future, he would have to thank him profusely.
After feeding the crawfish, Liu Yifeng went to the vegetable patch and saw that the tomatoes had already borne fruit. The cucumbers and beans had also sprouted. With this growth rate, he estimated that harvest would be possible within a month. Finally, Liu Yifeng went to the back mountain to check on his watermelon seeds. He was stunned by what he saw. In just a few days, the watermelons had also produced fruit. Each vine had at least ten watermelon fruits. Tongtong's growth stimulant was truly incredible.
One day, a group of tourists arrived in the village. At lunchtime, they ordered twenty catties of crawfish. Due to the recent hot weather, not many tourists were visiting, and those who ran agritainment restaurants hadn't prepared crawfish in advance. Seeing that the guests were insistent on eating crawfish, Liu Xiaohai remembered that Liu Yifeng was raising crawfish. However, four or five days had passed, and no one knew if the crawfish had survived.
Liu Xiaohai, with a hopeful attitude, called Liu Yifeng, "Yifeng, I heard you're raising crawfish. Are you selling them? I need twenty catties of crawfish." At that moment, Liu Yifeng was in the field catching crawfish, planning to taste them himself to determine the selling price. Upon hearing that Liu Xiaohai, who ran an agritainment restaurant, wanted to buy twenty catties of crawfish, he immediately said, "Yes, but it's fifteen yuan per catty."
"What? Fifteen yuan a catty? Are you trying to rob me? Even the good-looking crawfish at the market are no more than ten yuan a catty, let alone the half-dead ones you bought." Liu Xiaohai was shocked by Liu Yifeng's price over the phone.
"I'm not forcing you to buy. If you think it's too expensive, you don't have to," Liu Yifeng said, looking at the crawfish that were nearly ten centimeters long. He felt he was even selling them too cheaply. After a few days of feeding, the crawfish were growing larger, their claws almost as big as crab claws.
"Boss, do you have crawfish or not? If not, we'll go to another place," the tourists impatiently urged.