As for the frames, they were all of a cheaper kind. If buyers didn't like them, they could replace them with better quality ones themselves. After all, they were selling paintings, not frames. It had to be said that the entire set gave the paintings a different feel. No wonder people said, "Three parts painting, seven parts mounting," truly an operation to add the finishing touches.
Next, Tongtong got busy painting again. Watching his son's busy figure, Liu Yifeng felt a pang of concern. "Tongtong, why don't you stop painting? Earning money to support the family shouldn't fall on your shoulders. Don't worry, Dad will definitely be able to earn enough to support you."
"Dad, I'm not tired. I just like painting. Even if it doesn't make money, Tongtong still likes painting."
Seeing Tongtong say this, Liu Yifeng had nothing more to say. It seemed he needed to ensure Tongtong got more nutrition.
The next morning, Liu Yifeng rode their old donkey to the town's only courier company. A total of five paintings were sent out, all from different parts of the country, with the closest one being to a neighboring city in an adjacent province. Then, he bought some fresh fruits and meat. They had vegetables at home, so there was no need to buy them. After finishing, he headed back.
Next up was renting land, otherwise, the seeds at home would get moldy. Originally, Liu Yifeng planned to rent the land himself, but when Tongtong heard about it, he expressed his desire to go along. The village had a population of about a thousand people, not a large one, but decent. Almost every household had their own farmland. Due to many young people leaving for work, there was a shortage of labor, and thus most of the land lay barren. Therefore, renting land was a simple matter.
Liu Yifeng remembered that Granny Zhao had a lot of land lying idle. She lived alone in the old house, and her children had already moved to the city after getting married. So, he took Tongtong to Granny Zhao's house.
"Granny Zhao, busy there!" As soon as Liu Yifeng entered the yard, he saw Granny Zhao wearing a bamboo hat, weeding in the vegetable garden. Hearing Liu Yifeng's voice, Granny Zhao straightened up and said with a smile, "Little Liu, why are you here? Is something the matter?" She then looked at Tongtong and immediately doted on him, "This must be your son, right? He's so cute and robust."
"Tongtong, say hello to Grandma Zhao," Liu Yifeng said, patting Tongtong's head. Tongtong obediently called out "Granny Zhao," which melted Granny Zhao's heart. "What a polite and good child." It was no longer a secret in the village that Liu Yifeng suddenly had a son, so her knowing wasn't surprising.
Coming out of the vegetable garden, Granny Zhao went into the room and immediately cut a piece of watermelon for Tongtong to eat. Liu Yifeng initially declined, but eventually couldn't refuse, so he let Tongtong say thank you and then let him eat.
"Little Liu, you don't come here without a reason. What do you need from me?" Granny Zhao asked again. Liu Yifeng got straight to the point. "I know you have a lot of land at home that's lying barren, so I want to rent it. What do you think, Granny Zhao?"
Upon hearing that Liu Yifeng wanted to rent her land, Granny Zhao was a bit surprised. "Why do you want to rent land? Are you planning to develop things in the village?"
"Yes, I want to rent it to build a greenhouse or something," Liu Yifeng nodded.
"This year is the dry season, and it hasn't rained much for months. If you rent land to grow vegetables now, I'm afraid you'll lose money!" Granny Zhao wasn't short of money, so she told him about the pros and cons.
Liu Yifeng smiled. "Granny Zhao, you don't need to worry about that. I'm confident I can do a good job." Seeing that she couldn't persuade him, Granny Zhao didn't say anything further. "Then I'll take you to see the land. You can see which plots you want to rent."
"Thank you for your trouble, Granny Zhao." Liu Yifeng and Tongtong then followed Granny Zhao to her land. "These three mu of land are all mine, and there are more elsewhere, but they're not far. Take a look at these plots first, are they okay?"
Because the land had been lying fallow for a long time, it was covered in grass and looked desolate. Liu Yifeng couldn't judge land and thought any land could grow something. Just as he was about to say "yes," Tongtong interrupted. "Granny Zhao, can you take us to see the other plots first?"
Granny Zhao looked at him curiously. "Tongtong, can you judge land?" Tongtong shook his head. "I don't understand, but my Dad does. You can ask him if you don't believe me."
So Liu Yifeng quickly nodded. "I think these plots don't seem very suitable for growing vegetables, so I want to see more." He knew that Tongtong said this because he wasn't satisfied with these.
Granny Zhao was surprised. "Little Liu, it seems you do have some ability. The things grown on these plots indeed don't yield as much as those from other plots, and they always seem half-dead. I was thinking, if you were to rent, I'd rent them to you cheaply. I didn't expect you to know this."
In reality, Liu Yifeng knew nothing about this. However, he didn't want Granny Zhao to know about Tongtong's talent. Rather than having people know his son was a genius, he actually wished Tongtong would be seen as an ordinary child by others. So, he awkwardly scratched his head. "I was just guessing, I didn't expect to be right."
Afterward, they went to see a few more plots. They were also overgrown with weeds. Liu Yifeng felt they looked no different from the previous ones. Who knew that Tongtong would then grab his little hand and shake it, signaling that these plots were fine. Liu Yifeng didn't think much of it and immediately stated that he wanted to rent all these plots.
"Little Liu, have you thought it through? Do you really want to rent?" Granny Zhao asked uncertainly.
"I've thought it through. How much do you want, Granny Zhao? Name your price!"
"We're from the same village, and I'm not someone who asks for outrageous prices. Then you can pay five hundred yuan per mu per year!" Honestly, five hundred yuan a year wasn't much, and during the appropriate seasons, other vegetables could be planted, so the land wouldn't be wasted. Therefore, Liu Yifeng didn't haggle. He took out the paper and pen he carried and wrote an agreement. It stated that Granny Zhao was willing to rent six mu of land to Liu Yifeng at a price of five hundred yuan per mu per year. The lease was for three years, with rent paid annually. After writing it, Liu Yifeng asked Granny Zhao to sign. Although Granny Zhao was illiterate, she could still write her name, albeit rather poorly. After Granny Zhao signed, Liu Yifeng paid her three thousand yuan in cash. Granny Zhao counted the money one by one, occasionally licking her thumb with her tongue, and then recounted it. After confirming the amount was correct, Granny Zhao took out a red plastic bag from her trousers where she kept money, carefully put the money in, and then tucked it into a pocket she had sewn inside her trousers. This method of storing money seemed popular among elderly people in rural areas across the country, making it safe from theft.
"Then this land is yours. Little Liu, work hard!" Granny Zhao encouraged Liu Yifeng and then happily left. Although she wasn't short of money, no one would complain about having too much. This money was essentially found money, as her land had been lying fallow for several years.
After Granny Zhao left, Liu Yifeng eagerly asked, "Tongtong, can you tell Dad why the previous plots couldn't be rented, but these can?"
"Because the soil quality of these plots is more fertile?" Tongtong replied matter-of-factly.