Chapter 479: with translation of chapter title

Seeing Ye Cheng sitting there putting on airs and still daring to criticize them, the Zhu family brothers wouldn't accept it.

Damn! This is my home—what right do you have to lecture us?

Do I even have the right? Do you still see me as your mother? Sit down!

When Li Danniang spoke, the brothers glared hard at Xiao Hu and Ye Cheng, then sat down, unwilling to back down.

"Xiao Hu!" Ye Cheng glanced at Xiao Hu, who then sat down, though the two sides continued to glare at each other.

Since they couldn't fight for now, Ye Cheng also couldn't be bothered with them; he really had an idea now.

He looked at Li Danniang, and she looked back at him, her eyes full of expectation.

"Auntie, who does the mountain behind your house belong to?"

Li Danniang turned and looked; the mountain behind was ordinary, and she didn't know why Ye Cheng suddenly asked about it.

"You mean our back mountain? It's the village's, just a barren hill with nothing on it."

Hearing it was barren, Ye Cheng smiled,

"Auntie, have you ever thought about contracting this barren hill to raise chickens—free‑range chickens, using the whole mountain for free‑range chickens?"

"What?" Li Danniang startled, "You mean contracting a whole mountain to raise chickens? That would lose money."

Zhu Liwen let out a cold laugh, looking at Ye Cheng as if he were an idiot,

"Contracting a mountain to raise chickens—you really can think that up. Do you know how much money it takes to contract a mountain? How much for all those chicks? And even if you don't need feed, you still have to build chicken coops—none of that is free."

"Exactly, someone once wanted to contract this mountain to plant fruit trees, costing several thousand a year; raising a few chickens is useless." Lao Er also interjected, looking down on Ye Cheng.

When money came up, Ye Cheng felt pleased.

He leaned back, then looked at Xiao Hu and said loudly,

"Xiao Hu, it's your turn to speak."

Xiao Hu stood up proudly and said to Zhu Liwen,

"My brother has contracted 50 mu of beach to raise clams, another 50 mu of ponds for crayfish, and even a 24‑meter boat—let alone contracting a mountain, he could contract your whole village."

Pfft—

Ye Cheng nearly spat out his tea—damn, I asked you to say a little, and you're bragging like crazy.

Contracting someone else's village—you've got water on the brain, right? Why would I contract a village?

But Xiao Hu's smug attitude made Zhu Liwen and his brothers a bit uncertain; they had heard Ye Cheng was good at fishing, but they hadn't expected him to have so many businesses.

And shouting out the slogan of contracting the village—this somewhat shattered their perception.

"Fifty mu of beach—how much would that cost?"

"And another fifty mu of ponds—that's not cheap either."

"This guy's so rich—if we'd known, we should have kidnapped him."

The three brothers muttered under their voices, their gazes at Ye Cheng now off.

Ye Cheng heard that and thought, 'Damn, the situation is going sideways.'

He quickly looked at Li Danniang,

"Auntie, just tell me—if we contract this mountain, how many chickens could we raise?"

"Huh? This mountain." Li Danniang was also bewildered; as a homemaker who only raises chickens in her yard, she had never calculated how many chickens a whole mountain could hold.

The Zhu family brothers, seeing Ye Cheng acting like a rich big brother, also dared not speak, all staring at him.

"Raising a thousand chickens on this mountain wouldn't be too many, would it?"

"That's not many," Li Danniang said.

"Then I have a proposal, Auntie: let's partner up, contract this mountain, you handle the raising and I handle the sales—how does that sound?"

Hearing this, Li Danniang was stunned.

The Zhu Family Four Brothers also stared at Ye Cheng, bewildered.

Only Xiao Hu added contemptuously,

"That amount of money is just a drop in the bucket for my brother."

Ye Cheng's face darkened—'Damn, a drop in the bucket? You're talking nonsense.'

"Xiao Ye, are you serious?" Li Danniang said, half‑disbelieving.

"Really—free‑range chickens will only get more expensive in the future; your Xia Ling Village's free‑range chickens are so good, not scaling up would be a waste."

This was Ye Cheng's genuine thought; after tasting them, he felt the free‑range chickens he'd eaten before were all for nothing.

Moreover, free‑range eggs will only keep getting more expensive—the pricier you sell them, the more people will buy, wanting to give the elderly and children a nutritional boost.

The Zhu family brothers were no longer calm either; their eyes held seven parts delight and three parts unease as they looked at their eldest brother.

Zhu Liwen felt a bit embarrassed—Ye Cheng only mentioned partnering with his own mother, not with him, and he had hastily spoken up, which now seemed inappropriate.

Besides, just moments ago the two sides had been arguing, and now they suddenly wanted to reconcile—this shift was big, and he couldn't adjust yet.

Li Danniang looked at Ye Cheng and didn't seem like he was lying; she happily slapped her thigh,

"Xiao Ye, you believe me—I, an old woman, will even risk my life to help you raise these free‑range chickens well."

"I have no other skills—just raising a few chickens—I'll definitely have no problem."

"Alright, then go find out how much it costs to contract this mountain, for how many years—if we're doing business, let's make it lasting; quick profit won't last." Saying this, Ye Cheng gave the Zhu Family Four Brothers a meaningful glance.

The meaning was clear: you stealing fish is just quick money, not sustainable.

This time the Zhu family brothers didn't retort; they just gave dry, forced smiles.

"Lao Er, go ask the village chief how much it costs to contract this mountain."

"Lao San and Lao Si, go kill another chicken—today we must make Ye Lao Ban happy."

"Lao Da, you keep Ye Lao Ban company with drinks; if you don't do it well, get out tonight."

The old woman was also a straightforward person; as soon as Ye Cheng mentioned asking about the price, she sprang into action.

This is their family's only chance to defy heaven and change fate; such an opportunity may come only once in a lifetime, how could she not value it?

This time, the several brothers had no more idle talk; they got up and began working briskly.

Zhu Liwen also put on a smile and earnestly raised his wine cup,

"Brother, before we were blind to Mount Tai; I apologize to you—these three drinks are my compensation!"

Having said that, without waiting for Ye Cheng to speak, he picked up his cup and downed three cups in a row, directly swallowing half a jin, and his face immediately turned red.

Zhu Liwen stood up, holding his wine cup upside down to show Ye Cheng and Xiao Hu.

Ye Cheng looked at him, pondered for a moment, then said lightly,

"You have a good mother; thank your mother."

After saying that, he gestured to Xiao Hu, and the two raised their cups together in return.

Once the talk got going, the scene became lively.

Another chicken was killed and thrown into the pot; over here Ye Cheng could eat it boldly and reassured.

Soon, Lao Er also ran back; as soon as he entered, he ran up to Ye Cheng.

"Little Ye, I..."

"What 'Little Ye', call me Cheng Brother!" Zhu Liwen immediately interrupted him, "From now on, call me Cheng Brother!"

"Oh, oh, Cheng Brother, I asked, the Village Chief said this mountain plot costs 3000 per year."