After waiting another half hour, the sick cow—which had been rolling on the ground, barely clinging to life just moments ago—actually managed to stand up. This made everyone look at Li Yi with even greater respect!
Li Yi stepped forward to examine it, then said to Feng Kai, “Uncle Feng, the cow is fine now, but we need to make sure it doesn’t catch a chill over the next few days!”
“Alright, I’ll have the production team put it in a separate, rainproof shed tonight!” Feng Kai replied.
“Hmm, and when you feed it, don’t just give it fresh grass!”
“Why’s that? Besides, what else are we supposed to feed it at this time of year?”
Li Yi replied immediately, “Summer grass is tender and watery. If the cow eats too much of it, it’s prone to diarrhea and other illnesses!”
“This old yellow cow has just caught a chill. Feeding it too much fresh grass would only make matters worse. It’s best to mix some higher-quality dried grass into its feed, or you could use grain byproducts like soybean meal or wheat bran.”
Actually, it would be best to feed it some cornmeal or whole corn kernels, but considering that many families are barely scraping by on a diet of bran and vegetables these days, they simply don’t have that much grain to spare for the cattle.
So Li Yi didn’t even mention this, to avoid coming across as a nuisance!
“You know a lot, Yi. I’ll make sure to pass this on to the cowherd!”
Then, Feng Kai called out to the other villagers, “Alright, everyone, let’s call it a day. Aren’t any of you going home?”
Seeing there was nothing left to watch, the crowd dispersed one by one, and soon there were only a few people left on the scene.
Feng Kai noticed Li Yi hadn’t left yet and asked in puzzlement, “Your sister and your wife have both gone. Why haven’t you left?”
Li Yi smiled and said, “I’ve got some business to discuss with you, Uncle Feng. Why would I go home before it’s settled?”
“I was wondering why you’d come over for no reason. So it turns out you don’t visit without a reason—spit it out, what’s on your mind!”
“I’d like to ask you to approve a plot of land…”
“What? Allot land? What are you up to, you rascal? I’m just a lowly village secretary—I don’t have that kind of authority!” Before Li Yi could finish, Feng Kai flew into a rage.
The village’s land was strictly rationed—people would fight tooth and nail even over a tiny plot of private land. He certainly didn’t dare set that precedent!
“You’ve got the wrong idea, sir. I want to build a house—after all, I’m getting married soon. How can I manage without a place to live?” Li Yi explained.
“Build a house? Are you talking about a homestead plot?”
“Yeah, a residential plot!”
Feng Kai immediately breathed a sigh of relief. Approving residential plots was indeed the village’s jurisdiction, and if he gave the go-ahead, no one would dare say a word.
“The village isn’t that big. You can have the plot over there, but let’s be clear—it can’t exceed three mu!”
Li Yi did the math: one mu is about 666 square meters, so three mu would be nearly 200 square meters!
And three brick-and-tile houses would take up about 90 square meters, leaving over 100 square meters for a small courtyard!
But when he thought about how the vegetable garden alone at his family’s old house covered 200 square meters, Li Yi felt this plot was a bit small. He immediately said, “Uncle Feng, after building the house on three mu of land, there won’t be much space left. I’d like to plant some fruit trees and vegetables in the yard later, but there won’t be room. Could you approve a bit more land for me?”
As he spoke, Li Yi handed over the two bottles of liquor hanging from his handlebars!
He wasn’t worried about being accused of bribery; these days in the village, when people needed favors from the Party Secretary or the Brigade Leader, everyone did the same.
Feng Kai shot him a look and said, “That patch of black rocky land at the east end of the village hasn’t grown a thing in years. I discussed it with Uncle Zhang a while back—we’re not going to farm it anymore. If you don’t mind, you can take a section for yourself!”
The black rocky plot at the east end of the village?
Li Yi immediately remembered. That plot was located at the very eastern edge of the village; less than half a meter below the surface lay a vast layer of grayish-brown stones, with occasional black ones mixed in.
Because of the abundance of rocks and the difficulty in retaining rainwater, nothing ever grew there, so over the past few years, the production team had gradually let it fall into disuse.
But Li Yi knew better—that was a treasure trove!
The villagers didn’t know it yet, but the ground beneath that rocky plot was filled with ore—precious molybdenum ore, at that.
A few years later, an exploration team discovered high-grade molybdenum ore beneath that very spot, and the government subsequently established a molybdenum mining base there.
At the time, a newcomer to the village had bought that plot of land and set up a pig farm there. When it came time for relocation compensation, he was paid a whopping 500,000 yuan!
What did 500,000 yuan mean back in the 1980s? In terms of purchasing power, it was equivalent to tens of millions—or even hundreds of millions—in later years.
Now that hundreds of millions were right in front of Li Yi, could he possibly turn them down?
Seeing Li Yi’s pensive expression, Feng Kai sighed and said, “Everyone’s eyeing the prime spots in the village—three mu is already the limit. But if you really can’t stand that plot on the east end of the village…”
Before Feng Kai could finish, Li Yi snapped out of his daze and hurriedly said, “I don’t mind it… I don’t mind it at all. It’s settled then—I’ll take that plot!”
Now it was Feng Kai’s turn to fall silent. The plot was large, yes, but it really didn’t grow anything!
“You’d better think this through. You only get one chance to apply for a homestead plot in the village. If you choose the Black Stone plot, there’s no turning back!”
“No regrets… no regrets! Whoever has regrets is a coward!” Li Yi blurted out.
That was prime land worth hundreds of millions in the future—who would regret getting it for free now!
“Yi, I’ve made the situation of that plot crystal clear to you. It’s big, sure, but basically nothing grows there. Are you sure you want that plot?” Feng Kai asked again for confirmation.
“Yes, that’s the one. But you’ve got to approve a bigger plot for me!”
“How big do you want?”
“Five mu!”
“Get lost! No one’s residential plot is that big. I’ll give you one mu at most!”
“Uncle Feng, how big is one mu anyway? Besides, every household has their own private plot these days—my family should have one too!”
Li Yi continued, “Besides, that plot has such low yields—surely I deserve a bigger share!”
Feng Kai thought it over and realized Li Yi had a point. He immediately said, “That plot is about ten or so mu. I’ll decide to give you three mu—half a mu for your homestead, and the remaining two and a half mu as private plots!”
Although three mu was still a bit small, Li Yi was satisfied and immediately said, “Alright, thank you, Uncle Feng!”
With that, Li Yi was about to leave!
“Wait a minute!”
“Uncle Feng, is there something else?” Li Yi asked hurriedly.
“Take the wine back!”
“Come on, Uncle Feng. Once a gift is given, it’s not something you take back. Besides, my dad told me to bring this to you. If I take it back, he’ll break my legs!” Li Yi said with a laugh.
“Hmph. If he found out I gave you the Black Stone plot, I’d be worried he’d come to my house and break my legs!”
With that, Feng Kai hoisted his tobacco pipe and walked toward the village without looking back!
Watching the old man’s figure—full of resignation yet tinged with resolve—Li Yi couldn’t help but feel a sense of tragic grandeur!
But thinking of his father’s fiery temper, he knew he’d have to have a serious talk with him when he got back—otherwise, he might really go looking for trouble with the old man!
With that in mind, Li Yi immediately hopped on his bicycle and sped off toward the village!