Household Matters

The two of them came to the house and looked it over inside and out, then checked the empty room beside the kitchen as well.

"There's nothing difficult about this work. It'll be done in two days," Chen Ming said.

"Uncle Ming, just pick floor tiles that look about right for the house. As long as they're laid properly, that's fine. But for the walls, you have to use eco-friendly paint—the real kind!" Chen Mo instructed.

"No problem. There's a little over a hundred square meters of floor tile, plus several dozen square meters for the bathroom. We can use the same kind Da Mao used for his house. His order is arriving tomorrow, so I'll have the manufacturer add these quantities. Eco-friendly paint is no problem either, but you know the price of that stuff. A decent one costs five or six hundred yuan a bucket. Your main house will probably need two buckets, so be prepared for that," Chen Ming said.

"No problem. Just buy the best eco-friendly paint," Chen Mo said.

Chen Ming nodded, agreeing to it. Since Chen Mo was willing to pay, there was nothing else to say. Who wouldn't want to use good materials? It was just that financial circumstances often imposed limits. Still, Er Wa had a good head on his shoulders. Chen Jianguo and his wife could finally rest easy.

After discussing some construction requirements with Chen Mo and Father Chen Jianguo, Chen Ming greeted the elderly couple and turned to leave. When he left, however, he had the 10,000 yuan deposit Chen Mo had paid in his hand.

The entire project only cost 20,000 yuan, and Chen Mo was not short of money, so he directly paid half. Father Chen Jianguo looked at it but said nothing. Although Chen Ming was a distant relative beyond the fifth degree of kinship, they shared the surname Chen, and he knew what kind of person Chen Ming was, so he tacitly accepted it.

That afternoon, Chen Mo and his parents began sorting through the things at home, moving everything from the main house into his younger brother Chen Hui's house for storage. All three rooms of the main house were cleared out to make the renovations easier. His parents would temporarily stay in his older sister's room. As for the bathroom, there had originally been an empty room on the kitchen side that only held miscellaneous items, so clearing it out was easy.

Chen Mo already had capital of more than 60 million yuan, so the plans he had made before could now be put into action.

He wanted to lease a plot of land in the village and use the stream water inside Universe Bead to grow vegetables. The experiment he had conducted before leaving Shangshi had proven very effective. He wanted to start by growing vegetables, then consider other matters once he got off to a good start.

"Dad, let me ask you something. Has anyone leased the fields around our old house?" Chen Mo asked.

"The area around the old house? Someone leased it a few years ago, saying they were going to grow vegetables or something. But there was no profit, so it's been left abandoned ever since," Father Chen Jianguo said.

"I want to lease that place," Chen Mo said.

"Lease it? What are you planning to do?" Father Chen Jianguo asked worriedly when he heard his son wanted to lease that land.

"While I was in school, I worked with some classmates to develop a Biological Nutrient Solution suitable for plant growth. It's very effective, and that's one reason I wanted to come back and develop things here. The vegetables it grows mature quickly, grow fast, and cost relatively little to produce," Chen Mo said. He could not tell his father the truth. What, was he supposed to say that he wanted to cultivate immortality and become a god, that he possessed stream water filled with Spiritual Energy, and that simply watering plants with it would make them grow wildly? Dad would definitely make a phone call to the mental hospital.

"Are you sure?"

"I am! We've already done experiments!" Chen Mo said.

"Then fine. As long as you're confident, that's enough. You're grown up now, and you need to be responsible for what you do," Father Chen Jianguo said as he smoked.

"Father, here's 100,000 yuan. Let's first pay back the money our family owed Uncle's Family. Keep the rest for household expenses," Chen Mo said. The day before, he had asked mother Fu Huili about it. Aside from the money owed to his two uncles, the family had no other debts. The amount was about 30,000 yuan, so Chen Mo took out 100,000 yuan for Father Chen Jianguo to repay the debt.

Father Chen Jianguo glanced at the 100,000 yuan on the table and said with a sigh, "Over the past few years, between your schooling, your sister's marriage, and everything else, we borrowed more than 60,000 yuan in total. But starting the year before last, your tuition no longer had to be paid by the family, so we saved some money. We've already repaid over 30,000 yuan, and there's about 30,000 left."

"Then hurry and pay off the rest. Even if our two uncles don't say anything, they have families too, and Aunt as well. We can't make things difficult for them," Chen Mo said.

"That's true. Since you mean well, I'll go visit your two uncles' families tomorrow. But we don't need this much at home, and you have things you need to do. You should take it back," Father Chen Jiaguo said. He had three brothers, with Father Chen Jianguo being the eldest, but his two younger brothers rarely interacted with them, and their family ties were thin. In contrast, the family was close to mother's two brothers, so over the years, they had always borrowed money from their uncles.

"Dad! I won't need much money for what I'm doing, so don't worry. I'm holding several million yuan in my hands. I won't be short of money. Just take it," Chen Mo said.

Father Chen Jianguo silently lit a cigarette, took a puff, and nodded without saying anything.

Mom listened from the side without a word, but her eyes were slightly red. Her child had thought it through well. Now that the family had money, they should repay their debts and not make things difficult for her two brothers.

Mom Fu Huili stood up and said, "Er Wa, what do you want for dinner tonight? Mom will make it for you!"

Chen Mo knew this was his mother's way of showing her love, so he smiled and said, "Anything you make is fine. I like it all!"

Mom smiled and nodded, then went to the kitchen. As she left, Chen Mo caught sight of the tears in the corners of her eyes.

The night passed without incident, wrapped in a warm atmosphere. Chen Mo continued cultivating and tending to all the plants inside Universe Bead. He had also added carving practice to his routine, practicing for an hour every day. Mainly because he did not have much free time during the day. Though he wanted to simply stay idle at home and cultivate, reality would not allow it. Only after everything was on track and developing steadily would he have extra time to cultivate.

The next morning, after getting up, he cast a Cleansing Technique on himself, leaving him refreshed inside and out. Then he swept the yard, boiled water in the kitchen, and handled other chores. While he worked, his parents also got up and cleaned themselves up.

In the countryside, people generally got up very early every morning. Most households finished breakfast before eight o'clock, then went about whatever work they needed to do. Early to bed and early to rise was common in the village. The older generation had always lived this way, though many younger people now liked to sleep in.

Chen Mo's parents were actually very pleased with his habit of getting up early. They had not expected Er Wa to remain so hardworking after several years of college.

Just as Chen Mo's family finished breakfast, his two uncles arrived together. Chen Mo's father, Chen Jianguo, had two biological brothers who lived only a few steps away.

However, his two uncles were not easy people to get along with. Even when the grandparents were still alive, they had not had much contact with the family. The grandparents had been supported entirely by Chen Mo's parents, while his two uncles were extremely unfilial, and the villagers all condemned them behind their backs. After the grandparents passed away one after another, they practically stopped associating with each other altogether. They were not even as close as other relatives in the village.