The money for contracting the land had already been paid out, and the seeds for the medicinal herbs had been bought.
Despite having spent the money, Pan Yunping told him it wouldn't work.
"Boss Cai, don't be so impatient. I've worked in the medicinal herb garden for so long, don't you trust me yet?"
Cai Tiangui's face was ashen. "If you want me to trust you, show me some real skill!"
Pan Yunping couldn't stand being looked down upon. The salary he received here wasn't much higher than what he got from Cheng You, and if he were still belittled, it would be like a stab to his heart.
"Boss Cai, give me some time, and I'll sort it out for you."
Pan Yunping began to dedicate himself to research, finding twenty-four hours a day insufficient. He spent every day in the fields, as if driven to madness.
He tore his hair out, but he still couldn't improve the seed germination rate.
After planting these lands, Cai Tiangui ended up spending twice the budgeted amount to buy seeds.
He now deeply regretted hiring Pan Yunping, seeing him as utterly useless.
However, he had no one else to turn to besides Pan Yunping, so he had to let him continue for now and see what happened later.
To make matters worse, the seed germination rate was only a minor hurdle. The crucial issue was whether they could survive after planting.
The first batch of germinated seeds that Pan Yunping planted showed no signs of breaking through the soil even after several days.
When they finally dug them up, they discovered the seeds had rotted.
Cai Tiangui was filled with regret, cursing Feng Xue and Pan Yunping for swindling him.
Although he was a "ten-thousand-yuan household," his total savings were only tens of thousands of yuan, all of which had been invested in the contracted land.
If this business failed, he would be wiped out.
Pan Yunping cried out in indignation, "I did it this way when I was at the medicinal herb garden! Cheng You must have set me up; she's been guarding against me from the very beginning!"
Cai Tiangui found this reasoning plausible. Otherwise, why would their seeds fail to grow?
He had seen the seeds given to other villagers by Cheng You growing well.
She must have had some special method that she was hiding.
"You carry on. I'm going to find Cheng You."
Cai Tiangui hurried away, returning to the courtyard to find Cheng You.
Sweating profusely, he seemed oblivious to it.
More than the heat, he felt a sense of urgency.
Cai Xiaoyu saw him and quickly stopped him. "Dad, where are you rushing to?"
"To find Cheng You."
"What for? You don't know, she hired Boss Qiu and his third son to work. Now Boss Qiu is the director of the medicinal herb garden, and the Qiu family is always opposing us!"
Cai Xiaoyu's words were giving him a headache. Cai Tiangui impatiently pushed her aside.
"Don't bring these minor matters to me. The land I've contracted is in trouble. If you hadn't egged me on to cooperate with Feng Xue, I wouldn't be in this situation today! If my business fails, you'll be left on the streets!"
Cai Xiaoyu's steps faltered, her mouth slightly agape in shock.
They were also contracting land to grow medicinal herbs; what could possibly go wrong?
She couldn't understand and silently followed.
She then saw Cai Tiangui knocking on Cheng You's door, a fawning smile on his face.
No matter how she looked at it, it was an eyesore.
She had been showing off in front of Cheng You quite a bit these past few days, so why was her dad now trying to curry favor with Cheng You?
A moment later, the door opened, and it was Qi Chengyan who emerged.
"Regimental Commander Qi, is Boss Cheng at home?"
Qi Chengyan glanced inside, then heard Cheng You say, "Let Boss Cai in."
Qi Chengyan moved aside and walked into the kitchen on his own, bringing out the freshly prepared meal.
Cai Tiangui gasped, amazed that he would let a grown man cook. He didn't know whether to praise Cheng You for her mastery over her husband or Qi Chengyan for his domesticity.
"Boss Cheng, just about to eat?"
Cheng You smiled and nodded. "It's noon, haven't you eaten yet?"
Cai Tiangui shook his head. "I've been busy with the medicinal herb land and haven't had time to eat."
Cheng You said "oh" and continued eating her meal.
"Then speak quickly. After you're done, go and eat. I won't keep you."
Cai Tiangui, who had been about to sit down, felt a wave of awkwardness upon hearing Cheng You's words.
However, he hadn't come to freeload anyway; there were more important matters to discuss.
"Boss Cheng, most of the seeds on the land I contracted didn't grow."
Cheng You's expression was calm, and she gave a slight, emotionless smirk.
"Oh, what a pity."
Cai Tiangui didn't care about her attitude; he had expected it before coming.
"Boss Cheng, all my savings are riding on this. Please help me!"
"Help? How can I help you?"
Cai Tiangui plastered on a smile and pleaded shamelessly, "You must have a way to increase the germination and survival rate of seeds, otherwise, your medicinal herb garden wouldn't be so large. Boss Cheng, I beg you, please help me."
Cheng You had underestimated his shamelessness and was suddenly amused to the point of laughter.
"Didn't Pan Yunping tell you?"
Cai Tiangui: "...He understands nothing!"
"Oh, so now you realize you hired a useless person and regret it?"
Cai Tiangui became even more certain that Cheng You had known from the beginning that Pan Yunping was completely useless.
He could bend and stretch. Smiling, he apologized to her. "It was my fault before, but we're all businessmen, aren't we? Isn't our main goal to make money? I'm sure you understand..."
"So, Boss Cai, you incited someone from my medicinal herb garden, took away a group of workers, had them threaten me with resignation, then snatched the land I had already signed contracts for, and then used the villagers to morally blackmail me. You think I should now freely share my money-making methods with you, is that it? Did your mother not give you a brain when she gave birth to you?"
Cheng You truly felt he was treating her like a pushover.
Or did she just look like a pushover?
Cai Tiangui said sheepishly, "It's not for free. If you teach me, I can pay you."
Cheng You waved her hand, her interest waning. "I'm not short of money. Please leave."
Cai Xiaoyu watched her father's submissive demeanor and felt incredibly aggrieved.
Yet Cheng You was unappreciative and flatly refused.
"Cheng You, don't be ungrateful! My dad is begging you like this, why aren't you helping!"
Cheng You chuckled. "You father and daughter truly inherited each other's lack of brains. Why shouldn't I help? Because you're begging now, but you don't know how to beg. Because I don't want to help, what can you do about it?"
Cai Xiaoyu's face contorted with anger, and she gritted her teeth, scolding, "You're too heartless!"
Cheng You was too lazy to argue with her. She picked up a tissue and leisurely wiped her mouth.
"I'm full."
Song Qinglan didn't want her to eat at the cafeteria, but Lin Sao was on leave today and couldn't cook, so Qi Chengyan came home to cook for her.
Seeing that she was full, Qi Chengyan silently began clearing the table.
Cai Xiaoyu had never seen this side of Qi Chengyan, patiently cooking for a woman and then washing the dishes.
She couldn't help but mock, "You have the nerve to make a man cook."
Cheng You raised an eyebrow. "Why shouldn't I have the nerve? Are you jealous?"