Yao Jiahe took the money and rode his electric bike to sell fish.
As he was leaving, Liu Mei suddenly remembered something: "Jiahe, when you come back, pass by the small shop and buy some snacks."
"Got it, I'll be back soon."
"Aunt, why are you spending so much? We're family, a simple meal is fine," Liu Yifeng said.
"That won't do. Today is Tongtong's first time visiting Aunt's house. I don't mean to serve a feast, but we can't have no meat at all, right?
Next time you visit, remember to tell Aunt in advance. I'll buy some fresh king prawns in town. I hear children eat well with these!" Liu Mei saw Tongtong and was reminded of Yifeng when he was little.
At that time, Yifeng didn't have a mother either, and now he still didn't.
These father and son were truly in the same boat. In her eyes, no matter how good the material conditions were, they couldn't make up for the lack of a mother's companionship.
When it was twelve o'clock, Liu Mei had Jiahe set off firecrackers, which was a local custom. When Yifeng took the child back later, they would set off another string.
During the meal, Liu Yifeng mentioned his plan to build vegetable greenhouses and that the villagers would also invest. He wanted his aunt to invest too, which would result in a good amount of money to share each year during the Lunar New Year.
"Can these vegetable greenhouses make money? And you just said that people from your village will also invest. With so many people, how much will each person get?" Li Qiuping asked.
"We don't know for sure yet, but don't worry, even if we don't make a lot, we won't lose a cent," Liu Yifeng replied.
Seeing Liu Yifeng speak so confidently, Li Qiuping felt a stir of interest.
She had heard from her relatives and friends that Liu Yifeng had become rich lately.
Whatever business he was in, he could make a lot of money. She had long wanted to follow Liu Yifeng.
This was also why she had taken the initiative to pay for Jiahe to buy groceries earlier.
After all, if she wanted to change her life in the future, she would still have to rely on Liu Yifeng. You couldn't catch a tiger without entering its den.
Besides, a hundred yuan was not a lot of money.
"But Aunt doesn't have much spare cash?" Liu Mei's expression was a little embarrassed. She still trusted Yifeng, but even a single penny could stump a hero.
Moreover, she truly had no money.
Liu Yifeng smiled, "Aunt, I can advance the money for you to take some shares. I'll deduct it when the dividends are paid. What do you think?"
"Oh... how can I accept that?" Liu Mei didn't understand business, but Yifeng doing this was like giving her shares for free.
"There's nothing to be embarrassed about. You're my aunt, and it's only right for me to help you.
Let's agree on this. Also, I might need to trouble Aunt to work at my vegetable greenhouse later, to supervise others and prevent them from being careless, which could affect the quality of the vegetables." Liu Yifeng could have assigned this task to his third aunt and the others.
But compared to them, he trusted his aunt more.
Because only his aunt genuinely cared about him and thought for his well-being.
"Don't worry, I might not be able to help you with much else, but I do have experience in growing vegetables." Seeing that Yifeng needed her help, Liu Mei agreed without hesitation, not even discussing salary.
"Then... then Yifeng, can I also invest?" Li Qiuping asked with a blush.
Even though her mother-in-law was investing, and the money earned would be spent on them, she had more than one son, and there were also her younger son and other grandchildren.
How much good would she personally get? As the saying goes, it's better to have it yourself than to rely on others.
"How much do you want to invest, Sister-in-law?" Liu Yifeng didn't plan to advance the money for her, because not everyone was worth him doing so.
It was difficult for her to say, "Can you advance fifty thousand for my investment?"
But she really didn't have much money. All her savings probably amounted to less than twenty thousand yuan.
However, if she was going to invest, she should invest a bit more, otherwise, she wouldn't make much money.
Thinking of this, she immediately said, "I want to invest fifty thousand yuan, but I don't have that much money on hand. I'll borrow thirty thousand from my maiden family and give you all the money then.
I just don't know, with a fifty thousand investment, how many shares will I get?"
"This, we haven't determined the price per share yet, but it should be half a share!" Liu Yifeng said after some thought.
"Ah, only half a share for fifty thousand yuan? How can it not even be one share?" Li Qiuping looked disappointed.
Liu Yifeng chuckled, "Sister-in-law, don't underestimate this half share. Once the vegetable greenhouses are built and filled with various vegetables, they will earn at least thirty million yuan a year.
This half share is one hundred and fifty thousand yuan. Do you still think it's little?"
Li Qiuping's mouth formed a perfect "O" shape, and everyone present was shocked by this huge sum.
"Is it really that much money? Then I'll invest a bit more, a full one hundred thousand." Li Qiuping didn't want to miss such an opportunity to make a fortune.
One hundred thousand would be one share, which translated to three hundred thousand a year, three million in ten years, and nearly ten million in thirty years.
Such a large sum of money couldn't be earned by just farming.
"Sister-in-law, it's not as simple as investing as much as you want.
We'll need to count how many people are investing and how much they are investing before we can allocate the shares.
As the founder of the vegetable greenhouses, my personal shares will be at least fifty-five percent, and the rest will be for those who invest."
This was clearly a profitable venture. It was already generous for him to let them get a taste of it.
If it were anyone else, they wouldn't be willing to do this.
"Then aren't you going to get incredibly rich?" Yao Jiahe, who had been silent, showed envious eyes upon hearing that Liu Yifeng would hold so many shares.
His wife glared at him, "How dare you speak like that? Look at yourself, and then look at Yifeng. I must have had terrible luck to marry you."
Yao Jiahe became quiet after being scolded. He was indeed incompetent, earning only 1,600 yuan a month. Compared to Yifeng, he wasn't even a speck of dust.
"Say less, Jiahe is better than those lazy good-for-nothings outside," Yao Wenlong said, displeased to see his son being yelled at by his daughter-in-law.
Liu Mei feared her, but he did not.
From ancient times to the present, women have always lived by the grace of their men.
But with her, it was the opposite. Not only did they not treat each other with respect, but she treated her son like a slave.
She received all his monthly earnings, and if anything displeased her, she would scold and hit him. What kind of woman was this?
Li Qiuping, seeing that Yifeng was still there, finally shut her mouth. She didn't want to leave a bad impression on Liu Yifeng.
After all, she still needed him to get rich in the future!
"Then let's agree on this. Once the vegetable greenhouse project is approved, I will start counting the investors and their amounts, and then reasonably allocate the shares," Liu Yifeng's words brought hope to their entire family.
After the meal, Liu Yifeng took Tongtong home, as he still had his nap habit.
As they were leaving, Liu Mei gave Tongtong a red envelope.
Liu Yifeng refused to accept it, saying, "Yifeng, this is just a small token of Aunt's affection. If you don't accept it, you're looking down on me."
Seeing his aunt speak like this, Liu Yifeng had no choice but to reluctantly accept it!
Back home, Tongtong gave the red envelope to Liu Yifeng, "Daddy, this red envelope is for you!"
"Your aunt gave this to you, so you should keep it and take good care of it!" Liu Yifeng said.
Tongtong shook his head, "Tongtong is still young and doesn't need much money. You keep it, Daddy!"
During this time, the paintings he had sold had added quite a bit to his account, totaling thirty to forty thousand yuan.
At the same time, Liu Yifeng deposited twenty thousand yuan into his account each month as a growth fund for Tongtong. He planned to give this money to Tongtong to manage himself when he turned eighteen.
Therefore, Liu Yifeng accepted the red envelope given by Tongtong, as it was Tongtong's gesture of affection, and refusing it would make him sad.
He opened the red envelope and found three hundred and sixty yuan inside. This amount was not much to him.
But he knew that for his aunt, it was a considerable sum.
However, it was fine. In the future, his aunt would make a lot of money with him, and her life would get better and better.
Before they knew it, it was the next day. Wang Chengjie arrived early in the morning.
He was not wearing his work uniform today, but casual clothes.