Chapter 4: The Plan

“Jianchao, what’s wrong? The grapes aren’t so sour they’ve stunned you speechless, are they?” The friends around him saw the way he looked after eating the grape and couldn’t help but ask with amusement.

Li Guomin felt a pang of worry. This person ate the grape and his eyes went wide. Could something be wrong? “Brother, spit out the grape quickly!” He had seen people stick out their tongues from eating sour grapes, but he had never seen someone’s eyes bulge out from eating a sour grape.

The man in the white shirt just waved his hand dismissively. After swallowing the grape, an expression of enjoyment spread across his face. “Spit it out? No way. Boss, I finally understand why you didn’t want us to eat this bunch of grapes. These grapes… these grapes are really sour.”

He originally intended to tell the truth, but seeing the eager looks from the people beside him, he changed his words. Then, without hesitation, he peeled another grape and put it in his mouth.

“If the grapes are sour, why do you keep eating them? Wait, Li Jianchao, you’re lying to us.” Seeing the white-shirted man’s expression, one of the middle-aged men realized something. He plucked a grape from the plate and quickly stuffed it into his mouth. “These… these grapes are actually so sweet.”

The two people beside the table became curious seeing this. They also picked a grape each and put them in their mouths. Surprise showed on their faces. “These grapes are sweet and refreshing, the flesh is soft and juicy. They’re truly a heavenly delicacy. Don’t grab them all, save some for me!”

One of them had just finished this exclamation when he saw his friends starting to devour the grapes frantically. He hurriedly joined in.

Watching these people scramble over a bunch of half-green, half-red grapes, Li Guomin was stunned. Were the grapes really that delicious? He couldn’t help but remember Zhou Yu’s words when he left.

Looking at the few grapes left on the plate, Li Guomin couldn’t resist reaching out to pick one. Just then, someone beside him joked, “Boss, you’re fighting us for grapes now? Earlier you kept insisting we shouldn’t eat this bunch. Is the taste too good, so you wanted to keep them for yourself?”

“Ahem, these grapes were brought by my nephew just now. He said they’re a newly cultivated variety. I thought they’d be very sour,” Li Guomin said, holding the grape somewhat awkwardly.

“Well, hurry up and try it, then tell your nephew to bring more grapes over!” the others urged immediately. The taste of these grapes was simply amazing.

Li Guomin nodded. He put the grape into his mouth. After tasting it, his eyes also went wide. This bunch of grapes, which he thought would be very sour, was actually so sweet and delicious. They were the best grapes he had ever eaten. His gaze involuntarily drifted to the plate holding the grapes.

“These are ours. We’ll pay. You go find your nephew and get more grapes.” Seeing Li Guomin’s expression, the others immediately shielded the grapes on the plate.

Meanwhile, Zhou Yu had already returned home. Amid his mother’s complaints, he took out the grapes from the handbag. “Mom, I went out so early today just for these grapes. Try them first.”

Looking at the half-green, half-red bunch of grapes, Zhou Yu’s parents were taken aback. He went out in such a hurry before meals just for these grapes? “Xiao Yu, if you wanted to eat grapes, you could have told me. I would have bought them for you.”

“These grapes are different. You’ll know once you try them,” Zhou Yu said mysteriously.

Under his urging, Father Zhou and Mother Zhou each picked a grape and tasted it. Their faces immediately showed astonishment. “Xiao Yu, where did you get these grapes? They’re so sweet.”

Just as Zhou Yu was about to answer, the phone suddenly rang. Looking at the number, he couldn’t help but smile. “Uncle, you must have tried the grapes by now.”

“You rascal, you tricked me again this time. Do you have any more of these grapes? A few people here tried them and want to buy some,” Li Guomin said, sounding rather resigned upon hearing Zhou Yu’s words.

“Others want to buy them? Uncle, these grapes were picked from the Old Family House. There aren’t many. We don’t even have enough for ourselves. Tell them there aren’t any left.”

Zhou Yu thought for a moment and shook his head as he spoke. The area the Low-Grade Spirit Gathering Array could affect was limited. It was impossible to grow grapes on a large scale within it. And there really weren’t many grapes on those two vines.

“Young man, young man, don’t say that! We can hear you. We don’t want much, just a couple of bunches each is enough. We’ll come by often to support your uncle’s business from now on.” Li Guomin’s mobile phone seemed to be on loudspeaker. The people beside him heard and quickly spoke into the phone.

At this point, Li Guomin also tried to persuade him. “Ahem, Xiao Yu, if you have a lot at home, sell them some. There are only four of them.”

“Alright then. This afternoon I’ll go check the yard and get them some ripe grapes. Have them leave a phone number first.” Zhou Yu thought for a moment, then nodded. After things had reached this point, he couldn’t refuse anymore.

After hanging up the phone, Father Zhou and Mother Zhou fixed their gazes on him intently. “Xiao Yu, you said these grapes were picked from the Old Family House. I remember the grapes in that yard were hard and sour,” Mother Zhou asked, full of doubt.

“Mom, I didn’t tell you. Last year, I got some cuttings of excellent grape varieties from my friend at the agricultural university and grafted them onto our grapevines. They bore fruit this year,” Zhou Yu had already prepared this excuse.

“So that’s how it is. These grapes are really sweet. But the Old Family House is going to be sold soon. It’s a bit of a shame,” Mother Zhou shook her head and said with some regret.

Zhou Yu smiled and spoke up. “The reason I brought the grapes today was to discuss this with you. The Old Family House has plenty of space and a good environment. I’m planning to start some cultivation business there, so we shouldn’t sell it.”

“Not sell it? Then what about when you get married? A cultivation business? That’s just farming. You won’t earn much money from that,” Mother Zhou said upon hearing this, sounding unconvinced. They had farmed for most of their lives and hadn’t managed to save much money.

“I’m not planning to grow wheat or rice. I guarantee it will make money. Mom, this is your son’s future plan. You can’t not support me, right?” Zhou Yu said with a pitiful look on his face.

Father Zhou and Mother Zhou looked at each other. They had no choice but to nod. “Alright, alright, we’ll listen to you. Let’s see what you can achieve at the Old Family House.”

Zhou Yu couldn’t help but cheer. The Old Family House and the Spirit Gathering Array were the starting point of his career. And that amazing Radio would make his future even more colorful.

After lunch, Zhou Yu didn’t rest at home. He rode an electric bike straight to the Old Family House. Since the decision was made, he had to act quickly.

When he passed by Li Guomin’s shop, the people who wanted to buy grapes had temporarily left. Upon learning that his uncle had only eaten one grape, he burst out laughing. He laughed so hard that Li Guomin couldn’t stand it and got up to chase him.

When he returned to the Old Family House again, Zhou Yu saw the two grapevines had become greener and more vibrant. On some branches, grape buds had already appeared. And some of the grapes that were hanging on the branches before had turned a pale purple, looking very beautiful.

While observing the grapevines in the morning, he had already been thinking about his future plans. He didn’t set his sights too high, wondering what other magical things might appear from the Immortal World. His plan was based solely on the current Low-Grade Spirit Gathering Array.

The area affected by this Spirit Gathering Array wasn’t very large. When setting up the array earlier, Zhou Yu had already considered this. He hadn’t placed it too close to the grapevines, leaving a circle of empty ground around them. The area where he set up the array now was roughly the maximum effective distance for this Spirit Gathering Array.

Compared to an acre of land, the range of this Spirit Gathering Array was really too small. Grains, vegetables, fruits, and such naturally weren’t within consideration. Anything grown would only be enough for the family to eat. Besides, these things couldn’t be sold for a high price yet.

As for growing ginseng, it took too long. Although the Spirit Gathering Array could accelerate plant growth, it couldn’t achieve a year’s growth in a day.

During his morning thoughts, Zhou Yu had already thought of the best type of plant. Given the Spirit Gathering Array’s capabilities, it would definitely only make money, not lose it.