Returning to the small mountain village of '86, intelligence updated daily.

Zhou Ming noticed that his older brother had slowed down, but he didn't ask anything and maintained a steady pace to follow Zhou Rui.

At this moment, the conversation between the two people in front continued.

Taoist Zhang Sheng seemed unsurprised by the tea farmer Zhang Chengyun's answer, with one hand behind his back, exuding an air of command.

"I told you a long time ago that tea leaves are not worth growing, and they won't fetch a good price. You might as well grow some potatoes to fill your stomach. Now look what's happened, let's see how you clean this up."

Upon hearing the Taoist's words, Zhang Chengyun's face grew even more sorrowful, and he shook his head repeatedly as he walked along the road.

"Sigh~ If I had known this would happen, I wouldn't have stepped into this quagmire. Brother, could you perhaps do a fortune telling for me? What should I do in this situation...?"

Taoist Zhang Sheng still had one hand behind his back, and he slightly raised his head, looking up at the sky at a 45-degree angle, speaking in a manner full of charlatanism.

"Heavenly secrets cannot be revealed—"

Seeing this, Zhang Chengyun seemed to know the rules, so he reached into his pocket and pulled out a pack of "Hongmei" brand cigarettes.

He opened the cigarette box, which was still half full. He took one out and handed it to the Taoist priest Zhang Sheng with both hands.

Zhang Sheng merely glanced at him indifferently and shook his head again.

Zhang Chengyun took back the cigarette he had offered, gritted his teeth, seemingly struggling with his thoughts, and finally, as if he had made up his mind.

Zhang Chengyun closed the remaining half pack of "Hongmei" brand cigarettes and handed it to Zhang Sheng.

The Taoist priest Zhang Sheng rolled his eyes and looked elsewhere, silently putting the half-pack of cigarettes into his pocket.

Then, he pretended to close his eyes and count on his fingers. After a short while, Zhang Sheng opened his eyes and said something inexplicably:

"The best course of action is to sell as soon as possible; switching from tea to beans is a better option; and being stubborn and refusing to listen to advice is the worst possible course of action!"

......

Zhou Rui, who was walking behind, witnessed everything that happened and naturally heard this absurd conversation.

He chuckled inwardly. No wonder Zhang Chengyun ended up growing potatoes in his previous life. It seems he couldn't find someone to take over before.

Ultimately, having no other choice, they opted for a middle-ground solution: to switch from tea to beans.

Having devised a plan and received this news, Zhou Rui felt even more confident, but he didn't make a fuss about it.

Now is not a good time, especially since I need to go shopping today. It would be best to wait a few more days, after I have sold the musk.

When we have more funds, we can develop tea and rapeseed together.

Zhou Ruike hadn't forgotten that along with the news of rising tea prices, rapeseed prices also surged!

Having made up his mind, Zhou Rui lost interest in listening any further and quickly walked forward with Zhou Ming, pretending to be indifferent as if they were just passing by.

This place was already close to the town. When Zhou Rui passed by Grandpa Qian's house, the two greeted each other very warmly and inquired about the old man's health.

Grandpa Qian was weaving a bamboo basket, and standing next to him was a middle-aged man wearing animal skin clothes with bare arms.

The man had scars on his face, as if they had been inflicted by some wild beast. He was not tall, less than 1.7 meters, but very strong.

He was Zhang Ronghua, a hunter from the village. Next to him was a tricycle with a piece of pork, a pig's head, and other pig by-products on it.

The pig's head had tusks in its mouth, indicating it was a wild boar. Zhou Rui couldn't help but glance at the wild boar a few more times.

This is most likely the wild boar mentioned in the intelligence report, and it was indeed captured by Zhang Ronghua.

Just then, someone happened to pass by. It was Li Hang from the village. He saw Zhou Rui and then Zhang Ronghua, and immediately became interested.

"Zhang the hunter is amazing! He hunted such a big wild boar. He's quite skilled."

Zhang Ronghua came to town to sell wild boar meat and was passing by Qian Sanduo, a bamboo craftsman, so he stopped by to look at his goods.

Upon hearing Li Hang's words, Zhang Ronghua turned around and, upon scanning the area, naturally spotted Zhou Rui.

When he saw Zhou Rui, he looked a little embarrassed. After all, he had just been showing off in front of the old man the day before, only to be slapped in the face in the face at lightning speed.

Zhou Rui didn't care at all, and Zhang Ronghua didn't want to make a fool of himself, so he replied to Li Hang:

"No, no, it's just a pig. It's only because the Zhou family is capable that I went up the mountain yesterday. Otherwise, I would have bought some venison too, haha."

Zhang Ronghua chuckled twice, then glanced at Zhou Rui, who just smiled shyly.

At this point, Li Hang persisted:

"Oh, Brother Zhang, how can you say that? Zhou Shiwei's family was just lucky. You'll definitely be able to hunt a water deer too. You can ask for some deer blood then."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Ronghua's face clearly showed disgust, and he said in a tone that revealed neither joy nor anger:

"You think water deer are easy to kill? They're really skilled. I'd have a tough time with them. If you want one, it's right there in the back mountain. Go get it yourself."

Li Hang is known for being arrogant and unrealistic, always thinking he's better than anyone else, and he has his own set of mentality that he can do it all.

Moreover, they also have a set of fallacies, believing everything they hear.

As expected, after Zhang Ronghua said that, Li Hang's face was filled with disdain, and he scoffed:

"You wait, I'll go and hunt one down in the next few days and show you. Water deer are hard to hunt, you can set a trap or..."

Li Hang launched into a long, rambling theoretical explanation, leaving not only Zhang Ronghua but also Zhou Rui completely bewildered. If the other party were truly capable, then it would be one thing.

The key point is that Li Hang is just a master of empty talk...

Zhou Rui didn't linger. After greeting Zhang Ronghua and nodding in acknowledgment, he left with Zhou Ming.

You can't reason with this kind of person, so just let him have his fun.

The two strolled leisurely through the market. Zhou Rui bought two popsicles, and he and Zhou Ming each ate one.

The old-fashioned popsicles weren't very expensive; they were just ice cubes mixed with white sugar, costing three cents each. The vendors would wrap them in blankets or boxes to slow down the melting process.

Zhou Rui came mainly to buy a radio and a chess set, and also to replenish some daily necessities.

Township supply and marketing cooperatives don't sell large items like tricycles or old-fashioned bicycles, so that's not the purpose of this trip.

Zhou Rui planned to go to the county town with Zhao Jianjun after Zhao Jianjun paid the final payment. With Zhao Jianjun's connections, he would save a lot of money.

We should still ask my father to come along, because he can't ride two bikes by himself.

The money from the sale of that water deer was handed over to Zhou Rui for management and use. This was something Zhou Shiwei had said on his own initiative, and it was non-negotiable.

In the Zhou family now, Zhou Rui's influence has subtly surpassed that of his father, a move intentionally made by Zhou Shiwei.

There's an old saying in rural areas: "A boy should take over the household when he turns 18." But in reality, many rural parents never listen to their children's opinions and often act unilaterally.

Furthermore, if their own children raise objections, many elders may even feel that their authority has been offended...

This idea exists not only in this era, but will also be very common in future generations.

This is a distorted mentality and a mutated form of control. Zhou Rui was fortunate that his elders were all open-minded.