Back to 2008: I Helped My Dad Become the Richest Man

After seeing Wang Defa off, the Luo family members held the contract stamped with the red seal, gathered around the table, and stared at it for a long time, still feeling like they were dreaming.

"It's... signed?" Li Minxia asked softly, touching the smooth surface of the contract.

"Signed! It's in black and white, with a red seal! How could it be fake?" Luo Xinde laughed heartily; he had drunk a little wine today, and his cheeks were flushed.

He picked up the contract, brought it close to his eyes, and tried to decipher each word. Although he couldn't understand most of it, he recognized his own name and the gleaming official seal of the "Golden Bay Hotel".

"Nine yuan and fifty cents a pound..." He smacked his lips, feeling the sweetness in his mouth. "Wow, how much will our first batch of pigs fetch?"

This question has drawn everyone's attention.

Luo Wen couldn't contain himself any longer. He took out an abacus and notebook from his schoolbag and sat up straight like a little accountant.

"Let me calculate!" He cleared his throat. "We have two hundred pigs in total. According to Grandpa Liu, each pig weighs an average of 180 jin (90 kg). That's a total of... 36,000 jin (13,300 kg)!"

He fiddled with the abacus beads, making a series of clattering sounds.

"Nine yuan and fifty cents per pound... thirty-six thousand pounds... multiplied by nine yuan and fifty cents..." He calculated very seriously, and beads of sweat appeared on his forehead.

Luo Xinde and Li Minxia held their breath, their eyes fixed on the abacus in Luo Wen's hand.

After a long while, Luo Wen finally finished calculating. He looked up at his family, his voice trembling with excitement.

"I...I've figured it out! It's...three hundred and forty-two thousand dollars!"

"How much?!" Luo Xinde suddenly stood up, his voice cracking.

"Three hundred and forty-two thousand dollars!" Luo Wen repeated it again, this time his voice was loud and clear.

Three hundred and forty thousand!

This number left Luo Xinde and Li Minxia completely stunned.

The couple had lived most of their lives and had never even dreamed of having so much money, let alone seen it!

Li Minxia felt her legs go weak, and she had to hold onto the table to keep her balance. Her lips trembled, and she couldn't speak for a long time.

Luo Xinde stood there dumbfounded, his mouth agape, unable to close it for a long time. He felt like his brain had stopped working. Three hundred and forty thousand—what did that even mean? How many hundred-yuan bills would that be? How big of a sack would it take to hold it all?

"What about deducting... deducting costs?" Mr. Liu, who was relatively calm, reminded him.

"Oh, right, costs!" Luo Wen started calculating again. "We spent 30,000 on piglets, and about 40,000 on building the pig farm and buying equipment. The feed, utilities, and vaccines for the past six months... Mom's book says... 53,000. The total cost is... 123,000!"

"Subtract 123,000 from 342,000..."

"The net profit is... 219,000 yuan!"

Two hundred and nine thousand!

In just six months, I made a net profit of nearly 220,000 yuan!

Even Master Liu couldn't sit still anymore. He'd anticipated making money, but he hadn't expected it to be this much! When he initially negotiated with Luo Xiyuan for a 20% profit share based on the technology, he thought he was being a bit greedy. Now, he figured he'd get over 40,000 yuan for himself! That's more than he'd earned in his entire life working at the state-owned pig farm!

"We've struck it rich... Our family... We've really struck it rich..." Li Minxia finally came to her senses, and tears streamed down her face without warning.

Luo Xinde snapped out of his daze, put his arm around his wife's shoulder, and his eyes reddened. "Don't cry, don't cry! This is a joyous occasion! Our best days are yet to come!"

He turned to look at Luo Xiyuan, his eyes filled with gratitude and pride. He knew that all of this was thanks to his daughter. If it weren't for her, he might still be working on a construction site, struggling to make ends meet with a few hundred yuan for the New Year. Who would have thought that one day he could earn over two hundred thousand yuan!

"Xiyuan, you...you are truly our family's lucky star!" he said, his voice choked with emotion.

Luo Xiyuan smiled as she looked at her parents embracing and weeping, at her younger brother who was flushed with excitement, and at Master Liu, who was usually calm but was now unable to hide his excitement.

very nice.

In this life, she not only changed her own destiny, but also helped her whole family stand tall and see a completely different world.

After the initial excitement came the tense preparation for delivery.

The next day, Luo Xiyuan took Luo Xinde to the town's animal husbandry and veterinary station to apply for origin quarantine for live pigs.

Upon hearing that they were supplying five-star hotels in the city, the head of the veterinary station immediately became very enthusiastic. He personally led a team to Luo's Farm to conduct strict quarantine on the two hundred pigs that were about to be sold.

After going through a series of procedures, including blood tests and lab work, the final result was—all were satisfactory!

The head of the veterinary station immediately issued an "Animal Origin Quarantine Certificate." He patted Luo Xinde on the shoulder and said, "Boss Luo, your pigs are really well-raised! They're robust, with glossy coats—clearly healthy pigs! If our town ever needs to select any model pig farmers, I'll recommend you first!"

Obtaining a quarantine certificate is equivalent to obtaining a permit to sell the livestock.

On the day of delivery, the entrance to Luo's Farm was as lively as during the Chinese New Year.

Wang Defa sent over a large, double-decker livestock transport truck. It was long and looked very impressive. The villagers had never seen anything like it before, and they all rushed out to see what was going on.

Luo Xinde directed the workers to use a specially made passageway to drive two hundred fat pigs, one by one, onto the truck. There were too many pigs, and the scene became somewhat chaotic at one point, with the squeals of the pigs and the shouts of the workers filling the air.

Li Minxia and Luo Wen were holding notebooks and counting the cars at the door.

"One head, two heads, three heads..."

"Ninety-eight, ninety-nine, one hundred!"

……

"One hundred and ninety-eight, one hundred and ninety-nine, two hundred! All complete!"

When the last pig was driven onto the truck and the truck door slammed shut, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

The truck driver handed an envelope out of the cab.

"Boss Luo, Manager Wang asked me to give this to you. Please check it."

Luo Xinde took the thick envelope, his hands trembling. He opened it and found not cash, but a bank draft.

He couldn't read the words on it, so he handed it directly to Luo Xiyuan.

Luo Xiyuan took it and saw that the bill clearly stated the number: 342,000 yuan.

"Dad, Mom, the money has arrived." She held up the thin piece of paper, her voice not loud, but everyone present could hear her clearly.

Luo Xinde and Li Minxia looked at the piece of paper and felt it was heavier than a sack of cash.

The villagers who had been watching the commotion also heard the number, and the crowd fell silent, followed by gasps and hushed discussions.

"How much? Three hundred and forty thousand?"

"My God! You can sell a pig for 340,000?!"

"The Luo family is about to make a fortune!"

Those who had once mocked the Luo family, such as Mr. Li, the owner of the convenience store, were now mingling in the crowd, their faces alternating between pale and flushed, filled with regret. He simply couldn't understand how Luo Xinde, the penniless pauper in his eyes, had suddenly become a big boss earning hundreds of thousands.

Under the watchful eyes of the entire village, the large truck, loaded with fat pigs and hope, slowly started and drove out of Luo Family Village.

Luo Xinde and Li Minxia held the draft, feeling both excited and uneasy.

"This...this is all for us? We haven't even gone to the bank yet," Li Minxia asked softly.

"That's how city people do business; they value integrity," Luo Xiyuan explained. "Manager Wang trusts us, so he gave us the money first. Come on, Dad, Mom, let's go to town now and withdraw the money!"

The family locked the door and boarded the bus to town.

When Luo Xinde arrived at the town's credit union, his hand was still trembling as he handed the draft to the teller.

When the teller confirmed everything was correct and handed out stacks of brand-new 100-yuan bills through the window, Luo Xinde and Li Minxia felt as if their breaths had almost stopped.

They had never seen so much money before!

A whopping 342,000 yuan! The bank even provided them with a black plastic bag to hold it.

Luo Xinde stood frozen, clutching the black plastic bag full of money. His forehead was covered in sweat from nervousness, and he even stumbled as he walked.

Li Minxia stayed close to him, watching everyone around her warily, afraid that someone would try to snatch her away.

Only after they got home and locked the door did the family finally breathe a sigh of relief.

They poured all 342,000 yuan onto the octagonal table in their home.

Red banknotes were piled up on the table.

The family of four sat around the table piled high with money, none of them speaking, just watching silently.

After a long while, Luo Xinde finally reached out with trembling hands and touched the pile of money.

"It's true..." he murmured, "We...we really are rich now."