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

The news of the Luo family's fortune spread like wildfire throughout the entire village overnight, and even reached the neighboring Wang family village.

Three hundred and forty thousand! This specific figure was embellished by the villagers, who made it sound almost unbelievable. Some said the Luo family earned five hundred thousand, others said one million.

In short, in the villagers' imagination, the Luo family had gone from being the poorest family in the village to becoming the richest family in the village.

What followed was trouble that the Luo family had never experienced before.

The first to come knocking were all sorts of distant relatives.

That day, the Luo family was having dinner when a loud voice came from the courtyard gate: "Hey, eating at home? It smells delicious!"

Luo Xinde looked up and saw a middle-aged man with a pointed mouth and monkey-like face walk in with a big smile. Luo Xinde thought for a long time before he remembered that this was his distant cousin named Luo Fugui. They usually didn't keep in touch, and he didn't even see him during the New Year.

"Brother Fugui? What brings you here?" Luo Xinde stood up, somewhat surprised.

"I heard you made a fortune, so I came to see you." Luo Fugui was not at all shy. He pulled up a stool and sat down at the dining table, his eyes fixed on the braised pork on the table.

Li Minxia had no choice but to get another set of bowls and chopsticks.

While wolfing down his meat, Luo Fugui mumbled, "Xinde, look, we're brothers, blood is thicker than water. Now that you're successful, you can't forget to help your brother out."

Luo Xinde's heart skipped a beat; he knew the visitor meant trouble. He calmly asked, "Brother Fugui, just say what you want."

Luo Fugui put down his chopsticks, wiped his greasy mouth, and sighed, "Oh, don't even mention it. My good-for-nothing son went gambling with some people the other day and owed them 20,000 yuan. They're coming to our door every day demanding payment, saying they'll break his leg if he doesn't pay. Xinde, you have to save your nephew!"

As he spoke, he actually managed to squeeze out a few tears.

Borrow money! And he asked for 20,000 right off the bat!

Luo Xinde's face immediately darkened. He hated gambling more than anything. He wouldn't give a single penny to anyone borrowing money for gambling debts.

"Brother Fugui, it's not that I don't want to help you. This money is for Xiyuan and her brother's school fees, and we'll also need it to build a pig farm later. I can't afford to use it." Luo Xinde refused directly.

"Hey, why are you so stubborn!" Luo Fugui exclaimed anxiously. "You're worth hundreds of thousands now, why would you need 20,000? Just take pity on your brother and lend it to me for now. I'll definitely pay you back when I have the money!"

"Gambling debts? Forget about it." Luo Xinde's attitude was firm.

Seeing that his gentle approach wasn't working, Luo Fugui's face fell, and he started throwing a tantrum: "Luo Xinde! You think you're so great! Now that you have money, you don't care about family anymore? Let me tell you, if you don't lend me these 20,000 yuan today, I'm not leaving! I'll stay at your house, eat and drink at your house!"

He started acting like a scoundrel.

Luo Xinde was so angry that he was trembling all over. Just as he was about to explode, Luo Xiyuan stopped him.

She stood up, walked up to Luo Fugui, and calmly said, "Uncle Fugui, I can lend you money. However, we have our own family rules."

"What rules?" Luo Fugui's eyes lit up.

"First, even close brothers should keep clear accounts; a written IOU is required, clearly stating when the loan will be repaid. Second, interest must be calculated. It must be calculated according to the credit union's loan interest rate, not a penny less. Third, and most importantly, you must provide collateral. You need to bring your property certificate as collateral. We will return the property certificate to you only after you repay the loan. If you cannot repay the loan, then I'm sorry, your house will belong to us."

Luo Xiyuan spoke clearly and logically.

Luo Fugui was dumbfounded after hearing this. He had only intended to get something for nothing, so he didn't have any property certificate to use as collateral.

"You...you little brat! You're loan sharking! How can you be relatives like this?" He was furious and pointed at Luo Xiyuan's nose, cursing.

"That's how we treat relatives," Luo Xiyuan said, not afraid of him at all. "If you think it's unreasonable, you don't have to lend it to me. The door is over there, please make your own way."

"You..." Luo Fugui was speechless, choked by the words. He looked at the stubborn young girl in front of him, then at Luo Xinde beside him who had a cold expression, and knew that he wouldn't be able to borrow the money today.

He snorted, stood up, and walked away cursing, "Fine! Luo Xinde, you just wait! You'll be begging me for something someday!"

After driving Luo Fugui away, the family lost their appetite.

"What kind of mess is this!" Li Minxia sighed.

"Mom, there will only be more and more people like this in the future," Luo Xiyuan said. "We have to set some rules. We can help in emergencies, but not in poverty; we can help those in need, but not the lazy. Otherwise, no matter how much money we earn, it won't be enough for them to share."

Luo Xinde nodded; he agreed with his daughter. A kind person is often bullied, and a good horse is often ridden. One cannot be soft-hearted when dealing with such a rogue relative.

Besides those who came to borrow money, there were also those who came to propose marriage.

Luo Xiyuan was only fourteen years old, but several matchmakers had already worn down the threshold of the Luo family, wanting to arrange a marriage for her. The potential partners were all prominent families from the surrounding villages.

"Sister-in-law Luo, let me tell you, the second son of Old Wang's family at the east end of our village just returned from the army this year. He's handsome and capable. They've taken a liking to your Xiyuan! If your two families were to get married, it would be a powerful alliance!" a matchmaker said, spitting as she spoke.

Li Minxia was both amused and exasperated: "Matchmaker Zhang, my Xiyuan is still young, only in junior high school. It's too early to talk about these things now."

"Oh dear, it's getting late! Let's finalize this first! What kind of social standing do you have now? Ordinary families aren't good enough for you! With Old Wang's family's conditions, you'd be hard-pressed to find someone like you even with a lantern!"

Unable to resist her persistent questioning, Li Minxia finally said, "I can't make that decision myself; you'll have to ask the child's father."

When Luo Xinde returned, he immediately kicked the matchmaker out: "My daughter is going to university and becoming a scientist! Anyone who dares to propose marriage again, don't blame me, Luo Xinde, for being impolite!"

From then on, no one dared to approach Luo Xiyuan to arrange a marriage.

With constant external disturbances, discordant voices also began to emerge within the farm.

With the commencement of the second phase of the project, the number of workers on the farm has increased significantly. Luo Xinde offers high wages and provides meals, attracting many unemployed villagers to come and work.

When there are many people, their thoughts become cluttered.

Some people started to slack off and do the work half-heartedly. Others saw the large amount of feed and tools piled up in the farm's warehouse and began to have wicked ideas.

One day, when Li Minxia was taking inventory of the warehouse, she discovered that two bags of soybean meal were missing. That was worth several hundred yuan.

When she told Luo Xinde about it, he immediately flew into a rage. He gathered all the workers together and announced on the spot, "Whoever took the item, step forward now, and I'll let it go. But if I find out, don't blame me for sending him to the police station!"

The workers looked at each other, none of them admitting anything.

This matter gave Luo Xinde a real headache. They were all from the same village, and they would run into each other all the time. If it really escalated to the police station, it wouldn't look good for him. But if he didn't do anything about it, once this bad habit took hold, the farm would be impossible to manage in the future.

Just when he was in a dilemma, Luo Xiyuan gave him another idea.

"Dad, prevention is worse than cure. We can't solve the problem by just cracking down on it. We need to address the issue through systemic reforms."

"What system?"

"I suggest installing surveillance cameras on the farm."

"Surveillance?" Luo Xinde heard a new word.

"Yes. Cameras have been installed at key locations such as the farm's main gate, warehouse, and pigsty passageways. They record 24/7. This way, it's crystal clear who did what. They won't dare to cause trouble anymore."

"Furthermore," Luo Xiyuan added, "we also need to establish a reward and punishment system. Those who perform well will be selected as outstanding employees each month and given bonuses. Those who don't perform well will receive a warning the first time, a fine the second time, and immediate dismissal the third time! We're laying out the unpleasant rules upfront so that everyone has a sense of respect, which makes management easier."

After listening, Luo Xinde suddenly understood.

"Okay! Let's do it this way!"

He immediately went to town and spent several thousand yuan to have a complete surveillance system installed. When those dark cameras appeared in every corner of the farm, the workers felt a chill down their spines and dared not make any small movements while working.

The reward and punishment system was quickly implemented. In the first month, two of the hardest-working workers received a bonus of two hundred yuan. Meanwhile, a worker who was frequently late or left early had fifty yuan deducted from his wages.

As a result, the atmosphere of the entire farm was immediately transformed.