How to Save a Failed Farm

Lance was very self-aware, he didn't express any opinions, and left it to Ye Qun to communicate with the designer.

Ye Qun prefers the open and bright design of the large flat floor, the structure is simple and clear, and most importantly, the cost is low.Although elegant and retro is the facade symbol of most wine estates, it is difficult to grasp the degree.Not only requires a deep understanding and connotation of architectural aesthetics, but also several decent works of art.He didn't want to make it so complicated, and communicated with the architect for several days, and finally finalized the sketch.

When Johnny sold the land to them, he also recommended a contractor, that is, people in the town, who would go to them if anyone nearby wanted to renovate.Most of the Woodland area is family-owned farms. Under the current economic environment, it is a bit difficult to rely on the dozens of acres of land to earn money for food, let alone send the children to school in the city.So some people stopped farming and switched to other jobs, and it was because of this that the town prospered.

Before they could find the business card, Old Pike's apprentice contacted them first.The hourly wages of American construction workers are high, but they have to do the work to get paid, and the winery they are building is undoubtedly the hottest job in town in recent years.

When the other party called, they were still installing the ceiling for the cowshed. Only Ye Qun was at home at that time. They sent the drawings over.

Ye Qun was a little confused at first, the other party spoke so naturally, as if he was sure they would agree.He was actually a little worried. He was not sure whether the construction workers in the small town really had the qualifications they should have. Building a winery should not be as hasty as building a cowshed by themselves.

He mumbled a few words and put down the phone, then packed today's lunch and went back to the unfinished cowshed to find Lance.

When Lance heard about it, he comforted him and said, "Old Parker is the oldest group of construction workers in the town. When we first moved to Woodlands, you know," Lance was driving a nail into the wood. Li, "My dad didn't want to be a real farmer when he moved to the farm, he just needed a quiet environment, so he asked old Parker to redecorate the whole house according to his own taste."

"But decoration is probably a little different from building a house?"

"Oh, my dad almost re-destroyed the whole house." Lance smiled helplessly, "I have to say that the original appearance of this house is much worse than what you see now, if you now Going to other farms to see for sure can understand why I resisted so much at the time.”

Ye Qun wiped the sweat with a towel around his neck, and joked: "I saw American farms on TV are like mansions."

"Sweetheart, Woodlands is different from other places. There are indeed many American farmers with wealth and high education, but this place is still relatively backward." Lance tried to prove his point, "There are fewer and fewer young people in the town. , Many people go out and never come back.”

"Indeed."

"The town is actually somewhat xenophobic. If you really plan to find a contractor in the city, you may be discussed." Lance reminded.

"I didn't say that," Ye Qun had no choice but to surrender, "I'll call them back right away and set a time to start work."

"Don't worry, today's construction workers have advanced tools and don't do any heavy work. Most people can do it after a short-term apprenticeship, and they are not inferior to those from the city."

"Have you ever been a trainee? Your skills are not bad." Ye Qun compared the parts he and Lance were in charge of, and he had to admit that Lance was really careful in his work, unlike him, who was quite careless.

"That was before I went to college."

"Really?" Ye Qun's jaw dropped in shock. He just said casually, "Did you really work as a construction worker?"

"I told you I was terribly rebellious at the time." Lance raised his hand in embarrassment and rubbed the tip of his nose. It was an unbearable past for him.

"Aha, so why? Run away from home?"

"To earn college tuition." Lance sighed, raised his wet eyes as if begging Ye Qun to stop playing tricks on him.

"Wow, you really have backbone." Ye Qun was about to be amused by Lance's childhood whimsy, and asked pretending to be concerned, "I guess you worked hard for a few months and then bought a plane ticket to crash in a Las Vegas casino. After the Universiade, I finally got the tuition fee?"

"...No, well, I used the money I earned to buy a plane ticket and went to England to borrow money from my grandfather, and then was escorted back to the farm by my uncle." Lance told the whole truth as if giving up on himself, " Forgive me and stop talking about it, I was only 17."

They finalized the start of construction in early March.Before that, warm, moist air from the Gulf of Mexico brought the last of the rain before spring to Texas.The rain gave them a few days of rest in the busy February, during which they were in the fields almost every day except for one visit to old Jack.

Ye Qun hasn’t exhausted his energy so intensely in several years. To be precise, he never did. He didn’t work exactly like a worker when he went to the grassroots during his internship. In order not to worry Lance, he told him a little deliberately exaggerate the truth.

There were blood blisters on his hands. Although Lance no longer allowed him to do heavy work after he found out, his muscles were still tight and his limbs were sore.Compared with Lance, he is like the spoiled young master, which is really weird.

Leaning on Lance's lap, Ye Qun lamented that he was getting old. Lance massaged his shoulders more vigorously, making the stiff bones stretched and making a muffled creaking sound. He hesitated and said, "Maybe Is it because you lack exercise?"

"I'll be running with you until next Monday."

"You've been saying that for weeks," Lance pointed out curtly.

"Uh..." Ye Qun felt a bit of embarrassment in his heart, and quibbled, "That's because the weather is too cold. Next week, next week I will definitely."

"If only you were half active when you were working out and when you were eating snacks." Lance groaned.

"Wait." Ye Qun asked calmly, "Are you complaining about my gaining weight?" Oh my god, when they first fell in love, Lance often tried to make him eat more. It's only been a few months?And his habit of eating snacks is also influenced by Lance, okay?

Lance's innocent long eyelashes trembled, and he looked blankly, as if he didn't see the uproar in Ye Qun's heart: "But you said it yourself."

"I understand," Ye Qun looked at him quietly for a while, "You are taking revenge on me, taking revenge on me for making fun of you for running away from home when you were 17..."

"I didn't run away from home!" Lance couldn't help but argue, "How about we stop here? It's even, and no one will mention it in the future—"

"You were not like this before." Ye Qun pointed out, "In the past, no matter how much I made fun of you, you would never say a word."

"Now you have discovered my true face." Lance pretended to pinch his chin, smiling brightly like the sun, "but you can't leave me anymore."

In March, the climate gradually warmed up, the branches sprouted new buds, the vast land of Texas was covered with a new layer of green, the air was full of vitality, and the market every Tuesday was also unprecedentedly lively.

The first market after the beginning of spring, people from half the town seem to be here, shoulder to shoulder on the narrow black-gray stone road, there are people selling flowers from their backyards, a batch of newly laid chickens and eggs, There are bargaining conversations everywhere about the vegetables that are in season in spring, and it is only then that Ye Qun intuitively feels how many people there are in Woodland.

The Liansen Ranch in the western town sent their 15-year-old daughter, Kim Liansen, to deliver the calves ordered by Lance as promised. They have spent the most premature weeks under careful care.

"As long as you don't get unlucky enough to get staph disease in the cows, I promise they'll grow up fine." Kim brushed her dark brown braids back over her shoulders and stroked a calf, " Amy—that’s my name, her mother is the best cow on the ranch, as long as you raise her well, the milk she will produce when she grows up must be the most delicious.”

This heroic-looking girl told them a lot of precautions for breeding. During the process, her eye circles became more and more red, and her voice choked up.Ye Qun was holding a tissue tightly in his hand and was ready to hand it to her as soon as she shed tears. Lance was so nervous that he didn't dare to vent his breath, and cautiously suggested: "Xiaojin—we don't have to have these cows, you can Take them all back..." Ye Qun also nodded in agreement.

"No, please don't, or Daddy will scold me," Kim wiped her red eyes with the back of her hand, and forced a smile, "I'm just a little bit reluctant, my little Amy... I get up in the middle of the night when I'm sick Take care of her. If you promise me to treat them well, I can rest easy."

Ye Qun and Lance felt a heavy responsibility at the same time.They bit the bullet and reassured, Kim straightened the cowboy hat on his head, rode on the horse, waved at them, turned around and left.

"My God... what should we do when we want to eat these cows in the future?" Lance said, looking at Kim's back with lingering fear.They only bought one cow, and the other four were beef cows. Otherwise, they couldn't deal with the excess milk, and they couldn't drink the milk produced by just one cow.