After a long while,
Qin Guangzhi stubbed out his cigarette and said to Qin Feng:
"Forget it, forget it. I can't keep up with the times anymore."
"Do whatever you think is best."
Upon hearing this, Qin Feng immediately smiled and said:
"Don't worry, Dad."
"This matter will definitely be fine."
"I'll make sure our family's life gets better and better!"
"Not just our family, but even our entire village—I can lead everyone to a better life. We'll soon shake off the label of a poverty-stricken village."
"Oh, by the way, you mentioned earlier that you're planning to renovate the house?"
Qin Guangzhi first frowned and scolded:
"Stop boasting! It'd be enough if we can just get through this hurdle. Leading the village out of poverty?
"Such big talk!"
Then he nodded and said:
"Yes, your mom and I went to town this morning to inquire about bricks and tiles."
"You're almost at the age to get married, and besides, you already have a girlfriend. Who knows, you might bring her home to get married any day now."
"This old house of ours is so shabby—how can we not renovate it?"
Qin Feng felt somewhat awkward hearing this.
He didn't have a girlfriend at all—it was just an excuse he had made up earlier to ask for money.
But he didn't dare explain.
If he told the truth and let his parents know that he had merely been a "simp" before, and one who had even spent tens of thousands on gifts, wouldn't that be utterly humiliating?
"Alright, we'll renovate! We must renovate it properly!"
"I'll cover the expenses!"
"We'll turn our house into a luxurious villa!"
After all, renovating the old house into a grand villa was a decision he had made right after returning home.
The design plans were already being drafted.
Qin Guangzhi shook his head and refused:
"No, no. I know you still have quite a bit of money on hand, but you can't spend it like this."
"Renovating our house into a simple two-story building is enough. You should save the rest of your money to buy a house in the city."
"Before, our family didn't have much money, so we were only thinking of a simple renovation to make the house less run-down. We hadn't even considered buying a house for you in the city."
"But now you have money in hand, so it's different."
"Not many girls these days want to live in self-built houses in the countryside, so it's better for you to buy a house in the city."
Qin Feng shook his head with a smile:
"Dad, my purpose in renovating the house isn't for marriage."
"It's to encourage everyone to take out online loans!"
"Encourage everyone to take out online loans?"
Qin Guangzhi was utterly confused.
Qin Feng nodded:
"Exactly!"
"Right now, they still have reservations and don't dare to take out online loans."
"But if we renovate our house into a luxurious villa, their mindset will change—they'll become envious, even jealous."
"And coincidentally, they have a way to resolve this 'jealousy'—they, too, can build such a grand house."
"So, all their previous worries and hesitations will vanish. They'll start thinking about taking out online loans to build big houses and buy luxury cars!"
In fact, the reactions of these people as they left earlier were all within Qin Feng's expectations.
Most young people in the new era still don't dare to take such a step,
let alone those deeply influenced by traditional rural mindsets.
But there is a way to break them free from these mental constraints—
and that is to stir up their jealousy!
Jealousy is the most terrifying thing in the world, yet it can also be the best thing!
...Whether it's good or bad depends on whether you are controlled by it or you make use of it.
"You... you're determined to drag the villagers into this?"
Qin Guangzhi frowned deeply.
Qin Feng shook his head:
"Dad, let's not phrase it like that. How can it be called 'dragging them into this'? It makes it sound like we're doing something bad."
"Let me explain the necessity of having everyone take out online loans—"
"First, only by getting everyone to take out online loans can we form a community of shared interests and truly unite as one."
"Otherwise, relying solely on clan ties, they might help me temporarily, but they won't be able to support me indefinitely."
"After all, I've taken out loans from over 40 online platforms. With debt collectors from over 40 lenders harassing me repeatedly, even my own uncle would grow tired of helping, let alone more distant relatives."
"But if more people form a community of shared interests, the situation will be different."
"Now, let me talk about the second reason I want everyone to take out online loans—"
"Everyone has taken out online loans, so doesn't that mean everyone has money now?"
"If everyone in our village does this, every household will become wealthy. Then our village can immediately shake off its status as a poverty-stricken village!"
"What a great thing this is?!"
Qin Guangzhi always felt that something wasn't quite right, but he didn't know how to refute it.
In the end, he could only sigh and comfort himself with the thought that his son was grown up and had his own ideas. He might as well let him do as he pleased.
...
...
In the afternoon,
Qin Feng wasn't idle.
He asked Qin Guangzhi to go with him to the county's building materials market to buy what was needed for renovating the house.
After a frenzied shopping spree, Qin Guangzhi felt his heart bleeding with pain:
"That's enough, that's enough, Qin Feng. This is way too much."
"For instance, that sand and cement—why do we need so much?! The amount you bought could fill an entire truck."
"And the bricks—why do we need so many?!"
Qin Feng chuckled lightly:
"Dad, this is just the beginning."
"This is only the first round of shopping. Once the design plans are ready, we'll come back for a second round, and the quantity will probably be even larger!"
Qin Guangzhi was shocked:
"What?! This still isn't enough?"
"The second round might be even bigger?!"
"Just take the bricks, for example... if we buy this many bricks, it would be more than enough to build a four-story house!"
"You're not planning to build five stories, are you?!"
"Wait, I feel like even a five-story house wouldn't use up this many bricks!"
Qin Feng shook his head:
"No, we're only building three stories. Any higher, and it would be inconvenient to live in."
"Three stories feel just right."
Qin Guangzhi frowned:
"If we're only building three stories, why do we need so many bricks?"
Qin Feng said:
"Didn't I say it already? We're renovating the house into a luxury villa!"
"One that's absolutely magnificent!"
Just as they were talking, the designer Qin Feng had contacted got in touch with him, saying that their studio had already produced a preliminary draft of the design and wanted Qin Feng to see if it was suitable.
The preliminary design draft only included the exterior architectural drawings of the house. If Qin Feng was satisfied, the studio would then proceed to design the interior structure in detail, meaning the structural layout.
Generally speaking, architectural drawings are the easiest to design, while structural drawings are the real challenge.
...Even so, designing an architectural drawing usually takes a few days. But this design studio managed to complete it in just half a day.
There was no special reason—it was simply because Qin Feng had offered a high price!
The reason for offering a high price was naturally to expedite the process.
First, he needed the design drawings to be completed quickly so that construction could start as soon as possible.
Second, he wanted to flaunt the villa he was building as early as possible, making everyone in the village envious from the get-go. For example, by printing the exterior design as a large poster and displaying it for everyone to see.
Qin Feng opened the file sent by the designer. The first image was the exterior design drawing.
Looking at the castle-like exterior, Qin Feng was very satisfied. He then scrolled down to check the layout, which also seemed fine.
"Dad, look, this is what I meant by a luxury villa."
Qin Feng showed the first exterior design drawing to Qin Guangzhi.
The moment Qin Guangzhi saw it, he was dumbfounded!
"My goodness, isn't this the kind of castle you only see in movies?!"
"Are you turning our house into a castle?!"
Qin Feng nodded:
"Only something like this can truly be called a luxury villa."
He then scrolled down further to show Qin Guangzhi more of the interior layout:
"See these rooms? These will be the live-in maid's quarters."
"And this—this is the elevator... Even though our house is only three stories tall, we're still installing an elevator."
"And this too..."
After a lengthy introduction,
Qin Guangzhi felt utterly overwhelmed.
He was being exposed to things far beyond what someone of his social status could ever access.
Only one thought occupied his mind:
"Will this really be our home from now on?"
Suddenly!
It struck him that Qin Feng's decision to take out online loans was the right one after all!
How else could they ever live in a place like this?!
Repay the loans?!
Why should they repay?!
Returning the money to those lending platforms would only give them more capital to exploit others, wouldn't it?
No repayment!
There's no way such money should be paid back to those unscrupulous lending platforms!
Just like that, Qin Guangzhi—a man who had lived honestly and dutifully for half his life—found his principles "corrupted" by a single house.