李明蹲在院子当院儿，盯着那块被前房东搞秃噜皮的黄土地发呆。半晌才咂摸着嘴道：“嘿，这地性子还挺野，看着光秃秃，不定能长啥来。”他手里攥把破锄头，这玩意儿前房东没扔，估计是嫌沉。

午后的阳光把院子里那棵老槐树的影子拉得老长。树底下，几个闲凑热闹的老邻居正围着小茶摊喝茶闲聊，听说是李明买了这院子，都伸长了脖子看。李明心里头有点别扭，在他心里，这院子现在还是个半成品，得好好拾掇拾掇。

“听说了没？东街老王家，那独子，给县太爷当起了幕僚，听说下个月就要去南京了。”

“可不是嘛，老王家那是时来运转了！以前不是天天喝西北风吗？这下好了，跟着县太爷，以后说不定能发达呢！”

“得得得，别瞎美了。如今是大明朝，那官场水深得很，别到时候淹死才好。”

正说着，旁边一个卖菜的老汉插嘴道：“要我说啊，那老王家的独子就是命好。我家的侄子，比他可强多了，去年可是中了举人，现在在北京国子监念书呢！这才是正儿八经的出息！”

“哟，国子监啊？那可是忒了！你这侄子现在学得怎么样？”旁边一个戴草帽的农汉凑过来问。

“还能怎么样？人家那是真有本事！去年回家过年，跟我聊了聊，那脑袋瓜子，真是转得快！说是等会儿了，要考取功名，以后得在朝为官，光宗耀祖呢！”老汉脸上那叫一个骄傲。

others кто-то nearby, a young man with a look of deep thought, said, "I heard from some people that Mr. Li is planning to start a business farming fruits and vegetables. He wants to make a living by planting and selling these things. That sounds like a good idea."

"Maybe it is. But farming is no easy job. It requires hard work and patience. And what if there's a drought or a flood? That could ruin everything," the middle-aged man replied.