Ye Yaodong also breathed a sigh of relief. It was only the beginning of the year, and if he solved the problem of the final payment now, he could save all the money he earned this year. He would have more money on hand and would not be so tight on money after handing it over.
He picked up the warm porridge beside him, took a few big gulps, and finished the whole bowl with a few pieces of pickled mustard tuber. Then he grabbed a meat bun wrapped in newspaper on the table, said hello to his father-in-law and mother-in-law, and went out again.
We have to settle the house issue first.
Thinking about it, I feel a bit overwhelmed. If I really want to do something seriously, I won't just do one thing. There are many stumbling blocks and thorns on the road to my destination, and there will be many things to follow.
He was not familiar with the small village nearby and had never been there. He just passed by at most and didn't know who the village chief was.
As soon as he entered the village, he saw a group of old ladies sitting there basking in the sun. He looked at them, and they were also staring at him. Looking at him made his scalp tingle. Their originally lively voices suddenly became quiet, and the children running around quickly dodged away.
Ye Yaodong smiled awkwardly. Did they think he was a human trafficker? Are there such handsome human traffickers
He touched his cheek, feeling that he should be able to defeat both young and old, and suddenly he became full of confidence and walked forward with a smile.
"Grandma, do you want to bask in the sun? The sun is pretty good these days. Let's bask in the sun to kill some bacteria."
"Hey, bask in the sun, bask in the sun..."
"Who are you? Where are you from? Why are you in our village?"
"He doesn't look like a peddler. He doesn't carry any load, and his hands are empty... Could he be here to scout the area? Tell the children to stay away and don't come out."
"I heard in the newspaper a few days ago that many were arrested. How come they are out again so soon?"
Ye Yaodong: “?”
Do you think he won't understand if you speak the local dialect? He said it so directly. Although the dialects spoken in each town here may be different, some individual tones are common, so he can still guess a little.
He quickly explained, "No, grandma, I want to find the village chief. Can you tell me how to get there?"
"Ah, you want to find the village chief?"
"Yes, how do you get to the village committee?"
They don't speak the same language, the old lady doesn't speak Mandarin, so they speak at cross purposes, but they can probably understand what the other is saying.
"Looking for the village chief? He doesn't look like a bad guy..."
"Go forward, turn right at the intersection and then turn left. When you see the road, turn left again. There is a wooden board at the door with the words Xinghua Zhongcun Village Committee written on it. That's it."
"Oh, okay, okay... I'll be leaving now. You guys continue to bask in the sun."
Ye Yaodong continued to move forward. Wherever he passed, the children avoided him as if he were a plague. And the gazes behind him were like thorns.
He finally understood how it felt when a stranger entered their village.
After shaking his head helplessly, he took a few quick steps, and the children playing around him hid further away.
What's worse is that he forgot which path the old lady just pointed out was the turning point.
"Child, come here..."
"No, you are a bad person..."
Ye Yaodong's mouth instantly bent down, and he looked sad, "How do I look like a bad guy?"
"You look like a bad guy right now, and my mom said that any stranger who comes from outside and talks to us kids is a bad guy."
Indeed, strangers generally don’t talk to children, but he was asking for directions.
"No, I didn't ask you to come over. Just tell me how to get to the village committee. I forgot." Ye Yaodong was helpless.
An older child pointed to the path next to him, and Ye Yaodong turned into the path under the watchful gaze of the old lady who was following him from behind.
After turning left and right and attracting the attention of a large number of women around him, he walked around for a long time before he saw the wooden board with the name of the village committee written on it.
He wiped the sweat from his forehead and breathed a sigh of relief.
It was not easy. He was under surveillance all the way. From 80 years old to 3 years old, everyone who passed by stared at him.
At this moment, there were still two old men following him. When he walked into the village committee, the two old men were still sitting on a stone beside, their eyes were still staring at the village committee.
I don't know if this is the aftermath of the human trafficking incident in their county some time ago, or if there are children missing somewhere nearby, so they are so vigilant
This made him a little nervous all the way, afraid that he would be beaten if he behaved wrongly or impolitely!
He finally breathed a sigh of relief when he entered the village committee.
It was called a village committee, but it was actually just a small courtyard. As soon as he walked in, he called out a few times at the door.
"Anyone? Anybody?"
"Who is it?"
"Hello, comrade. I want to ask if there is any house for rent in your village?"
"Rent a house? No, no, where can we find houses to rent? Every household doesn't have enough space to live in, so who would rent one?" A middle-aged man with white hair on his temples waved his hand to drive him away, then turned around and was about to go in.
"Wait, uncle, I really am here to rent a house. I bought a stall in the nearby market, but it's inconvenient to eat and live there, so I wanted to rent a house here. I thought your village is quite close..."
This time, the middle-aged man stopped and asked, "Did you buy a stall over there?"
"Yes, if you don't have anything to rent, you can sell it. If someone has built a new house and the old house is not occupied, you can sell it to me. Look, you have built two buildings in your village..."
The middle-aged man looked at him carefully for several times before he realized that he looked familiar. "Are you the young man who bought two stalls?"
He must look familiar. He bought two shops at such a young age. Everyone would remember him. I just didn't think of him just now and didn't associate him in that direction.
Ye Yaodong's eyes lit up instantly. Did you recognize him? If you recognize him, then it will be easy.
"Yes, yes, uncle also bought a stall? Were you also present when the lottery was drawn? My stall is already open to sell dried fish. You don't have to worry that I'm a bad person and come to the village to pick up children. I'm a good person, a three-good youth, a good citizen..."
"I'm the village chief, my name is Wei Aiguo. Is that dried fish shop yours? There were two old men watching over it, and there were several rental notices posted at the door. I thought it was rented out." The middle-aged man was relieved now, and invited him to sit inside.
"My parents are the ones who look after the store. Sigh, your village is so vigilant. As soon as I came in, people were watching me from the village entrance. They were worried that I was a human trafficker."
"Not entirely. Haha. Ultrasound has been implemented in recent years. Everyone is afraid. They stare at strangers when they see them entering the village. Our village is not big. There are less than 100 households, but they are basically all with the same surname. You just said you wanted to rent a house, right?"
"It's OK if you can buy it."
The land is occupied in advance. After all, it is located on the outskirts of the city. After development, it will be incorporated into the city sooner or later. Although the land is not valuable now, it is not easy for outsiders to go to other villages to buy land and houses because of xenophobia.
The villages in the south are all clan concentration areas, and basically most people in a village have the same surname.
Their village is close to the sea. The older generation had nothing to eat, so they went to the seaside to make a living, and many of them settled there, so there are all kinds of surnames.
Village Chief Wei tapped the table with his five fingers, looking thoughtful. "To buy a house, we need to ask the villagers who has extra houses to sell. Most people won't sell them, but we can ask about renting."
"That's fine. We are all well-behaved people. Village Chief Wei can rest assured. We can rent or buy."
"Let me ask. I need to ask this first and tell you tomorrow."
"Okay, I may not be in the store tomorrow. You can go to the store and tell my father-in-law, and he will tell me."
Wei Aiguo was immediately surprised, "It's the father-in-law, not the biological father?"
"Yes, he is my father-in-law. He is my father anyway."
Now he was somewhat impressed. After saying so much, he thought it was his biological father who looked after the shop for him and he rented the house for his biological father. It turned out to be his father-in-law. It was rare for them to have such a close relationship.
"Okay, I'll ask, and I'll go to the store and talk to your father-in-law tomorrow."
"What number did the village chief's shop draw?"
Village Chief Wei was dejected. "Oh, don't mention it. It's Shop No. 4 at Entrance 3. It's still there and I don't know what to do with it. It can't be rented out, and my wife scolded me to death."
"It will become lively in a few years. Development always takes time, so just take your time."
"You are lucky."
"Then I'll go first and wait for your news tomorrow."
"Oh, good."
After Ye Yaodong walked out, he remembered that he came here empty-handed and did not buy anything. What a mistake!
He slapped his forehead. If he had something in his hand, he probably wouldn't have been rejected so directly. He had to rely on this face to go in and talk.
I can only confirm that I have rented it tomorrow, and then buy some cakes to make up for it.
There were still two old men sitting on the rocks not far from the village committee. I don't know if they were just sitting there to bask in the sun. He shook his head speechlessly and walked over with a swagger.
Then he walked out again under the gaze of the women and grandmas in the village...
It was almost noon and there were not many people coming in and out of the store. The two old people were free too, so they turned on the radio and listened to a play.
As soon as Ye Yaodong told them that he planned to rent a house for them in the village, they immediately opposed it strongly, thinking that there was no need to spend the money.
It was only when he said that all the goods had to be brought in and piled up in the store, and that they would soon have no place to live, that the two elders stopped talking.
"Then I'll stay for a while and see if anyone comes tomorrow. There aren't many customers right now. Your mother is watching over the store. I'll get the money for you. After you get it, you can go back early."
"OK."
He also had to go back to weigh the goods and weigh out 3,000 kilograms of dried fish in advance. If there was not enough, he would go to find Uncle Pei's friends, or see if there was any additional dried fish today.
Uncle Pei’s friend hasn’t weighed several thousand kilograms of dried dragon head fish yet, but he weighed those from several households in the village yesterday, and his house is already full of them.