In a private room of Fenghuangju restaurant, Ye Dingguo heard Bai Yunlian say that Ye Zhao and Zeng Xiang were holding hands outside and seemed intimate. At this critical moment when she was about to take the college entrance examination, he didn't want anything to happen to his own daughter who had brought him honor during this period, so he wanted to go out to check, but was stopped by Bai Yunlian.
Bai Yunlian knew that the boy was Ye Zhao's classmate. She asked Bai Lu, "Xiao Lu, the guy who played the guitar last time was your classmate, right?"
"Zeng Xiang? He was in our class before."
"It's this person!" Bai Yunlian asked again: "Is he close to Ye Zhao? How is his academic performance?"
Bai Lu had heard a lot of rumors about Ye Zhao and Zeng Xiang at school. She said, "Zeng Xiang used to be Xiao Zhao's deskmate. His grades were not very good and they often fought. Teachers and classmates were afraid of him. He was very caring towards Xiao Zhao."
When Ye Dingguo heard this, his face became even uglier.
Bai Yunlian: "What does the boy's family do?"
Bai Lu shook her head: "I don't know. It seems that he has no father and depends on his mother for everything. I heard that Ye Zhao rented their house and they often go to school and go home together. But he transferred to Hong Kong City this semester. His family conditions are not good, but they are not bad either."
Ye Dingguo had previously asked Su Yingmin to learn about the situation of Ye Zhao's landlord. Su Yingmin told him that he rented a house from an ordinary family in the village and that the landlord was very reliable. Logically, Su Yingmin would not cheat him.
Seeing that Ye Dingguo looked unhappy, Bai Yunlian whispered, "Your birthday is in two days. I want Ye Zhao to come to my house to celebrate with you. You and your daughter haven't celebrated your birthday together for many years. This is also an opportunity. You can ask her about the situation. Now is a critical time. You can't delay your studies."
Ye Dingguo thought he knew Ye Zhao well, so he asked, "Will she come? She won't come."
"How do you know if you don't try? I'll let Bai Lu invite her. You must come back on time on your birthday." Bai Yunlian didn't mention the failure of the invitation. It didn't matter whether she could invite Ye Zhao or not, and it didn't matter whether Ye Dingguo would celebrate her birthday with her or not, as long as Ye Dingguo couldn't go to celebrate with Gao Yueyue.
Ye Dingguo just nodded. He had his own thoughts in mind, so he didn't say anything else.
Outside in the lobby, seeing Ye Zhao and Zeng Xiang bringing back food, Aunt Jiao simply pulled Ye Zhao aside to talk about the previous topic.
Upon hearing this, Ye Zhao frowned, "It would be fine if you connected it to the Purple Bamboo Forest, but there's a garbage dump in between, so what's the point? Even if we buy the land, we can't rent it out."
When Aunt Jiao was disappointed, she suddenly had an idea: "You can buy the garbage dump as well."
Aunt Qiao almost spat at her, "Ah Jiao, you can't give our children bad advice just to sell the land."
Sister Ai also said, "I heard from my family that the garbage dump will not be moved away for ten or eight years."
Aunt Jiao ate peanuts and said, "I just made a suggestion casually. Why do you take it so seriously? What if Ye Zhao's friend has money and wants to make a long-term investment? Is that right?"
Aunt Wang: "Even if the garbage dump is moved away, the place will stink! Who would want it?"
After being reminded by them, Ye Zhao had an idea. Can a garbage dump be bought
She blew gently on the hot porridge and asked, "Whose land is the garbage dump? Who bought it from?"
Aunt Ai: "The village committee! That's the collective land of the village! But it's useless to buy it. It was requisitioned by the government as a garbage dump, and there's not even any rent. Ni Meng introduced someone to buy it before, but later that person changed his mind, so the purchase didn't happen. Right, Aunt Wang? I heard that the person introduced by your Ni Meng has already negotiated the price."
Aunt Wang: "70 per square meter. At that time, there was a rumor that the garbage dump was going to be moved. Later, they said they would not move, so he changed his mind."
Ye Zhao: "How much is one square meter?"
Aunt Wang: "I don't remember exactly, I think it was 70 per square meter."
Ye Zhao didn't ask any more questions, but she kept the matter in her heart.
It is said that once the seed of ambition finds suitable soil and sprouts, it will grow and thrive step by step...
If she could buy the land of the garbage dump, the value of the land would surely skyrocket after the garbage dump was moved away. If she then resold it, would she have enough money to build her purple bamboo forest
That would make money much faster than selling turmeric and vegetables. The more Ye Zhao thought about it, the more he felt that he could try this route.
At the side, Aunt Qiao wanted to eat something soupy, so Zeng Xiang asked her, "Mom, do you want some porridge? I'll go get it for you."
"No, I'll go check it out myself." Zeng Erqiao stood up and warned the women at the table again, "Don't encourage Xiao Zhao to buy land again."
Aunt Jiao smiled and said, "Hey Qiaojie, can't we chat?"
Several women started making appointments to play mahjong.
Ye Zhao's thoughts were still in a mess. Zeng Xiang picked up a piece of pork ribs for her. Ye Zhao didn't like the pork ribs in the teahouse because there were too many crispy bones. She put it back into his bowl and said, "I want to eat chicken feet."
He put the remaining two chicken feet into her bowl.
After having morning tea and returning home, Ye Zhao took a nap, then went for a walk around the company. His colleagues were working overtime on the ginger project.
I had just locked my bike and hadn’t gone upstairs when I saw Guipi chatting in Lao Kai’s office.
Guipi also saw her and ran out to greet her. He had returned from Dongshan Town yesterday.
Ye Zhao asked him: "How is the road digging going?"
Guipi complained exaggeratedly, "It's too difficult to dig! If it weren't for our excavator, it would take them a year to dig it out manually. We can finish the work in two days. Boss Ye, are you going to the inspection and ribbon-cutting ceremony?"
"Of course! I have to go check the quality of the project. If the road is not dug well, we will deduct money."
"Oh, what kind of project is this? If you really have money, just pave it with asphalt. I can do it for you. It doesn't cost much. If you don't pave it, it will be difficult for large vehicles to pass on rainy days."
Ye Zhao: "You really know how to find ways to make money. Let's do it later, when we have more money."
Ye Zhao was about to leave when he turned back and said, "Uncle Gui, I want to ask you something."
"What's up?"
"Come to my office."
Arriving at Ye Zhao's office on the second floor, Guipi took out a box of Double Happiness cigarettes and was about to smoke them when Ye Zhao stopped him: "We have established a new rule. Smoking is not allowed in our office."
Gui Pi tutted his words and hung the cigarette on his ear, "You are the only ones who have too many rules. What do you want from me? Do you have any business that you want to get Uncle Gui for?"
Ye Zhao was cleaning up the documents on the table, and said, "The land of the garbage dump belongs to the village collective, don't you know how big it is?"
"Garbage dump? Why are you asking this all of a sudden?"
Gui Pi didn't answer Ye Zhao's question, and Ye Zhao didn't answer him either. She asked again: "How big is the area?"
Guipi thought about it carefully and said, "That place is not small. It is bigger than the Purple Bamboo Forest and smaller than a standard golf course. It is about 5,000 square meters."
This was beyond Ye Zhao's imagination. She could hardly occupy 5,000 square meters.
“Do you know how to sell it?”
Guipi became interested: "You want to buy it? You want to take a big gamble?"
Ye Zhao was afraid that they would gang up on her and rip her off, so she pretended not to care and said, "I'm just asking casually. If it's cheaper, I can consider it, but if it's more expensive, forget it."
Although the garbage dump in Zengwuwei is a temporary garbage dump, it may not be moved away for ten or eight years. Guipi knows the actual situation, but he can't persuade Ye Zhao not to buy it. For him, this is an opportunity to make money, and maybe he can get a brokerage fee.
Guipi tapped the table with his finger and whispered to Ye Zhao, "The land at the garbage dump was put up for sale two years ago. Someone wanted it, but we couldn't come to an agreement, so it wasn't sold."
Just now, Sister Ai told Ye Zhao that it’s not that it wasn’t sold, but the actual situation is that it wasn’t sold and the buyer didn’t want it.
Ye Zhao pretended not to know, "How much money did they negotiate? Why didn't they reach an agreement?"
"About 70 or 80 yuan per square meter. The buyer was introduced by Ni Meng. He wanted the village committee to coordinate the removal of the garbage dump within a year. If the village committee could coordinate the removal of the garbage dump, how could he get 80 yuan? Even if the surrounding area cannot be developed, it can't be this price, right? In the end, the negotiation broke down."
Regardless of whether the unit price is 70 yuan or 80 yuan, it would cost three or four hundred thousand yuan to get it. She could barely make up the money by concentrating all her funds, but she couldn't possibly throw all her money in.
"This price is a bit high, can we negotiate further?"
"Do you really want to buy it?"
"I just said that if the price is right, you can buy it."
Guipi saw hope and immediately encouraged, "The garbage dump will be moved sooner or later. You just have to bet on it. As for the price, it may not be much cheaper. 80 is already a bargain. There is no such cheap price in the whole city."
"After buying this land, it can only be left there. There is no benefit at all. There is no rent to rent. If the garbage dump is not moved away, the money will be wasted."
Guipi asked, "What's your price range?"
"50!" Ye Zhao killed him ruthlessly. She knew it was impossible to get him at that price, so she killed him first.
"That's impossible! If the village committee dares to sell it at this price, you can't buy it, right? If you get sued, you will be charged with the crime of stealing collective assets at a low price."
"It's good enough that someone wants to buy the garbage dump, but you're trying to take collective assets at a low price?! You go and help negotiate, but I still say the same thing: if the price is right, I'll buy it, but if the price is not right, forget it."
Guipi agreed to ask, and Ye Zhao stayed in the company for a while, learned about the progress of various tasks, and then went back.
When they returned to Xiaoxilou, Li Ruixiang was washing her hair at the door of her house. Ye Zhao walked over to chat with her.
"You take a cold shower?"
"It's warm." Li Ruixiang half raised her head, smiled foolishly, and squeezed shampoo to apply on her hair.
Ye Zhao pulled a stool over and sat quietly beside her watching her wash her hair. The two chatted casually.
The sounds of guitars, keyboards and drums came from upstairs. The Wen Tianxiang band would take an hour almost every Sunday to play instruments.
After washing her hair, Li Ruixiang wiped it with a towel and sat in the yard with Ye Zhao. However, Ye Zhao sat in the shadow while she sat in the sun.
Li Ruixiang wiped her hair and said, "Hey, did you know that Gao Yueyue has returned to the factory to work?"
"when?"
"Just two days ago, I was working with Director Liang in the office. He was pretty low-key."
Ye Zhao sneered. Her father's action not only targeted Uncle Su, but also annoyed Bai Yunlian.
Li Ruixiang came over quietly and said, "I heard that she had a miscarriage before."
Upon hearing the news, Ye Zhao was stunned for a moment, not knowing how to react.
Li Ruixiang sighed, "I don't know what she's thinking. Now when I meet her, I have nothing to say. It's like we are from two different worlds. I feel a little sad."
Ye Zhao consoled her, "She is different from us to begin with. Do you only realize it now?"
"I'm just stupid. My mom said that Gao Yueyue and your stepmother will have a fierce fight sooner or later."
Ye Zhao smiled and said, "Aunt Qin is still more sober than you."
"My mother also said that if Gao Yueyue could get pregnant the first time, she could get pregnant the second time. When she gives birth to a child, your father will definitely marry her. Then someone will come to compete with you for the family property."
“My dad is only in his forties. By the time I inherit the family property, I will probably be in my forties or fifties. Who would care about this…” By that time, she might have been comfortably working as a landlord, and the Irene Stationery Factory would most likely have been lost in the dust of history. As for that women’s shoe brand, it’s unclear whether it can still succeed in this world.
Li Ruixiang muttered, "If it were me, I would care."
Ye Zhao didn't want to talk about this topic with her anymore. It was boring. She asked, "Did Aunt Qin go to the branch factory?"
"She went there early in the morning. There was not much to do there, so my mom went there every one or two days. Every time she went there, Gao Yueyue's mom, Aunt Jiang, always liked to come and chat with my mom. Aunt Jiang was very capable. I heard that she got two of her former colleagues to work in the branch factory office."
This is Gao Yueyue taking advantage of the new factory to quickly build her own circle of influence. Ye Zhao said: "Tell your mother not to get involved in their affairs."
Li Ruixiang nodded: "I'll talk to her when she comes back. My mother is more clear-headed than me. She also said that with you as my support, those gossipy wives will have to stand aside."
Zeng Xiaotian poked his head out of the second-floor window and shouted, "Ye Zhao! Come up and play the erhu!"
Ye Zhao's mind was full of things today. She shook her hand: "No!"
"Brother Xiang is calling you!"
Ye Zhao refused: "I won't play even if he asks me to."
Zeng Xiang rolled his eyes at him and said, "Who told you to scream?"
Ah Wen scratched his head and packed his things: "It's almost time, I have to go home and do the test paper. It's really easy to go to school in Hongcheng."
Zeng Xiaotian disagreed: "It's easy because there are tutors. Whenever Brother Xiang comes back, I can see the two of them from the window, one doing papers and the other playing games."
Ah Wen couldn't help but laugh when he heard this: "Xiao Zhao also played in school, and the teachers turned a blind eye."
"Who told her to have good grades?" Zeng Xiaotian found a pen to correct the music score, "Brother Xiang, when will you take the college entrance examination?"
"The joint entrance exam will be held in May next year."
Zeng Xiaotian was surprised: "Ah? No wonder you are so leisurely."
Ah Wen didn't understand: "Doesn't that mean you took the college entrance exam a year later than us? And you graduated a year later than us?"
Zeng Xiang: “It only takes three years to study at HKU.”
Zeng Xiaotian: "You can go to college, but I will definitely not be admitted to any school. I will have to go out to work after the college entrance examination. My mother scolded me the other day, saying that if I don't work harder, I will have to go collect rags with my uncle. I think collecting rags is good, no pressure, right?"
Ah Wen put the music sheet into his backpack and said, "Hurry up and work hard! There's still time."
"Give me another year and I won't be able to make any progress."
The phone on the other end rang. Zeng Xiang looked up and saw Ye Zhao running upstairs in a hurry.
Ye Zhao ran home to answer the phone. It was Su Yingmin calling. Uncle Su asked Ye Zhao to go to the factory to find him.
Coming down from upstairs, Ye Zhao rode his bicycle to the factory. Li Ruixiang hurried over and said, "Give me a ride. I also want to go back to the factory to look after the store."
In this way, Ye Zhao rode his bicycle and took Li Ruixiang out of the yard.
Ye Zhao waited in Su Yingmin's office for a while before he came down from the conference room upstairs.
When Uncle Su came in, he had a bottle of Coke in his hand and put it directly in front of her, saying, "I thought you wouldn't come so soon."
"Uncle Su, if you let me come, I have to put down my book and come quickly."
Su Yingmin pulled a chair and sat opposite her, smiling, "Oh, you are still obedient."
Ye Zhao smiled innocently and said, "My dad doesn't listen, right?"
"Your father?" Su Yingmin was happy. "You know everything about your father, right?"
Ye Zhao played dumb: "I don't know."
"Don't play dumb! Be honest in front of Uncle Su, otherwise I will be angry." Su Yingmin turned around and took his thermos cup from the desk, but found that there was no water in the cup. He stood up and poured boiling water into the kettle by the window.
Ye Zhao smiled: "Then what should I do? Uncle Su, did you do something wrong that made my dad distrust you so much?"
Su Yingmin was stunned. He poured some hot water and sat back in his chair. "Did your father tell you that he doesn't trust me?"
Sure enough, the two middle-aged men were suspicious of each other.
Ye Zhao said: "My father would never tell me this. I mean, he put so many spies in both factories for you, don't you find it annoying?"
Su Yingmin laughed dumbly, and pointed his finger at me: "You! Still playing dumb with me. Your father should be wary of me. He is the boss and is busy with business all day long. I am in charge of the factory. If he doesn't have his own people in this rear area, he will definitely feel insecure."
"That's it?"
"That's it."
Ye Zhao shook her head slightly. She didn't believe it, but since Su Yingmin didn't say anything, there was nothing she could do.
"Uncle Su, what did you call me for?"
"Your father's birthday is next Wednesday, let's have dinner together..."
It was for Ye Dingguo's birthday again. Ye Zhao teased, "It's great to have a rich boss. Everyone will remember your birthday."
Su Yingmin said to her: "You can't talk like that, he's your biological father. You should celebrate his birthday."
"I'm not free. I have classes that day."
"After school, I'll have the driver pick you up. We can just have a simple meal together. It will only benefit you and not cause you any harm."
There are only benefits and no losses. This statement is too utilitarian. Ye Zhao didn't understand: "What do you mean?"
Su Yingmin said earnestly, "If your father has another child, you will no longer be an only child, and someone will compete with you for the family property in the future. If you are not filial, your father will probably leave the family property to the child who is closer to him. Do you understand?"
Ye Zhao didn't care: "Let's wait until he has a second child."
"You have to plan ahead, kid. It will be too late to try to fix your relationship after the second baby is born."
"I won't flatter him for the sake of my family fortune."
"That's your father. Celebrating his birthday is not flattery, it's filial piety. Uncle Su can protect your kingdom, but I don't want to protect the kingdom for others, do you understand?"
Ye Zhao seemed to understand, but not quite. If Uncle Su was willing to protect her, it was definitely not for her, but because her mother was Guo Xuyan.
Ye Zhao smiled and said, "What if I become richer than him in the future and don't care about these so-called assets at all?"
Su Yingmin: "Oh, you are quite ambitious. This is a good thing! Tell Uncle Su secretly how much money you can make every month in the factory cafeteria?"
Ye Zhao said truthfully: "When it's less, it's a few thousand, and when it's more, it's ten or twenty thousand."
"That's great, Xiao Zhao! I heard you're also doing some small turmeric business? You make much more than Uncle Su's salary."
Ye Zhao was still clear-headed: "Uncle Su, you should compare it with the money you make in the factory. You all make big money, and I make small money."
Su Yingmin took a sip of hot tea: "It's good enough that you know what is big money and what is small money. Two factories, tens of millions of assets, how many years will it take you to earn that much by running a canteen? It will take hundreds of years! Therefore, you can't give up your father's property. He gave birth to you, so you have the right to inherit it, do you know? Just have a meal together and celebrate your father's birthday. It won't be a loss for you. Those who can do great things must be able to bend and stretch! And you don't need to feel wronged for having a meal, right?"
Ye Zhao knew that if she didn't agree, Uncle Su would keep preaching until the sun went down. She nodded helplessly and said, "Okay, okay! I understand. I'll follow your instructions."
Su Yingmin then smiled happily: "Ask the driver to pick you up on Wednesday."
"No, just tell me the address and I'll come by bike."
"By the way, the bike I saw you riding last time was not the one I bought for you."
"The bicycle you bought for me was stolen a long time ago."
"Why didn't you tell me?" Su Yingmin was very sharp-eyed. He said, "I think your bicycle looks like it's from Hong Kong. Who bought it for you?"
Ye Zhao didn't want to explain that it was Zeng Xiang who gave it to her, lest Uncle Su would ask again, who is Zeng Xiang? She lied, "I asked someone to buy it from Gangcheng."
"Your dad just talked to me." Su Yingmin closed the lid of the thermos cup and followed this sentence to move on to the second topic he wanted to talk to Ye Zhao about today.
"what?"
"I want you to move to our house. You'll be taking the college entrance exam soon, and your Aunt He can take better care of you. Is that okay with you? Just move to my house."
Ye Zhao quickly shook his head: "No, I'm used to living in the landlord's house. It's not good to change the environment before the college entrance examination."
Su Yingmin stared at Ye Zhao and asked, "Does your landlord have a son?"
"Yes what's the matter?"
"Her son used to be your classmate?"
"Who told you that?" Ye Zhao thought about what Uncle Su had said just now and guessed, "Bai Lu told my dad, and then my dad talked to you and persuaded me to move to your house?"
The little head is really smart. Su Yingmin smiled and said, "Don't worry about who said it. You are in the critical period of the college entrance examination now. You can't let others affect your studies."
"Don't worry, Uncle Su, no one can affect my studies."
"Then why did you apply to Shencheng University? To stay here and meet that boy more conveniently?"
Ye Zhao couldn't help but laugh. She was not in love. Besides, she was not in love.
"I told you last time about filling out the application form, so I won't repeat it. It's my own choice which university I want to attend, and it has nothing to do with others. If Uncle Su agrees to one condition, I can change my application..."
It must not be a simple condition that can make Ye Zhao change his mind.
Su Yingmin smiled and said, "What crooked ideas do you have?"
"It's not a weird idea. Uncle Su, if you can tell me where my mother is, I will apply to which school you want me to apply to." Ye Zhao raised his eyebrows slightly.
Su Yingmin: “…”
He was obviously in a dilemma. Ye Zhaoti's request was more difficult than he had imagined.
"You! You don't really want to change your major, you just want to embarrass Uncle Su!" Su Yingmin changed the subject very cleverly: "Uncle Su doesn't object to free love. After these two months, you can talk about whatever you want. I believe in your vision. The boy you like must be good. If you don't want to move to our house, forget it. As for your dad, I will explain to him that you are studying hard and not dating. What happened before was all misunderstanding. But you can't be absent from the dinner on his birthday, okay?"
Su Yingmin's words completely resolved Ye Zhao's problem. Ye Zhao had no intention of following his words. She said, "I knew you wouldn't tell me where my mother is."
There was no way to avoid this question. Su Yingmin's eyes dimmed slightly, and he had no choice but to say, "You will find her."
"What's the meaning?"
"I said, you will find your mother one day. Everyone has their own difficulties and sufferings. No matter what her attitude is, you don't care, okay?"
Su Yingmin's implication was that Guo Xuyan didn't want to acknowledge her as her daughter, and Ye Zhao had known this for a long time. She was more curious about why Su Yingmin was so sure that she could find her mother
"Uncle Su, what you said makes me doubt that you already know that my mother is within my social circle..."
In other words, among the people she knew, besides Su Yingmin, there were others who could contact Guo Xuyan.
Su Yingmin regretted telling Ye Zhao too much. This kid was smart and could always guess the answer she wanted through other meanings spread in her words.
He quickly avoided the topic: "Listen to your uncle, you can't handle your mother, but you can handle your father! You have to know how to strive for the greatest benefit for yourself, do you understand?"
Ye Zhao opened the Coke, raised her head and took a sip. Su Yingmin didn't want to say anything more, and there was nothing she could do.
"Tell me the address for dinner on Wednesday. I'll go there myself."
Su Yingmin stood up and walked to the desk, took a pen and wrote the address on a note: "A place where you can eat Wancheng cuisine, not far from here."
Since everyone cares so much about Ye Dingguo's birthday, she has to give everyone a big "surprise" and make it lively and no one should be left out.
After school on Tuesday, Bai Lu invited Ye Zhao to go home and celebrate Ye Dingguo's birthday together. Ye Zhao agreed, but not to go to Ye's house. She gave Bai Lu the address and asked her to bring her mother with her.
"Don't tell my dad in advance. I want to give him a surprise."
Bai Lu thought that this would be a chance to mend her relationship with Ye Zhao, so she agreed with a smile.
After returning home, Ye Zhao called Gao Yueyue and sent her an invitation...
(End of this chapter)