Insufficient balance

  In the economically depressed 90s, rural roads were rarely paved with cement, but rather were bumpy and muddy, filled with stagnant water. Even if one had a lot of money, seeing the shiny Hummer would still be painful to the flesh. Fortunately, the chassis was high enough; otherwise, there would have been some suspense as to whether it could safely enter this godforsaken Wangjiacun Village.

  Meng Deliang was clearly surprised that Ye Jun came back so quickly, and this time he brought a wealthy local tyrant who looked like he had a lot of money. Just by looking at the wet Hummer car, Meng Deliang knew that it was an expensive vehicle even if he didn't have much discerning eye for such things.

  Enthusiastically, Ye Jun and Hu Youcai were invited into the office. First, he glanced at the large leather suitcase that Hu Youcai was holding, Meng Deliang really lit up this time, but it was those poisonous eyes shining brightly. His intuition told him that inside must be real cash, the life-saving money from the villagers of Wangjia Village who had just opened their pots.

  "Meng Bo, what about that thing I told you last time?" Ye Jun asked straightforwardly.

  "Please wait a moment."

  This time Meng Deliang was very polite, and it seemed that Hu Youcai's appearance had given him great confidence. As he walked out the door, he saw many villagers gathering in twos and threes towards this side, and shouted: "Dongzi, come over here."

  "Alright."

  Dongzi hastily put on the shirt draped over his shoulder, smiling as he ran towards the office. In the village, Dongzi was considered one of the most cultured, having attended high school before marriage and worked in the city. At that time, he met a girl who had also gone south to work with him, and after two years of dating, he brought her back home as his wife. Dongzi's family still had some savings, but in order not to disappoint his wife, they had been planning to build a two-story concrete house after selling the land.

  This time, I heard Meng Deliang mention it, and it felt quite reliable, so I mobilized every household in the village. Because Dongzi is kind-hearted and often walks around to help the elderly in the village, he has won people's hearts, and the persuasion was relatively smooth.

  As soon as Dongzi entered the door, Meng Deliang introduced: "This time the villagers responded enthusiastically, thanks to Dongzi's efforts. As for the price of this land, it's better to discuss with him."

  "Hello bosses, just call me Dongzi, thank you very much for being willing to help the village chief with his urgent matter. I also know that land is not worth much money, but it's been passed down from generation to generation in each family, and the village chief has already told me the price, and I fully support the village chief's decision. However, I hope you two bosses can consider this, can't we discuss the price a bit?" Dongzi scratched his head, looking a bit awkward. Of course, this awkward feeling came entirely from the aura of the wealthy man, who was as intimidating as the construction team leader Dongzi used to work with when he went south to find work.

  Hu Youcai sneered, already furious about the "disfigurement" of his horse carriage, and was on the verge of bursting out with a curse: "Indeed, poor mountains and evil waters produce unscrupulous commoners!" How dare they haggle over prices in front of him?

  However, fortunately, Ye Jun noticed that the atmosphere was not right and quickly interjected: "As for the price, we can't give in. I understand that you're attached to this land, but you should also consider our situation. To be honest, this land is not very useful even if we buy it. Even if we want to build a factory or a high-rise building, it's not something that can be done overnight. Just the approval process alone will take at least three to five months, let alone getting any results."

  Dongzi heard this and let out a deep sigh: "Actually, I just wanted to help the village's elderly get some more pension money. Who knows how many days are left? It's all gone like that. Since both bosses have spoken up, this deal is settled then. I'll go collect the land deeds from each household now. Two bosses, do you think there's anything else that needs to be done?"

  "Later you take the land deed, we'll go to the lawyer's office together to handle the transfer procedures. The car can't hold so many people, you find another representative and also invite the village head to come with us."

  "Alright. You two bosses, go ahead and have some tea first, I'll be right back."

  After finishing, Dongzi left the office with a smile, and as soon as he went out, a large group of villagers gathered around to ask questions. After a while, bursts of cheers erupted one after another. Meng Deliang was also busy directing people in the village to help door-to-door. The simple office was left with only Ye Jun and Hu Youcai.

  "It seems that this Dongzi person is quite popular in Wangjiacun Village. Let's just talk about him." Hu Youcai smiled and said.

  "I thought so too. I was worried that Meng Deliang wouldn't be able to convince the crowd, but with Dongzi here, these villagers should be willing to put on a good show for us."

  Yue Jun wholeheartedly agreed with Hu Youcai's opinion. Before coming, they had discussed it and decided to keep this matter secret, not letting the government know about it. If the government sent someone to ask, they couldn't let the villagers reveal that the land had already been sold.

  Under the actions of Dongzi, Meng Deliang and many villagers from Wangjiacun Village, all the deeds were collected in less than half an hour. Then, that Hummer car, which had been covered with yellow mud, left this unlucky village under the joyful and excited eyes of the villagers.

  Because of Hu Youcai's wealth, the lawyer's office and the invited accountant were extremely efficient. In less than two hours, they had settled and audited the land deed. According to the previously agreed-upon price, Hu Youcai handed over a large box of cash to Dongzi, who had been waiting day and night for more than half a year. Before leaving, Ye Jun promised to lend the over 500 mu of land to Wangjiacun Village free of charge, with no fixed term, saying that he hadn't thought of a specific use yet, but would let the villagers use it first.

  This moved Dongzi and Meng Deliang deeply, after all, there were still many melons, fruits and vegetables in the ground, although they couldn't be mass-produced, but enough for each family to be self-sufficient.

  Hu Youcai handed over a signed contract to Ye Jun, which was an agreement on the allocation of the 500 mu of land. Although they both trusted each other, Ye Jun insisted on setting down this clause, saying that even brothers had to be clear about accounts, and Hu Youcai could only reluctantly agree with a bitter smile.

  After that, Hu Youcai excused himself and left. Ye Jun looked at him with a smile, thinking that this god of wealth who loved his car like his life would definitely go to a good restaurant to cleanse his beloved car. Looking at the time, he found it was already late afternoon. Perhaps because it was midsummer, the sky was still bright, making it easy to lose track of time. He could only first find a clean snack shop by the road to fill his stomach, and then bought a basket of fresh fruit from a roadside vendor.

  "Xiao Yun, are you sure you want to study at home? Yesterday I called your class teacher and he told me that it seems like your school is holding a competition. If the score reaches 700 points, you can apply for a long vacation with the principal, right?"

  A majestic middle-aged man sat on the sofa, comfortably smoking a cigarette. Next to him was a woman knitting a sweater, almost forty years old, still retaining sufficient moisture, with a slender and delicate figure, a smooth and charming face, hardly any wrinkles. She looked like Han Yun's mother, only such a woman could give birth to a beautiful girl like Han Yun.

  "Dad, school is too noisy. You know that too. Those naughty students in our class are shouting and yelling all day long. It's better at home, quiet and peaceful."

  Han Yun suddenly pinched the white part of Cong's finger and began to scold Huang Boquan and others, laughing: "Besides, as long as you study hard, it's the same everywhere. As the saying goes, gold can shine anywhere, you don't have to follow the teacher's rhythm to get good grades. If I hadn't suddenly gotten a strange illness during the college entrance examination, I would have entered a key university early, and I wouldn't be stuck in the cram school?"

  "Since Xiaoyi is willing, we as parents should support her. The child is so big now and has her own ideas, you don't have to worry about everything for her, it's better to care more about Yaqian, I feel that Yaqian being a teacher is not good."

  A middle-aged woman smiled and said, "As the father of Han Yun, this middle-aged man also had a bitter smile on his face. It seems that Han Yun is notorious for being difficult to deal with in this family." Suddenly, a charming woman walked out of the kitchen, who was Han Ya Qian. She seemed to have heard what they were talking about and smiled: "Mom, you're spoiling Xiao Yun too much. When she cried and made a fuss about changing her name, you and dad didn't even care about the generational order set by grandpa, but still fulfilled Xiao Yun's wish. Being a teacher has always been my dream, you can't favor one over the other, it would seem that I'm just a sister picked up from the roadside."

  "Ya Qian, don't talk about your mother like that. Those words you picked up from who-knows-where, don't say them casually in the future. Besides, I've always agreed with you becoming a teacher, and your mom is worried about you too, not wanting you to be too tired, getting up early and sleeping late every day. Your dad cares about you, and so does your mom." The middle-aged man put down the newspaper in his hand, looking serious but speaking with concern.

  "What's wrong with that, Dad? You don't know how good my relationship is with Mom." Han Ya Qian wiped her hands and then linked arms with the middle-aged woman, beaming with joy.

  Ding dong...

  "Who is it? Kuang Qing, go and take a look, who has come?"

  Just as the family was in a harmonious atmosphere, the doorbell rang, and soon after, a loud but hoarse voice came from upstairs. The middle-aged man quickly got up and responded with a "coming", intending to open the door, but Han Yun suddenly changed her expression and hastily said: "Dad, you sit down first, I'll go open it."

  "How come Xiaoyi is being so obedient today?"

  Han Kuangqing sat down with a smile, seeing Han Yun rush to the gate like an escape, somewhat puzzled, but glanced at the middle-aged woman covering her mouth and smiling lightly, and asked: "What's wrong?"

  "I've told you before, try to reduce your social engagements outside and don't be unaware of what's happening at home."

  The middle-aged woman was all smiles, which made Han Kuangqing even more puzzled, and he asked inexplicably: "Isn't socializing still a work requirement? How did this get dragged into the conversation?"

  Seeing the middle-aged woman only pursing her lips and smiling lightly, Han Ya Qian smiled and said: "Dad, let me say it, our family's little sister has really grown up, she even knows how to invite boys into the house."

  "Oh? Really? Then I'd better take a closer look, don't want my precious daughter to meet someone unsuitable."

  Han Kuangqing's two eyebrows suddenly raised, and he looked at the figure walking in through the gate with a burst of energy.

  "Hello Uncle, Auntie, Teacher Han."

  Ye Jun didn't expect Han Ya Qian to be here too, and was startled for a moment. Although he had guessed that Han Yun and Han Ya Qian's relationship wasn't simple, he hadn't expected it to be this complicated.

  A family of four, didn't expect this to be such a big deal. No, wait, Ye Jun was keenly aware that there was still one more figure missing, and that was the real key point. But soon, they heard the sound of footsteps coming from the stairs, accompanied by a hearty laugh: "I didn't know our family had a guest, oh, I hear it's a young man, come on, let Grandpa take a look, how's our little Yun's taste?"