Chapter 597: Building Houses for Chen Family Village Residents

Chen Yang, come over to my place; Da Lei is looking for you to talk about something.

Chen Yang was resting in the villa when Chen Chunmei suddenly called, saying that his childhood friend from home, Chen Dalei, had come over.

Chen Dalei had his phone number, but when coming to Xingcheng he didn't call him directly; instead he had Chen Chunmei relay the message, which left him puzzled.

Curious, Chen Yang drove to the Sunshine Garden Community.

It had been a long time since they last met, and Chen Dalei's skin had become a bit fairer, his attire much more stylish than before.

"Da Lei, looking at your energy, the economy of Coiled Dragon Town must be doing well, right?"

Chen Dalei laughed and said to Chen Yang, "Chairman Chen, with your company's support, everyone's life is indeed much better than before."

Chen Yang found his tone odd, and feigned displeasure: "Da Lei, we're childhood friends—just call me by name. Otherwise it sounds weird to me."

Chen Dalei scratched the back of his head and gave a simple smile: "Before leaving, the old secretary repeatedly urged that when seeing you I must address you by your title, not call you by name."

Upon hearing this, Chen Yang immediately guessed Chen Dalei's purpose. He asked solemnly, "Did the old secretary send you here to ask for investment again?"

Chen Dalei shook his head: "Now every household is building vegetable greenhouses and raising pigs, cattle, and sheep; there's simply no time for anything else."

Chen Yang directly asked, "Then what exactly is the old secretary's instruction you came to deliver this time?"

Chen Dalei hesitated, then said softly, "The villagers all want to build new houses, but they lack funds; they hope you can help chip in."

Chen Yang frowned slightly. Building houses in the countryside actually doesn't cost much if there's no comparison. What he fears is that the people of Chen Family Village are insatiably greedy—today they want houses, tomorrow they might want cars, and later they might even ask him to invest in starting a company.

After all, human greed is limitless.

Seeing Chen Yang silent, Chen Chunmei interjected: "Da Lei, if you want to build houses, Chen Yang putting up some money is no problem. After all, when our family needed help, you all gave genuine effort. How can others have the face to ask Chen Yang for money? Over the years, his care for them has been more than enough."

Chen Dalei gave an embarrassed laugh. Actually he also felt awkward, but the old secretary kept nagging him to try, or he'd eventually be driven crazy.

He said to Chen Chunmei, "Aunt, the old secretary said not to pressure Chen Yang. If he's willing to chip in, everyone will remember the favor; if not, it's fine."

Upon hearing that, Chen Yang couldn't help but want to laugh. If he didn't want to pressure him, why send Chen Dalei to Xingcheng to find him? Why doesn't Chen Dingfang come himself?

In short, he had figured out that only Chen Dalei's family would come to Chen Yang for help without being turned down.

Besides, he didn't feel like spelling it out. He had already donated two billion; giving Chen Family Village another few tens of millions was no big deal.

But he had to extinguish the village's desire early; otherwise, when he couldn't meet their demands one day, even their ancestral graves might be dug up.

Thinking this through, Chen Yang decided to personally return to Chen Family Village.

For safety, this time he brought all six bodyguards with him.

When passing through Coiled Dragon Town, he called Zhou Zhengyang. He learned that Zhou had been transferred to Clear Water County to serve as deputy county magistrate. The current town committee secretary is the former secretary of the county committee, Zeng Yunchan.

Chen Yang wasn't acquainted with Zeng Yunchan, so he simply returned to Chen Family Village.

After Chen Dalei called to notify him, Village Secretary Chen Dingfang had already gathered the villagers at the village office, waiting.

When Chen Yang got out of the car, the village office square was filled with firecrackers and the sound of drums and gongs.

"Chen Yang, welcome home!" Chen Dingfang approached respectfully and shook his hand.

"Old secretary, next time don't make such a fuss. Saving this money to buy meat for the kids would be far better." Chen Yang disliked such empty displays, but since Chen Dingfang was an elder, he could only remind him tactfully.

Chen Dingfang also caught the meaning in Chen Yang's words, explaining, "Chen Yang, today you've returned, everyone's happy, so we're making a bit of a fuss. Normally we don't do this."

Chen Yang glanced at the villagers' clothing; it was indeed much better than before. Previously they wore patched old clothes, but now both elders and children have new outfits.

"Old secretary, this time I'm back to handle three things." Facing the whole village, Chen Yang told Chen Dingfang directly, "First, solve the housing problem. I'll cover all the building costs, constructing uniformly to the standard of my own home. You only need to pay for the furnishings."

As soon as he finished speaking, the crowd burst into cheers. Everyone knew Chen Yang's house had cost several hundred thousand to build, and no such fine European‑style architecture could be found anywhere in Coiled Dragon Town.

Now Chen Yang wants them all to enjoy the same treatment of living in a Western‑style house. This is tremendous good news!

"Chen Yang, on behalf of all the villagers of Chen Family Village, thank you for your kindness!" Chen Dingfang's eyes welled up. He had always thought Chen Yang stayed away from his hometown because of old grudges, but never imagined that his return would be on such a grand scale.

Chen Yang slightly raised his hand to signal quiet, then continued, "Second, I plan to repair the village roads so that every household has access to a concrete road."

"Third, I will liaise with the county power bureau and the water company to strive to provide every household with electricity and running water."

After he finished speaking, the crowd again burst into warm applause. Building new houses, paving roads, supplying water and electricity—this almost amounts to letting the villagers enjoy urban‑style living in the countryside. In fact, some city dwellers might live worse than they do.

"Chen Yang, you've really gone overboard this time!" Chen Dingfang hadn't expected Chen Yang to be so generous; his generosity made him feel a bit embarrassed.

"Old secretary, fellow villagers, I've created the conditions for you; from now on how you live is up to you." Chen Yang said earnestly, "If there's anything else, please don't bother me again."

Upon hearing this, everyone fell silent at once.

Chen Dingfang also understood Chen Yang's meaning, and loudly addressed the Chen Family Village villagers: "Chen Yang has done this much; if you're still not satisfied, you truly don't deserve to be a Chen. From now on, if anyone goes to Xingcheng to cause trouble for Chen Yang, I'll break his leg."

Hearing this, Chen Yang replied gently, "Old secretary, that's a bit strong. If you truly encounter an insurmountable obstacle, I'll still lend a hand. I just want to remind everyone to be self‑reliant and not depend on others for everything."

"I'm not a god either; who knows, I might lose everything one day."