Chapter 222: Old Li Visits

She snatched the notebook away with a swoop, trembling as she opened it, glanced at it twice, then her pupils shrank sharply, she let out an "eh" from her throat, fainted in one breath, and fell straight backward.

This frightened the whole family; Jiang Yunxiang hurriedly held down her mother, laid her flat on the bed, on one hand easing her breath and relieving her discomfort, on the other pinching her philtrum,

"Mom, don't scare me, what's wrong with you?"

The old lady lay on the bed, eyes vacant, gripping the property deed tightly in her hand,

"House, house, dear, house."

Jiang Yunxiang was frightened, responding with a choked voice, "Mom, it's the house, what's wrong with you, don't scare me."

Ye Cheng was also frightened by the old lady; he had merely handed the property deed to his elder brother in passing—why was the old lady making such a fuss?

After a while, the old lady finally caught her breath, still clutching the property deed, she opened it and looked again a few times, afraid she had misread it.

"Did you buy a house?" the old lady asked, beaming with joy at Jiang Yunxiang, "A house in the city?"

Jiang Yunxiang looked embarrassed, turning her gaze to Ye Guowei.

Ye Guowei spoke in a rough voice, "Mom, it was A Cheng who bought it; he paid the money, wrote our names on it, and it's for Dou Dou's schooling."

"School? In the city?" the old lady's eyes lit up.

"Well, Aunt Sun, let Dou Dou study in the city; I bought two units, I'm paying off the loans, no need for the elder brother and sister-in-law to repay." Ye Cheng added a sentence, hastily confessing, fearing the old lady might have second thoughts.

To be frank, Ye Cheng had overthought it; the old lady didn't really understand loans, but when she heard that Ye Cheng had bought two units, her breathing quickened again, though it soon passed.

Her adaptability is quite strong.

Afterwards, the old lady basically lost interest in eating, holding the property deed and looking left and right, occasionally uttering a sentence,

"Does this count as having a house in the city?"

"How much does this house cost?"

"Ah, if only Yunwei could also buy a house in the city."

"A Cheng, great, great, you're doing well now."

"Aunt Sun previously blamed you wrongly; I never thought you could afford a house."

In the end, the old lady kept repeating a few phrases, but the light in her eyes never faded.

Her gaze toward Jiang Yunxiang also softened, and she even looked more favorably upon Ye Guowei.

Ye Guowei felt for the first time that dining with his mother-in-law was so relaxed, he couldn't help but drink two more cups.

The meal was enjoyed by host and guest alike; the old lady couldn't stop smiling, drank a few more cups, then went straight to bed to sleep.

Over the next few days, the old lady's favorite thing to do was take Dou Dou around the village.

Not to sightsee, but to bump into people.

Because she discovered that whenever she met someone, they would congratulate her, saying the Ye family's life had improved, they were wealthy, and the old lady was blessed.

Who wouldn't like to hear such pleasant words? Even if a few people gave her cold stares and sneered, she felt comfortable inside; this was envy, naked envy.

Besides that, the old lady also noticed a bad omen:

She seemed to have taken a liking to that expensive chocolate, just a little bit, and that sweet feeling could linger all day.

The old lady's fondness left Jiang Yunxiang speechless—how could she still like this at her age?

Ye Cheng also simply went to the city and bought ten more, exclusively for the old lady.

Speaking of which, Ye Cheng originally didn't have that much time; logically he should be out gathering seafood.

But he couldn't resist...

This system isn't giving enough support.

Lately I don't know what's happening; my Luck Value hasn't exceeded 20, and even with the +20 bonus it's only 40.

That's really low, so he had no choice but to stay in the village these days.

Since he wasn't gathering seafood, he needed to find something to do; spending three days and 1000 yuan, he finally fixed the pond in the courtyard, then repaired his dilapidated gate and walls up to chapter 200 as well.

Of course, these were mainly done by paying others; he and Xiao Hu spent these two days catching things, namely crayfish.

After eating them last time, not long passed before the craving hit again.

During this period, whenever they had nothing to do, they'd ride a motorcycle out to nearby villages to search; after three days they managed to catch over twenty catties.

To ensure safety, Ye Cheng deliberately kept them alive so they could purge the dirty stuff from their intestines.

Although this made the shrimp meat a bit smaller, there was no choice—safety first.

These days there was also another matter: Li Yong called Ye Cheng to formally invite him to join the salvage work, even promising 20,000 yuan.

Ye Cheng wasn't unwilling to agree; the problem was his Luck Value was too low, he dared not, so he could only stall.

Who would have thought that this delay would bring about further trouble?

Early in the morning, Ye Cheng checked the system.

Luck Value: 30+20

Points: 3590.

Savings: 70,000; external debt: 40,000; mortgage: 300,000 (including interest)

A Luck Value of 50 is neither high nor low; it's not impossible to go gathering seafood, but some things are more important.

For example, these crayfish have been around for three days; if we don't eat them, they'll get anxious.

Ye Cheng planned to give them liberation at noon; in the morning half-day, maybe they could be reborn into a better position.

But just as he finished washing the crayfish, he heard the sound of a car coming from the gate.

That's not right—aside from Li Yong, who else in the village would have a car?

He turned around and instantly realized— that off‑road vehicle, you could tell at a glance whose it was.

Zhao Zhiming had arrived.

He was about to go greet him when he saw the rear car door open and an elderly man step out.

Ye Cheng exclaimed in surprise, "Old Li, how did you come here?"

The visitor was none other than Li Lao; Ye Cheng truly hadn't expected Li Lao to come. This old comrade, though he seemed rather offhand, was actually quite amiable.

But after all, they came from the capital, and their background is not insignificant; for them to personally come visit me, a mere fisherman from a village, is a bit over the top.

Before Ye Cheng's words had even settled, he saw two more people climb out of the car—Cui Shuran and Xiao Rou.

"Ye Cheng, you only welcome Li Lao and not us, right?" Xiao Rou still had that outgoing, familiar personality.

Four people got out of the car—three acquaintances and an old man—and Ye Cheng hurriedly ushered them inside.

Fortunately the courtyard was fairly empty, so a few chairs were enough for everyone to sit.

Xiao Rou curiously wandered around Ye Cheng's room, exclaiming, "Wow, you even have air conditioning—nice, you'll enjoy it."

"There's also a water heater, a computer, and internet—you don't seem at all like you're from the countryside."

Ye Cheng said helplessly, "Grandma, what era is it now? These things are quite normal."

Just as he finished speaking, his face changed dramatically—he saw Xiao Rou pick up two wads of toilet paper from his bed, looking disgusted.

"Huh... what did you wipe with this toilet paper? It's so dirty, and you didn't even put it in the trash."