Chapter 1099: Buying 13 Mu of Land

Seeing that everyone's resistance had faded and they could chat and laugh again, Ye Yaodong joined in and tossed in a few casual remarks.

If everyone really resisted strongly and didn't want to, then he wouldn't shave them; he had only thought of it on the spur of the moment when he shaved his own head, figuring he could solve everyone's hygiene problem on the side, so they wouldn't scare people to death with their hair.

People these days really didn't care about hygiene, hardly any of them were clean, and they were all rough men, each one dirtier than the last, not a single one cleaner than the rest.

If they could treat it as a bit of fun and comfort themselves with it, that would be best.

Over a dozen strong laborers got to work with great vigor; no one spared their strength, and they were all used to physical labor, so ten small boats were nothing to them.

Some stood in the water, some stood on the boats, lifting and pulling, and in just over an hour all ten boats were hauled up onto the Dongsheng, and everyone took ropes to secure the boats so they wouldn't tilt this way and that from the waves and risk sliding off.

They were stacked neatly one on top of another, scattered haphazardly across the full deck, packed tight, leaving only a few gaps wide enough for a person to squeeze through sideways.

"You can move these over and bring them back, but how are you going to handle things once you're over there?"

"Handle what?"

"Fishing, of course. The sea trench is quite far from the shore, it takes an hour to get there."

"No worries. Once we get there, we'll unload these small boats, tie them behind the big ship, and let the big ship tow us to fish for jellyfish. The men will be pulled along by the big ship. Once we arrive, everyone pairs off in twos and secures themselves, unties the ropes, and rows the small boats on their own to fish. When they're full, they send the catch to the big ship, or cut it up on the spot and send it to the big ship. Aren't these all solutions?"

Ah Guang gave him a thumbs-up. "Good, as long as you've thought it all through."

"Yeah, I've got everything prepared properly. My dad has also been making the hand dip nets these past few days and is almost done. Everything's ready, just waiting for the east wind."

"Then you'll need about thirty boatmen by the time you set off. Your newly acquired No. 2 boat alone would be cramped even just carrying people. When you depart, you could also let them go up onto the Harvest. My boat is a bit bigger, a bit roomier, so no one has to squeeze together."

"That works too. When the time comes, I'll split them half and half onto your Harvest."

"Good."

Seeing that everyone had tied the ropes securely, Ye Yaodong told the group to head over to the No. 2 boat beside them and wait. Some of them had already gone up to the No. 2 boat while moving the boats, since the space was too small to spread out with too many people.

After the boatmen had all gone to the other boat, he and his dad squeezed through the gaps to inspect each one, checking whether the ropes were tied and secured properly.

Once there were no problems, they followed them up onto the boat beside them and steered it back to shore.

Helping out with a bit of work like this in the middle of the day certainly wouldn't count as paid labor; it was just considered coming over to help. Even if the host offered money, the group wouldn't take it—they were all fellow villagers, and helping each other out day to day was common. But Ye Yaodong had already prepared cigarettes for them.

Helping out under the blazing midday sun wasn't easy; even without wages, they could at least get a couple packs of cigarettes out of it.

After receiving the cigarettes, everyone was very happy and satisfied. Before leaving, they told Ye Yaodong that if he had any work, he could call them anytime. If there was nothing else, they would wait until just before departure and come over to get their heads shaved.

Ah Guang stood beside him and couldn't resist reaching out to touch the back of his head.

"It's bristly, prickly, feels kind of fun to touch."

Ye Yaodong swatted away his annoying hand. "Quit touching, get lost."

"Can't touch that, where would I touch that? All I can touch is this."

"Get lost."

"It's not like I'd touch a straw bag anyway."

"Get lost. If your hand's itching, shave your own head and touch it all you want."

Hearing this, Ah Guang casually ran his hand through his own thick short hair. The sweat had already soaked it through, and clumps of it were really uncomfortable.

"When are you calling people over to shave their heads? I'll get mine shaved too. Feels like it should be pretty cool."

"You're freeloading on this too?"

"Save where you should, spend where you should. Now I'm a man with three kids, the burden of supporting a family has gotten heavier, and there's a huge fine waiting for me. Save wherever I can."

Ye Yaodong glanced at him and walked home on his own. How could he not hear the bragging and smugness in his words?

"Wait for me. Are you going to the city again first thing tomorrow morning?"

"Are you coming along?"

"I'm a bit lazy to go. One trip takes the whole day—leaving before dawn, coming back after dark. Having the time doesn't mean it should be wasted like that. It's too hot, and I can't be bothered to run around outside. Feels even more tiring than a day out at sea."

"Then don't go. Stay home and keep the kids company. We'll be setting off soon enough. Just rest up at home and spend time with your wife and kids."

"That's what I was thinking too, so I was just asking casually."

"Damn."

Ye Fu said with a smile, "Nothing for you to do, no need to run around with us. It's so hot, hot and tiring, and the ride is uncomfortable. Come with me to the old house later, I'll catch two chickens for you to take back for Ye Ye Huimei to eat during her confinement, saves me from having to deliver them again in the evening."

"Okay."

Ah Guang trotted over to Ye Fu again to chat.

Ye Yaodong was drenched in sweat from the heat. He quickened his pace a few steps, didn't wait for them, and pulled ahead, heading home first.

As soon as he got home, he tossed off his hat, took off his vest and pants, left only his shorts on, gulped down a big mouthful of tea, and took a cold shower before he felt comfortable.

Lin Lin Xiuqing had long since prepared his clothes by the bed, but he didn't put them on. He went shirtless and lay down on the bed with the mother and daughter.

"Are the boats all moved?"

"Yeah, all done. Get me two thousand yuan tomorrow. Once I go over, it'll probably be settled."

"Didn't you say there were over ten mu? Where would two thousand yuan be enough?"

"It's not enough, but the area and amount haven't been confirmed yet. Carrying that much wouldn't be convenient. Anyway, once it's confirmed, we'll fill out the application first."

"Even though it's all just the village committee talking, we still need to file a report, a written application stamped by the village committee, and then fill out the contract. Just bring two thousand yuan to prepare. If more money is needed, ask your brother then."

Currently, land ownership belongs to the state or the collective; individuals cannot freely buy and sell land, only transfer the right to use it.

But it's pretty much the same as buying it. The laws aren't that well-developed right now—whether there's a land bureau, whether there are relevant laws—as long as he has a sales contract, it's legitimate.

Lin Lin Xiuqing nodded. "That works too."

He just didn't expect that, when he went over the next day, his brother-in-law was also waiting for him.

He had originally just planned to stop by the market as usual to say hello, then head to the village and the village committee. Who knew that Lin Xiang Hui would say he also wanted to buy land and build a house around here.

Not only was he surprised, but Ye Fu was surprised too.

"Big brother, you want to buy land and build a house too?"

Having just seen the tractor and run over to the shop, panting from rushing, Lin Xiang Hui wiped the sweat from his face and said with a smile, "Yeah, I heard from Dad that you're planning to buy a piece of land in this village, build a house, and put up a warehouse while you're at it."

"I figured I'm in the city all year round, living in that rundown house every day isn't a solution. If you're buying, I'll buy a small piece along with you. It doesn't need to be big, just like our place at home is fine. Just put up a house, have a place to stay, so the whole family doesn't have to squeeze into one little room."

"Also, I heard from Lin Xiangyang about the kids' schooling before. I figured since we're all here anyway, might as well really bring the kids over to study on this side. We don't go back much these days anyway."

Ye Yaodong figured his brother-in-law had really made money, which was why he was so willing to spend, and was even thinking of building a house right in the city just like him.

Last year alone he must have earned several thousand yuan—at the beginning he could make thirty or forty yuan a day, not to mention the foot traffic was greater now, and they were all experienced at it.

Add to that he'd been working for most of this year too, so he was definitely a ten-thousand-yuan household. Apart from daily expenses, they didn't really have much to spend money on, so the money was basically all saved up.

Building a house now really wasn't a difficult thing for them.

He just hadn't expected that while his second brother-in-law hadn't thought of putting his kids in school in the city, his eldest brother-in-law had thought of it first. Sure enough, once you left the village, your horizons broadened.

"Have you thought it through? Are you sure?"

"I've been thinking about it for several days. My wife and I discussed it—it's decided. That village looks pretty good, we've lived there over a year, the neighbors on both sides are all warm and friendly, so we figured just settling down there would be fine. Anyway, when you count it up we're still a village under this city's jurisdiction, so we're not outsiders."

"Then yours is easy—just apply for a homestead plot, a few hundred yuan at most. When the time comes, buy some bricks and sand, hire villagers to build a house, and it'll be done in a month or two. If you're not building a multi-story house, two or three thousand yuan will do it."

"That's what I was thinking too. Anyway, we're all in the village, it's convenient coming and going, and after finishing up each day I can go over and check on things."

"Then if you're sure you want to buy, let's go together, file the application together. Yours will definitely be easy—one word and it'll be approved. The village can decide it directly."

"Good, good. When my dad brought it up a couple days ago, he said you might not come these couple of days, that you might be getting ready to go to Zhejiang Province, and I was thinking we'd have to wait until after National Day."

"There's still time, so I squeezed in a trip to settle things first. The process isn't that fast either—came over first to nail things down and submit a report."

"Should we head over now? Have you eaten? Want to stop by my shop and grab a meal first?"

Ye Yaodong quickly waved his hand. "No need, my dad and I stopped in the city area on the way and ate already."

"Why eat out? Eating inside saves a bit, outside stuff is expensive."

"Once in a while is fine. Let's go."

The village committee had long since worked out the rules about his land purchase. As soon as he arrived, several middle-aged and elderly folks crowded around him talking.

One person one line—anyway, the gist was that they could only set aside ten mu of land for now. If he wanted to expand later, he could apply again later. After all, when you got down to it he was still an outsider, he had no one to vouch for him, they had to observe and look more carefully, and he had to write out the intended use and everything clearly.

Ye Yaodong of course had no objections. Being able to get 10 mu of land was pretty good, and they hadn't shut the door completely either. After staying in the village two years, he could come back and buy more then. The village's land belonged to the collective, with the village making the decisions—the village committee nowadays had a lot of power.

Besides, there weren't any term limits on the land yet either; the household contract responsibility system had only been implemented a few years ago.

He recalled the Land Administration Law seemed to have only been passed in 1986, revised in 1998, and before the millennium the system wasn't really well-developed.

The land out in the cities was hard to buy and sell—was the village's land anything to worry about? As long as you got familiar with the village and built good relationships, anything was possible. With a market nearby, it couldn't be bad.

Once the terms were set, they got to talking price. The village committee wanted 10,000 yuan for ten mu of land, and Ye Yaodong's eyes went wide in surprise, his mouth falling open.

"10,000 yuan!?"

The village committee folks all exchanged glances, thinking he found it too expensive.

"Um… after all, the area you're asking for is a bit larger, we can't give you a discount either, we have to account to the collective too."

"Right, even though it's wasteland, it's still a pretty big chunk…"

"You just clear the weeds and tidy it up a bit and it'll be ready, won't take much effort. 10,000 yuan is the result of everyone's discussion."

"If the land you buy really gets used for normal production purposes, next time you buy we'll give you a better price…"

"You're in business too—dried fish might only be a few mao each, but you should be making money…"

Ye Yaodong listened to them all chiming in, and by now he'd caught on—they thought he found it too expensive, which was why they were trying so hard to convince him.

He immediately tamped down his excitement, furrowed his brow, and pretended to be in a bind. "This 10,000 yuan is a bit steep. A couple years ago a ten-thousand-yuan household could make the papers, become a model and benchmark. Just one patch of wasteland for 10,000 yuan is a bit much, and it's village wasteland at that—there's a big stretch of land like that all around, and the surrounding villages don't look short on wasteland either…"

The old men immediately picked up, "But isn't your family living in our village for a year now? You're more familiar with us here too. Wouldn't buying somewhere else be less reassuring?"

"Right, what surrounding village is as good as ours? Where else has the warmth we've got? Everyone knows each other."

"Exactly, since you're settling here, you've got to pick a familiar place."

"10,000 yuan really isn't expensive. You're still so young—how many ten-thousands can you earn later?"

Lin Xiang Hui glanced at Ye Yaodong and helped out: "Uncles, knock a bit off, will you? My brother-in-law here is thinking of the elders at home, that's why he wants to build a house. Otherwise, he's got a big workshop and warehouse back home, and a tractor too—hauling goods back and forth would be convenient. He doesn't necessarily have to build another warehouse here."

"And, if he locks this in, I want to apply for a homestead plot too, doesn't need to be big, just enough for a house. I'm thinking of settling in our village too. Lived here a year, I know how good our village is, the neighbors are warm, lived here a year and we're all familiar with each other. They say a close neighbor beats a distant relative—I like our village."

Ye Yaodong also said: "Knock a bit off, uncles. If I buy the wasteland for production, that's contributing to our collective too. Leaving it empty is just leaving it empty—putting it to use is better, right?"

Several old men lowered their heads, whispering back and forth in the local dialect. Ye Yaodong pricked up his ears too, looking at this one, then that one.

After they'd discussed for a while, he spoke up, "So, how about it? Knock a bit off?"

The village chief cleared his throat. "We discussed it, thought it over, we can allocate you one more mu of land, but the price can't come down—this is already a concession."

The others nodded along.

Ye's father and Lin Xiang Hui both looked at Ye Yaodong.

Ye Yaodong kept his face all knotted up, but inside he was overjoyed. These old men were afraid this sucker would run off. Wasteland sitting empty was empty anyway, so allocate him a bit more, but they weren't willing to part with less money.

He also did some mental math. By their village's standard, building a house and paying 300 yuan for a homestead plot, that included the front and back yards, plus the land he'd allocated in himself—figuring it out, one mu came to about 1,000 yuan.

Their village had this price, and this little village in the city had the same price—come to think of it, they were getting a bargain.

"Come down a bit more, will you? Ten mu is plenty for me. I just need to build a house, wall in a yard, and put up a warehouse—no need for that much area."

"Didn't you say you wanted over ten mu before?"

"Well, I figured it shouldn't cost this much, right? And that big stretch over there is empty anyway, count it up and it's over ten mu. I was thinking of just taking the whole thing so there'd be no empty patches left over."

"10,000 yuan really isn't expensive. A small shop in the market is already going for three or four thousand…"

"How can you compare those? They're not comparable. Someone else's is a proper shop stall, already built, and that shop can be used to do business and make money. Building a house in our village costs two thousand-something too, but a house can't make money, right? What we're talking about here is a patch of wasteland that's no use to the village."

An old man on the side gritted his teeth and said, "Then we'll allocate you one more mu of land, but really no more."

Ye Yaodong pressed his advantage, going for broke: "Add one more mu, thirteen mu, and I won't haggle on the price—still your 10,000 yuan."

"Young man, how come the more you talk the more you want? Mu after mu after mu, and you say you're not bargaining with me."

"Hehehe, right, I didn't bargain, still your 10,000 yuan. It's empty anyway, just allocate me a bit more. The village has plenty of empty land—villagers wanting to build houses, homestead plots, there's plenty all around."

Lin Xiang Hui also chimed in: "Right, let's settle it then. Everyone takes a step back. My brother-in-law's only free today—in a few days he's off on a long trip, and when he comes back it'll be two months later. He wants to get this settled early too. If we wait two months, who knows if his thinking might change again?"

Ye's father couldn't speak Mandarin, so he could only nod along.

The village chief also knew Ye Yaodong was going on a long trip soon—he'd mentioned it when he came by a couple days ago. The day before, when they discussed and decided on 10,000 yuan, it was just talk—they didn't know if he'd even come, or when.

After arguing so reasonably just now, and with Ye Yaodong's brows still tightly furrowed, they also felt that 10,000 yuan really was quite a lot, and buying a large stretch of wasteland really meant the village committee was getting the better of the deal—after all, it was just sitting empty anyway.

They'd rather have given extra land than lowered the price earlier, because they figured that for their village, the land really was better off being converted directly into cash.

Seeing them all hesitating, Ye Yaodong simply took out the money he had on him. "I wasn't planning to settle this the moment I walked in. If we can settle it, the 2,000 yuan I have on me right now will count as a first payment—let's get the application report filed first. Once I bring the remaining 8,000 yuan over, we'll stamp it. This is my good faith. If it doesn't work, then we'll talk again when I come back in two or three months."

A bundle of neatly stacked big unity notes lay open on the table. Although none of them were strangers to money, anyone who saw cash would be tempted—especially when they might not earn 2,000 yuan in a whole year. Of course their fingers itched at the sight of it.

Once one middle-aged man nodded, the others followed suit. The village chief immediately broke into a broad smile. "Alright then, we'll go with what you said—13 mu of land for 10,000 yuan. Let's go measure the land right now and draw up the application report for you."

Seeing the money versus not seeing it—naturally their attitude was different. They were worried Ye Yaodong would run off and change his mind in two or three months, so even under the blazing sun they eagerly went to measure the land.

"Good, while you're at it, measure out a plot for my brother-in-law too so he can build a house. How much do you charge for a residential plot here?"

"Depends on how big a house you want to build. That stretch of wasteland has plenty of room—you can measure out a bit more if you like."

They all nodded without objection and followed along outside.

Although that stretch was large and wasteland, there were still several households around it. It was just that it was closer to the road, and ordinary people building houses would look for land deeper inside the village rather than outside the road, which was why there was more open space around it.

Everyone was out under the blazing sun, running back and forth across the work site with great enthusiasm, writing and sketching with paper and pen.

Ye Yaodong also wanted to wrap this up quickly. After the land was measured, he told his father-in-law and brother-in-law to head to the village committee first; he wanted to make a phone call before the market closed.

He needed to make a call back home, have A-Qing give 8,000 yuan to A-Guang to deliver by motorcycle, pay the balance on the spot, stamp and seal the contract—nail down the done deal right then and there—so there'd be no room for things to go wrong overnight. If those old men went back on their word, he'd have nowhere to cry.

And when these village cadres learned he was calling home to have his family bring the money over and planned to stamp everything down today, they were even happier. They didn't leave either, just sat chatting with them at the doorway and waited along with them.

By dusk, when the sky was just turning dark, they still hadn't rushed off work, and A-Guang arrived on his motorcycle just as night fell.

The sound of the motorcycle could be heard from far away, and those old men all widened their eyes and stood up.

"A motorcycle…"

"Oh my, a sidecar three-wheeler—could that be from the army?"

"Probably, right? You hardly see a few motorcycles in the city either. The streets are full of bicycles, and the ones you do see are mostly ridden out by the military. They look exactly the same—I've seen one before…"

"Good lad, you really weren't bluffing when you said you knew the city leaders?"

Ye Yaodong chuckled twice. "What's there to brag about?"

"Tractors and motorcycles too—impressive!"

"Enough talk, it's already dark. Count the money, stamp the application report, stamp the transfer contract, stamp the receipt—three copies of each. Take the remaining copies to the service station tomorrow to file them."

"Alright, alright, alright."

Several village cadres waited there, counting the money together, and they were quick about it.

Once the amount checked out, they briskly stamped all the documents.

When they came out of the village committee, a circle of children and teenagers had already gathered at the door, all crowding around the motorcycle, every one of them wide-eyed, utterly fascinated. Even plenty of adults had gathered too, and more were still walking over.

Without needing to be told, the village cadres had already stepped in to shoo people away first.

After arranging with them to go file the paperwork together early tomorrow morning, Ye Yaodong left with A-Guang—one riding the motorcycle, the other driving the tractor.

Although A-Guang's rented house hadn't expired yet and Ye Ye Huimei had moved back home, they could have just stayed in that house. But he didn't feel safe leaving the motorcycle parked outside at random—anyone who saw it would want to touch and fiddle with it, and what if they broke it?

The doorway of the rented house was too narrow to ride the motorcycle inside to park it, so they could only go stay at a guesthouse. The guesthouse had a courtyard where vehicles could be parked, which made it a bit safer.

This motorcycle was, after all, an oversized item.

The three of them only took one room—a room with communal bunks, plenty of space for the three of them to sleep.

"Dongzi, how did you wrap this up so fast? I thought you were just coming by today to chat and confirm things, and that you'd need another two days to settle it. That's why I didn't think to come along and take a look. Let me see that land-use rights transfer form of yours—let's see what it looks like."

"I really did just come to chat at first, to hear what they had to say. Who knew they'd offer it so cheap? Had to lock it down fast, otherwise things might change overnight—when you snag a bargain, you have to move quick."

"10,000 yuan and that's cheap?"

"10,000 yuan and that's not cheap? 13 mu of land! In a rundown rural spot like our village, even a residential plot for a house costs 300 yuan. Even if you go by area, you've made a killing."

"Fair enough."

"Those people figured the village wasteland was just sitting empty anyway. It's rare for anyone to want to lease it to build a house and use it for production, and such a large area at that—they thought they'd take me for a sucker, but actually they handed me a bargain."

A-Guang looked at the measurements and the total area written on it, and couldn't help but feel a bit of admiration for Dongzi. Spending 10,000 yuan to buy a piece of wasteland—decided just like that.

So decisive, such a big move—if it were him, he definitely couldn't bring himself to buy it. After all, once bought over, he really couldn't see what use it would be.

"You don't need this much area just to build a warehouse. Are you really planning to move the workshop over here?"

"Not planning that for now. Keeping it at home is plenty for the time being. Building a warehouse and a house only needs a tiny bit of space. I'm not in a rush about the rest—we'll see later. Anyway, even if it sits empty, it's still my land. Better grab it now than have nowhere to grab later."

"What's the use of grabbing it early?"

"Once the surrounding area develops, it'll be hugely useful. If there's foot traffic, how could there be no supporting facilities around? When the time comes, everything will rise up, and won't this stretch of land rise with it? Right now it's barren, every village is poor—who knows, in the future they might all be rich."

"That's a stretch—money falling from the sky? And everyone's rich?"

Ye Yaodong took the form from his hand, folded it up and put it away, saying, "Anyway, it's useful. I made a killing today—10,000 yuan for 13 mu of land. If there's a chance later, I'll buy more. Money just sitting there is just sitting there, it won't grow."

Ye Father had listened for a long while before finally speaking up. "It's only because you have loose cash on hand that you can mess around like this. If it were your eldest brother or your second brother, I'd have beaten them senseless. Money just can't stay in your hands—spending it like this. Buying such a big piece of land just to leave it sitting there."

"No, I already told them—build a house, give my father-in-law one courtyard first so they can settle down. When we come to the city, we'll have a place to stay too—it's my new home. From now on, when I say where I'm from, won't I be a city person too?"

"Building a warehouse is useful too. Didn't Director Chen say the other day that the market made the newspapers? When the time comes for attracting investment, won't there be more of it? More foot traffic too. Won't the shops be easier to rent out?"

"Then it's even more necessary to build a warehouse, free up the shop, can't keep using it as a warehouse—where would all that stock go? We just calculated it for you too. Such a large area for only 10,000 yuan—even by our village's residential plot prices, it's a bargain."

"I hope you're right." Ye Father only believed him because every scheme Hui had ever cooked up had never gone wrong, which was why he had never said anything all this time.

Besides, a few days ago when they visited the leader's home, the leader had also said it would be good to buy a piece of land, build a house, and move into the city to live.

A-Guang sighed, "You've really got everything now—houses, shops, land, a workshop, dozens of boats. You've got it all."

"But I'm only 28, you know. Wouldn't it be a bit early to retire?"

Ye Father glared at him. "I haven't even retired yet, and you're retiring? People would die laughing if they heard that."

Ye Yaodong's face was full of helplessness. "So I have to be forced to keep working, keep making money. It's not that I don't want to stop, that I want to keep earning more and more—it's because I'm too young. I can only keep earning, keep earning more and more. If I stop earning money, I'll have nothing to do. But if I keep going, I can't help but keep making money."

A-Guang couldn't stand his showing off. "Give you a few compliments and you start getting cocky—you didn't even drink horse piss tonight."

"If you've got the money, buy land too. Buy some in the city—we know the place. Once we've bought the land, in a couple of years we'll go buy shops and houses in the city."

Ye Father said irritably, "Can you handle it? Can you manage it? Thinking about this and that, wanting to go somewhere else again—go wash up and sleep, quick."

"I'm talking to Ah Guang; you just sit back and enjoy the good life."

"Enjoy the good life? You keep doing more and more, and I keep working more and more, running after you all day long."

Ye Yaodong laughed; it seemed he was right, indeed the work kept piling up, and she chased after him every single day.

"So many people in the village envy you, going to the city every day; some folks never make the trip once in their whole lives."