Chapter 1488: Ten Thousand

Ye Yaodong had envisioned everything perfectly, even imagined the future, but when he actually tried to do it, things went against his wishes.

Land management is relatively loose now, but transferring land use rights still requires government approval, and the procedures are complex.

Usually, only state-owned enterprises or collective enterprises can obtain land use rights.

As soon as he went to ask, the cadres of several villages saw he was an outsider and flatly refused.

This caught everyone off guard; he himself was stunned. At the time, he only thought about asking which village the land belonged to, never imagining some wouldn't sell.

"Holy crap, why can't we do it anymore..."

"Dongzi, you can buy land in our city or even the provincial capital..."

Ye Yaodong frowned and recalled; it had been several years ago.

"The city agreed because I moved Aqing's household registration there, settling in the city. As for the provincial capital, I bought the use rights from an individual, not the village collective."

"Ah? So that's how it is. Then it's difficult."

"It is a bit difficult."

Although it is already 1988, the entrenched mindset still centers on collectives and looks down on individuals.

Even personal ID cards have only just started being used and haven't yet been fully popularized nationwide.

"So what do we do now? We made a wasted trip today and lost another day."

"Go ask Grandpa Zhang and see."

They were strangers here; only by casually saving an old man did they connect with Director Zhang, otherwise it would indeed be very difficult.

After suffering heatstroke, Grandpa Zhang didn't dare run to the fields in such hot weather. When they arrived, he was sitting in a rocking chair at his doorway enjoying the cool.

After asking around, the man had no solution either. Since the village wouldn't sell, asking an old farmer like him was useless. He could only help inquire and mobilize his relatives to see if anyone wanted to sell land or houses.

Otherwise, they would have to buy in the name of a collective.

That was the only option; everyone stayed for a while and then left.

"Hey, wait a minute! We can buy in the name of a collective too."

They were walking dejectedly halfway when A Guang suddenly said that, instantly cheering everyone up.

"Dongzi, your fish sauce workshop and dried fish workshop are affiliated with the village, right? That belongs to the collective too!"

"Just buy the land in the name of the Bai Sha Village Fish Sauce Workshop and Dried Fish Workshop. After all, your small workshop is affiliated with the village, and the village cadres now have to watch your expression. Our village's kelp still depends on you to sell it all."

"Right, in the end, it's buying in the name of your workshop. Since the workshop is affiliated with the village, it counts as a collective."

"I heard even more will be raised in the second half of the year. Plus, I called home and they said that after our village appeared on TV two months ago, countless units and collectives rushed to our village to learn from our experience."

"Just ask the village head to issue a village certificate for you, then send it via registered mail or have A Shang's cargo ship pick it up on its round trips."

Lin Ji instantly got inspired too. "That's right. My transport fleet is also affiliated with a provincial capital unit. Just ask that unit to issue a certificate."

Ye Yaodong nodded. "This method could work, but I'm worried about disputes with the collective later. I have no connections, so the village won't make things hard for me. At most, I'll just share some benefits with the village later."

In a few years, the village will have to build roads anyway. As the village's richest man, he would have to contribute money to show something, and this is also a matter of benefiting the local people.

Then he could naturally donate money to the village to build roads, benefiting the locals, gaining a good reputation, and repaying a favor all at once.

This would be a good thing for him too.

Everyone immediately became delighted.

A Zheng said, "Dongzi, then just buy it in the name of the workshop. Say you want to build a warehouse or a workshop. This place is so backward compared to Puxi across the river. Your workshop is a collective, and since it's already affiliated with the village, they will definitely sell."

"Just now they shook their heads because we were individuals. If it's a workshop, then there's no problem, right?"

A Zheng also said, "After we buy it, we can distribute it ourselves. If we really make money later, we'll just give the village some benefits according to the distribution."

Ye Yaodong smiled and said, "It's our own village anyway. If we really make money, we should contribute something to the village."

A Zheng was already impatient and urged, "Let's go, let's go back to the guesthouse and call the village immediately. Ask Chen Shuji to arrange a position for you, then write a collective certificate for you, and issue an authorization."

"Then for the rest of us, except for Dongzi and A Shang who have separate collectives, we just need to write another distribution agreement. Let Dongzi allocate one of his affiliated collectives for us to use."

Fatty chimed in too. "I thought of another way. Once the land is bought, in a couple of years we can transfer the land to our wives' or sons' names."

Ye Yaodong: "Dream on. In a couple of years, Pudong will be developed."

Who knows, there might still be disputes later. We can use the village committee's banner to let Chen Shuji negotiate and handle this matter. Once the matter is settled, everyone can promise to build roads or a seawall for the village.

Without even counting on the land, just relying on the fishing boats, in a few years, barring accidents, everyone's net worth will be considerable.

Lin Ji said, "Since we all have ideas, let's hurry back by boat to make the calls. In a couple of days, a cargo ship from the provincial capital is coming. I'll just have someone go to the village to pick it up and bring it along."

"Then let's wait a few more days before deciding."

Having already spent so much time, Ye Yaodong didn't mind waiting a bit longer. Now he only needs to make a small contribution, and the return later will be hundreds of times over. It's worth it no matter what.

"Then Third Uncle, should we go back first? We have nothing to do here. We aren't buying houses, we aren't buying land, and we aren't buying boats."

"Yeah, waiting here idly is still waiting. We might as well go back and drive tractors to earn money. Here we're just baking in the sun."

Ye Yaodong looked at the two flattering men and nodded. Keeping them here now was useless. Once it was confirmed the land could be bought, he would bring the two of them over then.

Bringing the two of them over would be easier than dragging his two brothers. He couldn't force his two brothers to buy, but he could pin these two down and use threats and inducements; they wouldn't dare make a sound.

These past few days had been hard on them, running around everywhere in the sun. After being stuck for so many days, they were finally saying they wanted to go back.

"Fine, then you two go back with Lin Ji first. I'll wait here. I still have to wait for Director Zhang's news."

Lin Ji nodded. "That works too. Anyway, without the village certificate, we aren't of much use here."

A Guang said, "We'll go back. If you need anything later, you can call our dad and send us to run errands."

That would work.

On their way back, they discussed and reached an agreement.

Lin Ji's cargo ship wasn't leaving that soon. He arranged for other cargo ships to take everyone back to Zhoushan City. Since the two places were close and many seafood products from Zhoushan City were transported here, freight was quite convenient. Cargo ships came and went every two days, making travel to this side even more convenient than going home.

Before leaving, everyone had asked Ye Yaodong to call the village committee, and they had reached an agreement with the committee to issue the certificate on their behalf and help them out.

After all, when they go out, they are people of Bai Sha Village. Everyone going out to develop and bringing honor and glory to the village means the village cadres must support them from behind and provide whatever conveniences are due.

Only after receiving the village's promise did everyone return to Zhoushan City or wait for news as appropriate.

However, Ye Yaodong did not wait long; everyone left that afternoon, and Director Zhang notified him that same evening to meet the sellers, who were selling houses and land to emigrate, first thing tomorrow morning.

They say they are selling land, but actually it is only usage rights; the state's return is partial and subject to a time limit.

The speed is fast enough; they said they would connect him yesterday, there is news today, and he can meet the person tomorrow.

The seller is actually an old woman; during the struggle against landlords in previous years, her family assets were confiscated, and during the years she was sent down, her remaining family members passed away one by one.

Some of her family assets were returned in recent years, but for a dying old person, it meant little, yet she did not sell them, simply guarding them there.

Recently, descendants who emigrated many years ago and their offspring have returned to take her abroad to enjoy life, so the old woman plans to sell all her domestic assets.

There is nothing here worth her lingering over, and it is a place of sorrow.

Persisting in guarding it for a few years was also to see if she could wait for the person she wanted to wait for during her remaining years.

It can be said that Heaven does not fail the diligent; the old lady waited and her remaining years were fulfilled, otherwise, after she passed, with no one to take over the assets, they would be turned over to the state anyway.

Ye Yaodong heard these stories from Director Zhang while on the road.

Moreover, they are in a hurry to emigrate, so the asking price is not high; the Western-style house in District JA is only 100,000, the two shops in Puxi together are only 100,000, and the two mu of farmland in Pudong are only 1,000 per mu.

There is only one condition: cash, and it must be paid in full within three days; otherwise, the old woman will not care about these things, leaving them there for her descendants to handle later.

Ye Yaodong has not seen them yet, only listening to Director Zhang, but without mentioning anything else, just the Western-style house in District JA for 100,000 means he has already found a huge bargain; he does not need to see it, his heart is already fully willing.

The farmland in Pudong was indeed not worth much; the gap between Pudong and Puxi is huge, otherwise people would not say, "Better a bed in Puxi than a house in Pudong."

The three days are a bit tight; going to Puxi today to see the house and shops, then going to Pudong to see the farmland, will take a whole day.

Then there are procedures to handle; transferring usage rights is very cumbersome now, and handling procedures in one day is also very tight.

His money is still in Zhou City; after seeing everything, he must immediately call to have his father entrust Ah Guang and others to send it over.

"I told you all this, don't just nod; give your opinion. They said if you can't come up with that much money to buy everything at once, they wouldn't bother taking you to see it."

"In this scorching heat, running through all these places takes a whole day; they don't have much time in the country, and if there are objections, they don't want to waste their time."

Ye Yaodong nodded hurriedly, then quickly spoke, "The total is 202,000, right? As long as the contracts and certificates for the house, shops, and farmland are fine, I can pay in full within three days, but can the notarization, filing, and registration procedures be completed for me within three days?"

"That will cost some money..."

"No problem. If I really buy all this and get the procedures done, I will give Uncle Zhang 500 yuan as a hard-earned fee."

"Ah?" Director Zhang's mouth dropped open in a circle.

He did not expect such an unexpected windfall.

Originally, it was just that his grandfather had heatstroke; he went to check on him, found he was an acquaintance, so they had a meal together, and the conversation led to this.

He thought the old man had saved his grandfather; otherwise, lying in the field under the sun all day, he would have been dried into a mummy, so he helped make the connection and ran this errand.

Ye Yaodong smiled and said, "It's fate with you too, Uncle; how could I let you run for nothing in this scorching heat? You even took leave, and a day's absence deducts quite a bit of wages."

"Hehe, what is that? I promised, so of course I must fulfill it."

"Yes, you are helping because you value your reputation, so I cannot take it for granted; moreover, you solved my problem, so giving a red envelope is appropriate."

"This is too much; 500 yuan is several months' wages, I cannot accept it; just buy a pack of cigarettes or a bottle of liquor..."

Although Director Zhang was very tempted, he still restrained himself.

"We insist on giving red envelopes to seek good luck and a happy omen. Later, when the matter is settled, I will bring two bottles of liquor and two cartons of cigarettes to thank Grandpa Zhang."

"Hehe, you young man know how to handle things."

"It's the least I should do; when away from home, we rely on kind people like you for help. If anyone else is eager to emigrate and wants to sell houses or land, let me know."

Ye Yaodong chuckled and added, "You know, we are from out of town, wanting to develop here; Shanghai is a big city, and I have admired it since childhood. If you have news, please introduce it; we will save ourselves from searching everywhere, which is good for everyone."

Director Zhang nodded repeatedly, "Yes, you outsiders, without a path here, how could you know these things?"

"Exactly, only you locals have wide social circles, plus good neighborly relations and many relatives, so your information network is broad."

"Alright then, I won't be pretentious; thank you. Later, I will have someone ask around; there has indeed been a lot of emigration in recent years."

"Right? I heard that too."

These are people who emigrated many years ago; then they received news that the country has improved in recent years, so they thought of returning to find relatives, and those who found family and friends would take them abroad.

This created the emigration wave of recent years; especially in big cities like Shanghai, the emigration wave is even larger, including those going abroad for studies.

"Sigh, those going abroad are either hard-luck people or those with deep family roots."

"Hehe..."

Ye Yaodong smiled while listening to the person recall the past, occasionally giving a response to let them continue speaking.

They took the bus all the way, saw the Western-style house, then the shops, and also checked several property deed certificates; since there were no problems, Ye Yaodong immediately settled with the old woman.

This was to avoid the old woman not getting a reassurance pill and not wanting to run so far to Pudong with him.

He did not even bargain on the price, agreeing directly; the old woman was very happy to dispose of these assets so quickly without any worries, and immediately took the deed in her hand and went with him to Pudong to identify the land.

The land was a bit far from the riverside, but that was even better for him.

If it were close to the riverside, wouldn't it have been requisitioned long ago?

Then he would have lost big; he could not refuse land requisition, and the initial price given was not high; this land becomes more valuable the later it is.

The closer to Lujiazui or the Oriental Pearl Tower, the less he could want it; that might be even more troublesome and less beneficial to him.

Ye Yaodong asked Director Zhang to help find someone to draft the contract; he would come back the next afternoon to sign, and if there were no problems, he would pay immediately.

Drafting the contract also takes time, but since their time is tight now, they can only sign the contract in one day, then spend money on connections the next day to hurry up the procedures.

He also called the Chamber of Commerce immediately upon returning to the guesthouse because he was in a hurry; he begged the Chamber to send someone to his base to find his father, call him back immediately, and say there was an urgent matter.

If it were not inconvenient to find a boat temporarily and he feared the round trip would not make it in time, he would have gone back himself to get it, which would be even more trouble-free.

"Damn that fatso, telling him to install a phone has dragged on until the Pacific Ocean; how long has it been..."

Transportation is inconvenient now, making calls is inconvenient, and he is in a hurry; it is truly maddening.

Just as he hung up the phone while cursing and cursing the fatso, and was paying the phone bill, the phone rang again.

The receptionist answered and handed the phone directly to him, "You are called Ye Yaodong, right? Your phone call."

He had been staying at the guesthouse for over half a month; yesterday, his traveling companions left, leaving only him, so of course the receptionist knew him.

Ye Yaodong picked up the phone, somewhat puzzled, "Hello?"

"Dongzi? Why did you answer so fast? I thought I'd have to wait five minutes before calling back."

"Holy crap, Dad, that's lightning speed! What a coincidence, I just called the Merchant Guild a moment ago to have them pass..."

"No need to pass it on. The canteen got a phone installed today. I called you right after it was set up. They all came back last night. Why didn't you return?"

He cursed too quickly; he took back the words he had just said about Fatty.

They got home last night, and a phone is already installed today. What efficiency.

"I didn't return because I hadn't finished my business, but I have an urgent matter now. Drag out the few sacks I hid under the bed. Hand the one with pots, pans, bowls, and ladles to Ah Guang. Tell him to take two friends, get a boat first thing tomorrow morning, and send it over. I need it urgently."

"Huh? Pots, pans, bowls, and ladles needed urgently? What are you up to? Are you going to set up a stove and cook? Or are you going to live there?"

"Neither. Don't ask so many questions. Just hand that sack to Ah Guang. Tell him to guard it closely all the way, never let it out of his sight, and deliver it to my hands personally. I'm still staying at that guesthouse."

"What are you doing..."

"Forget it. Call Ah Guang to the phone; I'll tell him myself."

"Alright..."

Ye Yaodong heard his father's loud voice calling Chenghe, telling Chenghe to go get someone.

After quite a while, Ah Guang finally arrived. Ye Yaodong repeated the same instructions to him, solemnly demanding that he must deliver that sack of pots, pans, bowls, and ladles into his hands before tomorrow afternoon.

Ah Guang asked a few questions about why, but when he got no answer, he stopped asking, saying only that he needed to hurry out and find Lin Ji to help him find a boat.

If he went looking on his own, he wouldn't find one at night. If he looked again tomorrow morning, he might not make it by the afternoon.

A perfectly fine matter had turned into a frantic rush, throwing everyone into chaos, but there was no other way.

It was a good thing they had returned a day early. Now that he had something to do, he could still get everyone to handle it for him. Otherwise, only his father could deliver it, and his father probably wouldn't even know how to take a boat.

After hanging up the phone, Ye Yaodong also breathed a sigh of relief.

However, he couldn't bring himself to go upstairs. Ah Guang said he would call back once he found a boat departing early tomorrow morning.

He would just go out, buy some food, come back, and wait while eating in the main hall.

Asking Lin Ji for help to find a boat now probably wouldn't be a big problem. They were all in freight transport; they would always know whose boat was heading to Shanghai, which would save a lot of trouble.

Just as he had thought, around 8 PM that evening, Ah Guang called to say he had booked a vehicle departing at 5 AM tomorrow, though the arrival time was uncertain. Anyway, it would definitely arrive by tomorrow afternoon.

Only then did Ye Yaodong feel relieved. He also instructed him to bring two more people tomorrow so they would have company.

After finishing lunch the next day, Ye Yaodong waited at the ferry terminal, though he kept going back and forth to the guesthouse to check if there was a call for him.

It was a good thing the guesthouse was close to the ferry terminal. It was just a bit hot and sunny going back and forth, but in his state of extreme anxiety, where could he find the time to care?

Having been in Shanghai for less than half a month, Ye Yaodong was already blackened beyond recognition.

Six years of fisherman life hadn't tanned him; instead, half a month in Shanghai had turned him copper-colored.

This actually made him look more mature. Otherwise, despite being thirty, he looked like a pretty boy, giving people the impression that a mouth without hair meant unreliable work.

He had looked in the mirror early this morning and felt quite satisfied with the look. It didn't make him look old, but it did make him look mature. Not bad at all.

He just didn't know if he would turn white again after resting for a while, but he guessed it would be difficult. He was already over thirty, not a teenager anymore. Would resting a bit make him white again?

Even if he did get a bit whiter, he wouldn't get that white.

Being a bit black now would be more suitable in a couple of years when he grew a bit of a beard. A pretty boy growing a beard would look ridiculous no matter how you looked at it.

Ye Yaodong went back and forth every half hour. Finally, at 2 o'clock, he waited until Ah Guang carried the sack off the boat.

He almost wept with joy.

"Ancestor, I finally waited for you."

"Damn, is it necessary to be so exaggerated? Calling me Ancestor? I'm not dead yet."

Ah Zheng: "Dongzi, what are you doing with pots, pans, bowls, and ladles? They kept clanging and clanging, so noisy it was unbearable. People scolded us on the road too. It's just that Laozi didn't understand. If he had understood what they were scolding about, they'd have had a hard time." Ah Zheng cursed and grumbled.

Xiao Xiao: "Are you planning to settle here for the long term? Or is there something good hidden inside?"

Ye Yaodong chuckled, took the sack from Guang's back, hoisted it onto his own shoulder, and led them toward the guesthouse.

"Wait until I get back to count my belongings first. Tonight, I'll treat you all to a proper meal."

Ah Guang: "You didn't come back. Dad cursed to death. He kept asking me, 'We came back, why didn't you?'"

Ah Zheng: "Made us rush over here today. Otherwise, your dad would think we deliberately left you in a strange place where you know no one."

Xiao Xiao: "We could say we'd leave anyone, but not you."

"Alright, hurry and go rest. Take a nap. We've arranged a room for each of you. I'll call you later."

?? Don't know how, but whenever I do math, my brain doesn't work. I've corrected it. Fortunately, everything is electronic payment now.

? (End of this chapter)