Back To the Small Fishing Village In 1982 - Chapter 75

Chapter 75: Changing the Homestead Plot

Lin Jishang smiled and said, “All of this is negotiable, as long as you’re willing to sell.”

Their village was just a small fishing village where half the villagers were relatives, and the other half were somehow connected if you traced the relationships. Besides, since they wanted to buy the land, they naturally had to speak politely first.

“What? Are you planning to pay a high price? You should know this is land for three houses!”

“Why don’t we go to your house to discuss? It’s not convenient to talk under the sun.”

“No time, we’re very busy. We need to build the new houses quickly so we can move in! You should know this is a feng shui treasure spot. Since buying this plot, our family has been constantly making money, catching more fish in our trawl nets than others every day. With such a good location, of course we want to build quickly and move in!”

Ye Yaohua awkwardly glanced at Ye Yaodong, wondering how their plot had suddenly become a feng shui treasure spot.

Hadn’t it been just Brother Dong who’d been getting good catches lately? They hadn’t seemed particularly prosperous.

The three visitors looked at each other, feeling this might be difficult to handle.

“Is Uncle Ye Three out at sea? Then we’ll come back in the evening when he returns.”

They left as quickly as they had come!

The Ye brothers stood watching their hurried departure.

After they were far away, Lin Xiuqing asked, “They really believed that feng shui story? How can it be so mysterious?”

“Who knows if he’s been fooled by some fortune teller he found? Never mind that, we’ll just keep saying this place is a feng shui treasure spot, you know? When the tide rises, the boats float higher, understand?”

“Are we really going to sell? We’ve already transported so many materials from the mountain and river.”

“No worries, if they really want to buy, they’ll need to pay a high price. Otherwise, we won’t sell. We can’t lose money, right? After all, it’s a feng shui treasure spot, isn’t it? Everyone has seen how we’ve been making money lately, and some businesspeople believe in these mysterious things.”

Ye Yaodong lounged under a shady tree, no longer planning to work. He figured they might actually make a profit by reselling.

If they could sell at a high price, of course they would sell. Money is money, and they could build a house anywhere – there was plenty of empty land in the village, they could just find another spot.

Lin Xiuqing was starting to believe this plot really was a feng shui treasure spot.

So was Ye Yaohua, “Is this really a feng shui treasure spot? Then we shouldn’t sell! With such good feng shui, our family will keep prospering.”

Ye Yaodong gave his second brother an exasperated look, “If I tell you I’m talking nonsense, would you believe that?”

“Didn’t he have someone check the feng shui yesterday morning?”

“Remember when a fortune teller said your son would become a top scholar in the imperial examinations? Did you believe that?”

“Uh… no…”

That second nephew ended up farming purple seaweed…

“There you have it. These fortune tellers’ words should just be taken lightly. Since he says it’s a feng shui treasure spot, we’ll treat it as one and squeeze them for a higher price.”

It was perfect timing since they were poor. Selling at a high price would make a profit, and they could find another plot to build on, with some money left over.

He eyed the plot near the beach – it looked good, facing the sea, warm and blooming in spring, even better feng shui!

In his previous life, when the village developed tourism, they had filled in a large area of the beach tidal flats for homestead plots, then built a bunch of villas. Those villas were later turned into guesthouses, with business booming like crazy.

Now the beach hadn’t been filled, but there was still plenty of empty land around. Securing a plot early would mean compensation money decades later during demolition.

Initially, when his father talked about building houses to divide the family, he had just been reborn and hadn’t sorted out his thoughts, not considering this aspect. But now was perfect!

He stopped Lin Xiuqing who was pushing a wheelbarrow of ash, about to head up the mountain to work, “Take a break, don’t work so hard. Wait till Mom brings lunch and we’ll talk to her about it.”

“But we can’t delay the work.”

“What do you think about building a house near the beach? Open the window and there’s the sea – facing the sea, warm spring blooms, isn’t that nice?”

Lin Xiuqing said irritably, “You’re crazy, it’s not like we’ve never seen the sea. When a typhoon comes, one wave will flood the whole house.”

“We just need to build a bit further from the shore. There’s a huge empty area, if we build further back the waves won’t reach. You’ll be able to see high and low tide right from your doorstep, and you can go beachcombing anytime.”

She thought about it and felt he had a point. They would know the tide times from home and could get to the beach ahead of others.

“So… if those three come to our house this evening, are we really going to sell this plot?”

“We’ve only been working for a few days and just finished the foundation. Let’s see how much they offer. The foundation cost us 300 yuan, plus quite a bit in workers’ wages these days, and food and drinks all cost money. Let’s see what Dad says.”

He couldn’t make the decision since his parents had provided the money for building the house.

“Oh.”

Knowing someone was interested in their homestead plot, Ye Yaodong didn’t work as hard, unsure if his father would decide to sell.

He dawdled until work ended and returned home to learn that today’s fish catch was ordinary, selling for only twenty-eight yuan. After deducting diesel costs, only twenty-two or twenty-three yuan remained.

Compared to yesterday, it was much less.

As soon as Lin Xiuqing returned with Sister-in-law Ye and Second Sister-in-law Ye, they started cleaning fish without even catching their breath. Since the family got a boat, they had cleaned more fish daily than others would in a lifetime.

Father Ye had also heard that people had come to the homestead plot today openly expressing interest in buying. He was smoking his water pipe while considering whether to sell or not.

“What do you all think?”

Ye Yaodong, bare-chested with one foot propped on a chair, was fanning himself with a palm leaf fan, “Whatever, there’s empty land everywhere in the village, we can build anywhere. No need to hang ourselves on one tree. The house isn’t built yet anyway, just the foundation and a few stones piled up.”

Ye Yaopeng also said, “Let’s see how much they offer first. We can’t waste all our recent work.”

Ye Yaohua rubbed his hands and smiled foolishly, “Our plot is a feng shui treasure spot, they should be willing to pay well, right?”

“Why don’t we spread more word about our plot being a feng shui treasure spot, see if we can attract more rich people to compete for it?”

Father Ye glared at Mother Ye, “Bad idea, what if they say it’s fake and cause trouble? Lin Jishang and his group came on their own, it has nothing to do with us.”

“I’m going to bathe, who knows if they’ll come? I’m starving after working all day.”

“Go bathe first, then eat. We’ll talk when they arrive.”

After they finished dinner, when it was almost dark, the three visitors from earlier finally showed up.

“Uncle Ye Three, have you finished dinner?” Lin Jishang smiled and greeted everyone.

“Yes, I heard you came looking for me earlier?” Father Ye sat at the doorway enjoying the cool air, not moving an inch – after all, he wasn’t the one asking for something.

“Yes, my mother’s brother wanted to talk with you. My father wasn’t home, so I had to bring them. Can we talk inside?”

“Alright, let’s go inside then.”

All the Ye family men followed them in, leaving only the women and children enjoying the cool air at the door. Neighboring villagers were curiously asking what the visitors wanted.

Mother Ye deflected all questions, saying she didn’t know.