Chapter 201: Enemies on a Narrow Road
The old village chief said, “What other reason could there be? Of course, it’s because Cheng Chunhua didn’t want to let others benefit, so their family wanted to occupy two homesteads!”
Xu Fang was stunned upon hearing this.
The village chief continued, “The two of them—Cheng’s homestead, they couldn’t bear to give up, and Wang’s homestead, they wanted to take too, afraid they’d suffer a loss.”
“The village had previously tried to persuade them to demolish that old house. That broken house has been standing at the village entrance, looking so ugly. But they were afraid that if they demolished it, they’d lose the homestead, so they stubbornly refused. That’s why the yard has been empty all this time.”
Even before meeting this couple, Xu Fang could already anticipate how difficult they would be to deal with. But remembering Xu Youyou’s instructions, she still braced herself and asked, “Village chief, can you help us contact this couple? We want to rent the house.”
The village chief immediately shook his head and said, “In rural areas, houses don’t have property certificates, and homesteads can’t be sold, only rented.”
Hearing this, Xu Fang didn’t hesitate and said, “Then we’ll rent it.”
Assistant Liu looked at her in surprise, thinking, What’s so special about this broken house?
The village chief was quite happy that a villager could earn some extra income and said, “Don’t worry, I’ll contact them now. Even though Wang Dayong and his wife run an oil-pressing factory, their two kids aren’t married yet. Their family is short on money, so they’ll definitely agree.”
Xu Youyou received the news and walked over slowly with Lu Jingyao. By the time they arrived at the village committee office, the house owners were already there.
The moment both parties met, they were all stunned.
“It’s you who wants to rent my house? No way!” the other party barked aggressively.
Xu Youyou frowned slightly. She hadn’t expected that the house belonged to the family that had previously come to the orphanage to force a marriage. A sense of disgust rose in her heart.
Lu Jingyao immediately stepped in front of her, frowning at the family. “If you prefer to leave the house empty, then keep it that way.”
He didn’t understand why Xu Youyou wanted to rent this old house, but his instinct was to help her get it.
Sure enough, as soon as he adopted his businesslike attitude, the family, despite their past grudges, suddenly became anxious.
After all, keeping an empty house was a financial burden. If they could rent it out, it would be much better. Cheng Chunhua initially refused out of spite, but also as a tactic to drive up the price.
“Why are young people these days so impatient? Can’t we talk things over slowly? I never said I wouldn’t rent it. Let’s discuss this properly,” Cheng Chunhua quickly changed her attitude as if performing a Sichuan opera face change.
Lu Jingyao remained cold. “Time is valuable. No nonsense.”
The old village chief also glared at Cheng Chunhua and said, “A big boss from the city is interested in your house. That’s a blessing for you. You should know how to appreciate it. Qing girl was such a good kid, and you scared her away. No wonder your family is getting worse and worse!”
Cheng Chunhua snapped, “Village chief, don’t bring up that ungrateful girl. I went through so much trouble to arrange a good marriage for her, but she didn’t appreciate it and even ran away with our family’s money! It makes me so mad!”
She didn’t notice that when she said this, her eldest son behind her looked guilty.
The village chief glanced at Xu Youyou and the others. He didn’t believe a word of Cheng Chunhua’s story. If she had truly been a good aunt, why would Qing have run away? But in front of outsiders, he didn’t bother to expose her.
“Enough, stop talking nonsense. One question—are you renting the house or not?” the village chief asked.
Of course, Cheng Chunhua wanted to rent it out. But her family was small, and both her husband and son were short and weak. Meanwhile, the bodyguards behind Xu Youyou and Lu Jingyao were all tall and strong, giving the impression that powerful outsiders were overwhelming the local bullies.
“Wait a bit. I’ve called someone over to help me negotiate,” Cheng Chunhua said.
She still believed in having more people on her side. Previously, when she went to the orphanage to force a marriage, she brought a whole group. Now, her first reaction in a negotiation was to call for backup.
In the village, houses were close together, so in less than ten minutes, the village committee’s meeting room was packed.
“Did Chunhua call us because she found Qing?”
“The Dayong couple raised Qing, and all they wanted was for her to marry the fool from the neighboring village. She ran away—what an ungrateful brat!”
The relatives Cheng Chunhua called over were, of course, just like her—nothing good.
The village chief rubbed his temples in frustration. “Cheng Chunhua! What are you doing? This is a negotiation, not a fight. Why are you calling so many people?”
Cheng Chunhua said, “They have a lot of people too! I just don’t want to be at a disadvantage. Xu girl, now we can talk business.”
Xu Youyou smiled and said, “Auntie Cheng, since so many people are here to help you, if you make money, don’t forget to treat them to a feast. And it better be top-notch!”
Cheng Chunhua had no intention of treating anyone. She just wanted them to help for free.
But her relatives immediately chimed in, “Yeah, Chunhua, if you’re making money, we expect a good meal. At least bring out some Wuliangye liquor!”
Cheng Chunhua, who wouldn’t even give more than 200 yuan worth of gifts when forcing a marriage, couldn’t bear to buy expensive liquor. She panicked and said, “Don’t listen to this brat! You’re just here to show support; it won’t take much time.”
But Xu Youyou wasn’t done. “Don’t you all know? I plan to rent her house for 50 years. Even if the rent is only 5,000 yuan per year, that’s still 250,000 yuan over time.”
For ordinary families, even 100,000 yuan was a fortune, let alone 250,000.
Although Cheng Chunhua had boasted about running a factory when she came to the orphanage, it was actually just a small oil-pressing workshop. Even in a good year, she might not make 100,000 yuan.
Now, an idle and broken house could bring in 250,000 yuan. This business was enough to make people jealous.
At this moment, her relatives truly were jealous.
They had come to support her, but now they wanted to compete.
“Her house isn’t that great. If we’re talking about old houses, mine is even older. It’s just in a slightly more remote location. But don’t worry, boss, I’ll give you a good deal—4,900 per year!”
The speaker was Cheng Chunhua’s sister-in-law.
Cheng Chunhua glared at her fiercely. “Third Aunt, you’d even snatch money from your own family?! This is your nephew’s marriage money! Are you heartless enough to see your nephew stay single?”
