“How did Chengcheng find out about this?” Papa Wang had not heard anything about Fengxia Mountain, so he had not connected the matter to it. He was mildly surprised when his son brought up the developer.
“Aunt Zhang told me when I went to see Little Sister.”
“Your Aunt Zhang is right.” Papa Wang knew Wang Cheng would find out sooner or later, so he might as well use the opportunity to explain everything. There was nothing to hide anyway. “Word started spreading half a month ago. Strangers kept coming into our village, and at first everyone was wondering who they were. Later, someone heard they’d been sent by a developer that wants to buy Wang Family Village, Zhang Family Village, and Chen Family Village. It’s definitely real. I heard negotiations in Chen Family Village are already finished, and some villagers have even started moving out. Wang Family Village and Zhang Family Village will probably be next.”
Wang Cheng thought it over. Half a month ago, the old monk had only just died. He had had no desire to come down the mountain, nor had he wanted anyone to learn about the death immediately, especially his family. Otherwise, his parents would certainly have rushed up the mountain to see him. They had not spent much time together over the years, but he knew they genuinely cared about him. For that reason, he had temporarily cut himself off from everything below the mountain and had therefore missed the news.
“Dad, did you find out how much each household in Chen Family Village sold for?”
That was important. If the price was too low, selling would not be worth it. Still, since more than half of Chen Family Village had already moved away, the developer’s offer probably was not too bad.
Papa Wang held up his fingers to indicate a figure and looked fairly satisfied. “They offered this much. But I heard the price may vary a little depending on location. Wang Family Village happens to sit between Zhang Family Village and Chen Family Village, and the village secretary also said our price might be a little higher.”
The news had not yet spread widely, and the people in Chen Family Village had been told not to say too much. Papa Wang only knew so many details because he was friends with the village secretary.
“This developer seems to have at least some conscience.” Seeing Papa Wang happy made Wang Cheng happy for him too. At least their family did not look likely to become one of those holdout households. Back when he was in school, he had heard stories about people refusing to move for development projects. It was the sort of thing that exhausted everyone involved. If they ran into a bad developer, they could forget about living peacefully.
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At that very moment, the developer, who was speaking with a subordinate in an office somewhere, suddenly sneezed. Under the subordinate’s astonished look of so the boss sneezes too, he calmly continued the conversation as though nothing had happened.
“Fengxia Mountain is crucial. I don’t want anything going wrong with that parcel.”
The man in the executive chair slid the documents across the desk with one long, slender index finger. His posture was casual, yet it placed enormous pressure on the person standing before him, though fortunately the latter had already grown somewhat accustomed to it.
“Boss, don’t worry. I’ll personally handle the negotiations with the other party.” Zhang Yiheng immediately gave his assurance. Even without the reminder, he knew how important this parcel was. He would not feel comfortable leaving it to his assistant Fang Tian, so he would definitely have to make the trip himself. He could only hope the other party was reasonable; if negotiations dragged on too long, he would have a hard time explaining himself.
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Two days later, Secretary Wang publicly announced the purchase price for the village land. It was indeed slightly higher than the price in Chen Family Village. Aside from a few elderly villagers who were still reluctant to move, most people were delighted. Those with larger houses and more land were especially happy, calculating every day how much money their families would receive. Some could not even wait to start bragging about it to others.
Wang Cheng’s Eldest Uncle and Second Uncle were two such people.
There were three Wang brothers. Wang Cheng’s father was the third and youngest, but that did not mean he was the most favored. Their grandparents were still alive, and in fact preferred Eldest Uncle Wang Hongwei.
Back then, the Wang family owned two houses, which made them fairly well-off by Wang Family Village standards. When Eldest Uncle married, he unceremoniously claimed the larger house for himself.
Second Uncle Wang Hongwen had a formidable wife, Madam Zhang, who was Wang Cheng’s Second Aunt. She had married into the family from Zhang Family Village and had given the Wangs one son and two daughters. At the time, Papa Wang had begun discussing marriage before Second Uncle. The brothers were only two years apart in age, but the houses became a point of dispute. Seeing that the two houses were about to be divided between his brothers, Second Uncle hurriedly and rather carelessly found himself a wife.
Zhang Family Village was famous for producing fierce women. Second Uncle had gotten together with Madam Zhang for the sake of the house, and she certainly lived up to his expectations. She refused to yield an inch when it came to the property, throwing tantrums, making scenes, and resorting to every shameless tactic she could think of. The two elders cared greatly about appearances, so they tried to persuade Papa Wang to give way. They even offered him some of their savings, but it was not much and could not compare with the value of a house. Papa Wang refused it. Sometimes a man had nothing left to fight for but his pride and dignity.
Fortunately, Mama Wang did not look down on Papa Wang because of it. Although her own family had strongly opposed their marriage at the time, she still resolutely married him.
After that incident, Papa Wang gradually became estranged from his elder brothers. They still kept in contact, but their relationship was nowhere near as close as before, especially since Eldest Aunt and Second Aunt were hardly easy women to get along with.