Da Nuan's words brought a slight smile to Zhang Cheng's lips. It felt pretty good to have his shop praised like that.

His appearance made Da Nuan roll her eyes: "Er Gouzi, I'm talking to you seriously! Funing is a city now, and the policies are good. If you want to do business, ask Shanxi Province to help you."

"No need," Zhang Cheng shook his head gently. "I plan to stay in the village for the time being."

"Stay in the village? Stop the clothing business?" Da Nuan pressed.

"We've hired someone."

"You!" Da Nuan said, looking at him with exasperation. "Making money is so hard these days. It won't hurt you to do a little more work. Why hire someone?"

Du Shansheng, standing nearby, chuckled and turned to Da Nuan: "Little Zhang knows how to manage money. Unlike me, I work myself to the bone at the cannery every day and only make a little over a hundred yuan a month."

Zhang Cheng's eyebrows twitched almost imperceptibly as he looked at Du Shansheng, who wore a smug expression. "The cannery salary is that high?"

Du Shansheng met Zhang Cheng's gaze, straightening his back even more: "Xiao Cheng, how much did you earn in a month when you were dealing in clothes in the county?"

"not much."

"Here's what we'll do: come work at the cannery under me, and I'll pay you thirty yuan a month. Our factory is about to undergo privatization, which will create a lot of vacancies. If you work for me, I guarantee you'll become a workshop foreman within three years."

Da Nuan watched Zhang Cheng pick up the white porcelain cup and slowly drink water, then shook her head in disappointment, thinking to herself that this person was truly hopeless.

At this moment, the old village chief, having finished entertaining the villagers outside, cheerfully entered the house: "Shan Sheng, how did your chat with Er Gouzi go? Let me tell you, Er Gouzi is the most promising young man in our village. If you need anything in the county, just look for him."

"Uncle!" Du Shansheng interrupted the old village chief, a hint of displeasure in his voice. He, the only son of the production director of the cannery, did he really need a mountain boy's help?

“Uncle, Xiao Cheng’s clothing business can indeed make money. But that’s for big clothing stores with storefronts. Setting up a street stall, let alone whether it’s profitable or not, if someone reports it, it’ll be considered speculation and profiteering. That’s why I asked Xiao Cheng if he would like to come to the cannery.” Du Shansheng said with a smile.

The old village chief's smile faltered slightly. Although he didn't know the exact size of Er Gouzi's business, it certainly wasn't small.

"I heard that the cannery was acquired by a Shanghainese?" Zhang Cheng suddenly asked.

Du Shan glanced at Zhang Cheng with a hint of surprise: "Where did you hear this news from?"

A friend mentioned it.

"It seems you have some connections in the county," Du Shansheng said with a smile.

The old village chief looked at Zhang Cheng, then at Du Shansheng. Both men had smiles on their faces, but their words betrayed a hint of discord.

"Shan Sheng, Er Gouzi, let's eat first and chat while we eat!" The old village chief didn't want his prospective son-in-law to clash with Zhang Cheng.

"Da Nuan, Xiao Nuan, go to the kitchen and help your mother bring the dishes up!" the old village chief instructed his two daughters.

Zhang Cheng smiled and said nothing more.

The old village chief pulled Du Shansheng to sit at the head of the table on the right, which was considered his acceptance of Du Shansheng's status as his prospective son-in-law.

"Shan Sheng, try this wine. I've been storing it for many years." The old village chief chuckled as he poured wine for Du Shan Sheng.

Du Shansheng wanted to decline, after all, the old village chief was an elder, but he couldn't go against his insistence.

The old village chief filled Du Shansheng's glass to the brim, and then filled Zhang Cheng's glass as well: "Er Gouzi, this wine can't compare to Moutai, but it's not bad either. You should try it."

"Uncle, I don't know anything about wine, I can't tell good from bad," Zhang said honestly.

Soon, Da Xiao Nuan brought the dishes and placed them on the table.

After a few drinks, Du Shansheng became more talkative, repeatedly saying that he liked Da Nuan and that he would guarantee her a lifetime of happiness if she stayed with him.

"Uncle, to be honest, my house is going to be demolished soon. So, I want to get married with Da Nuan as soon as possible so we can get a bigger share of the compensation. Of course, my family won't take a single penny of that extra money; it will all go to Da Nuan."

"Good, good, good!" The old village chief nodded in satisfaction.

“However, the demolition compensation might not come through until next year. So, I discussed it with my parents and we plan to buy two apartments in the county. One for my parents to live in, and the other for Da Nuan and me as our wedding home. But, my family doesn't have enough savings right now.” Du Shansheng looked troubled.

The old village chief's brow twitched. He did have some savings, but those were for Xiao Nuan's education.

"Shanxi Province, how much more do you need?" the old village chief asked.

"Three thousand!"

"Huh? So many?"

“Uncle, three thousand isn’t much. A commercial apartment in the county costs seven or eight thousand now. How about this, Uncle, you pay three thousand, and Da Nuan’s name will be on the property certificate.”

Zhang Cheng, picking at his food, glanced at Du Shansheng out of the corner of his eye. This kid was eyeing the old village chief's retirement savings. While housing prices in Funing County had indeed risen, three thousand yuan a unit was more than enough; seven or eight thousand was pure nonsense.

Although the old village chief had savings, he couldn't come up with three thousand yuan in a short time.

Standing next to Du Shansheng, Da Nuan spoke up: "Dad, Shansheng has been so considerate of me, even putting only my name on the property deed, what else do you have to worry about?"

The old village chief glared at Da Nuan. She wasn't even married into the family yet, and she was already siding with outsiders. However, his daughter's words made some sense. He had no sons, and he would have to rely on his daughter and son-in-law to care for him in his old age.

His gaze shifted to Zhang Cheng, who was slowly eating his food, and he coughed lightly: "Er Gouzi, how about you lend your uncle two thousand yuan?"

Everyone in Da Nuan and Dushan Province looked at Zhang Cheng. Selling clothes at a street stall, that's so profitable?

Zhang Cheng put down his chopsticks, still chewing on cured meat, and looked at Du Shansheng with a smile: "Brother Du, don't you earn more than a hundred a month? Logically speaking, your family of three should have a lot of savings, so why are you short of money to buy a house?"

This chapter is not finished, please click the next page to continue reading!