Chapter 107 Jinjiang Exclusive Demolition
The next day, Su Ruyi arrived at Zhang's Building ten minutes early. After she gave her name to the receptionist, Li Mingzhe's assistant came downstairs to meet her.
"President Li is still in a meeting, please wait a moment, Ms. Su." The assistant led Su Ruyi directly to Li Mingzhe's office.
Su Ruyi didn't expect that such a small order of hers would require her to coordinate with Li Mingzhe. This little matter was insignificant compared to the size of the Zhang Group.
This order is a big one for her, and as the leading enterprise in Qing Province, many companies will follow her example, which will definitely lead to other companies ordering clothing from her in the future.
Therefore, Su Ruyi was very proactive, but for Li Mingzhe, who was extremely busy, it was unnecessary.
Li Mingzhe arrived precisely at ten o'clock and apologized to Su Ruyi upon seeing her:
"I'm sorry to have kept Miss Su waiting."
"I'm early," Su Ruyi said with a smile. "For such a small matter, President Li can just have the person in charge handle it with me."
Li Mingzhe said frankly, "Miss Su is the old man's best friend, and I did this to make him happy."
Su Ruyi was surprised that he didn't hide anything at all. "You're so capable, the old man already values you highly enough that you don't need to do this."
Li Mingzhe smiled and did not continue the topic, but instead discussed the specifics with Su Ruyi.
He was neither perfunctory nor obsequious, but extremely businesslike. He did not deliberately raise the price because of Su Ruyi's relationship with Old Master Zhang, and even unceremoniously pushed the price down to the lowest possible level, unwilling to suffer any loss.
Su Ruyi admired his approach; business is business, and everyone should rely on their own abilities.
After the agreement was signed, Li Mingzhe did not try to stop them, saying:
"It's still early, so I won't keep Miss Su any longer. I'll invite Miss Su to dinner another time."
"I should be the one inviting President Li; he gave me such a big order."
Li Mingzhe smiled and said, "Miss Su, you're too kind. It's all the same no matter where you order, so you might as well go with Miss Su. The quality is guaranteed."
"Anyway, thank you very much."
"I heard that Miss Su's boyfriend owns the land where the Red Star Plastics Factory is located? Our company also considered acquiring that land before, but something went wrong, so the matter was put on hold."
Su Ruyi raised an eyebrow, feeling that Li Mingzhe was speaking with a purpose.
"Really? If I had known, I would have acted as a matchmaker for you two, and we wouldn't have missed this opportunity."
"It now seems that the land is destined not to belong to our Zhang Group. Our group has its eye on a piece of land over there. The scenery there is beautiful and it is very suitable for building a high-end residential area."
"The place you described looks a lot like my aunt's house."
Li Mingzhe smiled meaningfully: "That's quite a coincidence."
Su Ruyi instantly understood that this was a deliberate attempt to leak information to her and curry favor with her.
After the city opened up, the number of migrants gradually increased, and the original city was no longer sufficient for development. It continued to expand outward, and demolitions and land acquisitions occurred one after another. Many people are familiar with this, and the compensation methods are similar.
Although there are frequent cases of forced demolitions with inadequate compensation, most of the demolitions are legitimate, and many people become rich overnight through these demolitions.
The Zhang Group has always had a good reputation, and the prices they offer for land acquisition are quite considerable.
The original text does indeed mention that Su Ruyi was involved and that she used a domineering and forceful method to expropriate people, who were forced to leave their homes after receiving very little money.
Tong Dahua was cheated by Su Ruyi and didn't get a single penny, leaving her family in dire straits.
The original text doesn't mention the specifics of how it happened, only mentioning it briefly. It mainly portrays Su Ruyi's arrogance and shamelessness, and the helplessness of the male protagonist, because Su Ruyi was scolded by Old Master Zhang and almost kicked out of the Zhang family.
Li Mingzhe was also involved; Su Ruyi and Li Mingzhe were in cahoots.
Su Ruyi's eyebrows twitched slightly. Although the original text and reality differed greatly in matters concerning her, Su Ruyi remained wary of Li Mingzhe.
"Is Mr. Li going to be in charge of this project?"
Li Mingzhe shook his head: "I have not been involved in the real estate sector; that is Qingfeng's responsibility."
Real estate development is a sector that Zhang's Group has only started to develop in the last two years; before that, it focused on traditional heavy industry.
They also have their own construction team, which was formed to build factories and employee dormitories.
An independent construction team has now been formed to serve the company's real estate development.
The Zhang Group's foundation remains heavy industry, and it has many cooperative projects with the government, with Li Mingzhe primarily responsible for this area.
Based on the current Zhang family's business empire, real estate development is a weak link.
This shows that Zhang Qingfeng was not highly regarded.
Meanwhile, Zhang Qingyang, the eldest son of the third wife who is still in college, has already started working with Li Mingzhe on the group's core business.
"Thank you for reminding me."
Although Su Ruyi didn't understand why it was written that way in the original text, nor did she know the role Li Mingzhe played in it, it seemed that Li Mingzhe was giving her information and was kindly reminding her. Before she understood, it was always right for her to thank him first.
Li Mingzhe's statement indicates that the land acquisition process will begin soon, meaning that her and her aunt's family's investment will soon yield returns.
Su Ruyi doesn't have much money on hand right now, and the money she lent to her aunt to build a house is a considerable investment for her.
Su Ruyi would naturally be happy if she could see the benefits soon.
Li Mingzhe smiled and said, "Miss Su and I are just having a casual chat. Miss Su can just listen casually."
"Don't worry, it's nothing that's been made public. I'll forget about it once it's over."
The two exchanged a smile, everything understood without a word.
Zhang Qingfeng walked out of the office and happened to see this scene; his eyes darkened.
He thought Su Ruyi wasn't interested in the men of the Zhang family, which was why she was distant; it turned out she was only distant towards him.
Zhang Qingfeng was utterly disgusted that she was so obsequious to other men, even though she already had a boyfriend.
Is it because they think Li Mingzhe will be the future leader that their attitude is different?
Zhang Qingfeng had been skeptical of Li Yiyi's suggestion yesterday.
The idea of "trading canned food for airplanes" sounds incredibly bold and adventurous.
If it works out, great; but if something goes wrong, it will be hard to explain to the old man.
Grandpa Zhang prefers a down-to-earth approach and dislikes opportunistic methods.
As a result, Zhang Qingfeng missed countless opportunities, which greatly frustrated him.
Old Master Zhang's thinking is outdated. These days, the bold get rich, and the timid starve. Honest businessmen don't make much money.
Zhang Qingfeng secretly resolved that he had to achieve something.
If you can earn 100 million in just a few days, even if the methods are risky, the old man will only appreciate and approve of it.
Even without it, with 100 million, he could do a lot of things, so entering the core circle of the Zhang Group wouldn't be so urgent.
Once he develops his business, people will naturally come to him for help.
Once Zhang Qingfeng understood, he turned and left as if he hadn't seen Su Ruyi at all.
Su Ruyi and Li Mingzhe saw it, and couldn't help but feel puzzled. Zhang Qingfeng had clearly seen them.
Su Ruyi: So you're not pretending anymore?
The longer they spent together, the more Su Ruyi felt that Zhang Qingfeng was deliberately trying to exude charm in front of her and attract her attention.
Su Ruyi had seriously considered that if it weren't for the reminder in the original text, and her later encounter with Lu Ting, she might have been attracted to him.
Zhang Qingfeng is outstanding in both appearance and temperament, and he is also very gentlemanly. If I were under twenty years old, I would be attracted to such a person and wouldn't be able to see through his pretense.
Su Ruyi was puzzled as to why Zhang Qingfeng had suddenly changed his attitude, but it was for the best. She didn't want to have anything to do with him at all; the original story made her feel itchy all over whenever she saw him.
Having received confirmation, Su Ruyi took a taxi to her aunt's house.
The taxi driver was a chatterbox, and he brought up the recent series of murders of taxi drivers.
"I only dared to take you to such a remote place because you're a girl. Now all our taxi drivers are on edge, afraid of encountering that serial killer."
The murderer not only hijacks cars and kills people at night, but also deliberately takes taxis to remote places and then kills the drivers. Three taxi drivers have already been murdered.
The drivers were all on edge, fearing they might lose their lives at any moment.
Su Ruyi didn't dare to respond; she felt that she was currently possessed by some kind of mystical power.
The terrible events I encountered in my previous life, even over several decades, did not amount to as many as those in this year.
Lu Ting had just mentioned it that day when, lo and behold, they ran into it.
The driver didn't need Su Ruyi to react; he was just restless and wanted to talk to someone.
When the car arrived at Tong Dahua's house, it had changed so much that it was unrecognizable from its original state.
In less than three months, the five-story building was topped out, and it will be fully completed in less than a month, which is incredibly fast.
Su Ruyi got out of the car. The construction site had been cordoned off, and unauthorized personnel were not allowed to enter.
The house occupies a larger area than the original old house, estimated to be over 300 square meters. Only a small area was left as the front yard, which is now enclosed with bricks to clearly define the boundaries.
When they were setting up the road, they even had a dispute with the villagers, who felt that they had blocked the road.
The construction team leader was Cao Fei. He and his team stood up for Tong Dahua's family and went directly to the village secretary to clarify the matter.
Therefore, the house and yard are both more spacious than before.
When the car arrived, someone got out.
Cao Fei: "Sister-in-law, what brings you here? Why didn't you tell me beforehand?"
"I just came to see what it's like. I heard it's over budget quite a bit? Do you still have enough money?"
“It was built to be more spacious than originally planned, so the budget was insufficient. We are familiar with the material suppliers, and we still owe them money for the materials. We will settle the accounts together later, so the money you gave us is enough.”
Su Ruyi nodded. The building was over 300 square meters per floor and had five floors, making it quite conspicuous in this small village.
"Take these things, we'll share them for lunch later."
Su Ruyi handed the large bag to Cao Fei, who took it without hesitation. One look at the packaging and he knew it was the famous Wu Family Roast Duck.
"Sister-in-law, don't worry, this house will definitely be built perfectly for our aunt. After decorating the outside, it will definitely be the best house in the whole village."
"No need for exterior finishing, no need to paint the white walls, just connect the wiring."
Cao Fei was taken aback: "Isn't it a bit too frugal? If you're really short on money, just paint over the rooms we'll be staying in first."
That was Tong Dahua's plan, but Lu Ting said he would help her swipe the card and he would pay for it.
“Just do as I say, there’s no need to be so ostentatious now.”
Cao Fei understood why Tong Dahua's family was always bullied in the village.
These days, while they've been working here, quite a few villagers have come over to make sarcastic remarks, thinking that the Tong family has made some money and lost their minds, actually building such a big house in the village.
The only son is an idiot, isn't building such a big house a waste? It's just putting on a show of wealth.
Tong Dahua explained that there was one layer for each child, and another layer for Su Ruyi, which made everyone even more sarcastic.
Which family prepares a house for their daughter? Unless they're looking for a son-in-law to live with them, but how many good sons-in-law are actually that good?
Although the villagers looked down on her, many more felt a pang of envy. Everyone had seen what Tong Dahua's family was like before, and now they actually had the money to build such a big house. How much money did they make from their shop?
Even though it's a loan, borrowed money still has to be repaid.
Some people say that Su Ruyi wants to take over Tong Dahua's land, and if she can't repay it, the house and land will be hers. Although they live in a rural area, it's not far from the provincial capital, and land prices are not cheap.
As for whether it was worth it for Su Ruyi to spend so much money, these people didn't bother to calculate it.
The villagers had all sorts of opinions, especially the Yao family, who were the most vocal and said a lot of hurtful things. Tong Dahua's family became the hottest topic in the village.
However, since Tong Dahua's family rented a house in town, they didn't know what the villagers were saying, thus saving them the trouble of being nagged.
“Okay, it’s easy to do it again later anyway.” Cao Fei readily agreed.
Actually, he didn't know why such a big house had to be built in the village, but Lu Ting gave the order, so he just did as he was told.
As for whether this place would be demolished, Cao Fei hadn't thought about it at all. After all, the plastic factory was quite a distance away, and there wasn't enough land in between.
"Oh, by the way, your cousin is also working on the construction site. Should I have him come over and talk to you?"
Su Ruyi asked in surprise, "He didn't go to town?"
“He prefers working on construction sites. Although he’s not the brightest, he’s very skilled at his job. He’s laying bricks almost like a pro now, and his work is very neat. I’m thinking that if he’s willing, he can work with us in the future.”
Zhang Shitou wasn't very bright, but he was very serious, so he worked very carefully and was especially obedient to instructions.
Cao Fei was very easy to use, so I wanted to bring him into the team.
Su Ruyi: That's great! My aunt and uncle can rest assured that my child is with you.
Working on a construction site is more lucrative than farming at home.
Cao Fei is reliable, so there's no need to worry about Zhang Shitou being bullied if he follows him.
"Ruyi, what are you doing here?" Aunt Liu came over to check as soon as she saw a car driving this way. "Didn't your aunt tell you? She lives in town now and only comes back every few days."
Su Ruyi greeted Aunt Liu and said, "I've come to see how the house construction is going."
“It’s great. When my husband came back, he praised us, saying we were much more professional than them, and that we worked faster and better. He even said he wanted to learn from us.”
Aunt Liu's husband was a small contractor and one of the first villagers from Xinghua Village to venture out into the world, so their family was one of the wealthier ones in the village.
Aunt Liu looked around and pulled Su Ruyi aside, her expression somewhat conflicted.
Su Ruyi smiled and said, "Auntie, just say what you want to say. Don't be so polite with me."
Aunt Liu's family and Tong Dahua's family have a good relationship and often help each other out. Aunt Liu's daughter, Jiang Xiaotao, even did business with them before.
"Do you think it's appropriate for us to add an extra section to our house?"
Before Su Ruyi could speak, Aunt Liu continued:
“I saw that the Party Secretary’s family has also added an extension to their house, and several families who are close to him have also been buying bricks and other things to prepare for building houses recently. Is there something going on here?”
The Zhang Group has already expressed its intentions, so it's not surprising that some people have heard about it.
After all, someone would definitely come to inspect the place beforehand to see if it was suitable. As the village party secretary, he must have gotten some inside information. And since the village party secretary has connections, his information network is much better than that of ordinary people.
If they don't demolish it, they won't lose money living there themselves; but if they do demolish it, they'll make a huge profit.
Those who were quick-witted and bold immediately took action.
This kind of thing can't be publicized. If everyone takes action and the demolition compensation becomes too high, then this area might be abandoned.
This isn't like the government is building a road and absolutely needs this piece of land.
When Aunt Liu saw that Tong Dahua had built such a big house, she felt something was wrong. Especially after hearing that Su Ruyi had instigated it, she felt that there was more to the story than met the eye. It was only because Tong Dahua was an honest person that she didn't think too much about it.
They weren't sure, though, because their family wanted to buy a house in the provincial capital so their child could become a city dweller. If they built a house here, they wouldn't have enough money.
Therefore, when he saw Su Ruyi coming over, he wanted to ask her something.
Su Ruyi couldn't say it outright. The Zhang Group was only temporarily finalized at the moment, and it was hard to say whether there would be any changes in the future, and the timeline was also unclear.
According to the original text, we still have to wait a while.
She said, "Xinghua Village is so beautiful and a great place to live. It will be even more comfortable once the houses are built."
Aunt Liu understood the deeper meaning behind the words, changed the subject, and invited Su Ruyi to her home for dinner.
"I'm going to see my aunt. I'll definitely go next time."
Aunt Liu greeted us warmly, "You'll definitely have to come next time! I'll have to treat you well!"
Su Ruyi rode Cao Fei's motorcycle to town. It was lunchtime, and Tong Dahua's small shop was surrounded by people who came to buy braised dishes.
Tong Dahua and Li Mei collaborated, with Tong Dahua buying pre-mixed braising spices and dishes from Li Mei, and their business was quite good every day.
Although it didn't taste as good as the ones Li Mei made herself, it was still very well received.
Tong Dahua and Zhang Dagui are working hard now. They are so in debt that they are anxious and they can't sleep soundly at night if they don't work harder.
Su Ruyi didn't disturb them, but went into the stationery store.
"Sister Ruyi!" Zhang Sisi jumped up from the stool, holding a bowl bigger than her face.
The couple sells braised food outside, while the two sisters eat and watch over the shop.
The rice bowl contained a mix of braised meat and vegetables, along with some fresh seasonal vegetables; the meal was quite good.
The two sisters have grown up to be very beautiful, no longer the skinny little girls they used to be.
"Sister Ruyi, have you eaten? Come and have some with us. My mom's braised dishes are getting better and better."
Zhang Qiaoqiao put down her chopsticks and called out to Su Ruyi, getting her a bowl, chopsticks, and steamed buns, and then went outside to get some braised dishes.
It was a busy time, and when Tong Dahua knew Su Ruyi had arrived, she simply shouted into the shop:
"Ruyi, you eat first, and come and get whatever you want to eat."
"Alright, Auntie, you go about your business, don't worry about me."
Su Ruyi didn't stand on ceremony and started eating the braised dishes with the steamed buns.
The taste is indeed better than before, no wonder so many people are willing to buy it.
Although this is just a small town, because it is close to the provincial capital, everyone here is doing well economically, and it seems that they are selling better than Li Mei in the county.
"Business looks good."
Zhang Sisi said proudly, "It's selling very well. All my classmates who have tried it say it's great."
By the time Tong Dahua finished her work, it was already past one o'clock.
"I didn't know you were coming today, I haven't had time to greet you," Tong Dahua said apologetically.
"Auntie, why are you being so polite with me? Have you eaten yet?"
At this moment, Zhang Qiaoqiao brought over a bowl and chopsticks, which contained steamed buns and braised dishes.
Tong Dahua frowned when she saw so much meat inside: "Why did you cut so much meat for me?"
"Aunt, you work so hard every day, you need to eat more meat to make ends meet. Besides, if you don't eat, the children will feel embarrassed to eat too."
Tong Dahua immediately stopped saying anything, but didn't forget to tell Zhang Dagui, who was still guarding the stall outside, to eat more meat.
“Aunt, you don’t need to work so hard. There’s no rush for this money.”
Tong Dahua laughed and said, "This is nothing hard. It's much easier than farm work. Seeing the things I make sell gives me a lot of energy."
Su Ruyi knew that further persuasion would be useless, as her aunt's family were all hardworking people, so she could only tell them to take care of themselves and get some rest.
Tong Dahua inquired about the family's situation and learned that Su Ruyi had brought five train cars full of dried fruit and fruit. She said:
"I also gave the mangoes and dried fruit you sent over before to my neighbors, and everyone said they were good and wanted to buy some. Why don't you put some of your stock here too? It should sell very well."
Su Ruyi had completely forgotten that Tong Dahua also offered consignment services. "Okay, I'll have someone deliver it tomorrow. We'll sell as many as we can, and we'll buy back the rest."
“If you bring more stock, you’ll definitely be able to sell it. Some people came to the store before, and when I shared some with them, they all said they wanted to buy some. These dried fruits are a rare find here, especially the dried mango; everyone wants to try them fresh.”
Zhang Sisi also said, "My classmate loves it and keeps asking me when the store will sell it."
After the two children started school, Su Ruyi talked to Tong Dahua and Zhang Dagui about the possibility that their village's land might be expropriated.
"Right now, this is just an expression of interest. You must not disclose this information to anyone. If anyone asks you to sign any agreements, do not agree to them. Call me first, and I will have my lawyer take a look."
Tong Dahua and Zhang Dagui were both stunned and didn't react for a moment.
Tong Dahua asked blankly, "But if our land is requisitioned, where will we live? Without our fields, what will we eat?"
Although they've gone out to do business, they feel more at ease having land at home. Even if things don't work out in the future, they can still go back home and have food to eat.
"Then all the buildings we built will have been wasted?"
Zhang Dagui looked distressed. He didn't care about the land, since he couldn't farm it; he was more worried about his house.
He would go back to take a look from time to time. He couldn't believe that he could live in such a big and nice house. He kept thinking about it and dreamed about living in the big house.
It's hard to accept being told it's going to be demolished right now.
“It won’t be a waste. If the demolition really happens, you’ll get a lot of compensation. You can buy a house in the provincial capital then, an apartment with an elevator, which will make it much easier for your uncle to go up and down the stairs.”
Upon hearing this, Tong Dahua's eyes lit up immediately. Every time she went to Su Ruyi's house, she was very envious of that elevator.
"So this is a good thing?"
Su Ruyi nodded firmly: "The company in charge of land acquisition is very generous and will offer a good price. However, no one can say for sure if there will be any changes, so don't tell anyone. Anyway, it's fine whether the land is demolished or not, just don't sign any agreements carelessly."
“We definitely won’t sign! No matter who asks us to sign, we won’t! We also definitely won’t tell anyone, because if things don’t work out, we’ll be blamed later.”
Looking at Su Ruyi's grateful face, Zhang Dagui realized that Su Ruyi probably had already received the news, which was why she asked them to build such a big house.
Otherwise, why would a girl like her, who owns several houses in the provincial capital, look down on their village? Living in the city is much more comfortable than living in the village.
Zhang Dagui didn't know what to say to express his gratitude, so he said, "Ruyi, if there really is such a good thing, you must take half of the money we get from the demolition."
Author's Note: My next novel, "The Little Eatery of the Great Song Dynasty," is now available for pre-order. Click on the author's name to see it. Please add it to your favorites! Thank you!
[Introduction]
Jiang Cha, who had just moved into her new house, died unexpectedly. Jiang Niangzi, a widow from the Song Dynasty, sacrificed her life to raise Jiang Cha's children to adulthood.
Better to live a miserable life than die a good death, so Jiang Cha agreed to the deal.
A makeshift house built after the fire, three babies crying for food, and a debt of ten strings of cash—a disastrous start.
Fortunately, the city of Hangzhou where she lives is bustling with activity and has a huge food market.
Restaurants like Gejia Honey Dates, Song Wusao Fish Soup, Zhongwaqianzhi's Lamb Rice, and Zhangjia Soap Water are thriving.
With ginger tea straps tied around his shoulders, he resumed his old trade.
They went from street to street selling iced tea, set up stalls to run small food shops, and worked hard to establish themselves in the Song Dynasty.
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