Chapter 4: Notices

Is Qiaodong Village going to be demolished?

Did the notice come down?

The people from Qiaoxi Village looked bewildered. Old Liu frowned, “Your third uncle, you must have misheard. It’s Qiaoxi Village that’s going to be demolished, right?”

But seeing Chen Jin’s third uncle grinning foolishly, he sensed something was off and felt a little anxious. He forced himself to calm down and continued asking, “Where did the notice come from? What does it say?”

“It’s a notice stamped by the city. The village chief has already received the call. The people from the demolition office are coming this afternoon to issue the announcement and conduct evaluations. They’ve already set off from the city. Oh, if I keep talking, we’ll be late. I need to take your third sister back now.” Third Uncle said urgently, “Third sister, hurry up and get in the car!”

“Ah? Oh, okay!” Chen Jin was stunned by the news her third uncle brought, feeling dizzy. It was only after being nudged by Lan Meiying that she came back to her senses. Lan Meiying felt both happy and disappointed that it wasn’t her grandfather’s house being demolished. “Chen Jin, you should hurry back and check it out.”

“Yeah, yeah. Hehe.” Chen Jin caught the foolish grin from her third uncle, took two steps at a time, and jumped onto the motorcycle. “Third Uncle, alright, let’s go, let’s go!”

Hehe, Qiaodong Village is going to be demolished?

Ahhh! She has two buildings!

Hahaha—oh my god, is she going to become an upstart?

The roaring sound of the motorcycle starting up and the dust flying around couldn’t stop Chen Jin and her third uncle from grinning widely.

“Hey, hey! Third uncle, does the notice mention our Qiaoxi Village?”

The vehicle had already started, and the men, women, and children from Qiaoxi Village chased after it for a few steps. Third Uncle, without looking back, casually tossed out, “I don’t know~,” and drove off with Chen Jin, laughing foolishly and kicking up dust.

The people from Qiaoxi Village, covered in dust, looked at each other in confusion: Is it true or not?

Soon, someone reacted quickly and ran towards the ancestral hall.

“Village chief! This is bad!”

“What’s so bad? Stop making a fuss! Don’t disturb our ancestors.” An astute-looking old man in his fifties stepped out with a stern expression and scolded the person for talking nonsense as they approached.

“Just now, just now, the people from Qiaodong Village said they received a demolition notice. The demolition office is coming over this afternoon.”

Village Chief Liu frowned tightly. “A demolition notice for Qiaodong Village? Are you sure it’s true?” He quickly affirmed, “Impossible. If there were a demolition notice, how could I not have heard anything? Qiaodong Village is even further in than ours. There’s no way they would demolish there.”

Villagers who had just heard Chen Jin’s third uncle’s words began to arrive one after another. Someone said, “It was Chen Jin’s uncle who said it, so it must be true.”

Village Chief Liu asked, “Who is Chen Jin?”

“She’s the daughter of Liu Dagen’s family, the one that took back to Qiaodong Village after Chen Wenfang got divorced.” The speaker waved it off, anxious to get to the point. “Should we send someone to the city to inquire? Chen Jin’s uncle knows that a demolition notice was issued for Qiaodong Village. Maybe this demolition area is large enough to include their side.”

Others nodded in agreement, but they felt anxious: They had just discussed in a meeting this morning that the city planned to build an industrial park in their Qiaoxi Village, and now it seemed like Qiaodong Village was the one being demolished?

After the meeting, they had debated fiercely about the demolition compensation, and some had even argued with their families, turning red in the face. But now, no one felt like arguing anymore. If the demolition didn’t happen, what was there to fight about?

Village Chief Liu remained rational and immediately instructed his son to take the motorcycle to the city for inquiries. He also hurried home to call his son-in-law who worked in the city for more information.

As he jogged home, his face was ashen: They had agreed on demolishing Qiaoxi Village!

The villagers didn’t care about the rare “village dinner” that happened only once a year; they followed the village chief to listen for news.

Old Liu’s family looked grim. If it really was just Qiaodong Village being demolished and not Qiaoxi Village… Thinking about it, Chen Jin was now all alone. The buildings and orchard that Chen Fang had left her… Hiss, those were all under her name.

Liu Shisheng and Jiang Zijun felt the worst.

Chen Jin’s siblings also remembered the things they had said about her at home and how they often didn’t get along with her before… They all silently prayed, hoping the news from Chen Jin’s uncle was wrong.

The motorcycle hit the main road and was exposed to the sun for quite a while before Chen Jin remembered that her umbrella was left at her grandfather’s house.

Chen Jin confirmed with her third uncle once again: “Did you really receive a demolition notice? Does it say Qiaodong Village?”

Her third uncle replied impatiently but loudly, “Yes! It’s definitely our Qiaodong Village!”

The July sun was scorching, and the grass by the roadside had wilted. But in her heart, it felt like there was a fan blowing a strong breeze towards her.

Ah, the hot sun feels so nice! Today the sky is so blue! The clouds are so white!

“Hehehe~” Both uncle and niece grinned foolishly.

After more than twenty minutes on the motorcycle, which was a bit faster than usual, they turned into the village, which was eerily quiet. Instead of stopping at his own home, Third Uncle headed straight to the village chief’s house.

There were five motorcycles parked in front of the village chief’s house, along with a half-new van. Sounds of excitement could be heard from inside, accompanied by a few loud “hahaha” laughter.

As soon as Chen Jin got off the motorcycle, she jogged inside. She saw several uncles who usually worked in the city and didn’t come back often.

Today was a weekday, after all.

“Chen Jin is back! Oh, your third uncle told you, right? Our village is going to be demolished! Your family’s house is just right! Oh wow, how much will that be?” One aunt said, a little envious, noting that Chen Jin’s family had two six-story buildings. After all, her own family didn’t have as many buildings, but they had a large piece of land!

Some people regretted not having listened to Chen Jin’s eldest uncle this year about building more houses; who could have predicted that a demolition would come out of nowhere like this?

It wasn’t that no one thought about rushing back to see if they could add on more rooms, but Village Chief Chen Guangman scolded everyone with such thoughts.

“I think you folks haven’t learned your lesson! Do you think the demolition office is filled with idiots? Do you really think they can’t tell between old buildings and newly built ones? No one should try to get any funny ideas! How much more can you add on anyway? Just tear down what you have and get the money! Look at Qiaoxi Village—I bet they added on too much, and that’s why they jumped over them to pick us. If anyone dares to cause trouble and delay our money…”

Chen Guangman was not only the village chief of Qiaodong Village but also the patriarch of this branch of the Chen family. When he spoke, everyone in the village had to give him some face.

Besides, everyone wanted to get the demolition compensation as soon as possible; they wished they could receive the payment right now.

Chen Jin looked around and then walked over to her third uncle and aunt. “Have the eldest uncle and second uncle heard the news?”

“They called and said they’re on their way back.”

Although Aunt was not grinning like her husband, the sparkle in her eyes was dazzling.

Suddenly, Aunt stopped smiling and pulled Chen Jin outside, reminding her, “This time, besides our village, it’s the other side at Mutang Village. I asked the village chief, and Qiaoxi Village is not in the demolition area.”

Hah! Qiaoxi Village isn’t being demolished! They had a village meeting this morning, happily discussing the village meal—too early to celebrate!

Thinking back to the gossip she had heard at her grandfather’s house, she felt like placing her hands on her hips and laughing loudly: She could buy a house for herself!

“I’m telling you, keep all your documents safe at home. When your dad’s relatives come over, just stay away. Those things at home are what your grandparents and your mom saved for you. Liu Shisheng just got into university and looks down on your mom for being uneducated—there’s not a decent person in the Liu family. If your demolition compensation goes to them, your mom might just rise from the grave to beat you up.”

On the day she returned, Aunt had advised her to eat in Qiaoxi Village because they were also getting compensation, but now that it was their own village that was being demolished, she wouldn’t allow Chen Jin to let them take a share.

Sure, it was quite two-faced, but when it comes to people, most stand on the side of their own family’s interests.

Chen Jin was no exception.

“Don’t worry, I’m as stingy as they come; I won’t give them a single cent!”

Aunt was right. If she dared to take the family’s demolition money to give to her dad, her mom might really get so angry that she would jump out of the ground to hit her.

Originally, the Chen and Liu families had agreed to the marriage early on. When the time came, Chen Fang married Liu Shisheng. In the second year of their marriage, Chen Fang became pregnant, and Liu Shisheng was recommended to study at a labor and peasant university in another province because of an uncle who was a secretary at the commune. After going there, he saw the progressive youth from outside, became disillusioned with Chen Fang, who only had a primary school education, and fell in love with his classmate Jiang Zijun, demanding a divorce when he returned home.

The Liu family didn’t help him take on his responsibilities. Instead, they persuaded Chen Fang to agree to the divorce. To achieve their goal, Old Lady Liu and several sisters-in-law scolded and coaxed Chen Fang in turn. Unable to bear it, she divorced and returned to her family. But the Chen family wasn’t easy to deal with either; they came over to smash things and even reported Liu Shisheng, but everything was suppressed, which also implicated the eldest uncle who worked at the commune.

However, after so many years, everyone had been living their own lives and not bothering each other, so it was no longer the same as before when meetings sparked tensions. Especially in recent years, Old Man Liu often called Chen Jin to come over for dinner. The older generation didn’t want her to be stuck in the middle, and even if they met, they could just nod at each other. Of course, that didn’t apply to her hot-tempered eldest uncle.

No matter what, she wouldn’t give a single cent to Liu Shisheng!

The village chief knew that a demolition notice had come down, but he had no idea about the specific demolition range or the compensation regulations. Unlike the village chief of Qiaoxi Village, who had been figuring out the compensation policies for years.

The demolition office personnel arrived almost simultaneously with her eldest and second uncles.

Oh, and the village chief of Qiaoxi Village came along too.

Chen Guangman quickly led the demolition office staff to the middle of the village, to the ancestral hall, and the villagers naturally followed along. Chen Jin was appointed to take notes, writing down what the demolition office workers said.

The ancestral hall used to be a courtyard with four sections, said to be over a hundred years old. Most of it had collapsed, leaving only one main room in the second courtyard and a large side room on the left, both of which had been repaired. The main room housed the ancestors of the Chen family, while the side room stored various village items, mostly discarded tables and chairs.

In front of the ancestral hall, there was a large drying area on both sides, with big banyan trees planted there, the age of which was similar to that of the hall.

There was no need for Chen Guangman to instruct anyone; the village men conscientiously went into the side room to bring out long benches and two tables. They rummaged around to find a piece of old cloth and went to a nearby villager’s house to fetch a bucket of water to clean the tables for the demolition office staff to sit at. As for the villagers themselves? They didn’t care if the benches were dirty or not.

They stared at the documents in the workers’ hands, practically trying to burn holes into them with their gazes.

“Is everyone from the village here?”

Chen Guangman stepped onto a large stone and scanned the crowd. “There are a few people at work who we can’t reach, but all eighteen households are represented.”

“Alright, as long as each household has a representative.” A middle-aged man resembling a cadre picked up a few sheets of paper, cleared his throat, and said, “Hello, comrades from the village. I’m Jiang Weimin from the demolition office. I will now explain the announcement regarding the demolition of Qiaodong Village…”

Director Jiang read through the announcement first and then interpreted the relevant points one by one, such as the demolition range and compensation details.

Although Chen Jin was sitting at the back, Chen Guangman had arranged for her to have a table. She was diligently taking notes, writing down each point as Director Jiang explained.

When there were things that some villagers didn’t understand, they would raise their hands to ask questions.

The villagers of Qiaodong became increasingly excited as they listened, while at the back, Village Chief Liu and a few villagers from Qiaoxi Village felt their hearts sink when they heard that the demolition range included Qiaodong Village and Mutang Village.

After the meeting, the announcement brought by the demolition office was handed over to the village chief. Once the announcement was issued, starting tomorrow, people would come to mark the demolition boundaries and organize experts for a detailed evaluation.

Even after the demolition office personnel left, the people of Qiaodong Village felt as if they were walking on cotton, buoyant and light.

“Oh my!” The eldest uncle was both excited and cautious about being too exuberant; it wasn’t until he got home that he laughed out loud.

All the people from the eldest uncle’s, second uncle’s, and third uncle’s families, along with her, gathered at the eldest uncle’s house.

The three aunts rarely had a common topic to sit down and chat about. She and her siblings also huddled together to talk.

The room was filled with a series of exclamations like “I can’t believe it!” “Who would have thought?” “A huge windfall!” “Hahaha!” “Hehehe!”

Then, everyone remembered the most crucial matter and urged Chen Jin to estimate how much they could get according to the compensation standards mentioned by Director Jiang from the demolition office.

Cousin Chen Yongcheng pulled out a desk, cousin Chen Yongxin moved over a stool, cousin Chen Yongan handed over a calculator, and cousin Chen Yongfei also had a calculator in hand to verify the calculations. Cousin Chen Ting and cousin Chen Jia stood behind Chen Jin like loyal guards.

The eldest uncle, Chen Wenqiang, was the most impatient, leaning in with his hands on his hips. The eldest aunt, He Jingxian, was the calmest in the room, sitting on the sofa with a smile.

Second uncle Chen Wenhua, who had spent years enjoying tea and reading newspapers at the meteorological bureau, casually glanced over now and then. Second aunt Liu Juan usually maintained her composure, but she was anxious inside, so after watching for a while, she squeezed in next to her daughter, Chen Jia.

Third uncle Chen Wenkang rubbed his hands together, waiting for the result, while third aunt Wei Xiuhe stood beside him with a smile. She wasn’t very literate and thought that getting closer wouldn’t help much.

There was also the sister-in-law, Meng Lin, who wanted to see but was distracted by her one-year-old son’s antics.

“So much?! Third sister, did you calculate it wrong?” Second aunt exclaimed, her voice breaking with excitement.

Cousin Chen Yongfei quickly went through the numbers Chen Jin listed, verifying them, “There might be a slight error, but it’s basically around this amount.”

“How much? How much?”

“Oh, why don’t you just tell us the number directly!”