Chapter 9: The Rich Woman

Only two households were measured in one afternoon, and the demolition office was busy until 7 p.m. before the second family finally signed.

Director Jiang smiled wryly. Just a few days ago, he had said that the people of Qiaodong Village were reasonable and that this process would go smoothly.

Most people were indeed reasonable, but as soon as they encountered someone who liked to haggle, it could drag on for half a day. For example, why couldn’t this be calculated at a higher rate? Couldn’t that be increased a bit more?

Did they think it was a vegetable market?

However, even though the people here made a fuss, they were still reasonable as long as the demolition office maintained a firm stance. Thinking about Mutang Village, now that was a tough challenge. If they could settle Qiaodong Village quickly and start the demolition here, it would be hard to believe that the people over there would remain indifferent.

Last night, Chen Jin had already informed her tenants that someone from the demolition office would be coming over the next few days to take measurements. They would need keys to enter, or someone had to be home. The tenants were a bit unhappy but accepted it, especially since their landlord had waived this month’s rent and agreed to provide compensation for moving.

That evening, Chen Jin coordinated with the tenants to ensure that they’d be ready for the next morning’s measurements.

That night, Chen Jin slept soundly. At midnight, Tian Miao woke up to use the bathroom and noticed Chen Jin sleeping beside her, smiling in her sleep, which almost scared her. Shaking her head, Tian Miao thought, “She’s probably lost in excitement.” But when she imagined herself in Chen Jin’s shoes, she realized she’d be even more thrilled.

By six in the morning, Chen Jin was already up, washed, dressed, and even had time to style herself a bit. By seven, the demolition office staff were already at her door.

“Do you have all the necessary documents?”

The staff member checking the paperwork looked at her household registration, then at her, without confirming the number of family members like they had with the previous two households. On her registration, it was just her—a young girl living alone.

Chen Jin raised her hand politely, looking sincere. “That’s me.”

The staff stopped her uncle, who was about to follow inside. “Non-essential personnel must wait outside.”

Chen Jin explained, “He’s my uncle, a close family member. Can he come in?”

The staff gave Chen Jin a deep look, wanting to remind the young girl to be cautious during this time, but seeing how close she was with her relatives, they didn’t press the issue and allowed only her uncle inside. Others, however, were not permitted to enter.

The staff then began measuring everything, from the exterior to the interior, taking notes: “Two buildings, combined floor area of 200 square meters, 100 square meters for the courtyard, housing land certificate states 220 square meters, and the built structures mostly fall within the allocated land. Six floors, with levels one to three furnished. The left building’s first floor has tile flooring…”

The staff continued with their measurements and registration, while Chen Jin quietly listened. For example, when they measured the iron shed in the yard, it came out to 3.8 meters in length, but they rounded it up to 4 meters. Whenever they could give a little extra, they did, and Chen Jin kept nodding in agreement.

“You have another house here, right? Let’s go measure that now.”

Her old house had two brick-tile rooms and one mud-brick room. The left wing had partially collapsed, but there was still a well in the yard, which could be included in the valuation. The land for the old house covered only 85 square meters. Her second uncle’s plot, right next door, had two mud-brick rooms, with one corner slightly collapsed.

The land plots could only be exchanged for housing under their standards, and the land Chen Jin owned could be exchanged for 305 square meters of house space. Since the exchange was based on 100-square-meter units, with Chen Jin’s agreement, the remaining 5 square meters were converted into cash compensation.

“Is that lychee grove in the southeast corner yours too?” One of the staff asked, his tone filled with envy. The young girl, barely older than his daughter, was about to go from a village girl to a millionaire because of the demolition.

Chen Jin gave a small laugh, squinting her eyes, but inside, she felt a pang of sorrow. Everything she had now was the result of her mother’s savings and efforts over the past 20 years. They were on the verge of stepping into a wealthier life, but her mother was no longer here to witness it.

If only her mother were still around. Even without the windfall from the demolition, their lives would still have continued to improve.

Her uncle caught a glimpse of her tear-filled eyes and gently patted the back of her head with his rough hand.

Measuring Chen Jin’s property took quite a while, over three hours in total, because she had two houses and a large area to cover, including a 10-acre fruit orchard with hundreds of lychee trees and some other fruit trees. There was also an 8-acre vegetable plot and some farmland. After tallying everything, the staff handed her the agreement. Chen Jin read it carefully, word by word, while her uncle, standing beside her, held his breath.

All together, the house and land could be exchanged for a total of 900 square meters of housing and an 80-square-meter shop space. She would be able to choose the house units, but any area exceeding the 900 square meters would require her to pay the difference. The houses were in 100-square-meter units, meaning she would get nine houses in total. As for the shop space, she might need to pay for any overage.

Housing compensation, compensation for land attachments, household registration money, signing fees, moving expenses, rental compensation for rented houses… With so many items, she quickly glanced through the listed numbers on the calculator, her fingers dancing rapidly across the keys, totaling eight million five hundred thirty thousand in cash compensation. As for the two hundred yuan monthly resettlement fee, it could be ignored.

In addition, there was a signing bonus of twenty thousand yuan, which could only be received if she signed within the stipulated time.

“Everything checks out. Please sign and put your thumbprint here.”

“Okay.” Chen Jin blinked, quickly signing and thumbprinting all four identical agreements.

She suddenly felt like crying.

The staff put away the other three copies and reminded her, “The housing compensation will be deposited into your bank account within two days, so remember to check it in time. You are the only one registered at your household, and the allocated resettlement house is a 45-square-meter one-bedroom. Those who sign first get to choose their houses first.”

She felt like crying even more.

“Thank you, thank you!” Chen Jin repeatedly expressed her gratitude.

Director Jiang smiled and reminded her, “This amount of money may seem a lot, but be cautious with it. When you have so much money, be careful in situations.”

Chen Jin nodded, “Thank you, Director Jiang.” She knew he was kindly reminding her because she was a young girl holding such a large sum of money.

After sealing the signed agreement with her other documents in a file bag, as she walked out, many people asked how much she received. However, her uncle protected her as they headed home and replied, “Oh, about the same as everyone else. Excuse me, I’m heading home now; let me through.”

When it was time for her uncle’s family to register for measurement, Chen Jin returned to her third uncle’s place, where her second uncle’s family was also present.

“Are you done?” Both aunts came to ask her if she had chosen a replacement house and how many she had selected. However, neither her aunts nor her two uncles asked her how much she received. It was clear that her cousin Chen Yongfei, her cousin Chen Yongan, and her cousin Chen Jia had been warned not to ask, but everyone knew she would definitely receive a significant amount.

“The maximum area for housing exchange is six hundred square meters, with three hundred square meters for the homestead exchange, and an eighty-square-meter shop. After I receive the house, I’ll renovate it and rent it out; I plan to use the shop to open a convenience store.”

Speaking of the convenience store, Chen Jin said, “I need to clear out the items from the store today because the demolition office will send people tomorrow to tear it down.”

“It’s being demolished so soon? Didn’t they say we wouldn’t move into the resettlement house until next month?”

“The housing demolition starts next month, but the convenience store will be closed.” Chen Jin looked at her third aunt. “If the convenience store is demolished, Miao Miao won’t have anything to do here.”

Her third aunt sighed, clearly worried about the situation. Although the family was getting rich from the demolition, the adults hadn’t considered letting the children just relax without working. “I’ll ask my sister-in-law if she needs any help at her clothing store.”

Since her third aunt had a plan, Chen Jin didn’t worry too much.

With yesterday’s experience, the demolition office was much quicker today, managing to finalize agreements with seven families by the end of the day. The progress of the demolition contracts in Qiaodong Village had just passed the halfway mark.

Both her first and third uncle signed today, while her second uncle had to wait until tomorrow afternoon. In the evening, several uncles and cousins helped her move the items from the convenience store into her living room on the first floor.

Her first uncle walked around the house and came out, “Throw away anything you don’t need. If you have time during the day, come and sort things out. Once the demolition money is in your account, don’t go out wasting it. I’ll ask around about houses near NTU and take you to see them once I have some options.”

Her first uncle was better than a normal dad!

The next day, the demolition office came to tear down the convenience store, leaving an empty space in the yard. Whether the gate was open or closed no longer mattered.

Finally, her second uncle signed the agreement. From the day the demolition notice was issued until today, her second uncle and second aunt had taken four days off. Even though they worked at a public office, they couldn’t take too much time off. In the evening, several families gathered together for a nice meal, repeatedly expressing gratitude for their ancestors’ blessings. Several elders were excited but tried to keep their composure, fearing the younger generation might get carried away and spend lavishly with their newfound money, which they couldn’t afford.

Her first uncle advised her to stay within the village for a few days, so Chen Jin felt at ease staying there. All eighteen households in Qiaodong Village had signed agreements, and the first two families to sign had already received their money and chosen their resettlement houses.

In the following two days, other families in the village also received their demolition payments.

To be honest, with Qiaodong Village’s convenient transportation to the city and many nearby factories in the suburbs, just relying on rental income could allow them to live normally. They could also grow vegetables and fruits to sell in the city; life wouldn’t be bad. But the difference between earning tens of thousands a year and millions was still significant, accurately describing the situation as “poor children suddenly becoming rich.”

The initial excitement and thrill gradually faded, entering a phase of confusion: How should they spend this much money?

Chen Jin remained silent: Wouldn’t she know how to spend money if she had it? If she had hundreds of billions, she could have fun with it. But with only a few million, she was in the category of having enough to last a lifetime if spent normally, but worrying that reckless spending could leave her broke in a few years.

As every family in Qiaodong Village received their demolition payments, various banks sent client managers to the village to “set up shop.”

“The Agricultural Bank is giving away rice, flour, and oil, while the Industrial Bank offers slightly higher interest rates, but my nephew works at the Construction Bank…” Uncle Chen recorded information about the banks in a notebook to compare which one was more cost-effective.

Chen Jin also listened in on the conversation. People thought she was just there for the excitement, but when she asked about card services and interest rates, the client managers from various banks were quite dismissive.

Chen Jin pouted, thinking she might as well go to the city’s service center to ask.

“Go see the commotion! Aunt Zhou and Chen Sanpo are fighting!”

“Those two are at it again? I’ll come back another day to find out.” She said this and quickly ran off.

As Chen Jin walked toward Aunt Zhou’s house, she asked others what was going on.

“Isn’t it because Chen Sangong is biased toward Chen Sanpo?”