Fu Yunruo was curious, “What good news?”
“Our village, along with several surrounding ones, is included in the plan to build a beautiful countryside, and we are going to receive uniformly built rural villas from the developer.” Auntie Mei said.
Fu Yunruo was ecstatic: “That’s amazing!”
“And we don’t have to worry about quality issues either. All of us are watching. If shoddy materials are used, we will reject the cooperation.”
After all, the villas would be their new home. According to the plan, all the existing houses would be demolished and the entire village was going to be reconstructed.
Lots of things had happened behind the scenes, and for a long time, many rumors swirled about. But the plan had finally settled, and the village signed the letter of intent.
“What we mean is, Ruoruo, do you want one too? Our village has regarded you as a fellow villager. Some tongue may wiggle if you get an allocation for nothing, but if you pay some money to the village, it will be fine. No one will have an opinion.”
Personal feelings aside, this matter involved the interest of many. Uncle Mei and Auntie Mei must take account of the whole village and not show favoritism, lest they invited discontent.
If it were just up to them, of course, they would be happy to allocate a villa to Fu Yunruo. However, not everyone in the village cared about Fu Yunruo’s interests.
“Of course! Auntie Mei, I’m willing. You must help me speak up. I want it!”
The land in the village never went for sale. Even after she earned enough, Fu Yunruo never had a chance to buy a house in the place she and her son had been living for so many years.
Unexpectedly, such a wonderful opportunity suddenly arose. Fu Yunruo naturally did not hesitate to grab it.
“Well, Auntie Mei, I can’t make things difficult for you. I’m already very happy to be a part of the village. Whatever amount is necessary, I’m willing to contribute.” Fu Yunruo said happily, “Can I settle with 200,000 first? Let’s finalize it for the time being, and I will make up for any shortfall later.”
She had just emptied her savings a few months ago. Although she got a lot of income this year, there was still a loan on the garden, Wenwen’s tuition fees, and other miscellaneous expenses. As a result, she had little cash in hand and could only take out this amount. But she didn’t want to miss this opportunity, so she could only ask Auntie Mei and her husband to help settle the down payment first.
Upon hearing this, Auntie Mei quickly responded, “Why would you need that much? 50,000 is sufficient.”
Fu Yunruo was stunned. 50,000 for a villa?
“The houses in the countryside are not valuable. 50,000 is already a lot,” Auntie Mei said again. If it weren’t for shutting up the gossipers, she could have asked for even less. She mentioned a slightly higher amount to ensure that no one could speak ill about Fu Yunruo in the future.
Everyone in the village whose family owned a residential house was given a villa for free. If Fu Yunruo paid a huge sum of money, no one would have objections.
Fu Yunruo expressed her concern: “Auntie Mei, you can’t reduce the price for me. I will pay the market price.” Uncle Mei was the village head. If his reputation was damaged because of this, she would feel very guilty.
“No, we haven’t reduced it. You know the cost of living here. 50,000 is already expensive,” Auntie Mei reassured her.
Fu Yunruo took a moment to think and realized that the prices there were indeed cheap. For an average family, saving four to five thousand in an entire year was not an easy task, mainly because of the limited income opportunities in the rural area.
Having lived in Beijing for a long time, she had been influenced by the high cost of living here, and she hadn’t considered that the situation in the other place would differ from a big city.
Here, 200,000 yuan wouldn’t even be enough to cover the down payment, let alone buying a whole villa.
With this realization, Fu Yunruo didn’t insist. “Auntie Mei, let me transfer 100,000 to you first. I’m relying on you and Uncle Mei for this. It would be best if we could be neighbors!”
“Don’t worry, we also want to live closer.”
“Auntie Mei, how are your and Uncle’s health? Remember to go for a full-body check-up every year!” Fu Yunruo changed the subject.
Older folks in the countryside rarely had the habit of getting regular health check-ups. They usually only visited the clinic for minor ailments or discomfort.
For people of their generation, unless their physical condition becomes unbearable, they wouldn’t go to the hospital, let alone go for a full-body check-up when they had no apparent illness or pain.
But regardless of age, it’s a good practice to have a comprehensive check-up every year. In case of any unforeseen health issues, early detection and treatment were crucial.
“I know. We will remember to go,” Auntie Mei assured. After receiving so much information from Fu Yunruo, how could she not take it seriously?
“You guys should also take good care of yourselves…” She went to nag on.
Fu Yunruo and Wenwen nodded, responding occasionally as they talked about their lives.
Only when the clock almost reached half-past nine that both sides reluctantly ended the call.
“We will have our own house in Shanghe Village too!” Fu Yunruo exclaimed happily. During their time in Shanghe Village, they had been residing in the old house of the Mei family. Although they had grown accustomed to it and considered it as their second home, at the end of the day, it was still a rented house and not their own.
Now, the prospect of having a house that was completely theirs held a special significance for them.
During each conversation, Auntie Mei would bring up the changes happening in their hometown. Before Fu Yunruo left, she had heard about an inspection team visiting their area. It was rumored that due to the exceptional air quality that had beneficial elements for human health, there were plans to develop and establish a 5-star leisure and retirement resort nearby.
Later, there was continuous good news, such as plans to build an airport, collaborations between private investors and the government to advance various projects, and extensive planning across different areas…
Regardless of how long it took for these plans to become a reality, as long as the projects were not abandoned halfway, Fu Yunruo was willing to wait even for twenty or thirty years.
Next to his mother, Wenwen was also elated. They would have a home in the village, so they must be able to visit more often in the future!
…
The result of the DNA test came even earlier than Fu Yunruo had expected. The next afternoon, her senior brother came delivering the report to her.
“My wife personally handled the entire process herself. No second person was involved, so you can be assured.”
Fu Yunruo’s senior brother seemed to have sensed something. But since this was Fu Yunruo’s private matter, he refrained from saying too much. If she needed his support, he was ready to provide it anytime.
“Thank you, Senior Brother. Please thanks your wife for me too.”
“You’re welcome.” The man smiled. “We’re always happy to help.”
After exchanging a few pleasantries, the senior brother considerately gave Fu Yunruo some space alone and went to greet their teacher.
As Fu Yunruo looked at the sealed envelope, she felt a mix of anticipation and unease. She could guess the outcome, but when it came down to it, she was hesitant to see the result.
< Previous | TOC | Advanced TOC | Next >
Wants more chapters?
Click this page for the status of sponsored chapters.
Click this page for advanced chapters TOC.
Thanks for the chapter ❣️