Jiang Village and Lin Village were two villages that lay directly adjacent to each other.
The road at the entrance of Jiang Village ran straight through Lin Village, dividing it neatly into two parts.
One of those parts was the third of the village that lay right next to Jiang Village.
However, this “one-third” was not calculated by land area.
It referred to one-third of the population living there.
Speaking of it, these one-third of Lin Village’s residents were truly unlucky to the extreme.
Lin Village had been subject to land expropriation twice so far.
One of those times was several years ago, when a bidirectional four-lane road was built, cutting right through one-third of Lin Village.
Unfortunately, among those affected by that round of expropriation, Lin Village accounted for less than one-tenth in total.
As for the large-scale expropriation two years ago, it almost completely connected Rong County with Lin Village.
Yet the factory zone known as the “new district” still had nothing to do with the remaining one-third of Lin Village’s residents.
When An Jianping and the other rode their motorbike through the village, they discovered that this remaining third of Lin Village had already undergone a drastic transformation.
Seeing that nearly most of the area had been replaced with new houses—and houses whose height clearly exceeded the typical rural standard—
An Jianping couldn’t help asking, “Jianmin, have a lot of families in Lin Village built new houses?”
“Pretty much everyone who had the money has already built,” An Jianmin replied, slowing down the bike slightly.
They were just about to pass through the construction fencing ahead, which hadn’t yet been completely removed.
As residents of a neighboring village, even though this new district had been under enclosed management ever since construction started, as the factories and roads inside were largely completed and prepared to be put into use, the fencing was now more like a barrier to stop idle people like them from wandering in.
After finally finding the gap everyone in the village had mentioned, An Jianmin carefully drove the motorbike inside and continued the topic they were discussing earlier:
“It’s different from our village. A lot of people there know that once the factories here are completed, there definitely won’t be a shortage of foot traffic, so they’re all planning to do business targeting the factory workers.”
“That is to say, right now the factories haven’t officially gone into full operation yet, and there aren’t many workers stationed here.”
“But once all the factories start running, the village right next to it will probably see every household turning their homes into rental housing.”
An Jianping nodded in understanding.
No wonder—
So it wasn’t that the people of Lin Village were unusually foresighted.
It turned out they had simply stumbled onto a lucky break.
As he was thinking this, An Jianping finally saw the scene inside the new district.
A massive expanse of brand-new factory buildings stretched endlessly before his eyes.
Wide roads wound around the factories, most of which were already completed or nearing completion.
Large freight trucks roared past from time to time.
Here and there, one could already see scattered figures busily moving about inside the factory zones.
“The roads here really deserve to be called newly built. They must have been deliberately widened,” An Jianmin said with some envy as he gradually increased the speed of the motorbike.
The two of them moved forward along the newly paved roads, carefully observing their surroundings.
Most of the factories in this new zone had actually already completed construction.
What remained under construction were mostly office buildings, fences, greenery, and auxiliary facilities.
Some factories even clearly had workers moving about inside.
Even if full production hadn’t yet begun, partial operations were clearly already underway.
There was no shortage of vehicles coming and going.
However, almost all of them were large or small trucks transporting factory equipment.
An Jianmin’s motorbike passed by long freight trucks again and again at regular intervals.
At the same time, the two of them gradually realized— given how busy the new district already was, once it truly went into full operation, transportation capacity would indeed be somewhat insufficient.
But thinking of the booming garment industry over the past two years, it began to make sense.
As for exactly how many factories the new district had, even after circling the entire area once, An Jianping and the other still hadn’t figured it out.
They had never imagined that Lin Village—once undeniably the largest village in the surrounding area—could be transformed into something this overwhelming after becoming a factory zone.
And precisely because they had seen it so clearly, their confidence in the message An Songyu had overheard also grew stronger.
After returning through Lin Village again, the brothers parked the motorbike, and An Jianmin finally spoke up about what he’d been mulling over the whole way:
“Third Brother, I remember it was you who asked one of your former classmates from night university to help arrange Songyu’s internship at Xianquan Hotel?”
An Jianping nodded. He had more or less guessed what his younger brother wanted to say.
But he didn’t stop him.
An Jianmin licked his lips before speaking again.
“If we asked him to help look into whether the recent top-floor guests were… would that put him in a very difficult position?”
“Keeping guest information confidential is a basic professional requirement for every hotel employee,” An Jianping said, recalling the rules his daughter had been taught during new-employee training.
An Jianmin sighed hesitantly.
But he didn’t place all his hopes on that either.
So the brothers discussed things a bit more before heading back into the courtyard together.
In the spacious yard, Jiang Shanshan was preparing vegetables for An Jianping to take back with him.
Although it was early spring in March, a time when supplies were usually scarce,
Nan Province was a place famously said to have only two seasons in a year.
Even in early spring, all kinds of vegetables were still readily available.
Especially since Jiang Village had developed agritourism in recent years, fresh produce was available year-round.
An Jianping didn’t plan to go inside again. He said his goodbyes directly in the yard.
Jiang Shanshan pointed at what she had prepared and quickly said,
“Then Third Brother, let Jianmin ride you to the village entrance so it’s easier for you to catch a bus.”
An Jianping didn’t refuse this time, but before leaving, he didn’t forget to say to them:
“Xiaoyue has been doing very well in both her studies and daily life recently.”
“She’s taking the college entrance exam this year, and aside from monthly leave days, she only has Saturdays and Sundays without morning and evening self-study.”
“Now that Xiaoyu is at home, she can also help tutor her.”
“Thank you so much, Third Brother. If Xiaoyue manages to get into a good university, it’ll all be thanks to you!” Jiang Shanshan said, feeling both grateful and relieved.
She had long been concerned about her eldest daughter, who had moved to the city for high school and stayed at Third Brother’s home.
She just hadn’t found the right opportunity to ask earlier.
“Sister-in-law, that’s too much,” An Jianping said seriously as he looked at the couple.
“If a child studies well, it’s because of her own ability and effort.”
“As parents, all we can really do is help take care of small practical matters in her daily life.”
“Yes, yes, Third Brother is right! If the child studies well, it’s because the child is capable!” An Jianmin said with a laugh as he hurriedly ushered An Jianping out the door.
His third brother always showed exceptional respect for children when it came to education.
By comparison, it sometimes made the rest of them look like inattentive parents.
But deep down, An Jianmin was genuinely grateful to his third brother’s family.
If not for them, his eldest daughter would have had to board at school for all three years of high school.
How could she have devoted herself fully to studying before the college entrance exam?
After An Jianmin sent An Jianping off and returned home, he found that his wife seemed to be waiting for him in the yard.
Jiang Shanshan secretly clenched her hands several times, wanting to ask about the real purpose of Third Brother’s visit today.
But thinking about how much their family had benefited from his family, she simply couldn’t bring herself to ask.
Maybe… it was better not to ask at all.
That way, she wouldn’t have to agonize over whether or not to lend money.
Coincidentally, An Jianmin also didn’t know how to bring up the demolition news to his wife.
The two exchanged a glance and, for the moment, both decided—to ask nothing and say nothing.
(End of this chapter)