After stepping through the gate, he headed straight to the pond and used its water to cleanse the mud from his feet. Peeling off his sportswear, he tossed it haphazardly onto the lawn. Just as he was about to remove his pants, King came bounding out of the house, unleashing a volley of enthusiastic barks.
“Whoa, hold on! Don’t jump on that! It’s all muddy!” Su Ling swiftly snatched the jacket off the ground just in time to stop the little one from plopping down on it.
Arf, arf-wooo! The puppy circled excitedly around him.
Letting out an exasperated sigh, Su Ling hurriedly rinsed his feet before dashing inside. “Let me shower first, okay? Then we can play.”
Arf! The puppy’s tail wagged in a blur of happiness.
Su Ling could not help but smile, bending down to gently scratch under the puppy’s chin.
Twenty minutes later, he emerged, fresh and revitalized. With damp, curly locks framing his face, he slipped into a loose-fitting shirt and jeans before descending the stairs. Spotting the puppy waiting eagerly, he scooped it up, showering it with affectionate strokes that sent the pup into fits of delighted wriggles, baring its belly for more.
After a joyful romp with the puppy, Su Ling finally placed the little furball down and began cooking dinner.
“Xiao Su? Xiao Su? Are you home?” From outside, Aunt Zhang’s voice boomed across the courtyard.
With a few quick strides, Su Ling crossed the courtyard and pulled open the door. “Is something the matter, Aunt Zhang?”
Aunt Zhang answered, “You should hurry to the village committee office right away. Old Xu’s family is in a heated dispute with the village chief over the compensation for their farmland taken for road construction.”
Utterly perplexed, Su Ling questioned, “Didn’t we already settle the compensation? Why are they arguing about it now?”
Aunt Zhang clicked her tongue disapprovingly. “It’s their insatiable greed[1], of course!”
Instant comprehension dawned on Su Ling’s features as the puzzle pieces swiftly clicked into place. Clearly, someone had succumbed to greed, scheming to secure a larger compensation payout than they rightfully deserved — a tactic often known as price manipulation.
After filling the puppy’s food bowl with kibble, Su Ling grabbed his outerwear and accompanied Aunt Zhang to the village committee office.
As they reached the village committee office, they were greeted by a lively scene. Around the village chief, four or five individuals spoke all at once, their voices overlapping in a cacophony. Meanwhile, the village chief remained stoic, his face a mask of calm amidst the chaos.
“Hey! Make way, make way, Xiao Su is coming!” Aunt Zhang’s stout figure barreled forward, unapologetically shouldering through the crowd to clear a path for Su Ling.
In an instant, Su Ling’s arrival silenced the room. Every gaze fixed on him as if he were a shimmering gold sycee[2] brought to life, the chatter fading into a hushed anticipation.
Without a flicker in demeanor, Su Ling approached the village chief and eyed the construction map spread out on the desk. With a quizzical look, Su Ling probed, “Village Chief, is there a problem?”
In a split second, Village Chief Jin shot an icy glare at the silver-haired couple tucked away in the corner, then gave a disdainful scoff. “Now that Xiao Su’s here, you two can discuss how you intend to resolve this matter with him.”
Creases of concern etched across Old Xu’s countenance as his eyes flitted about uneasily. Meanwhile, his wife tugged at his sleeve, urging him to speak up. “Um… The thing is… building the new road is a tremendous boon for everyone in the village, but about the compensation… don’t you think it’s a bit lacking?”
When someone took the lead, others quickly followed suit.
“That’s right, that’s right! I heard they’re compensating ten thousand yuan[3] per acre for road construction in Willowbrook Village next door! Yet, our village is only getting six thousand yuan[4]. Quite a gap, don’t you think?”
“Why can’t we just repair the existing road? The new one doesn’t pass through my family’s land, so doesn’t that mean we won’t get any compensation?” You are reading on g.com, the official source.
“On what basis are certain individuals given great sums, while others barely get a fraction?”
“Unfair doesn’t even begin to cover it! This just doesn’t make any sense.”
They were a cohort largely bereft of formal education, aged well beyond their prime. Yet, each believed themselves grievously wronged, desperately scrambling to secure ever greater sums in compensation. The very words that spilled from their lips bordered on the farcical.
However, Su Ling paid no heed to their protests. Instead, he snatched up the road construction map from the table, his gaze intent as he scrutinized its details.
Just a few days ago, Su Ling and the village chief traveled to City S, where they found a skilled construction crew known for their expertise in road building. After negotiating a fair price, the engineer drew a blueprint for a brand-new thoroughfare.
The sinuous dirt road leading out of the village was unnecessarily long, so it would have wasted materials and taken up valuable farmland. As such, the engineer proposed a clever fix: a direct path stretching just 1,300 meters from the village entrance to the Noble Willow Pavilion. This new route shaved a staggering 800 meters off the original 2,100-meter span, slashing travel time and saving Su Ling and the village chief a ton of money. Naturally, they were fully in favor of this efficient, cost-effective proposal.
However, not everyone in the village felt the same. Some lamented that their compensation did not truly reflect their losses, feeling shortchanged by the new deal. Those whose lands were untouched also voiced frustration, seeing it as unjust and feeling overlooked in the process.
Su Ling’s virtuous endeavor to improve the community was marred by the selfish interests of certain rapacious individuals. What began as a promising road project had now been tainted.
“Settle down, everyone, settle down,” Li Yue’e intervened, seeking to defuse the tense atmosphere. “Our esteemed guest Xiao Su has come all the way from the city to be with us, and out of sheer kindness, he has offered to fund our road construction. Let’s not tarnish this goodwill with demands for more compensation.”
Li Yue’e’s voice cut through the heated chatter, instantly silencing the villagers.
“Sister Li’s right.” chimed in the other village cadre. After all these years, someone’s finally willing to fund the road repairs. We’ve barely had a moment to celebrate this long-awaited blessing, and already, there are those selfishly trying to profit at our expense.
The village chief slammed his palm on the table, his face hardening with unwavering resolve. “Willowbrook Village is Willowbrook Village, and Stone Creek Village is Stone Creek Village. I don’t care how they compensate their villagers. We’ve agreed on these prices together, so there’s no reason to change them now. Besides, we’re taking less than half an acre from your family and still compensating you at 30,000[5] per acre.”
The land acquisition compensation in their village strictly adhered to local policy standards. As the village chief, he ensured the villagers got their due while safeguarding a generous donor who funded the road construction from being exploited.
The hesitant Old Xu seemed poised to speak but held his tongue, while his wife Li Qiu’s features blossomed into a hopeful smile. “You’ll be acquiring paddy fields from others, but ours are vegetable fields. I’ve heard that the compensation rates vary between the two, so I’ve come to ensure we get what’s fair. Surely, you can’t fault me for that, right?”
Setting the construction map aside, Su Ling turned to Old Xu with a warm smile. “What do you think would be a fair compensation in this case, Uncle[6] Xu?”
Old Xu cleared his throat lightly, a pensive look crossing his countenance as he gestured with his fingers. “Eighty thousand[7],” he answered.
“Eighty thousand?” Li Yue’e let out a stunned gasp. “Is that for half an acre or a full acre?”
Wasting no time, Li Qiu added, “Of course, it’s for half an acre! Vegetable fields are worth more than rice paddies, you know!”
Su Ling’s finger lightly tapped on the construction map as he murmured, “Eighty thousand for half an acre…” If this had been the Su Ling who had only just arrived in the countryside, he might have felt utterly when confronted with such a scenario. Driven by sympathy, he would have easily agreed to the eighty thousand, despite his reservations.
But now, having spent these past weeks in the countryside, Su Ling had gained a deeper understanding of the villagers and their ways, especially after witnessing Li Yue’e’s brazen misappropriation of funds during the recent payroll distribution. This had imparted a hard-earned lesson — that blind good intentions could be taken advantage of, with some having no qualms about pushing the boundaries without limit.
Su Ling traced his finger across the map and questioned, “Is this where Uncle Xu’s vegetable fields are?”
The village chief confirmed, “Yes, this land—all of it—belongs to his family.”
Li Yue’e leaned in, her eyes tracing the map’s lines with precision. “The new straight road,” she declared confidently, “will definitely cut through Old Xu’s land.”
Su Ling chuckled, “Actually, it doesn’t necessarily have to be a straight path.”
In an instant, his statement hit like a sudden storm, leaving them momentarily speechless.
Huh? What does he mean by “it doesn’t necessarily have to be a straight path”?
At this juncture, Old Xu’s heart was in his mouth as he tightly clasped Li Qiu’s hand in panic. Meanwhile, her own expression betrayed a growing sense of unease, her gaze darting instinctively toward Li Yue’e.
With a stroke of his goatee, the village chief’s expression morphed from contemplative to downright astonished as he followed the sweep of Su Ling’s fingers mapping out a new road on the construction map.
“You’re thinking of going around Old Xu’s vegetable fields?”
Old Xu’s eyes widened in sheer disbelief at the question.
The author has something to say:
Su Ling: Do I really look like a walking gold sycee?
Li Dahai: Yes!
_______
PS: Now, let me make this very clear that this novel is a work of pure fiction. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental. Mwah!
[1] 人心不足蛇吞象 (rén xīn bù zú shé tūn xiàng): It is a Chinese idiom that describes a snake’s inability to digest the elephant and is often used to refer to one’s unlimited greed.
[2] 元宝 (jīn yuán bǎo): A 元宝 is a major form of currency in Chinese history for more than a thousand years. You can read more about it here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sycee It also looks something like this:
[3] CNY 10,000 is approximately US $1,375.25.
[4] CNY 6,000 is approximately US $825.15.
[5] CNY 30,000 is approximately US $4,125.92.
[6] Similar to “Aunt,” the term “Uncle” is used in Chinese culture to respectfully address older men, regardless of blood relation. 伯伯 (bóbó) or 大伯 (dà bó) is used to address men who are a few years older than one’s father, while 叔叔 (shūshu) is used for those younger than one’s father.
[7] CNY 80,000 is approximately US $11,002.01.