As soon as they reached the threshing floor, the couple couldn’t help but brag to others about how much their vegetable patch would be worth. The villagers hadn’t looked closely at the details before, but upon learning that Lin Weisen’s patch would be compensated at a higher rate than their own land, they were filled with envy.
Zhao Cuilan, the second brother’s wife, said sourly, “Weisen, you really struck gold!” She was the one who usually looked down on the youngest brother and his wife the most. She couldn’t understand why Song Lanfang was so lucky to have such a thoughtful husband as Lin Weisen, while her own husband was so blunt. She had always consoled herself that her husband earned more money than Weisen, but compared to the demolition compensation, that little bit of extra income was nothing. Song Lanfang caught Zhao Cuilan’s jealous gaze and felt a swell of pride, secretly sharing a knowing look with her husband.
Lin Weisen, enjoying the attention, stood a little straighter.
Lin Weimu and his wife also arrived. When Zhao Cuilan saw them, she remembered that their homestead wasn’t in their own name, so she asked someone nearby, “Does the demolition compensation follow the name on the land certificate?”
“Of course,” Wang Caixia nodded with a smile. She had just heard that the vegetable patch compensation was higher than the paddy fields, and she was overjoyed; their family had one mu of vegetable land out of their four total, and although it wasn’t as much as Lin Weisen’s, the extra acreage made her happy.
Upon hearing the confirmation, Zhao Cuilan sighed in relief and scoffed at the eldest brother and his wife. “It’s based on the land certificate. You two won’t get a cent.”
Lin Weimu and his wife exchanged a look, thinking, Did the second brother not tell his wife when he took the certificate? Not that it mattered to them now. Lin Weimu walked over to the youngest brother and said, “Come to my house for dinner today; your sister-in-law is killing a chicken. We have to celebrate! Thank goodness I changed the name on the land certificate today. Otherwise, we wouldn’t have gotten much at all.”
The demolition notice explicitly stated that land certificates and houses were treated separately. Lin Weisen chuckled and nodded, “Definitely. Eldest Brother, you’re truly lucky.”
Lin Weimu patted Lin Qionghua’s head. “It’s all thanks to Qionghua. If she hadn’t told me, our family might not have gotten a fair share. This child is my lucky star!”
Mu Xiaocao also expressed her regret, relieved that her husband had acted decisively. Zhao Cuilan, hearing this exchange, finally realized what had happened. Her face went pale. When she saw Lin Weilin arriving, she rushed up and grabbed his arm. “What do they mean? Our land certificate was changed?”
Lin Weilin felt guilty, as he hadn’t told her about the change that morning. However, he couldn’t lose face in front of everyone. He shook her off and retorted defensively, “Didn’t you say so yourself? That we’d transfer it for two hundred? Big Brother came to me this morning, gave me the two hundred, and I transferred the title.” He had originally planned to pocket the money as his secret fund, but he hadn’t expected the demolition to be announced the same day.
Zhao Cuilan turned blue with rage and began hitting and scratching at him. Lin Weilin wasn’t a particularly patient man, and he certainly wouldn’t let his wife beat him in public, so he immediately fought back. The surrounding villagers rushed to pull them apart, though not before Zhao Cuilan and Lin Weilin both ended up with bruises. Their children were crying in fear on the sidelines.
By the time the village chief arrived, the threshing floor was in complete chaos. He stood on a bench with his megaphone to read the demolition details. While the formal document was official and difficult to understand, the village chief’s explanation was simple and concise, and the villagers finally grasped the situation.
Lin Qionghua held her mother’s hand, listening intently. She didn’t remember the exact details from her past life, only the final amount. Listening now, she realized just how complex the calculations were. Besides the main compensation for the homestead and land, there were smaller payments, such as a “headcount fee” based on the household register. Some villagers immediately started thinking about moving their married daughters’ registrations back to the village, but the village chief shut that down immediately: the registration list was closed as of that day.
Furthermore, the homestead compensation wasn’t just based on the land certificate, but also on the actual “shadow area” and usable area of the house. Different types of houses had different prices.
“What about the second floor?” someone shouted. Though it was a moot point since the village had no two-story houses, the chief answered, “The second floor is counted too.” The villagers instantly regretted not having built taller houses.
In addition, trees in the front and back of the houses would be compensated by type. The ten-year-old persimmon tree in Lin Weisen’s yard alone would net them 1,000 yuan. Lin Weisen was thrilled; he had bought two-year-old seedlings when they first moved in, thinking only about the fruit, and hadn’t expected such a bonus. There were also relocation subsidies, moving fees, and temporary living allowances. They were given three months, and moving earlier would earn them more daily allowances.
After the chief finished, the demolition office began measuring houses one by one. The first was Lin Weisen’s home, located at the front of the village entrance. After measuring and factoring in the land, population, and trees, they calculated that the family would receive nearly 400,000 yuan.
The number shocked the villagers, and envy filled the air. Forty thousand yuan—for farmers who struggled to save two or three hundred yuan a year—was an astronomical sum that promised a life of luxury for the rest of their lives.
That night, while Lin Weilin’s family was locked in a bitter fight, the Lin Weisen family of three had dinner at the eldest brother’s house. Mu Xiaocao returned the 200 yuan Lin Weimu had borrowed.
During dinner, Lin Weimu asked when they would sign the papers. Lin Weisen was eager but cautious. “I want to buy a plot of land in Meihua Village first.”
Lin Weimu questioned why he wanted to stay in the village, suggesting they buy a commercial apartment in town instead—somewhere with water and electricity. Lin Weisen shook his head. “What would I do for a living in town? It’s better to follow Qingqing’s dad to Meihua Village. He does catering, I help him, and I can sell my vegetables—I’ll have an income.”
Lin Weisen had indeed thought about opening a shop in the county town as his daughter suggested, but he knew business wasn’t that simple.
Song Lanfang smiled and added, “We’ll get 400,000. After buying land and building a house for 20,000 or 30,000, we can put the rest into fixed deposits. The interest alone will be enough to live on. Why should we seek out a boss to work for and suffer?”
She then calculated the interest. With the five-year fixed deposit rate at 11.52%, even after expenses, the annual interest on the remaining 360,000 would be over 41,000 yuan—more than 3,400 per month. That was more than they could ever earn by working or farming.
Everyone was stunned by the number. Lin Qionghua, remembering that bank interest rates would plummet in the future, felt relieved that her parents would be secure for at least twenty years even if they didn’t do business. She had only suggested they open a shop to keep her father from falling for investment scams; if they chose to live off the interest, that was even safer.
The eldest brother and his wife were immediately sold on the plan. “We’ll put it all into fixed deposits and just live off the interest!” Lin Weisen beamed and nodded, “That sounds like a plan!”