The next morning, Lin Weishen took his wife and daughter to Plum Blossom Village.
When they were leaving, they saw his second brother and sister-in-law bruised and battered again; it was clear they had fought once more the night before.
Lin Weishen shook his head incessantly. “The second sister-in-law is going to be furious that the second brother transferred the homestead to the eldest brother. If you ask me, she’s too foolish. Can’t she see that the second brother is also full of regrets?!”
Song Lanfang was not interested in the affairs of the second brother’s family. She put a straw hat on her daughter’s head, held up her own umbrella, and pinched his waist. “That’s enough. The sun is coming up, let’s get moving.”
Lin Qionghua asked Lin Weishen, “Dad, isn’t it a bit too early to go talk about this now? You don’t even have the money to pay them yet, do you?”
Lin Weishen chuckled. “If we don’t secure a house now, by the time we actually get the money, there won’t be any homesteads left. The early bird gets the worm.”
Lin Qionghua was curious. “Dad, didn’t you say Qingqing’s father is also coming to settle in Plum Blossom Village? Why didn’t you ask him to buy a homestead with us?”
Lin Weishen didn’t answer, but Song Lanfang laughed. “Your father is being petty.”
Lin Weishen thought his wife’s remark was a bit harsh. “The Zhou family’s eldest son is getting married, and he has to arrange the village banquet, so he can’t get away.”
After a pause, he added, “We are good friends, but when it comes to buying property, having too many people involved isn’t good; it’s easy to drive up the price. He isn’t short on money, but I am. I have to buy it before he does.”
Lin Qionghua understood.
The family of three arrived at Plum Blossom Village. When Grandma Zhou saw her daughter and son-in-law returning with a basket of eggs, her eyes crinkled with joy, and she welcomed them into the house.
Grandma Zhou even gave some egg cakes to Lin Qionghua. “Eat up.”
Lin Qionghua took them but didn’t eat. She didn’t know how long these egg cakes had been sitting there; they were rock hard when she touched them. She had gotten diarrhea from eating them once before.
Seeing that her granddaughter was not enthusiastic, Grandma Zhou was a bit puzzled. “What’s wrong? Isn’t egg cake your favorite?”
Lin Qionghua shook her head and said she had no appetite.
Song Lanfang brought the conversation back to the main point. “Mom, where is Dad?”
“He went fishing early this morning.”
Song Lanfang exchanged a few pleasantries with her before getting to the point. “Does our village have any extra homesteads?”
Grandma Zhou was immediately captivated by her daughter’s question. She thought for a moment and replied, “Yes, there are several homesteads sitting empty. Why do you ask?”
Song Lanfang explained the situation regarding their village’s demolition.
Grandma Zhou’s eyes lit up as if they were a 100-watt lightbulb, making her daughter look radiant. She held her daughter’s hands tightly. “Really? How much did your family get for the demolition?”
“Four hundred thousand.” Song Lanfang didn’t hide it; mainly because it was impossible to keep it a secret anyway.
Grandma Zhou gasped and clutched her chest, panting. Fearing her mother might faint from excitement, Song Lanfang quickly stepped forward to pat her back. “Mom, Mom, are you okay?”
Grandma Zhou gripped her daughter’s hand. “Lanfang, you must not forget your brother and your younger brother. They are your own flesh and blood. Your older brother isn’t even married yet.”
Lin Qionghua’s heart skipped a beat. She looked at Song Lanfang—her mother was a “family-supporter” (someone who always prioritizes their birth family over their own).
In her previous life, after her father had an accident, her mother’s family not only failed to help but also mocked her mother, which led to her mother taking her far away. Three years later, when her mother’s anger had subsided, she brought her back to see her maternal grandparents, only for it to coincide with the demolition of Plum Blossom Village. Her grandparents thought her mother had come back to ask for help and scolded them severely. It was only then that her mother realized the truth and stopped hoping for her parents’ love.
Her mother hadn’t reached that realization yet, nor had she suffered enough disappointment. She might actually agree!
Song Lanfang didn’t agree, but she didn’t refuse either. Instead, she asked curiously, “Has the eldest brother written back?”
Grandma Zhou nodded and pulled a letter from the house. “This letter was sent by your eldest brother half a month ago. Your younger brother came back a few days ago and read it to me. Your younger brother thinks Shenzhen has good development opportunities, so he took a train there the day before yesterday to broaden his horizons.”
Song Lanfang read the letter. “The eldest brother is working there and has a fixed salary. Maybe he’ll bring a wife back for the New Year at the end of the year.”
Grandma Zhou was predictably pleased. “If he gets married and is short on money, and comes to borrow some from you, you cannot refuse.”
Song Lanfang gave a vague response.
Seeing her daughter’s lack of enthusiasm, Grandma Zhou showed her a bank card. “This is the bank card your eldest brother gave me. He said that once he earns money, he will deposit it into this card every month. If I need money urgently, I can withdraw it from here.”
Lin Qionghua didn’t believe her eldest uncle was that filial. She probed, “Grandma, have you checked at the bank? Is there any money in it?”
Grandma Zhou nodded. “I went, but there wasn’t any money in it. He just arrived in Shenzhen a few days ago; the factory probably hasn’t paid him yet, right?”
Lin Weishen had worked in factories before and knew how it worked. “Factories usually withhold a month’s salary. It won’t be that fast.”
Seeing another savings passbook in her hand, Lin Qionghua asked, “Grandma, whose passbook is this?”
Grandma Zhou smiled sweetly. “It’s from your younger uncle. He went to Shenzhen, but he’ll go straight to school when the semester starts and will need to pay tuition, so he asked me to deposit money into it. He has a bank card and can withdraw it there.”
In 1992, universities charged tuition, and the fees varied by school. Her younger uncle’s tuition was 400 yuan per year.
Lin Qionghua curled her lip. “Didn’t he go to Shenzhen to work? Why are you the one depositing money?”
“He went to Shenzhen to broaden his horizons; he doesn’t necessarily have to work.” Grandma Zhou didn’t like hearing anyone say anything bad about her son.
Lin Weishen obviously knew the old lady’s temperament and quickly said with a smile, “Mom, could you help us ask which families in the village are selling their homesteads? We want to settle it sooner. If we live in the same village in the future, we can look out for each other. Lanfang will also be able to be more filial to you.”
Although Grandma Zhou was inherently biased toward men, she didn’t show it outwardly, and she immediately agreed. “Let’s go! We’ll go right now.”
She tidied up her things and put them back in the house.
Grandma Zhou took the family of three to a house.
This house had been built only a few years ago. The son worked in the county seat, where he was married and had children, so the house in his hometown was sitting empty.
Grandma Zhou let them look at the house first before going to find the elderly parents, who would then notify their son.
“This house is the best one; you can move right in.”
Lin Weishen was a little hesitant. “With such a nice house, would they really sell it?”
People in this era all had the desire to “fall leaves return to their roots.” Their hometown was their root. They wouldn’t easily sell their homestead.
Grandma Zhou told him not to worry. “A few days ago, I heard his father asking around the village about who was buying houses. They borrowed a lot of money from relatives to buy a house in the county seat, so the pressure is high, and they want to sell the house in their hometown.”
At this time, one could not get a loan to buy a house; it had to be paid in full. Even if they emptied their entire savings, they only managed to scrape together 30 percent, and they had to borrow the rest from relatives.
However, relatives’ money also had its uses, and being in debt for a long time wasn’t good. After obtaining the property deed, they would mortgage the house to the bank to pay back the money borrowed from their relatives.
But bank interest was very high now, and it was really difficult to pay the bank every month. They were thinking of selling the homestead in their hometown to pay off part of the mortgage early and reduce the pressure.
Lin Weishen suddenly understood.
He asked Song Lanfang, “What do you think?”
Song Lanfang had grown up in Plum Blossom Village, so she naturally knew this family. The owner of this house was two years her senior; he had excellent grades and had been working in the county seat since graduating from university. She hadn’t expected that after only ten years of working, he would be able to afford a house in the county seat.
She thought the house was good. The area outside was kept neat and tidy, and they could grow vegetables in front of and behind the house. The house itself was nearly 200 square meters, and the land area was nearly 300 square meters. If it followed the demolition standards of their village, this house would fetch at least 160,000 yuan.
She asked Grandma Zhou how much the house cost.
Grandma Zhou hadn’t actually asked, so she vaguely said, “I estimate 5,000 would be enough.”
Lin Weishen asked Grandma Zhou to call the owner over, as they wanted to finalize the house as soon as possible.
Grandma Zhou took them to find the house owner’s father. The owner was the second son, and the parents were supported by the eldest.
Grandma Zhou soon led them to the eldest son’s house to discuss the house purchase.
The house owner’s father went to the brigade office to use the telephone and notify his second son, who agreed to come back the day after tomorrow to discuss it.
Once the time was set, he hung up.
The house owner’s father’s surname was Yang, and he was a bit curious about why Grandma Zhou’s daughter and son-in-law came to Plum Blossom Village to buy a house.
Lin Weishen, being cautious, didn’t let Grandma Zhou mention the demolition of their house, lest the other party ask for an exorbitant price. “My mother-in-law is getting older, and Lanfang is worried, so we want to live closer to take care of them.”
Old man Yang was so envious his eyes were almost popping out. Old Zhou was so lucky; her son-in-law was actually willing to spend money to buy a house on his wife’s side of the family.
“Mom, how do we move the residency registration (hukou) over?”
Grandma Zhou didn’t really know, but Old man Yang knew a little. “Moving your hukou requires the approval of the Village Committee. You need to get their stamp. Of course, it also costs a bit of money.”
However, Old man Yang didn’t quite understand. “Just buying the house is enough, why move the hukou too? It’s troublesome and costs money!”
Lin Weishen sighed. “If I am a villager of Dalin Village, I cannot buy a homestead in your village. If there is a lawsuit in the future, the contract will be voided. If my hukou is moved to your village, the contract won’t be voided.”
Old man Yang hadn’t expected that he was worried about them going back on their word. “What’s there to go back on? Even if you wanted to go back on it, he wouldn’t have the money to pay you back.”
“Just in case. Money on one hand, title deed on the other; let’s not go back on our word. Isn’t that better?” Lin Weishen laughed.
Old man Yang looked at Grandma Zhou. “Your son-in-law is quite meticulous.”
The way he said this, combined with his expression, didn’t sound like a compliment; it was more like saying, “Your son-in-law is really narrow-minded.”
Grandma Zhou pretended not to understand and agreed, “Moving is too troublesome. He doesn’t want to move back and forth.”
After walking a few meters, they arrived at an empty courtyard. Song Lanfang stopped. “Was this place the village clinic before? Why is no one here?”
Grandma Zhou took a look but didn’t think much of it. “The clinic was closed the second year after you married. When people in the village get sick, they go to the clinic in the next village.”
Song Lanfang didn’t pay it any more mind and kept walking forward, but Lin Qionghua took a few extra looks. This village clinic’s homestead was quite large, and it was a single-story building. If they bought it, they wouldn’t have any follow-up worries. Her eyes lit up. “Grandma, is this village clinic for sale?”
Grandma Zhou was slightly stunned. “It is for sale, and the area is even larger than the previous one.”
Old man Yang, fearing they might change their minds, quickly said, “Don’t just look at this house as good. It was a clinic; who knows if there are any needles or glass shards left inside? Your child is so young; it would be bad if she pricked her feet.”
Her words had some truth to them. Lin Weishen thought his daughter was a little troublemaker who ran around everywhere and sometimes didn’t even wear shoes. If she stepped on glass, she would suffer.