Chapter 11: The Village Chief’s Little Western-Style Mansion
Page 1 of 3
Yu Yang, accompanied by his eldest brother, Sixth Uncle, and two cousins, headed to the Agricultural Machinery Station. The township chief, who had stayed behind in the courtyard, along with several officials, once again entered the plastic greenhouse.
The group often went out to attract investment and had seen plastic greenhouses before. They had even seen greenhouses heated by stoves. But this was the first time they had encountered a plastic greenhouse with fire pits built at both ends and a heated kang bed laid underground.
“Bean sprouts do make money, but the initial investment is too high,” one commented.
“Especially in summer, this setup will definitely go unused,” another added.
After some discussion, the township chief concluded, “This isn’t suitable for large-scale promotion; otherwise, this would count as an emerging industry here.”
“The emerging industries aren’t that easy. If we can just establish a local company and see profit growth, that would be a blessing,” the director of the investment office responded.
The deputy township chief expressed some concern. “Leader, Old Yu got into trouble for buying brick kilns at low prices, and now Xiao Yu wants to buy agricultural machinery cheaply from the Agricultural Machinery Station. At such a sensitive time, isn’t that a bit inappropriate?”
“Xiao Yu only mentioned ‘low price’ but didn’t specify any figures. Besides, he said he’d wait until he has the money. When he does, I doubt he’ll still care about these old machines. Judging by the scale of those plastic greenhouses on the barren northern land, he’ll probably bring in refrigerated trailers and containers and return the old machinery,” the township chief said, teaching by example.
“In some matters, we need to pretend to be a little ignorant; otherwise, if we take everything seriously, how can we get things done or seek development?”
Everyone nodded in agreement, acknowledging the lesson.
“Of course, this depends on the person. If the other party knows nothing, we can’t just play dumb. Look at Xiao Yu—he speaks with such skill, pointing things out everywhere.”
Everyone suddenly understood.
The deputy township chief lamented, “It’s a pity he’s not on our team; otherwise, we could go out together to attract investment. How could our township fail to rise?”
The township chief’s eyes brightened. “Next time we go out, we can have Xiao Yu as an external ally.”
“Can investment drives have external allies?”
“Is it not allowed by higher-ups?”
“No rules against it…” The deputy township chief said, then suddenly realized, “Pretend to be a little ignorant!”
At that moment, five rusty large four-wheel agricultural tractors rumbled to a stop at the alley entrance.
Because the communal meal at Shiliying ended late, these tractors—new Dongfanghong models purchased by the township from First Tractor in 1992—had not yet been put into use. They were intended for township-wide cultivation.
Unfortunately, before they could be deployed, higher authorities sent personnel demanding land certification and contract allocation to households.
Soon, the private economy rapidly developed, and villagers rushed to buy their own agricultural machinery. Even the township had several machine repair shops.
The Shiliying Agricultural Machinery Station belonged to collective ownership (in some places, it was under the Agricultural Bureau, publicly owned, or state-owned enterprise).
Like the brick kilns, collective assets sold by the township would cause dissatisfaction, so they remained unused.
Now, five years later, with a fad for the new and disdain for the old, no one wanted these outdated machines.
Of course, “outdated” is relative. Even in Han Gai Township to the west, 60-year-old tracked Dongfanghong tractors still roared across the fields.
The township chief stepped out of the alley and called to Yu Yang, who had just gotten off the tractor.
“Xiao Yu, are you free next week?”
“Next week? My father has a court hearing on Thursday. Other than that, I should be free except for tending the bean sprouts.”
“That’s good. Saturday then. After you finish handling Old Yu’s matters, come with me to take care of some business.”
“Can you give me a hint?”
“Good news, for the development of the whole township.”
Yu Yang saw the township chief was about to say “big picture” and quickly patted his chest. “Always ready!”
The township chief smiled broadly and waved the other officials off home.
...
Yu Yang returned to the courtyard and entered the plastic greenhouse.
He was stunned to find 25 burly men all reclining in the corners, taking a nap.
“What’s going on? Go back to your rooms and rest!”
His eldest brother looked up. “Which rooms? There’s nowhere else to go.”
Yu Yang was momentarily confused, looking around the courtyard.
Page 2 of 3
Indeed.
The main hall’s kang bed was being used to grow bean sprouts.
The east room’s kang bed was also growing bean sprouts.
Only the old earthen stove kitchen remained; though replaced with cast-iron stoves, five strong men plus himself already filled the space, leaving no room for 20 more.
Yu Yang had planned to ask Sixth Uncle to free up a few rooms but suddenly remembered something.
“Has the village chief returned?”
The younger cousin scratched his head. “My father went to his house several times, but no one was home.”
“Let’s go stay at the village chief’s small western-style house for a few days.”
Hearing this, the burly men all stood up.
Yu Yang gestured toward the newly purchased cast-iron stoves. “Carry a few up, and bring a cartload of coal—we’ll use them to keep warm at night.”
“And these five tractors.”
“Hey, I told you to drive the tractors, not carry them... Slow down, damn it! Why are you running so fast while carrying them?!”
...
The village chief’s small western-style house was indeed quite nice.
Close to the provincial highway, it had a spacious courtyard wide enough to park five tractors side by side.
The six rooms downstairs and five upstairs comfortably accommodated the burly men.
Yu Yang even secured a double room upstairs to share with his eldest brother.
No choice—Shiliying was too chaotic, so he needed a strong man nearby.
After arranging the stoves and boiling water for foot baths, Yu Yang seized the chance to take a hot shower.
Lying on the mattress the village chief had confiscated from Old Yu’s family, he slept soundly until dawn.
The burly men had already returned to the village to tend the bean sprouts, leaving only the eldest brother guarding the site.
Using the village’s large loudspeaker, Yu Yang asked his younger cousin to buy a set of toothpaste, toothbrush, towel, and soap from the small shop.
Then, using the loudspeaker again, he called out along Shiliying’s street to have 100 yuan worth of meat buns delivered.
Next, he notified Sixth Uncle via loudspeaker to find ten drivers in the village to drive the tractors to the Buddha Temple and order ten trailer units.
“Never expected this loudspeaker to be more convenient than a phone.”
Unbeknownst to him, the village chief’s relatives were already cursing.
“Arrogant!”
“Too arrogant!”
That morning, after eating the meat buns and brewing a cup of Tieguanyin tea confiscated from Old Yu, Yu Yang, with nothing else to do, went to the village chief’s study.
He discovered that sitting at the desk, looking out the rear window of the western-style house, he could see the entire Yu family village.
The line of vegetable vendors…
The free-range white geese…
The stray dogs chasing each other…
The old men and women basking in the sun after watching too many North American blockbusters…
Further afield:
To the north, the rolling foothills of the East Mountain Range.
To the east, the vast and flat Pingdong Lake.
To the west, the highway running parallel to the Yellow River…
“This view, this feeling, it’s just too wonderful,” he marveled.
Suddenly, shouting came from downstairs.
“Village Chief Yu?”
“Is Village Chief Yu home?”
Page 3 of 3
Yu Yang stepped out of the study and stood by the front window of the corridor, looking down.
A Nissan car was parked in the yard. Beside the passenger door stood a bank employee he had seen a few days earlier.
“The village chief left town yesterday.”
“You’re... Yu Yang?”
“Yes.”
There was a brief silence downstairs.
The rear door opened, and the county Agricultural Bank branch manager, whom Yu Yang had met before, stepped out, greeting warmly, “Comrade Xiao Yu, good to see you again.”
“Yes, what brings you here?”
“Just some business, happened to be passing through. By the way, why are you here?”
“The village chief leased this to me before he left.”
“Good, near the road, not bad,” the branch manager waved off the matter. “I have something else to attend to, so I’ll be going.”
He returned to the back seat, and the Nissan turned around and drove off.
“These two…”
Yu Yang stared towards the distant provincial highway, thinking quietly.
The branch manager and the village chief’s connection was nothing more than the brick kiln.
More specifically, the bank likely reclaimed the brick kiln from its own loans, then sold it cheaply to the village chief to get a loan and make some extra money on the side.
This was normal.
But now, it seemed the village chief had been scared away…
Who would the bank sell the brick kiln to?
...
At Shiliying.
The Nissan stopped at the coal briquette factory.
Liu Danian, greeted enthusiastically by Factory Director Huang, entered the small bungalow.
As the county Agricultural Bank branch manager, Liu Danian wielded considerable power; at least he knew who had money in the county.
For example, this coal briquette factory, which earned 300,000 yuan a year—much more profitable than the brick kiln.
“Old Huang, I won’t beat around the bush. I have your township’s brick kiln in my hands. Interested?”
“The Shiliying brick kiln?”
“Yes.”
“That’s a big headache.”
“What’s the trouble?”
“Yu Jianjun’s already inside; isn’t that trouble enough?”
“Ha, someone reported him.”
“Yes, because the brick kiln was sold cheaply and the township people weren’t happy, so they reported him. When I get the brick kiln, what will the township folks think? They don’t care how many times the kiln changes hands or the transfer contracts; they only care who profits from it. When the trouble starts, the authorities, aiming to maintain stability and quell unrest, will probably send me to jail as well.”
“You’re too timid.”
“It’s not about timidity. Besides, the kiln has been shut down for years. Yu Jianjun only ran it for half a year before flooding shut it down again. Who can guarantee it’s really fixed?”
“250,000 yuan!”
“Yu Jianjun bought the kiln for only 100,000 yuan. You want to sell it to me for 250,000?”
Only then did the branch manager realize something was wrong.
When Village Chief Yu came asking to buy the brick kiln for 250,000 yuan, the bank only considered recovering the loan and never thought about what would happen if Village Chief Yu didn’t buy it.
Now it seemed the brick kiln was indeed a big headache.