Chapter 401 Coming to Find Me

Chapter 401: They Come Knocking

On the way back to the factory, Xiao Lu had already explained the general situation.

Su Taotao asked Fu Yuanhang to take Chenchen along for part-time work.

Knowing his mother was busy, Chenchen obediently followed his uncle.

When Su Taotao and Xiao Lu arrived at the meeting room, Zhang Jingan was speaking with several white-haired elders.

After brief introductions, Su Taotao skipped the pleasantries and got straight to the point: "You claim to be the owners of this land. Do you have any documents to prove your identity?"

One of the keen-eyed elders replied, "Yes, but we left in haste years ago and didn’t bring them with us. We need to enter the bomb shelter (air-raid shelter) to retrieve our belongings, but your people won’t let us in."

At this, Su Taotao’s eyelids twitched almost imperceptibly.

When the foundation was being laid, Old Gao had indeed discovered an entire stack of land deeds in the bomb shelter—not just one, but a whole pile.

Old Gao had handed them over to her for handling. Initially, she had planned to submit them to Secretary Zhao and let him deal with the aftermath.

Unfortunately, Secretary Zhao was later transferred due to domestic issues, and she didn’t have the same connection with the new secretary.

Later, she became too busy and the matter was left unresolved until now.

Those land deeds were still sitting in a drawer at her home.

Now it seemed there was indeed significant dispute over the ownership of this land.

But this still didn’t prove their identities.

Su Taotao kept her cool. "Since you’re not employees of our factory, you naturally can’t move around freely here. We can’t just let anyone enter and search the premises."

One elder slammed the table and stood up. "Bullshit! What do you mean ‘your factory’? This is our land! You built a factory here without our consent. Now we need your permission to return to our own property? Since when does that make sense?"

Xiao Lu stepped forward and smacked the table. "Mind your manners! Don’t pull rank just because you're old. If I showed up at your home claiming it was mine and demanded to search it, would you be happy?"

A younger man retorted, "Then how is what you’re doing any different from bandits forcibly occupying land?"

Xiao Lu snapped, "Who’s forcibly occupying anything? We’re a legitimate state-owned factory! If you can’t speak properly, get out."

Su Taotao understood the situation, but she still wasn’t sure how to handle it. There was no way to verify whether these people were the original owners or just scammers who knew about the deeds.

Another elder backed down. "We apologize. We didn’t mean to offend. We left, but we’re not dead, nor have we committed any crimes. This land has been passed down through our ancestors, so of course we’re anxious."

Su Taotao raised a hand to restore order. "You can't possibly think this factory is my private property?"

She tapped the table. "This is a government factory, a state-owned factory, one that serves the people. Its construction was approved by the state government.

"You have no documents to prove your claims, so what’s the point of shouting at us? Instead of arguing here, you’d be better off filing a complaint with the relevant authorities."

The two hot-tempered elders were about to stand up again, but the eldest, bespectacled elder held them back.

"Director Su, we’re not here to yell at you. We’re plain-spoken people, and if our words offended you, we apologize.

"We came to retrieve the land deeds so we can take them to the authorities and seek justice. The land is ours, and the deeds were indeed left in the bomb shelter. Please do us this courtesy."

Another elder added, "Yes, Director Su. We’re not here to make trouble—we just want fairness. If we hadn’t spotted our address on your candy wrappers, we wouldn’t even have known our land had been developed into a factory."

Su Taotao had originally printed the address and contact number on the packaging, never imagining it would cause such trouble.

Now that the factory’s built, tearing it down isn’t an option. If it's confirmed that the land ownership truly belongs to them, they’d have to be compensated accordingly.

She had worried about this issue before, but considering how things worked back then—where all land belonged to the state—even if there were disputes over ownership, the authorities would handle it properly. So, she didn’t lose sleep over it.

She kept quiet about the deeds for the time being because their visit caught her off guard. She needed to discuss a plan with local officials before properly negotiating with them.

That is, assuming their identities were genuine.

Su Taotao said, "The information I received was that this area originally belonged to nearby villagers. Later, a big-time landlord bought up scattered plots, consolidated them into one, and turned it into an orchard.

When land reform happened, the landlord didn’t even show up to confirm ownership or exchange deeds—they just grabbed the old deeds and fled overseas. Naturally, the land was reclaimed by the state and the collective."

Back then, getting branded a landlord or rich peasant was bad news. Most people voluntarily surrendered their land in exchange for peace.

The eldest elder said, "I don’t know who fed you that half-baked story."

The elder pointed toward the hillside of the coconut grove. "The owner of that hillside might have been a landlord, but we weren’t. Our families only had tiny plots—not even middle-peasant status. The land where your factory stands was indeed passed down from our ancestors.

We got tied up and missed the land reform and couldn’t return to settle down, hence this mess. We’ll explain everything to the authorities.

That doesn’t mean the land isn’t ours. Right now, we just want to enter the air-raid shelter to retrieve our deeds."

If what the elder said was true, this was a real can of worms.

In those times, regular folks had no say. If the authorities forcibly confiscated the land, there was nothing they could do.

Su Taotao, a 21st-century soul, couldn’t bring herself to pull something this shady.

But how to handle it properly? She needed to discuss it with the local government first.

"Here’s the deal: you should go back for today. If what you say is true, we’ll have to check things out. We’ll report to the leadership first, then gather everyone to sit down and work out a solution together."

Someone grew impatient: "Hey, I say, comrade, we just want to retrieve our deeds. Why’re you giving us the runaround?"

Zhang Jingan, who had been listening quietly, finally spoke: "We’re a state-owned factory, not a public park. We can’t have randos wandering in. Does that sound right to you? We need time to verify your identities."

The elder retorted, "You! Why can’t you understand? We’ve told you the deeds are in the air-raid shelter! Now that you know, we won’t leave—what if you take them after we’re gone?"

Su Taotao massaged her aching temples. "The police and the Armed Forces Department conducted a thorough search and found nothing."

She was almost certain about the situation, but she couldn’t mention that the deeds were in her possession. They had to verify identities first before returning them.

The elder insisted, "That’s because we hid them well! Just because your people didn’t find them doesn’t mean they don’t exist. We won’t go anywhere else or touch anything—we just want into the shelter. Otherwise, we’re not leaving!"

The rest chimed in, "Yes, we’ll only go to the shelter. Otherwise, we won’t leave."

Zhang Jingan was about to say something else.

Su Taotao called out, "Xiao Lu, take them to the shelter. If you don’t find what you’re looking for, you must leave immediately and take it up with the right people.

But be prepared—regardless of land ownership, even if it’s confirmed, we’re not bulldozing the factory to give back dirt. I suggest you consider alternative compensation.

Once you’ve decided how to proceed, send two representatives. We’ll sit down with local officials to discuss a solution."

Su Taotao also needed time to verify their identities. She wasn’t about to hand out deeds like candy.

They traded looks and agreed to Su Taotao’s proposal.

The eldest elder spoke on their behalf: "We’ll play by Director Su’s rules. First, we’ll retrieve the deeds."

Su Taotao jerked her chin at Xiao Lu. "Take them there."

...