Chapter 9: Squad Leader, Our Family Wants to Apply for a Plot of Land

Chapter 9: Squad Leader, Our Family Wants to Apply for a Plot of Land

The Shen Shengli family returned to Yangliu Commune around noon and heard about what had happened the previous day. The commune members who filled them in also mentioned that Shen Laoqi had undergone a drastic change, becoming entirely different from who he used to be.

At the beginning of the year, a girl from Songshu Commune fell and hit her head while picking mushrooms in the mountains. After returning from the county people's hospital, she was like a different person, becoming unruly and difficult. This story had spread far and wide among the villages.

Shen Laoqi wasn't that extreme, but there was a similar vibe.

Initially, Shen Shengli hadn’t believed it, but now he was beginning to think there might be some truth to it.

After all, Shen Shaoyuan, who used to be as silent as a clam, now dared to accuse him, his elder brother, of deceit right to his face and even flattered Squad Leader Zhou in the process!

Shen Shengli felt the situation was more troublesome than he had anticipated, but he still managed to speak again before Zhou ManCang could say anything. "Lao Qi, your nephews have been living in those two rooms for many years. They have families of their own. You can’t just force them to sleep on the streets, right? As an uncle, be generous. Your nephews will remember your kindness. When Moer gets married, won’t your nephews still honor you? When you're old, won’t they take care of your funeral rites?"

Shen Shengli didn’t think there was anything wrong with what he said.

Shen Shaoyuan had no sons, only a daughter, which was almost like having no descendants. If he were sensible, he should contribute more and maintain good relations with his nephews.

He believed he was being earnest and well-meaning, all for Shen Shaoyuan's benefit.

He had seen shameless people, but never anyone as shameless as this.

Shen Shaoyuan was almost amused to the point of laughter. He pointed at his several nephews, who were either sitting or squatting, and sneered, "Do you think any of them will outlive me? If I die, maybe I’ll burn some paper money for them!"

Tsk, his nephews were once princes of the Great Liang—dragon-like and phoenix-like figures. They were nothing like these misshapen melons and cracked jars.

At first, Shen Shengli hadn’t thought it through. He only considered that Shen Shaoyuan had no sons and would have to rely on his nephews for old age support. He had forgotten that although Shen Shaoyuan was younger, he was of a higher generation.

Looking at his sons and nephews—some older, some younger, but all appearing more aged than Shen Shaoyuan—Shen Shengli’s mouth twitched, leaving him speechless for a moment.

"Even if your nephews can’t take care of you in your old age, there are still your grand-nephews, aren’t there? Besides, let’s not talk about such distant matters. Think about Moer. No matter where she marries, won’t she rely on the support of her brothers from her maternal family? So, as a family, there’s no need to be so rigid. With fewer people in your household, one room should be enough. Your nephews will remember your kindness and surely help Moer more, won’t they?"

The speaker was Shen Laoer, Shen Yongjun.

People often project their own worries onto others. Since Shen Shengli had no daughter and looked down on girls, he assumed Shen Shaoyuan's primary concern would be the issue of old-age support, just like him.

Shen Yongjun, on the other hand, had a beautiful daughter with a high school education who taught at the village school. Although he harbored a deep-seated preference for boys, he genuinely loved his daughter, Shen Lingling.

Therefore, compared to Shen Shengli, Shen Yongjun could naturally understand Shen Shaoyuan's feelings as a father and knew better what Shen Shaoyuan's real vulnerability was.

When it came to the support a married woman needed from her maternal family, Shen Shaoyuan was indeed touched.

After all, his little Moer had once been a precious princess of the Great Liang. When it came to her maternal family, was there anyone more powerful than the royal family, more so than her emperor uncle who doted on her?

But that was because his royal brother genuinely loved Moer.

As for these people in front of him... Shen Shaoyuan couldn’t help but sneer again. "Is this the kind of support that took away my good house, or the support that stole my food?"

Moer hadn’t even married yet, and these people were already trying to grab everything from his family. They had never shown any regard for familial affection when bullying him.

And they expected these people to support Moer in the future?

What a ridiculous dream!

Without the protection of Great Liang, Shen Shaoyuan felt like a tiger without its claws, but he didn’t think his daughter would ever need the support of these misshapen melons and cracked jars.

Raising his eyebrows, he said directly, "Enough. All you want to do is take advantage of my family. Let me tell you, it’s impossible! From now on, everything in my house belongs to Moer. If anyone tries to snatch it, I won’t hang myself. I’ll strangle them with a rope!"

Shen Shaoyuan, who used to be so soft and weak, had now become someone who talked about fighting and killing at the slightest provocation, giving Squad Leader Zhou a headache and leaving the entire Shen family dumbfounded.

It is said that the meek fear the bold, the bold fear the tough, and the tough fear the reckless. Shen Shaoyuan's sudden aggressive stance left both Shen Shengli and Shen Yongjun speechless.

Shen Shaoyuan only has a daughter, while they have sons and grandsons. If pushed too far, he might just strangle one of them.

Realizing there was no room for negotiation, Tian Fang became anxious and kept making eye signals to her elder sister-in-law, Liu Huihua.

Liu Huihua, who never made decisions on her own and always deferred to Shen Shengli, naturally didn't dare to speak when Shen Shengli remained silent.

Helpless, Tian Fang had to speak up herself: "Lao Qi, regarding the grain issue, I must apologize. I really didn't know the situation. If I had, I would have stopped Third Sister-in-law Cao Mei, right?"

Since the third family wasn't present, Tian Fang simply pushed all the blame onto Cao Mei.

She then continued, "On the house issue, you are indeed at a disadvantage. But Lao Qi, don't be fooled by how good those two rooms look. We've been maintaining them every year, and both our families have spent a lot of money on them. If you want to swap back, you'll have to repay us that money. Given your family's situation, I doubt you can afford it."

With an appearance of sincerity, she said, "Your family is small, and one room should be enough. It's just a bit of a leak. Have your nephews fix it, and they’ll make sure it’s watertight. How about that?"

Fixing the house costs some money, but it's nothing compared to swapping houses.

Seeing that some concession was inevitable, Shen Shengli immediately said, "Yes, let the nephews handle the repairs. They'll reinforce the walls and replace the tiles to make it watertight."

Shen Shaoyuan sneered, "Are you still trying to pull one over on me?"

At this point, Shen Moer, who had been silently watching the spectacle, suddenly spoke, "Dad, actually the place we're living in now is quite good. It saves us a few steps when going to work."

Tian Fang's face lit up with joy, "Look, Lao Qi, Moer likes living near the village entrance."

Shen Moer smiled shyly, "My dad loves me and just wants me to live more comfortably if we swap houses. But thinking about my married cousins with families, I really can't bear to see them without a place to live."

Tian Fang was even more delighted, "Moer is such a good girl with a kind heart. Don't worry, your cousins will definitely have your back no matter where you marry!"

Shen Moer smiled innocently, "My cousins are used to living there, and so am I. Actually, thinking about it, we don’t need to swap the houses back..."

Shen Shengli slapped his thigh, "Exactly, Lao Qi, you're not as magnanimous as your daughter!"

Shen Moer remained calm and continued, "However, we should calculate the difference in value between two big tiled houses and a thatched house, right? Those houses are spacious, and one can be considered as two. Building such a house now would cost at least 200 yuan, so 400 yuan for two houses. Our current house can be valued at 100 yuan, leaving a difference of 300 yuan. Big Uncle, Second Uncle, if you pay the difference, we can draw up a receipt, and this matter will be settled, okay?"

No way!

The Shen family members experienced a rollercoaster of emotions. They thought Shen Moer, usually timid, would try to persuade her father. Instead, she opened her mouth and asked for 300 yuan!

Shen Shengli angrily kicked a stool, and Shen Yongjun stood up abruptly, "How dare this girl ask for so much money?!"

Facing their angry stares, Shen Moer remained calm and said slowly, "I haven't even included the labor costs for building the house. After all, we're family, and if my family were to build a house, my cousins would definitely come to help, right?"

Shen Shaoyuan also stood up, slamming a hemp rope on the table, "If you don't pay, no house swap. If anyone dares to glare at my daughter again, I'll strangle them!"

The sons of the elder and second Shen brothers also stood up.

Zhou ManCang slammed the table, "What's going on? Do you want to fight in the production team? Everyone, sit down!"

He pointed at Zhou Peijun, who was squatting by the door, "If anyone causes trouble again, ride my bicycle to get the police!"

Glaring at them, Zhou ManCang forced the Shen family members to sit back unwillingly.

Zhou ManCang made the final decision, "Alright, either swap houses or pay the money. There's no such thing as living in someone else's house for free!"

Tian Fang still wanted to try to elicit sympathy: "We don't have the money, Chief, how could we possibly come up with so much money?"

Shen Moer said: "If you really don't have the money, you can compensate with other things. I don't need the other stuff in your house, but Shen Lingling's..."

"No, absolutely not! Pay her the money, Mom, pay her the money!" Shen Lingling screamed.

Logically, today's matter had nothing to do with her, a girl who would be married off sooner or later. Shen Lingling had begged her mother to bring her along, not for any other reason, but because she was afraid that Shen Moer would try to take her job.

Greed knows no bounds. Her family had already taken up half a room more than they should have in the large tiled houses, yet her parents were still not satisfied. Now, it was clear that even this half room couldn't be occupied for free. If they could exchange her job for one, or even more rooms, Shen Lingling believed that her parents would likely agree.

After all, a daughter's job would eventually be taken to her husband's home, but the house would forever remain in her parents' home.

"I can pay. I can contribute an additional three yuan every month to the family. Mom, pay them the money. Our family only has half a room; seventy-five yuan is enough. Seventy-five yuan for that half room is a bargain!"

Shen Lingling quickly glanced at Shen Shengli: "If Uncle Shen's family doesn't want to pay, we can offer to pay a bit more so everyone can live more comfortably."

Shen Yongjun and Tian Fang exchanged a glance, and their eyes lit up.

Shen Shengli was almost knocked off his feet by anger. The bugle of war had just sounded, and they were already fighting amongst themselves. He had many children, and even with an extra room and a half, they were still cramped. If the second branch of the family took away another room or half, his younger grandsons would practically have to sleep standing up.

Before the second branch could say anything, Shen Shengli slammed the table: "Two hundred and twenty-five yuan for one and a half rooms, with Chief Zhou as the witness, we'll draw up the contract!"

And so, Shen Moer sold the large tiled house for three hundred yuan.

Once Liu Huihua and Tian Fang had fetched the money from home, and with Chief Zhou as the witness, we drew up the contract. Shen Moer then smiled and asked Zhou Mancang: "Chief, my family would like to request permission to build an additional room adjacent to our current home. Is that possible?"