According to the rules of Turtle Ridge, boys must be sent out to establish their own households after they grow up. By then, Jin Chengjie will probably have already found a suitable young lady from a wealthy family to marry and have children.
This nephew, even his parents don't want him, in the end he'll still benefit.
Before anything was even started, Jiang Xiaoman had already begun to treat the baby sparrow had just given birth to as her own.
If Jin Chengjie knew that his brother actually thought this way, he would probably be so angry that he would turn into a pufferfish.
Thinking of her newborn nephew, Jiang Xiaoman decided to go to the market tomorrow morning to buy some good food and visit him.
Chapter 268
The project for Langshan Town and Hongye Entertainment to jointly develop a film and television base has been almost finalized. The most crucial issue now is the relocation of the original inhabitants of Laoshan Aozi.
Before this project, Shan Yan and his team originally planned to acquire a plot of land at the foot of the mountain and move the entire old mountain valley out, so that it would be convenient for children to go to school and for adults to go to work at the foot of the mountain.
As for the old houses in the mountains, nobody cares about them, and they won't demolish them. Anyway, everyone's beehives are still on the mountain, as well as the golden chrysanthemum and honeysuckle seedlings that Jiang Xiaoman planted later, and those mushroom sticks. Those are the most profitable industries for each household, so how could they possibly give them up?
If it's a conventional tourist attraction development, then the original inhabitants, along with their old houses, will definitely have to be moved away.
However, to Shan Yan and his friends' delight, Hongye Entertainment had chosen Laoshan Aozi because of its old houses and cultural charm.
Therefore, after repeated negotiations and consultations between Hongye Entertainment and Langshan Town Government, the final development strategy was as follows:
Most of the villagers in the Laoshan Aozi area will still have to move down the mountain. But the old houses, being part of the film and television base, will definitely not be demolished.
Not only will they not demolish it, but Hongye Entertainment even allows Shanyan and his family to come back and stay during the busy farming season.
The reason is simple: if old houses are left uninhabited for a long time, they will deteriorate faster. Moreover, by letting the villagers continue to live in them, the scenic area saves on maintenance costs. After all, hiring people to maintain these old houses is a considerable expense every year.
Most importantly, the mountain people live there and are also free extras... When film crews come here to shoot, they can't just film empty stone houses, can they?
That wouldn't be a martial arts film or a fantasy film, but a rural ghost film...
This cooperative model is actually the best outcome for the indigenous people of Laoshan Aozi.
They can receive a relocation fee without being unable to take care of their own property.
As a result, the relocation compensation received will definitely not be as much as in other places.
Not everyone in the village is reasonable. When the town came to discuss the relocation, some villagers dragged their feet and refused to sign, simply because they felt the developer was offering too little and wanted more.
The town officials were also in a dilemma because the people from the old mountain valley said that although they didn't want their old houses anymore, they couldn't give up the industries that made money in the mountains. Some of these industries were located in the scenic area. Hongye Entertainment thought that these beehives, mushroom sticks, and the like might be used as filming backgrounds or props in the future, so they let the villagers continue to use these places.
But one shouldn't be so fickle and demanding.
These families dragged their feet and refused to sign the relocation agreement, so the town had no choice but to ask Shan Yan to "persuade" them.
Shan Yan never expected that after all the terms had been agreed upon, these people would go back on their word at the last minute.
Isn't this putting those of them responsible for negotiating with Hongye Entertainment in a difficult position?
Shan Yan isn't a town leader, so he doesn't have to worry about the impact or the villagers' reactions.
He has decided to accept the town government's suggestion and run for the next village chief after the entire Laoshan Aozi village is relocated and merged with Langshan Village.
Although he hasn't taken office yet, Shan Yan seems to be a natural-born manager. Instead of taking the initiative to persuade those households, he convinced the town to first allocate the homestead land at the foot of the mountain that was reserved for the villagers.
"The family that signs first gets to choose their homestead first!"
That's an absolutely ruthless move!
Seeing that other families around them had signed and selected the homesteads they wanted, the remaining families panicked.
Langshan is a mountainous area with narrow roads, so there aren't many places available for building houses. All the good spots have already been taken by others, so what are they supposed to do?
What to do? Just deal with it!
Shanyan wasn't going to put up with them. Want to choose a plot of land for their own house? Fine! You can choose after you sign the papers!
The villagers dared to defy the town government, but they dared not offend Shan Yan, this ruthless man.
...
Jiang Xiaoman carried a basket up the mountain and saw villagers carrying things down the mountain bit by bit.
According to the plan, Turtle Ridge is part of the second phase of the film and television base, so there is no rush to move there. When Jiang Xiaoman arrived at Shan Que's house, Shan Que was sitting at the door with his son in his arms, basking in the sun. Next to him, his younger brother, who looked like a eunuch, was squatting on the ground peeling walnuts for Shan Que.
What a coincidence! Jiang Xiaoman also brought some walnuts, shelled ones at that.
However, let's not take it out yet, lest we delay my younger brother's attempts to curry favor.
I heard that in Turtle Ridge, after many couples have children—well, he means—some men are reluctant to leave their wives and will take on all the farm work in the woman's family's fields, even feeding the pigs and raising the chickens, in order to win the woman's favor and continue living in her family's home.
Thinking about it this way, men nowadays are really protected in marriage. As long as they have a house before marriage and marry a wife, even if they quarrel, it's the man who tells the wife to get out, instead of worrying about being kicked out by his wife at any moment. Tsk! Even so, there are still many men who don't cherish it.
Jiang Xiaoman came here this time to talk to the mother of the titmouse about something serious.
After much thought, he realized that things at the industrial park would become increasingly busy. He also planned to build a Langshan self-media matrix, establish a dedicated internet technology company, and continuously incubate more local Langshan internet celebrities... All of these would require a lot of effort!
He originally opened the courier station at the entrance of the village with the intention of slowly earning money for his father's retirement.
Who knew that his entrepreneurial path with his partner would take them further and further as they took on more and more profitable businesses, the courier station and the few guest rooms on it became somewhat of a burden.
It would be a pity to lose it, and he will definitely continue to do e-commerce business in the future. With the express delivery business in his own hands, he doesn't have to worry about the logistics being tampered with.
But if he keeps it in his own hands, then in the end, just like Jiang Yu said, he could earn tens of thousands of yuan by doing other things in the same amount of time, but by guarding the express station, he can only earn one or two hundred yuan a day.
Even a fool knows how to calculate this.
Actually, if Jiang Yu's relatives were reliable, the business could have been transferred to them. However, considering Jiang Yu's mother's money-grubbing nature, Jiang Xiaoman automatically ruled out that family.
After thinking it over, isn't this just a coincidence? The entire Laoshan Aozi area is going to be relocated, with hundreds of households moving out of the mountains. The demolition process is the best time to see what kind of people a family really is.
To put it bluntly, legitimate and reasonable demands should be fought for, but Jiang Xiaoman dares not deal with people who put Shan Yan and others, who have been helping them fight for relocation compensation from the developer, in a difficult position just for their own family's benefit.
After looking around, he chose the Sparrow's house.
To be precise, it should be the mother of the titmouse, Aunt Shanyun.
If we consider seniority from Shan Yan's perspective, Jiang Xiaoman should indeed call Shan Yun "elder aunt".
“Aunt, things are different down in the mountains than up in the mountains. You can’t just build a house wherever you want down here. You have to get a plot of land to build a house down here. And according to the regulations, each household can only have one plot of land. There can’t be any more. But Shanque is having babies now. When the children grow up, they will need to build their own houses and move out to live separately.”
"Instead of worrying about the homestead later, you might as well find a place to retire now."
“What do you think of my courier station? I happen to need someone to help me manage the courier station downstairs and the guest rooms upstairs. Besides, since everyone will be living in the village in the future, when Shanque gets busy, she can leave her grandchildren at the courier station and you can help look after them.”
“My place, kitchen, and bathroom are all ready-made. You can move in and live there immediately. You can cook whatever you like for yourself. I won’t go into your salary or benefits. I’ll give you 30% of the income from the courier station and the guest rooms upstairs every month.”
"Don't underestimate my small plot of land. During peak season for express delivery, I can easily earn tens of thousands of yuan a month. That way, the village can leave the homestead to your family for Shanque and her children, and you can stay with me in your old age, Auntie."
What is that?
When the sparrow heard that Jiang Xiaoman wanted to take her mother away, it immediately became alert.
Shan Yun was also completely bewildered. She was sitting peacefully at home when such a big, hot pie fell from the sky and landed right in her arms.
This is Jiang Xiaoman!
Nowadays, which elder in Langshan doesn't envy Old Man Jiang Youliang for raising such a capable and filial child as Jiang Xiaoman?
When everyone gets together to gossip, they all envy Jiang Youliang. That old man is so lucky! So what if he suffered a little in the first half of his life? Didn't they all suffer like that?
For these people living in the mountains, the two things they are most proud of in their lives are: first, that their children are successful; and second, that their children are filial and willing to support them in their old age.
Jiang Youliang has both good things going for him; how could people not be envious and jealous?
Why does Shan Yun insist on having her daughter Shan Que have a child with Jin Chengjie? One reason is that she covets Jin Chengjie's height and genes, but the most important reason is that Jin Chengjie is Xiao Man's younger brother from the same mother!
If her mountain sparrow could give birth to a child as smart and filial as Xiaoman, Shanyun would be laughing in her sleep.
But what's the situation now?
Xiaoman actually wants to take care of her in her old age?
That's right! What Jiang Xiaoman considered a useless courier station and upstairs guest rooms were, in Shan Yun's eyes, a hen that could lay golden eggs continuously!
Even if we follow Xiaoman's suggestion and only give her 30% of the profits, many families in the mountains would not be so generous, even if it were their own son.
Receiving and sending packages isn't hard work! Cleaning the guest rooms upstairs isn't too tiring either. With this stable business, Shanyun manages it carefully, and besides the profits he shares with Xiaoman each month, he can still save around ten thousand yuan for himself.
Even Jiang Baichuan, the primary school principal, wouldn't receive this much pension after retirement.
So why did Xiaoman choose to take care of this old woman in her old age?
Could it be because of her family's connection with Jin Chengjie?
If that's the case, Shan Rui (Shan Que's newborn son) should indeed call Jiang Xiaoman "Uncle," and he should be her direct uncle!
She was right to keep Xiao Jin; she should have had more children!
These children are not only the children of the mountain family, but also Xiaoman's own nephews and nieces!
That must be it! Xiaoman, despite her complaints about Xiaojin, probably still cares about her younger brother, right? That's why she's worried that Xiaojin won't be able to take care of the children when she goes home, and she's even giving her money.
This is hardly money intended for her retirement.
This is clearly an advance payment of living expenses to my nieces and nephews!
Thinking she had guessed Jiang Xiaoman's plan, Shan Yun thought happily, "I must run this courier station and the upstairs guesthouse well for Xiaoman. If I can earn ten thousand yuan a month, I can afford to raise even two more grandchildren, let alone one!"
“Then it’s settled. I’ll go back and pack my things first. Aunt, there’s no need to rush about the house you got on the land down the mountain. You can build it slowly. There are two rooms next to my courier station that were previously used as warehouses. Once we move to the industrial park, you can convert those two warehouses into rooms.”
“Rui Rui is still young, and you don’t feel comfortable letting Shan Que take care of the child alone. Why don’t you just bring her and the child down the mountain to live? That way, Shan Que can continue to work in the village in the future.”
Jiang Xiaoman arranged everything perfectly for his family, but he forgot about his beloved younger brother.
"What about me? What am I supposed to do?" Jin Chengjie looked at Jiang Xiaoman with displeasure.
He suspected that Jiang Xiaoman did it on purpose!
They deliberately sidelined him, yet still expect him to support his mother-in-law and her family. What? Do they think he, as the legitimate son-in-law, can't afford to support his wife and children?
"You're not going back after the project ends?" Jiang Xiaoman looked at him strangely. "Don't tell me you have the right to decide who you marry?"
Chapter 269
Jiang Xiaoman's question left Jin Chengjie speechless, making him look like a wilted eggplant.
Even Shan Yun felt a little sorry for him and stepped in to smooth things over, saying, "We can't control what our in-laws think. If Xiao Jin wants to stay at our house, I'm always happy to welcome him."