Contract Marriage: Billionaire and His Deaf Wife
Chapter 435 Rival in Love (6)

Chapter 435: Chapter 435 Rival in Love (6)

Grandma Zhou was nowhere to be found at the moment, clearly not inside the house. Unable to locate the landlord to ask for the location of the convenience store, Gu Nuan set out alone to search for it within the village.

The village was neither too big nor too small, but to Gu Nuan, it was an unfamiliar place. She didn’t dare wander to the outskirts and kept to the more populated areas in the village. The lanes were intricate and complex, old alleys built of earth that felt like a maze to anyone not from around there.

Passing by, she saw several shops clustered together, selling stationery and daily necessities. Gu Nuan approached and inquired about the prices, which were reasonable, not too expensive. However, the quality of the goods clearly left much to be desired—they were the sort that even Big White Dog would disdain, just cheap street stall merchandise.

In the end, she had to buy a couple of outfits for changing, picking out a pair of sportswear sets for both men and women. After some bargaining, she spent a hundred yuan and then bought a toothbrush and towel, planning to use Grandma Zhou’s toothpaste.

Thinking about how the kids at home would probably turn their noses up at these items, Gu Nuan eventually bought a mint candy for Big White Dog.

While shopping, she listened to the village gossip.

A few shops happened to surround an open space in the village, where the locals who had no farm work to do would gather to enjoy the shade under the large trees during the summer. They’d set up several stools and a table to play mahjong all day and night.

Meanwhile, some of the elderly women, along with children, would sit under the trees fanning themselves, watching others play mahjong and letting the kids frolic about. At this time, no explosive piece of news could escape the mouths of these villagers.

Gu Nuan’s ears struggled to pick up on the cacophony but fortunately, when some people got bored, they would go to the shopkeepers to chat, allowing her to overhear quite a bit.

"The village chief is talking about holding a village council meeting again, for selling land."

"Will it sell?"

"Definitely not. The old folks in the village won’t allow it. They argue that selling the land means their descendants will have none left, how could that be acceptable?"

"Our village’s elders are more stubborn than those in the nearby villages, they just won’t sell. But honestly, I think those who sold their land in the surrounding areas are living just fine. They say the income is long-term, not just a one-off sale."

"Anyway, my father-in-law is absolutely against selling land. He always feels like selling the acre where he grows vegetables is like cutting his own flesh; he’d rather die."

"But if you don’t sell the land, how will your family build a new house? How will you live in a new house? Those who sold their land are now their own bosses, with savings of tens of millions. They became millionaires overnight. You should think it over."

The debate over selling or not selling the land had brought to a head the chasm between the village’s elderly and the young. Today’s youth, as long as they themselves are doing well, don’t care about leaving things for future generations like the old folks did. The future generations might end up in a totally different world; considering that is simply impractical at this moment.

But the elderly always think differently, feeling that having a piece of land in hand is a bargaining chip, a precious asset that will never be outdated in the long run.

This made Gu Nuan reflect on human development history. Someone had once aptly described the current domestic real estate development as reminiscent of the "Enclosure Movement" during the British era.

Whoever owns the land, owns the power.

"Who’s trying to buy our village land this time?"

A few village women continued the conversation.

"This time it’s different, I hear it’s a big company, some large group."

"That’s all just talk. The big groups also said they were interested in our village’s land for investment before. There were even foreigners, from the United Kingdom, but what’s the use? If someone refuses to sell, then they won’t sell, and nobody can do anything about our village’s old men."