Chapter 76: Fear of Delayed Return

There was a drizzle in Gubei Town in the morning. The rain slid down the grooves of the steel structure roofs on the roofs of the houses, drawing intermittent dotted lines between the sky and the earth.

Most of the houses in Gubei Town are self-built by the townspeople. The peeling walls expose the red bricks, but the steel structure awning on the top of the old stairs is newly built, showing a subtle sense of incongruity, like an old man wearing a brand new baseball cap.

Ning Zhe drove through the alley where the rain was drizzling, and the crisp raindrops crackled on both sides of the road.

These steel structure ceilings have only become popular among the people of Gubei Town in the past two years.

Qinzhou is located in the south of the Yangtze River, and Taoyuan City is even in the south of Qinzhou. Surrounded by hills and dense with water vapor, the air humidity is high, humid, and rainy all year round. The same building waterproof coating may last for ten or twenty years in Yongzhou and Yunzhou in the north, but it may start to fall off in five years in Taoyuan City, Qinzhou Prefecture, where it is rainy.

Due to the perennially humid environment and the frequent rainy climate, the residents of Gubei Town have been suffering from the pain of leaking houses and peeling walls, which has led to the decline of thermal insulation performance for decades. Rheumatism is the most common elderly disease here. However, the solution to this problem is also very simple - build a steel structure canopy on the roof to prevent rain from directly hitting the building.

In this way, the life of the building's exterior decoration can be greatly extended, and the problem of house leakage can be completely eliminated.

Steel structure awnings are not a costly project and are affordable for ordinary townspeople. The construction period is not long and the project is not troublesome. Why has such a simple and practical method only become popular in Gubei Town in the past two years?
Because I can't imagine it.

The young people in Gubei Town have all gone out to work in other states, and they can only go home a few times a year. When they do go home, they don’t stay there for long, so they don’t experience the various building problems caused by the humid air. The highest level of education for the elderly living in the town is technical secondary school, and most of them are illiterate.

Young people are building other people's hometowns, and the uneducated old people are improving their own hometowns, it's that simple.

It was so simple that the residents of the town were tormented by a small problem for decades.

"After the scenic area is built, life in the town may be better..."

Ning Zhe parked the car back at the hotel where Zhang Yangxu was staying and chatted with the assistant for a while using his identity. An hour later, he returned to his old house with a contract.

Because of the rain, grandpa did not go out fishing. His rheumatism flared up, and he was sitting on a rattan chair in the lobby, warming his knees with a pot of charcoal fire. Grandma had just come out of Ning Zhe's room, muttering something.

Ning Zhe leaned his umbrella against the wall, walked into the house and sat next to the fire: "It's so hot, why are you still warming yourself by the fire?"

Grandpa's vest was soaked with sweat.

"That's all I can do. My legs hurt when it rains, and no plaster works. Only frying something hot can give me some relief." Grandpa shook his head and said, "Where have you been these past two days? The teacher called and said you weren't in school, and you weren't at home either."

"I went to negotiate a contract with the real estate developer." Ning Zhe lied without blinking, handing a paper contract to his grandfather: "Our house is in a good location, and the conditions offered by the real estate developer seem fair, but in fact you are at a disadvantage. I negotiated with them for two days and asked for a new price."

Grandpa hummed and nodded, pretending to flip through the contract. His education level was only that of the second grade of elementary school. He hadn't finished reading yet, and the only words on the contract he knew were "contract". "You and grandma sign on the blank space at the bottom of the last page, or put your fingerprints on it. Then the process will take a week, and the demolition payment will be deposited into your card." Ning Zhe turned to the last page of the contract and explained, "The demolition payment I've obtained for you is more than four times that of other people with the same area, and I've also got an entire floor of Jiangcheng Junjing. You should keep an eye on grandma and don't let her talk nonsense."

Grandpa's eyes suddenly widened: "You mean Jiangcheng Junjing? The one in the city?"

The grandmother who was standing by and listening was also shocked. Jiangcheng Junjing can be said to be the best-located wealthy community in Taoyuan City. The housing prices there have always been high. The son of the old Wu family in the town did business in Yanzhou last year and made a fortune due to the trade shock. He still had to take out a loan to buy a 180-square-meter commercial house in Jiangcheng Junjing.

But Ning Zhe actually negotiated with the developer to acquire the property rights of an entire floor, plus four times the compensation for demolition. The windfall made the two elderly people a little dazed.

"The developer will send you the property certificate next month. You and grandma will go to the police station to handle the formalities, and then you can move in together. The humidity in high-rise buildings is not that heavy, and your legs will feel better living there."

Ning Zhe said casually: "During this time, you can pack up the things in the old house. Don't take things that you shouldn't take. Our family doesn't need that little money now."

Grandpa and grandma looked at each other. The tacit understanding between the old couple made them feel there was no need to say more.

Grandma sat down next to Ning Zhe, put her hands on his thighs, and said, "Forget it, Azhe, your grandfather and I can't live in such a high building. When the demolition money arrives, you can take us to find a quieter ordinary community and buy a smaller house to live in."

"Houses in Jiangcheng Junjing are rare. Girls would dislike them if we old guys lived in them. We want to keep it for you and use it as your wedding house when you graduate." Grandma's rough, wrinkled hands gently stroked Ningzhe's knees. The orange-red fire shone on her face, making her shadow hazy.

Grandpa took out a cigarette from his bosom, lit it over the fire, took a deep puff, and then said, "Your grandmother and I are old, and we don't have many years left to live. The compensation money for the demolition won't be much if we spend it sparingly, so I'll leave it to you in the end."

"There's no need. You can just go and live there. The property management in a good community is also better. You will know when the time comes." Ning Zhe shook his head and said nothing more.

Grandpa and grandma looked at each other and sighed.

Ning Zhe was good at everything, whether it was studying, health, or life. He had never given them much worry since he was a child. He never complained about his poor family, never envied other families for being rich, never coveted other children's toys and snacks, and never got bullied. In addition to reading books and watching cartoons, he rarely had any other entertainment.

Ning Zhe has always been like this since he was a child, and doesn't look like a rebellious child at all.

Doesn't even look like a living person.

Ning Zhe's emotions were so dull that when his grandfather saw Bai Zhi guarding his bedside that day, he was overjoyed for a moment, thinking that he had finally come to his senses and knew how to cherish girls. However, the girl never showed up again until today.

After settling his family affairs, Ning Zhe returned to school, asked his class teacher for a long vacation, and left his hometown lightly.

(End of this chapter)

previouscatalognext