Chapter Nineteen: Demolition Compensation

When Shen Ye awoke, it was already ten o’clock the next morning.

The sun was well up in the sky.

He yawned and went to wash up. On the table, a serving of rice noodle rolls awaited him—a typical breakfast in his hometown, often accompanied by barbecued pork buns and shrimp dumplings.

After three months in the southern land of colorful clouds, where every morning brought nothing but rice porridge and steamed buns, he had grown weary of the bland fare. Truly, there was no place like home.

Shen Ye picked up his chopsticks and began to eat the rice noodle rolls with relish.

Just then, his father and mother returned together.

“It’s nothing strange for Mom to be back now, but Dad, shouldn’t you be busy with your usual mahjong game at this hour?” Shen Ye asked.

“You rascal, your old man plays cards to earn money, you know,” his father, Shen Jiaping, replied with a statement he himself hardly believed. Everyone knew the real breadwinner of the family was Lin Mei. Of course, Shen Jiaping had to admit his card skills were decent—he hadn’t made much money, but at least he hadn’t lost much either. Compared to their neighbor Old Zeng, who was notorious for his gambling losses, he was doing well enough.

“No one’s playing mahjong today. Something big happened,” Shen Jiaping said gravely.

“What happened?” Shen Ye feigned ignorance, though he already had an inkling.

“I heard that Old Ma, Ma Guosheng, and his most trusted men were all killed in his mansion,” Shen Jiaping whispered.

“Why are you telling this to the child? Aren’t you afraid of scaring him?” Lin Mei said, displeased.

Shen Jiaping shook his head indifferently. “He’s hardly a child anymore—he’s over twenty now, a grown man. Probably already fooled quite a few young ladies.”

Worried that Lin Mei would steer the conversation toward his age and the pressing matter of finding a wife—a topic she never tired of—Shen Ye quickly changed the subject. “Ma Guosheng is dead? That means they’ll have to find someone else to oversee the demolition. If they bring in a cleaner company, maybe the process won’t be so ruthless.”

Shen Jiaping slapped his thigh. “Exactly! I thought for sure we’d take a big loss this time. But with Ma Guosheng gone, it looks like we won’t lose out after all, ha ha ha!”

Indeed, the county was about to launch a major demolition project, and the replacement came swiftly. Within half a month, a new boss surnamed Wu was appointed. He was an outsider with few local connections and a much gentler approach. Soon, the compensation plan was announced. The residents of Shuimen Lane were offered two options.

The first was compensation of eighty thousand yuan per square meter, plus an additional one hundred thousand yuan per person.

The second was a 1:1.2 property exchange—move into the new resettlement community, with an extra one hundred thousand per head.

This offer was far more generous than anything Ma Guosheng had proposed.

Soon, all the residents of Shuimen Lane, young and old, began signing contracts and preparing to move.

The Shen family chose the second option: the 1:1.2 exchange for an apartment in the new resettlement community, with one hundred thousand yuan per person. Of course, the new apartments weren’t finished yet, so they would have to rent for a few years in the meantime.

And so, the great demolition of Shuimen Lane began in earnest.

...

For now, the Shen family was renting a cheap apartment in a low-income housing complex called Jinxiu Community. The place was about sixty square meters, with two bedrooms and two living areas.

In truth, there were four members in the Shen family.

Shen Jiaping and Lin Mei shared one room.

Shen Ye had a room.

And his younger sister, Shen Xiaoyun, had a room as well.

But the family was poor, and they had always lived in two-bedroom apartments, never in a three-bedroom one.

So, Shen Ye had always stayed in the living room. As the man of the house and an elder brother, he naturally gave his sister the bedroom.

Early one morning, Shen Ye woke up. It was already December, with the New Year just a month away. After the holiday, he would have to look for work.

Just then, Shen Jiaping and Lin Mei entered.

Shen Jiaping sat directly across from Shen Ye, poured himself a cup of tea, and wore a rare look of seriousness.

Shen Ye couldn’t help but smile. “Dad, why so serious? It’s not like you.”

For once, Shen Jiaping spoke earnestly. “Shen Ye, I know myself well enough. Your old man is pretty useless. I don’t want to do heavy labor. And I’m not educated enough for easier work. I’m lazy, so all these years I’ve just played cards. All the pressure has been on your mother.”

“You and your sister have had it harder than most.”

“I’m not capable of changing things.”

“But this time, with the demolition compensation, the government gave us one hundred thousand per person—four of us, so four hundred thousand in total. Your mother and I talked it over. We plan to keep two hundred thousand for your sister’s college fund and for you to use when you get married.”

“And the other two hundred thousand, we’ll give to you to open a business. With your lousy associate degree in Chinese, you’ll probably only find jobs paying two or three thousand a month. Factory work is exhausting and goes nowhere. So why not open a shop? Maybe you’ll strike it rich.”

Shen Ye was stunned. “You’d just hand over two hundred thousand to me? I’ve only graduated half a year ago.”

“Nonsense! You’re a grown man—your old man was married by your age. Eighteen is adulthood,” Shen Jiaping said bluntly.

“Alright. Since you’re putting the responsibility on me, I’ll give it a shot. Who knows, maybe I’ll get lucky and make it big. Maybe my sister will become a wealthy socialite yet,” Shen Ye nodded.

“Good. I’ll have your mother transfer the two hundred thousand to your account,” Shen Jiaping agreed.

After his father left, Shen Ye fell into deep thought.

His father was right. With his second-rate associate’s degree in Chinese, finding a decent job would be difficult.

He might as well try his hand at business—there was a chance of striking gold.

But what kind of business could he start with two hundred thousand?

A general store? Forget it—these days, most general stores were going under, with everyone preferring the big supermarkets.

A clothing shop? That was out, too. Online shopping had taken over, and seven out of ten clothing stores were losing money.

These days, most brick-and-mortar stores that survived belonged to the service industry.

A foot massage parlor? Out of the question—those required serious connections on both sides of the law and millions in investment.

After much deliberation, it seemed only the food business was viable. But the competition in food was fierce.

Wait—after leveling up to grade two, he’d received a new skill: “Feast Under the Open Sky.” The description went: As a wandering hero, one often travels across the stars, camping out in the wild. “Feast Under the Open Sky” is a marvelous condiment developed in the twenty-ninth century, capable of transforming food into something extraordinarily delicious. No matter where you dined, on any planet, you could savor a taste beyond compare.

Culinary arts and condiments from the twenty-ninth century should surely surpass anything available now.

If he could truly make food that delicious, wouldn’t he be able to make a fortune?