Chapter 85

That night, at the strong request of their fans, Wei Sheng and the others once again went to the Mine Ghost Market—cough, correction: the Mine Night Market—for a livestream.

But as they watched, viewers suddenly realized: huh? Isn’t this the “Retracing the Path of Poverty Alleviation” livestream? Why are guests from “The Wage Earners” appearing here?

What’s going on? Did they switch channels?

Or did the production team invite surprise guests?

No, that can’t be it! They just saw Director Jin too—who invites a whole director along with the guests?

Before they could guess any longer, as soon as the livestream ended, the official accounts of both “Retracing the Path of Poverty Alleviation” and “The Wage Earners” started interacting on social media.

Whoa! So this is a thing now?

It’s common for variety shows to interact with each other, especially when produced by the same company. Sometimes, to boost a hit show, they’ll let its popularity help promote a new show by sending its guests over as special guests. This trick is standard in domestic entertainment.

But hold on—one show focuses on rural poverty alleviation and farming support, while the other tackles unfinished urban developments. They’re not even in the same stratosphere! How did they end up together?

Wait a minute… could it be Wei Sheng again?

“Special thanks to Teacher Wei Sheng for bridging the gap between our Jiangdong Town and ‘The Wage Earners’ production team…” Soon enough, a leader from Jiangdong Town personally revealed the answer during the livestream.

Of course—it’s you again, Wei Sheng!

Teacher Wei smiled faintly, his merit hidden behind his calm.

After lying dormant for so long, Jiangdong Town finally caught up with the times. Like other old city districts, it had started its own urban renewal plan in this safe zone.

However, to begin with, the local government had to resolve the property rights of the miners’ dormitories.

Collective dorms were relatively easy to handle. Especially for coal mines that had gone bankrupt and been deregistered over a decade ago—ownership of their abandoned dorms had already reverted to Jiangdong Town and could be used directly.

But self-built miner houses were more troublesome. To demolish or renovate them, they first needed to reclaim property rights from the original owners.

This meant dealing with demolition compensation.

The Jiang family: when Jiang Chen heard that their old house was about to be demolished, he dropped work immediately and took leave the very next day to rush home.

“Dad, don’t we still have two and a half rooms in the old dorm? If the old house gets torn down, the demolition compensation must be properly negotiated. I heard that some old city demolitions pay out millions! If we can get that much, use it to buy me a new place in the provincial capital outright, and whatever’s left, let me use it to start a business. I don’t want to work security at a hotel anymore.”

Jiang Chen declared how the family’s demolition compensation should be spent, entirely on his own.

Years of parental favoritism had made him take everything at home for granted as his own, without the slightest sense of guilt.

“If you want to buy a house for yourself, why should your mother and I pay for it? And anyway, you’re not the only one in this family—once the compensation comes in, your sister gets a share too.” Jiang Weiguo impatiently snatched away the fruit plate in front of his son.

This unfilial brat! He never gave them a penny all year, yet he still dared to eat the fruit they bought? No—this fruit was from his daughter!

Jiang Chen was dumbfounded by his father’s words. He even dropped the banana in his hand.

“What? My sister’s been married for years—why should she get a share? A married daughter is like spilled water—why should she get a cut of the family money?” Jiang Chen yelled.

“Because she’s my flesh and blood too!”

“Because she paid for this house to be built!”

“Because she’s sent us money for living expenses every month for years!”

“You unfilial son! I’m telling you, no matter how much the compensation is, it’s your mother’s and my retirement fund! Don’t even think about touching a cent!”

“And think about it! Back when we built this house, we didn’t have money. I was ready to sell off the old factory dorm, but your sister talked us out of it. She said, once you got married, if your wife didn’t want to live with the in-laws, we could renovate the old place for you.”

“If your sister hadn’t paid for the new house, that old factory dorm would’ve been sold long ago! You think it’d still be here for you to split? Dream on!”

“When the compensation comes in, I’ll pay your sister back for the money she put in to build this house. As for you? Go back to work at the hotel! This money has nothing to do with you!”

Jiang Weiguo had finally seen it clearly: sons or daughters—what mattered was whether they were filial.

If they were, they’d care for their parents in old age, regardless of gender.

If they weren’t, even ten sons would just push the elderly back and forth.

Though his daughter was still hurt and hadn’t fully forgiven them, that didn’t stop Jiang Weiguo from kicking this unfilial son out first!

He’d been working for years now—no sign of providing for his parents, yet he still dreamed of sponging off them? Not just them—he wanted to sponge off his sister too? And wasn’t he the one who kept saying a married sister is an outsider?

Then how dare he shamelessly ask this “outsider” for hundreds of thousands to buy himself a house?

Jiang Chen had bragged to his coworkers before leaving—he’d come back as a soon-to-be demolition payout recipient, and once he returned, he’d probably quit and start his own business.

Who would’ve thought his father would kick him out instead? Even Jiang’s mother, who usually favored him, didn’t speak up for him this time.

“Fine! Just you wait! When you’re old, don’t expect me to look after you!” Jiang Chen shouted furiously at the door.

“As if we ever could. Thank goodness I still have a dutiful daughter!” Jiang Weiguo rolled his eyes, changed clothes, and headed into town for a meeting.

Jiangdong Town had thought this round of demolitions would be tough. After all, most of the older generation miners were now destitute—getting a lump sum seemed like a rare windfall. If a few asked for sky-high payouts, it would be a nightmare.

But when the stats came out, the town officials collectively fell silent.

Over the years, many of the miners who once poured their youth into these hills were simply… gone.

In the end, they could locate only fewer than twenty families with surviving owners or children.

Even so, with just sixteen households left, the demolition briefing still had to happen.

This meeting wasn’t livestreamed, nor did the crew film it—just in case a few stubborn holdouts caused trouble on the spot.

Fortunately, Jiangdong Town valued this urban renewal project greatly and had done extensive persuasion in advance. After explanations and policy talks, twelve households signed immediately. Besides the planned compensation, they also received an extra 20,000 yuan signing bonus.

Four households remained. Two said they’d discuss with their children. The last two were trickier.

They’d somehow heard that the town planned to turn these old houses into guesthouses—and that some guesthouse owners made hundreds of thousands or even millions a year!

And now the town wanted to settle it with just seventy or eighty thousand?

No way! If you’re eating meat, we at least want a sip of the soup!

“How about this: I won’t sell. I’ll rent you my house instead. I won’t even charge much—just fifty thousand a year. How’s that?” The holdout, Wang Xuenong, rolled his eyes and proposed his own condition.

The other family was even more straightforward: they flat-out said they wouldn’t demolish their house but planned to build a new one on the original homestead.

This family had it all figured out: since the town was developing this area into a homestay district, there would be plenty of tourists in the future. If the town could run homestays, why couldn’t they?

Eager to get rich, the two sons and one daughter of the family’s elderly matriarch, who rarely agreed on anything, actually banded together for once. They each agreed to contribute 200,000 yuan to build a large new house. If push came to shove, they’d just set the room rates lower than the town’s. If the town’s homestay charged 500 a night, they’d do 300—no problem!

By this calculation, they’d gain a big house and rake in hundreds of thousands in profit every year. Split three ways, each household could pocket 100,000–200,000 annually—what a sweet life!

The poverty alleviation officers in Jiangdong Town were nearly driven mad by these two families—one refused to move without a million yuan payout, while the other simply refused to relocate at all.

“If they don’t agree, then don’t demolish—what’s so hard about that?” said Wei Sheng, who had overheard everything, looking at everyone in confusion. “Have you all forgotten? Our old house renovation plan isn’t the same as demolish-and-rebuild. We’re not constructing a hotel that needs a cleared lot. If they don’t want to move, let them stay—there are plenty of other houses in town.”

“If it doesn’t work out, talk to other households. Someone’s bound to agree.”

The township officials froze for a moment, then burst with joy!

Right—how had they gotten so stuck in their thinking? They’d focused only on meeting their target and relocating every household, forgetting that this old house renovation was not like demolishing and selling land in other cities!

Take Wang Xuenong, for example: his old house was already set back, close to a sinkhole danger zone. The town had wanted to use this chance to secure him a decent compensation payout so they could help him move out of a hazardous house.

To be honest, in low-cost Jiangdong Town, having a few hundred thousand in hand meant spending a small sum to buy a place in town and saving the rest in the bank—more than enough for the elderly couple’s retirement.

But if greed knows no bounds, the town government isn’t a charity; there’s no need to ruin their own reputation as “forced demolishers” just to indulge someone.

You don’t want to move? Then stay put!

And as for Zheng Ping wanting to build his own homestay—go ahead and build!

Wang Xuenong and Zheng Ping had thought they’d have to drag out negotiations with the town for a while, but after just two visits from officials, there was complete radio silence.

Then they looked around—good grief! The town had simply bypassed them and started construction without them!

Hey—aren’t you going to tear down our houses too, just to make it neat?

“Sorry, it’s our fault for not clarifying the designer’s concept. The designer never needed a cleared lot—what they want is to preserve the original mining area houses. To highlight the mining village vibe, not only can’t we demolish the old houses, we need to preserve them as authentically as possible. So, both your families can stay. If you want renovations, just apply through the village.”

“Wait! Didn’t you say the show’s sponsors would pay to renovate our old houses?” Wang Xuenong was dumbstruck.

Are you dreaming?

The town officials rolled their eyes inwardly and explained impatiently, “You know those are the sponsors brought in by the TV show, right? And do you know why they’re paying to renovate the mining dormitories?

It’s because the TV station and our town jointly invested to run these homestays! Only old houses that sign a transfer agreement get free renovations. If it’s not theirs, why would they pay for it?”

“But—but didn’t you say there’d be free building materials for us?” Zheng Ping got anxious too.

He’d heard they wouldn’t have to spend a cent and could get the old house fixed up for free, so he planned to exploit this and sneak in a new house while the show was filming.

And now it didn’t count?

This time, the town officials really rolled their eyes out loud: “Of course the sponsors’ materials are free—to build the TV station’s homestays! Your family didn’t sign an agreement, so why would you get free materials?”

Thunder struck on a clear day!

Watching their neighbors happily pocket demolition compensation, Wang Xuenong was filled with regret. He went to the town to sign the relocation agreement, no longer demanding a million—just the same as everyone else.

Too bad—the town said the first round of old house renovations was already over. Want to join? Wait for the next round!

When’s the next round? Who knows! It depends on when there’s money to fund more demolitions.

Zheng Ping’s family howled too.

They’d figured they could piggyback on the free materials and just spend a little to build the house structure.

Who knew the show would be so stingy? Their own investment got free sponsor materials, but private self-built houses didn’t? So now, to finish the house, they’d need at least another 300,000 for the interior alone!

And that didn’t even include appliances.

Because of this extra 300,000 shortfall, the previously united Zheng siblings turned on each other and fought nonstop at home.

By contrast, the Jiang Weiguo household—which should have been the most chaotic—was perfectly peaceful.

His son, Jiang Chen, wanted to come back and grab a share of the 600,000-plus compensation. Jiang Weiguo wouldn’t even let him through the door!

Don’t ask why. The answer: this is our retirement fund. We’re still alive, and you’re not inheriting anything yet.

After sending off their freeloading son, Jiang Weiguo and his wife went to the credit union, deposited 300,000 in a one-year large certificate of deposit, and transferred the rest to the bank card their daughter used to send them living expenses all these years.

“Didn’t you tell Chen that we’d only repay Wanwan the money she gave us to build the house back then?” His wife’s heart nearly leapt out of her chest when she saw he’d given half the compensation to their daughter.

If Chen found out, wouldn’t he storm back overnight and flip the house?

Jiang Weiguo smirked. “After all these years, you still don’t see your son clearly? To him, whoever has money is his real mom and dad. Think about it—when has he ever come home except to ask for money?

You still expect this unfilial brat to look after us? Trust me, as long as the money stays with us, he’ll call every few days to check on you, bring some nice things during holidays, and pretend to be filial. But give him the money, and you think he’ll come back to visit? Not a chance!”

“But—but we shouldn’t have given all that money to Wanwan”

“We owe it to her!” Jiang Weiguo put away the deposit slip and glanced at his wife. “Mark my words: if the money goes to our son, both he and the money will be gone. But if it goes to our daughter, it’ll come back to us one way or another—and so will she.”

Jiang Wan never dreamed that after all these years of sending money home, she’d finally see some come back her way.

And it wasn’t a small amount either—her father had transferred half the demolition compensation to her.

Seeing his wife clutch the bank card and silently weep, Qiao Dongliang gently pulled her into his arms and comforted her, “Why don’t we take the kids back this weekend? I bet your parents already regret everything. This is their way of showing they miss you, but your dad’s too proud to apologize. Be the bigger person and give him an out, okay?”

Truth be told, Qiao Dongliang never liked that annoying brother-in-law, but he never objected to his wife sending money to her parents every month—because, as a child, it’s simply the right thing to do.

Previously, when his father-in-law asked his wife to take out hundreds of thousands to buy her younger brother a house, he was furious too. But what surprised him was that this time, his wife didn’t give in—she was determined to cut ties with her family and even forbade her brother from visiting.

Unexpectedly, once his wife stopped helping her parents, the elderly couple backed down. They started sending gifts and money instead and never brought up using their daughter’s money to buy their son a house again.

Turns out, you really can’t be too nice—otherwise even your closest kin will bully you.

One ordinary weekend, Jiang Weiguo and his wife were at home watching a rerun of Retracing the Path of Poverty Alleviation when they suddenly heard a car honking outside.

Jiang’s wife easily gets absorbed in TV. She was at an exciting part and had no intention of moving. Jiang Weiguo sighed, stepped outside for a look, and was instantly frozen in place.

“Wife! Come out quick! Our daughter and son-in-law are back!”

His wife hurried out and, seeing the granddaughter in Jiang Wan’s arms, burst into tears on the spot.

“Dad! Mom! Wan said you love Su Ji’s old-fashioned sponge cakes and peach crisps, so she got up early to line up and buy them. I also asked a friend to send over two wild soft-shelled turtles to boost your health!” Qiao Dongliang opened the trunk, lifted out the bucket with the turtles, then brought out a big Su Ji shopping bag.

There were also two large barrels of sunflower oil, two fifty-pound bags of premium northeast rice, a box of apples, a box of milk… all the stuff they unloaded piled up on the ground!

Since his wife had “cut ties” with her parents on her own, they hadn’t come home for almost a year. Qiao Dongliang felt quite guilty about it, so he had made a special trip to the supermarket to buy a ton of groceries and household goods for his in-laws.

The whole family sat in the living room. Jiang’s wife bustled about setting out treats and took her granddaughter to see the newly hatched chicks in the backyard.

Jiang Wan felt a little embarrassed and finally managed to say, “You and Mom are older now and can’t earn much anymore. Just keep the old house compensation for your retirement. Why give it to me?”

She had thought her parents split the compensation evenly between her and her brother.

But her father just waved his hand. “If I hadn’t listened to you back then, I’d have sold that old house already. There wouldn’t have been any demolition money left. Technically, you paid for the new house, so the compensation for the old one should be all yours. Your mom and I kept 300k; that’s enough for our old age—no need for you and your brother to worry about us. Just focus on living well yourselves.”

“This money is yours. Keep it!” Jiang Weiguo’s eyes shifted, and he lowered his voice, a little embarrassed. “Back then your mom and I didn’t see things clearly. We wronged you. We didn’t have much education; we just muddled through life. Wan, don’t hold it against us.”

Seeing her father’s thinning, graying hair and his ten coal-blackened fingers that no soap could ever clean, Jiang Wan suddenly hugged his arm and burst into sobs.

Her heart-wrenching cry of “Dad” made Jiang Weiguo’s own tears stream down his face.

“Ai! My daughter suffered. It’s all Dad’s fault. I’m sorry, my girl!”

Old Jiang’s daughter, now a doctor at a major provincial hospital, had come home!

After receiving the compensation, Jiang Weiguo didn’t go buy a city apartment. Instead, he listened to his daughter and spent seventy thousand yuan in town to buy a two-story house with front and back courtyards!

According to Jiang Weiguo, his daughter said once the Mine Mountain Theme Park in Jiangdong Town opened, business in town would definitely thrive.

His daughter and son-in-law were so filial—they even took out a hundred thousand from their share of the compensation: seventy thousand to buy the house, the remaining thirty thousand to renovate it. They planned to free up a storefront on the first floor to open a fruit shop, selling fruit and drinks. Wasn’t that much better than staying in the village collecting coal scraps?

Ah—this is exactly why the country’s slogans are true! Times have changed—sons and daughters are the same!

Old Jiang really had the right idea, treating his son and daughter equally. Once his daughter got her share of the money, she immediately turned around and used it to help set up her parents’ retirement.

And look at Jiang Chen—tsk! Raising a son like Jiang Chen is worse than raising a donkey!

Maybe it was because Jiang Wan’s aura as a “doctor at a provincial hospital” was so dazzling, but seeing that even a big-city doctor came back to town and bought a house for her parents, the other miners who got compensation couldn’t help but feel tempted too.

Thinking it over, the money they got was only enough for a small two-bedroom apartment in the county seat. But at their age, living in town meant spending money on everything. Their small pensions wouldn’t be enough to cover it.

Rather than moving to the county and scavenging bottles to make ends meet, why not just stay in town like Jiang Weiguo’s family—buy a two-story house, live upstairs, open a small shop downstairs. No matter how much you make a month, at least you’d have a steady income, right?

Before the tourism boom even started, Jiangdong Town’s real estate market was the first to catch fire.

(End of chapter)