C16 Rent(1)

Time flies, especially for the Yang family. They've now hired three people to dig sand, and with the couple, there are six of them working together. The hired help gets paid three dollars a day, with lunch and a pack of cigarettes included. In the past, Yang Xiuyuan and Zhang Yuehua wouldn't have dared to hire anyone, but now with steady orders and production, they feel confident.

After much persuasion from Yang Chenxuan, Xiuyuan decided to spend a dollar a day to hire someone to watch the machines, which mostly means sleeping by the river. The mosquitoes by the river are plentiful, so it's not exactly restful sleep.

Lately, there have been murmurs in the village. One evening, a group gathered at Wu Daxiang's home.

"Daxiang, this can't go on. We used to rely on hard work to make a living, and we could accept the differences in earnings," one villager said, clearly upset.

Wu Daxiang understood their frustration; they were targeting the Yang family. After all, the Yangs could haul at least seventeen or eighteen truckloads a day, and on their best days, they reached twenty-one. It was hard not to be envious.

With the Yangs selling so much, there wasn't much left for others. The Yang family didn't compete for the remaining scraps, but with ten or so teams, each managing to grab one or two loads, it meant that each person was making less than three dollars a day. Three teams couldn't sustain this and had already quit.

Wu Daxiang felt a bit awkward about the Yang family because his wife was still holding onto three dollars from them. In the sand business, Wu Daxiang had a small advantage. His wife stood at the intersection, and while she couldn't stop the pre-booked trucks, she could direct those without reservations to their own sand pit. So, Wu Daxiang's business was doing fairly well.

Understanding that he shouldn't keep all the benefits to himself, Wu Daxiang occasionally had his wife send a few trucks over to Zhou Jun, leaving the rest for the other villagers. This arrangement helped foster a good relationship between Wu Daxiang and Zhou Jun.

Overall, more than sixty percent of the trucks now went to the Yang family, about twenty percent to Wu Daxiang and Zhou Jun, and the remaining twenty percent was split among nearly ten other teams, which wasn't sustainable for any single team.

Wu Daxiang considered the situation and said, "There's not much we can say about this."

A friend of Wu Daxiang remarked, "Daxiang, are you feeling a bit embarrassed?"

"Yeah! Just because Yang Chenxuan got your wife a job, you think he's a good guy?"

"Daxiang, that Yang Chenxuan is pretty sharp. When he first talked about leasing land, we all thought he was foolish, even if we didn't say it out loud. And now? Our business has been taken over, and we can't say a word. We're using someone else's place and have to be grateful for it. One day, he might sell you out, and you'd still think he's great."

"The whole road-digging thing, we did it together, but now their family uses it the most. Doesn't that mean we basically did it for free for them? My aunt is still complaining about me leveling their field. I can't say anything back—I'm the one who leveled it, not Yang Chenxuan. My aunt wouldn't dare confront the Yangs about it."

Wu Daxiang understood all this. At first, Yang Chenxuan's actions seemed nonsensical, like he was just doing foolish things, and it looked like the Yang family was at a loss. But now, it was clear that Yang Chenxuan had it all figured out from the start. The Yangs got all the benefits, and no one could really fault them.

Wu Daxiang chuckled wryly, "Folks, Yang Chenxuan is quite the capable guy now. If we go against him, we might end up worse off."

Someone chimed in sarcastically, "Their family is big and well-off, and we have nothing. What are we afraid of?"

"So, what do you plan to do?" Wu Daxiang asked.

"That's why we're here to discuss it with you. We need a plan. We can't let him be the only one getting rich, right?" the villagers said. "That big river is public property."

Everyone was talking at once, and Wu Daxiang felt overwhelmed. He didn't want to oppose Yang Chenxuan, but he also didn't want to upset these people.

Chen Guihua thought the Yangs were pretty decent folks and stood quietly on the side, not daring to speak up. But she found a chance to slip out the door.

Meanwhile, Yang Xiuyuan was busy with his daughter, calculating how much money they'd made over the past few days.

Yang Chenxuan wasn't interested in these matters. He figured there wasn't much to gain, and any money earned would be hard-earned. At least, that's how he saw it.

Zhang Yuehua watched with a smile, dreaming of a bright future.

Chen Guihua rushed in, breathless. "Uncle Yang, Aunt Yuehua, a lot of people digging sand by the river have come to our house. They're looking for you."

Chen Guihua wasn't much younger than Yang Xiuyuan and his wife, but due to family hierarchy, Wu Daxiang and Yang Chenxuan were of the same generation.

Yang Xiuyuan and Zhang Yuehua were taken aback, unable to understand why anyone would cause trouble for them since they hadn't offended anyone.

Yang Chenxuan, however, wasn't surprised by this outcome. "Guihua, how many people are we talking about?"

Chen Guihua hesitated for a moment before replying, "More than half of the sand diggers have come over."