VIP Volume Chapter 106: The Debate

After resting for two days, Ye Xiaoxuan finally felt his spirits begin to recover. Whether it was because he had been caught in the rain or due to the lingering effects after that night with Xiaoyu, he felt waves of chill even in his sleep, along with a numbness in his hands and feet.

Thinking of Xiaoyu brought a tinge of melancholy to Ye Xiaoxuan’s heart. Her number still lingered in his phone, but he had never called her, nor had she reached out to him or even to Jiayan. Perhaps this was the choice she had made. Reed Village had become nothing but a memory to her. Everything that had happened there felt like fleeting smoke; after all, she was a city girl, unaccustomed to the hardships of rural life.

Moreover, with her powerful, bald-headed father embellishing stories in her ear, Ye Xiaoxuan was likely already thrown far out of her mind, erased from her thoughts entirely.

Ye Xiaoxuan sighed, shaking his head to banish such thoughts. Just then, Ye Dajun walked in from outside, his arm wrapped in bandages. He called out to Ye Xiaoxuan, “We’re going to the township market later. Are you coming?”

Ye Xiaoxuan glanced at his phone and nodded. “Sure. Find someone with a driver’s license in the orchard, and we’ll drive there. I’ve been meaning to install a TV in the orchard anyway.”

Ye Dajun chuckled, “I already asked. Chen Ergou has a driver’s license.”

Ye Xiaoxuan teased, “If you’ve already decided that, why even ask me?”

Scratching the back of his head, Ye Dajun laughed heartily. “You’re the boss of the bad boys; rules can’t be broken!”

Five of them piled into the car. Chen Ergou took the wheel, Chen Tianfeng sat in the passenger seat with Tietou perched on his lap. In the back were Ye Dajun, Ye Xiaoxuan, and Hao Liuzhi.

Once they left the village, the asphalt road was full of potholes. The car couldn’t go faster than forty miles per hour without the passengers feeling like they were at a disco dance.

Just ten minutes into the drive, Tietou’s face turned pale as he pounded on the car roof, shouting at Chen Ergou, “Stop! Stop immediately!”

Chen Tianfeng, his face flushed, grabbed Tietou’s arm. “Tietou, if you say that again, I’m never letting you off!”

Everyone exchanged glances as Tietou climbed down from the passenger seat and slammed the door beside Ye Dajun.

When he squeezed back in, Ye Dajun scolded him, “It’s so cramped back there; why are you making a fuss?”

Still shaken, Tietou squeezed between Ye Dajun and the door. “Even if I suffocate back there, it’s better than the front! That bastard actually got hard…”

The group froze, then burst into laughter. Chen Tianfeng turned around, pointing at Tietou, his face red as he cursed, “Baldy Tietou, I’m not done with you!”

The scolding drew the whole group into the fray, quickly turning into a group scuffle until Tietou begged for mercy.

After the teasing died down, Tietou poked his head forward and said to Ye Xiaoxuan, “Boss, we need to buy another car. This one’s too small.”

Ye Xiaoxuan estimated their savings and nodded. “We can consider something under 100,000 yuan. The orchard has been only spending, no income these past two years, so we can’t afford to splurge.”

Tietou laughed heartily. “Don’t worry, boss. Our Alliance funds will cover two years easily. Once the orchard’s capital returns, we could buy a train and still have money left!”

Ye Xiaoxuan shook his head, laughing bitterly. “You’re so full of yourself. We’ve got at most five or six hundred thousand. How can that last two years? With so many of us—from eating and drinking to labor and supplies—a few tens of thousands a month is nothing. Last six months would already be a stretch.”

Ye Dajun frowned, “I think Er’Er counted last night; our account has over 1.2 million yuan.”

Ye Xiaoxuan glared at Tietou. “Did you hear that? Only 1.2 million? How much?” His eyes widened in surprise as he looked at Ye Dajun.

Hao Liuzhi grinned, “Tietou paid 400,000 yuan to join the Alliance! Tian Wuye gave 50,000, my master put in 50,000, Old Shepherd 50,000, and Old Cucumber 50,000! That sums to 600,000 exactly!”

Ye Xiaoxuan slapped his forehead. “Damn it! How come I never heard about all this money coming in?”

Ye Dajun shrugged. “You tell Er’Er. From now on, you don’t worry about money. She’ll manage it, and she’ll handle even more in the future.”

Ye Xiaoxuan exhaled. “I was just pretending to be impressive. I’ve never seen that 1.2 million in my life. By the way, who said joining the Alliance requires a fee?”

Ye Xiaoxuan’s words were directed at Tietou, tinged with reproach. Tietou quickly replied, “No one said so, but for our future prospects, we need to invest. The people I brought come from relatively well-off families. Take Ergou, for example; his family runs a construction crew. Having one or two thousand yuan is easy for them.”

Seeing Ye Xiaoxuan still uneasy, Chen Ergou quickly changed the subject. “Boss, if we buy another car, it has to be bigger—big enough for all of us bad boys to ride together.”

Ye Dajun laughed, “Then why not just buy a minibus?”

Hao Liuzhi clapped his hands. “That’s a great idea! We only have three-wheelers to get to the township, and to reach the city, we have to wait for minibuses from the township. If we had a minibus, not only could we use it ourselves, but we could also do transport work. That could be a way to make money.”

Chen Tianfeng shook his head, “The money comes slowly, unless we run several vehicles on different routes, picking up people from nearby villages. That way, income would be faster.”

Ye Dajun frowned. “Wouldn’t that steal business from Big Head Liu and the others?”

Chen Tianlei sneered, “It’s all about vision. Those who make money start early! Those who only care about face and reject innovation end up dragging the whole generation down.”

Tietou frowned. “You can’t say that. We’re all from the same township. They’ve been doing this for years. If you come stealing business without a word, people will stab you in the back.”

Chen Tianfeng snorted coldly. “Let them stab all they want! Society advances by survival of the fittest. The weak get eaten by the strong—that’s natural! Look at the news. What era is this that people still use three-wheelers to ferry passengers?”

Hao Liuzhi tapped his chin. “That brings up the environment. If you want to get ahead, you have to consider your surroundings. Look at our road—it’s almost like a minefield after the explosion. When it rains, only three-wheelers can navigate without getting stuck.”

Chen Tianfeng, now outnumbered three to one in the debate, refused to back down and continued passionately, “Then we fix the road! If every vehicle on every route donates their first day’s earnings for a month, we can fund the repairs.

“At the same time, we can rally the whole township to raise funds. Whether or not we get the biggest share, we’ll be remembered as the initiators of the effort. Why not?”