VIP Chapter 121: The Old Fox

Observing Yuan Desheng and his daughter, Yuan Caiyi, both frowning at him, Ye Xiaoxuan tilted his head back and pretended to wipe away sweat.

Yuan Desheng puffed on his cigarette and asked, "How can you guarantee it?"

Ye Xiaoxuan felt a wave of relief inside. Damn, that scared the hell out of me! I thought they’d caught me peeking! He pressed his hands onto the table, flashed a wicked grin, and said to Yuan Desheng, "Uncle Yuan, don't be so skeptical. When I say I can guarantee it, I mean it!"

Yuan Desheng slapped the table and stood up. "Boy, don't make promises you can't keep! If you really can guarantee it, I’ll give you the contracting rights for five years! I just fear you don't have the guts and are all talk!"

Hearing this, Ye Xiaoxuan flared up. He glared back at him and challenged, "Hey! You’re the one who said it! You’ve got a deal—I’ll show you! Fine, five years of fish pond rights, let’s sign the contract right now!"

Yuan Desheng sneered, "You think I’m afraid of you? You think you’re the first one to come up with this idea? The village tried it years ago, and it all fell apart! I still have the contract here. Girl, bring it out for him to sign!"

Yuan Caiyi quickly retrieved a stack of documents from the room; sure enough, it was the Daxian Lake fish pond contract.

Ye Xiaoxuan slammed the contract onto the stone table, grabbed a pen, and glared at Yuan Desheng. "Where do I sign?"

Yuan Caiyi hurriedly flipped to the signature page and pointed to the blank space. "Here, right here!"

Ye Xiaoxuan pressed the pen to the paper, but just as he was about to sign, he paused. Yuan Caiyi urged him, "What’s wrong? Sign it! Are you getting cold feet?"

Ye Xiaoxuan gave a faint smile. He sat on the stone stool, looked up at Yuan Desheng, who was puffing on his cigarette with his mustache twitching, and said with a smile, "I’m just trying to understand: why is the old village chief using reverse psychology to make me sign this contract and handing me such a big piece of cake? What is the hidden agenda?"

Yuan Caiyi’s mouth fell open, and she looked at Ye Xiaoxuan in shock. "You figured that out?"

Ye Xiaoxuan chuckled. "I’m not a fool, how could I not? I just don't understand—you must know that Daxian Lake has been calm lately. Why save this good opportunity for me?"

Yuan Desheng laughed out loud. "I told you this kid is sharp; nothing gets past him! I’ll be blunt: I’m not even sure if this is a good thing or a bad thing. The lake is quiet now, but no one knows if it will stay that way! It depends on whether you have the courage to take the job."

Ye Xiaoxuan felt as if he were seeing Yuan Desheng for the first time. He gave a wry smile and said, "You really are an old fox. You know I can't resist a temptation like this, but why pick me?"

Yuan Desheng sat down, took a drag of his cigarette, and said, "Xiao San, you’re young, driven, and bold. More importantly, you have money! Our village wants to develop, but we can't focus on everything at once—our resources are limited. Creating a model to lead the whole village is the most effective approach."

Ye Xiaoxuan nodded. This explanation made sense and aligned with the national economic policy. It was a timely relief; he was short on opportunities, and having dozens of people crowded in the orchard was a waste of labor. With the fish pond, things would be much easier!

With a blade of grass hanging from his lips, Ye Xiaoxuan signed his name on the contract with great care. He turned to Yuan Desheng and said, "Thanks, Uncle Yuan. Now, let’s get back to the most important topic: road construction!"

Yuan Caiyi tidied up the contract and looked at his signature, clicking her tongue. "Xiaoxuan, looking at your handwriting, no one would believe you actually finished third grade!"

Ye Xiaoxuan said modestly, "It’s nothing. I did practice back then, but it’s still a bit embarrassing to show."

Yuan Caiyi pouted. "You call that practice? This is kindergarten level! Your handwriting is ugly to a whole new degree! And you made a typo—where is the dot on top of the 'Xuan' character?"

Ye Xiaoxuan felt so ashamed he wanted to crawl into a hole. He covered his face and said, "Alright, alright, as long as it’s legible! I didn't go to school much. Let’s talk business—the road!"

Yuan Desheng laughed heartily, took a sip of tea, and asked, "After the orchard and fish pond investments, how much money do you have left? Don't worry, your Uncle Yuan is just planning ahead; I’m not after your money!"

Ye Xiaoxuan smiled and did some quick mental math. "It’s never enough, but to build the road, I can scrape together 150,000."

Yuan Desheng shook his head. "100,000 is the bulk of it! That’s enough to cover the main cost. With government subsidies and a hundred-yuan head tax from each family, that should be just about right!"

Yuan Caiyi returned from the room after putting the contract away, sat back on the stone stool, and said to Ye Xiaoxuan, "Since you’re planning to put up 150,000, why don't you offer the extra 50,000 as a fund? For any family that can't afford the hundred-yuan head tax, you can lend it to them!"

Yuan Desheng’s eyes lit up, but he remained silent. Ye Xiaoxuan smiled. "As expected of a cadre's daughter—that's a great image-building project!"

Yuan Caiyi rolled her eyes and scolded him, "Cadre's daughter? Stop mocking me! You’re the one gaining both fame and fortune; it has nothing to do with me. I’m just making a suggestion; whether you do it or not is up to you!"

Ye Xiaoxuan laughed loudly. "Only a fool wouldn't do it! Uncle Yuan, I’ve said it before, you should listen to Caiyi more. Your daughter is a natural-born leader; she’s brilliant!"

Yuan Desheng huffed, "What’s the use of being smart? She’s going to get married off eventually! No matter how smart a girl is, she ends up working for someone else's family." Despite his words, his face betrayed his pride; it was clear his daughter was his greatest treasure.

Yuan Caiyi blushed and looked ready to scold him, but Yuan Desheng stood up, laughing, and said to Ye Xiaoxuan, "Come on, let’s go for a walk outside the village!"

Ye Xiaoxuan nodded. Watching Yuan Caiyi bend over to tidy up the tea set, he pretended to be fixing his shoe and said to Yuan Desheng, "You go ahead, I’ll be right behind you!" His eyes, however, were fixed on the girl.

Yuan Caiyi kept her head down, her face flushed. She moved the cups very slowly, as if she had lost all strength.

"You scoundrel, you have a beautiful girlfriend and you're still not satisfied? You can't even control your own wandering eyes!" Yuan Caiyi didn't look up, but she whispered the insult before picking up the tea set and walking back into the house, never glancing his way once.

Ye Xiaoxuan felt so ashamed he couldn't even stand it! He thought he was being subtle, but he’d been caught red-handed.

He didn't even bother with his shoes anymore; he shuffled out in his worn-out sneakers. After a long while, his heart finally calmed down. When he thought about it, he chewed on his blade of grass and smiled.

She knew I was peeking and yet she kept bending over... Little girl, what kind of game are you playing?