Chapter 574 — Intentions Stirred
The Blossom Guardian · Page 2 of 2
The crowd was dumbstruck. They had agreed among themselves to ask for three thousand, with a bottom line of two thousand—enough to buy a decent, larger home elsewhere. They had never imagined the developer would offer only eight hundred. The gap was simply too vast.
No one was more disappointed than Tang Zhi's mother. Her home was small, with no storehouse and no shed, and all she had wanted was to use the money Wei Zhao had given her after the demolition to buy a commercial unit and start a barbecue business. But returning households got no discount on commercial units—what sort of rule was that?
"We're not demolishing! What kind of compensation is this? If they tear it down, we'll have nowhere to live! Isn't that right, everyone?" someone began to shout.
Once someone had spoken first, the dissatisfied grew bolder, and one after another they declared they would not accept such relocation compensation. It was far too little!
"Three thousand—not a cent less! Any less and we're not moving. You can go build your houses wherever you like!"
"Li Erlan, have you been colluding with them? You dirty informer, selling out the interests of the shantytown!"
"We're all on the ground floor—so why is there no discount on commercial units? If that's how it is, we'd be better off not moving at all!" Tang Zhi's mother could not hold back and spoke up in protest too. She cared little about the amount of compensation; even at two thousand, it would not add up to much more.
At first Tang Zhi's mother had not wanted to speak out. After all, this was no occasion for a woman to step forward. But since everyone else had spoken, she no longer cared, and she joined in shouting.
Yet oddly enough, when others spoke it was nothing, but the moment she opened her mouth, Zhong Fabai pointed at her and said, "You want a commercial unit? Then come up here!"
Tang Zhi's mother was startled. She could not tell anything from Zhong Fabai's tone—could he mean to give her a discount on a commercial unit? Her heart stirred at once, and she made to walk over.
Tang Zhi was rather frightened. "Mom, don't go. The nail that sticks out gets hammered down!"
"Silly child, can't you see everyone's up in arms? If we don't fight for our interests now, when do you plan to? Many hands make light work—don't you understand? Or are you still hoping to deal with them privately? Remember what happened to your father. If we make a fuss on our own, we won't solve a thing. But now we have numbers on our side. If we put our demands forward together, they'll have to address them!"
"Then... I'll go over with you." Tang Zhi was still worried. After all, recent events had shown her just how vicious bad people could be.
Tang Zhi accompanied her mother over. The moment Zhong Fabai caught sight of Tang Zhi, his eyes lit up. This Wei Zhao certainly had an eye for beauty—the girl was a real looker. What a waste!
Young Master Bing's eyes lit up as well. He glanced at Li Erlan with a hint of approval. The real woman was even prettier than her photo. Young Master Bing had always had a taste for decent, innocent girls—fresh and pleasant, and afterward they wouldn't cause him any trouble.