Working at an otherworldly junkyard, making a fortune by collecting trash.

The village committee's courtyard was already packed with people. Long wooden tables were carried out of the house, their legs wobbling, barely held together by a chipped piece of tile underneath. Chen Chen had just spread out the mimeographed contract samples on the table when Wang Laowu, like an eel, darted to the front. He rolled his ID card into a stiff paper tube and slammed it onto the table with a "thud," making the several contract sheets tremble.

"Chenwa, you need to mark my three and a half mu of land next to that sandy loam on the north slope clearly on the map!" He stiffened his neck, spittle splattering onto the paper. "Don't confuse it with Chen Hongjun's—last year he tried to move the boundary marker, taking half of my field's edge, no way!"

From the back of the crowd, Chen Hongjun's loud voice immediately rang out: "Fifth Uncle, don't make false accusations! That ridge is never a straight line; it was your cow that ate my wheat seedlings, and now you're trying to shift the blame!"

"How can it be inaccurate?" Wang Laowu rolled up his sleeves and was about to rush forward when village secretary Chen Weiguo hit him on the arm with his pipe, sparks flying all over his sleeve. "We're signing a contract, what's all the fuss about? The land accountant and his men measured it twice with a tape measure, there's no mistake!"

Chen Chen quickly stepped forward to smooth things over, pulling the map in front of Wang Laowu and pointing to a red dotted line on it with his fingertip: "Uncle, don't worry, it's guaranteed to be right."

Old Wang squinted and stared for a long time. When he saw that the red line had indeed been drawn right under his land, he calmed down.

He took the pen Chen Chen handed him, dipped it hard in the inkpad, and pressed a large, distinct black and red fingerprint into the "Party B" column at the end of the contract. His fingerprint was still damp with mud from pulling weeds in the fields that morning, and it spread out as a small mud stain on the paper.

"Based on what you said, Fifth Uncle believes you! I'll trust you with this land from now on!"

When it was Uncle Chen's turn to sign, he slowly pulled a plastic bag out of the pocket of his blue cloth jacket. It was wrapped in two layers of handkerchiefs. He peeled them off one by one to reveal a yellowed and brittle piece of paper. It was an old document from twenty years ago when the land was divided, with small holes eaten by insects at the edges.

His hand holding the document trembled slightly, and his voice carried a hint of uncertainty: "Chenwa, my land acreage doesn't match the old clerk's. The accountant said it's two fen too much. You see..."

"It will be calculated based on the actual measurement." Chen Chen agreed without hesitation, running his fingertip over the terms of the contract. "The extra two acres are also yours, and the rent will be paid in full at the market price."

Uncle Chen's eyes lit up suddenly, like a kerosene lamp that had been turned on.

He nodded repeatedly, his hands trembling even more violently, his signature strokes crooked and uneven. After signing, he clutched the contract, pacing around the yard showing it off, the wrinkles at the corners of his mouth curving like chrysanthemums: "That young man, Chenwa, is so honest! So incredibly honest!"

Widow Liu arrived last, leaning against the old elm tree by the courtyard gate with her arms crossed, her face expressionless. She waited until most of the people in the courtyard had signed before slowly walking over, her voice still sharp and forceful: "Chen Chen, my two mu of land has been lying fallow for three years, the weeds are almost as tall as a person, can you really give me eight hundred per mu?"

Chen Chen looked up at her. She was wearing a faded floral shirt with the sleeves rolled up to her elbows, revealing half of her tanned arms, and there were still bits of grass stuck to her knuckles.

"Aunt Liu, the price is the same for the whole village. No matter how fertile or barren the land is, or how long it has been abandoned, it's all 800."

"The rent has already been deposited into the village committee's public account. If you feel it's not appropriate, I'll take you to the bank in town to check the transaction records right now."

Widow Liu stared into Chen Chen's eyes for a long time, a subtle, indescribable emotion slowly welling up in those eyes that had always held a hint of wariness. Suddenly, she snorted, grabbed a pen, and signed her name with a flourish, the handwriting bold and defiant. As she turned to leave, she tripped over the threshold, stumbling forward. Chen Chen, quick as a flash, reached out and caught her.

She paused for a moment, then said nothing. She quickly withdrew her hand, lowered her head, and hurried out of the courtyard.

As the sun began to set, the clouds in the western sky were dyed golden-red. The thick stack of contracts was finally signed, and the red handprints on the pages were densely packed, like ripe red beans scattered on the ground.

Chen Weiguo carefully arranged the contract, locked it in the heavy metal cabinet in the corner, turned the key twice, then patted Chen Chen on the shoulder, his voice tinged with relief: "Alright, the contract is all signed. The other formalities will be handled by the town's staff when they start work next week. I'll take care of it for you, and I promise there won't be any delays."

"Thank you for your hard work, Uncle." Chen Chen nodded with a smile.

He stood up, patted the dust off his trousers, and was about to step out of the courtyard when he saw Wang Laowu come back again, clutching an oil paper package in his hand. The oily paper exuded a fragrant aroma.

He unfolded the layers one by one, revealing six golden-yellow sugar cakes, still steaming slightly: "Here, your auntie just fried these. Eat them while they're hot; they're very sweet."

Before he'd taken two steps, Aunt Li caught up from behind, carrying a bamboo basket lined with vibrant green cabbage leaves, topped with a bunch of fresh, tender garlic scapes, their tips still clinging to fresh soil, so delicate they looked like they could be squeezed for water. "Chenwa, have a taste!"

She laughed so hard her eyes crinkled into wrinkles. "They were just picked from our own garden! Stir-fried with cured pork, they smell so good you could swallow your tongue!"

Chen Chen held a sugar cake in his arms, carried garlic sprouts in his hand, and Chen Weiguo had also stuffed two hot pork rib buns into his bag. The bag was heavy and drooping all the way down, making him feel warm inside.

He had already deposited the money for the land and mountain leases into the village committee's account. When Chen Weiguo went to complete the formalities, he would withdraw the money and distribute it to the villagers.

The money for road repairs was transferred in full, and he even gave Chen Weiguo a separate salary so that he wouldn't have to run around doing nothing for nothing.

In the evening, Chen Weiguo returned home. As soon as he put down his pipe, his wife pointed to the eight-immortal table in the main room and scolded him with a smile: "Look at this, Chenwa brought this over after lunch. I said I didn't want it, but he insisted on stuffing it into the room and said that if I didn't accept it, he would never come to our house again."

On the table were two bottles of baijiu (Chinese liquor), two cartons of cigarettes, and two cartons of milk—all decent items.

Chen Weiguo looked at the things, smiled helplessly, shook his head and sighed, "This kid, really, he's so polite even among his own family."

When Chen Chen returned home, his grandmother was tending the fire in the main room. The firewood in the hearth was crackling and sparks were jumping high.

He moved closer and sat down. Just as he warmed up, his grandmother handed him a roasted sweet potato, its skin cracked open to reveal the golden flesh inside, and its aroma filled his nose.

"Have all the contracts been signed?" Grandma asked slowly, still holding a fire poker in her hand.

"Signed." Chen Chen took the sweet potato, peeled off the skin, and it was so hot that he grimaced, but he still couldn't resist taking a bite. The sweet taste spread across his tongue, making him feel lazy all over. "Uncle Village Chief will take care of the rest for me, and he'll also help keep an eye on the road construction. I'll go back to the city tomorrow and find someone to build a house. First, I'll fix the road up the mountain."

Ji Yunli sat by the fire, holding a roasted sweet potato in her hand, eating it with relish. Her mouth was covered in black ash, making her look like a little kitten that had just stolen some ink, which amused Chen Chen so much that he couldn't help but laugh out loud.