Returning wealthy individuals develop their hometowns and become rich in the 1980s

"One or two hundred thousand? Mother, you really dare to ask for that!"

"Are you crazy!" Liu Li was startled by her daughter Liu Jiashui's shout. She quickly looked around and, seeing that no one was passing by, glared at her daughter and said, "Keep your voice down! Are you afraid others won't hear you?!"

Liu Jiashui, glared at by her mother, could only lower her voice, but the incredulous expression on her face remained. Looking at her mother, she said, "Mom, are you crazy? A million or two hundred thousand? Do you know how much that is? Even if we sold our whole family together, it wouldn't be a round number! Your appetite is too big!"

"You brat, what do you know?" Liu Li glared at her with her triangular eyes. "This is called asking for the moon and then settling for less. You ask them for a hundred or two hundred thousand. The Chen family are respectable people now. If this gets out of hand, it won't do them any good. They can just ask for five or six hundred thousand, and then we'll have made a profit!"

Liu Jiashui was stunned by her mother's twisted logic. She opened her mouth, but after a long while, she managed to stammer out, "Mom, do you think this is like you going to the market to buy vegetables? The Chen family isn't all fools. If you ask for a hundred or two hundred thousand, they might just kick Songmao and my older brother out and not get a single penny."

"I won't get it," Liu Li sneered. "If the Chen family doesn't pay, Chen Lianxiang can forget about taking the three children away. If the Chen family doesn't pay, I'll sue her in court, cause a scene at the village committee, and sit in front of her so-called Angel Company. Let's see if she has any shame left!"

"Your eldest brother's three children, we've raised them for so many years, and Chen Lianxiang just takes them away like that?"

As Liu Lishi said this, a smile played on her lips, "The Chen family has plenty of money now. A few hundred thousand in compensation is nothing to them. I've inquired around, and her cousin Chen Dong, since returning to Nanshan County, has spent a hundred million just on road repairs and factory investments in the village!"

"A few hundred thousand is just a drop in the ocean for the Chen family!"

"Mother!" Liu Jiashui tugged at her mother Liu Li's hand. "They may have money, but that doesn't mean we can just talk nonsense. Songmao's idea is to go and talk it over properly and ask for 100,000 to 200,000 yuan. This money can be used to help my eldest brother find a job, so he can either retire or make money and then marry a sister-in-law."

"You're asking for hundreds of thousands right off the bat. If word gets out, whether the Chen family agrees or not is another matter, but our Liu family will really be the subject of gossip. Where will we put our faces then!"

"Face is nothing!" Liu Li-shi shook off her daughter's hand. "As long as the money is in our Liu family's pockets, what others say is none of my business!"

"Once our family is rich, I'll see if that shameless bastard dares to talk back to me to my face. I'll curse his whole family to death, or they'll be lucky to escape with their lives!"

"Mother," Liu Jiashui quickly covered her mother's mouth, glancing nervously towards the main room, "Keep your voice down, or your older brother will hear you. If he finds out you're thinking this way, he'll change his mind and say you're not going."

Liu Lishi mumbled a few words indistinctly as her daughter covered her mouth. Finally, she impatiently pushed Liu Jiashui's hand away and said in a low voice, "Fine, fine, I won't say anything more. You can talk to Songmao alone later and tell him to help your older brother raise the price when he goes to Old Chen's house. Ask him to ask for as much as he can."

"Your older brother is clumsy with words and shy, he's terrible at talking. Songmao is quick-witted, we need to get him to speak up for your older brother."

Liu Jiashui sighed and nodded. "I understand, Mother. You go in first, so no one can see us."

Liu Li snorted and swayed her plump body toward the main room. Inside, Fang Songmao was talking to Liu Guomin about tomorrow's arrangements. "Brother-in-law, I'll go to the village committee to find Secretary Wang later and ask him to come with us to Lianzhai tomorrow to help mediate this matter. After all, Shaozhong and Shaoqun's household registrations are still in our Shangzhai."

"Alright, I'll go with you to find Secretary Wang. This matter really needs Secretary Wang's help. Otherwise, given my relationship with the Chen family, I doubt they'll even let me in the door," Liu Guomin said. He was still somewhat self-aware; he knew that without Village Secretary Wang Fuquan acting as an intermediary, there would be no way to get anything done.

Liu Lishi, who had just walked in, heard her son-in-law and eldest son say this and immediately said, "Then what are you two waiting for? Get up and go to the village committee office to tell that old man Wang Fuquan to go with you to Lianzhai to find Old Chen's family tomorrow."

Holding her grandson, He Lüshi looked at her in-laws with disdain, showing no attitude of asking for favors. She then said to Liu Guomin and Fang Songmao, "It would be good if his uncle and aunt let Secretary Wang go with them. You two should talk to Secretary Wang properly and not go empty-handed."

Liu Li was somewhat displeased. To have that old geezer Wang Fuquan say a few words for him and even give him a gift, she said, "What gift? You don't need to bring anything. I'll go with you to see Wang Fuquan. If he dares to say a word against me, I'll curse him to death and make him look bad!"

"Mom, please stop making a fuss," Liu Guoliang said, noticing his elder brother's displeasure. He was afraid his brother would change his mind and not go to the Chen family, knowing that the trip would cost money.

"Yes, Mother, you mustn't make a scene. We're going to ask Secretary Wang to help us persuade the Chen family, not to make enemies. If you make a scene at the village committee office, Secretary Wang won't help us anymore, and then this matter will fall through," He Guiqin, the youngest daughter-in-law, also joined in the persuasion.

Liu Lishi sat down heavily on the small bamboo stool with a huff, the stool creaking loudly. Seeing that his mother-in-law was no longer talking, Fang Songmao said to He Guiqin, "Auntie, do you see if there's anything else at home that we can give away? Bring it to me, and my brother-in-law and I will take it to see Secretary Wang later."

"Yes, I'll get it for you right away, Uncle." He Guiqin knew that if this matter succeeded and she got the money from the Chen family, based on her understanding of her uncle Liu Guomin, her husband Liu Guoliang would also get a share. So she busied herself going into her room to search for the money.

Before long, He Guiqin came out of the room with a can of malted milk powder and a box of biscuits. Liu Lishi, who was sitting next to her, widened her eyes when she saw the malted milk powder and biscuits that He Guiqin was carrying.

He couldn't help but curse his youngest daughter-in-law in his heart. "You, He Guiqin, if it weren't for having to beg that old bastard Wang Fuquan today, and if we really had nothing else to give as gifts, I don't know how long you planned to keep these good things hidden away!"

Why are they deliberately hiding? Who are they trying to keep from?

Liu Li stepped forward to take the malted milk powder that He Guiqin was holding, "Just give him a box of biscuits, there's no need to take it all. I haven't had much of an appetite lately, I'll keep this jar of malted milk powder to nourish myself!"