Chapter 11: An Alliance Between Two Families

“Wow, big brother, where did you buy this blue bear? I love it so much! Only one of my classmates has a blue bear, and everyone envies her, but now she should envy me, because mine is much bigger and much cuter!” Clutching the blue bear that Yang Tian had brought home, Yang Xueling was so delighted that she danced around, the bear nearly as big as she was, so it felt like she was hugging a close companion. She nestled beside Yang Tian, laughing incessantly, chewing a piece of bubble gum, though she hadn’t learned how to blow bubbles yet, and kept pestering Yang Tian to teach her.

Though Yang Tian had worries weighing on his mind, he patiently taught Yang Xueling again and again.

Seeing Yang Tian and Yang Xueling playing so happily, Yang Bao and his wife couldn’t help but smile. When they noticed Yang Tian had spent all his money without telling them what he’d bought, they didn’t scold him. Their only concern was that Yang Tian hadn’t eaten lunch, so they asked if he didn’t know where to buy food.

Actually, Yang Tian had been busy buying the blue bear for Yang Xueling and hadn’t had time to get food. He still had a few coins left in his pocket, which he had just handed over to Liu Xiuying.

After dinner and washing up, seeing Yang Bao and his wife both heading into the bedroom, Yang Tian quickly followed them.

“Xiao Tian, why aren’t you going to bed yet?” Liu Xiuying had just finished washing and was ready for sleep, wearing a loose shirt and big shorts, her hair down, radiating the vibrant beauty of a young rural woman. She pulled Yang Tian into her arms and gently asked him.

“Dad, Mom, I want to discuss something with you,” Yang Tian said steadily.

“What is it?” Liu Xiuying and Yang Bao exchanged a glance and smiled, thinking Yang Tian probably wanted to go somewhere to play again.

“This year, let’s not plant late rice. Let’s save the money and then gather enough to buy early rice from nearby villages, stockpile it, and sell it at the end of the year when prices go up. We’ll definitely make a good profit!” Yang Tian got straight to the point, speaking softly.

“Well now, Xiao Tian, you’re something else! So young and already thinking about business—truly my son!” Yang Bao was startled; neither he nor Liu Xiuying had expected their nine-year-old son to say such things. Though it was a simple business opportunity, it wasn’t something a child would typically think of.

“Mid-July brought severe flooding to the Yangtze-Huai region and the Taihu Basin. With the monsoon shifting, our Binhai City will be hit next. Fields will be submerged, and late rice will yield nothing, so there’s no point planting it! With late rice harvests shrinking drastically, grain prices at year’s end will soar. If we’re bold enough to stockpile a thousand bushels of early rice, we can easily make five thousand yuan when we sell at year’s end!” Yang Tian began to analyze the opportunity for his parents.

Yang Bao and his wife listened in stunned silence. Though it didn’t sound like something a child would say, they couldn’t find a flaw in Yang Tian’s reasoning; in fact, they thought it made perfect sense.

Five thousand yuan was a tempting sum, but stockpiling a thousand bushels—one hundred thousand jin of early rice—required real courage, and a misstep could mean ruin.

“Dad, Mom, this is an opportunity. If we miss it, we might have to rely on the village committee’s relief to get through the New Year. I know you’re worried about risks—I’ve thought about that too. The key to stockpiling grain is taking good care of it, making sure it doesn’t spoil or get lost. We can borrow the village warehouse. If you’re embarrassed to ask the village chief, I’ll talk to Chen Xiaogui and have the Chen family quietly lend it to us, and worst case, we give him a few cartons of cigarettes. As for the money to buy grain, you can borrow a bit from relatives and friends. If it’s still not enough, I have another idea: we can partner with Uncle Huang’s family and stockpile together. Uncle Huang has lots of relatives, many of whom live in the city, so they can probably raise several tens of thousands in one go.” Yang Tian sat between Yang Bao and Liu Xiuying, thinking deeply as he spoke.

“But… but will your Uncle Huang agree to join in? This is pretty risky!” Liu Xiuying asked hesitantly.

“He will. I can talk to him—Uncle Huang will listen to me!” Yang Tian smiled with delight. He knew that since Liu Xiuying had doubts, she and Yang Bao had already tacitly accepted the opportunity—after all, they were still young. Even though they lived in the countryside, who wouldn’t want to take a chance to improve their lives?

“You can’t handle everything yourself; you’re still a child. Let’s do this: tomorrow morning, I’ll go to the Chen family, bring a few bottles of good wine, and ask about the warehouse. If it works out, tomorrow night we’ll invite Huang Biao’s family over for dinner and discuss this. Mother, I think Xiao Tian’s idea is pretty good, don’t you?” Yang Bao, after pondering for a moment and realizing how sweet the opportunity was, became energized.

“All right, let’s do it. I’ll go to the market tomorrow morning and buy some vegetables, and tomorrow night we’ll invite Uncle Huang’s family for dinner!” Liu Xiuying also smiled with joy, gently patting Yang Tian’s head.

Huang Biao was older than Yang Bao, but he was an exceptionally straightforward man. That night, when he came to Yang Bao’s house for dinner, Yang Bao shared Yang Tian’s idea. He added that, if this plan succeeded, Yang Tian and Huang Juan’s tuition for junior high would be secured. Hearing this, Huang Biao slapped the table in agreement, and early the next morning went to the city to borrow money.

Huang Biao’s wife, Zhong Hehua, had a brother named Zhong Bangcai who had been in the shoe business in the city for over twenty years, making plenty of money and buying a house in Binhai City.

Zhong Hehua also had a sister ten years younger than herself, Zhong Qian. Though young, she was clever and resourceful. A few years ago, the family arranged a marriage for her, but just before the wedding she ran away and found herself a wealthy restaurant owner in the city. Though he was nearly twenty years older than her, he was rich and gave the Zhong family twenty thousand yuan, so they no longer opposed their union.

Both Zhong Bangcai and Zhong Qian treated Zhong Hehua very well. Now, with Huang Biao personally going to borrow money in the city, they could certainly raise several tens of thousands, even though that was no small sum at the time.

Meanwhile, word came from the Chen family that the village committee, after careful consideration and meetings, had agreed to lend the village warehouse to the Yang family—though the matter was not to be publicized.

In truth, Yang Tian knew the reason the Chen family agreed was surely because of the three bottles of aged seed wine worth over a hundred yuan that Yang Bao had gifted them.