Beachcombing: The beach is full of amazing seafood, but my wife won't let me get out of bed!

"Uncle Changgui, are you home?"

A sound of slippers shuffling came from behind the door.

The gate to the courtyard was opened a crack about three fingers wide, and the village chief's wife was squinting as she peered out.

She rolled her eyes when she recognized Wu Sui standing outside.

My gaze moved downwards and landed on those large red bags with gold lettering.

The heavy, hard paper bag contained two square cigarette packs, two bottles of liquor tied with red ribbons, and at the bottom were two large boxes of nutritional supplements.

"Oh, it's Ah Sui."

The village chief's wife opened the door wide, casually tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear, and her enthusiastic laughter immediately echoed in the courtyard.

"It's late at night, hurry inside, the sea breeze is strong outside!"

"You silly child, why did you have to spend money to come to our house?"

Despite saying it was too much trouble, he didn't hesitate at all when he reached out to take the bag.

Wu Sui handed over the items and walked into the courtyard.

Chen Changgui was sitting on the sofa watching TV when he saw the two heavy bags in his wife's hands, especially the two boxes of Moutai, and he stood up with a smile.

"Ah Sui is here? Sit down, please sit down."

He pointed to the single sofa opposite him and casually turned the TV volume down a bit.

The village chief's wife carried the things into the inner room, then turned around and brewed a pot of tea, bringing it over.

Wu Sui took out cigarettes, handed one to the village chief, lit one for himself, and put the rest on the table.

Chen Changgui took it and spoke with a smile.

"I heard from Lao Liu that you went to town this afternoon and bought a winch?"

"Yes, we need to equip the ship with some sturdy equipment, otherwise, if we rely entirely on manpower to haul in the lines, several people will surely die of exhaustion at sea."

"I know your rented boat; it's quite sturdy."

The two chatted idly, but Wu Sui was getting really impatient.

"Uncle Changgui, the main reason I came here today is to hear from the accountant that our family's application for a residential land plot has been approved?"

Chen Changgui put down the teacup and slowly blew on the tea leaves on the surface of the water.

"It's approved. Logically, since both you brothers have residential land, it shouldn't have been approved."

"However, the stone house you're currently living in is located behind a saline-alkali land area. The village has done some research and approved three rooms for you. You just need to go to the village committee to pay the fee and complete the formalities."

"Uncle Changgui, is that land saline-alkali land?"

Chen Changgui looked up and said, "Well, we can't grow crops, and it gets damp in the summer. Don't complain, it's just that there's really no other place in the village."

Wu Sui almost rolled his eyes. The village had large tracts of open land; wasn't it just that he hadn't given him any benefits and was deliberately keeping it from him?

He even complained that the place was too small.

"Uncle, I want the entire piece of land next to the stone house."

The main room fell silent.

Chen Changgui choked on his cigarette, coughing several times before putting it down and staring at Wu Sui across from him.

"What did you say? The area next to that stone house by the sea where you live now?"

"Yes, it extends from the stone houses all the way to the base of the breakwater, that whole area."

Chen Changgui leaned back on the sofa and shook his head.

"Ah Sui, you really dare to speak up."

"Our village committee measured that area; it's a full three mu!"

"Over two thousand square meters, what are you going to do with it? Build a palace in the village?"

Wu Sui smiled and nodded: "I've got my eye on the location of that piece of land."

"Anyway, it's saline-alkali land, and nobody in the village wants it. When the house is bigger, I can catch fish and dry them right in my own yard, which is not bad."

Chen Changgui shook his head: "That's against the rules."

"There are quotas for homestead approvals in our village. We're giving you an extra plot now, enough for you to live in, including your stone house."

"If you want to take away three acres of land directly, and that's approved, the villagers will be wearing out the doorstep of the village committee office tomorrow."

Wu Sui poured himself a cup of hot tea and took a sip.

"Uncle, everyone in our village knows what's going on with that piece of land."

"The village is just a wasteland; nobody will build houses there for eight or ten years, right?"

Chen Changgui neither responded nor denied it.

That piece of land was indeed a double-edged sword; it was far from the village center and had poor geology.

If it weren't for the old stone house where Wu Sui lives now, even a dog would rarely go there.

"It may be that the land is wasteland, but it belongs to the village collective. You can't just ask for three mu and get three mu approved."

Wu Sui leaned forward on the sofa and lowered her voice.

"Uncle, it's just sitting there anyway, I'll pay for it, okay? I definitely won't let the village suffer a loss."

"Just paying the money isn't enough. Your area is too big, and I can't explain it to the town."

"What if the village suddenly received an extra fund for education subsidies?"

Chen Changgui was stunned: "What do you mean?"

"I heard that the roof of three rooms at our village primary school was blown off by the typhoon last month, and the town only allocated 5,000 yuan for repairs. You still haven't found a construction team to take over this mess, have you?"

Chen Changgui's face fell.

This matter has indeed been a source of great concern for him lately.

The village primary school has more than sixty students, but the roof is leaking and drafty. If it's not fixed by the rainy season, the parents will come and make a scene, and he, as the village head, will be the first to be scolded.

What can you do with 5,000 yuan these days? After buying tiles and cement, it's not even enough to pay the labor costs.

"You're quite the informant, aren't you?"

"Uncle, if the village can find a way to allocate that two or three acres of wasteland to me, I will personally contribute 20,000 yuan to our village primary school, specifically for repairing the roof and buying new desks."

"Twenty thousand?!"

Chen Changgui almost spat out the tea in his mouth.

Twenty thousand yuan!

In those days, the village could only freely dispose of about ten thousand yuan a year for office expenses.

Every time the town allocates funds to the village, it's like squeezing toothpaste.

If we could really get a sponsorship of 20,000 yuan, we could not only renovate the entire roof, but also replace all the broken doors and windows in the classrooms, and even save a few thousand yuan.

"You really want to offer 20,000?"

"As soon as the land for the house is approved, I will pay immediately. It will definitely be enough to build the house. As for the extra... the village officials have worked so hard."

Wu Sui chuckled, "No need to spell it out, those who understand will understand."

Chen Changgui remained silent, frowning as he drank his tea.

Nobody cared about that barren land. If he could get 20,000 yuan in tangible benefits and solve the village primary school problem, it would be a great achievement in the eyes of the town leaders and the whole village.

As for whether Wu Sui wants to build a house or a palace, what does it matter to him?

Most importantly, Wu Suishang has delivered this generous gift today, and with such a high level of talk, he has both given them face and brought them political achievements.

"Three mu of land is not a small amount."

Chen Changgui raised his head and looked at Wu Sui.

I can't give you a definite answer right now.

"I'll have a meeting with the village committee tomorrow morning to discuss this matter."

"Since you're willing to sponsor the village primary school, then let's pass it through collective discussion. No one can find fault with that."

Upon hearing this, Wu Sui felt completely reassured.

Now that he's been able to attend the meeting, given Chen Changgui's influence in the village and the tangible benefit of 20,000 yuan, the deal is practically done.

"Okay, Uncle, then I'll wait for your good news."

"It's getting late, you should get some rest. I have to go out to sea tonight."

Wu Sui stood up to say goodbye, and Chen Changgui saw him to the door and patted him on the shoulder.

"Ah Sui, you've really made something of yourself now, you're doing things like a big boss."

"Don't worry, the elementary school children repairing the roof is a great thing for the village, I know what I'm doing."

"Let's go, Uncle."

Stepping out of the courtyard of the small villa, the sea breeze blew in my face, carrying a salty and damp feeling.

Wu Sui was in a great mood!