Rebirth: Seven Years in a Great Dream

Chapter 9: Grand Opening

After Director Zhang finished explaining the situation, he settled the bill and left. Naturally, Mu Hong would show her appreciation, and a discount was inevitable. The three of them sat down again and enjoyed their meal at a leisurely pace. Mu Hong said to Mu Dong, “Dongzi, don’t worry about the guarantor issue. I’ll do my best to secure both guarantors so Xiao Xiao won’t have to make another trip. School just started, so it’s not convenient for her to take time off. These kinds of procedures can only be handled on weekdays—they can’t be done on weekends or anything like that.” Mu Dong replied, “Thank you, Auntie.” Mu Hong said, “No need to be so formal with me.” Turning to Wang Shaoqiang, she added, “Husband, should we take a stake in Mu Dong’s business?” Wang Shaoqiang rolled his eyes. “You’re the one in charge here, aren’t you?” He then turned to Mu Dong and said, “Xiao Dong, we’ll invest 100,000. You’d better keep a close eye on things—don’t let us lose money on this.” Mu Dong replied, “Uncle, don’t worry. If we really do lose money, I’ll work to pay you back.” Mu Hong said, “Tsk, tsk, tsk—that’s bad luck. Stop talking about losses. If we lose money, we lose money—you don’t need to pay it back.” Wang Shaoqiang retorted, “You’re the one saying it’s bad luck—you’ve said more about it than the two of us combined.” After the three of them finished their meal and sat drinking tea for a while, Mu Dong took his leave. Wang Shaoqiang offered to drive him home, but Mu Dong declined, saying he wanted to browse the streets a bit longer, and took the bus home instead. On the bus, Mu Dong wondered if he should buy a car first—it would make getting around easier. He chuckled at the thought; after all, he didn’t even have a driver’s license yet, so why buy a car? Getting a Class 1 driver’s license, on the other hand, was something he could consider. By the time he got home, it was already evening. After dinner, Mu Dong called Xiao Xiao to discuss the loan guarantee. Xiao Xiao, of course, agreed immediately. Mu Dong asked Xiao Xiao to prepare the income statement in advance and be mentally prepared to take time off work to return home. Early the next morning, Mu Hua Feng, the village committee director, arrived at Mu Dong’s house together with Uncle Mu San. Mu Hua Feng said cheerfully, “Dongzi, the village committee held a meeting last night. That plot of land is 36 mu. You’ll lease it for 10 years, at a lease fee of 90 yuan per mu per year. “We’ll go measure the land together this morning, sign the contract this afternoon, and then file it with the town land office—and that plot will be yours.” Mu Dong thought to himself, “That’s 10 yuan cheaper per mu than I quoted—Director Mu really is a great guy.” He said aloud, “Uncle, thank you for all your trouble. I’ll treat you to drinks tonight at a restaurant in town to thank the village leaders.” Director Mu replied, “What’s there to thank me for? Come over to my place tonight. Whatever good food the town has to offer—just tell my wife what you’d like to eat, and she’ll cook it for you.” Then he turned to Mu’s father and Uncle Mu San and said, “Big Brother, Third Brother, you’re both invited.” Everyone chuckled. Mu Dong added, “Uncle, is it okay if my dad signs this contract with the village?” Mu Huafeng said, “It doesn’t matter which one of you two signs—it’s all the same.” After saying that, the group set off together for the riverbank. The village accountant and storekeeper were already waiting there. Once everyone had gathered, they worked together to measure the area of the wasteland and then drew a rough sketch. The actual area was 36 mu and 2 fen. At first, everyone suggested rounding down and ignoring the 2 fen, but Mu Dong insisted on recording the exact measurement—which left Uncle Mu San puzzled once again. That afternoon, Mu’s father signed the lease contract with the village. At Mu Dong’s insistence, the rough sketch drawn during the survey was attached to the contract. Mu Dong then took 32,580 yuan from the cash he’d brought back and paid the lease fee for 10 years in a single lump sum. Afterward, the group went to the town land office. Although it was Saturday, Mu Huafeng, worried about any unexpected complications, had pulled some strings in advance, so when they arrived, a clerk was already waiting for them. The registration was completed quickly. From that moment on, the wasteland belonged to the Mu family. After returning home that afternoon, Mu Dong told his father to keep the lease contract safe. In truth, Mu Dong didn’t even need to say anything—his father was very careful, and he would certainly store something purchased for over 30,000 yuan securely. The reason Mu Dong had his father sign the contract with the village was that he knew this plot of land would yield a huge return in a few years. Therefore, the land couldn’t be counted as part of the river sand business, to avoid future disputes. As for the repeated, meticulous calculations of the area, that was also to prevent any potential problems down the road. That evening, Mu Dong brought a case of fine wine, invited Uncle Mu San, and went to Mu Huafeng’s house. Mu Dad didn’t go—he wasn’t good at dealing with officials, hehe. Mu Huafeng was genuinely delighted. A barren piece of land in the village—a place so desolate not even a bird would shit there—had suddenly sold for over 30,000. You have to understand that in a small village of six or seven hundred people, the village committee had virtually no steady income. This sum of over 30,000 was a complete windfall. So, he sincerely invited Mu Dong over for a drink. Deep down, he sensed that this young man, Mu Dong, would go places in the future; building a good relationship now would make things easier to handle later on. Director Mu, the village accountant, the storekeeper, the head of public security, and even the head of the women’s committee all showed up. Together with Mu Dong and Uncle Mu San, the seven of them drank all night. Halfway through, Mu Dong slipped away. Since most of the others were his elders, Mu Dong felt a bit self-conscious. On top of that, the rural drinking scene—with its mix of meat and vegetable dishes, good and bad thrown together—made him feel a bit awkward. So he excused himself to use the restroom. Sunday followed right after. Just after breakfast, Mu Xiaoxia and Zhong Guodong came over with their two children. They brought 30,000 yuan. Then, Mu’s father also handed Mu Dong 30,000 yuan. As Mu Dong took the money his father handed him, he thought to himself: In another timeline, his father had also given him 30,000 yuan at this very moment to help him buy a house. Unfortunately, he’d been blinded by greed back then and missed his first chance to buy a home. Mu Dong then went to fetch his second uncle and aunt. Everyone gathered to discuss a few matters. First, they discussed the land contract. The next tasks were to build a road and level the land, as well as construct a few buildings at the sand quarry to serve as guard posts and for managing the site. Mu Dong made some arrangements. First, after obtaining his sister and brother-in-law’s consent, Mu Dong arranged for his brother-in-law to go to Quancheng to learn how to operate a front-end loader—the official term is “loader operation training.” Mu Dong had previously inquired and learned that there was a school in Quancheng specializing in loader operator training. The course offered plenty of hands-on practice, lasted 15 days, and cost 2,800 yuan. The school provided room and board, so Mu Dong gave his brother-in-law a total of 5,000 yuan, with the remainder set aside as a contingency fund and living expenses. Mu Dong told his brother-in-law that it would be best to leave tomorrow, study hard, and that since the sand quarry would be purchasing its own loader, he would be operating his own machine upon his return. Second, Mu Dong discussed the loan. Five farming households would act as joint guarantors. Currently, three households—his own, his sister’s, and his second uncle’s—were on board. His younger sister-in-law’s family lived too far away, making it inconvenient to handle the paperwork, so they still needed to find two more households. As for his third uncle’s family, he suspected his third aunt wouldn’t agree. Mu Dong asked his father to reach out to some close friends in the village; in return for their help, he would pay each household 1,000 yuan. Third, Mu Dong instructed his father and second uncle to start procuring building materials and to find a few trusted bricklayers and carpenters, as they needed to build several buildings at the sand quarry. The buildings had to be spacious and sturdy—no need to skimp on costs—since they planned to accommodate and feed more than 10 people there, so a mess hall would also need to be built. Fourth, Mu Dong instructed his mother and his second aunt to handle three tasks. First, they were to recruit some laborers—in addition to heavy machinery, they’d need 10 to 20 support workers to help with site leveling and road construction, starting in three days. Second, they were to stock up on rice, flour, cooking oil, and other essentials to prepare for cooking once the sand quarry opened Finally, there was Mu Dong himself. He planned to head to Lu’ns District today to rent a front-end loader for the initial land leveling and sand pile preparation. His brother-in-law wouldn’t finish his loader training for another 15 days, and there was a gap in the schedule that couldn’t be delayed. At the same time, he would check the prices of used loaders to prepare for a future purchase. Watching Mu Dong organize everything so methodically, everyone present felt that this young man had truly grown up. Following Mu Dong’s plan, everyone got to work. Mu Dong also boarded the minibus bound for the Lunan District. Upon arriving in the city, he first went to the Lunan Used Machinery and Equipment Market to look at used loaders. After walking around, he got a preliminary sense of their condition and prices. Then he headed to the equipment rental market. At the rental market, Mu Dong ultimately leased a locally manufactured Nangong 50 heavy-duty loader for 600 yuan per day, with a rental period of 20 days. The shift ran from 7:00 a. m. to 7:00 p. m. daily—12 hours—with the owner and a driver taking turns at the wheel; they were not responsible for diesel fuel. The agreement required that room and board be provided. Accommodations were easy to arrange; he could stay at home for the time being. The diesel issue gave Mu Dong a bit of a headache—would he have to buy the fuel himself? Fortunately, the other party mentioned that they had their own small fuel tanker truck, so Mu Dong would simply need to follow the tanker to the gas station to purchase fuel. The two parties agreed to meet early the next morning near Tan Zhuang Town. Mu Dong paid a deposit and prepared to head home. In fact, the main reason he rented this vehicle was that the owner was from Shuhe County; as soon as he mentioned Tan Jia Zhuang, the owner knew exactly where it was. This saved a lot of trouble—if he’d hired someone from out of town, he would’ve had to guide them there himself. Before leaving the city, Mu Dong made another stop at the general goods market to buy two of the largest canvas tents available. Since the houses at the sand quarry wouldn’t be built right away, he’d use the tents as temporary shelter for the time being—it was hot out, and he couldn’t stand in the sun all the time. After buying the tents, Mu Dong rented a small truck and headed straight home. When he got home that afternoon, his older sister and brother-in-law were both there. His brother-in-law told Mu Dong they’d be setting off first thing tomorrow morning. Mu Dong called Cheng Qiang, told him about his brother-in-law’s situation, and asked him to pick him up and take him to the training school to register. Cheng Qiang readily agreed—even though tomorrow was Monday and he’d have to take a day off work to do it, he should be able to handle it. Mu’s mother and his second aunt said they’d already found more than a dozen people and had bought some rice, flour, and cooking oil. Mu’s father and his second uncle returned a little later and said they’d already ordered red bricks, cement, and white lime, which would be delivered tomorrow. The wooden beams and roof tiles wouldn’t arrive until the day after tomorrow. They’d also arranged for a roofer, who could start work tomorrow. They’d bought secondhand doors and windows—scrap from demolition projects in the city—which were spacious and of good quality. Mu Dong also mentioned the backhoe and tents. As they chatted, everyone prepared dinner. Everyone felt a bit excited; a sense of strength that this family hadn’t felt in a long time was gradually reviving. September 8, Monday. At six o’clock in the morning, the whole family was bustling about again. After a simple breakfast, Mu Dong first went to town to pick up the flatbed trailer carrying the front-end loader. Then he drove the small fuel truck to the gas station to buy diesel, and they all headed to the current wasteland—which would become the future sand quarry. Dad Mu was already busy setting up tents with a few others. Mom Mu brought several large buckets of water on an electric tricycle and asked someone to put the kettle on. Second Uncle and Second Aunt were also there helping out. Mu Dong took the front-end loader operator on a detailed tour of the terrain, then laid out specific requirements for road construction and site grading. Building the road was relatively straightforward: once the route was selected, the loader would level the ground a few times, and then the wide tires of the vehicles would make a few passes back and forth to compact the surface. Leveling the site was a bit more complicated, mainly because there were pits of various sizes that needed to be filled in. This would ensure smooth sand storage and vehicle transportation later on. Given the size of the site—36 mu—the backhoe operator estimated that even working 12 hours a day, it would still take four or five days. Mu Dong said, “I’m only giving you three days. You two drivers will have to get up a little earlier in the morning and work an extra shift in the evening. How will the overtime pay be calculated?” The loader operator replied, “Here’s the deal: from 5 a. m. to 8 p. m. —15 hours a day. You pay me 900, and I guarantee I’ll level the site in three days.” Mu Dong: “Deal. Make sure the work is done right and on time.” After arranging these matters, Mu Dong gave his father a few more instructions, then turned and left. Mu Dong was going to visit the owner of a nearby sand quarry. He would need to start stockpiling sand in three days. The first sand quarry wasn’t very large; it had a small dredging boat and produced about twenty to thirty truckloads of sand per day. That’s right—here in Mu Village, as well as in many surrounding areas, sand is sold not by the cubic meter, but by the truckload. What kind of trucks? In the early days, they all used 12-horsepower tractors. Back then, sand was cheap, so no one really cared whether the load was heavy or light. However, using tractors to haul sand had a major drawback. To cross the earthen embankments along the riverbanks, they had to climb a slope. When a heavily loaded tractor climbed a slope, the front end tended to lift up, which was very unsafe. Later, a “sand-hauling marvel” appeared on the market, known as the “Four-Not-Like.” The “Four-Not-Like” was a transport vehicle modified from an old Jiefang truck chassis. It was equipped with a high-horsepower diesel engine, with the cab and cargo bed mounted on a single chassis, fitted with wide automotive tires, and equipped with a hydraulic dump mechanism. With its high horsepower, high ground clearance, and excellent off-road capability, some models even have an open cab with the diesel engine fully exposed—essentially embodying the concept of a convertible. Since it resembles neither a tractor nor a car—in fact, it resembles nothing at all—it earned the name “Four-Not-Like.” The “Four-Not-Like” is the standard transport vehicle for sand delivery around Mu Village. Its cargo bed measures approximately 2. 5 meters long, 2 meters wide, and 1. 2 meters high; when loaded flat, it holds 6 cubic meters of sand. At most sand pits, loading is done by front-end loaders, which create a peak, so a typical load of sand is around 7 cubic meters. Currently, the market price for a truckload of sand delivered to your doorstep is 70 yuan, which works out to 10 yuan per cubic meter. The owner of the first sand quarry is a native of the village named Mu Tongqing. Mu Tongqing is one generation younger than Mu Dong and addresses him as “Uncle.” He warmly welcomed Mu Dong. Business at sand pits isn’t going well these days. Some middlemen who specialize in transporting sand buy on credit, settling their accounts once a month. The sand that the pit itself delivers to contractors is also sold on credit. While sand extraction seems to bring in a decent profit daily, it’s ultimately just paper wealth. So when Mu Dong asked for cash, Mu Tongqing was over the moon. When Mu Dong offered to take as much of his sand as he wanted, he was practically beside himself with excitement. He currently had a large stockpile of sand, plus daily production—just thinking about it made him ecstatic. Cash! His younger uncle said, “Daily settlements are fine, or even per truckload!” All right, moving on to the price—Mu Dong finally secured a rate of 50 yuan per truckload. Mu Dong made only two requests: First, the sand in the truck bed must be piled high to the brim. Second, the sand must be machine-sifted and free of pebbles. Finally, Mu Dong told Mu Tongqing: “We’ll start picking up the sand in three days.” Mu Dong then went to the second sand quarry nearby. This one was a bit larger, with two dredgers—one large and one small. It produced about sixty to seventy truckloads of sand per day. The owner of this sand quarry was from Zhongcun, the same village as Zhong Guodong. His name was Zhong Lianjie. Zhong Lianjie had long heard rumors that the Mu family’s young man was planning to sell sand out of town, but he was still taken aback by Mu Dong’s demand for cash-on-delivery. Ultimately, Mu Dong negotiated a price of 55 yuan per truckload. Mu Dong’s conditions remained the same: the truck must be filled to the brim, and the sand must be screened. That afternoon, Mu Dong negotiated with two more sand quarries. They were located a bit farther away, so transportation costs were higher; the final price agreed upon was 60 yuan per truckload. After negotiating with these four sand pits, Mu Dong felt he had covered most of his bases. He wouldn’t need to negotiate with any more clients. As long as these four sand pits started delivering sand and he received the cash, word would gradually spread, and from then on, he could simply sit back and wait for business to come to him. Over the next two days, Mu Dong stayed at the sand quarry, keeping a close eye on the progress of the land leveling and house construction. To speed up the construction, nearly 20 workers were already busy on the small-scale project of building four tiled-roof houses. Mu Dong’s mother and his second aunt were already running around nonstop just preparing lunch for these 20 people—not to mention the nearly ten others who needed three meals a day. During this time, three things happened. First, Second Aunt paid a visit and brought 20,000 yuan. She also brought Xie Donglin with her. From then on, Xie Donglin stayed at the Mu family’s home and helped out at the sand quarry. Second, Mu’s father found two farming families willing to act as guarantors. One of them was, surprisingly, the village chief, Mu Huafeng, who had heard that Mu’s father needed guarantors and came to offer his help on his own initiative. Finally, Uncle Mu Er also gave Mu Dong 20,000 yuan. He also asked Mu Daguo, who was working in Lu’s Ns District, to come back and help out. Mu Daguo was the same age as Mu Dong—two months younger. Mu Dong kept a clear record of every single payment his family contributed, including detailed accounts of all expenses. The three days passed quickly as the family bustled about. Thursday, September 11. The family arrived at the sand quarry one by one. The land had been mostly leveled; there was still some finishing work to do, but it didn’t prevent vehicles from entering the site to unload sand. For three straight days, the two-man loader crew had worked themselves to the bone, but they’d finally managed to get the job done. Four tall tiled-roof houses now stood tall. Mu Dong decided not to plaster the interior or exterior; instead, he would simply use mortar to grout the red bricks. This way, the interior would dry faster, allowing the family to move in as soon as possible. They wouldn’t pour concrete for the floor either. Instead, they’d lay down a layer of yellow soil, level it, and then lay red bricks on top. As a professional bricklayer, Mu’s father offered some suggestions: the interior walls could be grouted, but they absolutely had to be plastered; otherwise, the indoor lighting would be too poor. He proposed applying a very thin coat of plaster to the interior walls using an air compressor for spraying, which would dry in just one day. At the entrance to the road stood a simple gatehouse. A large wooden sign had already been erected, bearing four large characters: “Mu Family Stockyard.” They had originally intended to call it the “Mu Family Sand Yard,” but after Mu Dong read it aloud a few times and found it sounded odd, they abandoned the idea. Several “four-in-one” trucks, fully loaded with sand, waited quietly at the entrance. Mu Daguo and Xie Donglin each held a bamboo pole wrapped with firecrackers. Moments later, the firecrackers went off, and several “Four-Not-Like” trucks slowly drove in. We’re open for business!