"Yes, I'm just running errands for my boss. I never intended to profit off resales and went straight to offering you the lowest price!

Don't complain about the price being too low and try to raise it on me. If you think it's too little, then I'll have no choice but to look elsewhere!

Also, one more thing: if it's only two or three houses, we won't take them!"

Ye Chen spoke directly.

He knew that if he tried to bargain aggressively, he wouldn't need to offer a price as high as one million.

But recalling how, in his past life, these villagers sold their houses to the Hengda Group for 1.8 million each, he abandoned the idea of bargaining too hard or ripping them off.

After all, one shouldn't be too heartless.

"If you can really offer that price, I guarantee that all sixty-plus households in the village will sell—all of them!"

The middle-aged man couldn't hold back his excitement.

Forget a million—he'd sell for 600,000!

"By the way, may I ask what your boss does for a living?" The middle-aged man suddenly remembered and quickly asked.

Ye Chen smiled. "What my boss does isn't important, is it? After all, we're buying your houses, not renting them. Whatever the case, it won't affect you, so you don't need to know too much!"

"Ah, right, right!"

The middle-aged man scratched his head awkwardly, realizing his overreach.

"One more thing—do your houses all have property certificates?" Ye Chen asked.

"Yes, they all do. Years ago, the government arranged for us to get property certificates for all our houses!"

"Good!"

"When can you finalize this deal? Since you're interested in buying, should I show you around the village to see the houses first?" the middle-aged man asked eagerly.

But Ye Chen shook his head.

"No need to look. Our boss doesn't have specific requirements. As for finalizing the deal...what's your surname?"

The middle-aged man hurriedly replied, "My last name is Zhong. I'm called Zhong Jianshe."

"Alright, Mr. Zhong. Finalizing the deal will depend on how many people in your village are willing to sell. Mr. Zhong, please ask around and take a survey to see who's willing to sell. For those who aren't, try to persuade them. As for your own house, I'll pay you 1.2 million!" Ye Chen said.

"Great, no problem! Absolutely no problem!"

Zhong Jianshe nodded repeatedly, unable to hide his joy.

But the next second, his excitement froze.

He suddenly thought of a question.

What if this guy was messing with him?

A house that couldn't even attract real estate agents online at 500,000 yuan—this guy was offering such a high price?

"But how can I trust you? What if you're just messing with me?" Zhong Jianshe asked.

"Do you have WeChat?" Ye Chen asked.

"Yes, why?" Zhong was puzzled.

"Open your WeChat payment code, and I'll transfer 10,000 yuan to you. Even if I'm messing with you, 10,000 should be enough compensation, right?"

"If you put it that way, I'd definitely trust you!"

Zhong Jianshe eagerly opened his WeChat payment code.

Even though he wasn't young, he still kept up with such modern trends.

Ye Chen smiled and didn't waste words. He scanned and transferred 10,000 yuan directly from his WeChat balance.

Earlier, Ye Chen had given Li Changfeng 27.5 million yuan to short Four Seas Group's stock, leaving him with a few hundred thousand. He had put tens of thousands into his WeChat balance for convenience.

If not for this, after handing his bank card to his mother-in-law, he would truly have been penniless.

After receiving the 10,000 yuan, Zhong Jianshe's enthusiasm surged.

"Boss, how can I contact you in the future?"

"Just give me a call!"

They exchanged phone numbers.

In the end, Ye Chen asked Zhong Jianshe to take him on his motorcycle to hail a taxi outside the remote area, where finding transportation was difficult.

Watching the departing taxi, Zhong Jianshe muttered excitedly to himself.

"Jackpot! The heavens finally smiled on us. Our Jinzhong Village has finally found a big spender! With that 1.2 million, I'll never have to stay in this godforsaken place again!"

But the next second, his excitement froze.

"Wait a minute... he doesn't even own a car?"

"Eh, whatever. I've got 10,000 in hand. Even if he's messing with me, I've got nothing to lose!"

By the time Ye Chen returned to the city, it was already afternoon.

Seeing that it was almost time for his daughter Ye Youyou to finish school, he decided not to go back to his rental room.

Instead, he went straight to the gates of Zijing Kindergarten to wait.

After picking up Youyou, notifying Chen Yinuo, and stopping by the market for groceries, Ye Chen fully embraced his role as a stay-at-home dad, leaving thoughts of making money aside.

As night fell, the aroma of dinner filled the air, but Chen Yinuo was still nowhere to be seen.

Just as Ye Chen started to worry and was about to call her, the door creaked open.

Chen Yinuo walked in, eyes red and looking exhausted.

"Yinuo, what happened?" Ye Chen immediately asked, noticing something was wrong.

"Nothing," she replied, dragging her tired body to the worn-out sofa.

After rubbing her face and taking a deep breath, she looked at Ye Chen with a conflicted expression.

"I'm sorry...my mom refused to give back your bank card."

"That's it?" Ye Chen smiled bitterly, not surprised at all.

If his money-hungry mother-in-law Liu Xueqin had actually returned the card, that would've shocked him.

"Unless, of course, she's already emptied it..."

In fact, Ye Chen had already received bank notifications last night and this morning. The money in the account had been withdrawn twice—50,000 each time. That was only because ATMs had a daily limit; otherwise, she might've drained it all at once.

"Isn't that a problem?" Chen Yinuo asked.

"Yinuo, let it go. Like I said before, treat it as making up for the years I failed to show filial piety. Don't get too hung up on it. Besides, you know your mom's character. Once something's in her hands, do you really think you can get it back?" Ye Chen said with a laugh.

As he spoke, he tried to pull Yinuo up from the sofa, but she instinctively pulled away.

Both of them froze in awkward silence for a moment.

Ye Chen quickly recovered, smiling wryly. "Alright, let's eat before the food gets cold. We can talk over dinner!"

"Okay... I'll go wash my hands first."

After a quick rinse, the family sat at the table.

Although there wasn't much conversation, the presence of their cheerful daughter Youyou brought warmth to their cramped rental home, filling it with the sense of family Ye Chen had always dreamed of.

As night deepened, the Inspection Group's office building remained as it always had.

Jiang Wenrui, the team leader, sat in his swivel chair, fingers intertwined, eyes closed, spinning idly.

But every so often, he would glance at the clock.

Suddenly, the door opened.

A team member entered and was about to greet him when Jiang Wenrui quickly gestured for silence.

Realizing his mistake, the team member immediately covered his mouth.