That year the flowers bloomed 1981

Chapter 1437 Reverse Check-in
Not long after Li Ye finished his phone call, Wen Leyu arrived with a large group of people to celebrate New Year's Eve with him.

The four siblings, Li Juan, Li Ying, Fu Yiruo, and Li Youan, along with two children, Xiao Bao'er and Xiao Dou'er, each carried something in their hands. Some were fruits and snacks, while others were dishes to accompany drinks. Soon, the table was filled with them.

Meanwhile, the younger brother, Li Youan, was carrying a large bottle of foreign liquor.

Li Ye smiled and asked Xiao Youan, "Youan, do you want to have a drink with me?"

Xiao Youan smiled shyly and said, "They said this is good wine. My elder brother and sister-in-law are the pillars of the family, so we should toast them."

"Is it good wine? Yes, very good."

Li Ye took the wine and put it away, then said, "But I'm on duty today, so I can't drink alcohol. How about we have some soft drinks instead?"

Xiao Youan nodded heavily: "Okay, water instead of wine, that's what Mother told me too."

"I want a drink too! I want a drink too!"

Little Dou'er was making a fuss about wanting a drink, and Xiao You'an rushed to get the drinks, filling the cups for Li Ye, Wen Leyu, and her older sisters one by one. In the end, he didn't even leave out his nephews and nieces.

Then he raised his glass and nervously said to Li Ye, "Brother and sister-in-law, I'd like to toast you both, wishing you a happy and prosperous new year."

Li Ye couldn't help but let out a soft sigh.

Clearly, Han Chunmei didn't spoil her youngest son and had high expectations for him. Before he even started elementary school, he was already being taught by Han Chunmei to pour wine and water, and even to toast Wen Leyu and Li Ye.

Although these are all minor things, who wouldn't like a younger brother who has been well-behaved and well-mannered since childhood?

The only downside was that Li Ye saw a hint of timidity and restraint in Xiao You'an's eyes.

This is my own younger brother!
"Come on, Xiao Youan is toasting everyone! Cheers to family happiness!"

"Cheers~"

Li Ye led everyone to drink a beverage, and then stopped Xiao Youan from pouring more.

“Youan, although you’re sometimes in Hong Kong Island and sometimes in the mainland, we’re all family. Don’t be too distant with everyone. Just do whatever makes you comfortable. Put down your drinks now and let Xiaobao pour some for everyone.”

"I'll pour it, big brother, I'll pour it."

Xiao Youan held the drink bottle and tried to persist, but his older sister Li Juan snatched it away and pressed him down on the small stool.

When Li Juan saw Xiao Youan now, she was reminded of herself when she had just married into the Li family with Han Chunmei, and she carefully tried to please everyone.

Wen Leyu looked at Li Ye, then smiled and asked Xiao Youan, "Youan, you'll be starting primary school next year. Would you like to attend primary school on Hong Kong Island or in Beijing?"

Li Juan and Li Ying looked at Wen Leyu in surprise.

Due to the mainland's birth policy, Xiao Youan's identity has always been somewhat awkward. Although he has a Hong Kong identity card, Li Kaijian is, after all, a state-owned enterprise cadre.

These days, if a worker has a second child, a two-grade pay cut is the bare minimum punishment; they could be fired in a heartbeat.

Therefore, if Li Kaijian openly reveals his second child, there might be some trouble. So the original plan was to let Li Youan study on Hong Kong Island, and he has been in preschool for half a year.

But Li Youan's eyes immediately lit up: "I like studying in Beijing; the kids in Hong Kong don't like me."

Wen Leyu nodded and said, "Okay, I'll go back and discuss it with your mother. You can go to school in Beijing with Xiaobao and the others."

"Yeah yeah~"

"Great! Then the three of us can be in the same class, and no one will dare to bully us."

Li Youan nodded repeatedly, while Xiao Dou'er clapped her hands and cheered.

The children didn't understand Wen Leyu's intentions. Li Youan only felt relieved that he wouldn't have to endure the disdain of those Hong Kong kids, while Xiao Dou was even happier, having another little follower to boss around besides her brother. However, Li Juan said worriedly, "Sister-in-law, isn't this... too much trouble?"

Wen Leyu said softly, "Compared to the harmony of the whole family, this little trouble is nothing. You'an is still too young, and he will be too lonely in Hong Kong Island if he stays there all the time."

Li Juan glanced at her younger sister Li Ying and said nothing more. In this family, once Wen Leyu spoke up, basically no one could object.

Fu Yiruo, however, looked at Wen Leyu with a playful expression.

In her opinion, her sister-in-law was very shrewd.

Although Li Youan and Li Ye share the same father, they have different mothers. If Li Youan grows up alone on Hong Kong Island for an extended period, there's a possibility that the brothers might drift apart later in life.

Now that Wen Leyu has brought Li Youan to the capital to study, Li Youan can feel the treatment of "elder sister-in-law as mother" from a young age. Even if someone tries to instigate Li Youan to have bad intentions, Wen Leyu will nip it in the bud.

Several girls and children played in Li Ye's office until 10 o'clock before packing up to go home.

Before leaving, Li Ye asked Wen Leyu in a low voice, "Did you have this planned in advance, or was it a spur-of-the-moment decision?"

Wen Leyu smiled and said, "I didn't make any last-minute plans. I just felt that you seemed very worried about Xiao Youan, so I took it upon myself to make the decision. You didn't object, did you?"

Li Ye nodded and said, "If a child is too lonely from a young age, or even lives too cautiously, their personality is likely to develop problems, so you did the right thing."

"Hmph, I can read your mind. I can tell what you're thinking just by looking at your eyes."

Wen Leyu hummed smugly a few times, then instructed Li Ye, "You should get some rest early today too! Remember to go with my father to wish our elders a Happy New Year tomorrow."

"I remember, don't worry!"

Because of Li Ye's contributions to Su'e, several bigwigs specifically notified Wen Qingsheng this year that they would take Li Ye to pay New Year's greetings. So Li Ye prepared a cot so that he could sleep while watching the phone.

But around two or three in the morning, the shrill ringing of the telephone suddenly rang out.

Li Ye rolled out of bed, grabbed the phone in less than two seconds, and asked nervously, "Hello? Where is this? What's going on?"

"Hello? This is the Southwest Heavy Truck Spring Festival duty room. A few petty thieves came to the factory to cause damage, but they were discovered by our patrol personnel."

Li Ye's tense heart finally settled down.

He recognized the voice on the other end of the phone as Tao Shangping, the same guy who had recently been on duty playing mahjong and had invited Li Ye to come over and take a look.

"Really? Did you catch them? If so, hand them over to the police immediately."

"Oh dear, they ran too fast. We were worried it was a diversionary tactic, so we couldn't catch up."

"Oh, it's alright. Since you discovered the thief, you've done your duty. Report the names of the patrol officers who caught the thief, and I'll write them down and give you credit."

"Oh, no need, no need, it's what we should do."

"Alright then! I'll give all the credit to you, Tao Shangping."

"No need, no need, we didn't catch those petty thieves either."

"Yes, yes, scaring away a petty thief in the middle of the night would be a great achievement."

Li Ye picked up a red pen and made another heavy mark on the duty roster.

[You dare to check up on me from behind? Do you really think that because the emperor is far away, I can't do anything to you?]

(End of this chapter)