That year the flowers bloomed 1981

Chapter 1672 I Had Planned This All Along

When Li Ye returned home, he learned that the topic of his younger sister Li Juan's dowry was to be discussed today, but he didn't take it seriously at first.

"Grandma, didn't we discuss Xiaojuan's dowry before? Two houses, a car, plus a dowry. The houses are the courtyard near Andingmen and the apartment that Xiaoying bought for her. As for the car, Lijuan thought the Audi was too flashy, so she changed it to a Santana plus 200,000 yuan. Why do we need to discuss it again now?"

"."

It must be said that the dowry that the Li family gave to Li Juan was very generous.

The younger sister, Li Ying, bought several apartments in advance, one of which was intended as a dowry for Li Juan. However, Li Ye felt that it was a gift from the younger sister to the older sister and not part of the dowry from the Li family, so he added a courtyard house within the Second Ring Road.

Regarding the car, Li Ye didn't want it to be too flashy, so he didn't plan to buy it a horse or a cow, but instead gave it an Audi 100.

However, considering that Li Juan refused to take the car because she already had a government-provided car, but there is still a difference between government cars and private cars, and it would be inconvenient to use a government car if there were any personal matters, she finally decided to change to a more low-key Santana.

Even if it's kept low-key, the dowry is still quite impressive. To put it bluntly, as long as Li Juan's family doesn't cause trouble in the future, a courtyard house within the Second Ring Road will benefit three generations.

Therefore, Li Ye couldn't think of anything else that could be discussed.

But after hearing Li Ye's words, Grandma rolled her eyes and said, "You have to ask Xiao Ru about this. She came this morning with some documents, saying she wants to transfer the shares of Fengyu Electronics to Xiao Juan."

Then the two girls started arguing, and after arguing for a long time without giving in, they finally decided: "We'll do whatever you, the big brother, say."

"Transferring shares? I've already decided on this! Why is there a problem now?"

Li Ye looked at his younger sister, Fu Yiruo, with surprise.

Fengyu Electronics is considered a "junior" in Li Ye's industries, having been established much later than Fenghua Clothing and Pengcheng Red Bull. However, Li Ye positions it as a high-tech industry, so its development prospects are immeasurable.

Because Li Juan was assigned to the mobile company by Li Ye, which was related to the development of Fengyu Electronics, Li Ye decided in advance to give Li Juan a portion of Fengyu Electronics' shares.

Li Juan is, after all, the spokesperson that the Li family pushed to the mobile company. She will have to play a role in the future. She can't work for nothing, can she?
The reason Li Ye visited Fu Yiruo was because Fengyu Electronics was established relatively late. By then, Fu Guiru had already arrived in Pengcheng and was in full charge of Li Ye's businesses in Pengcheng. So, when his sister Fu Yiruo brought the documents over, it must have been at the behest of their mother, Fu Guiru.

However, when Li Juan saw Li Ye asking about "Second Sister" Fu Yiruo, she quickly interjected, "Brother, I don't want a dowry, and I certainly don't want shares in Fengyu Electronics."

"I wasn't asking you! Kids shouldn't interrupt when adults are talking!"

Li Ye rudely interrupted Li Juan, his eyes still fixed on Fu Yiruo.

Li Ye trusted his mother, Fu Guiru, so he entrusted her with managing the vast family fortune. However, Li Ye was still the head of the family, and his mother was just the executive director. Therefore, if Fu Guiru disagreed with him, she had to give a suitable reason.

Fu Yiruo smiled faintly and said, "Brother, don't look at me like that. I'm just an errand boy, and this equity transfer document was drafted strictly according to your instructions."

My third sister is a bit stubborn, so I criticized her a bit, which may have hurt her pride.

Li Ye glanced at Li Juan, who had her head down, and immediately understood that Grandma's words about the two younger sisters "arguing for a long time and neither giving in" were just a way of putting on a show to make things seem peaceful.
Given Fu Yiruo's domineering attitude towards her younger sister, it's likely that Li Juan resisted stubbornly throughout, but was still severely suppressed.

"Let me take a look at the document!"

Li Ye reached out and asked Fu Yiruo for the equity transfer documents.

After quickly flipping through the document, Li Ye noticed that Li Juan had signed the first few pages, but not the middle ones.

Clearly, Li Juan wasn't very resistant to the equity document at first, but problems arose later.

Li Ye flipped through a few pages in the middle of the book, then frowned and asked, "Xiao Ruo, I remember we agreed that Li Juan would get 10%, how come it's 7.7%?"

In fact, Li Ye originally planned to give Li Juan 15%, but Fu Guiru persuaded him otherwise. Fengyu Electronics has a great development prospect and will also allocate some equity to incentivize employees in the future, so 10% is not a small amount.

But now 10% has become 7.7%, which, according to Li Ye's development plan, is quite a few small goals!

However, before Fu Yiruo could answer, Li Juan hurriedly interjected, "Brother, I didn't refuse to sign because of 7.7. I shouldn't have wanted the family shares in the first place. I can do it myself."

Li Ye interrupted Li Juan again, clearly annoyed: "I didn't tell you to speak! Just stay put!"

Fu Yiruo then spoke with a smile.

"Brother, I didn't change this. Besides, don't just look at how it was reduced! There were also changes that increased it! And this shareholding ratio was rigorously calculated to mitigate risk."

Furthermore, I can assure you that Xiaojuan is truly not a greedy person; she genuinely wants to build her own success on her own.
Hehehe, bro, I'm not as stupid as Xiaojuan. Why don't you give me this share? I'd love to lie down and count my money!

"What's meant to be yours will be yours. The Li family's daughters all have dowries. Nobody should try to take advantage of anyone else, or I'll get angry."

Li Ye scare his two younger sisters with a fierce look, then carefully examined the shareholding agreement. Since Li Juan didn't stop signing because her shares had decreased, there must be another reason.

After reading a few pages, Li Ye realized that what Fu Yiruo said was indeed true. Although Fengyu Electronics' 10% share had been changed to 7.7%, Li Juan's share in the Penguin Network Technology Company, which the two sisters had just jointly established, had increased to 25%.

This was five percent of Fu Yiruo's shares that she gave to Li Juan, which definitely shows their deep sisterly bond.

However, this equity transfer document also has an "inhumane" side.

For example, shares cannot be transferred at will; they can only be transferred to major shareholders, that is, only to the Li family, and the transfer conditions are extremely stringent.

This was something Li Ye had already discussed with Fu Guiru. The shares given to the sisters only included the right to receive dividends. If Li Juan's descendants could peacefully enjoy the benefits of family ties, then everyone would be happy. But if they caused trouble, then the main branch wouldn't be so ruthless.

Similarly, Li Ye also understood why Li Juan suddenly didn't want to sign.
Because the document contained several pages of restrictive conditions, it easily gave Li Juan, a strong-willed girl, the feeling that it was "guarded against outsiders."

This is like a relative coming to borrow money.

The men readily agreed, but the housekeeper produced a loan agreement, demanding that the loan amount, repayment schedule, and related interest be clearly stated.

This is a necessary restriction for relatives who like to take advantage of others, but it can be awkward for kind-hearted relatives who value family ties.

A person lives for their pride! I'm not lending this money.

Borrowing money is often done out of family ties, but the IOU can actually destroy those ties—it's a truly perplexing situation. Li Juan's case, however, is different from simply borrowing money.

Li Juan's surname is Li, but she is ultimately not related to Li Ye by blood. Her inferiority complex and self-esteem are mixed together, which makes Li Juan live cautiously since childhood.

Originally, Li Juan had been influenced by Li Ye over the years and felt that she had truly integrated into the Li family, which is why she finally accepted Li Ye's "generous dowry".

However, the document that Fu Yiruo brought happened to hit her most vulnerable spot, causing her to feel ashamed about the dowry.

However, Li Ye wasn't going to comfort Li Juan right now. He adopted the demeanor of a family head and said to Li Juan in a deep voice, "Li Juan, I believe the documents your second sister brought are correct and perfectly protect the interests of the Li family and you."
When money and interests are not involved, our family should value kinship. But when money is involved, clear and explicit terms are actually an effective way to protect family ties.

Li Juan was almost in tears: "Brother, I really don't need that much. I've already received enough. I'm truly content."

"Ah~"

Li Ye sighed and said calmly, "Xiao Juan, there are some things you can't understand. Whether you want this dowry or not is your business, and whether I give it to you or not is my business. When you have the next generation and the generation after that, you will understand the reason why I did this."

When people are young, they are generally "very ambitious", but when they get to middle age and have children, all sorts of troubles begin to come.

Take Li Juan's situation as an example. When her son and grandson grow up, they will see that her aunts Li Yue, Fu Yiruo, and Li Ying are all super-rich, while her mother's "ambition" at the time has led to her family's financial situation being far behind those of her relatives. What do you think will happen then?

"Mom, even though your surname is Li, we're still related by blood. They're just using you to work for the Li family; they don't treat you like family at all. To put it bluntly, you're just a tool for the Li family."

So even if you can't treat everyone equally, you can't be too different.

Otherwise, will there still be any family affection left? If Li Juan is constantly complained about by her children and grandchildren, will she still be happy?
Look at Grandmother Jia in "Dream of the Red Chamber". If she didn't have those hidden savings, would she be served so comfortably by her children and granddaughters-in-law every day?
What does it mean to say "every family has its own problems"? This is exactly it.

Li Juan is still young and can't see that far ahead, so she wanted to decline Li Ye's decision, but Fu Yiruo next to her said something indifferently.

"This equity transfer agreement is a token of my mother's affection."

Li Juan was immediately overwhelmed and couldn't breathe. She clearly had no blood relation with Fu Yiruo, and the two had become as close as best friends in recent years, but now she felt like she was being stared at by a dragon.

There was no way to refute Fu Guiru's meaning, not even Wu Juying could.

However, Wu Juying also expressed her opinion: "Xiaojuan, don't be so dramatic. Consider these shares as temporarily held by your brother. You should keep them safe for him, understand?"

Li Juan breathed a sigh of relief and nodded emphatically: "Yes, I'll listen to Grandma."

. . . . . . .

After watching Li Juan sign the contract, Fu Yiruo asked Li Ye to take her back to report to her mother.

Li Ye naturally understood that his mother had something to say to him, so he readily agreed and went with his sister to Fu Guiru's courtyard.

Once inside the courtyard, Li Ye preemptively complained, "Mother, why didn't you tell me beforehand that you were giving this agreement to Li Juan to sign? That girl is kind-hearted, easily embarrassed, and has a strong sense of pride because she's suffered since childhood."

Fu Yiruo waited for Li Ye to finish speaking before saying disdainfully, "Oh, is there anyone in this world more honest than you? Giving away such a large sum of money without even blinking an eye."

Li Ye chuckled and said nonchalantly, "Hey, others may not know, but you know your mother, right? We're not short of money. Harmony in the family brings prosperity!"

"Yes, yes, yes, you, Li Ye, are not short of money. You're a treasure trove; throw in two coins and you'll spit out ten thousand taels of gold."

"."

Li Ye touched his nose and grinned foolishly.

He couldn't really tell whether Fu Guiru was praising him or criticizing him, because in a way, Li Ye really was a treasure trove.

Seeing Li Ye's shameless attitude, Fu Guiru asked impatiently, "Have you eaten?"

Li Ye honestly replied, "I'm not full yet!"

Fu Guiru raised an eyebrow: "Then why aren't you going to cook?"

Good heavens, my mother has actually learned to be lazy; she's not even cooking for her son anymore.

Li Ye reluctantly went to the kitchen, clattered around and prepared two dishes. When he came out, he saw Fu Guiru and Fu Yiru whispering to each other.

Li Ye asked, "Mother, what are you and Xiao Ru whispering about?"

Fu Guiru said calmly, "We are calculating how many more twists and turns there will be in Li Juan's wedding."

Li Ye asked in surprise, "There are still twists and turns? What other twists and turns?"

Fu Guiru said coldly, "Li Juan's surname is Li now, but it used to be Bi. Now that she's getting married, do you think the Bi family will come forward to acknowledge their daughter?"

"They want to acknowledge it, but they'll have to see if we agree!"

Li Ye smiled.

A few years ago, when Li Juan was taking the college entrance exam, the Bi family thought about acknowledging Li Juan as their biological parent. They believed that even if they fought to the ends of the earth, they would still feel justified in their claim to be biological parents.

Unfortunately, Li Ye's strict precautions almost landed Bi Hongwei in jail. Later, his grandmother even went to their door to confront them, nearly causing the Bi family to lose face in the entire village.

Li Ye just didn't expect that even Fu Guiru had thought of this matter.

So Li Ye asked with a smile, "Mother, why did you think of these things?"

Fu Guiru calmly said, "Because of you, your mother has seen too many shameless people who would do anything for money, and too many shameless things. It's better to be safe than sorry. Marriage is a once-in-a-lifetime event, and some people just can't stand seeing others do well."

"Yes, Mother, you're right. But don't worry, Mother, I've seen shameless people before, so I've already made plans."

(End of this chapter)