That year the flowers bloomed 1981

Chapter 1674 I am the leader!

On November 10, 1994 (the eighth day of the tenth lunar month), Li Juan got married.

Han Chunmei didn't sleep all night, constantly checking every detail of her daughter's wedding, afraid that something might go wrong when the wedding party came to pick her up, causing her daughter to lose face.

Han Chunmei's early life was full of hardships; she endured countless grievances and shed countless tears. Her unwavering belief in raising her two daughters to adulthood was a crucial support that kept her going.

To put it bluntly, when Han Chunmei was kicked out of her home by Bi Hongwei and was then rejected by her parents' home, she really thought about ending it all. It was the bond and obsession of her two daughters that allowed her to get through that darkest winter.

What will happen to my two children if I leave? A motherless girl like that won't find a husband!

Looking back now, I'm so glad I didn't take the wrong path back then, otherwise how could I be living such a good life now?

Since Han Chunmei married Li Kaijian, life has gotten better day by day, and her two daughters have become more and more successful. Not only have they both graduated from university, but they have also started their own careers.

And once Li Juan's wedding is over today, Han Chunmei's responsibility as a parent will be over, and she will have taken the most important step in her life's mission.

So at this moment, Han Chunmei was very nervous and scared.

When she got nervous, she would order Li Ying around.

"Xiaoying, go check if Xiaoyouan is awake yet. If he is, keep a close eye on him and make sure he doesn't run around."

"Xiaoying, go ask who's setting off the firecrackers at the gate. Set them off as soon as the wedding car enters the alley, don't be late!"

"Xiaoying, who went to the restaurant to make the arrangements first? How many tables are there for our fellow Qinghe natives? Go and tell Qiangzi and Jinpeng that your brother-in-law's unit is a special unit, and unrelated people are absolutely not allowed to join the banquet. Tell them to keep a close eye on everyone today."

"."

Li Ying was being bossed around by her mother, and finally couldn't stand her mother's anxious outbursts anymore, so she looked helplessly at Han Chunmei.

"Mom, we've already arranged all of this, can you please not be so nervous?"

"What do you know, you little brat? It's your sister's wedding today, so many eyes are watching! A tiny mistake could make you a laughingstock for life!"

Han Chunmei glared at Li Ying and unleashed a sharp rebuke, leaving Li Ying speechless and exasperated.

Her sister's wedding was indeed very important, but Han Chunmei's nervousness was also abnormal.

Li Ying pursed her lips and suddenly asked, "Mother, are you worried that someone who shouldn't be here will come and cause trouble today?"

Han Chunmei was stunned, and her face turned noticeably paler.

Although Li Kaijian said he had made meticulous arrangements, and Jin Peng and Wang Jianqiang also patted their chests to guarantee it, if any discordant voices appeared at the wedding, the son-in-law would laugh at them.

While Han Chunmei was extremely worried, Li Ying smiled mysteriously.

"Mother, don't worry, the Bi family won't be coming to Beijing today. They're still in Guangdong Province right now!"

Han Chunmei was startled and quickly asked, "What did you say? They're in Guangdong Province? How did you know?"

Li Ying chuckled and said, "Mom, don't you think about it? If you've considered these things, wouldn't my brother have considered them too? If he has, wouldn't he have made arrangements? Stop worrying about this."

"You actually kept this from me? You really deserve a beating."

Enraged, Han Chunmei raised her hand to hit her daughter, but stopped halfway through.

The youngest daughter is already in her twenties and has the ability to solve problems for her parents without their knowledge.

Around six o'clock, the wedding procession arrived.

Since both sides are government agencies, they had agreed beforehand to "keep everything simple".

There were no luxury car fleets, no extravagant attire, only the necessary traditional etiquette and heartfelt blessings.

One important part is that the elder brother or younger brother carries the bride out of the house, which means that the bride's family has someone to support her and that she cannot be bullied after marriage, otherwise her brothers-in-law will come knocking on her door.

Because the younger brother, Li Youan, is too young to carry his older sister, Li Ye has to carry her instead.

Li Ye carried Li Juan out the door, and after taking only a few steps, he felt tears falling on his neck.

So Li Ye laughed and said, "Why are you crying? If you keep crying, I'll assume you don't want to marry me and I'll carry you back home!"

"Take it back, then."

Li Juan mumbled a few words, tears streaming down her face, and cried even harder.

For more than a decade, it has been Li Ye's not-so-broad shoulders that have supported Li Juan, Li Ying, and Han Chunmei.

Without Li Ye, where would the three of them be today?
. . . . . . . . . .

Li Juan's marriage went very smoothly, and there wasn't a single problem all the way to the wedding banquet restaurant.

Because the wedding was kept simple, the Li family didn't invite many guests from their hometown, but they still had to invite their fellow villagers from Qingshui in Beijing, otherwise it wouldn't be right.

We're all from the same village, so we don't hold back when we talk.

A few gossipy women, after observing the scene closely, started whispering to their neighbors, "Hey, did you guys notice? Only one of the bride's maternal grandparents' aunts came; her maternal grandparents, uncles, and any other relatives didn't show up."

"Tch, how dare they even show their faces? They bought off family ties for a few hundred dollars back then, how can they possibly have the nerve to come now?"

"That's true. I heard that Old Man Han took five hundred yuan and then disowned his own daughter. How much would five hundred yuan have grown in the bank by now?"

"That aunt of Xiao Lijuan, she used to follow Jin Peng around selling clothes, and now she owns a big department store in the city."

"You don't know this, do you? Han Chunlan started out selling sesame candy, and later she started selling clothes with Jin Peng. But the sesame candy business was originally intended for Li Juan's uncle, but he refused, so it ended up benefiting her aunt."

"Hehe, that's what you call being too good for someone to enjoy. The Han family just doesn't have that kind of luck. Even if a fortune were offered to them, they wouldn't be able to handle it!"

In fact, the "people who shouldn't have appeared" that Li Juan mentioned were from two families: one was the family of Han Chunmei's ex-husband, Bi Hongwei, and the other was Han Chunmei's maternal family, the Han family.

Bi Hongwei's family was abducted to Guangzhou and are currently disoriented. Meanwhile, the Han family, thanks to Han Chunlan's help, has been doing alright these past few years and is therefore not so shameless.

This was also one of Li Ye's original "schemes": to make Han Chunmei's younger sister, Han Chunlan, rich so that she could act as a firewall between the Han family and Han Chunmei. As long as Han Chunlan let them in through the cracks of her fingers, they wouldn't be driven to desperation.

However, the Han family will definitely regret it. After all, no one could have imagined that Han Chunmei and her daughter would end up in this situation. Back then, these three were known as "unlucky people" in the surrounding area. Anyone who got involved with them would be doomed!
. . . . . . .

"Li Juan, happy wedding! It's been five years since we last met, and you've really changed a lot. You haven't contacted us all these years. If Chen Kangjian hadn't told me, I wouldn't have known you were getting married today!" While the villagers from Qingshui County were marveling at how good fortune had turned around for Han Chunmei and her daughter, Li Juan's classmates were equally amazed, saying, "We made a mistake in our judgment."

For example, Li Juan's classmate Xia Qinghe.

Xia Qinghe initially interned at the Xicheng Electronics Research Institute with Li Juan. Later, she "competed" with Li Juan for a spot to stay in Beijing and ultimately succeeded in staying in the capital.

However, the method she used to stay behind was also very controversial at the time, because after the graduation ceremony, she sent out wedding invitations to her classmates, and the groom was the son of the director of the Electronics Research Institute.

Five years have passed, and Xia Qinghe, who was ridiculed by many classmates back then, has not only been promoted to assistant researcher, but is also a core member of the younger generation of the institute. She has led several large research projects and has become quite the star among her classmates who stayed in Beijing.

However, Li Juan has remained out of the public eye all these years and has had no contact with Xia Qinghe and the others.

So when Xia Qinghe suddenly received a call from Chen Kangjian asking about Li Juan's wedding, Xia Qinghe, despite not having received an invitation from Li Juan, still came with Chen Kangjian.

Because she wanted to "avenge her previous humiliation".

When Xia Qinghe and Chen Kangjian argued after graduation, Chen Kangjian accused Xia Qinghe of using "parasitic" methods to stay in Beijing.

Enraged, Xia Qinghe used Li Juan as an example, saying that Li Juan was also parasitic on Li Ye.

Then Li Ye gave Xia Qinghe a scathing rebuke.

My sister's relationship isn't parasitic; it's familial. There's a fundamental difference between parasitism and familial affection. If your dad earns money for you to spend, that's familial affection. But if your dad gives that money to his mistress, then she's parasitic.

Family affection is a one-sided, selfless giving, while parasitism requires sacrificing one's freedom and dignity in exchange.

These few words have been like a thorn stuck in Xia Qinghe's heart all these years. Now that Xia Qinghe is going smoothly and full of vigor, she must come to settle things with her past.

So today, Xia Qinghe, just like the bride, put on makeup, wore the most fashionable clothes, and came to Li Juan's wedding in high spirits.

However, when Xia Qinghe arrived at the restaurant, she discovered that Li Juan was getting married today and had only invited one classmate, Chen Kangjian. Including herself, an uninvited guest, only two classmates had come.

Xia Qinghe found it strange, so after a brief exchange of pleasantries, she tentatively asked Li Juan, "Li Juan, why did you get married so quietly? Although we don't have many classmates left in Beijing, there are still five, six, seven, or eight of us."

Li Juan said calmly, "Everyone is busy with work, so I felt embarrassed to call everyone over to collect money as gifts."

"Hey, who's short a few more money for a wedding gift? We've been classmates, you're really not being generous enough."

Xia Qinghe grumbled a few complaints about Li Juan, then changed the subject and asked Chen Kangjian, "Old Chen, how did you know Li Juan got married? You're in Shaanxi Province, you're better informed than us classmates in Beijing!"

"I"

Chen Kangjian was speechless for a moment and could not answer.

He can't exactly say, "I came here because I received an invitation from Li Juan," can he?

When they were in school, Chen Kangjian often bickered with Xia Qinghe, saying whatever came to mind without holding back. But now, five years after graduation, he is no longer that straightforward and impulsive young man.

"I invited Chen Kangjian."

Li Juan spoke up, easing Chen Kangjian's embarrassment: "Two years ago, Chen Kangjian published two papers, but his subsequent research has not been published yet, so I wanted to ask him what difficulties he encountered."

Xia Qinghe exclaimed in surprise, "Wow, what kind of research requires in-person questioning? Old Chen, have you made some amazing breakthrough?"

"What results have we achieved?"

Chen Kangjian said dejectedly, "My institution canceled my research project, so I can't continue the research, and naturally, I can't publish it."

Xia Qinghe immediately complained, "Old Chen, what are you doing? The previous research results have already been published, how could the subsequent ones be canceled? Did you forget to credit your unit leader?"

Chen Kangjian swallowed hard and gave a helpless bitter smile: "I'm willing to have my name on their names, but it can't be without mine, can it?"

"."

Xia Qinghe and Li Juan both fell silent, realizing Chen Kangjian's helplessness.

You've worked so hard to create this, and you're still not satisfied with just adding someone else's name to it? You want to change it back to someone else's name? Can you accept that?

Looking at Chen Kangjian's bitter face, Li Juan calmly said, "Old Chen, I've read the two papers you published. They're similar to some of the research directions in our unit. Are you interested in coming to work in Beijing now?"

Xia Qinghe and Chen Kangjian were shocked.

When Chen Kangjian graduated, he couldn't even stay in Beijing, but now he's been transferred back to work in the capital?

But both of them knew Li Juan's character; she wasn't the type to boast or brag.

Suppressing his excitement, Chen Kangjian asked tremblingly, "Li Juan, do you mean... you can transfer me to work in Beijing?"

Li Juan smiled and nodded: "If your family members meet the criteria, that can also be resolved at the same time."

Xia Qinghe was shocked again, and Chen Kangjian finally understood why Li Juan had only invited him to the wedding.

It's ridiculous that after receiving Li Juan's invitation, I hesitated about whether to attend because it was difficult to ask for leave.

Five years after graduation, the once high-spirited and promising young man has had his edges smoothed out and no longer believes that so-called "friendship" is priceless. However, if Chen Kangjian hadn't come today, this opportunity would naturally have been missed.

However, Xia Qinghe, realizing what was happening, questioned, "Li Juan, can you make such a big decision? Don't you need to confirm with your supervisor?"

Li Juan blinked, then suddenly said playfully, "Who would I confirm this with? I'm the boss!"

Xia Qinghe was completely speechless.

Over the years, thanks to her father-in-law's connections, she has enjoyed a smooth and successful career at the electronics research institute, but she is still a long way from securing a job.

Even Xia Qinghe's father-in-law couldn't just bring in anyone.

But Li Juan is now asking for two spots right off the bat. Just how big is that difference?
So even though she knew Li Juan wasn't one to boast, Xia Qinghe still became suspicious.

Before she could even ask Li Juan, she saw someone she only ever saw in magazines walking towards Li Juan with a big smile on his face.

It seems she wasn't exaggerating.

(End of this chapter)