That year the flowers bloomed 1981

Chapter 1677 The King of Children

Getting married is a joyous occasion, but it's also incredibly exhausting. From planning to the actual wedding, it's a constant drain on adrenaline and mental energy.

Therefore, almost everyone who attends the wedding feels exhausted by the time it ends. Li Ye, after leaving his mother Fu Guiru's place, just wanted to go home and get some sleep.

But as soon as Li Ye arrived at his doorstep, he heard a group of children making a racket, giggling and chattering, just like a flock of ducklings about to go into the river.

Okay! Kids never get tired because they don't worry. They only care about how their friends, whom they haven't seen in a long time, have suddenly grown taller than them.
"Sister Dou'er, how come you're taller than Brother Dun'er? Aren't you two years younger than him?"

"Hehehe, do you want to know why I'm taller than him? It's a little secret; just listen to me, and I'll tell you later."

"Okay, okay, I'll listen to you. Tell me now!"

"What's your rush? You know, haste makes waste."

"But I'm not as good as Li Zhigao! If you tell him the secret first, I won't be able to catch up!"

"Oh, Wang Yuanchao, you think you can be taller than me? Let me tell you, no matter how tall or short you are, you have to call me 'brother,' and that will never change in this lifetime."

"No, wait until Sister Dou'er teaches me the secret, then you'll have to call me brother."

"If Sister Dou'er is going to teach, she has to teach me first. You have to be after me."

"Why?"

"Just because I'm two months older than you"

"."

When Li Ye entered the courtyard, he saw his daughter surrounded by several friends, bickering with each other and asking Xiao Dou'er for "secrets to growing taller".

Meanwhile, Jin Peng, Li Dayong, Pei Wenhui, and the eldest sister Li Yue, all the "adults," happily gathered around, watching the children's childish "playing house" with smiles on their faces.

Think back to more than 20 years ago, they were just as naive.

The only difference is that back then, the leader of the kids was Jin Peng, but now it's Xiao Dou'er.

Among this group of children, some were older than Xiao Dou'er and some were younger than Xiao Dou'er, but without exception, they were all Xiao Dou'er's loyal little followers.

For example, the eldest sister's child, Xiaodun, Hao Jian's son, Hao Liang, and Jin Peng's son, Jin Zhanqiang, are all older than Xiaodou, but they have always "spoofed their younger sister" since they were little. Over time, they have lost their own opinions in front of Xiaodou.

As for the younger ones, there's Li Dayong's son Li Zhi, Wang Jianqiang's son Wang Yuanchao, and two girls, Li Qi and Jin Zhanmei, who are all Xiao Dou'er's little shadows.

This made Li Ye both amused and helpless.

In his past life, Li Ye had seen many precocious children who had experienced being "followed" at a young age. As they grew older and their peers matured and their illusions shattered, they found it very difficult to adapt.

But Xiao Dou'er is enjoying herself now, so Li Ye doesn't want to spoil the fun.

"Sister Dou'er, I promise I'll listen to you, so please tell me the secret to growing taller!"

"Sister Dou'er, I promise I'll listen to you for the rest of my life. Tell me the secret first."

"."

"Alright, alright, you're all my good friends, so I won't hold back. I'll tell you everything now. That is, don't be picky about food, control your snacking, don't slack off, and don't neglect your martial arts training."

After enjoying the respect from his friends, Xiao Dou'er generously revealed his secret.

Then a group of friends got upset.

"Huh? We also have to control our snacks?"

"Picky eater. What exactly constitutes being a picky eater? Does disliking fish count?"

"I practice martial arts too. I practice with the old man! But why am I not as tall as you, Sister Dou'er?"

"."

Looking at the disappointed faces of the children, Li Ye felt that his daughter had done a good job. At least she didn't make a big deal out of nothing, and the "secret" she revealed was very positive.

These kids have had a good life since they were little. They don't like to eat this or that, they are picky eaters and only eat until they are half full. Then they rely on all kinds of high-calorie snacks to fill their stomachs. Their appetites have been ruined.

On the contrary, the diet of Li Ye's family has always been controlled by Wu Juying and Wen Leyu. Li Ye, the cook, only has the right to prepare the food, so the two children are indeed well-nourished.

However, just as Li Ye was about to praise Xiao Dou'er, Xiao Dou'er put her hands on her hips and refuted the doubts of several of her friends.

"My dad practices martial arts with me. Do your dads practice with you? And my dad even watches cartoons with me! Look closely, this is the Pegasus Meteor Fist!" "Hahahaha!"

When Xiao Dou'er jumped up and struck a Pegasus Meteor Fist pose, his sister Li Yue, Jin Peng, Li Dayong, and the others all burst into laughter, while Li Ye was completely speechless.

He does occasionally practice martial arts with the children, but he has never taught them the Pegasus Meteor Fist!

The move that Xiao Dou'er made was obviously just a child's "imagination," wasn't it? Li Ye is a fighting expert, how could he possibly be doing something like that?

However, Xiao Dou'er's words instantly resonated with her friends, and everyone changed their previous disappointment and dejection, expressing their support.

Why? Because kids love watching cartoons! And because moms don't want their kids to watch cartoons!

Now that we have such a good reason, we must support it, and resolutely support it.

"Sister Dou'er, are you serious? Then I'll ask my parents to watch Saint Seiya with me when I get home."

"I like watching Sun Wukong. My dad said Sun Wukong is ten thousand times more powerful than Seiya."

"Who said Sun Wukong is stronger than the Saint Seiya? Does Sun Wukong have a Cosmo?"

"Can a Saint Seiya character turn into a mosquito and fly into a person's stomach?"

"."

"Alright, alright, you two stop arguing. We both like Saint Seiya and Son Goku, we'll watch both, we can watch two episodes a day."

"Good, good, good, Sister Dou'er, you're so clever!"

All the children joined the discussion, chattering incessantly, which made Li Yue and Pei Wenhui, who were standing nearby, both annoyed and amused.

In the 1990s, controlling children's cartoon watching was just as difficult as controlling their mobile phone use decades later. Even if these children were born with exceptional talent and had a head start in life, the mothers dared not spoil them. So, Li Ye's actions now almost undo all their efforts.

Seeing the resentful looks in their eyes, Li Ye smiled and explained, "I did watch cartoons with the kids, but that's because those kids' happy times are just too short."

Xiao Dou'er is already in third grade. In a few more years, he'll have his own thoughts and worries, and you won't even have the chance to watch TV with him anymore. So I think we and our children should cherish this time together.”

Li Yue, who was initially annoyed, frowned but ultimately did not lash out at her younger brother.

Children in China actually have a tough time. They start attending school at 8 a.m. when they are six or seven years old, and then from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. when they are teenagers. Their butts hurt from sitting at their desks for more than ten years in a row.

So sometimes when children talk back to their parents, it's not necessarily the children's fault. It's just a necessary sacrifice in the process of China catching up with the world.

There's no other way! The whole country has fallen behind, so everyone needs to work hard to catch up.

If a student who is at the bottom of the class wants to turn the tables and become the top student, how can they catch up if they are not more diligent than others?
If we pursue this for decades, everyone will have the foundation of a large-scale industry. By accumulating small achievements and building up little by little, we can create an unstoppable and unrepeatable world miracle.

Jin Peng also said with a smile, "Li Ye is right. In a person's life, the most relaxed and happiest years are actually only a few years."
Think back to when we were little, we had nothing, but we ate heartily and fell asleep easily. Unlike now, we have everything, but we're constantly plagued by endless worries, and our hair has turned white from worry.

Li Ye asked in surprise, "Brother Peng, has your hair turned white? You're only thirty-seven this year, right?"

Jin Peng rubbed his scalp sheepishly: "Thirty-eight already! Who would have thought I'd have gray hair at only thirty-eight?"

In the 1980s and 90s, gray hair was not as common as it is decades later. Many people in their thirties and forties had a head of thick, black hair, and bald patches were very rare.

But the eldest sister, Li Yue, looked at Jin Peng with disdain: "Why do you have white hair? Others may not know, but don't you? How many mistresses have you had in Su'e?"

Jin Peng has worked at Suzhou University for many years and naturally has many private secretaries, such as Natasha, Tonya, and Mikhailova. It's impossible to keep it a secret forever.

"Xiaoyue, don't talk nonsense!"

Jin Peng practically jumped up, declaring confidently, "My hair has turned white from worrying so much about business in mainland China. I'm just playing around with Jiangsu and Hubei; I don't care at all."

Li Yue scoffed, "Come on! You've never been honest since you were little. We all know each other! Just don't fool yourself."

"I"

Jin Peng felt utterly speechless.

Because we all grew up together, some embarrassing stories and scandals, like stealing sweet potatoes or peeping at people bathing in the river, can never be erased for a lifetime!

However, at this moment, his good friend Li Dayong spoke up to help Jin Peng out of the predicament: "Sister Xiaoyue, what Brother Peng said is true. Recently, Brother Peng's metal smelting plant has not been doing well. Brother Peng is very worried. It seems that his white hair has grown overnight."

"Ok?"

(End of this chapter)