That year the flowers bloomed 1981

Chapter 923 What is Lottery? (Two in One)

"Carp, tofu, square meat. Why is there one piece of fruit missing? Don't you two grown men know how to prepare it in advance at home? Are you just waiting for me to come back and do it?"

"It snowed heavily yesterday, so the fruit vendors didn't come out. I bought calcium milk biscuits instead?"

"Replace? Can this thing be replaced? Why don't you go down and ask the ancestors of the old Li family if they are willing to replace it? Why don't you pay someone else to visit the grave for you? That would be much easier.

You are so grown up, but you can't even handle such a small thing. Look at this house, it's like a doghouse. You two can't clean it up, can't you ask Mingxiang to come and clean it up?"

When Wu Juying returned to her home in Qingshui County, she began to prepare for the ancestor worship. She counted the things that her husband and son had prepared in advance, one by one, and her muttering tone was "very arrogant". Neither Li Zhongfa nor Li Kaijian dared to talk back.

Both father and son are typical Dongshan men. They are very impressive at work, but they are careless about trivial matters at home. If something is missing, they will just brush it off with a sentence "our ancestors won't blame us."

But this kind of thing is no small matter in the mind of a woman who believes in ghosts and gods. What's more, the relationship between Li Ye and Old Huai is so mysterious that Wu Juying believes it without a doubt. It is harder than climbing to the sky to convert her into an atheist.

So when Li Ye saw his grandmother Wu Juying scolding his grandfather Li Zhongfa and his father Li Kaijian until they were ashamed, he could only laugh secretly and would never say a word to persuade them.

But even though grandma scolded, she was very efficient. She quickly went out to find someone to bring some fruit, and prepared the tributes and paper money neatly, waiting for the masters of the Li family to take them to their ancestors for enjoyment.

"Xiao Ye, you and your grandfather and your father will go to the grave tomorrow morning. If you have anything to do, please do it in the afternoon. We will leave early the day after tomorrow! There is no 30th this year. The 29th is the New Year. We will arrive in the capital in the afternoon."

"What can I do? The most I can do is go to Principal Chang's house."

Li Ye agreed casually, then suddenly remembered something, and turned to ask his two sisters: "Xiaojuan and Xiaoying, do you two have anything to do tomorrow? If you have anything to do, tell me in advance, and I will go with you. You are absolutely not allowed to go out alone, understand?"

Li Juan hurriedly said, "I also want to go see Principal Chang. I can go with you tomorrow."

Little Li Ying said with a giggle: "Brother, I want to go see a classmate, Sang Xiaomin, can you accompany me later?"

"Why not? Let's go now! Drive our dad's car."

Li Ye readily agreed, took the key to Li Kaijian's 213 car and was about to go out.

Li Ying said excitedly: "Okay, I'll go get a gift for Sang Xiaomin."

Seeing Li Ying taking out a walkman, a ladies' watch, and exquisite hairpins from her bag, Li Ye realized that she was going to give year-end benefits to her outstanding employees.

The two drove Li Kaijian's 213 straight to the east end of Qingshui City Central Street and stopped at the door of an old house.

After Li Ying got off the car, she shouted at the top of her lungs: "Xiao Min, Xiao Min? Xiao Min, are you home?"

"Yes, yes! It's Xiaoying. Are you back?"

There were hurried footsteps in the yard. Sang Xiaomin came out trotting. When she saw Li Ying, she jumped for joy.

"Xiaoying, it's really you! You told me you'd arrive tomorrow, and I've been looking forward to it for days."

"We have a lot to do tomorrow, so my brother and I rushed over to see you. Xiaomin, you've lost weight."

"No, no, I gained several pounds!"

The two girls were both around seventeen or eighteen years old. They hadn't seen each other for a long time, so naturally they were very affectionate and exchanged greetings for a while at the door.

Only after Sang Xiaomin's family came out did they invite Li Ye and Li Ying in.

"Zhuangyuan, you smoke or you drink water. There is no good tea at home, please don't be surprised! Xiaomin's mother, why don't you kill the chicken quickly? We will be late for dinner."

"Uncle Sang, you're welcome. I'm just a junior, so please stop worrying."

Sang Xiaomin's father handed Li Ye a cigarette and poured him some water, treating him like a distinguished guest, which made Li Ye feel embarrassed.

However, Sang Xiaomin's father did not regard Li Ye as a junior. After directing the family members to do some work, he humbly asked Li Ye a question.

"Zhuangyuanlang, my Xiaomin has been telling me recently that after the Chinese New Year, she will no longer go to the big market, but rent a storefront in the provincial capital to open a clothing mall.

I really don't know much about business, you are knowledgeable, can you give us some advice?"

"Opening a clothing mall in the provincial capital?"

Li Ye thought for a moment, then nodded and said, "Sang Xiaomin has been selling clothes for more than a year, right? It's not impossible to expand a little bit.
Anyway, there are many fellow villagers from Qingshui County doing business in the provincial capital. It won’t be difficult to greet them and take care of each other.”

"Yeah, yeah, I think so too. Xiao Min is a very enterprising child, no worse than those boys.
His uncle said that Xiaomin is a young girl and will suffer losses if she goes out, so he wanted Xiaomin's cousin to invest in the company.

"Buy shares?"

Li Ye looked at Old Man Sang in surprise, then looked at his sister Li Ying.

Li Ying probably knew about the investment, after all, she and Sang Xiaomin were the only two shareholders in this deal.

Then why ask him Li Ye's idea?

So Li Ye smiled and said, "Uncle Sang, I don't really understand these things! Anyway, it's Xiaoying and Xiaomin who are in charge of the business, so let them make the decision."

But Old Man Sang said quickly, "No, no, no, you are the God of Literature, we should listen to your advice."

Li Ye smiled and said, "Even if I'm Wenquxing, I'm not good at business! That's the business of the God of Wealth."

But Old Man Sang immediately said, "They are all gods from heaven, how can they not be good at it? The director of the county's finance department went to the director of education department to do things, and he always got it right~"

【There is nothing wrong with what you said. 】

So Li Ye said helplessly: "This matter! In fact, it mainly depends on who is in charge. If Xiao Min's cousin can wholeheartedly treat Xiao Min as the leader, then it is not impossible to let him help. But if he comes here just to make the decision for Xiao Min, Uncle Sang, do you think the child will suffer a loss?"

"."

Old Man Sang was stunned for a moment, fumbled for a cigarette, lit it and took two puffs, then said in a deep voice: "The champion is indeed wise, this matter is really not right."

Li Ye turned his head slightly and looked at Li Ying and Sang Xiaomin, and sure enough, he saw that the two girls were very happy.

After all, they suffered because of their young age, and had to have an elder brother like me to come out and hold things in their place.

"Mother, have you killed the chicken? It's already late. Hurry up and chop it up and make soup. The top scholar wants to have dinner at our house!"

"No, no, no, Uncle Sang, I really don't want to eat at home"

"No, no, no, our family is relying on Xiao Min now! Xiao Min is relying on Zhuangyuanlang, so I must toast you with this glass of wine today."

Finally, Li Ye had no choice but to drink at Old Man Sang's house, and witnessed the old man's shrewdness.

He has come to his senses. In fact, Old Man Sang also does not agree with his eldest brother's child interfering in the matter, but due to family ties, he has to find an irrefutable reason.

Li Ye's opinion is an irrefutable reason.

In addition, this wine is not just a simple wine.
[Hi, our Xiao Min is related to the Li family. Li Ye was drinking at our house that day~]

[Li Ye is not a simple person now. He is a cadre in Beijing and the son-in-law of Mr. Ke]

[What? You don’t even know who Teacher Ke is? Then why should I talk to you? It’s not classy~]

. . . . . . .

"Hey, why did my second cousin come to visit the grave today?"

On the 28th day of the twelfth lunar month, Li Ye, Li Zhongfa and Li Kaijian arrived at the cemetery early to pay tribute to the ancestors of the Li family.

Originally, they thought that no one would come to visit the grave at this time, but when the grandfather and his two grandchildren arrived at the grave, they met an acquaintance.

Seeing Li Ye, Li Zhongfa and Li Kaijian get off the car, the second cousin came over with his two children, smiling widely as they helped carry things.

"Uncle, Brother Kaijian, are you here to visit the grave? I'll get it for you, I'll get it for you"

"No, no, there's not much."

"Hey, it's just something that comes naturally to me. Brother Kaijian, you're the factory manager now. You should at least bring a few followers with you when you go out. How can you do it all by yourself?"

"." Li Kaijian glanced at his father, then looked at the three distant relatives who were trying to please him for no reason, and guessed that they were waiting for the three of them today.

According to the Dongshan custom, people visit their ancestors' graves on New Year's Eve. Occasionally, descendants who are away from home and need to rush back to celebrate the New Year will come back one or two days in advance to visit the graves.

Because there was no New Year's Eve this year, the three generations of the Li family, grandfather and grandson, only came to visit the grave on the 28th.

But Li Ye’s second cousin is a native of Qingshui, so how could he come to visit the grave today?
Just as one should not hit someone who smiles at him, Li Zhongfa did not look downcast and even chatted with his nephew Wu Juying about family matters.

Anyway, having been the director for so many years, Li Zhongfa is very good at talking. He can talk about all sorts of things, but he just won't talk in the direction that the other party wants.

How could my second cousin have such ability? He lost his temper while chatting.

"Uncle, you arranged for Xiaocheng to work as a construction worker at the instant noodle factory. That was really kind of you.

But Xiao Cheng broke his leg and had to go home to recuperate for a few days, missing the opportunity to become a regular employee.
Look at Xiao Gu now, he is already the deputy director of the workshop, earning only 200 yuan a month, my small town is losing money~"

"Hey, why would you still talk about what happened in the past? I was still in charge of the instant noodle factory at the time, and I was thinking of finding a job for my child first, but I never thought that there would be a permanent position later.
As for the fact that Xiao Gu was able to become deputy director, it was because he was able to endure hardships and was willing to learn. It has little to do with me."

"."

The second cousin didn't expect that Li Zhongfa would just brush the matter aside with just one word, and he was speechless for a while.

Read more latest popular novels at 6.9*shuba!

When the instant noodle factory was being planned, his son Xiaocheng also took the exam, but failed, so he found Li Zhongfa and asked for a backdoor.

It was just that Li Kaijian opened a back door, but Xiao Cheng found it too hard and tiring, and finally left after only a few days.

However, the stubborn Xiao Gu stayed, and during the expansion and development of the instant noodle factory, he worked his way up to deputy director of the workshop, and he will definitely be promoted again in a few years.

So now the second cousin has come to Li Zhongfa to ask for forgiveness.

"Uncle, don't I know what Xiao Gu is like? He has been a taciturn person since he was young. He is not as eloquent as our Xiao Cheng. Please make arrangements for him. The child will never forget your kindness."

Hearing the second cousin's true words, Li Zhongfa could only frown and said awkwardly: "The instant noodle factory has no plans to recruit people this year! I'll keep an eye out for you later and let you know if there's a vacancy."

"No, no, uncle, you're thinking the wrong thing. Xiaocheng doesn't want to work at the instant noodle factory. He wants you to find him a good job."

"Minglu?"

Li Zhongfa was confused and asked, "What do you mean by this bright road, Lao Er?"

The second cousin forced a smile and said, "It's like the bright path of Hao Jian and Jin Peng~"

Li Zhongfa was surprised and asked, "What do Hao Jian and Jin Peng have to do with me?"

"Hey, uncle, you are still hiding this from me!"

The second cousin smiled and said, "Everyone knows that Hao Jian got rich through your connections. If you hadn't approved the procedures for him to become a rural cooperative household, how could he, a poor outsider who couldn't even afford pants, make a lot of money and achieve what he has today?"

"."

Li Zhong was stunned for a long time before he asked with a smile: "Second Brother, do you want Xiaocheng to do business like Hao Jian?"

Second cousin: "Any business is fine, as long as you help me find some connections. Xiaocheng will definitely not be worse than Hao Jian and Jin Peng. Hao Jian and Jin Peng are junior high school students, and Xiaocheng is still a high school student~"

Li Zhongfa sighed: "Second brother! You think too highly of me. I don't have such great ability."

Jin Peng and Hao Jian are indeed just junior high school students, but they caught up with the trend, seized the opportunity, and step by step have reached where they are today.

Today, Hao Jian is already one of the leading figures in the national clothing industry. Jin Peng's move to Russia may seem inconspicuous, but he is planning a bigger deal.

Jin Peng's daughter-in-law has been running a cotton mill in recent years, and it is doing very well. She is a well-known entrepreneur in Qingshui County.

Therefore, the second cousin's ambition of "being no worse than Jin Peng and Hao Jian" is really not low, and Li Zhongfa really does not have the ability to arrange it for them.

But the second cousin said something shocking.

"Uncle, you always keep this from me. With your connections in Beijing, if you want to arrange a future for Xiaocheng, isn't it just a matter of saying a word?"

"."

"What nonsense are you talking about? What does the capital have to do with me? Are you three just daydreaming?"

Li Zhongfa's face turned completely dark.

This second cousin actually set his sights on Wen Leyu.

This is not surprising. Thinking about the legendary development experience of Hao Jian and Jin Peng, it is easy for people to think about "background" and "backers", and then feel that if they have the same backers, they can also replicate the success of Fenghua Clothing.

"Uncle, why are you so angry?"

The second cousin was stunned by Li Zhongfa's scolding, and turned to look at Li Ye and said: "Xiao Ye, we are all relatives, there is no need to hide it like this, right?
Your mother-in-law is in the newspapers and on TV all the time. She is a very powerful person. You are busy coming here to visit her grave today, isn't it just to rush over tomorrow to celebrate the New Year with her and make friends with her?"

"I'm going to fuck you!"

Before Li Ye could lose his temper, Li Kaijian got angry. He grabbed his second cousin's cotton-padded jacket and fell to the ground with a shake of his hands.

What his second cousin said just now was, to put it bluntly, slandering Teacher Ke and Wen Qingsheng. To put it bluntly, it was putting Li Ye in the position of a "vassal of the Wen family", despising everything the Li family has now, saying that they got advantage of the Wen family.

The second cousin was hit hard and was stunned for a long time. Then he could no longer hide the depression and anger in his heart.

He jumped up, pointed at Li Ye and cursed: "Great! You, the Li family, are all heartless. When you were down and out a few years ago, I didn't expose you at all. Now that you are in power, you turn your back on me?"

"Hao Jian and Jin Peng, two outsiders, can be supported, but our relatives can't help?"

"Today I no longer recognize you as my relative, and I will beat you to death"

Li Kaijian jumped over and was about to give his second cousin a few hard hits, but was held tightly back by Li Ye behind him.

Then Li Ye walked to the front and gently asked his second cousin and his two sons.

"You said Xiaocheng is better than Hao Jian and Jin Peng, so what have they been doing in the past few years?"

"They... they don't have a chance! They can do anything if they have a chance."

"That means I didn't do anything~"

Li Ye chuckled and said, "Let me give you two words! As a human being, you can either work hard to excel, or be lazy and comfortable and accept your fate.
If you choose the former, don't dream too much about the latter, because the only way to fulfill your wish is through the lottery."

"."

The second cousin was stunned for a long time before he said awkwardly, "What do these two sentences mean? If you understand these two sentences, can you help me find a connection?"

"."

Li Ye was completely speechless.

These two sentences are actually the original words of a teacher named Luo in later generations. What they mean is that if you can't study, have fun, sleep well, or feel unhappy,
Something is wrong with me but I have a strong appetite, I don’t have a solid foundation but I am always hesitant, I want to excel but I find it difficult to keep my feet on the ground.

Seeing others working hard makes me anxious, but I always put off my own actions until tomorrow. I have great ambitions but I don’t think about making progress. I hate my procrastination but I am addicted to the comfort in front of me.
Then you are a guy who is unwilling to give in but only thinks about good things. You can't get either freedom or career, and you are just making things difficult for yourself.

So after seeing the success of Jin Peng and Hao Jian, the first thing that my second cousin and his family thought about was not how to strive for success, but to find Li Zhongfa for "arrangements". They are basically the kind of people mentioned above and have little value in training.

"Now that the incense is burned, burn the yellow paper and go!"

"Hey, okay grandpa!"

Li Ye took advantage of the other three men's indifference to light paper money to worship their ancestors, kowtowed a few times, and left.

The second cousin's family looked at the three Li family members in confusion. They wanted to step forward and apologize and beg for mercy, but they felt that they couldn't lose their face at all.

After the Li family left, the second cousin's youngest son suddenly asked, "Dad, what was that lottery ticket Li Ye said?"

(End of this chapter)