Siheyuan: A Very Happy Era

Chapter 581 Let him face reality.

In this remote mountain forest, there are usually no entertainment activities. If it weren't for playing house, the father and son would probably have been bored to death long ago.

"Alright! I have something to tell you!" Li Guoqiang had no interest in teasing the father and son and got straight to the point.

"Please speak!" Zhao Limin and Zhao Dajun straightened up and then pretended to be all ears.

Among them, Zhao Dajun is particularly noteworthy.

He will probably never forget the fear he felt when Li Guoqiang held a gun to his head.

"Hmm!" A satisfied look appeared on Li Guoqiang's face.

Then, he slowly turned around, pointed in the direction of the beekeeping research institute, and said softly, "I need one of you, father and son, to take your wife and go over the mountain to help me guard it."

"Guard what?" Zhao Limin and his son Zhao Dajun exchanged a glance, both showing a look of confusion.

“Apiculture Research Institute!” Li Guoqiang didn’t turn around to look at Zhao Limin and Zhao Dajun.

"A beekeeping research institute?" Zhao Limin and Zhao Dajun were completely baffled.

"You don't need to worry about so much. Just decide who will come with me. You have a day to prepare. I will come to pick them up tomorrow night."

Li Guoqiang waved his hand, then casually uttered a sentence before his figure suddenly disappeared.

Upon seeing this, Zhao Limin and his son Zhao Dajun were both startled. They quickly turned around and ran into the house to hold a family meeting to discuss the matter.

Actually, there was nothing to discuss. Before long, Zhao Limin suggested that he take his wife and go with Li Guoqiang to guard that beekeeping research institute.

Zhao Dajun looked at the still very young child, opened his mouth, but ultimately said nothing.

"Don't worry, you know what kind of skills our master has. Maybe we'll even be better off at that beekeeping research institute!"

Zhao Limin held his wife's hand, his face full of trust in Li Guoqiang.

Besides, distrust won't work either!
Who told them that the lives of their entire family were in Li Guoqiang's hands!
Moreover, Zhao Limin had always harbored an idea: he wanted to find an opportunity to do Li Guoqiang a favor and then have Li Guoqiang take his grandson as his apprentice.

Even so, the hope is very slim, but it is still a thought, isn't it?
After saying that, Zhao Limin saw that Zhao Dajun and his daughter-in-law did not say anything, his expression suddenly darkened, and he sternly warned, "In addition, after we, the old couple, are gone, you can't be so lax anymore. You must help the master take care of these houses and the bee farm."

Otherwise, if you anger your master, you'll have to make yourselves with rat tail juice!

"Dad, don't worry! We know what to do." Zhao Dajun felt a chill in his heart, then nodded hurriedly and assured him.

He never wanted to experience that feeling of having his life in someone else's hands again.

Just as the family was losing sleep over their separation, Li Guoqiang had already used teleportation to quietly return to his own courtyard gate, and then looked at the firelight that had lit up inside the house with some confusion.

As far as I can remember, he did lock the door again, so why is there someone inside now?

Could it be his master, Xu Guangshou, who has come?

Soon, Li Guoqiang took a step, pushed open the door and walked into the room. Then, he lifted the curtain of the east room and was immediately taken aback.

"How did you all end up here?"

"Qiangzi!" When Ma Jinfeng and Liu Xiaohua saw Li Guoqiang come in, their hearts jumped into their throats, and they both lowered their heads shyly.

"Tell me, why are you here?" Li Guoqiang frowned, then asked in a deep voice.

If he remembered correctly, Ma Jinfeng and Liu Xiaohua were both relatively young widows in Jinshanbao, one only twenty-eight years old and the other thirty-one.

Previously, he and they had only had some contact at the bee farm, and they didn't have any real relationship on a regular basis.

This sudden appearance at his house, coupled with the fact that only Xu Guangshou had the key to his house, made it hard for him not to associate it with something bad.

For example, betrayal? Or scheming?
Fortunately, through his view of the small space, he discovered that there was no one hiding outside the house.

Otherwise, his questioning would be far more complex than a simple interrogation.

"Qiangzi, don't misunderstand, this was all voluntary for us." Ma Jinfeng quickly explained when she saw that Li Guoqiang's expression was off.

“That’s right! This was all voluntary for us, and only your master, Uncle Guangshou, knows about it, so you don’t need to worry,” Liu Xiaohua added.

"What exactly is going on?" Li Guoqiang did not easily believe the other party.

"Oh! Actually, it's very simple. We know you came back alone and wanted to come and keep you company!" Ma Jinfeng's eyes lit up as she looked at Li Guoqiang's handsome face.

"Then, we went to talk to Uncle Guangshou, and he gave us your house key," Liu Xiaohua added.

"Don't worry, no one saw us when we came over!" Ma Jinfeng said again when she saw that Li Guoqiang didn't say anything.

Looking at the expectant expressions on Ma Jinfeng and Liu Xiaohua's faces, and their still-charming appearance, Li Guoqiang was speechless for a moment.

He never expected that his return alone would still attract attention.

"I appreciate your kindness, but I'm not in the mood right now. Please leave!" Li Guoqiang politely declined.

"No, do you look down on us?" Ma Jinfeng asked anxiously.

"Don't worry, we're all clean, and we won't bother you anymore," Liu Xiaohua said, sounding a little anxious.

In fact, we've thought about things like today countless times, and we've even discussed them together quite often.

Now that they've finally encountered such a golden opportunity, they're determined to seize it at all costs.

Because they had heard that Li Guoqiang had a special skill that could make people younger and more beautiful.

The most compelling evidence comes from Xu Yuping, Ma Shufen, and others.

"No, I really don't need it, please leave!" Li Guoqiang's attitude was very firm.

Ma Jinfeng and Liu Xiaohua looked at Li Guoqiang, and for a moment they were caught in a dilemma.

They were reluctant to leave.

If they didn't leave, they worried they would anger Li Guoqiang.

What should we do? Are they really not destined to have that kind of luck?

"My dear sisters-in-law, I am truly grateful for your sincere concern for me, but this is really not an option. You should leave now!"

Seeing that Ma Jinfeng and Liu Xiaohua were still sitting on the kang (a heated brick bed), Li Guoqiang could only patiently try to persuade them in order to avoid hurting their self-esteem.

"Let's go!" Seeing Li Guoqiang's insistence, Ma Jinfeng and Liu Xiaohua hesitated for a moment, but in the end, they got up and got off the kang (a heated brick bed) with disappointed expressions.

After a while, when Ma Jinfeng and Liu Xiaohua left, looking back every few steps, Li Guoqiang finally breathed a sigh of relief and locked the door from the inside.

No wonder netizens often say that boys should learn to protect themselves when they go out!
Now, Li Guoqiang has experienced this firsthand.

In addition, he was somewhat annoyed by Xu Guangshou's actions.

Although he does have quite a few women around him, that doesn't mean he's some kind of desperate little wolf!

To prevent a similar incident from happening again, it was essential for him to have a serious talk with Xu Guangshou.

However, it's already so late, and he doesn't want to bother anymore. He'll wait until he wakes up tomorrow to deal with it!

With a thought, his figure vanished from the spot.

Soon, it was the morning of the second day.

To avoid anyone coming over, Li Guoqiang came out of the small sanctuary early and tidied up the house inside and out to prevent it from decaying and collapsing due to prolonged vacancy.

Incidentally, he also used the earthen stove to bake some cornbread for himself, cooked some cornbread porridge, and paired it with the leftover pickled vegetables in the earthenware jar, reminiscing about the bitter past and appreciating the sweet present.

After he finished breakfast, he suddenly heard footsteps outside.

"Qiangzi, Qiangzi!"

"Hey, I'm inside, come in!"

Before long, Xu Guangshou lifted the curtain and walked into the east room, a slightly embarrassed look on his face.

"Master, what kind of mess have you made?" Li Guoqiang didn't mince words and directly criticized him.

"Yes, yes, I was confused for a moment. I was just thinking that it would be good if you had someone to keep you company when you came back alone, so I did such a foolish thing." Xu Guangshou nodded vigorously, his attitude very sincere.

"Alright, this is the only time. Don't let it happen again, or you won't be able to accept me as your master." Li Guoqiang rolled his eyes in annoyance.

"No, I will never do it again!" Xu Guangshou hurriedly shook his head again.

In fact, he didn't sleep well at all last night.

If he hadn't been worried that coming over would disturb Li Guoqiang's good time, he probably would have come over last night.

Then, after finally making it to this morning, he saw Ma Jinfeng come over to return the keys and tell him about Li Guoqiang's anger.

This situation startled him, and he rushed over without even having breakfast, wanting to explain things to Li Guoqiang.

Fortunately, Li Guoqiang still remembered some of their past teacher-student relationship, so he didn't fall out with him.

However, he also knew in his heart that after this incident, Li Guoqiang would probably never treat him so well again.

Thinking of this, he sighed deeply in his heart, and then, without intending to stay, he made up an excuse and left.

Li Guoqiang did not try to persuade him to stay, nor did he even get off the bed to see him off.

Although Xu Guangshou acted with good intentions, he made a mistake and had to pay a price.

Otherwise, if he doesn't show any reaction, it will only embolden some people to go further and further.

Moreover, he wasn't an idiot, so of course he could see that Xu Guangshou did this partly out of consideration for him, but more likely out of concern that as his status and position rose, he would no longer acknowledge him as his master!
Since that's the case, he might as well let Xu Guangshou experience the feeling of being distanced from him in advance, so that he can truly understand reality.

"Sigh!" Soon, Xu Guangshou returned home, then plopped down on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed) and began to sigh deeply.

"What's wrong with you? Why are you looking so miserable first thing in the morning? Who are you trying to impress?" Yang Guoxiu couldn't help but criticize Xu Guangshou when she saw his appearance.

"My dear wife, I'm so regretful this time!" Xu Guangshou slapped his thigh hard, his face full of regret.

"What's wrong? What did you do?" Yang Guoxiu immediately became anxious upon hearing this.

"I...I...yesterday..." Xu Guangshou opened his mouth, then spoke haltingly, recounting how he had lent the keys to Ma Jinfeng and Liu Xiaohua the day before.

"Are you senile? How could you do such a thing? You're really going to be the death of me!" Yang Guoxiu glared at him, then stomped her feet in anger.

"I'm just... I'm just worried that Qiangzi won't be used to living alone when he comes back!" Xu Guangshou tried to explain.

"Pah! Do you think I don't know what you're thinking?" Yang Guoxiu spat, his face full of disappointment.

"I," Xu Guangshou, opened his mouth, wanting to continue his sophistry.

Unfortunately, Yang Guoxiu did not give him that chance. She immediately pointed her finger at his nose and scolded, "You old scoundrel, aren't you just worried that Qiangzi won't acknowledge you as his master because he's getting higher and higher in rank and hasn't come back for so long?"
Don't you even think about whether you're qualified to be someone else's teacher?
Even if you helped him out back then, how has he treated you all these years? How has he treated our family? Don't you have any self-awareness?
"It's only because he still has some old feelings for you. Otherwise, if he just said that he's completely severed ties with you, would you believe that our family can forget about staying in Jinshan Fort from now on?"

Upon hearing this, Xu Guangshou's expression changed drastically, and he asked urgently, "Do you think Qiangzi will blame this on our Changzi?"

"You're asking me? Who am I supposed to ask?" Yang Guoxiu rolled her eyes, then sat down on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed) with a huff.

Seeing Yang Guoxiu's expression, Xu Guangshou didn't dare to utter another word.

Don't be fooled by his seemingly all-powerful demeanor at home; he knows that when it comes to brains, even three of him combined wouldn't be as sharp as Yang Guoxiu.

"Alright, don't worry so much, leave this to me!"

After a while, Yang Guoxiu glanced at Xu Guangshou, then spoke in a deep voice, giving him instructions.

In her view, the reason why Li Guoqiang was angry was mainly because Xu Guangshou didn't think things through and sent all sorts of people to Li Guoqiang.

To make up for this mistake, we need to find a way to solidify this favor.

For example, could we send Li Guoqiang another beautiful woman?
(End of this chapter)