Siheyuan: A Very Happy Era

Chapter 589 You're the kid I admire the most.
"Honey, what are you doing?"

Not long after, Li Guoqiang frowned slightly as he watched Xu Wanling bustling around in her home.

He really couldn't understand why Luo Huijuan wanted to keep Xu Wanling, and even promised to take Xu Wanling back to Beijing by using the recruitment quota of Qiangsheng Cosmetics Company.

Isn't this just deliberately causing trouble for the family?
"Don't you think Xiuzhen and Qiaoyan are more diligent than before?" Luo Huijuan whispered mischievously in Li Guoqiang's ear.

"Uh, you're treating her like a catfish?" Li Guoqiang immediately realized what was going on.

"if not?"

Luo Huijuan rolled her eyes, then explained earnestly, "Don't you think that Xiuzhen and Qiaoyan have become lazier and lazier in the last year or two?"

Normally, he wouldn't even bother to flatter you, let alone help manage the group's affairs.

If things continue like this, it probably won't be long before they forget how they came to have such a good life.

I'm doing this to give them a little push, so they don't just waste their days doing nothing but eating and waiting to die.

After she finished speaking, a hint of sorrow flashed across her eyes as she looked at Li Guoqiang's handsome face.

In fact, what worries her more than this issue is that decades from now, she and Shang Xiuzhen will grow old, while Li Guoqiang will not have this problem.

Therefore, rather than saying that she wanted to give Shang Xiuzhen and others a little stimulation, it would be more accurate to say that she wanted to see how Li Guoqiang would react when faced with the temptations of those women outside.

In addition, as far as she knows, Wu Caie, Qin Huairu and Yu Jiaxue are all almost fifty years old now!

Because they didn't have Li Guoqiang by their side all the time, they definitely aged faster than she, Shang Xiuzhen, Pan Qiaoyan, and others.

In this way, she can use them as a reference to see how Li Guoqiang will treat Wu Caie and the others, and she will have a better understanding of the situation.

At this moment, Li Guoqiang had no idea that Luo Huijuan's considerations would be so far-reaching.

He just felt that Luo Huijuan's desire to make Xu Wanling the catfish might not be a bad thing.

After all, if a person doesn't have a sense of crisis, they can easily become lazy and lose all interest in life.

Soon, he stopped paying attention to the matter and turned his attention to discussing the next steps for the bee farm with Xu Yuliang and other brigade cadres.

"Well, let me first tell you about the advantages and disadvantages of the bee farm being acquired."

The advantage is that the bee farm will receive substantial financial support for its development, leading to increased dividends. The disadvantage is that you will lose control of the bee farm; regardless of its future development, you will only have the right to receive dividends, not the right to interfere.

"Qiangzi, does that mean we can't interfere if the bee farm doesn't make money in the future?" Xu Yuliang's expression was somewhat solemn.

“That’s right! After all, once the bee farm is sold to Qiangsheng Company, it will belong to someone else. The village will only be able to retain 40% of the shares for dividends and a certain number of job openings. They will no longer have the right to interfere with the development of the bee farm.”

Li Guoqiang nodded, his expression completely calm.

"Well... what if we don't sell it?" Xu Yuliang glanced at the other brigade cadres, then asked hesitantly.

“If you don’t sell, it’s uncertain whether Qiangsheng Company will continue to cooperate with you.” Li Guoqiang’s expression remained unchanged.

Upon hearing this, everyone's expression changed instantly.

Xu Yuliang, the team leader, in particular, showed a look of shock and anger. "Qiangzi, isn't what they're doing tantamount to forcing us to sell the bee farm to them?"

"No, no, no! This is not coercion; it's just normal business practice."

Li Guoqiang waved his hand, then explained earnestly, "Just like now, each of your households has been allocated land. How much grain you grow each year, whether you make a profit or a loss, is all your own responsibility."

The same applies to beekeeping farms. Since you choose to run them yourself, you must bear the corresponding risks.

Otherwise, you want to run the business yourself and expect others to cooperate with you unconditionally indefinitely? There's no such thing as a free lunch.

"But...weren't they always like that before?" Xu Yuliang glared, then spoke with some resentment.

However, before he could finish speaking, Li Guoqiang interrupted him with a serious expression, saying, "You said that was in the past. In the past, the bee farm belonged to the production brigade collective and could not be sold to a private company."

Upon hearing this, Xu Yuliang and the others all fell silent.

After all, since the land was distributed to individual households in 78, their mindset has gradually changed from the era of the collective economy, and they now know that everyone earns their living through their own abilities.

In fact, if it weren't for the partnership with Qiangsheng Company, someone would probably have wanted to take over the bee farm long ago.

"Well, why don't you think about it carefully first, and give me an answer by tomorrow night at the latest?"

Seeing that Xu Yuliang and the others remained silent, Li Guoqiang did not urge them but simply set a deadline for them.

He no longer thinks highly of the bee farms in Chang County.

If he hadn't been determined to see things through to the end, and also wanted to send Qu Yinfeng back to live out her retirement, he probably wouldn't have bothered with this.

"Okay, let's go back and have a meeting to discuss it!" Xu Yuliang felt relieved and quickly nodded in agreement.

"Alright, then I won't see you off!" Li Guoqiang picked up his teacup and gestured to Xu Yuliang and the others.

Soon, Xu Yuliang and other brigade cadres left Li Guoqiang's home.

Upon seeing this, Qu Yinfeng immediately approached Li Guoqiang, "Qiangzi, I'm thinking of taking Da Ni, Yu Ping, and Xiao Xia to the mountain to pay their respects later. Do you want to come along?"

"Of course I have to go!" Li Guoqiang immediately nodded in agreement.

After all, he was Qu Yinfeng's son-in-law, and had an obligation to pay respects to Old Master Xu.

Upon hearing the answer, Qu Yinfeng couldn't help but smile with great satisfaction.

Soon, under her guidance, Li Guoqiang, Xu Yuping, Zhu Caixia, and Xu Dani went to the back mountain of Jinshanbao and arrived at Xu Guangshan's grave.

"My dear wife, I've brought the children to see you!"

Qu Yinfeng knelt down in front of the grave with a thud, and tears streamed down her face like a tap had been turned on.

"father!"

"Grandpa!"

"grandfather!"

Upon seeing this, Xu Yuping, Zhu Caixia, and Xu Dani all knelt down behind Qu Yinfeng.

Only Li Guoqiang silently bowed to the grave. Afterwards, as he listened to Qu Yinfeng's incessant rambling, he recalled the scene when Xu Guangshan entrusted his family to him with a century-old wild ginseng.

Before we knew it, more than a decade had passed.

“My dear wife, don’t worry! Da Ni is now in high school and will soon be going to university. After she finishes university, I’ll have her find you a grandson-in-law so that our family line can continue.”

Not long after, Qu Yinfeng finished recounting some events from the past few years, and finally smiled as she gave Xu Guangshan a brief explanation.

Xu Dani, upon hearing Qu Yinfeng's words, did not refute them. Instead, she addressed the grave and echoed her sentiments:

"Grandpa, don't worry! I will definitely support our family."

At this moment, her face was full of determination and seriousness, completely different from the little girl who was always thinking about eating and playing more than ten years ago.

After a while, they cleared some weeds for Xu Guangshan, lit incense and burned paper money, and then went to the graves of Qu Yinfeng's son Xu Yukun and daughter-in-law to pay their respects.

By the time they returned home from the back of the mountain, it was already evening.

"Come on, Dani, I'm leaving these younger brothers and sisters to you. You're in charge of making sure they eat properly in the east room!"

"Got it!"

When Xu Dani heard Luo Huijuan's call, she immediately nodded and agreed, then ran into the east room to be the leader of the children.

Although she wasn't Li Guoqiang's child, she had grown up with him since she was little, and his children had followed her around since they were very young. So it was perfect for her to take care of them.

Soon, Shang Xiuzhen, Pan Qiaoyan, and others took turns bringing pots of local specialties into the east room so that the children could eat first.

All of these dishes were made by Tian Guixiang and Yang Guoxiu, along with Xu Wanling, Shang Xiuzhen, and others, making them truly authentic.

When they arrived at the east room, the children had already started eating. Only then did they bring the food into the west room and invite Xu Guangfu, Xu Guangshou, Xu Guanglu, Sun Maocai, Ma Changshun, Ma Chunmei, Qu Yinfeng, and others to the kang table.

Li Guoqiang accompanied him from the side.

Finally, they set up a table for themselves on the kang (a heated brick bed) on the other side of the west room.

"Qiangzi, I've lived this long and seen so many people, but you're the one I admire the most." Sun Maocai looked at the dozen or so beautiful women on the kang opposite him and couldn't help but feel a surge of envy.

"Yes! I really can't understand how you managed to get these girls to follow you so devotedly and have so many children with you." Ma Chunmei's face showed some confusion.

In fact, what she couldn't understand even more was how Luo Huijuan, Shang Xiuzhen, and others seemed to be getting younger and more beautiful as they got older.

If she hadn't known that Luo Huijuan, Shang Xiuzhen, and others were already mothers, she probably would have thought they were unmarried girls from some family!

"Well, maybe it's because I'm handsome enough!" Li Guoqiang raised an eyebrow and replied with a hint of pride.

“That’s true!” Ma Chunmei looked at Li Guoqiang’s increasingly mature and handsome face and immediately felt a deep sense of agreement.

Even an old lady like her would salivate at the sight of someone like Li Guoqiang, let alone others.

"Alright, everyone, eat it while it's hot!" Li Guoqiang chuckled to himself and then greeted them.

Upon hearing this, Xu Guangfu, Xu Guangshou, and the others picked up their chopsticks and began to eat.

After they had eaten and drunk their fill, Luo Huijuan, Shang Xiuzhen, and the others brewed a pot of tea so that the elderly men and women could reminisce about the past.

Slowly, the night deepened.

Li Guoqiang, Luo Huijuan, and others together escorted Xu Guangfu, Xu Guanglu, and others back to their homes.

After seeing the people off, Qu Yinfeng and Xu Dani had already put the children to sleep.

Zhu Caixia, dressed in a bright red cheongsam and veiled by Xu Yuping, sat quietly on the edge of the kang (heated brick bed) in the west room.

When Li Guoqiang entered the room, he couldn't help but roll his eyes at Xu Yuping, Shen Fengxia, and the others standing to the side, and then quickly reached out and tugged at Luo Huijuan's sleeve.

"Why are you pulling me into this? Xiaoxia has been waiting for you for so many years. Now that she's back in Jinshanbao and back in this home, it's time for you to give her an explanation." Luo Huijuan said earnestly.

"But, but what about her?" Li Guoqiang frowned, then pointed to Xu Wanling, who was next to Zhu Caixia and was also wearing a pink cheongsam.

"What? You're not happy about getting another wife?" Luo Huijuan glared at her, then asked forcefully.

Upon hearing this, Li Guoqiang was speechless.

It seems that Law Wai-kuen is determined to let Hui Wan-ling act as the "catfish" in this situation.

Since that's the case, there's no need for him to say anything more.

Anyway, in this family, he has always been in charge of external affairs, while Luo Huijuan has been in charge of internal affairs.

At that time, even if there are any troubles, it won't be his problem to worry about.

"Let's go! Let's lift the veil first."

Seeing that Li Guoqiang remained silent, Luo Huijuan immediately pulled him in front of Zhu Caixia, a look of amusement on her face.

If you didn't know better, you'd think she was a matchmaker!
Li Guoqiang looked at the beautiful young woman with a graceful figure in front of him, a complex look flashing in his eyes. Then he reached out and gently lifted the red veil, revealing a fair, delicate, and charming face.

"Brother Qiangzi!" Zhu Caixia stared intently at Li Guoqiang, her eyes slightly moist.

She had waited for this day for more than a decade, from the age of fourteen or fifteen to the age of twenty-seven or twenty-eight, and now she had finally waited for it.

"Sisters, what are you waiting for? Let's start making a ruckus in the bridal chamber!"

Seeing that Li Guoqiang hadn't moved, Luo Huijuan pushed him into Zhu Caixia's arms, then shouted something to Shang Xiuzhen, Pan Qiaoyan, and the others.

She didn't look like a proper lady at all; she looked more like a rather shady matchmaker.

Upon hearing her words, Shang Xiuzhen, Pan Qiaoyan, and the others all started to act with mischievous expressions.

Soon, the entire West Room was transformed into a paradise.

The babbling streams, bright red peach blossoms, and white-pink peaches are everywhere, fluttering in the air, making one feel as if they have entered a dream.

Before we knew it, it was the morning of the second day.

Before Li Guoqiang could even wake up from his sleep, a scream suddenly rang in his ears, jolting him awake.

(End of this chapter)