Siheyuan: A Very Happy Era

Chapter 591 Visiting Relatives Away from Home
Before we knew it, it was the morning of the second day.

As wisps of smoke rose from the rows of houses in Jinshanbao, Luo Huijuan, Shang Xiuzhen, and others got up early to pack their luggage and put it all into the off-road vehicle.

Xu Guangfu, Tian Guixiang, Xu Guangshou, and others arrived at Li Guoqiang's house early in the morning to see them off.

"Qiangzi, when you have time in the future, you must bring your wife and children and come back to visit this old woman often." Qu Yinfeng held Li Guoqiang's hand with teary eyes, reluctant to let go for a long time.

It can be said that the first ten years were the happiest and most joyful ten years of her life.

If it weren't for her desire to return to her roots and help Li Guoqiang and Xu Dani protect their family's land and ancestral property, she wouldn't have been willing to separate from Li Guoqiang, Luo Huijuan, and the others.

Especially Li Guoqiang's children, she practically watched them grow up.

Even if they aren't her biological grandchildren, they're no different from her own.

"Don't worry, Auntie, we'll definitely come back to visit you more often when we have time," Li Guoqiang said gently, patting Qu Yinfeng's back.

"Okay, I'm relieved to hear that," Qu Yinfeng nodded and agreed, crying and smiling at the same time.

"Grandma, please take care of yourself. We've kowtowed to you."

At this moment, Li Jiayuan, the eldest brother, came over with his younger brothers and sisters, and they all knelt down and kowtowed to Qu Yinfeng.

Although Qu Yinfeng was not their biological grandmother, over the years, she had given them the love and warmth of a grandmother.

Now that Qu Yinfeng has chosen to return to her roots and spend her later years in Jinshanbao, they should, both morally and logically, kowtow to her to repay her for all the years of care and companionship she has given them.

"Good children, get up, get up quickly." When Qu Yinfeng saw this scene, she immediately burst into tears.

Seeing this, Xu Guangfu, Tian Guixiang, and others couldn't help but feel envious and sentimental.

Back then, if it weren't for Qu Yinfeng taking the initiative to let Li Guoqiang stay at her home, he probably wouldn't have received so much respect and filial piety from his many grandchildren now.

This really is a case of reaping what you sow!
Fortunately, they were not bad off either. Not only did they bring Li Guoqiang to be their son-in-law, but they also had a handsome, well-behaved, and sensible grandson.

The only ones who were somewhat saddened were the elderly couple, Xu Guangshou and Yang Guoxiu.

What was originally a good relationship between master and disciple was ruined because of Xu Guangshou's one wrong decision.

Despite the years, Li Guoqiang has never neglected his manners; whenever he returns to Jinshanbao, he always brings them some nice gifts.

However, compared to Xu Guangfu and Tian Guixiang, they were far inferior.

Not to mention comparing her to Qu Yinfeng.

This really is a case of one wrong step leading to eternal regret!
Soon, with the comfort of Luo Huijuan, Shang Xiuzhen and others, Qu Yinfeng slowly stopped crying, and then personally put her beloved grandsons and granddaughters, including Li Jiayuan and Li Jiaqiu, into the off-road vehicle.

Xu Yuping and Zhu Caixia, holding Xu Dani's hand, kept reminding her to take good care of Qu Yinfeng and to hire a nanny for her when they went back to Beijing and then on to Hong Kong for school.

Xu Dani readily agreed.

In addition, Xu Yuying held Tian Guixiang's hand the whole time, urging her and Xu Guangfu to take good care of their health.

Only after Luo Huijuan, Shang Xiuzhen, and others got into the car did she, along with Xu Yuping and Zhu Caixia, get into the car, her eyes red with tears.

"Alright, don't bother seeing us off. We'll come back when we have time." Li Guoqiang waved his hand, turned around and got into the first SUV, then gently stepped on the gas and drove towards the village entrance.

Seeing this, Xu Guangfu, Tian Guixiang, and others waved to the convoy until the taillights were no longer visible, at which point they reluctantly lowered their hands.

"Sister-in-law, why are you doing this? Wouldn't it be better to go to the city with Qiangzi and enjoy a better life? Why do you have to come back and stay here?" Xu Guangfu looked at Qu Yinfeng, who was silently shedding tears, and couldn't help but ask with some confusion.

"That's enough. I've had more than ten years of happiness with Qiangzi in my life. I want to come back and help him guard these houses and fields. That's the last thing I can do for him as an old woman."

Qu Yinfeng wiped away her tears, then answered with a satisfied expression.

After saying that, she glanced at Xu Dani standing next to her and thought that with her body, she should be able to hold on for another four or five years.

By then, Xu Dani will have finished university and can find a grandson-in-law for her family.

Once Xu Dani gives birth, she can finally go to see her deceased husband with peace of mind.

At this moment, Li Guoqiang had no idea what Qu Yinfeng was thinking.

In fact, although Qu Yinfeng is almost eighty years old now, with Li Guoqiang's help to take care of her health over the past ten years, she should have no problem living to be over ninety if nothing unexpected happens.

Otherwise, Li Guoqiang wouldn't have felt so comfortable letting Qu Yinfeng return to Jinshanbao to live out her days in peace.

As for Xu Guangfu, Tian Guixiang, and others, although he wasn't always by their side to help them take care of their health, he had already instructed the people from the Changxian Qiangsheng branch to go to Jinshanbao from time to time to take them to the hospital for check-ups and to bring them some nourishing herbs and food.

This way, we can basically ensure that they can live out their old age in peace.

With this, the matter of Jinshanbao can be considered to have come to a temporary end.

Even if they come back in the future, it will be Li Guoqiang bringing Xu Yuping, Ma Shufen, and others. It will basically not be like this time, with the whole family coming back.

Soon, around noon that day, they drove to Shenyang and then took a plane directly to Beijing.

By the time the whole family emerged from the airport in Beijing, it was already past four in the afternoon.

Meanwhile, the staff from Qiangsheng Company's Beijing branch had arranged for vehicles to wait outside the airport.

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Li Guoqiang decided to take his wife and children to a three-courtyard house that he had asked someone from his company to help him buy a couple of years ago, and then go home to visit Li Dawei and Yao Meilan.

Moreover, this courtyard house happens to be located in Nanluoguxiang, called No. 99 Courtyard, and is only a few hundred meters away from their original home.

Besides that, the best part is that it only cost less than 3 yuan in total.

If it weren't for wanting to save time and spending some time negotiating, I estimate I could have saved a few thousand more.

However, this amount of money was just a drop in the ocean for Li Guoqiang, utterly insignificant. Moreover, compared to the money spent on buying the house, the subsequent repairs and renovations cost far more, amounting to over 300,000 yuan.

Besides renovation and reinforcement, the most important thing is to add Ming and Qing dynasty huanghuali and zitan furniture, porcelain, and calligraphy and paintings.

Although Li Guoqiang wasn't particularly fond of these antiques, he still needed to maintain a certain level of prestige.

Moreover, he bought this three-courtyard house precisely to enjoy its antique charm.

Otherwise, if he wanted to enjoy fashion and modernity, wouldn't it be better for him to just buy a piece of land and build a manor villa?
Soon after, under the guidance of the staff from Qiangsheng Company responsible for maintaining and guarding the house, Li Guoqiang and Luo Huijuan's entire family settled their luggage and other belongings.

Then, Li Guoqiang checked the time and found that it was just past 5 p.m. So he called his wife and children over, told them to change into simpler clothes, and then took some gifts that he had prepared in advance. They left the courtyard and headed towards No. 95.

Before they even reached the entrance of No. 95 courtyard, they ran into Sha Zhu, who was returning home from the factory.

"Qiangzi, what's going on here?" Sha Zhu looked at the large group of women and children behind Li Guoqiang with a look of astonishment on his face.

Although Li Guoqiang had brought his wife and children back with him before, this was the first time he had ever brought them all back like this.

Looking at it now, with twenty or thirty people in a huge crowd, the feeling it gives is completely different.

Not to mention, whether adults or children, they were all incredibly beautiful, almost making Sha Zhu's eyes dazzled.

"Uncle He, it's because the environment in China has improved! And it's summer vacation now, so I thought I'd bring my wife and kids back to visit my parents," Li Guoqiang explained with a chuckle.

"Oh! I see! Of course, of course!" Sha Zhu nodded in realization.

Then, looking at Qin Jingru and Yu Li, two familiar faces, and their beautiful faces and graceful figures, he couldn't help but feel a little emotional.

If he hadn't seen it with his own eyes, he probably wouldn't have believed that the two women who were once somewhat attractive had become so beautiful and elegant, looking just like TV stars.

What made him even more upset was the five little girls following Qin Jingru and Yu Li.

He had seen Li Guoqiang's biological mother, Chen Shuping, before, and even now, he still believes that Chen Shuping is the most beautiful and elegant woman he has ever seen in his life.

He originally thought he would never see a woman as beautiful as Chen Shuping again in his life, but unexpectedly, Li Guoqiang has now brought him a total of 5.

If they don't grow up to be bad, he can't even imagine what would happen if Li Guoqiang took his five daughters out for a stroll and caused a traffic jam.

"Um, Uncle He, has Aunt Lou come back to see you?" Li Guoqiang changed the subject and asked with a chuckle.

"No!" Sha Zhu's expression darkened upon hearing this, and he silently shook his head.

Seeing this, Li Guoqiang felt a little happy and then said softly to comfort her, "It's okay. I believe Aunt Lou still has feelings for you, otherwise she wouldn't have divorced her Hong Kong man."

If you can't wait, I can help you get a visa so you can go to Hong Kong to see her.

"No, no, let's not trouble you!" Sha Zhu immediately waved his hand and refused.

Actually, this wasn't the first time Li Guoqiang had said this. Ever since he learned that Lou Xiao'e had gotten divorced and told Sha Zhu the news, he had already mentioned it to Sha Zhu once.

However, for some reason, Sha Zhu refused to go to Hong Kong to find Lou Xiao'e, no matter what.

This might be due to male chauvinism, or it might be due to fear of being rejected by Lou Xiao'e.

"If you had persisted a little longer back then, you probably would have married Teacher Ran by now!"

Li Guoqiang looked at Sha Zhu's somewhat weathered face, smiled slightly, and teased him softly.

"Get lost! Are you kidding me? If it weren't for Teacher Ran seeing you, would I have been so disliked?"

Sha Zhu glared at him, his face full of annoyance.

"Haha! You can't blame me for this. If you have to blame someone, blame Teacher Ran for liking handsome guys."

When Li Guoqiang saw Sha Zhu's expression, he was immediately amused.

"Alright, I'm too lazy to argue with you. You should just take your wife and kids home!" Sha Zhu rolled his eyes, then turned and went into the yard, somewhat indignant.

In his view, Li Guoqiang was simply a case of the well-fed not knowing the hunger of the starving!
Leaving aside Luo Huijuan, Qin Jingru, and Yu Li, who were originally girls in their courtyard, just the likes of Shang Xiuzhen, Pan Qiaoyan, and Shen Fengxia alone are enough to make people envious to the point of losing sleep at night.

Not to mention, Luo Huijuan, Qin Jingru, and others gave birth to a total of nine sons and five daughters for Li Guoqiang.

This is almost as bad as the emperors of the old society.

It's only because things have changed since then, and Li Guoqiang has immigrated to Hong Kong, that's why any man would probably try to get Li Guoqiang to work as a sewing machine operator.

"Let's go!" Li Guoqiang saw that Sha Zhu had been angered and left, and the corners of his mouth lifted slightly. He then waved gently to his wife and children who had been standing obediently behind him, and stepped into the courtyard of No. 95.

Also, I forgot to mention that nowadays, apart from the three old men's houses, Xu Damao's house, Shazhu's house, Qin Huairu's house, and Lao Li's house, all the other houses in this courtyard have been bought by Li Guoqiang through intermediaries.

In addition, he arranged for some bodyguards, doctors and nannies belonging to Qiangsheng Company to move into these houses. This would prevent the yard from being too empty and make Li Dawei and Yao Meilan uncomfortable, and it would also allow them to be better taken care of.

Soon, the whole family entered the newly renovated courtyard and happened to run into Yao Meilan, who was carrying a basin of water out of the kitchen.

"boom!"

When Yao Meilan saw Li Guoqiang, Luo Huijuan, and the others, she was stunned and dropped the basin of water she was holding to the ground.

"grandmother!"

With a series of crisp shouts, the five little girls, Li Qingyun, Li Huixue, Li Mingzhu, Li Youlan, and Li Yuyan, rushed into Yao Meilan's arms one after another, like swallows returning to their nest.

The nine boys, Li Jiayuan, Li Jiaqiu, Li Jialin, Li Jiatong, Li Jiafeng, Li Jiahua, Li Jiayi, Li Jianian, and Li Jiawen, walked up to Yao Meilan and bowed deeply.

"Grandma, we've come back to see you."

(End of this chapter)