Siheyuan: A Very Happy Era

Chapter 594 A Sudden Change in Attitude
"Hey, Xu Damao, what are you doing here, you rooster that can't lay eggs?" As soon as Sha Zhu entered the door, he immediately started mocking Xu Damao.

"Silly Zhu, have I been too kind to you?" Xu Damao's face instantly turned extremely ugly.

If you were to ask him who he least wants to see on a daily basis, it would definitely be Sha Zhu.

They were mortal enemies to begin with.

Then, ever since ten years ago, Sha Zhu has been bringing over photos of Lou Xiao'e giving birth to mock him for being unable to have children. He even gave him the nickname "Old Rooster," making him a laughing stock in the neighborhood.

If it weren't for his desire to prove that he would be fine even without children, and the principle that murderers should pay with their lives, he probably would have killed Sha Zhu long ago.

"Hey, I was just saying it casually, why are you in such a hurry?" Sha Zhu quickly spoke up to calm things down when he saw that Xu Damao was getting anxious.

After all, Xu Damao hadn't bothered him much in the past two years, so he didn't want to strain his relationship with Xu Damao too much.

Moreover, he is now a chef at a steel rolling mill who is about to be laid off, while Xu Damao is a well-known small contractor on the street.

If things really come to a head, he can't guard against Xu Damao's underhanded tactics.

Besides, he's older now, and his temper isn't as fiery as it used to be.

What's more, Li Guoqiang was watching from the side!
Even if he's a complete scoundrel, he wouldn't dare to cause trouble at Li Guoqiang's house!
"Hmph! I can't be bothered arguing with a lousy cook like you!"

Xu Damao snorted coldly, then stood up, smiled at Li Guoqiang, and said goodbye:

"Um, Qiangzi, I have a business engagement later, so please excuse me. I'll treat you to dinner another time when I have more time."

"Okay, go ahead and do what you need to do!" Li Guoqiang chuckled and nodded.

"Tch, all that pretense, who are you trying to fool!" Sha Zhu couldn't help but retort so sourly after Xu Damao left.

"Alright, Uncle He, that person is already gone. Who are you trying to talk to?" Li Guoqiang said somewhat impatiently.

"Hehe!" Sha Zhu chuckled awkwardly.

"Have you made a decision?" Li Guoqiang asked without any pleasantries.

"Yes, I've made up my mind. I'm going to go find her and get to the bottom of this!" Sha Zhu said seriously, his expression turning serious.

Ultimately, he was spurred on by Li Guoqiang's happiness and fulfillment, which is why he made up his mind to go to Hong Kong to find Lou Xiao'e and get to the bottom of things.

“Okay, then bring me your ID card, household registration book and other documents in the next couple of days, and I’ll help you get a visa. It should take about a week. Once you have the visa, I’ll personally take you to Hong Kong!” Li Guoqiang readily agreed.

"Qiangzi, thank you so much!" Shazhu was a little touched.

"Hey! Look at what you're saying. We've been neighbors for decades. This little favor is nothing!" Li Guoqiang waved his hand, completely disregarding the small matter.

Moreover, he was actually quite interested in Sha Zhu's journey to find his family.

"Okay, I'll go back and bring you the information you requested right away." Sha Zhu was quite decisive.

Or, one could say he was a little impatient.

As soon as he finished speaking, his figure ran outside the door.

Before long, he returned with his household registration book and ID card, and personally handed them to Li Guoqiang.

After he left with an expectant look on his face, Luo Huijuan asked with some curiosity, "Hey, do you think Aunt Lou will acknowledge Uncle He as a man?"

"It's hard to say!" Upon hearing this, Li Guoqiang pondered for a moment, then slowly shook his head.

As far as he knew, many established companies in Hong Kong were on the verge of collapse due to the sudden rise of the powerful company.

The Lou family was among them.

Compared to the original drama, where Lou Xiao'e still had the time and inclination to spend money on Sha Zhu to help him realize his dreams, she probably doesn't have that much free time now.

However, this does not rule out the possibility that the Lou family has their eyes on the vast development market in the mainland and has shifted the focus of their business back to Beijing.

After all, even a starved camel is bigger than a horse, and a wrecked ship still has three pounds of nails.

Although in Hong Kong, the Lou family is not considered a major wealthy family, but just a small family with an annual output of a few million.

However, even by today's standards, it's already quite luxurious in Beijing.

"I hope they can be together in the end!" Luo Huijuan said with some emotion after hearing Li Guoqiang's answer.

Although she had never had a good impression of Sha Zhu, seeing that he was already in his forties and still waiting for Lou Xiao'e to come back, she sincerely hoped that Sha Zhu and Lou Xiao'e could get back together.

In addition, this also represents her beautiful expectation for her love with Li Guoqiang.

"Yes!" Li Guoqiang smiled slightly and gently embraced Luo Huijuan.

"Mmm!" Luo Huijuan leaned her head on Li Guoqiang's shoulder, recalling the scenery she and Li Guoqiang had experienced along the way, and a happy smile slowly appeared on her face.

In her opinion, Li Guoqiang was simply a bit of a womanizer.

However, from beginning to end, Li Guoqiang gave her his most sincere love and the best of everything.

Putting everything else aside, the fact that only she knew Li Guoqiang's biggest secret was enough to make her feel incredibly happy.

Soon, Zhu Caiyan came in from outside and informed Li Guoqiang, Luo Huijuan, Li Dawei and Yao Meilan, who were in the inner room talking with their grandchildren, that it was time to eat.

Immediately afterward, just as the food was placed on the table, Luo Guofu and Zhao Qiuyan, along with their three daughters (two adults and one child), walked in from outside the courtyard gate.

Before Luo Guofu and Zhao Qiuyan could even greet her, their three daughters rushed into Luo Huijuan's arms one after another, surrounding her completely.

This shows just how much they liked their aunt, Luo Huijuan.

The reason they call her "Big Aunt" is mainly because Luo Guofu has changed his surname, so as the children grow up, they all gradually change how they address her.

Nowadays, they call Luo Huijuan and Li Guoqiang "sister" and "brother-in-law," and the children naturally follow suit, calling them "aunt" and "uncle."

Just as Luo Huijuan was happily hugging her three nieces, they saw Li Guoqiang coming out of the house and immediately abandoned her.

"Uncle, we missed you so much!" The three little girls all rushed into Li Guoqiang's arms. "Haha, I missed you all too!" Li Guoqiang laughed and picked up his youngest niece.

Seeing this, Li Qingyun, Li Huixue, and the other three girls all unconsciously pouted and looked at Li Guoqiang with a somewhat aggrieved expression.

At their age, it's the perfect time for them to compete for attention.

Normally, it's just the five sisters.

Now, Li Guoqiang is holding their cousin, which is not acceptable.

If they weren't worried about being reprimanded by Li Guoqiang for their insolence, they probably would have already run up to him and snatched him back.

"Alright, alright, stop bothering your uncle. Aren't you afraid of being laughed at?"

At this moment, Zhao Qiuyan hurriedly stepped forward and pulled their three daughters over.

At the same time, looking at her own daughter's rather delicate appearance, as well as the stunning beauty of Li Qingyun and Li Huixue and the other three sisters, she couldn't help but feel a little uneasy.

This is truly a case of like begets like; dragons beget dragons, phoenixes beget phoenixes, and even a rat's son knows how to dig a hole!
"Sister, brother-in-law!" Upon seeing this, Luo Guofu stepped forward with a somewhat complicated expression and greeted Li Guoqiang and Luo Huijuan.

"Yes, you're back just in time. Go wash your hands and then come eat!" Luo Huijuan greeted them with a smile.

As she spoke, she took her three somewhat unhappy nieces to wash their hands.

Meanwhile, Li Qingyun, Li Huixue, and the other four girls took the opportunity to stick close to Li Guoqiang, as if they were afraid that their father would be taken away.

"You guys!" Li Guoqiang was immediately amused by the situation.

Not long after, he sat down at the dinner table with his five daughters.

Luo Guofu was also pulled to sit next to him.

"Brother, how long are you staying this time?" Luo Guofu couldn't help but ask as soon as he sat down.

"What's wrong?" Li Guoqiang raised an eyebrow and looked at Luo Guofu with some confusion.

"Well, our country is now open to the outside world, and I've never been anywhere except Beijing in my life! So I want to go to Hong Kong with you guys to broaden my horizons." Luo Guofu said somewhat embarrassedly.

"So you're not going to take care of your grandfather?" Li Guoqiang was quite surprised when he heard this.

In fact, he had already told Luo Guofu a few years ago that he wanted Luo Guofu to develop his career in Hong Kong.

However, Luo Guofu ultimately refused because he was worried about his grandfather, Luo Jiwu.

Unexpectedly, now that time has passed, Luo Guofu actually brought it up on his own initiative.

"Hey! Isn't there a phone? If anything happens, just give me a call and I'll rush back!" Luo Guofu waved his hand, looking completely indifferent.

Then, before Li Guoqiang could ask any more questions, he took the initiative to tell him the arrangements, "In addition, I plan to hire a caregiver for Grandpa, so that he can be taken better care of."

"I see!" Seeing that Luo Guofu had thought things through, Li Guoqiang didn't say anything more and nodded in agreement, "Okay, then in a few days, you can go back to Hong Kong with your sister, and Mom and Dad."

Speaking of returning to Hong Kong, Li Guoqiang couldn't help but feel a little emotional.

Originally, they came back this time intending to stay in Beijing and spend some quiet time with Li Dawei and Yao Meilan.

However, to his surprise, as soon as Li Dawei and Yao Meilan saw them return, they said they wanted to go to Hong Kong with them to spend their old age in peace, a stark contrast to their previous attitude.

Then, after inquiring, they learned that it was because they saw on the news that the country had finalized the century-long plan for reform and opening up, so there was no need to worry about not being able to return in the future.

Besides that, they really doted on Li Qingyun and Li Huixue's five granddaughters, wishing they could hold them in their hands every day.

Therefore, Li Guoqiang and Luo Huijuan immediately changed their plan to return to live there. Instead, Luo Huijuan, Shang Xiuzhen, and others took the elderly and children back to Hong Kong to live together.

As for Li Guoqiang, he often travels between Hong Kong and Beijing because he has to deal with matters involving Wu Caie and Yu Jiaxue, as well as oversee some domestic industrial development.

Thinking of this, he hesitated for a moment, then softly suggested, "Well, why don't we just take your grandfather to live in Hong Kong too?"

"Will this work?" Luo Guofu's eyes lit up slightly upon hearing this.

Even though Beijing will become a world-renowned metropolis in 30 or 40 years, the current standard of living in Hong Kong is incomparable to that of Beijing.

Especially for someone like Luo Guofu, who had never left Beijing in his entire life, the situation in Hong Kong was simply paradise.

In fact, if it weren't for Li Guoqiang's request, and the fact that Luo Huijuan, Shang Xiuzhen, and others also wanted to come back to visit their families, it's estimated that Luo Huijuan, Shang Xiuzhen, and others wouldn't have wanted to come back.

After all, how could an old house like a courtyard house compare to a sea-view villa in Repulse Bay?
"Anyway, I have no problem with that. No matter what, your grandfather is my elder. As long as he's willing, I guarantee he'll live comfortably in Hong Kong," Li Guoqiang replied with a slight smile and a confident expression.

"Alright, I'll go talk to him tomorrow and see what he thinks!" Upon hearing this, Luo Guofu immediately nodded excitedly and agreed.

Through these years of reform and opening up, he has also learned a lot about the situation abroad.

In addition, there were things that Li Guoqiang and Luo Huijuan would tell him from time to time, so it's fair to say that he had long wanted to go to Hong Kong to see it for himself.

However, due to the uncertain domestic environment in previous years, coupled with the presence of Luo Jiwu, he did not make up his mind to do so.

He quickly shared the good news with Zhao Qiuyan.

Upon hearing this, Zhao Qiuyan was overjoyed and repeatedly thanked Li Guoqiang.

Besides expressing gratitude to Li Guoqiang for his care, the main reason was that she was on the verge of being unable to continue working at the textile factory.

If it weren't for Li Guoqiang frequently leaving Li Dawei and Yao Meilan substantial pension funds, with Yao Meilan then subsidizing them, the couple would probably be worrying about how to make ends meet in the future.

Just as the couple were imagining what kind of life they would have in Hong Kong, Xu Yuping, Ma Shufen, and others had already brought out all the food and opened a jar of wine that had been aged for over a hundred years.

Even with the help of Xiaotiandi and Tiandao Chouqin, Li Guoqiang doesn't have much of this wine in stock; it's a rare find.

As the amber-colored liquor was slowly poured out, an extremely enticing aroma wafted into the courtyard, captivating all the residents who had just finished dinner and were enjoying the cool evening air in the yard.

(End of this chapter)