Courtyard Houses: Starting with the principle of hard work paying off

Chapter 45 Thanks
As soon as Brother Zhang mentioned Director Lou, Li Hongbing knew who he was.

Li Hongbing only learned that the person he saved that day was the other party's daughter, Lou Xiao'e, after Luan Xuetang had specifically contacted him about this matter.

only.

At that time, the other party only sent someone over once.

Since I wasn't home, I left an address so he could come over when he had time.

Li Hongbing naturally didn't go and didn't take the matter to heart. Unexpectedly, a few days later, the other party came looking for him again.

Think about it too.

Even in ordinary families, if someone saves their daughter and they don't even say thank you in person, people will gossip about it.

Not to mention well-known figures like Lou Bancheng.

Now that the workers and peasants have become masters of their own destiny, Lou Zhenhua, although a capitalist of the exploiting class, is still relatively well-liked by the authorities because he was a patriot who had secretly helped our army before liberation.

On the eve of liberation, those with shady pasts and those who were afraid of being purged had already fled at the first sign of trouble. Those who remained were like Lou Zhenhua, who were biased towards our army.

More importantly.

Lou Zhenhua, known as Lou the Half-City, has a large amount of assets in Beijing, and he is reluctant to give up these businesses.

After liberation.

The authorities naturally took over some important strategic industrial sectors immediately, including enterprises such as the steel rolling mill that originally belonged to Lou Zhenhua.

However, the authorities have a policy of redeeming these enterprises that are "owned," and within the steel rolling mill, a certain percentage of shares are reserved for Lou Zhenhua, allowing him to enjoy the dividends from the steel rolling mill.

To some extent, this was actually an early form of public-private partnership.

That's why Lou Zhenhua is now known as Director Lou.

Before this.

Lou Zhenhua also has the nickname "Lou Half-City," meaning he owns half of Beijing's businesses. While this is an exaggeration, it does illustrate his importance and makes him one of the business leaders that cannot be ignored.

At a time when everything was in ruins and needed to be rebuilt, the government wanted to vigorously develop and construct, which naturally required the support of people from all walks of life, including patriotic capitalists like Lou Zhenhua.

Until the eve of the storm, apart from not being as glamorous as before, the Lou family was actually living a pretty comfortable life.

Even though he was later implicated, Lou Zhenhua was still able to secretly take several cartloads of gold, silver, and valuables and move his entire family south as soon as he managed to escape temporarily, which shows that he still had powerful connections.

This time, his daughter fell into the water and was rescued by Li Hongbing. He had sent someone to look for Li Hongbing before, and although they missed the opportunity, they left their address.

Lou Zhenhua never expected that after waiting for so long, Li Hongbing would not make a move at all, and he began to get restless.

If this gets out, people will laugh at him for not knowing how to behave and being grateful, which will damage his reputation.

If he were criticized for being arrogant and condescending because of his status as a capitalist, and for not respecting the workers and peasants, the consequences would be severe.

Unable to wait any longer, Lou Zhenhua had no choice but to visit them on his own initiative.

soon.

Li Hongbing was then led to a private room.

A distinguished guest like Lou Zhenhua would naturally not appear in the lobby, as that would be inconsistent with his status.

Even if you want people to witness it, deliberately choosing an outdoor location makes it seem like a publicity stunt.

"The shopkeeper's."

When Li Hongbing arrived, Luan Xuetang was talking with Lou Zhenhua.

Beside them were a middle-aged woman and a girl of about twelve or thirteen years old.

Li Hongbing recognized the girl who had fallen into the water that day. If nothing unexpected happened, the girl was Lou Xiao'e, and the middle-aged woman was most likely Lou's mother.

"Xiao Li, this is Director Lou." "Ms. Lou, look closely, isn't that him who rescued you from the river that day?"

"Yes! Uncle Luan, it was this older brother who saved me that day..."

"Big brother, thank you for saving me that day!"

"I came here today with my parents specifically to thank you."

"..."

There were no unexpected events or misunderstandings. As Lou Xiao'e recognized Li Hongbing and went forward to thank him, Luan Xuetang and Lou Zhenhua, who were standing nearby, all smiled.

The scene was very harmonious.

Faced with Lou Xiao'e's heartfelt thanks, Li Hongbing didn't stand still and took the initiative to say, "Miss Lou, you're too kind. It was just a coincidence that day. I'm glad you're alright now."

At this time.

Lou Zhenhua took a step forward and came to Li Hongbing. He reached out and grasped Li Hongbing's hands, saying with great gratitude, "Brother Li, thank you so much. I, Lou Zhenhua, only have one daughter. If something were to happen to Xiao'e, it would be a huge blow to our Lou family."

I originally wanted to come and thank you as soon as I heard about you, but Xiao'e caught a cold and developed a high fever that night. She only recovered in the last two days, which is why I was delayed.

Please forgive me if I have been impolite!

"Director Lou, you flatter me."

Lou Zhenhua's explanation directly changed Li Hongbing's impression of him.

It would be impossible for Li Hongbing to have no thoughts about what happened before.

After all, it was a life-saving favor. It's been so long, and he came looking for me once before, leaving an address. It's a bit unreasonable.

Even if Li Hongbing didn't intend to gain any benefit from this, his actions seemed very perfunctory and disrespectful.

This explanation, whether true or false, at least sounds pleasant.

"It was my fault for being rude!"

Lou Zhenhua smiled, then asked with concern, "I heard that you fell ill after you went back that day. I wonder how you are now?"

Lou Zhenhua is currently treating Li Hongbing with great friendliness, without any condescension.

Times have changed.

In the past, even if it was a life-saving favor, Lou Zhenhua would never have lowered his stance so much in front of a junior apprentice like Li Hongbing.

"It's all better now, thank you for your concern, Director Lou!"

Whether it was genuine or just polite talk, Lou Zhenhua's performance was impeccable, so Li Hongbing naturally wouldn't deliberately embarrass him.

"That's good!"

Upon hearing Li Hongbing's words, Lou Zhenhua looked relieved. He then pointed to the items on the table and said to Li Hongbing, "These are some gifts and supplements I specially prepared for you. First, to thank you for saving my daughter, and second, because you were injured in the process, I hope these will help you recover."

Li Hongbing took a look and found that there were some good things here, including precious medicinal materials such as old ginseng.

Lou Zhenhua really did come with generous gifts.

However, these things are considered extremely valuable by ordinary people.

But for Lou Zhenhua, it was just a drop in the ocean.

Even so, Lou Zhenhua has shown sincerity.

"Besides these, I've also prepared some mundane items; I hope you won't find them offensive, young man..."

(End of this chapter)