Middle-aged tycoon: Twins come knocking on his door when he goes home for Chinese New Year

The Audi was driven very steadily, and the scenery outside the window was both familiar and unfamiliar to Li Ze.

Eighteen years have passed, but Lijia Village hasn't changed much; at least the road leading into the village still follows the same route.

A straight cement road, like a gray ruler, is inserted straight into the field.

As Li Ze drove, he gave directions to Li Mengli in the passenger seat:

"Daughter, watch out, this is the way back to Grandpa and Grandma's house."

There are four forks in this road.

"We won't bother with the first three routes; those lead to other villages."

"When you see the fourth fork in the road, turn left, and you'll be in the territory of our Li Family Village."

Li Mengli leaned against the car window, looking at the bare fields outside and the occasional sparrow flying by, and nodded obediently:

"Remember, Dad, turn left at the fourth intersection."

The car passed the fourth intersection smoothly and turned onto a slightly narrower cement road.

The road initially extends straight ahead, followed by a long downhill slope.

Li Ze slowed down the car.

Because he remembered very clearly that his parents' final resting place was at the bottom of this downhill road.

"arrive."

Li Ze said softly and slowly parked the car on the muddy ground by the roadside.

The father and daughter got out of the car.

Li Ze opened the trunk and took out the huge pile of fireworks, firecrackers, incense, and paper money he had bought yesterday.

Li Mengli also thoughtfully picked up the two bunches of golden chrysanthemums.

The ridges along the roadside were covered with withered yellow weeds.

A cold wind blew, and the wild grass rustled.

Li Ze stood on the edge of the field, looking at the small earthen mound not far away, his heart filled with mixed feelings.

I haven't been back for eighteen years.

I originally thought this place had long since become a wasteland, and that there wouldn't even be any graves left.

But now it seems that although the surrounding area is overgrown with weeds, some of which are taller than a person, blocking the road.

But the outline of the burial mound is still there; it has not been completely erased by time.

This can only prove one thing.

This is not an abandoned grave that no one cares about; people take care of it and add soil every year.

Li Ze took a deep breath and turned to ask his daughter beside him:

"Mengli, do you and your mother come here every year?"

Li Mengli tucked her wind-blown hair behind her ear and said matter-of-factly:

"Yes, Dad."

Didn't I tell you yesterday?

"According to the rules set by my mother, after returning to her parents' home on the second day of the Lunar New Year, she would take my younger brother and me back to Lijia Village a couple of days later."

"The first thing we did was to visit my grandparents' graves."

"Mom said that although you are no longer here, my brother and I still have the blood of the Li family flowing in our veins."

"As long as we are still alive, the incense at the Li family's ancestral graves must not be cut off."

Upon hearing this, Li Ze felt a surge of bitterness well up inside him again, and his eyes became slightly hot.

He, as the son, deserted.

On the contrary, it was his wife, whom he had abandoned, who fulfilled his filial duties for eighteen years.

This affection is too heavy.

Li Ze looked at his daughter and said earnestly:

"Mengli, your mother and you two siblings have really had a tough time these past few years."

"In this freezing weather, they still have to come all this way to weed."

"Dad didn't have much to say."

"How about this, as a reward for your filial piety, Dad will transfer another 100 million to that card later."

Li Mengli was just lamenting the vicissitudes of time.

Upon hearing this, his eyes widened instantly, almost dropping the chrysanthemum in his hand.

"My God!"

"Dad! You're so great!"

"Another hundred million?!"

Li Mengli was so excited she wanted to jump up and down on the spot.

Is this the joy of having a super-rich dad?

As long as you speak a few honest words and behave well, your allowance will flow in like water.

This feeling is simply amazing!

Li Ze couldn't help but smile as he looked at his daughter's greedy, money-grubbing expression.

"Alright, stop laughing."

"Get to work quickly and clear the road first."

The father and daughter trudged into the grass, one step at a time.

Li Ze walked ahead, using his hands to push aside the withered weeds, forcefully treading out a path.

We finally arrived at the grave.

This is a very ordinary little grave, and the tombstone is the old-fashioned bluestone one that was erected twenty years ago.

Behind it is a small dome simply built with cement.

Although it looks simple, it has not collapsed.

Li Ze put down his things, took off his expensive coat and threw it on the ground, rolled up his sleeves and started pulling weeds.

"Come on, girl, lend a hand."

"Clean this whole area thoroughly so your grandparents can live in a bright and spacious place."

Li Mengli also took off her down jacket, wearing only her sweater underneath, and joined Li Ze in the chores.

The two of them pulled weeds, picked up stones, and swept the ground with tree branches.

This whole ordeal took more than an hour.

When the open space in front of the grave was cleared clean, revealing the yellow soil.

Both father and daughter were panting heavily and covered in sweat.

Li Mengli plopped down on Li Ze's coat, fanning herself with her hand while complaining:

"Oh dear, I'm exhausted."

"Dad, I just don't understand."

"Didn't you have so many bodyguards in black suits with you at the train station exit?"

"Why didn't you call them over to help?"

"They're all as strong as oxen, this job should be a piece of cake for them."

"We have to work ourselves to death here."

Li Ze wiped the sweat from his forehead, took out incense and candles from the bag, and said as he lit them:

"Silly girl, you don't understand."

"Visiting ancestral graves is a way of showing filial piety to one's elders."

"You have to do these things yourself to show your sincerity."

"If we let the bodyguards do it, they've accomplished the task, but will your grandparents in the afterlife be able to feel our good intentions?"

"It's like cooking; can mom's cooking taste the same as takeout?"

Li Mengli thought for a moment and nodded:

"Okay, okay, you have a point."

"As long as you're happy, it's worth it to work up a little more sweat."

After cleaning up the site, Li Ze arranged the offerings he had brought one by one.

Apples, oranges, pastries, and a bottle of good wine.

He placed the two bunches of chrysanthemums on either side of the tombstone, and then lit incense and candles.

"Come on, kowtow to Grandpa and Grandma."

Li Ze pulled Li Mengli along, and the father and daughter knelt on the ground side by side.

Looking at his parents' names on the tombstone, Li Ze felt a surge of emotion, a sense of blood connection washing over him.

He placed his hands on the ground and solemnly said:

"Dad, Mom."

"You unfilial son, Li Ze, has come to see you with your granddaughter, Meng Li."

"I haven't come back to pull weeds for you in eighteen years, I'm sorry you've had to suffer."

"I have good news for you. You not only have a granddaughter, but also a grandson named Menghan, who looks exactly like me when I was young."

"This is all thanks to Ruoran for her great contributions to the Li family."

Li Ze paused, his eyes hardening.

"Dad, Mom."

"I know I was a jerk before, and I lost Ruoran."

"But don't worry, now that I'm back, I will definitely do my best to win her back."

"I want to make our whole family able to live together happily again."

"May your spirits in heaven bless your son's success."

Hearing her father's heartfelt confession, Li Mengli, who was standing next to him, was also moved to tears.

She sniffed and said loudly:

"Grandpa and Grandma, don't worry!"

"I'll definitely help my dad! I'm his number one ally!"

"I will definitely help him win his mother back!"

Li Ze glanced at his daughter with relief, then continued speaking to the tombstone:

"And also, Mom and Dad."

"This time I'm coming back, I'm going to do a good job renovating our house."

"I want to renovate our family's ancestral graves to make them look more impressive."

"And we also want to expand our old house."

"A two-story house is too shabby."

"I want to build a big villa, a large estate, with a huge garden and swimming pool!"

"Let the whole village know that our Li family has risen again!"

After kowtowing and burning paper money.

Li Ze lit the firecrackers and fireworks.

Amidst the deafening sound of firecrackers, Li Ze, holding his daughter's hand, retreated to the side of the road.

Watching the rising smoke, Li Ze felt as if a huge weight had been lifted from his heart.

"Come on, daughter."

"Let's go back to the old house and take a look."

I got back in the car, went down the slope to the bottom, turned left, and then turned right.

After passing the long-dried-up pond at the village entrance, Li Ze's old home is just ahead.

Li Ze parked the car in the open space in front of the gate.

This is a typical self-built rural house from the 1980s and 90s.

The building has two floors and red brick exterior walls, which have turned black from years of neglect.

The corners of the wall were covered with moss, and there were even several conspicuous cracks on the wall.

Half of the wooden windows on the second floor were rotten, creaking in the wind and looking like they were about to collapse.

"Tsk tsk tsk."

Li Ze stood by the car, looking at the dilapidated building, and shook his head.

"Can this house even still be called a house?"

"It's practically an antique."

"If you lived here, you wouldn't even know it collapsed in the middle of the night."

Li Mengli also covered her nose with a look of disgust:

"Yes, Dad, this is even more dilapidated than Grandpa's old house."

Without wasting words, Li Ze took out his phone and sent a WeChat message to Lao Yi:

I've sent you my location.

【Bring the engineering department personnel and get to Lijia Village within one hour.】

I need to design a new manor design.

Remember, be quick!

Old man replied in a second:

【Understood, boss! I'll be right there!】

After sending the message, Li Ze led his daughter to the front door.

Li Ze was suddenly stunned when he saw the rusty iron lock.

He slapped his forehead:

"broken!"

"I was so busy getting back that I forgot to ask your mom for the keys!"

"How are we supposed to get in without a key? We can't exactly insert my Audi key, can we?"

Li Ze was wondering whether he should just kick the door open.

Li Mengli, standing beside her, chuckled and, as if by magic, pulled a brass key from her pocket.

She waved in front of Li Ze:

"Clang clang clang!"

"Dad, look what this is?"

Li Ze accepted the key with delight:

How did you get the key?

Li Mengli said smugly:

"That's what they mean by 'no one knows a husband better than his wife!'"

"When you left, Mom knew you wouldn't remember this."

"She secretly slipped the key to me and told me to keep it with me, saying that it would save me from having to break the lock if I couldn't get in."

Holding the key, still warm from his touch, Li Ze felt sweeter than if he had eaten honey.

"Ah, my wife is so considerate!"

"It seems that Ruoran still cares about me; she even thought of such a detail for me."

Li Ze happily inserted the key into the lock and turned it with a little force.

With a "click," the lock opened.

Push open that heavy wooden door.

A strong musty smell hit them, making both father and daughter cough twice.

The room was dimly lit and covered in dust and cobwebs.

Just as Li Ze was about to go in and take a look.

My phone suddenly vibrated in my pocket.

Li Ze thought it was Lao Yi who had arrived, or Ruoran who sent a message to ask about the situation.

He casually took out his phone and glanced at it.

The screen displayed a text message from an unknown number.

Li Ze glanced at the contents casually.

However, that one glance caused his pupils to dilate instantly, and he froze on the spot.

The message's notes section clearly stated three words:

【Bai Qianyue】

The content terrified him even more:

Li Ze, it's been eighteen years, you're finally back.

If you have time, come find me in Seoul. I'll be waiting for you at the Pan-Pacific International Hotel.

Li Ze's eyes widened, and his hand holding the phone trembled slightly.

Bai Qianyue? !

This woman, whom Zhang Ruoran mentioned just last night, was considered his "elopement partner."

This woman caused him to bear the blame for eighteen years.

Why would she suddenly message me?

and……

How did she get her own phone number? That was a private number he got after returning to China!

Most importantly, how did she know she was back?!

It should be noted that although he did not deliberately conceal his return to China this time, it was by no means high-profile.

A strange unease crept up Li Ze's spine.

What exactly does this woman who disappeared eighteen years ago want to do?