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

It was already 10 p.m. when I drove to my cousin Li Guoqing's house.

It's New Year's Eve, and the village is still quite lively.

Li Ze immediately noticed that several cars were now parked on the not-so-spacious cement yard of Li Guoqing's house.

Besides Li Guoqing's electric tricycle, there was a black BMW X3 squeezed next to it, and the most eye-catching was a tall Land Rover Range Rover.

Li Ze raised an eyebrow. That Land Rover looked to be a new model, and it must cost at least a million.

It seems that Li's cousins ​​have all done quite well in the past eighteen years.

Li Ze parked the Audi and had just gotten out of the car when the main door of the house opened.

The dim yellow light bulb at the entrance looked exceptionally bright.

Li Guoqing and a group of people came out to greet them with smiles.

"Ouch! Fourth brother!"

Li Guoqing strode over, his wrinkled face beaming with a smile:

"You're finally back! Our whole family has been waiting for you, we've practically eaten all the sunflower seeds!"

Li Ze quickly stepped forward and cupped his hands in a respectful greeting.

"Brother, it's my fault. That's my parents' home, and there are many things to do there, so it took a little while."

"I accept the punishment. When we get to the table, I'll drink three cups as a penalty!"

At this moment, a middle-aged man in a dark jacket standing next to Li Guoqing spoke up.

This man had slightly gray hair, but he was very energetic and spoke with a strong voice.

"Zezi, why are you being so polite with your own brothers?"

"You haven't been back for eighteen years. It's only natural that we eat our first family reunion dinner at your wife's house. Nobody can complain about that."

Li Ze took a closer look.

Although the man had aged considerably and had wrinkles on his face, Li Ze recognized him immediately by his distinctive dimples when he smiled.

Li Ze tentatively called out:

"You are... Second Brother? Brother Yongfeng?"

The man chuckled, walked over, and patted Li Ze heavily on the shoulder:

"It's your second brother!"

"Well, you're something else! I thought after all these years of studying abroad, you'd forgotten all about your country bumpkin relatives!"

"I can't believe you still recognize me after eighteen years. You have a conscience!"

Immediately afterwards, another man squeezed out from behind the second brother.

The man was slightly overweight and dressed in a smart suit, impeccably dressed even in the countryside.

Without waiting for Li Ze to acknowledge him, he immediately gave Li Ze a bear hug and laughed loudly:

"It's me, Yuanping! Third Brother!"

"Zezi, I've missed you so much!"

Li Ze was a little dazed by the hug, but quickly recovered and hugged back:

"Third Brother, it's been a long time."

He really didn't expect it.

Previously, this third brother, Li Yuanping, was notoriously stingy.

When we were kids, we often clashed over trivial things, and I looked down on him because he was an orphan who relied on the charity of others.

After not seeing each other for eighteen years, they greeted each other with the same warmth as brothers.

Besides the three older brothers, there were also two middle-aged women standing nearby.

One is Wang Feng, the second sister-in-law, and the other is Liu Fang, the third sister-in-law.

After exchanging pleasantries for a while, everyone lamented how time flies and how everyone had gray hair.

"Alright, alright, it's cold outside, don't stand in the wind."

Li Guoqing greeted everyone:

"Come in! The food and drinks are all warmed up, let's drink and chat!"

A group of people escorted Li Ze into the house.

The room was well-heated, and the table was laden with hearty dishes.

Li Ze didn't hesitate. As soon as he sat down, he poured himself three full glasses of baijiu.

"Dear brothers and sisters-in-law, this first cup is a toast to our reunion."

"The second toast is for Mom and Dad, and all the elders."

"This third cup is my apology for being late."

After saying that, Li Ze tilted his head back and downed the three cups of wine in one swift motion.

"Great! That felt good!"

The second and third brothers were also infected by his hearty spirit and raised their glasses to join him for a few drinks.

After a few drinks, the atmosphere quickly became lively.

At first, Li Guoqing wanted to talk to Li Ze about his childhood memories of raiding bird nests and catching fish in the river.

As it turned out, the second brother, Li Yongfeng, was an impatient person. Before he had even touched his chopsticks a few times, he steered the conversation to the issue that everyone was most concerned about.

He looked at Li Ze, his eyes filled with a mixture of curiosity and envy:

"Zezi, when we came back this afternoon, Guoqing told us that you made a fortune abroad."

"They said they made hundreds of millions?"

"Is this for real?"

Upon hearing this, everyone at the table fell silent and stared at Li Ze.

Li Ze put down his chopsticks, smiled, and did not deny it:

"Yes, it's true."

"I was lucky enough to land a few good projects there and made some money."

The words "several hundred million" were casually uttered by Li Ze, which carried a different weight.

Third Brother Li Yuanping slapped his thigh, his face flushed with excitement:

"My goodness!"

"You're pretty good, kid! You're really something!"

"It's been eighteen years since we last met, and you're now the most successful among our generation of brothers!"

At this point, Li Yuanping shook his head, poured himself a glass of wine with a sigh:

"Sigh, back when we were kids, I used to always get along with you and thought you were a burden."

"Looking back now, I was such a blind fool."

"If I had known you had this ability, I would have sold the house and land to go abroad with you and try my luck!"

"If I had gone with you, I'd probably be worth hundreds of millions by now!"

Hearing this, Liu Fang, the third sister-in-law standing next to him, couldn't help but pinch his waist and roll her eyes:

"You wish!"

"What? You want to do what he did back then, abandoning your wife and children and leaving for eighteen years?"

"If you dare to leave, I'll break your legs!"

Li Yuanping winced in pain and quickly begged for mercy:

"Ouch! Gently, gently!"

"I was just saying, using an analogy! I don't actually have the guts!"

Everyone at the table burst into laughter.

Li Guoqing also smiled and waved his hand:

"Alright, alright, it's the New Year, let's not bring up those unhappy things from the past."

Second brother Li Yongfeng picked up his wine glass, looked at Li Ze, and his tone became serious:

"Zezi, tell the truth."

"Over the years you've been out there without any news, and like Guoqing and the others, I've cursed you a lot in my heart."

"I think what you did was really unfair; you really put Ruoran and her two children in a terrible situation."

"But seeing you come back today and hearing about your situation, I'm truly convinced."

"You're going to do something big."

"To be able to start from scratch and make hundreds of millions in a place where you know no one, that's not something an ordinary person can do."

"Now that you're back and have money, they've finally seen the light at the end of the tunnel."

As he spoke, the second brother clinked glasses with Li Ze:

"I salute you, brother!"

"To be honest, I've done pretty well these past few years."

"I worked my way up to become the head of a branch office at Wujiang Aerospace, and I've accumulated several thousand dollars."

"Your third brother isn't bad either. He left the Construction Bureau and started his own construction business, earning about the same as me."

"We used to think that my brother and I were the winners in life in our village, driving a Land Rover and living in a big house."

"But when you came back, it started at several hundred million."

"We then realized that compared to your scale, our actions were just small-scale and insignificant."

Third Brother chimed in:

"That's right, Second Brother, you even know these things!"

"Then you shouldn't have bought that Range Rover to show off. You should have driven an older BMW X3 like me, saved up more money so you could hang out with Lao Si later!"

As he spoke, Li Yuanping's shrewd little eyes darted to Li Ze.

He rubbed his hands together, a fawning smile typical of businessmen on his face.

"Zezi, I heard you're planning to tear down that dilapidated house in our hometown?"

"They said they're going to build a big estate?"

Is this true?

Li Ze nodded: "It's true, I've already had the blueprints drawn up."

Upon hearing this, Li Yuanping immediately perked up and thumped his chest loudly:

"That's perfect!"

"Do you need manpower? I happen to have two ready-made construction teams, both veterans with over ten years of experience, they're very skilled at detailed work!"

"If you trust Third Brother, then leave this job to me!"

"I guarantee I'll build it for you beautifully, and I absolutely won't cut corners!"

Looking at the eager eyes of my third brother, and the expectant looks of my second brother and Guoqing.

Li Ze knew exactly what was going on.

this is the truth.

Once you have money, everyone's opinion of you will change, and their attitude towards you will change.

Even relatives who have had past conflicts can become kind and even obsequious in the face of immense wealth.

This is why he concealed his true wealth from Zhang Ruoran.

He didn't want Ruoran and her brother-in-law to become people who only care about his money.

What he wants is pure affection and genuine acceptance.

But there's no need to hide it from Li's relatives.

Li Ze smiled and readily agreed:

"Okay, Third Brother."

"When recommending someone for a position, one should not avoid relatives or friends."

"Since you have a team, I'll hand this project over to you."

"Please prepare a budget and submit it to me later. As long as the quality is up to standard, money is not a problem."

"real?!"

Li Yuanping was so excited he almost jumped up, and raised his glass to toast Li Ze:

"Fourth brother! That's so kind of you!"

"Don't worry! I'll definitely have a plan ready for you within a week! It will absolutely satisfy you!"

"Here, let me toast you!"

Li Ze also smiled and raised his glass.

In fact, he knew in his heart that when his parents died and he had no food to eat when he was a child.

Although his third brother didn't treat him well usually, when he was so hungry that he had to knock on doors to beg for food, his third brother didn't let him leave empty-handed and gave him steamed buns.

Li Ze remembers this kindness.

Now that I have the ability, it's only right that I share some of my earnings with my brothers so they can live a better life.

The drinking session lasted until after midnight.

The sound of firecrackers outside was deafening, and fireworks illuminated the night sky.

The familiar melody of "Unforgettable Tonight" came from the television.

The new year has truly arrived.

Li Ze put down his wine glass, looked at the fireworks outside the window, and silently made plans in his mind.

We've basically figured out the situation with the Zhang family, sent the gifts we needed to, and built up their goodwill.

There's no need to hide it anymore; we should just show our strength when it's time to do so.

As long as you don't find it offensive, it's fine.

Tomorrow is the first day of the Lunar New Year.

Li Ze thought to himself:

"It's time to visit some relatives."

"It's perfect timing to go to Zhangjiazhai tomorrow with Ruoran to make up for all the favors we've owed over the past eighteen years."

"The road to winning back my wife has only just begun."