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

Hearing his daughter ask him if he had a small goal.

Li Ze gripped the steering wheel and couldn't help but laugh out loud.

One hundred million?

For him, this might just be a daily fluctuation in the interest rate of an account.

If we really calculate it according to this standard, then even if he doesn't do anything during his trip back to China...

Just by sitting there and breathing, the money in my account is growing at a rate of several small goals per second.

However, facing his daughter's big, curious eyes, Li Ze didn't want to make things too mysterious.

If you tell her directly:

"Daughter, your dad's net worth is now equivalent to the world's GDP for a year."

Li Mengli would probably think he was bragging, or that he had lost his mind while abroad.

This concept is too big, so big that it feels unreal.

Just like when you say the universe is vast, the average person can only say "oh" without having any concrete concept of it.

After thinking for a moment, Li Ze decided to express it in a more intuitive way.

As he drove steadily, following the Volkswagen in front of him, he casually remarked:

"Mengli, to your dad now, money is just a string of numbers."

"I'm too lazy to count exactly how many there are, it's too much trouble."

"However, to prevent my money from depreciating, I casually bought some company shares, which I guess is a way of saving money."

Li Mengli blinked and asked:

"Buy a company? What kind of company? Is it one of those small companies located in an office building?"

Li Ze shook his head:

"no."

Do you know JPMorgan Chase?

Li Mengli was taken aback. Although she didn't study finance in her hotel management major, she had heard of this name before.

"I've heard of it; it's supposed to be a very large bank in America?"

"Yes, I am their largest individual shareholder."

Li Ze continued:

"And then there's Apple, the company that makes phones."

"As you know, young people like to use this nowadays, so I just bought their shares and became their boss."

"And the rice company, the one we have domestically produced, I also invested a lot of money in."

"Oh, right, and Porsche too."

"I thought the car was really well-made, so I acquired the whole brand."

As Li Ze announced each name one by one.

Li Mengli's mouth opened wider and wider, until it was big enough to fit an egg inside.

Morgan? Apple? Rice? Porsche?

These are all world-class giants!

The name I see every day in the news and on Google.

Now it's coming from my own dad, and in such a casual tone, like "just buy whatever you want."

Li Mengli felt that her worldview had been greatly impacted.

She swallowed hard, her voice trembling slightly.

"Dad...you...you're not kidding, are you?"

"You mean, Apple and Porsche are now part of our family?"

Li Ze smiled and used one hand to gently rub his daughter's head:

"More or less."

"Back when I was abroad, I had some missions... cough, some business to do."

"In order to build connections and preserve the value of my assets, I just acquired these companies that looked pretty good."

"If you like, I'll have someone send you one of every color of the latest Porsche models, so you can drive a different one every day."

Li Mengli took a deep breath, trying to process this shocking news.

After a while, she came to her senses, and her eyes were filled with admiration and a hint of excitement as she looked at Li Ze:

"Dad, you're amazing!"

"I always thought that super-rich people were far removed from my life."

"I never imagined that the most amazing person was right beside me, and it was my own dad!"

Li Mengli danced with excitement, like a little child:

"Dad, do you know? The richest person I know is a rich girl from our school."

"She is the daughter of a local real estate developer in Seoul."

"She always walks with a swagger at school, and everything she wears and uses is a designer brand."

"Everyone says her family has billions! I thought that was an astronomical figure."

After listening, Li Ze simply smiled faintly, his eyes carrying a mixture of kindness and domineering power:

"Several billion? That's quite a lot of money."

"However..."

"Those companies you just heard about, whether it's Apple or Porsche."

"I'll just pick the cheapest subsidiary from there, even if it's just a branch."

"Conservatively speaking, it could be worth several hundred billion if sold."

"That real estate developer is probably nothing compared to your dad."

Li Mengli was overjoyed to hear this.

It's not just about the money, but also about the feeling of triumph.

For so many years, because I had no father and because my family was poor.

Although she and her brother didn't say it, they were actually very insecure.

Now that I suddenly know I have such an amazing father, the feeling of instantly straightening my back is just so exhilarating.

She said with a smile:

"Good heavens! Does that mean I've really transformed from a pheasant into a golden phoenix, just like in the movies?"

"So, I can be one of those swaggering, elegant young ladies now?"

Upon hearing the word "phoenix," Li Ze's smile deepened.

He turned his head and gave his daughter a deep look, his tone carrying a profound meaning:

"Silly child, what are you saying?"

"You've always been my daughter, how could you be a prostitute?"

You are the apple of my eye.

"If you're willing, you can become a phoenix, let alone anything else."

"Even if you really want to fly to the sky and become a real phoenix, Dad can make it happen for you."

Li Mengli chuckled and patted Li Ze's arm:

"Dad, stop bragging."

"Having money is fine, but you can't go against the laws of nature. If you become a real phoenix, wouldn't that make you a monster?"

Li Ze smiled, offering neither rebuttal nor explanation.

But he silently recited in his heart:

This is no exaggeration.

That "super rich system" did more than just give him endless money.

When he has completed all his missions and is ready to return home.

To reward him for his eighteen years of dedication, the system gave him an ultimate reward—

Three wishes.

Whatever the wish, even if it's to change the rules of physics or turn back time, the system can help him achieve it.

If Li Mengli really wanted to become a phoenix, Li Ze only needed to think about it and consume a wish to make her grow wings.

Of course, this was just a joke.

Actually, Li Ze had considered using these three wishes on his way back.

For example, he could directly wish for Zhang Ruoran to forgive him, so that the family could reconcile instantly and return to the loving relationship they had eighteen years ago.

They can even make a wish to erase their painful memories of the past eighteen years.

That would be so simple and convenient.

However, Li Ze ultimately gave up on the idea.

As a mature man, he understood one principle:

Feelings gained through external forces are not genuine.

Is Zhang Ruoran, whose thoughts have been modified by the system, still the same Zhang Ruoran who is clear about her likes and dislikes, strong and independent?

No.

It was just a manipulated puppet.

What Li Ze wanted was not this kind of false fulfillment.

What he wanted was to win back his wife and children's hearts little by little through his sincerity and his actions.

He wanted to make Zhang Ruoran fall in love with him again, and to make the children genuinely call him "Dad."

Only such a combination has meaning.

As for those three wishes, let's save them for the children to use as life-saving charms later.

Li Ze snapped out of his thoughts and glanced ahead.

The old Volkswagen was driving very slowly, and Li Ze patiently followed, keeping a distance of about fifty meters.

"By the way, Mengli."

Li Ze asked:

Where is your mom headed now?

"This road looks like it leads to the suburbs."

Li Mengli looked out the window and replied:

"Oh, my mom told me we're going straight back to our hometown today."

"Hometown?"

Li Ze's heart skipped a beat:

"Are we going back to Lijia Village?"

Li Ze's hometown is Lijia Village in Xihe Town.

When he and Zhang Ruoran got married, the wedding banquet was held in the village.

Li Mengli shook her head:

"No, we're going to Zhangjiazhai today."

"Although my maternal grandparents are no longer here, there are still a few distant relatives in Zhangjiazhai."

"Mom said we should go there first to celebrate the New Year and visit my grandparents' graves."

"Wait until after the second year of junior high school, then take my brother and me back to Lijia Village."

Hearing this, Li Ze was somewhat surprised:

"Go back to Lijia Village? Your mother still wants to go back to Lijia Village?"

Since they hate him so much, they should logically sever ties with the Li family.

Li Mengli sighed, her tone tinged with admiration:

"yes."

"Even though Mom hates you, she still can't hold back with her words."

"But she is a very traditional and rule-abiding person."

She said that no matter what, my brother and I have the blood of the Li family flowing in our veins, and we are descendants of Li Family Village.

"This has nothing to do with whether she hates you or not."

"So every Spring Festival, she would take us back to Lijia Village."

"Go and clean the house in your hometown and put up Spring Festival couplets."

She said, "The Li family's house cannot collapse, and the ancestral tablets cannot be left unattended."

Even if you're gone, this home should still feel like a home.

Upon hearing these words, Li Ze tightened his grip on the steering wheel.

That bittersweet feeling welled up inside me again.

What a wonderful woman!

Even though she was so deeply hurt, she still fulfilled her filial duties as his grandchildren and guarded his dilapidated old home.

In comparison, I've been a complete bastard for the past eighteen years.

"The Li family's house..."

Li Ze muttered to himself.

His thoughts drifted back to his childhood.

Li Ze's parents passed away early; they both died in an accident when he was still in elementary school.

He grew up on the charity of many families.

Later, when he was admitted to university, it was the villagers who pooled their money to support his studies.

That old house holds too many memories for him.

I haven't been back for eighteen years, and I don't even know if my parents' graves are overgrown with weeds.

I wonder if those old tile-roofed houses are leaking so badly they're practically falling apart.

A strong feeling of homesickness and guilt towards my parents welled up in my heart instantly.

Li Ze took a deep breath, his eyes becoming unusually determined.

He made a decision in his heart.

This time when I go back, I'm not only going to bring my wife and children back.

He has one more thing to do.

He wants to rebuild Lijia Village!

It's not just about renovating one's own old house.

He wants to completely renovate the entire Lijia Village, from beginning to end, inside and out!

Turn all those muddy roads into asphalt roads.

Turn those dilapidated tile-roofed houses into small villas.

Build schools, build hospitals, build nursing homes.

The villagers had been kind to him back then, and Zhang Ruoran was righteous in protecting his home.

Now that he's successful and wealthy, he wants to repay them a hundredfold, a thousandfold.

He wanted his parents in the afterlife to see that their son had returned.

And they've returned to bring glory to their ancestors!