Mayor Li was busy until the twenty-sixth before he had a holiday.
This was not only because of the many matters in the town, but also because the village chiefs of Zhangshan Village and Zhonghe Village always pestered him for advice.
Of the three villages, only these two had low incomes.
The income from tobacco leaves per mu was only a little over a thousand yuan, while the original Lishi Village in Kushanlin had a dividend of four to five thousand yuan per household, which made people's eyes red.
Not to mention that each household had someone working in the scenic spot and earning a salary.
No matter how Li Zhengguo explained to them that it was impossible for the entire town to develop tourism and that their two villages did not have the conditions for it.
The two village chiefs simply wouldn't listen. They said that if they didn't have the conditions for tourism development, they had the conditions for planting, right?
Why not build greenhouses for them?
Were they coveting the income from the greenhouses in Kushanlin?
Li Zhengguo sent the two men away after much persuasion, then tidied up his things and announced the start of the New Year holiday.
Tian Jing listened to her husband's complaints and smiled, "You're not going to take them up on it, are you? You can help them get loans, but they'll have to be guarantors themselves."
Li Zhengguo rubbed his temples. "The watermelon market is already saturated. With the convenient transportation, the abundant fruit varieties from the south have taken up most of the market share."
Tian Jing suggested, "Plant grapes and make wine. Doesn't Zhonghe Village have a spring that flows into a well? Fence it off and use it for winemaking."
That's right, Li Zhengguo sat up straight. Sandy soil was also suitable for growing grapes.
"I'll write a plan, and then I'll inspect the barren slopes of Zhonghe Village and Zhangshan Village."
Tian Jing stopped him and gestured towards his mother. "Just ponder on it in your heart, have a good New Year, and then pore over it in seclusion for a few days after the holiday."
Li Zhengguo glanced at his mother, and the hand he had raised to sit up froze.
"We should have a good New Year. I'll go and see Xiao Fu's child."
Well, he couldn't sit still after all.
On the twenty-ninth, the eve of the Lunar New Year, the courtyard was filled with festive New Year celebrations.
Zeng Jingchu, who had come to find his elder brother with a large bundle, heard that his elder brother had not come down from the mountain for the New Year. He handed the bundle to Chen Fu, who had opened the door for him.
"Ask your wife to help. I'll pick it up after I've sorted out my troubles."
Chen Fu, bewildered, accepted the bundle of clothes and closed the courtyard gate. When he returned to the living room and opened the bundle, he was startled. No wonder he had asked his wife to help. Fortunately, he hadn't just tossed it aside.
When the bundle was opened, Lin Hua'er also saw it. "Xiao Fu, where did this come from?"
Chen Fu, without answering, hurried to call his aunt.
Seeing the infant in the bundle, Tian Jing smiled. Was this the result after a scare?
"Hua'er, feed her. Just say they're twins. No matter who asks, say they're twins. Including Zeng Jingchu. If anyone tries to take them, yell 'robbery'."
And so, Chen Fu and Lin Hua'er inexplicably gained a son, Chen Jixiang.
Everyone in the courtyard was 'silenced' by Tian Jing.
It was fortunate that it was cold, and Lin Hua'er had given birth at home.
Li Min was quite happy to have an extra 'grandson,' because she didn't have to look only at the grandson who resembled Fang Qiuhong anymore.
Regardless of whose grandson this child was, he was now her grandson.
This small episode did not affect the Li family's reunion dinner.
While staying up for New Year's Eve, Yuan Fang, who was over two years old, looked at the two little brothers on the kang and asked his mother for a brother.
Daimai: "..." She was thirty-five years old, and she was going to have another child?
Mother Li secretly advised her eldest granddaughter to have another one while she could. Having only one child was very tiring.
On the second day of the New Year, Xiao Mai returned, and Mother Li also quietly urged her to have another child.
Xiao Mai: "..." Her son had only just turned one year old.
Zhou Chenbin and Li Zhengguo went into the meeting room in the east wing and only came out for meals.
After the meal, Zhou Chenbin went back alone, and Xiao Mai stayed with her son to accompany her grandmother.
Xiao Mai didn't know whose baby the extra infant was, but since everyone asked her to keep silent, she would keep silent. What was wrong with having an extra boy? Who couldn't afford to raise one?
In the courtyard, the cries of two infants and the playful shouts of two toddlers made Mother Li very happy.
Tian Jing knew that her mother-in-law was too lonely, as her grandsons had grown up and flown away.
Her grandson was capable and got married and had children early, but they were not descendants of the Li family after all.
Tian Jing sent a text message to her eldest son, urging him to get married, using the excuse that his grandmother was lonely.
Li Weihao, who had just returned from a mission, took a leave of absence to visit his grandmother.
Mother Li beamed when she saw her eldest grandson.
Li Weihao felt guilty. Once he joined the army, he couldn't often accompany his grandmother and parents.
"Grandma, please find me a girl. If you like her, tell me to come back and see her. If she's suitable, we'll get married this year."
Mother Li was surprised. "Are you sure? You know, just because I find someone for you doesn't mean you'll like her."
"After marriage, if you meet your true love, no matter how much you regret it, Grandma won't allow you to divorce."
"I've thought it through," Li Weihao nodded. "With my job, it's hard to meet true love. Even if I do, I wouldn't want her to marry me and be a widow."
"Grandma, don't say I'm selfish and cruel. As long as my job doesn't change, whether I love my future wife or not is cruel to her."
"When you're looking for someone, explain the situation clearly to the girl. If she's willing, she'll have to accept the reality of me being away for most of the year."
"In the future, she might live a life alone, and only her children can accompany her."
"What I can give her is my family responsibility and my two to three months of leave each year."
Mother Li was stunned for a moment, then sighed. "Which family would be willing to let their daughter live such a life? Forget it, I won't rush you anymore. You can get married whenever you want."
"I don't have the heart to ask someone else's daughter to jump into your fire pit."
"I, I'm willing. I, can I?"
A low, sweet voice sounded.
Standing at the living room doorway was a slender and timid girl, Lin Duo'er, who had come to see her elder sister and nephew.
"Duo'er?"
"Lin Duo'er?"
Mother Li and Li Weihao looked at the person outside the door in surprise.
"I'm sorry," Lin Duo'er quickly waved her hands. "I didn't mean to eavesdrop. I, I just wanted to tell Grandma Li that I..."
Mother Li beckoned her in. "Come in and talk."
Li Weihao stood up and moved aside to make space for his grandmother.
Li Weihao's action made Lin Duo'er's earlier hesitation resurface.
She really didn't mean to eavesdrop. She had walked down the corridor to the living room door and heard a man's voice.
After that unfortunate romantic encounter, she was afraid of interacting with strange men.
So she stopped, intending to leave after the man left.
As she turned to go back to the three-courtyard house to find her elder sister, she heard the man call Grandma Li "Grandma," and she knew it was Mayor Li's son who had returned.
It wouldn't help if she hid back with her elder sister, she should still say goodbye to Grandma Li.
After lingering for a while, she had overheard the entire conversation between the grandfather and grandson.
She wasn't yet eighteen, but that 'rotten peach blossom' had already been released from prison.
After Lin Wan's incident, the 'rotten peach blossom' knew he had mistaken the person when he sent flowers.
Before the New Year, she received a letter from the 'rotten peach blossom' threatening her that he would come to propose as soon as she turned eighteen.
Although her father had shown signs of improvement, she couldn't leave her marriage in the hands of such a father.
Her sisters had returned home, and it was not good to trouble their uncle again with their affairs.
Even if her uncle was willing to help, where would he find her a husband so quickly?
Even if a family didn't mind the trouble she carried, life would be unbearable in the long run.
She had come to see her elder sister to tell her about this, but seeing her elder sister smiling happily with her child and brother-in-law, she couldn't bring herself to speak.
Therefore, after listening to the conversation between the grandfather and grandson, she mustered her courage to find a way out for herself.