Li Weibo looked up at his older brother, not understanding.
Li Weihao sat down beside him and said, "Given our status, it's hard to step down. In another year or two, my younger brother might have to step in too."
"Of the four of us, only our sister will be left at home. You don't need to worry about the dividends from Kushan. But the real estate company in the capital is the business that all four of us must take over."
"None of us brothers can take it on, so it will be up to our sister to handle it all. But knowing our sister's temperament, she'll accept it, but she'll definitely want to share the shares with us."
"What I said earlier about Grandma pushing for marriage wasn't a joke."
"When I turn twenty-five, if I still haven't met a woman I like, I'll ask Grandma to find me one, and I'll get married and have children directly."
"What I can't accomplish, I'll have my wife and children complete for me."
"This might seem unfair to my wife and children, but I can't ignore our parents who raised us."
"Whether I find someone myself or Grandma finds someone for me, I will treat my future wife well, because she will carry my responsibilities."
"As for the children, if they don't inherit anything, I'll give them the shares."
"If they can take over the company, they will. If not, let our sister's children take over. In any case, we will feel indebted to our sister and parents."
Li Weibo scratched his head, "Why do people have to grow up? There are so many more troubles."
Li Weihao slapped his second brother on the back, "Don't be like Yan Yan and avoid reality. I'm telling you this so you can have a plan early on."
"You have your responsibilities too; our parents aren't just mine."
"You can't even be by your parents' side to support them, so don't let them worry about you. Make your own plans early."
Suddenly burdened with a new responsibility by his older brother, Li Weibo found himself envying Fu Ge. Being an ordinary person seemed quite good.
Li Weili, who had been eavesdropping with her younger brother, walked in, patting her chest, "Big brother, second brother, don't worry, I've already planned to take over the company in the capital."
"When the time comes, I'll make a lot of money for you all, and you can just focus on doing what you need to do."
"But I want forty percent, and the three of you will each get twenty percent."
Li Weihao ruffled his sister's hair, "Okay, we'll do as you say."
...
On the second day of the Lunar New Year, Li Yanyan went to his maternal grandfather's house with his parents and second brother.
Xiao Mai, who was visiting her in-laws for the New Year, knew before the holiday that her parents were staying at the courtyard house, so she went directly to the courtyard house when visiting her maternal home.
Upon learning that her parents had gone to her maternal grandfather's house, her heart felt a pang of sadness.
Although her maternal grandfather wasn't her biological grandfather, he had treated her and her elder sister well.
What made her sad was that she was already married, no longer the young girl who could visit her grandfather with her parents.
Grandma Li cheerfully invited her granddaughter and grandson-in-law into the house to warm up.
The living room was as warm as spring.
A standing air conditioner hummed in the corner.
A large color television was replaying the Spring Festival Gala.
Xiao Mai hadn't expected her uncle to buy appliances.
After taking off her thick cotton coat, she sat next to her older cousin, "When did Hao Hao get back?"
"On New Year's Eve morning."
Li Weibo replied, then looked up at Zhou Chengbin and invited him to sit.
Zhou Chengbin felt a little constrained. He sensed that his brother-in-law wasn't very pleased with him.
As expected, his brother-in-law immediately started asking him about emergency response measures for various situations, making him flustered.
Li Weihao shook his head, "If it weren't for your status, you wouldn't have been chosen as the next village chief. You're not even as good as Zhang Shitóu."
"At that time, my father would have to do the work of the Party branch secretary and clean up your mess. You have no understanding of rural areas or the needs of the villagers."
"Ahem." Zhou Chengbin coughed, "Then can you tell me what the villagers' needs are?"
Li Weihao waved his hand, "If I tell you, you'll just talk theory. What's the most common phrase my father says when teaching trainees?"
Zhou Chengbin reacted quickly, "Adapt to local conditions and don't just follow the book."
Li Weihao nodded, "These ten words are for you too. Figure it out yourself. Even if you use Kushan as a stepping stone, land is the foundation."
"If you don't understand the foundation, you won't succeed in any position. Leave the people who support you, and you'll immediately be exposed."
Xiao Mai glanced at her husband, got up, and went to the back to play with Yuan Yuan.
Seeing how fond Xiao Mai was of Yuan Yuan, Ah Feng urged her to have one of her own quickly.
Xiao Mai sighed, "Cheng Bin isn't stable at all, especially after the villagers elected him as the next village chief, he's become a bit arrogant. I don't want to have a child for now."
Ah Feng didn't agree with Xiao Mai's view, "Perhaps after he becomes a father, he'll become more stable? He's only in his early twenties, you can't compare him to your uncle."
"There are still more than four years until he takes office. You should have a child for him early and let the child sit on his shoulders to keep him grounded."
Xiao Mai was silent for a moment, then nodded, "You're right, having a child will make him experience the difficulties of being a father."
After playing with Yuan Yuan until she fell asleep, Xiao Mai went to see her elder sister.
Da Mai was knitting a sweater.
Looking at the small sweater on her sister's hand, which was clearly for a baby, Xiao Mai asked her elder sister what it felt like to be pregnant.
Da Mai put down her knitting and patted the kang beside her, gesturing for her to sit down.
After her sister sat down beside her, she asked, "Are you unhappy?"
"Yes." Xiao Mai nodded, "When I was little, I was unhappy and looked forward to growing up. After my stepmother came, I wasn't in a hurry to grow up."
"But time waits for no one. This year, I'll be thirty years old. I suddenly feel like the distance between me and Cheng Bin is growing."
"If I say I regret marrying him, it's not a complete regret. If I say I don't regret it, but facing his increasingly unstable nature, I feel agitated."
"Sister Ah Feng said that having a child might help him settle down, but I feel like it's a fifty-fifty chance."
"I, I want to ask my uncle to withdraw his nomination for the next village chief, and let him and Zhang Shitóu compete fairly."
Da Mai patted her sister's hand, "If Cheng Bin's nature really changes, you won't need to say anything; your uncle will deal with him."
"Don't worry about this. This year, focus on preparing for pregnancy. You should still have a child, not for the Zhou family, but for yourself."
"When a woman gets married, her life is not complete without having a child."
Xiao Mai sighed, "The year has just begun, don't rush me. I'll think about it again."
...
During lunch, Li Zhengguo asked Zhou Chengbin, "Do you remember the two old village chiefs who came last year?"
Zhou Chengbin quickly put down his chopsticks, "Yes, I remember."
Li Zhengguo picked up his chopsticks and gestured, "We're just chatting, don't be nervous."
Zhou Chengbin picked up his chopsticks again. Just as he was about to take a bite, he heard his village chief uncle say, "You start work on the sixth day. Bring your change of clothes, and we'll go together to survey the terrain of those two villages."
"We might be staying there for a while, so bring spring and summer clothes. If you can handle it, I might have you stationed there for half a year or a year."
The food on his chopsticks scattered onto the table, startled by the news.
Zhou Chengbin frantically grabbed napkins to wipe the food off the table.
Xiao Mai placed her hand on his, and then cleaned up the fallen food on the table herself.
Li Zhengguo glanced at Xiao Mai and continued, "If Cheng Bin is stationed there, Xiao Mai will go with him to accompany him."
Xiao Mai paused, then nodded, "I'll do as Uncle says."