The special team was not only confused by the news reported by Zeng Lin, but Han Lushí was also dizzy with anger.
"Song Shaoqing!"
"Here."
"The county magistrate of Ling County is my father-in-law!"
"Ah? Isn't that my son's daughter-in-law's grandfather?"
"Bah! You stir up trouble like this, and my father-in-law might not have any thoughts, but my mother-in-law will let you know what it means for a tiger to unleash its power?"
"Is your mother-in-law a tigress?"
"Song Shaoqing!"
"Here."
"I'm talking to you about serious business, don't go off on a tangent."
"I'm talking about serious business. My family's business is rooted here and can't be moved. I can only find ways to invest domestically."
"Then you can't cause trouble?"
"If I don't cause trouble, how will Ling County agree to let me invest and develop?"
"Have you talked to them?"
"Not yet."
"Not yet? You're setting a trap first? My father-in-law doesn't like conspiracies, and he has a long-term vision, unlike ordinary people."
"Okay, I'll go meet my in-laws' father first."
Han Lushí held his forehead, regretting contacting this treacherous friend again.
...
The appearance of Hou Xiaojie gave the villagers of Kushanli an idea. The descendants of the Li family all found wives from far away. Should they also follow suit?
It is said that the farther the geographical distance, the smarter the children born...
Hou Xiaojie visited all parts of Kushanli. Finally, Chen An took her to the western plantation to buy some fruits and vegetables, and then returned to the farm to see the pheasants and rabbits.
Hou Xiaojie was shocked that the farm made a net profit of tens of thousands a year.
Chen An smiled, "You're surprised by this? Three people worked hard for a year and only made tens of thousands. Before, the scenic spot's annual dividend was two to three hundred thousand, but it has been collected by the state. Each household can only get eighty to ninety thousand annually."
Hou Xiaojie didn't understand, "Then why do you still go out to work?"
"Different ideals."
Chen An looked at the continuous sheds, "You can imagine the monotony of working in the sheds from morning till night. I don't like this kind of dull life."
"You saw my elder brother and sister-in-law. They are typical rural couples. If I hadn't gone out, I would have gotten married and had children long ago. How could you have met me?"
"Hmph!"
Hou Xiaojie snorted lightly, "You're really flattering yourself."
"Okay, okay, okay."
Chen An changed his words, "I misspoke. It should be said that fate destined me to work at Jingyuan Company, and fate destined you to meet my aunt, and our red threads were finally connected after so many people's interference."
Hou Xiaojie smiled and nodded, "The fate between us is very wonderful."
...
On New Year's Eve, Li Wanyan selected some light ingredients from the siheyuan because Li Wanzhen had not yet recovered from childbirth. They returned to the small Western-style building to celebrate the New Year as a family of three.
The Li family asked him to bring the red envelopes for their family of three.
Hou Xiaojie envied, "Second cousin is very thoughtful."
Chen An scratched his head. His cousins seemed very thoughtful, but he couldn't do it, just like his elder brother...
"Xiaojie, I'm not a thoughtful person. I'll take care of important matters, but I can't be considerate in small things. My cousins are all very good. If you compare me to them, it's difficult."
Hou Xiaojie paused before saying, "I was just sighing. You also said that your cousins are often not at home, and their wives have both gains and losses."
"That's good."
Chen An nodded, "We agreed in advance, lest we argue about this kind of thing in the future."
Hou Xiaojie glanced at him, "Do you think we will argue in the future?"
Chen An shrugged, "When two people are together, it's impossible not to argue. A lifetime is very long, and many things will happen. There will always be times when opinions differ."
Hou Xiaojie fell silent. Chen An was right, but why did she feel uncomfortable?
...
On the second day of the Lunar New Year, Demei and Xiaomai returned to their maiden home and then returned to the siheyuan.
The sisters had also met Hou Xiaojie, but they only knew each other and didn't have much to talk about.
After sitting awkwardly for a while, they went to help in the kitchen.
On the sixth day of the Lunar New Year, Li Liguo and Chen Suozhu drove to send Li Weili and others back to Kyoto.
Li Min gave them a meeting gift, which Hou Xiaojie refused.
The faces of the Li family and Chen An changed.
Hou Xiaojie bowed and apologized to Li Min, "I'm sorry."
Li Min looked at her younger son. Seeing the confusion on her younger son's face, she withdrew her hand.
"Not accepting the meeting gift means you are very honest, and there's no need to feel guilty."
"I'm sorry."
Hou Xiaojie also apologized to Mother Li and Tian Jing.
Mother Li waved her hand, "It's okay, let's just treat it as celebrating the New Year at your boss's house."
Hou Xiaojie's eyes reddened, "Thank you, Grandma."
Tian Jing just looked at her faintly, "As long as you don't regret it."
Hou Xiaojie nodded, "Maybe I will, but I know what I'm pursuing."
After speaking, she turned with difficulty to look at Chen An, "I'm sorry. You don't like the monotonous unchanging life, and I don't want to get married and have children. I want to be a woman who doesn't rely on men."
Chen An was stunned... He was inexplicably dumped?
"Let's go."
Li Weili waved her hand and got into the seven-seater car first.
Hou Xiaojie followed closely and got into the car, "Manager Li, I..."
"No need to explain."
Li Weili waved her hand, "Business is business, and personal is personal. I won't overlook your abilities because of Chen An. Since you've made a choice, you must walk well on the path you've chosen."
"Yes."
...
Li Weiyu pulled Chen An, who was standing there in a daze, "Let's go."
Chen An broke free from his hand, "Help me arrange my luggage. I'll stay home for two more days and ask for two days off for me."
Watching the seven-seater car leave, Chen An waved to his mother and walked alone towards the west of the village.
Mother Li grabbed her daughter, "Let An'an think it through by himself."
Li Min angrily put away the bank card, "Hmph! I even prepared a five-thousand-yuan meeting gift for nothing."
"From now on, no matter what kind of person An'an finds, compare them to the girls in Kushanli!"
Tian Jing sighed and led her granddaughter back to the living room.
Li Min caught up with her, "Little sister-in-law, what's wrong with Xiaojie? Does she dislike our family so much?"
"No."
Tian Jing shook her head, "It's An'an's problem. An'an is not stable enough, and his pursuit is different from Xiaojie's goal."
"Xiaojie wants us to work hard together for the future. An'an seems to be working hard, but in fact, he lacks drive in his personality, and like Little Fu, he's a bit of a chauvinist."
Li Min inwardly admitted that her sister-in-law was right, but she said, "I wonder what kind of person she can find?"
"She won't."
Tian Jing sighed, "If she stays by Lili's side, she won't be able to find anyone before she's thirty."
"Or, if An'an doesn't get married and have children, she won't look for anyone else. This is her cleverness."
"Unfortunately, An'an didn't seize such a smart person."
...
Chen An wandered through every place he had walked with Xiaojie, recalling every word Xiaojie had said...
Back at the siheyuan, he asked Mother Li, "Grandma, am I and Big Brother so much worse than our cousins?"
Mother Li affectionately stroked her younger grandson, "There are better people than your cousins. Can you compare them all?"
"You are you. Xiaojie feels that you two are not suitable. There will always be a girl who likes your personality."
His grandmother meant that he and his elder brother were indeed inferior to their cousins.
Men might fall in love with a woman with one action.
Women might fall out of love with a woman with one subtle detail.
How ruthless!
Chen An took a deep breath, "Grandma, what if I come back to work?"
Mother Li put down her work and asked, "What can you do if you come back?"
Chen An recalled, "Farming, planting."
"Nonsense!"
Mother Li reprimanded, "Your second cousin's pheasants and rabbits were finally sold, and Wei Xiaoyong and forty other people relied on their respective families opening supermarkets in their hometowns to sell them. What do you rely on? If you don't listen to your sister Lili's arrangements, be careful she gets angry."