The couple's quarrel was so loud that even the servants came to stop them. Duan Mei was quite sensible. With an outsider here, it would be hard to say anything. If the new daughter-in-law were to hear about it, the new daughter-in-law would think too much about it.
She was angry at her mother-in-law, Wang Yulan, not at the new daughter-in-law.
The quarrel ended just like that, but the grudge between them could not be dispelled.
But how could Li He not know about such a big quarrel?
He Fang said, "It's all my fault. I didn't expect it to turn out this way."
Li He smiled and said, "It's not your fault. She's just throwing a tantrum at my mother. The conflict between the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law isn't new. Don't take it to heart. Besides, it's normal for a mother-in-law and daughter-in-law to quarrel. "
He was very open-minded about this. A biological daughter could quarrel with her biological mother, let alone a daughter-in-law. All in all, Duan Mei had been a good daughter-in-law for so many years. She wasn't a petty person. She probably didn't care about poverty but about inequality. This was human nature and had nothing to do with one's morals and character.
We're both daughters-in-law. I don't mind if you're better than me, but if you're so much better than me, I'll have a problem.
So when Wang Yulan wanted to give the ring in her hand to He Fang, Li He rejected it before He Fang could say anything.
"That's for you. Keep it for yourself." He had given this ring to Wang Yulan back then. All these years, Wang Yulan had always wrapped it in a handkerchief and didn't wear it much. It wasn't that she couldn't bear to wear it, but it was mainly to guard against Li Zhaokun. How could she not know her own man?
Now that she wanted to give it to He Fang, he naturally didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
He Fang smiled at the side and said, "Auntie, give it to Mei Zi. If I really had it, we would have bought it long ago. "
She was used to lying a second time. This was like telling a lifetime's worth of lies in one go.
Wang Yulan said, "If I don't give it to you, who else can I give it to? I'm already so old. It won't look good if I wear this."
"If you really can't do it, you can give it to your little wife." Li He had no choice but to say it out loud. "Give it to Meizi. You didn't buy her anything when she came in, did you? "
Wang Yulan pursed her lips and glanced at He Fang. Without another word, she went into the kitchen to cook.
Li He was naturally helpless. Mothers-in-law and daughters-in-law were natural enemies. Even two good-tempered women might not be able to build a harmonious family. It was difficult to distinguish right from wrong in a family.
At noon, Li Long brought the two kids over for lunch. Duan Mei went back to her parents' home, so naturally, no one cooked.
Li He said to him, "Go and coax her. What's the point of bickering every day?"
Li Long said angrily, "That woman is so arrogant that she doesn't know any better."
"Back then, you were the one who shamelessly went to get married. Now you regret it."
Li Long blushed and said, "She's the one who has changed."
"Go and bring her back. If you continue to quarrel, you'll become a laughing stock. She's living with you, but you're not on the same side as her. If she doesn't vomit at you, who else will she vomit at? " Li He did not agree with foolish filial piety. He understood Li Long's way of thinking. He felt that his mother had worked hard for him since he was young, so he should listen to his mother. He also hoped that Duan Mei could understand his foolish filial piety. It would be strange if the two of them didn't quarrel.
In fact, many unfortunate marriages were due to foolish filial piety.
No daughter-in-law would agree to kidnap and implicate their own small family for the sake of their parents' extended family. Living alone was the dream of most young daughter-in-law.
Li Long listened to Li He's words. After lunch, he went to fetch Duan Mei, but he did not get her back.
Li He said, "I told you to coax her. How did you do it? What's the use of going empty-handed? Go to the county and buy her some jewelry. "
Li Long said, "She'll be even more annoyed if you spend money recklessly."
"Let's buy it first."
Li Long did as he said, and sure enough, Duan Mei happily fetched her back the next day. He could only sigh at how unfathomable a woman's heart was.
After the matter between Li Long and his wife was resolved, the war between Wang Yulan and Li Zhaokun broke out again. She chased after Li Zhaokun to ask for the money that Li He had given her. Naturally, Li Zhaokun was unwilling. Ever since Wang Yulan found out about the use of the bamboo pole, the domestic violence escalated. Li Zhaokun was chased all over the place.
Li He didn't want to get involved in the affairs of these two clowns. He was afraid that He Fang would feel awkward, so he took her for a stroll on the riverbank.
He Fang said, "I'm quite envious of your family."
Li He said, "What's there to be envious of?"
"It's good to quarrel. My mother can't even find someone to quarrel with. "
"You miss your mother?"
"Yeah." The wind whistled by the riverbank. She tightened her clothes, tucked her messy hair behind her ears, and continued, "I want to go back to my hometown to work."
She was confident that she wouldn't be afraid of not having a receiving unit.
Li He lowered his head and didn't say anything. He sat on the embankment and watched the river quietly flow eastward. It was neither fast nor slow, and there were no waves at all, but it still sang happily along the way. Life was probably like this, uneventful and uneventful.
Li Zhi brought a duck over, but Wang Yulan rejected it.
Li He smiled and said, "Don't be so polite."
Li Zhi only smiled, put down the duck, and left.
Wang Yulan lamented, "It's not easy."
"How are his two children studying?"
Wang Yulan said, "They're in high school. I'm not sure either."
Li He thought about it and took two bottles of wine from the house to Li Zhi's house.
Sister-in-law Yuefen was sifting sesame seeds at the door. She was shocked when she saw Li He bring the wine into the house and put it in the door. "Aiya, what are you doing?"
Li He said, "I brought wine for a free meal. Sister-in-law, what do you think?"
Li Zhi said happily, "Even if the wine at home is not good, we can't lack wine from you."
"Where's your eldest brother?" Li He only saw his youngest brother doing his homework at the door.
Sister-in-law Yuefen said, "Eldest brother is in his third year of high school. The school is tight, and he won't be back until the new year."
"There's going to be a university student in your family." If Li He remembered correctly, this should be the third university student in the village besides him and Four. All three of them had the surname Li. It seemed that even if it wasn't a fact, it would become a fact.
Li Zhi scratched his head and said, "Who knows? I'll try my best to get him in. He'll have to rely on himself."
"I heard from the teacher that his grades are not bad. When the time comes, you'll have to help him decide what school to fill in. "Sister-in-law Yuefen was not modest, and her words were full of pride.
"Yes. But he's already so old, and he'll have his own opinions. He might not need me. "
Li He stayed for dinner, and before he left, he still gave him a thousand yuan.
Li Zhi said, "I owe you money. I haven't been able to pay you back after so many years."
He gave him a duck to repay the favor. Previously, Li He had lent him money, and he hadn't been able to pay him back for many years. It was not easy to squeeze out extra money for two children to go to school.
Li He said, "When your eldest brother starts working, he'll have money to pay me back. I'm not even in a hurry, so why are you in a hurry? Just take it. "
He had experienced it before, and he knew how difficult it was to pay for two children to go to school.
Sister-in-law Yuefen said, "Uncle, you can't borrow so much. You're taking care of a new daughter-in-law, and it's going to be expensive everywhere. I can't let you be anxious."
"Sister-in-law, my own money is enough for me to get married."
By the time Li He left Li Zhi's house, the sky was already dark, and the villagers had already gone to bed. At the end of every year, most families didn't have enough food left, and there wasn't much work to do, so most of the time, they ate porridge at night. In order to prevent the children from wetting the bed, they ate their meals early, and drained their stomachs of water before going to bed.
Wang Yulan started to mutter about when Fourth and Fifth Ladies would come back. She thought about it day and night, until she couldn't sleep. Li Zhaokun even started to ask why the wine jar hadn't come back yet, and that it was also his child. In the past, when his two daughters were hanging around, he didn't feel anything, but now that he couldn't see them, he couldn't help but think about it.
Li He said, "They won't be coming back this year. Next year, when they're on holiday, I'll send them back. "
The main thing was that transportation was too inconvenient, and Li He didn't want the two girls to go back and forth. He wanted to give the two girls a call. At this stage, he had almost forgotten about them.
There weren't any long-distance telephone exchanges in the county, so he drove the tractor to the city.
In the end, he went to the post office in the city, but they told him that there weren't any program-controlled telephone exchanges in the city, and he had to go to the provincial telecommunications office to make international calls. He had no choice but to return to the provincial capital. At this time, more than 90% of international calls were concentrated in the coastal areas.
The coastal areas wanted to develop an export-oriented economy and attract foreign investment, so it was unimaginable that there wouldn't be international calls.
Therefore, the coastal areas were one step ahead.
Of course, the gap between the mid-west and the coastal areas had already widened.
There was no need to mention the economic aspect. For example, in Jinjiang alone, there were five to six thousand township enterprises, and the foreign trade was booming. The mid-west was still trying to develop towards a foothold.
It was already past three o 'clock in the afternoon when he arrived at the province. He went to the long-distance telephone station of the Telecommunications Bureau. International long-distance calls could not be made directly. It was still a semi-automatic telephone circuit. It needed to be transferred to Pujiang through trunk lines. The six provinces in Hua Dong needed to be transferred to overseas, Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan through Pujiang.
Li He waited for half an hour and smoked two or three cigarettes before he finally got in touch with Shen Daoru.
Shen Daoru was very happy to receive his call. He finally heaved a sigh of relief and said, "If there's still no news from you, Old Yu will go crazy. Why can't I reach you on the phone? No one is replying to your call machine either. "
"I'm sorry. I'm in my hometown, so it's not convenient to contact me. Is there anything important? "Li He just remembered that he didn't bring the call machine back.
"Aren't you going to build a building? He's going to discuss with you before he leaves. "
Li He said, "Is there anything on your side?"
"Shenzhen Development Bank has issued 675,000 ordinary shares, 40 RMB per share, with a par value of 20 RMB. We took 100,000 shares, and 180,000 preferred shares in HKD. Each share is worth 100 HKD, with a par value of 100 HKD. Basically, we took it all. "
"How many shares are there in the market?" Li He didn't feel much about it.
"1.325 million ordinary shares and 180,000 preferred shares," Shen Daoru said in one breath. He didn't know what Li He was thinking, but this time, he was acting on his own.
Li He thought for a while and said, "Let's buy some of the shares in circulation. Let's buy as much as we can. "
Shenzhen Development Bank was controlled by many state-owned enterprises, but it was still raised by the society. There were at least seven to eight thousand small investors outside, so it shouldn't be difficult to buy some shares. Also, in the long run, buying Shenzhen Development Bank would be a huge profit, and it could also be used as a springboard for Kangnian Bank to enter China.
"Okay, Mr. Li."
"Oh, right. See if there are any other shareholding companies in Shenzhen that we can invest in. Invest in all of them." Li He suddenly thought of this. He had forgotten about it when he saw the news last time, but now he remembered it.
The Shenzhen Special Economic Zone was a comprehensive experimental area for the shareholding reform. Shenzhen had established more than 80 shareholding companies, and since 1987, they had approved Shenzhen Development Bank, Vanke, Jintian, and three other companies to be listed in the stock market.
He followed the principle of waiting to see how much he could earn. If he invested, he would earn. If he didn't, he wouldn't lose either.
Many of his thoughts were vague, and he was even a little unwilling to think about it. He could only follow the rhythm and take it one step at a time.
Now, he still didn't know what he needed so much money for.
It seemed like he really didn't know how to spend it.
What was the purpose of making money in the first place?
To spend it for his wife, of course!
But now, he was thinking too much. He felt sad and was in a daze.
"Okay. Mr. Li. " After Shen Daoru finished speaking, he saw that Li He didn't reply for a long time, so he tentatively called out, "Mr. Li? Mr. Li? "
"Oh. Yes. Just do as I said. Help me look after my sister. I'll be there in a year.
"Her school is on holiday, and Old Madam Yu has already brought her over for the New Year. I just went to see her the day before yesterday. Don't worry about it. But … "Shen Daoru was a little hesitant.
"But what?"
"The teacher said that her grades are still not up to standard, and her foundation is very poor."
"Take it slow." Li He had expected all these, and it was not bad news.
He hung up Shen Daoru's call and called Yu Dehua again. This time, it was good, and the call got through within ten minutes.
Yu Dehua said over the phone, "Oh my god, I finally found you!"
"Is there something urgent?"
"I need your signature on the budget! Without your signature, how can the money be transferred?! " Yu Dehua was really anxious. At this stage, he was a little angry. Previously, before the change of shares, he had the authority to sign the contract, and he could do anything with just a word. But now, he only had the authority to sign the contract for less than 100 million HKD. But now, it was more than 100 million USD! All the contracts had to be signed by Li He.
Previously, when Li He was in Beijing, he could settle it with a express delivery. But now, he suddenly couldn't find Li He, and he was very anxious.
"If you want to delay it until after the New Year. We'll talk about it after the New Year."
"Sigh, got it. You have to be quick. We can't delay it any longer," Yu Dehua said worriedly over the phone.
"Okay. Take care of my sister. " Li He was not sure if he should build a building now, but he had spent more than 100 million USD. He could not stop even if he wanted to.
"Don't worry about this. You don't need to worry about this in my house." Yu Dehua promised over the phone.
"I'm hanging up."
Li He wanted to call Singapore's number again, but he did not succeed. After waiting for half an hour, he got impatient and left the Telecommunications Bureau after paying the money. Lao Si was already a big girl. He believed that she could take care of herself. He didn't need to ask too much. Besides, there was Li Qiuhong to accompany her.
The tractor stopped halfway. It had run out of fuel. He shook the oil drums in the truck, and both of them were empty. He had expected the tractor to reach the City, and these two drums should be enough. He did not expect the tractor to return to the Provincial City.
He looked around, and there was not a single petrol station nearby. He squatted by the roadside and smoked a cigarette.
He carried two barrels of oil and asked around the houses nearby to see if they had any spare diesel, but none of them had any after a round of questioning. In the end, he bought it from the production team. The diesel was to be used for the water pump during spring plowing. Li He did not ask the price and offered 200 USD. The seller was naturally willing to sell it, and the two oil drums were filled.
It was already seven o 'clock in the evening when he reached home. He wolfed down some food and quietly went to the river slope.
It was quiet under the moonlight.
He squatted on the ground with his head down, as if he had suffered a heavy blow. One cigarette followed by another.
He had more important philosophical thoughts.
What was the purpose of earning money now?
He had enough money to spend, enough for her to support her family, and enough for him to bear the responsibility of this family.
He was so conflicted. He kept reminding himself that a gentleman should strive to improve himself.
To contribute to society?
To prove himself?
To achieve a sense of accomplishment?
To reach the top of the world?
But he could not convince himself at all.
He began to think about what his dream was again.
At first, it was so that his family could eat well and wear warm clothes. Later, it was to make her happy and give her a new life. But now, there was nothing. He really could not lift his spirits. He did not know how to lie to himself anymore.
No matter how hard he tried, he could not vent the frustration in his heart. With no way to vent it, he simply took off his clothes and plunged into the river with a splash.
The cold wind blew across the surface of the river, creating ripples. He swam back and forth in the river, from one side of the river to the other, from upstream to downstream. After his heart became cold, he was no longer afraid of the cold.
He sank his head to the bottom of the river. He wanted to taste the feeling of suffocation.
But just as he sank his head to the bottom, something pulled him up. He was shocked. He could not see clearly in the dark. He instinctively wanted to get rid of it. In a panic, he tried to push the other party away, but he could not.
He unconsciously used more strength to push the other party away, and then hurriedly swam back.
He could vaguely hear the sound of someone choking on water.
When he stabilized his breathing, he looked back under the moonlight. A figure was struggling in the water, splashing water everywhere.
He pierced through the man's back and picked him up with both hands. The other party was still struggling and hammering with all her might. He did not let go, but he felt something soft.
He carried her to the shore. He looked carefully and realized that it was He Fang. He patted her back tenderly, and she spat out a few mouthfuls of water.
She gasped for breath, her chest heaving up and down as she shouted, "Idiot, you scared me to death. What would I do without you! "
Suddenly, she burst into tears again, and it was especially loud in the quiet night.
Even though she was shivering from the cold, she still hammered him with all her might.
Li He pitifully covered her with his dry clothes. "You're the idiot. It's so cold. Why did you go into the river? "
"I can't live without you."
"I'll support you."
"Idiot." She cried again, and her cries were even louder.
"Then I'll make you the richest woman in the world. Let's earn trillions."
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