After the New Year, the days passed by like flowing water.

Shen Huadong will be 50 years old in April. According to last year's policy, he should retire early.

A month before he retired, the latest policies were passed down from the central government to local governments.

The retirement age for state officials can be either 50 or 55.

This is very good news for Shen Huadong.

This means he can stay in his original position for another five years.

Shen Changan entered the officialdom too late. What Shen Huadong has been most worried about over the years is that without his support, his son will not be able to go far in the future.

The person who was happiest to hear that he could delay his retirement by 5 years was none other than Shen Huadong.

Because Shen Huadong was so happy, he even invited Shen Changan's family to have a meal.

Shen Changan was also very happy for his father, but he was gradually getting tired of life within the system.

He could obviously make money by doing business, so why does he force himself to work from nine to six every day?

Although he did these jobs with ease, he always felt that his efforts were not proportional to his income because of the pitiful salary he received every month.

My uncle's business was getting better and better, and he and Lai Erniang were becoming increasingly overwhelmed.

Jiang Li had been helping him inquire about information at the department store. When she was five months pregnant, she finally received a call from the department store.

The person in charge of the department store told her that there was a good location available and asked her if she wanted to come and take a look.

Jiang Li agreed without saying a word. She hung up the phone and hurried out with her big belly.

Zhang Yufen was frightened when she saw her running so fast, and hurried to follow her.

Zhang Yufen grabbed Jiang Li's arm and insisted on hugging her as they walked forward.

Jiang Li knew that his mother meant well, so he didn't refuse.

Zhang Yufen accompanied Jiang Li to the department store's office.

Jiang Li had already met with the manager of the department store and originally thought that this cooperation would go smoothly.

But she didn't expect that the manager of the department store would tell her that the rent of the shop would be increased.

Not only will the rent of the new shop increase, but the rent of the shop she rented before will also increase.

If the rent had only increased a little, Jiang Li might have been able to accept it, but this time the increase was 100%.

Jiang Li's anger suddenly rose.

She remembered when she was just starting her business, she rented a house and not long after, the boss raised the rent.

In the end, all the money I earned after a year of hard work was used to pay the rent.

It’s only the 1970s now, and we’re encountering this kind of thing again.

It would be strange if Jiang Li wasn't angry after falling into the same pit twice in a row.

Her face immediately fell: "I still need to go back and think about renting a new stall."

Jiang Li looked very bad when he left the office, and Zhang Yufen asked worriedly.

"Xiao Li, the rent for a stall is so expensive now. One stall is enough for you. Why do you need to rent two?"

Jiang Li sighed softly and said as if he had made a great decision.

“I may not rent a single stall.”

"What about the pastry business?"

"At worst, I can buy a piece of land and build a department store myself!"

Jiang Li's eyes flashed, and he quickly came up with an idea.

Zhang Yufen also thought this idea was feasible, but in this day and age, it is not so easy to buy a piece of land.

"I'm afraid you can't do this on your own, right?"

“It’s not that I can’t do it, but the process will be a bit difficult. But if you let Shen Changan do it, it’s just a matter of a few words.”

"Now that Shen Changan and I are married, and I'm pregnant with his child, I can't worry about his pregnancy, so I can only help out in other areas."

Before getting married, Jiang Li liked to solve any difficulties on his own.

Now that she has Shen Changan, she has someone to rely on, so naturally she doesn’t have to work so hard as before.

"You're right. You're pregnant now, so it's best not to show up in public. If there's anything, let Shen Changan handle it."

Jiang Li made up his mind. After dinner, he pulled Shen Changan to the study and told him his idea.

"Changan, would you feel embarrassed to handle this matter?"

"Of course not. Some time ago, the higher-ups mentioned that there are too many old houses near the department store, and they can no longer keep up with the rapid development of the provincial capital."

"The higher-ups have already planned to demolish the houses, but now that the policy has been relaxed, state-owned land can be purchased by private individuals through bidding."

"Not many people know about this news yet, and even if they do, they don't have the channels to do so. Your idea is early, and I still have plenty of time to implement it."

Shen Changan had a faint smile on his face, and almost patted his chest to make the promise.

Jiang Li was very happy to hear this result, and his gloomy mood improved a lot.

When Jiang Li was six months pregnant, Shen Changan brought back another piece of news.

"Your cousin gave birth to a baby, a daughter."

"Oh? Cousin?"

If Shen Changan hadn't mentioned this person, Jiang Li would have forgotten about him.

It is said that a woman becomes stupid for three years after pregnancy. Although Jiang Li did not become stupid, her memory became much worse.

She now has all her relatives living by her side, so she can see them every day and live with them.

As for his cousin, aunt, uncle, and second uncle, the conflict with them happened a year or two ago, but to him it seemed like a century.

They haven't seen these people for a long time since they moved to the provincial capital, and no one has mentioned them.

Jiang Li gradually sealed them in the corner of his memory and forgot them bit by bit.

Now that Shen Changan suddenly mentioned it, the things in Jiang Li's memory began to revive.

My cousin wanted to plot against Shen Changan but failed, and was tricked by Zhou Yongnan instead.

She slept with a drunkard Zhou Yong found on the street, and then became pregnant with his child.

Later, Shen Changan hired someone to kidnap her and force her to marry the drunkard.

It turned out that the drunkard was a gangster who spent every day drinking and partying outside and abused Song Jialin when he came home.

Jiang Li originally thought that Song Jialin had been beaten to death long ago.

I didn't expect her to be so tenacious and survive in such a harsh environment.

Despite being abused so many times, the baby in her belly was still stable and she even gave birth smoothly.

For a moment, Jiang Li didn't know whether he should be happy for her or what.

I just heard that the man she married was extremely patriarchal and hoped for a son when she became pregnant.

Now that Song Jialin has given birth to a daughter, I wonder how exciting the follow-up will be.

"Is she okay now?"

Jiang Li was a little curious and couldn't help but say something more.

"It's definitely not good. I've been beaten since I became pregnant. Later, when my belly got bigger, I had to sleep with that drunkard."

"But she's really strong. She had spotting several times during her pregnancy, but she didn't miscarry. She might have given birth to the baby smoothly. Even I was surprised."