Upon hearing this, Guo Shouye immediately issued a very serious statement.

Guo Shouye had no idea what Sheng Xiping was doing, but anything that could get the higher-ups involved must be of great importance.

You can be vague about other things, but you can't be vague about these things. As a cadre, you must have political awareness and a high level of ideological understanding.

You can earn less money, you can eat less food, but there are some things you must do, and you must do them without hesitation.

"Brother, you are like this. I'll explain it to you properly when there's a suitable opportunity later."

Sheng Xiping gave Guo Shouye a thumbs up. To rise from a logistics team leader to his current position, he was indeed no ordinary person.

"No need, no need. You're a man destined for great things, and you must have your reasons for whatever you do."

"Your brother may not have any other skills, but if you need anything, just ask, and I'll give it to you without hesitation."

It must be said that Guo Shouye is indeed a person worth befriending. He is exceptionally sincere to people, and he will treat anyone he approves of with utmost sincerity.

This year, Lunar New Year's Eve falls on January 26th. Sheng Xi'an was researching something and called home in advance to let his family know that he was too busy to come home for the New Year.

Sheng Xikang was temporarily assigned a task by his superiors and won't be coming back for the Spring Festival holiday, as he only has a few days off.

Sheng Yunfang and Sheng Yunfei are already married. In these days, it's not customary for married daughters to return to their parents' home for the New Year.

What's more, Sheng Yunfang is pregnant, and it's said that she's staying in Shanghai for the New Year instead of going back to Shenyang.

Only Sheng Xitai, a second-year graduate student, is left, and he gets about half a month of vacation during the Chinese New Year.

Since no one was coming back, Sheng Xiping discussed with his parents that they would spend the Spring Festival at the forest farm this year.

High school students started their summer break on January 18th. Sheng Xiping was busy with other things, so he waited until Zhou Qinglan was on break before the two of them loaded a car with stuff and returned to the forest farm.

As expected, Aunt Li kept her word and bought several old hens, along with various nourishing herbs, to make soup for Sheng Xiping to help him recover.

After returning home, Sheng Xiping was in a better mood, and his appetite improved as well. With Aunt Li's diligent care, Sheng Xiping indeed gained a lot of weight during this period and even put on some weight.

When they returned to the forest farm, Sheng Xiping looked...

Not much different from that time of autumn.

Zhang Shuzhen didn't notice that her son had lost weight; she only kept saying that her son was never home and couldn't take care of anything at home.

"Your business is big enough, that's enough, don't work so hard."

You can't take care of anything at home; everything depends on Qinglan.

The children are growing up, how many more years will they be by your side? You'll regret it when you get old.

Just like your dad and me, when we were young, life wasn't easy at home. We were busy working and earning money all day long, and we couldn't take care of you.

"Once things got better at home, you'd all grown up and flown away. How many times a year do you even get to see your children now?"

"Old woman, look at you, why are you saying all this? Do you think the eldest son doesn't want to stay at home?"

With such a large company, so many factories, and so many people to support, how could he not work incredibly hard?

"The child has finally come back, can't you say something nice?" Upon hearing this, Sheng Liancheng quickly tried to smooth things over for his son.

Zhang Shuzhen glared angrily at her husband, "I'm talking to our son, why are you interfering?"

Women think differently from men. Most women are content with a modest life, as long as they have enough money at home and are free from worries about food and clothing.

Men, on the other hand, always think about expanding and strengthening their businesses and maintaining their glory.

Sheng Liancheng wasn't annoyed when his wife retorted; he just chuckled.

"Your mother has a sharp tongue but a soft heart. Before you came back, she was always thinking about you and nagging you about it every morning and evening."

Don't take it to heart. A man should focus on his career. Dad supports you.

While Zhang Shuzhen turned around to go to the outer room to check the food, Sheng Liancheng whispered to his son.

"However, you also need to pay attention to the balance between work and rest. You can never earn enough money, but your health is your own responsibility."

The old father was also worried about his son, but he was just not good at expressing it.

"Okay, I understand." Sheng Xiping didn't want his elderly father to worry, so he quickly nodded in agreement.

"Where are the children? Have they gone out to play again?"

The couple had been inside for half a day and hadn't seen many children. Sheng Xiping guessed that the little devils must have gone out to play.

"Oh, they went to the Tiger Park. They were thinking about Hua Hua and the little tiger cubs and kept saying they wanted to go see them, but I didn't let them."

Just a few days ago, people from the Tiger Forest Park came to the forest farm to make some purchases. So, I thought I'd bring them all up for a few days to stay and keep Hua Hua company.

Sheng Liancheng shook his head and explained.

"They have all finished their winter vacation homework, and Xinhua even led his younger siblings to preview the new lessons."

These idle bums at home spend all their time running to the river.

You didn't see it, they smashed so many holes in the ice on the river, more than we used to make when we were carrying water.

They spend their days lying on the ice catching fish and shrimp; I don't think that's a good job. It would be better to send them to help out at the tiger park.

The children love to go back to the forest farm during holidays because there are many companions and fun things to do there.

A bunch of teenagers got together, that's unacceptable! It's like digging a hole in the door and stealing a tunnel.

You can't keep an eye on them, and stopping them isn't a solution either. It would be better to find them some proper work to do, so the adults can have peace of mind.

Sheng Xiping shook his head helplessly after hearing this, and said with a mix of exasperation and amusement, "These idiots are really something else."

As he spoke, Sheng Xiping looked up at the clock on the wall; it was past twelve.

"Dad, I'll go to the tiger park and bring the children back. Tomorrow is the Little New Year, and we can't let them spend it there."

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!