Han Mingwei did not hesitate to authorize Li Mingzhu to use his portrait in the competition and agreed to the commercial activities associated with the painting.

He also signed a portrait rights authorization agreement for this purpose.

It's the 1990s now, and the Han family doesn't have the concept of portrait rights, nor does Han Jianguo, who is in college.

With that, the matter was resolved satisfactorily, and Wang Peng drove Han Jianguo back to the provincial capital.

After driving more than 200 kilometers, he first took Han Jianguo to school, and then took his wife to the advertising company to have the painting framed.

Finally, the two arrived at the Qi Baishi Cup submission area and handed their entries to the staff.

Li Mingzhu said, "My paintings first need to pass the preliminary selection, then the final selection. If I get into the top three in the province, I can qualify for the national competition."

Wang Peng smiled slightly and said softly, "I have confidence in you. You will definitely win the national championship."

"National champion? I wouldn't even dare to dream of that," Li Mingzhu said with a smile. "I'd be perfectly content just to qualify for the national competition."

After a moment, she added, "If we win the national championship, One Piece sales will definitely skyrocket."

Wang Peng nodded, hoping that this painting could help his wife get closer to her dream of becoming a great cartoonist.

They were both exhausted after running around all day and went straight home to rest.

Back home, lying in bed, Li Mingzhu became excited and pestered her husband to do intimate things.

After two consecutive times, Wang Peng felt weak and lay on the bed, not wanting to move.

Li Mingzhu chuckled and said with a smile, "Honey, I suddenly want a child. You're often not home, and I want a son to keep me company."

Wang Peng's eyes lit up, and he said eagerly, "Are you kidding me? You said before that you wanted to focus on your career and consider having children after graduating from university."

“I’ve changed my mind now,” Li Mingzhu said. “Honey, I’m not kidding, I’m serious.”

She suddenly screamed and pounced on her husband like a hungry tiger, crying out, "I want my son! I want my son!"

As dusk fell, Wang Peng was so exhausted that he lay down on the bed and fell asleep.

Just then, the cell phone on the bedside table rang, playing Motorola's classic ringtone.

Her husband was sleeping like a log. She flipped open her phone, answered the call, and held it to her ear.

Neither of them spoke, but after three seconds, they both knew who the other was.

"Sister Mingzhu, I am Mengjiao."

"Yes, I know. I also know what you said before, that you would stay in England for the rest of your life."

“Sister Mingzhu, the condoms need to be commercialized nationwide. The domestic business is very important to James Bond. I have no choice but to do this in order to earn money for my daughter’s milk powder.”

Li Mingzhu chuckled softly and said gently, "Sister, we're all old foxes, don't tell me stories from Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio."

Both sides fell silent again.

Li Mingzhu really wanted to punch her husband, but after thinking it over, she couldn't bring herself to do it.

Li Mengjiao said, "Sister Mingzhu, I'm growing up, and there are some things I have to do. I'm sorry."

Li Mingzhu said with a smile, "He likes sons, and I just said I wanted a son."

The breathing on the other end of the phone suddenly quickened; someone was angry. Li Mingzhu was delighted.

“Mengjiao, he came back to Ping’an County with me today and gave me 1,500 yuan. He did it for no other reason than to create an opportunity for me to paint.”

"I have created a good work, and if nothing unexpected happens, I will win the Qi Baishi Cup National Championship."

"He has always been incredibly supportive of my dream of becoming a painter, which is wonderful."

The phone remained silent. Li Mingzhu glanced at her watch, wondering how long her anger would last.

Three seconds later, Li Mengjiao chuckled, "Sister Mingzhu, do you know where I'm calling you from?"

Li Mingzhu shook her head and remained silent.

Li Mengjiao said, "The apartment in Building 9 across the street is the one he just bought for me."

Li Mingzhu immediately questioned, "Li Mengjiao, you're so rich, why are you forcing him to buy you a house?"

In Building 9 of the cozy residential community, several renovation workers were quietly carrying out their work, trying their best to avoid making noise.

Someone was angry, and Li Mengjiao was also very happy, smiling as she stared at the window opposite.

“Sister Mingzhu, this house wasn’t bought for me, it was bought for his precious daughter.”

"My poor daughter doesn't get a father's love, so what's wrong with buying her a house to make up for it?"

"Also, when he was in high school, he and I went to a fortune teller, who said he was destined to have nine daughters."

"So, Mingzhu, you and he also had a daughter. Just wait and see."

"Also, don't forget to remind him that the Qinghui No. 2 store he wants will be officially auctioned by the court in three days."

After finishing her sentence in one breath, Li Mengjiao hung up the phone and looked out the window across the street with a smile.

Bodyguards Hu Feng and Hu Huang lowered their heads, pretending to be deaf and mute.

The two sisters couldn't understand what was so good about that man that could make their boss so jealous, acting like a resentful woman confined to her chambers.

In the evening, Li Mingzhu cooked four dishes and a soup and called Wang Peng to get up and eat.

Stir-fried spinach, stir-fried celery, stir-fried greens, stir-fried chives, mung bean flour steamed buns, and a bowl of mung bean soup.

Wang Peng scratched his head, opened his phone to check the call log, and understood everything.

"Honey, the court is auctioning off Qinghui No. 2 store in three days. Do we have enough money?" Li Mingzhu asked.

"That should be enough. Adding the 200,000 yuan Hu Qing lent me, I now have 400,000 yuan." Wang Peng took a bite of the mung bean flour bun; it was really hard to eat.

"What if Huang Ran tries to take it from you?" Li Mingzhu pressed.

Wang Peng scratched his head. "I only have 400,000 yuan. If they inflate prices, I'll have to give up."

Li Mingzhu nodded. "Giving up is better. If we get more and more involved, it will only lead to more trouble, won't it?"

"Uh..." Wang Peng didn't dare to respond; there was a hidden meaning in his words.

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