Chapter 56: The Snipe and the Clam Fight

After a brief trip to Shanghai, Li Sishi returned with bags full of local specialties and embarked on her journey back to the port city.

With the opening concert over, and the start of the new semester approaching, the remaining professional courses and other tasks will need to be arranged by Zhuang Menghua and Lu Yiting.

Correspondingly, although Li Sishi was still unable to return home after the start of the school year, she could still take advantage of her break time to go back to the Lucky Tea Restaurant for a while to visit her family and neighbors. Compared to other forgetful Hong Kong people, the old neighbors in Liu Street really remembered Li Sishi, the "shining light of Liu Street".

With such a large group of "eyes and ears" watching Li Sishi's whereabouts, and these old neighbors themselves being "influential" in the area, not only would troublemakers who like to stir up trouble not dare to cause trouble here, but even paparazzi who know how to disguise themselves to find gossip cannot escape the watchful eyes of these old neighbors.

With a group of retired local strongmen backing her up, Zhuang Menghua wasn't worried about Li Sishi running into any big trouble. In fact, it was safer for her to go back to Liaojie than to go out for location shooting.

Because in the eyes of these local tyrants in Liaojie who place great importance on "internal unity," Li Sishi is "one of their own," and daring to bully a promising young person in Liaojie is tantamount to looking down on Liaojie and the surrounding area.

Therefore, on the first weekend after school started, when Li Sishi returned to Lucky Tea Restaurant with her assistant carrying large bags of things, she was a popular guest.

When asked by the neighbors, Li Sishi answered generously: "This year I'm focusing on my studies and my duties as Miss Hong Kong, so I don't have time to film movies or TV series. However, if there's an opportunity, I might be arranged to shoot some commercials. I hope you all will support me then!"

With her sweet and charming demeanor, the old neighbors all expressed their support and praised Li Sishi for being conscientious and not forgetting her roots. They pointed out that the "commoner beauties" from other districts, who were not even champions, forgot their fathers' names after becoming rich overnight. They bought big houses and fancy cars and moved away without looking back, showing no desire to associate with their former neighbors and fearing that they would benefit from her success.

In contrast, Li Sishi, who seems to be making little splash but is actually accumulating strength and waiting to explode, is so busy with her studies and work, yet she still makes time to come back and visit her family and neighbors from time to time. And her attitude is incredibly kind... The difference is enormous.

Seeing the harmonious atmosphere in the tea restaurant, Li Sishi felt increasingly at ease: a place like Liaojie, a melting pot of all sorts of people...

The locals value brotherhood and human relationships, and her mother and uncle's family do business here. Occasionally, when she comes back to interact with the old neighbors, not only will her family receive care, but if she goes back to film location scenes in the future, she can also enjoy the favors and consideration of the old neighbors and won't be so easily targeted and caused trouble.

After seeing off the cheerful neighbors, Li Sishi told her assistant, Zuo Lili, that she would stay home tonight and go back to class on time tomorrow.

Returning to her home upstairs via the stairs next to the tea restaurant entrance, Li Sishi looked at the old furniture that seemed to have been gone for a long time, and her heart was filled with a myriad of emotions.

As soon as Uncle Zhou Jiayun entered the house, he said he was going to show off his skills. He took the ingredients to the kitchen to cook and take care of the slow-cooked soup he had prepared in advance. Meanwhile, Aunt Liang Shao'e and Mother Zhou Jiaxian were at the coffee table in the living room, reading books and preparing for tonight's night school lessons.

Zhou Huichang smiled and pointed to the two mothers who were engrossed in reading, saying that they were more diligent than young people lately. The teacher at the night school said that if they continued at this pace, they might be able to graduate early.

"This is great news!" Li Sishi smiled broadly.

Didn't you see that after she came back, her mother no longer had that excessive attention on her that she used to have? Her mother and aunt both have their own pursuits and dreams, which may add a lot of changes from reading and wisdom to their lives, which were originally predictable, and they are no longer confined to the small plot of land in front of them.

While their love for their children and families will not diminish, they will become more open, modern, and respectful of young people's ideas and freedom, making them more acceptable to young people.

“It’s not good for me. Now I’m the worst student in the whole family, except for my dad, who really doesn’t have any talent for studying.” Zhou Huiguang sighed with a precocious air, “Why, why did I have to take after my dad…”

“There are 160 professions, and every profession can produce an expert. You don’t need to be so discouraged. Aren’t you preparing to participate in the selection for the Hong Kong Athletics Association?” Considering that her cousin was a sportsman, Li Sishi naturally devised this path for him after discussing it with her family.

The development of track and field in the port city is relatively good, and the port city's status as a host of international marathon events will gradually be recognized internationally as times develop. If Zhou Huiguang can squeeze into the track and field team, it will definitely be more promising than becoming a physical education teacher or fitness coach in the future.

"Moreover, becoming famous in such sporting events is a glorious achievement, bringing honor to one's hometown and country."

(ii)

Li Sishi spoke at length to Zhou Huiguang with great earnestness, making Zhou Huiguang nod repeatedly, looking excited and full of energy, ready to run at any moment.

Seeing Li Sishi encouraging her younger brother so strongly, Zhou Huichang, feeling threatened in his cousin's eyes, immediately became anxious: "Cousin, I will also study hard and try to design super, super beautiful clothes and skirts for you! So that you can outshine all those competitors who want to compete with you!"

"Then I'll really be looking forward to it." Li Sishi replied with a smile, and Zhou Huichang was so smug, he was practically wagging his tail in a triumphant display...

When it was time for dinner, Li Sishi ate while chatting with her family about her experiences in Shanghai. She talked about how fast and efficient the country had developed in recent years, and how the eastern part of Shanghai was not only beautiful with green mountains and clear waters, but also had promising development prospects, making it a great place to retire in the future.

Lured by Li Sishi's words, the eyes of everyone else at the table sparkled, especially Zhou Jiaxian and Liang Shao'e. They were both thinking that when they had time later, they would apply for a return permit to go and inspect the area in person and decide whether to buy some land and houses in preparation for their future return.

In the eyes of their generation, the return of Hong Kong to China was a foregone conclusion. So whether they stayed in Hong Kong to develop their careers or returned to the motherland to retire, it was much better to have a place to live in advance than to find a place at the last minute. Especially now, the price of land and houses in the eastern part of Shanghai is much higher than that in Hong Kong.

They themselves were somewhat tempted, so naturally they had no objection to Li Sishi's suggestion to buy land or a house in eastern Shanghai after saving some money. If Li Sishi wanted to buy and speculate on real estate in Hong Kong, they would think that the investment was too risky and would try to dissuade her. But in Shanghai...

At this price point, Li Sishi could afford to buy something outright. As long as she didn't overspend, she wouldn't have any pressure from taking out a loan.

The entertainment industry is, to a large extent, a young person's game. Li Sishi is taking advantage of her current financial situation to purchase some real businesses, which will provide her with some security in the future.

"Is the money enough? Although I know that Li Sishi has saved a lot of prize money and remuneration from her experiences in beauty pageants, releasing albums, and attending events, as an elder, I always feel that my child doesn't have much money."

Moreover, anyone in the entertainment industry who earns a lot will definitely spend a lot as well.

Liang Shao'e was well aware of her family's assets. She had previously said she was always frugal because she worried about her children's education; now, the family...

If her children all have access to education and promising futures, then the savings she has accumulated over the years—whether for down payments on their homes or as capital for their small businesses—are now "idle."

Although Li Sishi, a studious girl, couldn't devote all her attention to her studies, she worked so hard to balance work and studies. Therefore, Liang Shao'e always loved this girl the most, fearing that she would be short of money but too embarrassed to ask.

Zhou Jiaxian had a similar idea: when she escaped from the ship, she packed some jewelry. Although the styles were a bit old, the materials and weight were all real. In addition, the salary she earned from working in the tea restaurant over the past few years was enough to barely buy a small house in a non-busy area of ​​Hong Kong.

Originally, Zhou Jiaxian intended to use the money to buy a house for her daughter Li Sishi after she was admitted to university. However, the Hong Kong property market has been unpredictable in recent years. After being persuaded by her younger brother and sister-in-law, she postponed the idea of ​​buying a house until Li Sishi graduated from university. At that time, Li Sishi would be looking for a job, and with the handover period approaching and people's hearts in turmoil, there might be an opportunity for a drop in property prices.

None of them planned to leave their hometown, but wouldn't it be better to take advantage of the low prices and buy a larger house with the same amount of money?

"Don't worry, Mommy, Auntie, Uncle, if it's not enough, I definitely won't be polite to you." Li Sishi looked at the elders gratefully and said, "There's no need to be in such a hurry now. I also think that housing prices will be cheaper in a few years."

"As for Hudong, we can give it a try. Anyway, it's cheap now, so even if we lose money, we won't lose too much."

"Don't be so 'underhanded' or you'll end up losing money and crying later!" Zhou Jiaxian has been much more relaxed since returning home in recent years and occasionally teases her daughter.

"I won't cry! It's not real tears if I don't seize this opportunity and watch land prices skyrocket later!" Li Sishi clenched her fist.

"I have personally witnessed that our country has high hopes for that region, and I believe it has great development potential!"

What will the future of the Hudong New Area be like? Even powerful figures from various factions in Hong Kong's entertainment circle wanted to buy it at high prices but couldn't find it—the current unbelievably low price is truly a steal!

During a casual chat, Li Sishi once again reinforced the impression of Hudong's immense development potential on her family. After finishing her uncle's hearty slow-cooked soup in one gulp, she returned to her room and gave Zhou Huichang some fashion design materials she had collected during this time.

"I knew it, cousin, you still love me the most!" Zhou Huichang said.

He held these documents tightly, unable to put them down.

"Okay, don't stay up too late, get some rest." Li Sishi instructed, turning over and climbing into the clean and tidy upper bunk.

Home is probably where people can feel most at ease and sleep soundly.

When Li Sishi woke up after a good night's sleep, it was just dawn. The curtains that had been blown down were lifted by the morning breeze, giving off a cool feeling that was different from the end of summer.

After eating the special breakfast prepared by her uncle at the tea restaurant downstairs, Li Sishi waved goodbye to her family and neighbors and then got into the nanny car driven by Zuo Lili.

Upon arriving at Zhuang Menghua's office, Li Sishi, following her usual "rules," obediently stood aside and listened as Lu Yiting reported to Zhuang Menghua on her recent situation, covering everything from her studies to her work in great detail.

After calmly listening to the report, Zhuang Menghua slowly turned her eyes to Li Sishi: "That's right. I'll be focusing my efforts on Huasheng Records for the next period of time, so I probably won't be releasing any new albums for you until the middle of next year..."

Given the choice between completely dominating album production and having to compete with others, anyone with a brain would choose the former.

As expected, Li Sishi calmly said that she understood: "I understand, thank you for your trouble, Miss Zhuang."

Lu Yiting added at the right time: "However, we can release singles and do some advertising endorsements—I've contacted Sunny Lemon Tea and Luo Ji Telecom and I believe we'll get a response soon."

Zhuang Menghua nodded: Sunny Lemon Tea's advertisement and jingle are the favorites of young people in Hong Kong; while Luo Ji Telecom is rumored to be making big moves recently, wanting to shoot a big advertising campaign and has already made contact with Ling Chen... Both are high-quality resources that can greatly increase Li Sishi's exposure in the coming period.

After checking Li Sishi's work and study progress, Zhuang Menghua took out some invitations and explained to Li Sishi, "There are some banquets here that you must accompany Sir Zhao to attend as is customary. We have already made arrangements so that no one will make things difficult for you. You can just go and sit down."

Knowing that this was an obligation that Miss Hong Kong contestant A had to fulfill, Lee Sze-sze gladly accepted: These are all formal banquets. No matter what business methods people use in private, they basically have to maintain good public etiquette in such occasions. There is really nothing to worry about.

She had attended countless banquets like this in her past life, and now that she's living it again, she has the advantage of being "sharp-eyed" and "underage," making it a great opportunity to expand her network in such settings.

However, she wore a little dress and followed the TV at night.

When Li Sishi was with NTU boss Sir Zhao, she first met an "old friend".

"Long time no see." Yu Xiaobao, walking on the other side of Zhao Jueshi, smiled at Li Sishi.

Li Sishi responded with the same smile: Speaking of which, after the runner-up was sidelined and returned to her main job, and after the champion was busy with many things, the only Miss Hong Kong A who accompanied Sir Zhao to the banquet this year was indeed Yu Xiaobao, the second runner-up.

She seemed to be very comfortable in this kind of setting. After more than a month apart, her expression, which still showed traces of joy and anger during the training camp, had completely transformed into a social smile that revealed no depth.

With the experience of being a wealthy wife in her previous life as a foundation, and with this "old friend" by her side to share her attention, Li Sishi spent her days attending classes and her evenings studying professional courses, learning skills, or attending events, leading a very fulfilling life.

Moreover, because of her insightful perspective from a later era, she was quiet and well-behaved when she sat still, and when she occasionally spoke, she always hit the nail on the head. Many business tycoons laughed and talked with Sir Zhao, saying that if it weren't for the TV station keeping her, they would also like to poach this smart and beautiful girl to work for their companies—especially after learning that Li Sishi's next goal was to study law at the University of Hong Kong, which is something that basically any company can use.

However, most young girls, especially those who came from beauty pageants, want to experience what it's like to be a big star, even though the income and workload of being a star are far less cost-effective than working for a big company.

Most of the bigwigs expressed their understanding, but some, still unwilling to give up, said that if Li Sishi didn't want to stay in the entertainment industry, she could come to them for a job: regardless of any other reasons or ability considerations, a beautiful employee who was both a Miss Hong Kong winner and a Miss World runner-up would increase the success rate of future business negotiations by several percentage points just by having her by her side.

While the bigwigs are more concerned with profits, many young second-generation figures are more attracted to Li Sishi's appearance. It was previously said that she was kept well hidden by Zhuang Menghua and had nowhere to exert her influence. Now that she has finally come out and made her presence felt, flowers, chocolates, and all kinds of designer clothes and handbags are being sent to the TV station in a continuous stream. They even specifically asked Ms. Li Sishi to receive them, so much so that the cleaning ladies who do odd jobs can play around with bouquets of all sizes every day...

After another glamorous banquet, Xiao Li Su Bao, who had married into the wealthy Xiao family and taken her husband's surname, quietly returned to the Li family mansion. She told the patriarch, who was in charge of the Li family, about what she had seen at the banquet: "They certainly look like members of the Li family, but they don't quite look like the fourth son."

Indeed, he does retain some of the charm he had in his youth.

"If it were someone like that unfilial son of the fourth brother, I wouldn't even bother with her!"

The patriarch, the oldest member of the Li family, is still in good health. Over the years, he has outlived countless descendants. Now, there are only a few grandsons of the "Jin" generation left, as well as his granddaughter Xiao Li Su Bao, who is not ranked according to generation.

However, every tall tree has its dead branches. Among Old Master Li's grandsons, apart from Li Jinhao, who was confirmed to have no offspring and was unwilling to adopt a child, the others had given birth to a whole bunch of messy great-grandchildren for him, ranging from legitimate children to illegitimate children. Moreover, they only cared about giving birth and not about raising them, creating a chaotic mess that the old man couldn't bear to look at.

As for Li Sishi's scumbag father, Li Jinhuai, he was the son of Old Master Li's younger brother. He was an orphan who fled during the war years ago and was taken in by Old Master Li, who had lost his brother, and raised him as his own grandson.

With the deep affection and indulgence of his late brother's family, Li Jinhuai was undoubtedly spoiled and became unpopular among his peers. He was always openly or secretly competing with others, especially his cousin Li Jinhao, who treated him the best.

Because Li Jinhuai's actions of poaching his grandson back then had greatly harmed Li Jinhao, a promising young man, the old master Li finally gave up his last bit of pity and left the runaway Li Jinhuai to fend for himself.

Now, upon learning that Li Jinhuai, the grand-nephew who died far from home, actually had a daughter who was quite good at studying and had even returned to Hong Kong, Old Master Li couldn't help but send his granddaughter, Xiao Lisubao, to investigate the child's whereabouts. Although the Li family had requirements for their daughters-in-law, they would try their best to support their children and grandchildren if they seemed to have potential.

Moreover, Li Sishi is a legitimate legitimate child, much better than those illegitimate children who can't even get into the family but still come over from time to time and shamelessly call him "Grandpa"!

Knowing her grandfather's meaning, the next time Xiao Lisu attended a banquet, she greeted Li Sishi with a friendly smile and even pulled her aside to talk to her, appearing very affectionate.

Having lived an extra lifetime, Li Sishi understood the Li family's change in attitude to some extent: the Li family was the kind of family that would ignore everything else as long as the younger generation was outstanding. In her previous life, she was just an empty-headed vase, so the Li family didn't bother with her. Now, she was a promising student, so the Li family sent Xiao Li Subao to cultivate a relationship in case of need.

After all, there weren't many good people in the Li family and her generation...

Although her scumbag father was only the grandson of the younger brother of the Li family's patriarch, the head of the Li family,

As long as she, as a junior member of the Li family, is obedient, intelligent, and sensible enough, she can be a good resource for "marriage alliance"...

If it were Li Sishi in her previous life, she probably would have ignored such an approach with ulterior motives. However, now that Li Sishi has been beaten and reborn countless times, she has learned the meaning of "taking advantage of the situation" and can put on a smiling face to pretend to be friendly with the Li family.

If you don't want to stand and smile now, you might have to kneel and smile obsequiously later.

Unfortunately, the Hong Kong entertainment industry in this era was at its most prosperous and wonderful, but also at its darkest and most terrifying. Without enough "power" to protect oneself, one might be secretly killed without even knowing why.

Zhuang Menghua and the Zhao Company were one source of support, as were the old neighbors of Liaojie, and the Li family, with whom they mutually benefited, were yet another.

In particular, the Li family's "high regard" was very helpful in resisting the advances of those rich kids...

Ever since discovering her ex-husband Zheng Suxin's business card among the bouquets, Li Sishi has been intentionally using the Li family's influence to make these scoundrels hurt and restrain each other. Although she has learned to discern people and will no longer be fooled by the scoundrel's schemes, and the care from Zhuang Menghua and Lu Yiting is enough to resist most of the scoundrel's covetousness, one cannot guard against thieves all the time. So it is better to use the Li family's influence to make the scoundrel have some reservations.

Meanwhile, upon discovering that the legendary "fallen heiress" Li Sishi had actually started talking to Xiao Lisubao, the eldest daughter of the Li family, the Zheng family immediately seized on Zheng Suxin, who was in a playful mood, and pleaded with him: It seems that Li Sishi has a good chance of returning to the Li family as a young lady. If we marry Li Sishi, our Zheng family will be able to establish a connection with the Li family through this marriage relationship!

You rascal, you can't use the same methods you used to use to woo minor celebrities to pursue a future heiress like Li Sishi. You need to put in more effort!

Seeing the eager anticipation in his family's eyes, Zheng Suxin casually brushed a strand of hair from his forehead and said, "What's there to be afraid of? This kind of fallen heiress, who was once rich but is now in dire straits, is definitely the one who finds it hardest to accept her current situation. I've got a plan in place to let her experience the joys of being rich again, and she'll definitely see me as her prince charming who has saved her from her misery..."

At this moment, Zheng Suxin was making a very shrewd calculation: Li Sishi's cousins ​​wouldn't care about her, and Li Sishi's cousin was a penniless nobody with no power. As long as he used his charm and his wealth, Li Sishi, who was afraid of being poor, would be easily taken.

As for why he knew Li Sishi was terrified of poverty—it was undoubtedly true, a former rich girl had run away...

She went to beauty pageants and the entertainment industry because she was scared by her life at the bottom of society in recent years, so she can only rely on her current looks to make a living and hopes to use them as a stepping stone to return to high society.

Thinking this way, Zheng Suxin changed the strategy of having someone else deliver flowers and gifts and took matters into his own hands to show his sincerity.

Although he was politely escorted away each time by the security personnel of the TV station who had been instructed by Zhuang Menghua, Li Sishi, who was extremely annoyed, could not help but miss her future stepfather who said he was going to return to Hong Kong to develop his career. If Li Jinhao were here, he could teach this extremely annoying "beast" a lesson as an old father.

I wonder how things are going on his end. But such a large business can't be resolved so quickly...

While Li Sishi was busy with her studies and duties, and also racking her brains to outwit and outmaneuver the philandering suitors, Li Jinhao, halfway around the world in California, was also working overtime to finish up his previous business and then began to prepare to return to Hong Kong.

When Li Jinhao mentioned returning to Hong Kong to develop his career during dinner, Madam Li was taken aback for a moment. Then, she secretly glanced at her nephew's family to make sure that her son wasn't leaving because of this issue before nodding in agreement: "Since you want to go back, I won't stop you. It's also good that your mother hasn't been back for a long time. It would be nice to go back for the Spring Festival this year..."

Seeing Li Jinhao and Madam Li chatting happily about their past memories, Madam Li's nephews, Wu Chengcai, Wu Qianjing, and Wu Weisheng, immediately felt uneasy.

After forcing a smile to get through dinner, the man completely lost the enthusiasm he used to have for Mrs. Li and Li Jinhao. Instead, he returned to his own home looking rather dejected.

Looking at the ordinary two-story house in front of her, which was just typical for the middle class, and then thinking about the ultra-luxurious mansion where Madam Li lived, Wu Qianjing couldn't help but look at her husband, Wu Chengcai, first: "Do you think Auntie... knows what we're thinking?"

Wu Chengcai waved his hand: "Ever since my cousin confirmed that he had no children and refused to adopt the Li family's child, my aunt has been trying to see if I could let him raise our son. Unfortunately, he is stubborn and my aunt can't do anything about it."

Otherwise, they wouldn't have fallen so low as to cling to the Li family and fawn over them, hoping that Li Jinhao would change his mind and let his son inherit his family fortune.

The Wu family, a once scholarly family

His life had already been ruined by his opium-addicted father. However, the old lady of the Li family, who brought a large dowry when she married into the family, was not affected much and would occasionally take care of him, her only descendant.

"Why did Uncle suddenly decide to go back to Hong Kong?" Wu Weisheng was also quite puzzled, and then a terrifying thought immediately occurred to him: "Has Uncle finally come to his senses and decided to go back to Hong Kong to find a descendant of the Li family to be adopted into his family?!"

"In short, whether he really has something important to do or plans to go back to Hong Kong to find someone to adopt, we certainly can't stay here knowing nothing and doing nothing!" Wu Chengcai glanced at his son and instructed him to quickly pack his bags and find an excuse to go back to Hong Kong to find out the situation.

"Ugh, my uncle really makes so much trouble for no reason!" Wu Weisheng complained as he packed his luggage. "If he had a daughter or brought one home to support our family, we wouldn't have to worry so much. He could have easily won her over long ago by using our cousin relationship and the childhood sweetheart approach—then all his family's assets would be ours..."