In the summer of 1994, the Li family had a series of happy events. The three-courtyard house built by Li Jianguo was finally completed, with a total of six main rooms and four rooms each in the east and west wings, making it look very grand.
"Uncle Jianguo, this house is really well built."
Every villager who passes by praises it.
"Now the fifth son's wedding will have a proper venue."
Li Jianguo smiled upon hearing this, feeling quite pleased with himself.
Over the years, with the help of their eldest son and daughter-in-law, their lives have gotten better day by day. Now, they are about to hold a wedding for their fifth son.
The fifth son's wedding had already been arranged; the banquet would be held in both the provincial capital and the provincial capital, where relatives of the Yan family would be invited to a meal.
Then you can invite your relatives and friends in the village as well.
The new house will be placed in one of my parents' rooms, decorated as a formality, since the two of them are going to live in the city anyway.
"Old Wu and Xiaoling are both sensible children. Although they usually live in the provincial capital, they always have to hold their wedding back in their hometown."
Li Jianguo discussed it with his family.
"Yes," Liu Juan echoed.
Xiaoling's family agreed, saying they'd first hold a few tables in the provincial capital, and then have the main event here.
Just then, a cheer erupted outside. Li Yanni, holding her acceptance letter, skipped and hopped in:
"Dad, Mom, Sister-in-law! I got in! I got into the school my fifth brother attends!"
"Really?" Liu Juan hugged her youngest daughter tightly. "My good daughter, you've really made your mother proud!"
Ye Xiaoxiao took the admission notice and looked at it; it was indeed the best university in the provincial capital. She smiled and said:
"Yanni is so promising; now our family will have another college graduate."
Li Jianguo wiped away his tears and said, "Great, great! This girl has always had good grades since she was little, now her wish has come true."
Li Yanni is holding Ye Xiaoxiao:
"Sister-in-law, this is all thanks to you. If you hadn't kept urging me to study and bought me so many extracurricular books, I wouldn't have been able to do so well on the exam."
Ye Xiaoxiao patted her sister-in-law's head: "This is the result of your own hard work. By the way, you and Fifth Brother go to the same school, so he can take care of you."
"Mmm!" Li Yanni nodded happily. "When school starts, my fifth brother, fifth sister-in-law, and I will all be in the same city. Isn't that great?"
This summer has been a year of great joy for the Li family. The third and fourth sons' families have all moved into new houses and are living prosperous lives.
The fifth son's wedding is scheduled for August. Both families have agreed to hold a grand wedding.
Li Chenyang and Ye Xiaoxiao discussed opening another branch in the county and having Zhiming manage it.
This way, business will be easier, and Zhiming will be able to make a name for himself.
"Xiaoxiao," Liu Juan said, holding her daughter-in-law's hand one evening.
"I owe it all to you these past years. Without you, we wouldn't be where we are today."
Ye Xiaoxiao smiled and squeezed her mother-in-law's hand in return: "Mom, we're family, why are you saying these things?"
Li Chenlei and Yan Xiaoling's wedding was a grand and spectacular affair.
The wedding was a grand affair, both in the provincial capital and in the hometown, and all relatives and friends praised the marriage.
But just a few days after the wedding, Ye Xiaoxiao received a phone call that made her uneasy.
"Xiaoxiao, it's me, your sister-in-law." The voice on the other end of the phone was choked with sobs.
"Sister-in-law, what's wrong?" Ye Xiaoxiao noticed that her sister-in-law's voice sounded off.
"Your older brother... seems like a completely different person lately."
The elder sister-in-law sobbed as she spoke.
"Since I made more than a million yuan running the factory over the years, I've become arrogant."
Now I gamble with those shady friends every day, losing more than I win, and the other night I lost over ten thousand!
Ye Xiaoxiao's heart sank. In the original book, it was written that her older brother was quite capable; he owned a timber factory and did export business.
She made a lot of money, and mentioned that her older brother originally intended the money for his younger sister to build a house.
She remembered reminding her older brother before when she visited her parents' home that he shouldn't get involved in gambling. But she never expected it to happen again.
Thinking of this, she immediately comforted her sister-in-law:
"Sister-in-law, don't worry. Didn't my brother never touch these things before?"
"Absolutely! He used to be such a well-behaved person."
The older sister-in-law cried even harder.
"But after spending more than a year with those people, I've completely changed."
I tried to persuade him, but he wouldn't listen. Instead, he started hitting me without warning.
I...I couldn't take it anymore, so I said I wanted a divorce, and he told me to get out.
"Sister-in-law, please calm down."
Ye Xiaoxiao comforted him, "Brother has gone astray; we need to find a way to bring him back. Who do you think he gambles with?"
"They're all factory owners, getting together to play mahjong every day. They say doing business requires networking, but it's not networking at all, it's clearly gambling!"
The sister-in-law said bitterly, "In the past year or so, I've lost at least four or five hundred thousand yuan."
I said a few words to him, and he said I didn't understand business.
Ye Xiaoxiao frowned in thought. Her older brother, Ye Changhe, used to be a factory worker, an honest and upright person. Later, he went into business and opened a small factory. She never expected things to turn out like this.
"Sister-in-law, don't be too sad."
Ye Xiaoxiao said,
"Brother, you've got money blinding you. Here's what we'll do: don't mention divorce yet. I'll make time to go back in a couple of days, and we can talk about it face-to-face."
"Xiaoxiao, you're so thoughtful."
The eldest sister-in-law sighed, "But your eldest brother won't listen to anyone now, even if you come back..."
"Sister-in-law, don't worry." Ye Xiaoxiao's tone was firm.
"No matter what becomes of my older brother, I, as his younger sister, still have to take care of him. The family money is still in your hands, isn't it?"
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