Marriage in the 1980s16
When Zhao Xiuning and Cheng Sheng heard that Mr. Zhao had arrived, they immediately left the study and headed for the garden. As soon as they arrived, they saw Mr. Zhao staring back and forth at the two children, as if he was thinking and deciding something.
"Hey, hey, hey, old man, what are you doing? My two grandsons are not meant to be seen for free." Zhao Xuning said unhappily.
"I won't watch it for free, I'll pay." Old Mr. Zhao looked at Zhao Xiuning and said.
"I'm really sorry. Even if you gave me all your wealth, I wouldn't let you see me for nothing." Zhao Xuning sat down and looked at Old Man Zhao. "I heard that you wanted to ask me for a grandson? Are you still asleep and sleepwalking here?"
"I hope that one of these two children can have the surname Zhao. In the future, all the property of the Zhao family will be inherited by these two children." Old Master Zhao said seriously.
"No!" Zhao Xiuning raised his hand and said, "If I don't want something, my two grandsons won't want it either. Even if I give them ten Zhao family properties, I won't let any of them have the surname Zhao."
"No matter what, they are all direct descendants of the Zhao family. You are also a descendant of the Zhao family. If you don't let them have the surname Zhao, you will not be able to face the ancestors of the Zhao family in the future."
"Then I won't meet him. I've already married into the Cheng family. Life and death belong to the Cheng family, and death belongs to the Cheng family's ghosts. The people I'll meet in the future will naturally be the ancestors of the Cheng family." Zhao Xuning asked with a puzzled look on his face. "Hey, old man, are you suffering from Alzheimer's disease and sudden amnesia? Don't you know why I won't let my sons and grandsons have the surname Zhao? You forced me to do this. You pushed me to the point where I'd rather not be a member of the Zhao family than have my descendants be! Now that the second branch of the family is about to be extinct, you're thinking of my sons and grandsons, the direct bloodline of the Zhao family? Don't you think it's a little too late?!"
Facing Zhao Xiuning's loud questioning, Mr. Zhao knew he was in the wrong and had nothing to say. But he was determined to achieve his purpose today. "You can ask me to compensate you in any way you want, as long as you promise me that one of the children will have the surname Zhao, or that Cheng Sheng and Xiao Ling will have another child with the surname Zhao."
"No, impossible." Zhao Xiuning said firmly, "I just want to take revenge on you, so I can't let the children have the surname Zhao. I've waited for so many years, and now I've finally received your retribution. You want me to give up on taking revenge on you, but don't dream of that."
"I asked everyone in the second house to move out. If you want me to stay, I will stay. If you don't want me to stay, I will move out with them." Mr. Zhao continued to put forward his own conditions.
"No need." Zhao Xiuning turned to Old Mrs. Zhao and said, "Mom, you should tell him about that matter now, so that he can give up as soon as possible."
"I have asked Xiuning to help me find a lawyer. The lawyer is now preparing and will help me file for divorce in a while. I will also be moving out of here soon. This is a perfect match for you and Zhang Shufen. Hasn't she always wanted to be the legal wife? Now she can finally get her wish." Old Mrs. Zhao said very calmly.
"Did you hear clearly?" Zhao Xuning looked at Mr. Zhao and asked.
The two children looked sleepy. Cheng Wei put Xiao Yu in Cheng Sheng's hands and said, "Take the children back to their room to rest."
Tao Yuan and Cheng Sheng took the child back to the room. There was no need for them to listen to what was said next.
After returning to the room and coaxing the child to sleep, Tao Yuan asked Cheng Sheng, "Do you think Grandma can get a smooth divorce? The Zhao family's property and Grandma's previous dowry have long been untangled, right?"
"Grandma is determined to divorce. Even if she doesn't want the family fortune, she will still divorce. Besides, over the years, she's exchanged the money for gold, silver, jewelry, antiques, and other things. She gave some to my mother and some to you, which is quite a fortune. The rest will be left to the second wife. Grandma won't want anything left by the ancestors of the Zhao family. Besides, the current business situation is very different from before. As the economy develops, competition will become more and more intense. If the Zhao family's situation doesn't change soon, they won't be able to hold on for much longer."
"Why is grandma suddenly so determined to get a divorce?" Tao Yuan asked puzzledly.
"She hates the old man so much. He's ruined most of her life's happiness. She's been fighting with the second wife for so many years. She used to fight for her share of the property, but she also didn't want the second wife's old lady to take the position of the main wife. Maybe she suddenly realized it and felt fed up. She doesn't want to die in this family as the old man's wife."
Tao Yuan nodded, thinking to himself that for women and boys of that era, if they couldn't marry a good man, they would have to endure endless humiliation and hardship, and most of their lifelong happiness would be ruined.
In the past, Mr. Zhao had thought about getting a divorce, but Mrs. Zhao refused to do so. Now that Mrs. Zhao wanted a divorce, Mr. Zhao naturally couldn't agree. But back then, Mrs. Zhao didn't agree to a divorce, and Mr. Zhao didn't have the courage to force a divorce. Now that Mrs. Zhao insisted on a divorce, Mr. Zhao also didn't have the ability to keep her.
In the end, Mr. Zhao didn't get what he wanted. He thought if he put aside his dignity and begged, asking the second wife to take only a small portion of the family property to support themselves, and give the rest to them and their son, he might agree. But Zhao Xiuning had waited so many years, finally waiting for the perfect opportunity to punish Mr. Zhao. There was no way he would let his grandson have the surname Zhao.
Zhao Xiuning was simply eyeing the Zhao family's property. Cheng Sheng's ability to make money was far beyond other people's imagination. It was even more impossible for him to be soft-hearted in the face of Mr. Zhao's pleading, because it was Mr. Zhao himself who had turned him into a heart of stone time and time again, so he had to bear the current consequences.
It was impossible for the old lady to live in the Cheng family after leaving the Zhao family. It would not sound good to outsiders. Cheng Sheng had bought a lot of real estate over the years, including several villas. The old lady could live wherever she wanted.
After the old lady divorced Mr. Zhao, Zhang Shufen did not feel any joy in her heart, because Mr. Zhao did not intend to register for marriage with her and make her his legitimate wife. She herself was physically and mentally exhausted because of Zhao Haoyu's infertility, and felt that everything seemed meaningless.
………………………………
Ten years later.
Over the past decade, Los Angeles' economic growth has been remarkably rapid, with skyscrapers dotting the city. Land has become increasingly valuable, leading to the proliferation of high-rise buildings. Today's wealthy enjoy high vantage points, relishing the feeling of being close to the sky and overlooking the scenery. Consequently, any restaurant or hotel on the top floors of a building is now considered the finest.
Today is Ke Zhao’s birthday, and it is also the last semester of his sixth grade in elementary school. He wants to invite his classmates to celebrate his birthday together.
Ke Zhao's school was a private bilingual aristocratic school. The annual tuition alone was shockingly high, not including other expenses. As it was an aristocratic school, students received an elite education. A class would have no more than 20 or 30 students, and every one of them was from a wealthy family.
Ke Zhao always treated his classmates to a meal on his birthday, but this year's was his last in elementary school, so he wanted to make it even better than in previous years to show off to his classmates. Last semester, a pair of twins joined his class. They were said to have skipped a grade, so they were younger than the others.
Ke Zhao's father told him that every one of his classmates was from a wealthy family, and he urged him to build good relationships with them so that when they grew up, they would be valuable to him. Ke Zhao was good at making friends with everyone, and he was very popular in the class, and his grades were also among the best, which satisfied his vanity to a great extent.
But after the twins skipped a grade and joined his class, they topped not only their class but also their grade, no matter the exam, test, or competition. Unlike Ke Zhao, they didn't deliberately try to make friends with everyone, but they were even more popular. Not only were they exceptionally talented, they were also incredibly good-looking, and both teachers and classmates loved them.
This situation made Ke Zhao, who was still young, feel very jealous, but he always remembered what his grandfather told him: a smart person would never let others know what he was thinking. So he never told anyone about his jealousy of the twins, not even his father, Ke Yi. He knew that his father always hoped that he could become a good and confident person. If he admitted that he was jealous of others, it would mean that he was not as good as them.
Ke Zhao is Ke Yi's son. The Ke and Zhao families have long since fallen on hard times, and can now only be considered wealthy. Ke Yi began learning about business a long time ago, but he discovered that running a successful business was incredibly difficult, and he wasn't cut out for it.
After trying for a while, Ke Yi simply gave up. He knew that the country's future development would have many emerging industries, but only real estate was guaranteed to be profitable. So he used his remaining funds to buy land and houses, figuring that even if his business collapsed, the rent alone would not starve his family. Not only did he buy properties himself, he also asked Zhao Haoyu and his parents to buy properties. At first, they disagreed with his approach, thinking he was wasting money, but the more time went on, the more they believed his approach was right. It was precisely because of his approach that they were able to barely maintain a wealthy lifestyle.
Given their family's current financial situation, sending Ke Zhao to such an aristocratic school was a real stretch. However, Ke Yi felt that it was precisely because his parents had spoiled him and neglected to teach him business matters from a young age that it was so difficult for him to learn later. Therefore, he was determined to ensure that his child received the best education possible, cultivating him to become an elite from a young age. He could only hope that this son would provide him with a better life in the future.
This time, Ke Zhao asked Ke Yi to book a private room on the top floor of Tianyang Building, the tallest building in the city center, and invite his classmates to celebrate his birthday with him.
Ke Yi did not refuse immediately, but he hesitated for several days because of this matter. Tianyang Tower was the most high-end and luxurious restaurant in their city. Even eating in the lobby was quite expensive, not to mention booking a private room. They had twenty or thirty students, and this meal might eat up their family's living expenses for the entire year.
After some hesitation, Ke Yi finally agreed to Ke Zhao's request, because he felt that it was an investment now, and there would definitely be a return in the future. If Ke Zhao could gain face in front of those wealthy classmates, those classmates would be more willing to be his friends. This was the reality of the world.
However, this plan was strongly opposed by Zhao Haoyu. Ke Yi had insisted on spending so much money to send Ke Zhao to an aristocratic school, but Zhao Haoyu was against it. He felt that although Ke Zhao was a very smart and precocious child, Ke Yi's parenting methods were seriously flawed. He felt that a child should not be allowed to develop a vain character from a young age. Furthermore, that aristocratic school was a place only the truly wealthy would send their children. Ke Zhao knew the gap between his family and that of his classmates, and sooner or later he would have psychological problems.
The two often quarreled about the child, but Ke Yi insisted on educating the child in his own way. He felt that he was spending the Ke family's money, not the Zhao family's money. Zhao Haoyu had no right to tell him how to educate the child. He just had to take good care of the child he adopted.
So this time Zhao Haoyu's objection was still ineffective. Ke Yi decided to do it. Seeing Ke Zhao's happy look after he agreed, he felt very satisfied.
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