"We can't impose Qi Xili's ideas on him; the young man might rebel if he knew."
Our Nuannuan is still a young girl; who knows what the future holds? There's no need to tie her down to him so early. Besides, with our financial situation, supporting Nuannuan for a lifetime wouldn't be a problem."
With them, Nuannuan can live a better life.
"If the two children are truly destined for each other, then let's wait until they grow up. The Qi family only has Qi Xili and Qi Lin, so they don't have any of those messy issues and can be considered a good match for marriage."
Bi Qiaoan hadn't expected him to think so much; she thought Lao Shen simply didn't want Nuan Nuan to get married.
Shen Yanming tightened his grip on her hand: "I did consider Ranran back then. That child is close to our Nuannuan's age, and we've watched her grow up. She's a good child. But environment shapes people, and Ranran is no match for Qi Lin."
Alas, the world is in chaos. Only a powerful background and strong capabilities can protect our precious child.
Bi Qiaoan nodded, her mood somewhat heavy.
Shen Yanming sensed her distress and comforted her by squeezing her hand: "It's okay, the child is still young. Maybe when she grows up, the world will return to normal. There are plenty of young men out there, our Nuannuan will definitely find a good one."
If all else fails, I'll take her to the capital and have Li Sikai act as matchmaker for Nuannuan. With him there, I don't believe anyone would dare bully our daughter.
Bi Qiaoan laughed upon hearing this, and Shen Yanming also smiled. Their smiles seemed to dispel the gloom of winter, reaching the softest part of people's hearts.
When they got back, they found that Qi Xili had already brought An'an and Nuan'nuan back. The couple felt quite comfortable leaving the children with him, so they tacitly agreed to let him pick them up and drop them off every day.
Qi Xili was quite happy about this, since he had to go back and forth every day anyway, and having someone to accompany him would keep him company. Plus, he could come over every few days for a free meal.
Time passed day by day, and the New Year arrived again. This year, the hunters were busy outside for three or four days, and finally returned home covered in dust and dirt.
Shen Yanming learned from his inquiry that after being out for so long, they had only managed to hunt two wild boars and three wild buffaloes. They hadn't even caught a few fish in their nets.
Shen Yanming frowned: "So little?"
“Of course!” Qi Xili said in a low voice, “The team guessed that it was too cold and the animals had no food, so they starved to death.”
Shen Yanming was startled, but after thinking about it again, he realized it made sense.
No one informed him of the team's hunting trip. He only found out later, which is why he couldn't go to Yunling Mountain to release the prey in advance.
Shen Yanming felt it was a pity at the time, but now that he thinks about it, he's very glad that Qi Xili didn't call him. Otherwise, there were no prey anywhere else but Yunling Mountain, and they were all domesticated, which would have been terrifying.
Because the hunting team had a meager harvest this year, the meat in the base canteen was almost entirely supplied by gifts sent from the capital.
The group discovered that not only were there fewer varieties of meat, but the quantity had also been reduced by more than half. They knew the guards had done their best, so even though they were unhappy, they didn't complain.
This year's Spring Festival was not festive at all. After everyone finished eating, they eagerly squatted in front of the TV, hoping to see and hear some good news.
In the capital, Li Zongmengguan once again appeared in front of the camera. His first words were to cancel the Spring Festival Gala.
It's easy to imagine that in such a sorrowful time, not many people would be in the mood to watch song and dance performances.
General Li didn't give a lengthy speech; he simply explained the current situation in Qinghua Kingdom. In a powerful and resonant voice, he encouraged everyone to persevere, to hold onto hope, and to strive to live. There were no flowery words, only unwavering conviction.
Li Sikai also went on stage. He just smiled and said, "What's there to be afraid of? I'm here for you!"
One sentence broke the ice; viewers in the cafeteria watching the live stream choked up instantly, and staff members in the space were in tears.
They are people who can feel things directly. They know exactly how much Captain Li has sacrificed and endured, and they feel sorry for him!
After Li Sikai finished speaking, he felt his faith level explode. He knew something was wrong and quickly gestured to the cameraman, who then turned the camera towards the wheat field with a whoosh.
Peng Baoxin immediately took over the conversation and reported to everyone on the planting achievements of the space over the past year, as well as the output of the lakes and pastures.
Li Sikai's face was ashen as Qiu Man helped him into a wheelchair.
He smiled and said, "I'm fine, it's just that I don't have enough faith points to upgrade."
General Li sighed, looking utterly dejected.
Summer has arrived in the blink of an eye, if summer can be defined as a temperature around zero degrees Celsius.
The record high temperatures in July definitively declared that Qinghua Kingdom had entered a mini ice age. While everyone was filled with pessimism and despair, they placed their hopes on Li Sikai.
So the person in the capital city had a very hard time; his head was throbbing every day, but he had to force a smile.
Qi Xili was quite excited lately because Qi Lin was coming back. He hadn't seen him for three years and really missed the brat.
Early that morning, Qi Xili called to An'an and Nuannuan: "Babies, hurry up and come with your godfather, your brother Qi Lin is coming back."
An An nodded warmly, changed her clothes, and prepared to go out. Shen Yanming and Bi Qiaoan quickly followed, and the family of five arrived at the helipad early.
Although July is warmer than December, it's still chilly. The group's hands and feet got cold after only a short time.
There are a lot of people here, many of whom arrived very early in the morning. They haven't seen their children for years and are quite anxious.
Fortunately, the helicopter arrived on time, and after it came to a stop, more than a dozen people disembarked one after another.
These children, having shed their youthful awkwardness, couldn't contain their excitement upon seeing their relatives. They ran forward to hug their parents, and several shed tears of longing.
Qi Xili waited for a long time but still didn't see his Qi Lin, and his heart began to panic. He grabbed a young man and asked, "Where's my little Lin? Didn't he come back with you?"
"No, it's just the dozen or so of us, there's no one else."
Qi Xili's legs went weak, and he almost lost his balance. It was Shen Yanming who caught him.
"Godfather, let's ask around. Brother Qi Lin will definitely be alright." Nuan Nuan grabbed his big hand and comforted him softly.
Qi Xili nodded and was helped by the two men to approach the helicopter.
A bodyguard disembarked from the helicopter. He was from the capital city and stared at Qi Xili for more than ten seconds before asking, "Are you Captain Qi Xili?"
Qi Xili nodded, but before he could ask any questions, the other person took a small package from the plane.
He had a bad feeling and refused to accept this terrible outcome.
Tears welled up in her eyes, but before they could fall, she heard the other person say, "This is what Qi Lin asked me to bring back. He said he has failed your trust and hopes you won't blame him."
Qi Xili was taken aback and asked in confusion, "My son is still alive? What happened to him? Why didn't he come back?"
The other person looked constipated and pointed to the package: "He wrote a letter, you should read it yourself."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
