The next day, the two went to the medical university. Xiao Li's school was there, and Li Qi's was at Tsinghua University next door. The schools were very close, and they planned to buy a house nearby for convenience.
After registering, the two started wandering around the neighborhood. They couldn't find a house, but they found the black market.
The two worked together to sell a batch of mutton and a batch of fabric, earning a total of eight thousand yuan. After searching for four or five days, they finally found a house that suited their taste.
It's a two-story apartment with a small 20-square-meter courtyard, and it looks very stylish.
Unfortunately, the interior was badly damaged, but the main body was still in good condition. For only 3,000 yuan, Xiaoli bought it without hesitation.
The two cleaned out the room before the start of the semester, did some simple renovations, and bought new furniture, making the room much cozier.
The yard used to be planted with flowers and plants, but no one had taken care of them for a long time, and now only weeds remained. So they cleared them out and planted a few grapevines, so that next year they could enjoy the cool shade and admire the moon under the grape trellis.
After being busy for almost half a month, Xiaoli finally had some free time and decided to take the man home to visit.
He grabbed two bags of snacks he didn't like from the storage space, along with the leftover food from Yangshu Village, and set off.
In the familiar courtyard of my memory, the aunties chatting under the trees all looked at Xiaoli and whispered among themselves.
"Is that Xiaoli? You've changed so much since you went to the countryside. Why don't you come home? Your parents are home right now."
Jenny almost didn't recognize her. Everyone else who went to the countryside was dark and thin, but Xiao Li had become fair and beautiful.
"Aunt Zhen, I'm going home now. You went to buy groceries, right? These vegetables are so fresh." Xiao Li recognized the aunt next door.
"I was lucky today. An auntie was selling vegetables, and these were just picked."
Chatting with Aunt Zhen, we finally arrived at the Tang family's door. We knocked, and after a while, the door opened with a click.
The one who opened the door was the original owner's younger brother, Tang Xiaoyong.
"Big sister? You're back! Mom, big sister's back, sister, come in quickly."
Tang Xiaoyong then noticed the man following behind his sister.
“This is your brother-in-law, call him brother-in-law.”
"Hello, brother-in-law!"
Li Qi found the boy agreeable and handed him the prepared red envelope. Tang Xiaoyong took it, put it in his pocket, and said thank you. He was a polite and well-behaved child.
Nothing had changed at home; the furnishings were still the same. Xiao Li opened the room that used to be hers and Tang Xiaoxing's, and unsurprisingly, there was no place for her. They hadn't expected her to come back.
She had already thought about it, and it wasn't surprising at all. But the heaviness in her heart made Xiao Li frown. She was right; the original owner still cared.
"Xiao Li, why are you back at this time?" Tang's parents both work at the sugar factory, and today is their day off. Even Tang Xiaoxing is at home.
The three of them had been in the kitchen, doing something, but now they all ran out, staring in shock at the beautiful girl in front of them.
Tang Xiaoxing, in particular, could hardly believe it. Was this still the same introverted and insecure older sister? Her skin was fair and rosy, and her clothes must have cost several tens of dollars, something she herself didn't own.
"Little Pear, what's this?" Tang Jianguo asked.
“This is the man I found in the countryside. We’ve already registered our marriage. His name is Li Qi,” Xiao Li said slowly.
Tang's mother, Yi Fang, was taken aback for a moment, and the four of them began to scrutinize him. Li Qi, however, felt no pressure facing their scrutiny. He had seen it all; this was nothing to him.
"Great, great. Have you eaten yet? I'll go cook two more dishes and we'll have lunch here." Yi Fang said, heading towards the kitchen.
"Stop bothering us, we're not eating here."
Yi Fang didn't get up after hearing that, it seems she was just being polite.
"Brother-in-law, what do you do for a living?" Tang Xiaoxing asked curiously.
Li Qi thought for a moment, "If I don't have a job, I can just grow some vegetables and raise chickens."
Tang Xiaoxing pursed her lips, thinking that despite her glamorous appearance, she was actually someone who toiled in the fields for a living.
Looking at her fair-skinned eldest daughter, Yi Fang thought, "She must be living a pretty good life."
"Why didn't you write a letter home when you got married? We didn't even know."
She took a breath and said, "It's just after the New Year, and we don't have much to offer at home. What brings you here?"
Xiaoli sighed inwardly. This family didn't treat her like family at all. They wanted to kick her out before she even sat down. It just so happened that she didn't want to stay anyway.
"Nothing much, I just happened to be passing by and stopped by to drop by."
"Sis, you must be doing well in the countryside. Judging from your complexion, you're eating well. And those clothes, did your husband buy them for you? He's really rich."
Li Qi had never heard of the term "tea talk," and he knew the tone was off; he was acting like his wife was the most important person in the family.
"I'll listen to my wife. I'll buy whatever she likes." He then grinned foolishly at Xiaoli, as if seeking praise.
Tsk~
Tang Xiaoxing felt a pang of jealousy. Her older sister was so lucky to have found such a simpleton in the countryside.
The group remained silent. Xiao Li found it too boring, so she put the things she had brought on the table and pulled Li Qi to leave.
Tang Xiaoyong stopped her from leaving. He was 15 years old this year and had long known that it was wrong for his second sister to take his eldest sister's job.
My eldest sister hasn't come back for so many years, and now that she's back, she's leaving again. My parents didn't even try to stop her. Is this how family behaves?
Xiaoli understood the situation: this youngest brother was the only one in the family who truly cared for her; the others were best left alone. After trying to persuade him for a while, promising to visit him again next time, she finally let him go.
"I didn't expect them to be like this, Ali. Are you unhappy? Don't be afraid, you still have me." Li Qi saw that Xiao Li's face was not good and was afraid that she was unhappy.
"No, it's good that they're indifferent. I don't really want to associate with them anyway. Besides, there are many other things in this world worth cherishing, not just family."
Furthermore, family ties are reciprocal; I won't be kind to someone who treats me badly. The country is in dire need of rebuilding; we can do more meaningful things and don't need to worry about these things.
She seemed to be speaking to Li Qi, but also to herself.
Noticing the gloom in her heart gradually dissipating, Xiaoli felt relieved.
In the days that followed, Xiao Li was busy and fulfilled. Medical students have a lot to learn, and Xiao Li had a medical background. She graduated with excellent grades in three years and was then invited by Professor Cheng Li to join the research institute to specialize in researching the difficult problems of special drugs.
After graduation, she went to the Department of Surgery at the affiliated hospital of the medical university. Her clinical performance was outstanding, and she was quickly promoted to chief surgeon. Her strong sense of vision and rich experience enabled her to perform surgeries with zero errors. Her appointments were always booked three months in advance.
Li Qi chose the business school, and his brilliant mind and rich business experience led his professors to call him a genius. Before even graduating, he had already established his business empire again, founding the Weili Group.
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