131 red envelope
Luo Da also stayed at Li Wei's house that night; there was a guest room available. However, the four of them chatted in the car for a while longer before going inside.
At this time, Li Zhaoxing and his wife had already gone upstairs to their room to rest. Only two workers from the food factory who were on duty lived on the first floor and also served as doormen.
The four of them sneaked upstairs without alerting the adults. Li Lianhui and Luo Da, boasting of their speed, went to the shower room first. Li Wei went to Li Lianhui's room to get some clothes. Although Luo Da was taller than Li Lianhui, Li Lianhui's T-shirts were all big and baggy, and Li Wei estimated that they could fit into Luo Da's clothes.
After calling out from outside the bathroom, Li Wei put the clothes the two of them would wear to bed on the rack.
As for Luo Da's coat, Li Wei glanced at it and figured that even if the grape stains couldn't be washed off, it wouldn't matter since they were dirty inside, so she threw it into the washing machine.
Li Wei had just changed her clothes when, as expected, things moved quickly over there; Li Lianhui and Luo Da had already come out. Li Wei felt that this was even faster than washing her face.
The bathroom upstairs in Li Wei's house is shared by the whole family. The bathtub is quite large but is rarely used. There are two or three showerheads, but actually only one or two are used regularly.
Li Lin was also unwilling to wait. As soon as Li Wei went in, she ran in as well, dragging a small plastic basket with her.
Li Wei took a closer look and exclaimed, "Huh? When did this girl get so many skincare products? I don't think I've ever seen them before." So she asked, "What are all these? Where did you get them?"
Li Lin said proudly, "I bought it myself, hehe. My classmate recommended it. Apparently, her mom uses this brand, and she uses it too. She said it works well."
Li Wei picked up a face wash and looked at it. It was a fairly well-known brand, and it wasn't cheap at all. This whole basket must have cost a lot of money. "Where did you get the money? Don't tell me your mom gave it to you?"
My monthly allowance is limited. It barely covers snacks and daily necessities. If I wanted to buy luxury goods, I probably wouldn't even have enough for a small bottle of face wash.
Li Lin whispered mysteriously, "Don't tell my mom. I secretly asked Grandpa for some land, hehe."
Li Wei carefully read through the instructions. It seemed to actually work. But wasn't Li Lin a bit too young? Even she had only ever used mild moisturizers. Her perfumes were mostly just for show, or something she'd spray on the air when she was feeling down or sleepy.
Li Wei asked with concern, "Is your classmate really using it? You're still young. It's best to avoid using it if possible..."
Before Li Wei could finish speaking, Li Lin pouted and said, "And you're one to talk. Don't you also put all sorts of stuff on your face all the time?"
Li Wei was speechless: "That's skincare. It's nourishing, chemical-free products. And I wash it off after a while. How can it be the same as yours? I'm doing this for your own good!"
Seeing that her sister was unhappy, Li Lin quickly said, "Okay, okay, I know. It's okay, my classmate has been using it for a long time, just leave it."
Seeing that Li Lin wouldn't listen, Li Wei had no choice but to give up. After all, this was a brand name product, and one of her classmates had tried it out, so there shouldn't be any major problems.
Li Wei put on a shower cap, quickly took a shower, and hurried to bed to rest. She was really quite tired.
Knowing they were coming back today, her mother had aired out the blankets and other things beforehand. Lying under the soft blankets and smelling the sunshine, Li Wei thought drowsily, "Hmm, a child with a mother is like a treasure!"
The next day, Li Wei slept until late morning, feeling a bit thirsty. Still in her pajamas, she went to the small kitchen, which had become her parents' private kitchen, and poured herself a glass of water. As she drank, she looked around the rooms. Why was it so quiet upstairs? Had everyone else not gotten up yet?
As she walked along, she discovered that she was the only person left on the entire third floor.
However, when I saw the insulated container on the kitchen counter, I opened it and found hot mung bean porridge, two peeled eggs, and a small dish of side dishes, which I guessed was for myself.
Without a word, Li Wei took a spoon from the cupboard. She ate porridge, eggs, and side dishes. It was quite refreshing.
After having breakfast and quickly washing up, Li Wei thought for a moment. She decided she needed to ask her mother how they planned to celebrate her grandmother's birthday. Would it be the same as before, with everyone gathering for a big meal?
After searching downstairs, Li Wei found no trace of her parents, except for some people who were working. Even Li Lianhui and the others were nowhere to be seen. Li Wei even looked out the window and saw that Luo Da's car was also gone.
They grabbed a worker and asked him, who replied, "I don't know."
Li Wei strolled over to the food factory at the back. The food factory was now more than three times larger than when it was first built, with many more workers and, needless to say, much more equipment and workshops. Li Wei felt that even the aroma of bread and pastries wafting in the air was much stronger than before, making people more hungry.
After walking around, I didn't see anyone I knew; they were all unfamiliar faces. It suddenly dawned on me that my two uncles' families had gone out to start their own businesses, and I wondered how they were doing.
Li Wei always felt this outcome was good, and her father's handling of it was both reasonable and humane. This is much better than, in a few years, like many large companies, where relatives occupy important positions, leading to poor management, numerous problems, and even corruption that causes decline. If that happens, it will certainly be better for relatives to find things difficult or even break off relations.
At least for now, the uncles have to accept the parents' kindness. If they do a bad job and lose money, it can't be blamed on them. This is already the best outcome.
Finally, Li Wei found a somewhat familiar face in the warehouse, a local woman who was in charge of storing raw materials, and asked, "Aunt Liu, where are my mom and dad? Do you know where they went?"
Aunt Liu, wearing a white work uniform, patted the white powder off her hands, looked up at Li Wei and smiled, "Li Wei, you're back to celebrate your grandma's birthday? Hehe, all yesterday I heard your mom and grandpa talking about you coming back tonight... Your mom... let me think, oh, I think she said she was going to buy groceries... Oh, I remember now, she seems to have just left not long ago."
Li Wei chatted with Aunt Liu for a few more minutes before leaving. Thinking about it, she figured her mother's plan was still the same: a big feast with lots of meat and fish, everyone eating together, and then everyone going their separate ways.
Then I spent half a day cleaning at home. Not counting the half a day I spent cooking.
Seeing that there was nothing for her to do, Li Wei decided to ride her bicycle to the old house to visit her grandmother. Today was her grandmother's birthday, and she wanted to spend some quality time with the birthday girl.
Grandpa was home today, not coming over from the food factory. When Li Wei arrived, the old couple were chatting on the kang (a heated brick bed). Li Lin, who was supposed to be even lazier than Li Wei, was actually lying on the kang making lucky stars, which surprised Li Wei. Li Wei immediately suspected that Li Lin was here again to mooch pocket money from Grandpa.
The elderly couple were delighted to see Li Wei arrive, especially Grandpa Cheng, who greeted her in a loud voice: "Come here, girl! Your grandma and I were just talking about you. Li Lin arrived much earlier. Why are you only coming now? Xiao Lin just gave us an advance on her New Year's red envelope, so we'll give you one too!"
Li Wei —
Li Wei didn't want it at first. But seeing that her grandfather was in high spirits, and considering that he was an old man, especially someone like him who wasn't short of money and just wanted to enjoy family time, Li Wei had no choice but to happily accept it. After all, her grandfather was a wealthy old man now.
Li Wei only learned later that her mother and two brothers had basically reached an agreement that she would take care of their elderly parents in their old age. They wouldn't need to worry about them. Her mother still harbored some resentment towards her brothers. Li Wei and her siblings didn't have grandparents either, and the old man had no objections. After all, living with his daughter was comfortable, his children didn't live far away, and he had plenty of money. He could decide whoever he felt comfortable living with; he could make his own decisions.
Li Wei put away the red envelope, not forgetting to secretly glare at Li Lin, thinking, "It's all your fault." Li Lin stuck out her tongue and made a face at her.
Although Li Wei wasn't short of money, she didn't give Li Lin much beyond buying her necessities. Li Wei always felt that developing a spendthrift habit from a young age was bad, especially for Li Lin, as it consumed time and energy. The saying "playing with things leads to the loss of ambition" has some truth to it. For example, things like handmade lucky star and butterfly flowers that girls played with often took up her rest time.
Although Li Lin had complained in the past, saying that Li Wei was too stingy and wouldn't give her money or buy her certain things, she got used to it over time. Besides, her parents strictly forbade them from applying for cash other than their fixed allowance.
But like a cunning rabbit with multiple burrows, Li Lin occasionally managed to squeeze some money out of her maternal grandfather or Li Wei. Among them, her maternal grandfather's money was the most plentiful.
Li Wei sat down and chatted with her maternal grandparents. When the old lady asked her questions, Li Wei talked about how her teachers and classmates were at school, how classes were, and how exams were.
Although it was all trivial, the elderly couple listened with great pleasure. When they heard that Li Wei had gotten first place in the exam, they were overjoyed. The old man kept urging, "Old woman, hurry up and bring two more red envelopes. Our Xiaoming is amazing, much better than her aunt was back then!"
The old lady joined in the fun and actually gave Li Wei several large bills wrapped in red paper. Li Lin, who was working nearby, stared at them with eyes as red as paper, but one sentence from the old man immediately shut her up.
"Oh, right, Xiaolin, how many points did you get on the exam? What was your ranking?"
While busy with her work, Li Lin pretended not to care: "I didn't get as many points as my sister, and my ranking wasn't as good either. I was second in my class." She just wanted to say something nice, since Grandpa wouldn't understand anyway.
The old man was indeed quite pleased: "Haha, not bad, not bad, second place is pretty good, my dear..."
When Li Lin saw her sister glaring at her, she quickly said, "Um... Grandpa, no need, no need. You've already given me a red envelope, that's enough for me."
The old man, whether intentionally or not, said, "Oh, I was just trying to tell your grandma that your sister is better at studying, hahaha..."
Li Lin —
Li Wei patted Li Lin on the back and laughed so hard she fell onto the kang (a heated brick bed).
Before ending, he couldn't resist adding fuel to the fire: "Grandpa, you have such keen insight and are truly wise and insightful!"
Li Lin needs to be stimulated from time to time, otherwise her determination to study hard and improve every day will only last for a short time.
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