294 Distance
Li Wei and Da Luo had planned a series of visits to relatives and friends over the past few days, but these plans were interrupted by the arrival of their cousin Chen Juan and her family the next morning.
Just after breakfast, Aunt Chen Juan arrived in her car with her son Liu Shuo and daughter-in-law Ye Zi.
The Liu family's impressive lineup made the entire Luo family feel a sense of urgency. Old Luo took charge of the room, and one of the elders joined in to entertain the guests.
Xiao Ya insisted on playing with Ding Ding, who had come home the night before. While she was making a fuss, Li Wei had no choice but to carry her around the yard. In the end, she had no choice but to go to her parents' house to let Xiao Ya see if Ding Ding had really left.
She had only been at her parents' house for a few minutes when Aunt Luo came looking for her, saying that her father-in-law wanted her to come back because he had something important to discuss.
Li Wei handed Xiao Ya over to Sister Wei. The two boys had already arrived with Sister Wei and were playing in the small sand pile. Xiao Ya, who had calmed down, joined them.
Li Wei returned to the Luo family home and went straight into the study where they held discussions. Inside, Old Luo, Chen Juan, and Big Luo, Liu Shuo, were chatting.
Even without anyone saying anything, Li Wei could roughly guess why her aunt had come. Wasn't it because she wanted to partner with someone to build a house? And judging from the situation, her father-in-law, Lao Luo, was also quite interested; otherwise, he wouldn't have come to discuss it with her.
The so-called "discussion" was simply a hope that Li Wei would agree.
Li Wei glanced at Da Luo, who shook his head almost imperceptibly at her. The two were of one mind, and Li Wei immediately understood what Da Luo meant.
Li Wei calmly sat down without saying a word, while Lao Luo spoke first: "Xiao Ming, I believe you've noticed that your aunt and uncle came here this time to discuss cooperation with Minglang. Your aunt and I both think this is worth considering. What do you think?"
Li Wei smiled and said, "Dad, you know our situation. Considering both time and energy, as well as the current state of the company, we're not suited for projects with long cycles or complexities. If Aunt really wants to do it, Minghua can provide support in terms of funding and other aspects. But as for actual involvement, I think we should forget it. I simply can't manage it all. Besides, Da Luo's job might change within a year or two, and then our whole family might have to move with him. So, I think we should just forget it. Money can't be earned forever; there's no rush. What do you say, Dad?"
Neither Li Wei nor Da Luo wanted to get involved with their cousin. Although Lao Luo was quite tempted, deep down he wasn't really willing to get too closely involved with his cousin.
Currently, her family is doing part of the construction work for the Luo family. In other words, the Liu family is making money off the Luo family's land. Everything is fine under these circumstances. But once they start cooperating, things will be a completely different story.
Luo Yonghao had learned his lesson the hard way, so naturally he was wary. But he was also extremely envious of such a good opportunity to grow his company.
After seeing her cousin off, Li Wei chuckled inwardly at Old Luo's somewhat reluctant expression. She said to him, "Dad, don't worry. There will be plenty of opportunities in the future. I know you want to do big projects, but you're not entirely keen on cooperating with your cousin. I promise you, once the children are in school, we'll definitely do something serious. Look, our current market presence is a way of accumulating capital and land resources for the future. The economy is good now; the real estate market will only continue to boom. There are plenty of opportunities. Why rush things? Although we're considered one of the top players in the industry, we're still far behind those projects worth billions. Besides, several of our projects are currently under construction, and we're negotiating projects in surrounding cities. With a solid foundation, we'll have more confidence in the future. We can cooperate on an equal footing and have more say. Otherwise, what's the point of always being at someone else's mercy? What do you think?"
Old Luo didn't want to be at the mercy of others, which is why he started his own business. This touched a nerve. He sighed and said, "I know you and Jianhua don't really have this ambition. But since our family has chosen this path, we naturally need to be more ambitious. We can't be too unambitious. Especially now that you have children, you should lay a good foundation for your children's future, even if not for yourselves. I know you're both smart and know what you're doing. Since you put it this way, I won't say anything more. I just hope that under your leadership, the Luo family can develop, and by the time of Luo Yi and Luo Er, the Luo family will have a place in the industry. That would be enough for your father."
As the saying goes, "When the granaries are full, people know etiquette." Over the years, Lao Luo has seen the world and is no longer the nouveau riche from a petty, thuggish background who only knew how to make and spend money. In particular, the birth of his grandchildren has touched a deep-seated ambition within him—a man who should stand tall, build a great career, and benefit his descendants. Therefore, his expectation is not just to make money, but to truly build a great enterprise.
But looking at Li Wei and her husband, they didn't seem to care much about this matter. He wasn't unconcerned, but seeing the company's development was unexpectedly rapid, he didn't say anything.
Seeing such a great opportunity to align with international standards, I naturally feel excited again.
However, now that his cousin has gotten involved, it's better for his family not to get involved. So he didn't try to persuade Li Wei anymore. Otherwise, Li Wei's few words might not have been enough to extinguish Lao Luo's ambition.
The Luo family had put the matter behind them, but Aunt Chen Juan was clearly not giving up. That evening, Aunt Ye Zi invited Li Wei out for coffee.
Li Wei and Da Luo had been visiting relatives and friends all day, and she didn't really want to go out. After dinner, she just wanted to lie in bed and have her handsome husband give her a massage so she could have a good night's sleep.
However, Ye Zi and she had always gotten along quite well. Ye Zi's family was an intellectual family in the provincial capital. She was beautiful and smart, and had been the apple of her parents' eye since childhood. She had a straightforward and proud demeanor.
Contrary to the impression she gave me at first, who seemed like a charming yet capable mature woman, I found her to be quite guileless and sometimes even a bit silly and quirky, which made her rather endearing.
Li Wei didn't even need to lift a finger; Ye Zi personally drove her white Japanese car to pick her up.
Since it was just a casual date, Li Wei simply wore loose linen trousers and a silver-gray cardigan, her hair tied in a simple ponytail. Her simple and relaxed attire only accentuated her flawless, radiant beauty, like the finest white jade.
Even Ye Zi, who always pays close attention to her appearance, couldn't help but exclaim, "Li Wei, your skin is so enviable! You must have some secret that you haven't told me, right? I've been following your recommended diet for months, but I haven't noticed any difference."
Li Wei looked at Ye Zi, who, despite being nearly thirty, still possessed the beauty and charm of a young girl, and laughed, "That's because you're not satisfied. You're already beautiful enough, what more do you want? Leave some room for others. Besides, I've been working hard to be beautiful since I was eight, for over ten years. If I hadn't achieved something, what would be the point? So, keep working hard. If you're still like this when you're forty, then you'll have succeeded."
Ye Zi chuckled and said, "Forget it. I don't want to look forward to turning forty early just to prove your hard work. I'd rather stay put at twenty-nine and not do anything. Even if my skin is a little worse, I'm willing to put up with it."
This time it was Li Wei's turn to laugh: "You want to stay home and not move around? Is that even possible? So, you should make plans early, pay attention to rest and maintenance, so that even if you unknowingly reach forty years old, you won't be so nervous if you still look decent."
Ye Zi skillfully parked the car. "When I was your age, I was also in college. I never imagined that I would turn thirty one day. Now, after the New Year, my nickname will be 'thirty-year-old married woman.' It's like a dream, or a nightmare."
The two chatted and soon arrived at a well-known coffee shop in the city. Ye Zibo drove his car and went inside with Li Wei.
A waiter found the two a window seat. Ye Zi ordered coffee, while Li Wei, worried about not sleeping well at night, only ordered a glass of freshly squeezed juice and a small plate of delicate-looking pastries.
The two took a sip of their drinks, looked at each other, and burst out laughing at the same time. Li Wei even said, "You say 'hehe' first."
Ye Zi said helplessly, "As you probably guessed, I came here on orders from my mother-in-law. My husband doesn't care, but as you know, I have no interest in doing business. I can't help it, I don't want to be a lobbyist, so please forgive me. Let's just consider this a chat first."
Li Wei took a sip of juice: "Weren't we just chatting? Don't worry, I didn't blame you. I know you're having a hard time."
Ye Zi breathed a sigh of relief: "Actually, I roughly know what you're thinking. I know my mother-in-law better than you do. But to be honest, even though my mother-in-law is a bit mercenary and has a bad character, she has always been very careful to flatter you and has never dared to have any ulterior motives. My husband and I are quite surprised by this. It's really rare."
Li Wei smiled and said, "You just don't understand your aunt. Tell me, since we met, have we ever had a conflict of interest? No, right? And when she first had her cash flow problems, it seems like we did pretty well for her. If she was still not satisfied, she wouldn't be the aunt who's been in business for decades. This time is different. Although I really don't want to enter that field too early, business is business. I don't want to end up losing our relationship because of conflicts of interest. Things are fine now, aren't they?"
Although Ye Zi didn't like doing business, she knew about some of the interactions between Li Wei and her husband's family. Thinking back on what she had just said, she realized that her perspective had indeed been somewhat one-sided.
So she said somewhat embarrassedly, "Oh dear, I can't interfere in your business matters. Just remember that I'm your friend, and don't drag me into it when you're criticizing my mother-in-law."
This time, Li Wei smiled genuinely from the bottom of her heart: "Don't worry, you ethereal fairy, how could I, a mere mortal, associate you with money? Let me happily mingle with money, haha."
Ye Zi said somewhat embarrassedly, "Well, actually I also like hanging out with money."
Li Wei: "Let's go together."
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