Two hundred and sixty-four took the money and left.
Wei felt relieved after settling the money with her aunt. She was determined to finalize the matter as soon as work resumed on the eighth day of the new year, otherwise, things might change and she wouldn't be able to do anything if her aunt went back on her word.
That night, Da Luo had a few drinks with his classmates and wanted to sleep when he got back. Li Wei forced him to take a shower before he went to bed, and their planned trip to Third Senior Brother's house was canceled.
Anyway, going tomorrow will be the same. I'm not close to Ji Xiaoqian, so there's nothing to look forward to.
The next day, after breakfast, the two went directly to their third senior brother's house to offer New Year's greetings. They had called ahead, and both Xiao Meng and Li Hai were there.
Xiao Meng, in particular, brought a girl with him, who seemed to be his girlfriend.
Li Wei had already heard her mother-in-law tell her about this with great pride. This was her mother-in-law's great achievement. After failing seven or eight times, she finally succeeded in finding a Siberian tiger for Xiao Meng and Xiao Hei Shou.
Li Wei looked him over carefully and found he wasn't fierce at all; he seemed like a very shy girl. She said he worked as a cashier at Lao Luo's company, and his home was in the suburbs, not far away. Their relationship was stable; they had been dating for almost a year.
Seeing that Xiao Meng was much more cheerful than before, Li Wei was happy for him.
The biggest change is in Ji Xiaoqian; she's noticeably more gentle and efficient than last year, and wears less makeup. In no time at all, she's prepared a whole table of dishes, which seem to look and smell decent enough; I wonder how they taste.
Look at the third senior brother chatting and laughing with everyone in the living room. It seems he's quite good at disciplining his wife.
Li Wei offered to help several times, but Ji Xiaoqian refused with a smile, saying that the dishes were prepared in advance and could be cooked quickly without any trouble. Instead, she kept urging Li Wei to come and play with everyone.
Li Wei didn't move. She stood at the kitchen doorway, watching Ji Xiaoqian.
Li Wei noticed that Ji Xiaoqian had changed quite a bit. She had also gained weight. This piqued Li Wei's interest, and she asked, "Sister Xiaoqian, when are you two having children?" This third senior brother wasn't young anymore. Ji Xiaoqian, though not young, wasn't young either. And she looked plumper. Could she be pregnant?
Ji Xiaoqian paused, then awkwardly continued stirring the vegetables in the wok: "Let's talk about it later. It's not urgent. Let's wait and see. We're both busy with work right now, and we don't have time."
Li Wei secretly broke out in a cold sweat. Was it that they didn't have time to manufacture it, or that they didn't have time to produce it?
However, their relationship was just so-so. Li Wei didn't tease her. Ji Xiaoqian changed the subject again, and the conversation drifted away.
To be honest, Li Wei thought Ji Xiaoqian's cooking was just average. She didn't know if she was just picky, but for Ji Xiaoqian, it was already quite good. Li Wei even pretended to praise it, since she was eating someone else's food and shouldn't complain out of politeness.
After dinner, the two brothers and their two nephews played cards. Later, two of the third brother's colleagues came over to play. Xiao Meng and Li Hai sat and watched. The third brother, Da Luo, played with the two colleagues until dinner time.
All four of them were gambling for money. In the end, Da Luo won more, followed by a colleague, while the third senior brother and another colleague lost.
Li Wei counted the small change Da Luo had won—over a hundred yuan, not bad, she confiscated it. Da Luo had originally taken out more than ten yuan in change as his initial investment, but now it was all gone. He came and went empty-handed, with only a few large bills left in his wallet.
The third senior brother laughed as he read it: "Li Wei, if you keep doing this, my junior brother will become henpecked in the future."
Li Wei said confidently, "A wife who is henpecked can be strict. I'm setting high standards and strict requirements for him. Our Da Luo is destined for great things, so of course we can't let him run wild. Don't you think so?"
Da Luo nodded hurriedly: "Yes, yes, that's right. How can a sparrow know the ambition of a swan? Third Senior Brother, don't get involved." If you get involved, I'll have to express my loyalty, sincerity, determination, and devotion when I get back tonight.
The third senior brother raised an eyebrow helplessly: "When did I get involved? I only said one sentence, and you two immediately labeled me a sparrow. Fine, I, the sparrow senior brother, will just have to wait for you, the swan junior brother, to make something of me in the future. Really, you've forgotten your senior brother after getting married."
Li Wei hurriedly comforted her third senior brother, who seemed to be hurting: "I can testify, third senior brother, Da Luo hasn't forgotten you. Sometimes he even calls you 'old man' in his dreams at night. His feelings for you are very deep."
Upon hearing this, the third senior brother said with considerable disbelief, "Really? He thinks that much about me? Who would believe that?"
Li Wei laughed: "Of course it's true. He usually says, 'Third Senior Brother, if you sneak up on me again, I'll tell my master!'"
Everyone was laughing so hard they couldn't stop.
The third senior brother scratched his head, and Da Luo rolled his eyes. They chatted and laughed, and seeing that it was getting late, everyone said their goodbyes.
Li Wei and Da Luo declined their third senior brother's offer to stay and drove home.
After being out for most of the day, Li Wei went home and first went to the nursery to check on the three children. Except for dinner, she stayed in the nursery with the children until they all fell asleep.
Looking at the chubby little faces of the children sleeping sweetly, Li Wei's heart melted. She wished she could take her hands out and press them against the children to feel the tender and lovely little lives.
After dawdling for a while and giving Sister Wei and Aunt a few more instructions, Li Wei finally went back to her room. Da Luo hadn't returned yet; he seemed to be chatting with his father.
Li Wei took a shower and was sitting on the bed drying her hair when Da Luo came back. He took the towel and helped her dry her hair, saying, "I've never seen anyone shower so often, sometimes twice a day. Of all the people I know, you shower the most frequently. Aren't you afraid of getting cold?"
Li Wei not only bathed herself, but also forced Da Luo to take a shower before letting him go to bed. Sometimes Da Luo was so sleepy that he would shower while yawning, and he couldn't even be lazy. However, since Li Wei had forced them to shower every day in her family's makeshift bathhouse since they were little, they didn't force themselves and had gotten used to it.
Winters in the north are extremely cold, and it's not very convenient for people with limited means to take a bath. Most people have to go to public bathhouses, so they don't bathe every day. Summer is a little better, as it's convenient to shower at home.
After drying Li Wei's hair, Da Luo went to take a shower. When they came back, neither of them was very sleepy. Li Wei remembered what happened last night and hadn't had a chance to tell him. She held down his restless hand and said, "I have something to tell you. I want to buy some stocks. I've already talked to my aunt. Her company will allocate some funds for me. Do you have any thoughts?"
A certain big shot broke through Li Wei's blockade and continued to probe: "Hmm, is that enough? If not, I'll ask my dad for some more. If you're too embarrassed to say it, I'll go and ask him. If it's still not enough, I'll borrow some for you."
Li Wei suddenly realized that the person who had always unconditionally trusted her was right beside her. Overwhelmed with emotion, she ignored the large hand, turned around, and reached out to try and remove his robe, only to find she had miscalculated—he had already stripped himself naked. -_-|||
But it doesn't matter. Her little hands began to explore the firm body. At least after all this time, she still knew how to seduce a man, even though this man was actually not very resistant to being seduced.
In that fleeting moment, Li Wei was still vaguely thinking that next time she should make Da Luo put on clothes so she could take them off. They had to be more romantic and not so blatant. They had to be subtle.
On the eighth day, Li Wei went to the company with her aunt, which made Cheng Fei angry: "What's your rush? It's not like it's just three or two hundred. I can just take it out of my pocket and give it to you. I have to collect it from various places. I'll have the finance department handle it for you right now. You wait at home, and I'll give you the check later. Honestly, is there anyone like you? You're more anxious than a debt collector."
To be honest, Cheng Fei had never actually seen what debt collectors looked like, except for Li Wei.
Without saying a word, Li Wei told her aunt, "Auntie, you have to keep your word. I'm leaving." Before her aunt could get angry, she quickly slipped away.
Of course, Li Wei wouldn't listen to her aunt. After returning home, she did some calculations. She added up all the money she had saved up over the years, plus her aunt's, and kept some for daily expenses. In total, it was less than 3.5 million yuan. This was assuming her aunt paid in full. Before the money was in her hands, the situation was really hard to say.
After much deliberation, Li Wei discussed it with Da Luo that evening and decided to borrow money from his father. As for the reason, she decided to tell the truth, otherwise it would be difficult to explain such a large sum of money by making up a lie.
During the day, as usual, Da Luo went out to meet with his friends. Although he hadn't seen them for a long time, he still kept in touch with many of his cronies. This return was a good opportunity to reconnect with them.
He didn't come back too late that night, and he didn't forget about Li Wei. He and Li Wei invited his father to a small living room for a private talk, and the three of them discussed the matter.
After listening to Li Wei's reasons for needing the money, Luo Gang remained silent for a long time before finally saying, "Girl, how confident are you? Tell me?"
Although Luo Gang has always been fond of speculation in business, he only invests in truly promising projects—a skill honed through years of navigating the complexities of society. However, Li Wei has clearly never dealt with stocks before, and even this adventurous man felt a bit uneasy about it.
However, after learning that Li Wei herself had built her own business from a young age, Luo Gang, who knew how difficult life was, still valued Li Wei highly and didn't treat her like an ordinary girl.
Li Wei, with a serious expression, replied without hesitation: "I'm 100% confident. Trust me. Even if we lose, I can afford to lose."
This is also a form of indirect guarantee from Li Wei.
This wasn't a small sum of money, but for a young girl to display such spirit was still very appealing to Luo Gang. After all, Li Wei wasn't an ordinary, naive girl.
Luo Gang has always believed that a person can only make money if they can spend money, and can only win money if they can lose money, and vice versa.
In some ways, Luo Gang had the characteristics of a gambler, and Li Wei's behavior suited his tastes perfectly. However, he was getting older and more mature, and just as he was about to ask again, his eldest son spoke up.
"Dad, just lend it to us. Consider it as buying a house for our wedding. Otherwise, I'll borrow from my friends. It'll be a hassle, but the result will be the same. People will just laugh at us. Why bother?"
He's confident that his friends, if they have any money, will give it their all. It's just that none of them are as wealthy as his father, so getting help from several different sources is indeed quite a hassle.
Luo Gang always valued his eldest son, and now with Li Wei added to the mix, neither of them were unreliable. Now that the children were all looking to him with bated breath, and this was his eldest son who had never asked him for anything before, Luo Gang thought, "Money is just an external thing, I can't let my son look down on me." So, Luo Gang made up his mind: "Fine, whatever your aunt gives me, I'll give you the same amount. If it's not enough, I'll add more."
Damn it, he spent over 300,000 yuan on his mistress back then. His son and daughter-in-law are doing serious business, and he can't afford to spend less.
However, Lao Luo's funds were also tight. He had two projects to start in the spring, which could last until June. They agreed that if Li Wei's situation improved after May, she would support him. If they lost money, they wouldn't be upset and would just consider it a loss.
Luo Yonghao's generosity really touched Li Wei.
If I were to tell my parents about this, I'd be lucky if they didn't beat me up. Even my aunt, who's so open-minded and practically ahead of her time, is skeptical. My parents are so conservative, after all.
Personality determines destiny; different life experiences are often caused by different personalities. The cause-and-effect relationship is difficult to definitively say is good or bad until the very end; each has its advantages and disadvantages.
Li Wei managed to verbally raise about five million yuan. After some calculation, she figured it was enough. Even if she actually lost it all, it would be within her means and wouldn't affect her life.
However, based on the evidence from some small incidents over the years, there shouldn't be any problems. If there were, then it would truly be God playing tricks on her.
Before the fifteenth, Auntie and Lao Luo were still trustworthy and handed over the checks and bankbooks to Li Wei. Neither of them looked relaxed, but they didn't say anything, probably because they still lacked confidence.
However, since Li Wei did indeed have the ability, they barely managed to support her, even though they regretted it for several years.
In between, a small-scale wedding banquet was held for Da Luo and Li Wei, with only a portion of relatives and friends invited, which can be considered a low-key way of officially recognizing Li Wei and Da Luo.
However, because of the fundraising, Li Wei and Da Luo decided to go home early. They needed to deal with the money first. Li Wei was determined to raise some start-up funds so that she could choose a career as a side job after graduation. How could she do that without money?
Through this incident, Li Wei deeply realized that money can only be controlled by oneself when it is in one's own hands; otherwise, it cannot be called one's own money.
Aunt Gao returned on the eighth day of the Lunar New Year. Everything was settled at home, and she had no worries. She focused on helping Li Wei take care of the family and children.
After receiving the money on the fifteenth, the two said goodbye to their parents and returned to the provincial capital the next day.
Both the Luo and Li families were very reluctant to part with them, not because they were reluctant to part with Li Wei and Da Luo, but because they were reluctant to part with the three little ones. However, there was nothing they could do, as the children always had to go with their parents. They could only hope to come back during the May Day holiday or summer vacation. However, they could visit in between, as it wasn't that far.
They haven't even left yet, and the grandparents and maternal grandparents are already planning when to go and see the child.
I called my aunt to let her know, but Cheng Fei insisted that Li Wei and Da Luo drive her car back. She had always disliked their Volkswagen Santana, as its performance was naturally inferior to hers. She had originally planned to buy Li Wei and her husband a new car, but Li Wei had taken a large sum of money from them, and now they didn't have any money left.
Li Wei and Da Luo naturally didn't care about that. They didn't use the car much. They would talk about it later when they made more money. For now, it was enough for them.
So on the morning of the 16th, Li Wei and Da Luo, along with their three children, Aunt Gao, and Sister Wei, returned to the provincial capital amidst the farewells of a large group of family members.
For this young couple, life has just begun.
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