Winter of 1983.
Huichuan County.
Pan Mingzhong was dressed in a black suit, with a maroon tie with gold polka dots, his hair styled in a slicked-back style with hair wax, white sneakers, and a black leather briefcase in his hand. He looked every bit the part of a spirited rural entrepreneur.
He was showing Li Xiangdong, Zhou Hongsong, and Qiao Xiaohuan a newly renovated two-bedroom apartment.
"Look at this floor, it's paved with full-body ceramic tiles! 60 by 60! I specially sourced them from Foshan! These trendy terrazzo floors can't compare to this!"
"Look at this furniture, it's all solid wood! Spring and autumn chairs, dressing table, absolutely stylish!"
As he spoke, he showed them the bathroom and the kitchen one by one.
Qiao Xiaohuan's eyes lit up. "She dressed up so beautifully!"
Zhou Hongsong was easygoing; as long as Qiao Xiaohuan was satisfied, he was satisfied.
Li Xiangdong naturally felt that this decorating style, which resembled that of the 1990s, was somewhat outdated.
However, it was 1983, and the interior design of many residential buildings in big cities was still characterized by wainscoting and terrazzo floors. Pan Mingzhong's renovation was considered quite stylish.
"Great job! Thank you for your trouble, Brother Pan!"
Pan Mingzhong breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Li Xiangdong's perverted satisfaction.
This is the major shareholder of my company. He never talks to me normally. I finally managed to ask him for help this time. I didn't trust him to entrust the renovation to anyone else!
He's the boss of a construction company, and he's been watching the workers do renovations every day, leaving early and returning late. His subordinates don't understand what's wrong with him.
"Haha, as long as you're satisfied!"
Pan Mingzhong smiled genuinely and then said to Li Xiangdong, "Do you need me to renovate your room?"
Li Xiangdong waved his hand, "I'm doing fine here, so I won't trouble Brother Pan!"
Pan Mingzhong laughed again.
Li Xiangdong whispered to him, "The cost of the furniture and appliances in the house, as well as the cost of the renovation, will all be deducted from my share of the profits!"
Pan Mingzhong looked displeased. "Look at what you're saying! It's such a big event as Brother Hongsong's wedding. You're allowed to contribute money and effort, but I'm not allowed to express my feelings?"
He scolded Li Xiangdong playfully, then said to Zhou Hongsong affectionately, "Brother, just live comfortably in this house! Money is all nonsense, we can earn more if we run out!"
He then said to Qiao Xiaohuan, "Sister-in-law, take a look around this house. Is there anything else that needs to be changed? If so, I'll take care of it for you right away!"
Qiao Xiaohuan was flattered by the way such a big boss treated her, and quickly smiled apologetically, saying, "It's all fine, no need! No need!"
"Alright! You guys take your time watching. I have some things to take care of at the company, so I'll be leaving now!"
Pan Mingzhong then walked up to Li Xiangdong and said, "The New Year is coming soon, and the accountant is doing the bookkeeping. Come with me!"
"Alright! Let's go then!"
As soon as Pan Mingzhong and Li Xiangdong left, Qiao Xiaohuan's tense body instantly relaxed.
She happily wrapped her arms around Zhou Hongsong's neck, leaned in, and gave him a quick kiss.
"Hongsong, I'm so happy today!"
Zhou Hongsong naturally wrapped his arms around her waist, lowered his head to return her kiss, and for a moment, the room was filled with a tender, romantic atmosphere...
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According to Qiao Xiaohuan's parents, their daughter's marriage was an excellent match.
Although this son-in-law is a bit older, he's rich and capable!
Look, the wedding room they prepared is a large two-bedroom apartment in Huihe New Village, the first commercial housing complex in the county!
It has an area of 100 square meters!
Moreover, the decor and furniture truly opened their eyes.
Qiao Xiaohuan's younger brother Qiao Jian's fiancée also went to see the new apartment.
She had already seen the new house that the Qiao family had prepared for them; it was just an ordinary self-built house in the village.
All her girlfriends lived in houses like this after they got married, and she didn't think anything of it.
But when she suddenly saw that her future sister-in-law was about to move into such a nice apartment, she felt uneasy.
The acidic liquid was gushing out uncontrollably.
After watching for a while, his expression turned sour, while Qiao Jian remained clueless as to what was going on.
Qiao's mother could tell that her daughter-in-law was uncomfortable. As someone who had been through it all, she knew exactly what she was doing. This was just a sign of resentment.
"Xiaoli, are you feeling unwell?"
When her future mother-in-law asked this, Xiaoli mustered up some energy and replied, "It's probably because I didn't eat dinner, my stomach is a little upset."
"Qiao Jian, hurry up and take Xiao Li to eat. I see there's a restaurant downstairs!"
Qiao's mother took out ten yuan from her pocket and handed it to Qiao Jian.
Qiao Jianhuan happily pulled his girlfriend out, but Qiao's mother was a little unhappy when she saw Xiaoli's naturally listless appearance.
When they got home, Qiao's mother whispered to Qiao's father, "Our daughter-in-law saw Xiao Huan's wedding room, and I'm afraid she has some thoughts on her mind."
Mr. Qiao was an old-fashioned man who never went near his daughter-in-law unless necessary, let alone stared at her face.
"Really? I didn't notice. What does Xiao Huan's new house have to do with her!"
"Why--"
Mrs. Qiao sighed heavily, "I'm just afraid she'll cause trouble."
Sure enough, just two days before Qiao Xiaohuan and Zhou Hongsong's wedding, Qiao Jian returned looking dejected.
As soon as he got back, he lay down on the kang (a heated brick bed) and fell asleep with his head covered.
When Qiao's mother noticed that something was wrong with her son, she quickly came over, pulled off the blanket covering his head, and first used the back of her hand to check the temperature of his forehead.
"It doesn't burn! What's wrong?"
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