That day, Zhou Sui returned to the store after finishing the house purchase, only to find two more people there, who turned out to be acquaintances.
It was Li Fuyou and Li Baolai.
Zhou Sui had actually met Li Baolai when she was very young, and her impression of him was not deep, but seeing his face and figure that were exactly the same as Li Fuyou's, Zhou Sui could guess who he was.
At that moment, Li Fuyou was talking to Li Qiuju and did not notice Zhou Sui coming in.
As Zhou Sui leaned against the counter, Zhou Meimei came over and spoke to her, "I heard they're sending that chubby little boy to your house to play for a few days."
She spent a lot of time in the shop and learned bits and pieces about Li Qiuju's family.
Zhou Sui raised an eyebrow in surprise. "A child? Delivered to my house?"
They don't have any children the same age as Li Baolai in their family, so there's no one to play with him if he's sent over. Besides, he's Grandma Li's precious grandson, so how could they bear to let him go?
The only explanation is that Grandma Li and her group failed to achieve their goal last time, so they came up with another idea.
"Sister, I'm going back now." Li Fuyou had said enough, and pushed her son forward a little. "Baolai, have a good time at your aunt's house for a few days. Haven't you been saying you wanted to come to your aunt's house? Dad will come to pick you up in a few days."
Li Baolai stared intently at the semi-transparent kitchen, giving a perfunctory "Mm."
Li Fuyou was about to leave, but seeing his son like that, he felt a little uneasy. "Sister, is there a toilet? I'm taking Baolai to the toilet. He was yelling that he needed to pee when he came in, but I forgot about it as soon as I started talking."
“Yes, it’s on the right side of the backyard.” Li Qiuju said, and was about to lead them to the backyard, but Li Fuyou stopped her, “I’ll go, you do your thing.”
Li Fuyou led his reluctant son to the back, and only when they were about to leave did Li Baolai reluctantly look away from the kitchen.
Zhou Sui immediately sensed something was amiss. She quickly followed after her. Li Qiuju was about to speak when Zhou Sui made a shushing gesture at her, noticing her furtive behavior.
Li Fuyou pulled his son to the backyard, not really to use the toilet.
"Baolai, did you remember what I told you?" He was afraid his son wouldn't remember, so he made a point of reminding him again.
"I know," Li Baolai said impatiently. It was chilly outside, and he didn't want to stay there at all.
"Tell me again," Li Fuyou said, still not reassured.
“I would tell my aunt that I had no clothes to wear and ask her to buy me clothes. I would ask my aunt for money, and ask her for whatever I wanted to eat or anything else. If she didn’t give it to me, I would cry and make a scene, and I would not let them have an easy time.”
Zhao Xiaohua had already told him these things countless times when they were at home.
Li Fuyou nodded and said, "There's another very important point: we must find out how much money they've made. Do you remember what they said?"
He didn't care about any of the previous things; he only cared about the last one.
Seeing that the father and son had finished talking, Zhou Sui gently put the curtain that had been slightly opened back in place, and then ran back to the counter with small, quick steps.
A short while later, Li Fuyou came out. Li Qiuju saw him to the door and handed him a bag of things. It was unclear whether Li Qiuju gave it to him voluntarily or Li Fuyou asked for it.
Zhou Sui didn't pay any attention. She looked at the plump Li Baolai and revealed a sinister smile.
That evening, Li Baolai returned to the village with the Zhou family. There were no extra rooms in the house, but there was a storeroom, though it was too late to clean it up now.
"What? You want him to sleep with me?" Zhou Xu immediately exploded upon hearing this. "I don't want to!"
"I don't want to either, Auntie, I want to sleep alone." Li Baolai's reaction was even stronger than Zhou Xu's. He was the golden grandson in the Li family, and whatever he said went.
When he arrived, Old Lady Li told him to treat the Zhou family as the Li family and do whatever he wanted; he was here to enjoy a life of luxury at the Zhou family's home.
Although she was heartbroken by what Old Lady Li had done, Li Qiuju was, after all, Li Baolai's elder. She believed that adults should not involve children in their affairs, so she still felt some affection for Li Baolai.
"Just make do with sleeping tonight, your aunt will clean up your room tomorrow."
After saying that, she looked at Zhou Xu and said, "Xu, your bed is big. Can Mom give you two blankets, one for each of you?"
Zhou Xu really didn't want to sleep with Li Baolai, but it would take a while to tidy up the storeroom, so he had no choice but to reluctantly nod in agreement.
He compromised, but Li Baolai was not satisfied. He pounded the fire pit with his fat hands, making a loud banging sound. "No, I want to sleep alone. He's not allowed to sleep with me."
Seeing him slamming his fist on the table with his eyes closed, Zhou Sui thought he was exactly like Old Lady Li. She wondered what Zhao Xiaohua would think if she saw this miniature version of her mother-in-law.
“If you sleep alone, where am I supposed to sleep?” Zhou Xu retorted. “Li Baolai, get this straight, this is the Zhou family, not the Li family. Put away your local tyrant act; it won’t work in my house.”
Indeed, Zhou Xu felt that Li Baolai was like a local tyrant, spoiled rotten, and really thought that he had the final say.
"Baolai, don't be irritable. Come and wash your face and feet and go to bed." Li Xiuju was always patient with the children. She personally brought water for Li Baolai to wash his face and feet and coaxed him to go to bed.
Li Qiuju led her people to Zhou Xu's room. Zhou Xu was still sitting in the main room, arms crossed, sulking. "Sister, what do you think Grandma was thinking, being willing to let her precious grandson come to our house?"
"He said he missed our mom, but Li Baolai is already ten years old. Does he even know anything? He doesn't even greet our dad when he sees him."
Zhou Sui soothed her irritated younger brother and then told him what she had overheard earlier that day.
"Dream on, I'll bring Li Baolai back right now." Zhou Xu was about to rush out without saying a word, but Zhou Sui helplessly called him back, "You come back and sit down."
Zhou Sui sat back down, her neck stiff. "I don't like Li Baolai either, but that's just something I overheard. He might not admit it, and he might even turn around and say we're wrong."
The Li family is capable of doing this. "Anyway, Li Baolai is in our house now, so whether we rub or knead him is no big deal."
“He wants to come to our family to enjoy a life of luxury, right? I’ll let him know that the Zhou family’s fortune isn’t something anyone can just enjoy casually,” Zhou Sui said, her eyes flashing with a cold light.
Zhou Xu shivered at the sight; it was so cold inside too.
The siblings talked in the main room for a while before Zhou Xu grinned and went back inside.
Zhou Sui looked at the flames leaping upwards in the stove and was very happy. It would be a waste not to treat this mischievous kid who had come to her doorstep properly.
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