When they first moved to the provincial capital, Zhao Qinglan's family didn't have many relatives to visit during the Spring Festival, and very few people came to pay their respects.
In recent years, as Li Huai has been promoted, Zhao Qinglan's career has grown bigger and bigger, and their family's New Year celebrations have become more and more lively.
Apart from the two days when Zhao Qinglan took the children to visit her sister's family, people kept coming to their house to wish them a Happy New Year.
Although the children are older and can help entertain guests, Zhao Qinglan still has to keep smiling and greeting them.
Several days passed, and every night she couldn't help but rub her lower back.
"You're so lucky. At least you can slack off a bit when you go to work. Unlike me, I'm really exhausted these past few days," she muttered to her husband.
While massaging his wife to help her relax, Li Huai suggested, "If you don't want to entertain guests, why don't you take the kids out and hide away? Since you're not home, who else can you entertain?"
"That's true, but where am I supposed to go during the Lunar New Year?"
"How about we go to the capital for a few days? We can also take Da Wa and the others to see your uncle and your sister."
“That makes sense, let’s treat it as visiting relatives.”
Without hesitation, Zhao Qinglan immediately sent someone to buy train tickets the next day.
They had just bought the train tickets and were packing their things when Li Huai brought them more good news.
"We can get a telephone installed at home now. When you and the children come back, we'll have a telephone at home, which will make it much easier to contact your uncle and the others."
"Really? That's wonderful!" Zhao Qinglan was genuinely happy.
Actually, she had wanted to install a phone at home for a long time, otherwise she would either have to go to a convenience store or newsstand to pay for a phone call, or use the company phone.
Unfortunately, installing a private phone line has always been a hassle. Not to mention the difficulty of obtaining approval, even if approval is granted, the waiting list can be incredibly long.
In fact, given Lanxin's current scale and Zhao Qinglan's previous contributions to attracting investment to the province, she could easily ask the leaders to put in a good word for her to install a telephone at home.
But she still didn't want to go through the trouble of using connections for such a small matter, so she kept putting it off.
Fortunately, Li Huai, the deputy division commander in the army, finally got his turn in line, and his family was able to get a telephone installed.
In fact, Zhao Qinglan was thinking of just buying a mobile phone when it came out in a few years. Although it was bulky, expensive, had a short battery life, and the signal was intermittent, she could probably carry it around everywhere.
Even if a telephone can be installed at home now, she will definitely buy a mobile phone when it comes out.
For her to do business, having a good communication tool is still essential.
The children were quite happy to know that a telephone would be installed at home, but they were all grown up and not overjoyed yet.
Knowing that her mother was going to take them to visit relatives in Beijing, Xiaoduo had already started planning what gifts to bring for her aunt, great-uncle, and cousin.
With four children and Zhao Qinglan, there were five in their family. When they went on a long trip, they also had to take Ding Yu and Liu Dandan with them. One car couldn't fit them all, so in the end, Li Huai's car and Zhao Qinglan's Mercedes took them to the train station together.
Knowing that he would be separated from his wife for several more days, Li Huai went to the train station to see her off.
“Once you get to the capital, just wander around and relax. Da Wa and the others are all grown up now, so you don’t need to worry about them all the time and tire yourself out,” Li Huai couldn’t help but nag.
The children standing nearby, who were being shunned, had very complex inner thoughts, but they had long since gotten used to it.
When their mother was around, their biological father couldn't see them at all.
Zhao Qinglan couldn't help but laugh. "I know, we're not home, so don't work overtime too much. If you're tired of the cafeteria food, go out to eat. The things I made in the fridge, you can just cook them up and eat them."
Touched by his wife's concern, Li Huai's expression softened even more. He reached out and tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear, lowering his voice to say, "Don't stay in the capital for too long. I'll miss you."
Zhao Qinglan blushed slightly because the children were all behind her. "I understand."
Even the eldest child, who has the best hearing, got goosebumps. Although he often sees his parents being affectionate, he still got goosebumps when he first saw or heard them.
If the train conductor hadn't shouted for them to hurry up and get their tickets checked, this couple might have been lost in their sweet nothings for who knows how long.
Despite being married for many years and having three children who are almost ten years old, the couple's relationship has only grown stronger.
Although the kids often get goosebumps from seeing their parents being so affectionate, they are actually very happy that their parents have a good relationship.
Now that they're older, whether at school or elsewhere, we often hear about parents arguing or other family conflicts.
But over the years, they've hardly ever seen their parents argue.
Occasionally, when Mom gets angry, Dad can easily coax her back to calm her down.
On the train, the eldest son, a soon-to-be college entrance exam candidate, was still reading, while his younger brothers took out the playing cards they had prepared beforehand and started playing.
Zhao Qinglan sat by the car window, watching the scenery flash by outside, her expression serene and content.
Since she was going to visit relatives in Beijing, she couldn't leave without informing them. After buying her train tickets, Zhao Qinglan called her younger sister and uncle separately.
Before setting off, she asked her sister and mother if they wanted to come along, but since Sun had only recently returned from the capital and Zhao Qingzhu was busy with her newly opened branch, they didn't go together.
When they arrived in the capital by train, two cars were waiting outside to pick them up. One was sent by their uncle, and the other was left in the capital by their aunt, Madam Sun.
The children from Beijing have visited many times, but now when they come again, they don't seem excited or happy; they are all very calm.
"Let's go straight to my house." After telling both drivers, she got into the car.
Zhao Qinglan did not contact Old Master Dou directly when she came to Beijing, but Sun Guangming sent someone to deliver a letter. When Zhao Qinglan and her children arrived, they were greeted with the long-awaited enthusiasm of the old man.
"I've cleaned the house and heated it up. You should go wash up and rest."
Xiao Duo first took out the gift she had prepared for the old man, which made him extremely happy.
Some people laughed at him for looking after houses for free without paying a penny, and even distant relatives came to him saying they would take care of him in his old age.
He's old but not senile. The distant relatives who wanted to support him in his old age just wanted to move into the house and take advantage of him. They also thought that since he had money, they could support him for a few years and then inherit his property.
But he was very clear-headed; he could tell exactly who was truly good to him.
Even if he becomes unable to walk properly and can no longer look after the house, he believes that Qinglan and Li Huai, the two children, will not abandon this old man.
Since it wasn't possible to properly wash up on the train, Zhao Qinglan and the children washed themselves one by one before inviting the old man out for a meal.
Having been in the car for so long, Zhao Qinglan was quite tired and didn't want to bother doing anything herself.
As soon as the whole family stepped out of the courtyard gate, they encountered two people walking towards them. When they saw Old Master Dou standing beside them, they began to speak sarcastically.
"Oh, here comes another one trying to take advantage."
Zhao Qinglan frowned.
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