Chapter 1621 Are you short of money?
January 29, 1994, the 18th day of the 12th lunar month, Minor Snow.
Although it's not yet the end of the year, everyone from the Li family came to Li Ye's house today. Even Li Ye's adoptive father, Li Kaijian, who is usually busy with work and rarely comes over, came.
The reason everyone is making such a fuss is because today is the birthday of Li Ye's adopted younger sister, Li Juan.
Logically speaking, a girl's birthday shouldn't be celebrated in such a grand way, but just a few days ago, the precocious little Dou overheard her "third aunt" making a phone call, acting all mysterious, as if she were talking about dating.
Li Juan fell in love? This was no small matter. Grandma Wu Juying and others immediately began questioning her, but Li Juan gritted her teeth and refused to admit it. If Li Ye hadn't stopped her, Grandma Wu Juying would have used the same methods she used to interrogate traitors back then.
However, after Li Ye acted as a good person to her face, he became more cautious and, after observing her carefully for a while, he felt that this younger sister seemed to be involved in something.
There's a difference between a girl in a relationship and one who isn't. Li Juan herself might not realize it, but it didn't escape Li Ye's keen eyes.
However, this is a new society now, and young people insist on freedom. Since Li Juan didn't say anything, it wasn't appropriate to ask. So after communicating with each other, everyone decided to celebrate Li Juan's birthday and use "family affection" to influence her.
[You won't admit it, is that it? Fine, your brother made a promise with you that you'd bring us a girlfriend before you turned twenty-five. Now that the day has come, you'd better give us an explanation!]
But even though the whole family of more than a dozen people had arrived, Li Juan did not leave work early to come home.
It was almost 5 p.m. when Wu Juying asked Han Chunmei with a stern face, "Didn't you call Xiaojuan? Why isn't she back yet?"
Han Chunmei quickly smiled and said, "Mother, I already urged her once. Xiao Juan said she has an important meeting and will be back after it's over. Don't worry, she definitely wouldn't dare to run away to avoid punishment."
“.”
Upon hearing the words "fleeing to evade punishment," Li Kaijian immediately became displeased: "What do you mean, 'fleeing to evade punishment'?! Chunmei, what are you talking about! Xiaojuan is just serious about her work."
"Work, work, all you ever think about is work. You're all using work as an excuse to never show your faces. Anyone who didn't know better would think you were deciding national affairs all day long!"
“.”
Wu Juying let out a loud scream, which immediately silenced Li Kaijian.
He had been running Qingshui Chemical in Qingshui County for years and was in the prime of his career, so it was normal for him not to come to Beijing for several months at a time, which made Wu Juying very dissatisfied.
Although her eldest grandson is Wu Juying's darling, Li Kaijian is her only son. Even if he doesn't come over every day to check on her, can't he at least come once a month?
Therefore, older parents have a different mindset than their children.
Parents feel they are getting old and won't have many more days to spend with their children, while the children feel they have plenty of time left, that their parents are still healthy and strong, and that they have many more decades to live!
In short, parents always feel that their children will never grow up, while children always feel that their parents will never grow old.
"Mom, don't be angry. It's all my fault. I wanted to come see you last week, but I was sick and kept him from doing so."
Mother! We only now understand the difficulties of being a parent. There's always so much to worry about for our children. Look at Xiaojuan, she's so grown up and still causes us so much worry. I'll give her a good talking to later and make her reflect on her actions.”
Seeing her husband being scolded by her mother, Han Chunmei quickly took the blame for herself and at the same time gave Li Kaijian a meaningful look.
It has to be said that with the changes in family environment over the years, Han Chunmei has become more adept at "coaxing" Wu Juying, unlike before when she would just lower her head and wipe away tears whenever Wu Juying lost her temper.
What don't elderly people understand after living so many years? But aren't they the ones most afraid of being coaxed?
Li Kaijian stood up and said to Li Ye, "Come on, come out with me for a smoke."
"Smoking? I'll quit. I'll have one with you."
Li Ye had actually quit smoking, but occasionally, if needed, he would share a cigarette with Li Ye.
When the father and son arrived in the courtyard, Li Ye asked curiously, "What's the matter that you have to come out to talk about? There are no outsiders inside."
Li Kaijian first gave Li Ye a cigarette, then took out a lighter and lit it for Li Ye.
There was nothing he could do; Li Ye had neither cigarettes nor lighters on him.
Li Kaijian took a deep drag on his cigarette, exhaled a wisp of smoke, and then said, "I know there are no outsiders here, but I'm not sure if your grandparents will scold me if I tell them about this, so please give me your advice first."
Li Ye frowned slightly and said seriously, "What mistake did you make? Did you give me another younger brother or sister?"
Li Kaijian was stunned for a moment, then said angrily, "What nonsense are you spouting? Do you think I'm that kind of person?"
Why is that?
Li Ye asked, puzzled, "The temptations that middle-aged men encounter are nothing more than power, money, and sex. You're doing quite well in terms of power now, and our family has no shortage of money, so all that's left is sex!"
"Alright, stop guessing."
Li Kaijian clicked his tongue and said in a deep voice, "Do you think it would be appropriate for me to privatize Qingshui Chemical?"
"Huh? Dad, are you short of money?"
Li Ye was genuinely surprised; he never expected Li Kaijian to raise this question.
Although there's been a trend of privatizing state-owned enterprises recently, according to Li Ye's understanding, Li Kaijian isn't the kind of person who "loves money."
In addition, his grandparents, who had lived through the war years, were quite resistant to taking advantage of public resources, so Li Kaijian never showed such thoughts.
Seeing the strange look in Li Ye's eyes, Li Kaijian said unhappily, "Xiao Ye, what kind of look is that? Do you think I'm greedy? I'm doing this for you."
“.”
Li Kaijian sighed and said, "Xiao Youan's matter probably can't be kept secret for long. No matter how careful they are, the fact that they're always going in and out together will eventually attract attention."
Furthermore, with Jin Peng and Hao Jian both having second children in Hong Kong, people have started to speculate: "You can't just send your younger brother abroad and cut him off from us for the rest of his life, can you?"
Li Ye said decisively, "Of course not, Xiao Youan must be raised in China."
Based on what Li Ye had seen and heard in his previous life, he knew that children raised overseas from a young age were ultimately incompatible with Chinese society. The selfishness and self-interest of Western culture had a huge impact on them. If it was just about raising a selfish younger brother, Li Ye would have preferred to veto the idea of Han Chunmei not having the baby in the first place!
"Isn't that it?"
Li Kaijian said helplessly, "Qingshui Chemical is a state-owned enterprise, so I have to be bound by state regulations. Because of your brother, the whole family is affected. If I get punished, you will be implicated too."
Given the policies of the late 1980s and 90s, it would be quite troublesome for someone like Li Kaijian to have two sons. Although Li Ye had made arrangements in advance, it wasn't certain that he would be punished, but there was still a risk if an opponent tried to sabotage him.
If Shimizu Chemical is privatized, Li Kaijian will be a private entrepreneur. So what if Xiaoyouan was born late?
But Li Ye chuckled and said, "Then why were you so bold when my younger brother was born?"
"At that time"
Li Kaijian was speechless for a moment, and after a long while, he said, "Back then, I didn't expect you to be promoted so quickly! And I was too naive back then. Besides, you said that if your younger brother got a Hong Kong residency permit, everything would be fine."
But with fame comes trouble. Shimizu Chemical has been doing so well these past few years, and I think some people are starting to have designs on it.”
Han Chunmei is Li Kaijian's legal wife, and giving birth to their child in Hong Kong Island does not strictly violate mainland policies. However, the problem is that someone might target you, and if you happen to be someone worth targeting, then things can get really complicated.
"Instead of letting them worry about it, I'd rather do it myself. I've thought it through. You... lend me some money. We won't let the company suffer losses, and then all employees will hold shares and receive dividends, so the workers won't suffer losses..."
Li Ye nodded and said, "Then it's up to you! But Dad, have you thought this through? If you privatize Qingshui Chemical, you won't have any future career prospects."
The expansion of Qingshui Chemical was supported by Li Ye. The company, controlled by his wife, invested a lot of resources. Even if it were privatized, it wouldn't be a loss of conscience. However, it would be impossible for Li Kaijian to advance further in his career.
"Hey, I'm already so old. Besides, we have you and Xiaoyu in our family, that's enough."
"Okay, I'll discuss it with Xiaoyu later and see how to handle this."
Li Ye agreed to Li Kaijian's request, and then reassured him, "Dad, don't always worry so much. The situation is constantly changing. In a few years, they might even encourage having more children!"
"Tch, how could that be? Experts have said that maintaining our country's population at five or six hundred million is the most suitable."
"Well, according to the experts, half the country's population would die, starting with the experts' wives and children. Ask them if they're willing to accept that."
"Of course not, I'd rather die than let someone else's wife and children die."
"Don't you understand?"
(End of this chapter)
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