When I got back, I saw the three of them drinking tea and chatting.
“Hongmei, come here. We’re talking about having you take over Lao Zhou’s job.”
"Don't you dare betray me. Grandpa, I've been so good to you, how could you harm me?"
"Uncle, I have always respected you very much. How can you act like an elder like this?"
The three men burst into laughter after hearing her complaints. "Old Zhou, you see, I told you, this girl would definitely object strongly."
“Hongmei, you are capable, why refuse? Isn’t this position good?”
"Uncle, what's so good about this position? You're treated like a beast of burden. If you do a good job, that's expected. But if you make even the slightest mistake, you should atone with your death. I'm not stupid, why would I be so reckless?"
"Haha, Hongmei's summary is very accurate. Yes, even the death penalty is not enough to atone for the slightest mistake."
"So, Uncle, please don't harm me. If you really have this idea, then I'll take the children and run away from home. I won't come back."
"You brat, threatening us?" Gu Chuanming glared at her with a smile.
"I'm telling the truth."
"Hongmei, besides you, everyone else probably longs for this position, right?"
"Hehe, I'm not just anyone. I just want to live a free and easy life. Actually, you might not believe it, but I really wish Brother Zhang were an ordinary person. Our lives would definitely be more comfortable than they are now. What others consider the highest honor is just a shackle to me." Zhang Hongmei finished speaking and laughed self-deprecatingly.
“Hongmei, you’re still so naive. If you were an ordinary person, you would have trouble that you could never get rid of for the rest of your life.”
Zhang Hongmei thought for a moment. "Actually, I haven't really thought about this issue. But I feel that as long as I'm upright, I have nothing to fear. If it's violence, then there's really no good way to deal with it."
Anyway, this is how my life is going to be; living a free life is unlikely. So please have pity on me and don't scare me like that anymore.
"Haha, you. Once you're in this position, Shouyi will be your slave."
Zhang Hongmei shook her head with a smile, "He's already tired enough. I don't want him to have to report to his wife about his work every day. Just thinking about it makes me feel sorry for him."
Grandpa, the leaders of the Southeast Military Region are also staying here. I just saw his family in the courtyard.
"Oh, he wanted to visit, but we refused. We told him to come back tomorrow. This is Lao Zhou's loyal subordinate," Gu Chuanming said nonchalantly.
"Oh, Grandpa, I saw three little girls from their family who are a few years old."
The smile on Gu Chuanming's face vanished instantly, replaced by a barely concealed anger.
Zhou Shixiong, a man who had spent his entire life playing mind games, naturally understood what Zhang Hongmei meant by those words.
Zhang Xingguo frowned, but said nothing.
Zhang Hongmei didn't mean anything by it. She just wanted the three of them to know; she hadn't thought of anything else.
I'm afraid someone will try to persuade the three of them to go, which will cause trouble later. Even if someone tries to convince Zhang Shouyi, it won't work. He doesn't agree, and no matter what others say, it won't work.
This will make the three of them dislike it beforehand, so that there won't be any unpleasantness at home later.
"Uncle, Grandpa, Dad, I'm going to have dinner with the kids, and then we'll go to the beach tonight."
“We’ll go too,” Zhou Shixiong said.
"Uncle, it's not safe to go out at night."
"It's okay. Don't worry, everything will be arranged."
"Okay, I'll come pick you up in a bit."
Er Ya and the others felt a little uncomfortable knowing that the leaders would also be going out together.
"It's okay, just keep an eye on the children."
The children didn't understand; they didn't really grasp the concept of a leader. Besides, they had all met Zhou Shixiong before and treated him like an elder.
Zhang Hongmei frowned as she looked at Liu Jingsong. How had this child become like this? He was actually very dissatisfied with Zhou Shixiong, just because Zhou gave Zhenye and the others good things but not him? What kind of thinking was that?
Liu Jingsong looked up and was startled to see Zhang Hongmei staring at him disapprovingly. But then he thought, "My aunt probably doesn't know what I'm thinking," so he turned his head away. Still, he felt a little uncomfortable; his aunt seemed dissatisfied with everything he did.
Zhang Hongmei was truly disappointed. Was it really as they said? Did he really have that kind of selfish blood flowing in his veins?
Er Ya saw Hong Mei's expression, glanced at Jing Song, and wondered what was wrong with the child now.
After the meal, they all waited at the door. Zhang Hongmei went to pick up the three elderly people.
This was a big operation. All the bodyguards were on duty. The four of them watched from the shore as the children happily frolicked barefoot on the sand.
"It's still more comforting to see such young children," Zhou Shixiong remarked.
Zhang Hongmei sensed that Zhou Shixiong disliked Jinsong very much. It turned out that he had noticed Jinsong's change long ago.
A moment later, Jinsong ran over, holding a starfish in his hand, and handed it to Zhang Xingguo. "Grandpa, look, what's this? Doesn't it look like a star?"
"Yeah, it does look quite similar. Jingsong, you don't need to come with us. Go have some fun. It's a rare opportunity."
"Okay." He said that and ran off.
The children had an even better harvest today, picking up two baskets.
Zhang Hongmei joked, "After these are cleaned in a few days, I'll have the chef cook them for you."
"Okay, Auntie, can I have some?"
"Of course, we should let Liu Qiang enjoy the fruits of his labor before he leaves."
Zhou Shixiong still liked Liu Qiang very much. "What's the little guy going to do?"
"Grandpa, I'm going to see my mom, dad, and brother. I won't be back until Chinese New Year."
Zhang Hongmei smiled and said, "When Zhenye and the others left, I couldn't accept it. My brother was afraid I would be sad, so he sent the child to me. It's been more than two years now, and the child can go back and visit. He's been spending all his time with me. The child misses home and his parents."
Zhou Shixiong nodded. He could imagine how distressed Hongmei must have been at that time.
The group went home, and tomorrow they would begin formal studies. They all slept soundly, since they had to get up at five o'clock tomorrow morning to exercise.
Zhang Hongmei wrote a letter to Zhang Shouyi telling him what had happened that day.
After reading the letter, he frowned. He had this thought about the guy from the Southeast Military Region and felt extremely disgusted with him. He hoped that the guy would behave himself, but he still had to be replaced. He was too despicable.
As for Liu Jingsong's situation, I'm also disappointed. This child has been at home for many years. How did things turn out this way?
"Honey, don't worry, I'll make him retire this week. Since he's not behaving himself, he can go home and retire. I can still afford to support him."
"Hongmei, don't worry about Jinsong anymore. If it really doesn't work out, let him go back to Liujiatun. If that doesn't work either, build him a new house."
After reading Zhang Shouyi's letter, Zhang Hongmei was not satisfied with Liu Jingsong's arrangement. She had raised him all these years, and she couldn't let him become an enemy.
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