Chapter 143 - 140: Returning to the Capital City
Having gotten the promise he wanted, Li Xiu shed the gloom he’d felt on the bed and walked into the bedroom with a broad smile. Looking at the sleeping faces of his wife and daughter, he gently reined in his emotions, climbed into bed, held his wife, and prepared to sleep. ’What I said to Grandma earlier wasn’t entirely to coax her,’ he thought. ’I just said the things I wanted to say in my past life but never got the chance to.’ His own mother had been a real piece of work in this life. His father had died early in his past life, which was neither here nor there, but he hadn’t expected him to be so clueless in this one. Whether he was genuinely clueless or simply didn’t care about him as a son, it didn’t matter anymore. He himself had died young in his past life, and any affection between them had long since faded. In this life, he had saved his father’s life, which he considered repayment for the gift of his own. Now, in this life, they were even.
The more he thought about it, the more relieved he felt. ’I hate owing people more than anything. Now that I don’t even owe my own parents, what a relief! My First Uncle and Uncle Li were good to me, so I’ll take care of them and their children. Grandma was good to me, so I’ll fulfill her wishes. Now, I only owe my wife. I owe her a happy marriage and a sweet romance. I’ll spend a lifetime making it up to her. If this life isn’t enough, then the next, and the one after that. I’ll love her and dote on her for all of eternity!’
Early the next morning, they said goodbye to Grandma Li, his First Uncle’s family, and Uncle Li’s family, all of whom had come to see them off. Li Xiu turned to Li Bao and said, "Wait for my letter. Don’t be anxious." Seeing Li Bao nod, Li Xiu picked up his daughter, led his wife to the pre-arranged ox-cart, and they departed.
Only after the ox-cart had disappeared into the distance did the group head back inside. Uncle Li turned to Li Bao and asked, "What did your Big Brother mean? What did you say to him?"
Looking at the expressions on his parents’ faces, Li Bao didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. ’I’m their biological son, right?!’ he thought. He sighed and said, "Dad, it’s not about what I said to Big Brother. He’s the one who told me to wait for his letter!"
Aunt Li ignored that, glaring at him. "What did you ask your Big Brother for?"
"Mom, you really are something else. What could I possibly ask Big Brother for?! He wants me to go to the Capital City to help him." Seeing his parents stare at him with wide eyes, Li Bao quickly surrendered and explained, "I know he was just saying that to save me some face. He actually just wants to give me a leg up. I told him he didn’t have to, but Big Brother said he’s doing business out there, and if I, his younger brother, don’t help him, he’ll sort me out!"
Seeing Li Bao’s aggrieved expression, Grandma Li laughed. "Alright, alright, stop scaring him. You know your own son; he’s not that kind of person. Li Bao! Your Big Brother told me. The older girls are married off, and the younger ones are in school now—he’ll keep an eye on them. That just leaves you. Your First Uncle and your dad aren’t old yet, so they don’t need you around. Keeping you at home would be a waste. It’s better to put you to good use!"
"No way, Grandma. Did Big Brother really say that? I’m his younger brother! What kind of Big Brother talks trash about his own little brother like that?" Li Bao wailed. ’That really did sound like something Big Brother would say,’ he thought. ’Couldn’t he leave me a little bit of face? I’m a married man, for crying out loud!’
"Bro, can you stop being so embarrassing? Your wife is still here!" Li Guo said, looking at his clowning brother with a mix of disdain and helplessness. ’No wonder Big Brother is always trying to sort him out. With a personality like his, it’s best to keep him under Big Brother’s watch!’
"First Uncle, Dad, if Big Brother wants him to go, just let him. He might behave better under Big Brother’s watch," Li Guo said with a straight face to his First Uncle and his father. "Otherwise, with Big Brother unable to come back often, a guy like my brother with no one to keep him in line will go completely off the rails!" And it was true; his First Uncle and his father really couldn’t handle his brother’s personality.
"Li Guo! You..."
Unaware of the squabble that broke out after they left, the family of three didn’t arrive in the Capital City until the morning of the tenth. Upon returning to their small courtyard house, Li Xiu immediately got busy. No one had lived there for over two weeks, and the inside was as cold as an icebox. The sun was nice and bright today, so Li Xiu had Zhou Lian take Nuonuo to play in the courtyard while he hurriedly tidied up.
First, he cleaned the house. Then he filled the pot with water and lit a large fire to get the kang nice and warm. Seeing it was already almost 11:00 AM, he hurried to make lunch. By the time the family of three sat down to eat, it was noon. After a short rest, they grabbed a change of clothes and headed to the public bathhouse down the street to wash up.
That night, after putting Nuonuo to sleep, Li Xiu held Zhou Lian in his arms. "I’m thinking of having Li Bao come up here after a while," he said. "What do you think?"
Zhou Lian smiled. "So, are you thinking of having him work with you, or having him strike out on his own?"
"On his own, of course," Li Xiu said quickly. "I’ll train him for this year, and next year he can get out and work for himself. I’m not about to take on such a thankless job. Things are fine now, but who knows if we’ll turn on each other later over money or other interests. Once I’ve taught him what he needs to know, I’ll let him sink or swim on his own. It’ll be up to him whether he soars or fails!" ’Are you kidding me?’ he thought. ’Only an idiot goes into business with family. My brain isn’t broken!’
"Okay, then. Just write and have him come up whenever you think the time is right," Zhou Lian said with a yawn. "Let’s get to sleep. I’m tired."
Gently patting her back and listening to her steady breathing, Li Xiu’s mind began to turn. ’I need to ask Wang Dongfang and the others to help me find a suitable nanny. Nuonuo is over a year old now and needs constant supervision. I have to take this chance to go all out. Zhou Lian is only a college freshman, and our son will be conceived this year. I have to smooth out our path to earning money before he’s born.’
’The nanny has to be over forty, to avoid any awkward situations. Besides, a younger woman wouldn’t have any experience with children. She needs to be literate and have a gentle personality. No heavy family burdens. She must know how to cook, and cook well. And most importantly, Zhou Lian has to be happy with her.’
’This needs to happen fast. Zhou Lian’s classes start in five or six days, so it would be best to find someone before then. Once the nanny is hired, I need to make another trip south. This time, I have to go big. It’s 1980 now, and the economic climate is improving. I need to seize this opportunity to earn some real capital. As for what to do in the future, I’ve already decided: construction. In the era I remember, China was known as the ’infrastructure nation,’ with massive projects going up everywhere. But that also produced a ton of shoddy, ’tofu-dreg’ buildings.’
’It’s not that I’m some hot-headed patriot. It’s just that a person has to have a conscience. If you’re going to cheat people, you don’t cheat your own countrymen, right? If you’ve got the guts, go cheat foreigners. What kind of person brings ruin to their own country and their own people? I just want to be an honest, down-to-earth builder. There were so many natural and man-made disasters in the future I know. If the buildings people lived in were just a bit sturdier, and then a bit sturdier still, maybe more lives could have been saved.’
’As for my current business, I can hand it over to Li Bao next year. That would be a fitting gesture of brotherhood. Wang Dongfang and the other two are good, capable men. Crucially, they don’t have family obligations to hold them back. In the future, as long as I set the overall direction, I’m confident I can leave the rest to them without any problems!’
At that very moment, the three men gathered at Wang Dongfang’s house were also talking about Li Xiu. Wei Guo said, "Brother Li Xiu should be back by now, right? Sister-in-law’s classes start in just a few days."
"Yeah, it should be about time," Liu Qiang said with a grin. "What do you guys think? How much can we make this year?"
"I don’t know, but Brother Li Xiu said it’s going to be really tough and tiring," Wei Guo said in a low voice.
"What, are you afraid of a little hard work?" Wang Dongfang said, rolling his eyes at them.
"Of course not! From now on, we’ll work like dogs for Brother Li Xiu and never complain about being tired!" Wei Guo retorted. Little did he know, his words would turn out to be a prophecy. Later, when they were all so exhausted they felt like they were coughing up blood, Wang Dongfang and Liu Qiang would curse him endlessly for being a jinx.