Chapter 1489: Changes Over Two Years

"Thump!"

"Bang!"

"Thump, thump, thump..."

"Bang, bang, bang..."

As soon as Yao Jun entered the alley entrance of his father-in-law's house, he saw sparks flashing continuously on the ground at the entrance of a house not far away. At the same time, one "double-kick" firecracker after another soared into the sky and exploded.

Yao Jun stepped on the brake, opened a crack in the car window, picked up the cigarette he had placed on the passenger seat, lit it, and leaned back against the seat, feeling very relaxed as he watched the firecrackers explode in the sky.

What was it like two years ago? The winery's efficiency was getting worse by the year, and they just muddled through their days at work.

Most of the employees couldn't even fill their stomachs. During the New Year, who could bear to buy firecrackers? If they had that money, it would be better to buy a catty of meat to eat.

The turning point began on New Year's Day in 1992. He remembered it very clearly; the factory was holding a New Year's gala that day.

Brother Dong seemed to be feeling unwell somewhere and almost fainted. It was also that day that Brother Dong divorced Jiang Jiang Yuping.

It was likely that Jiang Jiang Yuping going abroad had stimulated Brother Dong. Perhaps he wanted to prove something, and he became like a man possessed.

First, he ran out to find Gu Bing, coaxing him into carrying out reforms, and then he gave the Great Sorghum liquor a makeover, creating the Jiangzhou Yugong Liquor.

Then, he rose like a miracle, carrying out shareholding reforms, establishing the Jiangzhou Yugong Group, and developing urban complexes.

From Jiangzhou Winery, Jade Seal Real Estate, Imperial Boat Technology, and Imperial Boat Technology Research Institute to the security company and the beer factory.

From Jiangzhou Yugong Liquor, Jiang Jiang Xiaobai, and Jiang Jiang Xiaomei to Iced Black Tea, Very Cola, Brave the World, and Imperial Boat VCD.

From Zhao Zhao Jianlong to former winery leaders Gao Gao Qingkui and Zhang Zhang Deyou, to Jiangzhou Municipal Committee Deputy Secretary Lin Lin Zhimin.

From Fengjing Executive Vice Mayor Lin Lin Guosheng to Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection Secretary Gong Gong Jimin, and so on.

Which enemy among them wasn't so powerful that it made people despair just looking at them?

Even Pang Yong, that big gangster leader who couldn't be brought into the light, was someone Brother Dong had to handle with extreme caution.

But in the end, these people were either sent to the execution ground or sent to prison by Brother Dong.

"Bang, bang, bang..."

Flowers of fireworks bloomed in the night sky, pulling Yao Jun's thoughts back.

The fireworks lit up the night sky and also lit up Yao Jun's heart.

These past two years have not been easy; one careless step and one could fall into an abyss of no return.

Fortunately, all of this is in the past; the future will surely be better year by year.

"Bang, bang, bang..."

The colorful fireworks, through the car window, reflected on Yao Jun's face, and he began to smile.

The one setting off the fireworks was his father-in-law's house; it must have been his brother-in-law.

He started the car, drove slowly forward, and stopped at the gate of the house setting off the firecrackers.

"Fifth Brother, you haven't set off few firecrackers just now."

"Manager Yao!" A figure with a cigarette in his mouth walked over with a smile in the darkness: "I found someone to weld a firecracker rack this morning, and I was just testing it."

Yao Jun said with a smile: "In just this short while, a whole bundle of firecrackers must be gone, right?"

"You bet!" The dark shadow said: "The one I welded is a bit big, exactly one hundred tubes, one bundle of firecrackers."

"It's certainly big enough." Yao Jun asked: "How many firecrackers did you buy?"

"Five bundles of firecrackers!" The dark shadow held up five fingers: "And a few strings of five-thousand-pop 'Great Earth Red', and a few thunder-crackers and flash-crackers."

"You really bought a lot." Yao Jun said: "Are you not living your life anymore? Didn't your wife scold you?"

"Scold what?" The dark shadow snorted: "This past year, not counting salary and dividends, I got nearly two thousand yuan in bonuses. It's the New Year, does she dare to nag me for buying some firecrackers?"

Yao Jun laughed out loud. The dark shadow spoke with bravado, but he could tell that this guy was very guilty.

"I won't chat with you anymore, I'm leaving."

"Alright!" The dark shadow waved his hand: "Manager Yao, Happy New Year."

"Happy New Year," Yao Jun shouted, lightly stepped on the gas, and the car slid out for forty or fifty meters before arriving.

"Bang, bang, bang..."

The courtyard was brightly lit, with many people coming and going. Brother-in-law Tang Wenming held a cigarette and lit another box of fireworks.

Yao Jun got out of the car, and the people in the courtyard saw him and walked out, bypassing the fireworks that were currently going off.

"Da Jun!"

"You've finally come, everyone is waiting for you."

"Brother-in-law!"

A young man of twenty-three or twenty-four also walked out quickly.

His name is Li Junwen, and he is the boyfriend of sister-in-law Tang Tang Wenyu.

In September, the two confirmed their relationship; he is a doctor at the county hospital.

Today, they were slaughtering a pig, and Liu Aiyun, this mother-in-law, had her second daughter call Li Junwen over.

Yao Jun greeted the others first, then put an arm around Li Junwen's shoulder.

"When did you arrive?"

"I came in the afternoon," Li Junwen said with a smile: "I played mahjong all afternoon and haven't even eaten dinner yet. Everyone is waiting for you; my stomach is growling with hunger."

"Brother-in-law!" Tang Wenming shouted with a cigarette in his mouth, acting cocky.

Yao Jun reached out, snatched the cigarette from Tang Wenming's mouth, threw it on the ground, and stepped on it.

"Your hair hasn't even grown in fully, and you're already learning to smoke like others. If I see you again, see if I don't slap you."

Tang Wenming shrank his neck; this kid didn't obey anyone at home, but he was afraid of Yao Jun.

"This cigarette was only lit because I was setting off fireworks."

"Use a lighter when setting off fireworks after getting out of the car." Yao Jun didn't pay any more attention to him, but said to Li Junwen: "Let's have a good drink in a while; you can't cheat."

Yao Jun had a very good impression of this brother-in-law; he was gentle and refined, but spoke and acted very openly.

Yao Jun entered the house. The large pots in the east and west rooms were steaming, and the aroma of stewed meat made Yao Jun involuntarily sniff.

"So fragrant!"

"It'll be ready soon, come into the house quickly." The sister-in-law who was tending the fire, Tang Tang Wenjuan's cousin, hurriedly ushered Yao Jun into the house.

Yao Jun entered the house. Aunts and uncles, grandfathers and uncles, people standing on the ground, people sitting on the kang—the room was full of people.

Seeing Yao Jun come in, whether they were elders or juniors, whether they were sitting on stools or on the kang, everyone stood up.

They had been married for more than half a year, and Yao Jun couldn't recognize all these relatives. He greeted those he knew affectionately and nodded warmly to those he didn't.

Mother-in-law Liu Aiyun looked outside: "Didn't I tell you to bring your father and mother over? Why didn't they come?"

"There are quite a few people at my house today," Yao Jun said: "They couldn't get away."

Tang Tang Wenjuan, who was sitting on the edge of the kang with a big belly, cracking melon seeds, said: "Yesterday, Bai Zhou Xiaoli and Li Hongying ran over to play with me. When we got married, we said we would introduce boyfriends to those sisters of mine and have a collective blind date. Did you tell Brother Dong?"

Yao Jun was stunned, thought about it, and realized that was indeed the case: "I was so busy I forgot. You didn't remind me either."

Tang Tang Wenjuan rolled her eyes: "I forgot too. If Bai Zhou Xiaoli and Li Hongying hadn't brought it up, I wouldn't have remembered."

Yao Jun pondered for a moment: "They're drawing numbers for the employee housing on the sixteenth of the first lunar month. Brother Dong will definitely be back for the Lantern Festival. I'll talk to him then; he will definitely agree." ===== CHAPTER 1490 =====