Chapter 295: A Home Should Look Like a Home!

His gaze swept over each brother and sister, over the shocked, fearful, excited, incredulous complex expressions on their faces. His heart tightened slightly as well.

"I know exactly how much hardship you've endured out there, how many sins you've suffered. Our eldest sister farms in Jiaozuo, her calloused hands thicker than a man's; our second sister, in the winter in Longhua that can freeze your ears, carried a feverish child and walked dozens of miles through the snow; our eldest brother is in the Northern Great Wilderness, battling heaven and earth; Lu Qinghe farms, Qingjun soaks in the salt‑alkali pond, our younger sister grows fruit trees in Fuping… I remember those days and will never forget them in my lifetime." Lu Qingshan's voice sank, carrying an unmistakable guilt and pain. "Before, I lacked the ability to protect you. Now I have the power, and I will reunite our family and never let it split again."

He paused, scanned the faces that held their breath because of his words, took a deep breath, and dropped a genuine bombshell.

"In Fuqiang Hutong 23 Courtyard, aside from the yard where Mom and Dad now live—which was assigned by the unit and can't be moved—the other courtyards have all been renovated; the heating, rosewood furniture, and modern appliances are all complete. Our seven sibling families each pick an independent two‑room four‑courtyard house, and we can move in with just a suitcase."

Just as the words fell, the eldest brother Lu Qingyuan's cigarette stub "pop" fell to the ground. He sprang to his feet, his tiger‑like eyes wide, his face flushed red from smoke, and shouted hoarsely, "Qing Shan! This is absolutely unacceptable! This is the family business you earned with your life out there! We, the older siblings, haven't helped you at all, yet you expect us to live in houses you bought with blood‑sweat money—doesn't that make us a burden that drains the younger brother's blood! If this spreads, where will the Lu family's reputation go? Do you still want my backbone, Lu Qingyuan?!"

"I… I can't take it either!" the second sister Lu Fang's voice trembled as she pointed to her own nose, her face full of absurdity and disbelief. In her mind flashed the scene in Longhua when a child ran a high fever at midnight; she carried the scorching child, stepping shallowly through knee‑deep snow for over ten miles to see a barefoot doctor—the bone‑deep cold and hopelessness, contrasted with this warm, dream‑like promise, made the cruelest comparison, and tears burst out instantly. "Qing Shan, this is too precious, I… I can't bear it!"

Lu Qingshan looked at them and, lightly, added, "By the way, after allocating these seven units, there should still be ten vacant ones."

He inhaled deeply, as if speaking of something worthless, "Eldest brother, those ten units won't be sold or rented out; just keep them. When Xiao Xiao and Xiao Xue grow up and start families, they'll need a place."

Ten more units? All ready for the next generation?

"Clang!" Zhang A Yu's tea cup flew straight to the floor, shattering into pieces, scalding tea splashing onto his trousers. He felt nothing at first, then instinctively squeezed his own thigh hard, grimacing in pain, confirming he wasn't dreaming.

Everyone felt their hearts hammered by this series of blows beyond endurance, their heads dizzy, as if they'd downed ten‑plus jin of cheap baijiu, and everything before their eyes turned unreal.

"Also," Lu Qingshan, as if the bomb's impact wasn't enough, added lightly, his voice low yet piercing each ear, "over at Fuqiang Hutong 1 Courtyard, aside from the two buildings converted into a hotel, the remaining twenty‑plus three‑courtyard and four‑courtyard houses will also be kept for now, to be dealt with later."

Courtyard 1… still over twenty units!

In the living room, total silence fell, leaving only the rising and falling, increasingly heavy breaths. Everyone stood frozen as if struck by a petrifying spell, their brains completely crashed. They stared at Lu Qingshan's young yet unfathomable face and, for the first time, truly felt a force called "wealth"—almost violent, suffocating.

Earlier they had been stressed over managing a hotel and a market, unable to rest, but now they realized that those enterprises, which seemed colossal to them, might be merely a trivial, casually placed fragment in the second younger brother's entire territory.

The silent third brother Lu Qinghe felt his Adam's apple throb violently, then looked at Lu Qingshan. In his eyes, beyond the overwhelming shock, there was heartfelt respect and understanding. He fully grasped the second brother's meaning. This was no longer merely dividing houses; it was using real gold, silver, and real estate in the very heart of the Capital City to build an indestructible Lu Family stronghold that could be passed down for generations! It was using the most direct, solid bloodline and interests to twist the entire clan's fate into a single rope. One's glory is shared, one's loss is shared. From now on, the Lu Family in the Capital City will be a unified entity, a massive force poised to rise, entrenched at the power center with vast wealth and connections.

Sitting quietly beside Lu Qingshan, Lin Yue'e reached out and tightly grasped her husband's hand under the table. Her palm was sweaty, but her gaze was unwavering. She knew best the harrowing trials her husband endured on Hong Kong Island to bring about all this today. He will build a city; she will keep every lamp inside it for him.

After Lu Qingshan finished speaking, he said no more. He clasped his wife's hand with his other, turned, and looked at his father, who had been seated like a mountain of calm, silently sipping tea. Seeing his father's deeply furrowed face, his own eyes reddened slightly, and his voice carried a hint of a choke he hadn't even noticed before.

He bowed slightly, his demeanor as respectfully as always.

"Father, do you think this arrangement works?"

In an instant, everyone's gazes, like iron filings drawn to a magnet, shifted en masse from Lu Qingshan to father Lu Hua's face.

Lu Hua slowly set down the enamel tea cup in his hand, offering no immediate answer. In his clouded eyes reflected the faces of his children—each one excited and at a loss. His thoughts seemed to pierce through the warm room back to those years. In a dilapidated, drafty cattle shed in Jiangxi Province, the children were gaunt with hunger, too weak even to cry. Yet even then, the eldest and second eldest would quietly split the only piece of hard, tooth‑cracking corn cake they had, hide it behind them, and slip it to the younger brothers and sisters behind them.

We've been scattered for too long. This family should reunite.

The old man's eyes instantly flooded with red; looking at his most accomplished and pride‑inducing son, his weather‑worn face broke into a deeply gratified smile.

He said neither yes nor no. He simply nodded heavily, then raised his calloused hand, patted the back of his wife Wang Guilan's hand—her eyes also brimming with tears. His voice was low but resonant like a great bell, clearly reaching every child's ear and imprinting on their hearts.

"Good."

"A home should look like a home."